100 years ago, the whole eastern continent went to war. It seemed like they all had the same common goal, yet it is still unknown to this day. When they began the war though, they decided to create a single “safe” country. Which would always be spared of conflict no matter what happened. They decided to name it tertāmen, and there you’d find people of any race, age and kind. Some people decided to move in, too scared of the prospect of war in their original kingdoms, but orphanages and refugees would still be the most common places you’d find in it.
The wars would take place in waves usually, about 10 per year,the only 2 months not affected by the war being December and January, or so… it was supposed to be. 17th of December of the 1347th stellar year on the calendar, was the day that completely ravished what was supposed to be one of the sole peaceful months of the year.
The Ravus Kingdom had launched a surprise attack on all 4 kingdoms simultaneously. And though it was a dirty and unethical way , it was inevitably successful.
After the attack, what used to be considered the weakest nation, became one of the strongest, via war slaves forced into their troupes and stolen valuables. their economy and military force grew exponentially, making it the current second strongest in military, and third in economy. The only kingdom that was able to not only keep up with the attack , but also manage to turn the table on them, was the Vegnum Kingdom, which is the strongest nation in the continent , both militarily and economically. But even though they managed to turn the tables around, it wasn’t easy, causing them to lose around 15% of their population, both civilians and soldiers, 20% of their economy which was stolen, and another 10% of their economy which went into various repairs. After the attack, the orphanages in Tertāmen have been the fullest they had ever been in 100 years since their foundation, full of kids that lost everything they had.
Usually, the countryside wasn’t targeted in war as no one found it worth attacking in either of the kingdoms. Growing up in the countryside of the Lapnum Kingdom, he had a peaceful life. His father was an ex-adventurer, but he retired after meeting his mother , and was now a lumberjack. He was the strongest and kindest man he knew , while his mother, who originated from the Vegnum Kingdom, was a kind and loving woman. Having no siblings , he received all the love a child could get from his mother, and never lacked anything due to his capable father. He would get scolded If he tried to ask his mother with chores, and told how it’s a mother’s job and a child shouldn’t worry about it. He truly had a dream of a peaceful life, until that day at least.
Unlike any other wave of war , this surprise attack had also targeted villages and towns in the countryside, and of course his village was no exception. The attack took place at around 8pm. His father had just finished his shower after work earlier, and was heading towards the kitchen along with the kid as his mother had called them to eat. After the kid and his father arrived at the table , the mother had already finished plating everything up, and the food was already on the table, so they sat down and after a quick prayer they started eating. She had prepared the kid’s favourite dish that night , which was a roasted duck with a side of baked potatoes and some salad, and her signature sauce which she was very proud of. (It’s a mild sweet and sour sauce) As they started eating though, loud noises but also screams could be heard from outside, so the father had gestured his mother something with his hands, and before the kid could say anything his mother took a bottle of water and some dried meat with her, then grabbed him in her arms and started running away with him towards the forest.
After the mother ran off with the kid, the father took his blade from his old days as an adventurer and went outside, where he was greeted by the “beautiful sight” of half of the village houses on fire, people dead on the ground and enemy soldiers. He was able to regroup with a few other villagers , and sighed acceptably and annoyed by the situation rather than scared as he unsheathed his blade.
“I’m just a lumberjack you know? Don’t expect too much from me” he said with a confident grin, as the other fellow villagers , being aware of his past as an adventurer, started laughing at his comment , all of them all accepting of the situation rather than being scared. Quickly after everyone composed themselves , they spread out in 2 groups of 4 people, quickly trying to take care of the enemies. There were around 20 soldiers , and 1 mage which was on one of the few not burning houses. The father’s group was the first to find the mage, so it was their responsibility to take care of him.
Since usually mages aren’t really capable of doing much from a short distance, he started charging towards the house. A few other soldiers tried to stop him but the fellow villagers in his group defended him as he kept going towards the house. The mage started casting a few earth spells, sending rocks towards the father quickly as he closed the distance, but he effortlessly dodged them all. And as he had finally reached the house , the mage’s face turned from a mischievous grin to one full of despair and fear, as had now climbed on it and was facing him. “This is the end. You guys chose the wrong village to target” the father said with a casual tone but with a serious expression.
The mage fell from his feet and was crawling behind him as far as he could, until he reached the edge of the rooftop and was forced to stop. The father raised his blade and was getting ready to slash him down, but quickly stopped and backed away as he noticed the mage’s expression changing again, to a grin.
