The hot summer sun was burning overhead, casting its light onto another day. The small town was already awake, as with the farms surrounding it. It was small enough that it hadn't even been given a name, and the town seemed to prefer it that way. Each time the naming of the town was brought up at a city meeting, it was politely ignored, turned down, or put off for another month. Many travelers passing through believed it was the deities themselves who kept the small town from receiving a name. It left it hard to find, and easily forgotten.

Most people born into this town left it, and few who visited stayed. The town had reached a point where its population hardly fluctuated. One year there would be fifteen or twenty more than the year before, only to drop by thirty or so come winter. It was another part of the town believed to be controlled by intervention. Just one part of many that didn't seem right.

On the outside, the town appeared to be made up entirely of humans. This was mostly true. The adults were mostly humans, however a closer look would show different for the younger members of the population. Everywhere one looked- or, at least wherever one with fine eyes looked, they would see differences. Unusual features on a childs face, skin too green, ears too pointed. An experienced traveler would note that most of these were half-elves and half-orcs, even though the orc and elven members of society were nowhere to be seen.

However, even here there was what could be seen as intervention. None of the children looked different enough to be quickly seen for what they were. A half-elf child would only have slightly pointed ears, or a half-orc would only vaguely show elongated teeth, and have oddly normal skin. This would leave many travelers to wonder about the other children. The pale, blond girl. The unusually short young boy. Could she be half-celestial? He part gnome? It was unlikely, but they wondered.

Unbeknownst to these travelers, many of the towns children were raised as a family. While most of the town was oddly unrelated, they were taught to see them as aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings, grandparents. It was not unlike some colonies of animals, the only difference being that they knew which were truly related to them. These children were of what was suspected, related to rather unusual beings. Celestials, Infernals, and many other assortments of magical beings, including Elementals. Naturally, it was a hotbed of sorcery.

One child, not necessarily advanced in ability but skilled in controlling what he had, was a young boy named Aesop. It was difficult for most to tell what he was exactly. He was tall and scrawny, as many children were at that age. The hair cascading down his back was nearly black, held up in a ponytail in the days it was too warm, and messily cut with a dagger when it met his waist. This happened multiple times a year, as it grew abnormally quickly and was never cut higher than his shoulders.

The things that gave him away were a bit harder to notice. His eyes were brown, but a close look showed they were nearly mahogany, red seeping through the duller color. The winter showed his most noticeable differences. Even after weeks inside out of the cold, his skin still held a mild tan. On the coldest days, other students would sometimes fight over who would sit in the seats nearest him. The boys body temperature was warm, and he all but radiated warmth.

This unusual boy had the blood of a fire elemental running through his veins.