Essence: The Story of an Outcast

Blurb
There has always been separation in Jiovahni's world. He knows it. When a child turns fourteen, they are marked on their face by an invisible force, which sends them to one of the four Clans of Tatoni, possibly sending them away from their families. Forever.

But Jiovahni isn't marked. The only thing he's good at is hiding and playing with animals, and those don't fit into the neat sections of Artisans, Crafters, Warriors, or Intellects. He's sent into the middle of the warring Clans' sectors, burdened with the responsibility of preserving the little peace Tatoni has left. Eventually, he wanders off and comes across Kallion, home to Starbright Academy. There, he finds that even though he fits in, he doesn't enough to be accepted by the whole school. And as he finds more and more similarities between Kallion and Tatoni, he begins to wonder...

Maybe they were made for something bigger.

Chapter One
The Artisans were bringing another wave of people.

The news had came two hours ago by Jiovahni's older brother Mottle. Now, Vahni sat in his room, wishing his mom would at least let him bring in Stripe for the lockdown. Most Crafter children hoped to become master carvers or engineers, but Jiovahni wanted nothing but to spend his life in peace with his chipmunk, preferably in a soundproof tree, high up above all the noise and battling.

Vahni cursed all of those Artisans for their tricks that kept him in on evenings like these. Tomorrow was his fourteenth birthday, for the Marks' sakes! He should be calm and restful! Hopefully, he wouldn't wake up tomorrow with a curved line going across his face. Then he would be the disgrace of his family for having to betray them to their rival Clan, among other things...

Oh great, it begins again, Vahni thought as his mind spiraled into the chaos of wondering what Clan he would be marked with tomorrow. He was mediocre at all of the things that defined the Clans: sparring, crafting, learning, drawing, painting, engineering...

"I know you don't like nights cooped up, so I made you some cuflie for consolation," Vahni's mother said, walking into the room with a mug full of the citrusy drink. "I know you're worried about tomorrow, but just don't sweat it, okay?" Her eyes were light, but the line of dots going across her face and under her eyes-- the Mark for the Crafter Clan-- made her look more serious.

So did the worry lines between her eyebrows.

"I thought I would be an Artist when I was your age!  Ha, what if I had?" Vahni's mom nudged him, trying to lighten up his mood. Vahni didn't buy it. "But I don't have a clue what Mark I'll have tomorrow.  All I like to do is sit in trees and play.  I just want to blend in and stay where I am!"