As the father stepped back though , a trap which the mage had placed when falling to his knees activated ; an ice spell had immobilised his feet. The mage then got up and walked towards him as he started laughing “did you really think it was only us?” He then snapped his fingers and around 13 archers which were hidden with a spell were now fully visible and all of them were already aiming at the father. He looked around him shocked at first but, his expression quickly turned into a acceptant smile “I see, so it’s game over huh” he said out loud “we were already informed about you, Former S rank adventurer Shinohara Seiji, did you really think we wouldn’t had came prepared?” “And I thought I had hidden my current location well enough,” Seiji replied. “It’s a shame that a great adventurer like you has to go down this way, but this is war.” The mage then raised his arm *Goodbye.” Without a word then he lowered his arm, and all the archers shot. As the arrows were coming towards him, all that Seiji could think of was memories of his wife and son, as he thought to himself “I hope both of you get safely to Tertāmen”. He was pierced by all 13 arrows and died instantly, but with a smile on his face.
After confirming Seiji’s death , the mage took his blade which he was still holding even in death, and looked at the sky. Since it usually doesn’t rain often on this side of the continent , the mage was surprised to see that the sky had gone cloudy and it was about to start raining. “The world itself is crying after losing someone as great as you, you damn monster” he said to Seiji’s dead body, before turning to the close by archers which had aligned in front of him by now , alongside the remaining soldiers which were around 13, plus the 13 archers getting to a total of 26 pawns under his control left. “I hope you guys remember in what direction the women ran away with their children” the mage said “of course sir, we are ready to follow them at any time” the mage nodded to the comment which came from the leader of the archers. “All archers divide in groups of 3 alongside 10 of you 13 knights. The other 3 go after Shinohara Seiji’s Wife, Shinohara Akari and their kid. Don’t touch the kid, let him run. Akari will probably stay behind and make your job easy if you let the kid go.” Confused , one of the 3 appointed knights that will go after them spoke next “with all due respect sir, I don’t think killing a kid should be a problem even if his mother resists?” “You idiot” the mage replies before sighing and calming himself , then right as he was about to speak again, it started finally raining. He looked up as rain fell down , then started grinning before finally answering the knight's question “I’m leaving the kid alive, because it’ll be more interesting that way”. The others looked at him as if he was crazy at first, but everyone there also respected him as their leader, and so they quickly resigned and started following his orders.
It had been about 20 Minutes since Akari started running away with the kid. She was exhausted. Though it’s not easy to blame her for it, as she’s been running at full speed for 20 minutes straight with her child in her arms. She had run about 1.5Km and was almost out of the forest. By now, just like how the world started crying because of the loss of Seiji’s , making it rain. Akari and the kid both were hit by a sharp pain in their hearts. She had stopped running , and just looked up as rain was starting to fall, though the forest trees were protecting her and the kid from it, ever so slightly. “M-mommy…” “yes sweetie, I also felt it.” Akari tried to remain calm, though she had succeeded in doing so only, with her voice. The kid had inevitably understood what happened by now. There was smoke coming from the village direction which he had seen while they were running, seeing his father seiji take out his blade, and the way his mother desperately started running. Even a 7 years old kid could tell what had happened, but the pain both of them had felt earlier, and the timing of the rain, inevitably brought his mother to tears, and he followed her in it. After about 1 minute of simply both of them crying and comforting each other, Akari had resumed running, and they were out of the forest after around 5 more minutes. She initially intended on trying to check the village which was right in front of them , at about 200 more metres but she realised it was too dangerous, to hope that they hadn’t attacked it too, and she knew some people were after them, as she had heard footsteps earlier while crying. So her only choice was to try and at least get her child to a place which had the most chances of surviving an attack. A town about 5 km away, which had its own knights as well as it being generally sturdier. Akari gave her jacket to the kid, instructing him to cover himself with it, before also giving him the bottle of water and dried meat she had taken earlier.
She then kneeled to his eye level , and spoke with a gentle tone, while looking at him with eyes of love and acceptance of what is about to happen. “I’m sure you have already figured what’s happening, you’re a smart boy after all” she said while placing one of her hands on his head, and the other on his back and bringing him close to her. The kid simply started crying while nodding, as he could tell where this was going. “You’re the greatest son I could've asked for. You’re smart, kind, and even pretty good looking like your father was at your age” she chuckled for the last part before continuing. “I want you to listen carefully, and do this last favour for mommy and daddy alright ?” The kid could simply nod, as his crying was too intense for him to even say a word. “Go towards that direction, and you’ll eventually reach a town, go there and wait for mommy alright?” She said with a smile, while the kid simply nodded after seeing the direction she had pointed towards. even with the sound of the heavy rain, she could tell the footsteps were getting closer, so she hugged him tighter , and kissed him on his forehead for one last time, then pushed him slightly towards the direction she had pointed to earlier. “Go. Don’t stop until you’re sure no one is after you, get to the town then wait for mommy. And don’t forget , mommy and daddy both love you more than anything, and we’ll always watch over you.” She said with a serious expression, but with a gentle tone. The kid gave no reply. not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. His crying , and the rain would've made it impossible for him to talk , at least not in a tone which Akari would've heard, so he simply obeyed and started running. Shortly after, the men had caught up to her, and coincidentally, though Akari hadn’t told him not to, he could tell it wasn’t the case to turn around, but his curiosity had gotten the best out of him right at that moment.
