In a certain world, there had been war for as far back as people could remember. War over religion, war over land, war over power and war over wealth. There have always been reasons for men to kill each other and in this world life was cheap. These wars were a cycle without end between numerous kingdoms which constantly caused suffering for the commoners.
These battles had gone on for many years due to the large number of kingdoms that all had different ideologies and values. There were 36 kingdoms, some of which had been incorporated into large empires while others had managed to maintain their sovereignty due to their strength.
In the midst of all this was a relatively powerful kingdom called Moriah. Moriah had always been plagued with conflicts till 100 years prior. Peace was brought about by the Wilhelm convention, which was an agreement brought about by 18 small kingdoms, including Moriah and its neighbor Huru mandating that if any one of them were attacked the others would assist.
This meant none of these countries would be able to go to war with each other. This also served as a deterrent to other kingdoms as this meant that any attempt to attack one of the members of the convention would lead to a larger conflict with the other kingdoms.
Among all these kingdoms were three empires that had started the warring. These empires were the Santa Monica Holy Kingdom, Galdriff Empire as well as the Samron Federation.
These three were still intent on expanding their areas of influence as well as grabbing whatever land they could. This meant that even though some kingdoms had escaped from their reach there were still some that suffered the effects of war and even the countries protected still suffered from their scheming in the background every now and then.
…
Our story starts near Hamlan city.
Hamlan was located in the south of the Moriah kingdom and was quite large as it served as an outpost for the army in the past in their battles against the Huru Kingdom. After the warring period, Hamlan turned from an outpost into a wealthy city mainly focused on trade with Huru and other neighboring kingdoms.
In the middle of the day, rain pounded the ground without any sign of stopping. The sun couldn't be seen and the surroundings were dark and gloomy. Nothing could breach the sound of the rain and the occasional roar of thunder.
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In the midst of all this was a forest and within this forest was a cavern hidden away inside a waterfall. Past the blanket of water hiding it and deep inside the mold and moisture-filled cavern was a young man.
If not for the slight movement of his chest and the look of grief that would show on his face sporadically, he would have appeared dead. His clothes were torn as though he had been struck by a blade multiple times and they were soaked in blood.
He was just a teen with messy long black hair covering a scar on his forehead and a skinny frame. He looked worn as if he had been through more than most people. Dried tears could still be spotted running along his cheeks.
Slowly his eyes opened to reveal a strange sight. His right eye was red while the other was black. After blinking a few times his Heterochromia vanished and both eyes were black.
The boy's name was Ethan Levi. Ethan was the 17-year-old third son of a wealthy family in Hamlan City not too far from the forest he was in. His father owned several shops within the city and through connections he had nurtured over the years their family had a firm footing within the city.
Ethan had always lived a carefree life as all he ever needed to do was ask his father for something and it was provided. He had two siblings, one younger sister, Sophia, and an older brother called Matthew.
His brother had left home and had gone under the employ of the city lord whilst his sister would keep him company at home. They were very close as his sister was only two years younger than him so they were always causing trouble together while his older brother was more responsible at twenty-nine looking to start his own family soon.
His mother, Sylvia was a quiet lady who still pampered her children, even though they had grown up and would always be around the house whenever they needed her, which was often. Silas had been a merchant for most of his life and would be stern and calculating with others, but his demeanor always changed around his children to that of a doting parent.
Ethan's life was perfect, even though he wasn't. He would cause trouble with his friends often which his family would have to clean up for him. He hid behind the family guards and never had to take responsibility for himself and took advantage of those of a lower station than him. This should have been his life for the foreseeable future, but fate had other plans…
...
After waking up Ethan just stared at the ceiling of the cavern with the rain going on and on in the background.
He could still see it.
His mother's lifeless body staring at him with blood pouring out of her neck from a long gash running from ear to ear. His sister was being dragged away by her feet and his father was screaming in his face telling him to run.
Ethan was frozen, he couldn't believe what was going on and if his father hadn't pushed him away he probably wouldn't have made it out.
It all happened so suddenly and now Ethan felt empty and numb. He just wanted everything to end. The more he saw it, the more he couldn't understand, and the more he questioned himself, that emptiness turned into something distinguishable.
It turned into hate...
He hated the men who hurt his family
He hated his inability to protect them
He hated the fact that he froze
He hated who he was
He hated the world
How could God let something like that happen to his family? Who has his mother ever harmed? Why didn't he go with her?
All these thoughts just kept fuelling his hate.
...