Prehistory: Praaxis.

A small boy was sitting in an alleyway. Sitting with his knees up, and his head down, it was impossible to see his expression. Wearing tattered rags that were just as disgustingly dirty as his tattered hair, he appeared to be asleep. his brown hair was a veritable mop, going every which way, as the boy coughed, a loud, dry cough that shot out a yellow liquid of sorts. more of this yellow liquid covered his pants, and it seemed this was not the first time it was exhibited. There were different sores and pimples all over his body, and his body was an unnatural pale white. The kid didn't move an inch, and if not for the shallow breathing, one might think he was dead.
A rat scurried down the alleyway, beady, probing eyes looking around. Beady, red eyes probed the alley, looking for something, anything that might provide a meal. This rat was old, and it was hungry. Nothing could distract it from it's hunger, and the rat had no scruples about whatever it ate - Sometimes, it had even eaten other rats in it's inexhaustible hunger. Seeing the child, it knew it had an easy meal. It had seen quite a few children in a similar state, nearly dead. No-one ever really took much care of their children on Praaxis, after all, and many kids ended up in similar situations on the streets, confined from the main streets by the police. No one wanted the weakness of poverty clearly shown in the town, after all. It was a good way to invite your neighbor to attack.
And most of these children ended up dying slow deaths, of either starvation or sickness, on the streets. The rat didn't care about this, however. What it cared about was the easy meal it saw in front of it. Most children it had seen at this point of sickness were easy prey, barely able to struggle. Some didn't even move to stop the rat, and the rat could use it's small jaws to bite through their throat without even a dying whimper. Yes, the rat thought as it came closer to the child, running, it's beady eyes greedy with anticipation. Yes, it would have some easy food today, the rat thought to itself, as it jumped at the child.
The child's hand moved lightning fast as the rat jumped, grabbing the large rodent in mid-air. The rat, startled, had no time to ponder the sudden reversal of predator and prey, before it was crushed to death beneath the small hand, having surprising strength despite the sickness and age of it's owner.
"And now I got my dinner for the night!" The youth exclaimed with energy, as he looked upwards. the youth's face, no longer hidden, now had a clearly visible grin. "Seems like life is going my way!"

Nearby, two man walked close to the alleyway, looking for people precisely like him. "We need some more "meat" for the gladiator battles, it seems." the taller of the two said, adjusting the sunglasses on his face. A new creation on this planet, he was amongst the few who could afford them at the moment.
"Tch. Gladiator battles. We should be keeping our warriors alive to defend the town, not sending them to their deaths when we need 'em!" the shorter man declared, his eyes in a scowl.
"Oh really? You got a problem with my arena?" The tall man asked, reaching into his pocket for something.
"As a matter of fact, I do" The scowling man shot back, reaching into his own pocket.
what saved the taller man was that his blade was longer, that he had grabbed it quicker, and that he'd aimed for the head. "Goddamnit... I got blood on my tie." He complained, as people walked by. The corpse of the shorter man was left where it fell, save for a few scavengers grabbing what they could off of the remains.
The man kept walking, untouched by the disturbance. As one of the richest men in the city, he was entitled to do what he wished to in the town. "now then, let's see what's in the alleyways." The man said, summoning two previously invisible guards around him.
"Why didn't you summon us? You knew he was going to make his move soon." One of the guards asked, holding a heavy hammer.
"If I don't occasionally remind those simple-minded idiots exactly why they began to fear me in the first place, I'll end up losing respect. This city has a short memory, so I occasionally have to do the work myself." The man replied, putting his dagger back in it's holster.
Walking by an alleyway, the man looked in to see a small child cooking a rat over one of the flame vents around the town. used for incineration, some of the homeless locals used them for cooking.
That wasn't what surprised him, however. What surprised him was the bright grin on the child's face. He'd seen that sort of grin before, on HIS face, on the face of wealthy men, arena fighters walking away from a victory, city mayors...
Not on a child with nothing to his name who had resorted to eating a rat. certainly not a child with sickness that seemed to be close to killing him. And definitely not a homeless creature like him, on the street, with nothing to look forward to and even the dream of survival being a fragile hope...

"Hey, there's some tiger meat for ya!" One of the guards said.
"Yeah, he'll be perfect! As long as he doesn't die of sickness beforehand, anyway..." The other guard said, scratching his head.
"Shut up, you idiots." Was all the businessman said.
Not entirely sure on why he was doing it himself, the businessman neared the kid.
"Are you trying to jump me?" Auger asked, a sweet smile on his face. I'm afraid I'm really not worth killing at the moment, given I'll be dead in a few hours. If you want my corpse, come back later, kay?" Auger asked, before entering a coughing fit.
"He just proclaimed the probability of his own death... Whilesmiling. How does that even work? The businessman thought to himself. "Err, no, it's nothing like that. I'm actually here to offer a deal." He replied.
"What kind of deal?" Auger asked.
"tell you what, I need some young ones to learn the craft of the gladiator, and I think you're a kid with potential. How about this, I heal your disease, and you sign yourself over to me, huh?"
"Wow, today's really my day, huh? Where do I sign? Also, how do I sign? I kinda can't read."
"Just put your hand here, alright?" The businessman said, bringing out an odd looking pad. As Auger put his hand on the pad, his full hand showed up on a scan.
"Signature complete. Unregistered citizen now entered into gladiator listings." The briefcase said in an emotionless tone.
"Excellent, excellent." Was all the businessman had to say.
"Well, thank you, Mr..."
"Harkon. Harkon Errs. And you are?" The businessman replied.
"Auger."
"what's your last name."
"That is my last name."
"What's your first name."
"That is my first name."
"How can it be both?"
"Because it's my only name. It's my first and last."
"...Just come on, already."
The businessman walked away from the kid, as his guards came towards him.
"Sir, a whole disease treatment? We normally don't give that much to the tiger meat--"
"When he goes in, I want some small bets placed on him."
"What? Be serious, Mr. Errs-"
The businessman drew up to his full height. though he did not look it initially, due to the way he postured himself, Harkon Errs was just as strong and well built as his bodyguards.
"I...am ALWAYS... serious."
The bodyguards gave no more protest.
Harkon pondered what he had just gained. Something in that kid's eyes told him it was worth a shot to bet on him. Either he had the new "tiger meat" as they called the children sent in to show the effectiveness of animals, in his new employ, or he had something more. Neither prospect was too bad, since Harkon could afford wasting this much money. If he was correct, however, if this kid was special...
Harkon grinned. He had gotten far in his life, made quite a few good deals...
But he had a feeling this kid, if he was correct, would make him so rich, and so powerful, that his current life wouldn't even compare.