He didn’t expect to see something pleasant, but what he actually saw, would mark him for the rest of his life. He turned around right when the 3 knights which had caught up to Akari, cut her down without a hint of mercy. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. The despair the kid has felt in that single moment was something that words cannot describe. It caused him to stop and turn around towards his mother, but quickly remembered her final words, then clenched his teeth and turned around again to keep running towards the direction Akari had instructed him to go towards. “Why! Why! Why! Why! It’s December, it’s one of the months of no conflict , and they never attacked villages before” he thought to himself while running. The shock he felt earlier was enough to make him stop crying , but the despair had become stronger as he decided to not even try and “help her” , as he realised it would’ve been a waste of her efforts probably, so all he could do was keep running, with the rain constantly falling down. After about half an hour of continuous running, the rain had finally stopped, it seemingly only came to mess with him even more, even making him unable to tell his mother any final words. Seeing the rain stopped , he looked around first, to make sure it was safe, then stopped by the nearby river he had arrived to on his left, sitting on the biggest rock he could find while resting. After recovering for about 10 minutes, and also eating some of the dried meat he had , and drinking some of the water, he decided it would be better to spend the night there. He had kept his guard up during his resting, and had made sure no one was around, so he removed the big leather jacket his mother had given him, and before doing anything else, he got up and decided to pray.
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“Though I am not sure you also died, I know for a fact that if you were alive , those men wouldn’t have caught up to mom. You were the strongest man I knew, so if they did beat you, it was probably a mistake on your side, but that mistake still bought mom more time to run away with me. Therefore even if I’m not sure, all I can do is pray for you, and thank you, dad.”
He then stopped to think for a second before continuing “I’m sorry for not being able to reply, even if the rain was too heavy, and my crying was too ugly I’m sure you would’ve had heard me anyways, I only now realised that, so I am sorry mom. It might be late for it, but I’ll reply now. I also love you.
I am grateful that you were my mother, you were the kindest , and most beautiful woman I know, and your food was also always delicious “haha” he chuckled before continuing “thank you as well, for sacrificing yourself to allow me to run.” He said before finally going on to the final of his prayer “though I’m sure neither of you would approve, since I’m not really fully convinced of it myself. Unless I’ll also find a reason or someone to stop pursuing revenge , like you were a reason for dad to stop being an adventurer , I will go for it. I’ll go forward with revenge in mind, and stop if I find a reason to not do it, but in case I don’t, I’ll keep going on that path. I know you wouldn’t approve of it, but I will still do it if I have no reason to stop.” He said with a serious expression , then softened up for the final part “I know it’s selfish, and I also know that you’ll do it anyways, but I’ll still ask for the both of you to watch over me. I’ll get some rest now and get to the town, you 2 should also get some rest.” He ended with a smile, before sitting with the biggest rock at his back, and the jacket as a blanket and went to sleep.
It was around 9 and a half pm when he finally fell asleep. Though since he was wet from the previous rain, when he woke up at around 6 am, he inevitably had a fever. But that didn’t matter to him, all he cared about was getting to the town, so he quickly washed his face from the cold river, and started walking again. It was still pretty dark out, and his clothes didn’t really get dry, so they were still kinda wet and cold, but his leather jacket from his mother was keeping him somewhat warm, plus the warmth he was getting from the movement was overall enough for him to not freeze. It had been around 6 hours now, he only took around 3, 15 minutes breaks , and was also now used to the temperature of his body. Though the fever was still very noticeable, and he did throw up a few times here and there, he didn’t stop more than needed. After about half a hour of walking, he finally started seeing the town from afar, so he clenched his teeth and brought up all the strength he had in him, to sprint at full speed towards it. It took around 20 minutes of continuous sprinting, but he had finally arrived. Saying he was exhausted would be an understatement. He was barely conscious from the high fever alone, and the exhaustion he was feeling now was like the cherry on top for his body to collapse. After entering the town officially, all he could see was destruction everywhere. Burnt , fallen and some few standing houses , but most of all, tons of people laying on the ground covered with white sheets. It didn’t take long to realise why those people were fully covered, and the thought of it alone was enough to have him collapse on his knees and vomit some more. When he tried to get up afterwards though, his legs simply did not allow him to.
His legs had given up due to the exhaustion and so had all of his body , as the adrenaline he was feeling earlier from pushing himself to the limits had finally run out. He ended up passing out and shortly after falling asleep.
When he woke up a few hours later, he was lying on the ground on a small sheet, and had a blanket over himself with a wet towel on his forehead. He looked around and saw many other injured people laying on similar sheets , and some sisters helping them, alongside some knights too. He quickly realised the place was a church, and deduced that someone must’ve had found him on the ground and brought him there. After looking around for a few seconds , a man visibly in his late 40’s approached him. He was wearing a lighter and more elegant uniform than the other knights, with no armour. His hair was tidied up and was still dark in colour, besides a few grey spots here and there.
Overall though, he was clearly someone of a higher rank than anyone currently in the church. The man approached him and kneeled as the kid was now sitting instead of laying down, so their eyes were on the same level. “You already woke up ? You had a terrible fever, kid, I’m honestly impressed you were still alive.” “Is that supposed to be a compliment?” The kid replied with a small grin on his face, as if proud of what the man had said. “It definitely isn’t something any kid could pull off, I think taking it as a compliment would be appropriate” the man replied back with a small smile , before continuing. “My name is Pernat Marvin, and I guess you could say I’m the captain of this town’s knights now” “I guess you could say?” The kid repeated Marvin’s words in confusion “oh, yeah haha I forgot. I’ve never seen you around so I assume you’re not from here, so there’s no way you’d know.
Well to make it short, the captain died in last night’s attack. I won’t go into details, a kid doesn’t need to know.” “I see, sorry for your loss” the kid replied , which Marvin reacted to by simply smiling , before continuing. “So now that I’ve introduced myself , I think you know what I’m about to ask next.” “Yeah, I know.” The kid replied with a saddening expression.
Marvin had already an idea of what happened, but his position and also just personal curiosity forced him to ask. “Why did you come here alone so desperately? The kid took a few moments to reply, but after calming himself and dry swallowing once, he finally answered. “My village was also attacked. I’m not completely sure, but I know that if my dad was still alive I wouldn’t be here. So he’s probably dead. While my mother…” he stopped for a second , as it was getting harder to speak. Marvin simply stood there waiting for him to finish, looking at him with understanding and emphatic eyes. “She managed to get me out of the forest, but quickly after 3 soldiers had caught up to us. I was able to run , but my mother wasn’t so lucky. No, She sacrificed herself to let me escape. My curiosity had gotten the best out of me, and I happened to turn around shortly before they cut her down.” The kid finally managed to finish, but his eyes were completely dead inside when saying the last part. That caused Marvin to unconsciously start tearing up, before hugging the kid without another word. “I see. No wonder you were able to get here even in those conditions.” Marvin said with a soft tone , and the kid started tearing up while Marvin kept hugging him. “You’re a strong kid. I’m sure your parents are already proud of you for making it here alone.” After those final words , the kid started crying again, and did so for a few minutes until he fell back asleep.
When he woke up it was the next morning , and Marvin was already awake on a seat next to him. “Good morning kid” “morning” he replied while yawning and stretching his arms. His fever was also gone by now. but shortly after, his stomach started growling. As he was trying to cover his stomach, embarrassed by it , Marvin got up from his seat before speaking. “Let’s get you an early breakfast. I’ll personally make you something since the bigger batches for everyone here are still being prepared” the kid simply nodded as he got up.
They went in a room at the back of the altar , and Marvin quickly made some eggs and toast for him, with a side of orange juice.(which was coincidentally the kid’s second favourite) the kid quickly started eating as Marvin also had made a few scrambled eggs for himself , and was now also eating alongside the kid. “You like ‘em?” Marvin asked with a smug smile. “They’re pretty good, though I could make something better in around 10 minutes give or take” the kid replied in a similar tone and with the same expression as him matching Marvin’s energy. After finishing breakfast , Marvin took the kid out for a stroll after giving him some clothes and the leather jacket his mother had given him, which had been washed. “Kid, in a few hours a few carriages directed to tertāmen will arrive, for the orphans and injured people. You should go too.” Marvin asked while they were still walking aimlessly around. “I will, that’s the safest place for me now after all. It’ll also give me enough time to prepare " "prepare for what?” Marvin asked in response “revenge.” The kid said with a serious tone and expression, which quickly melted into more relaxed ones shortly after. “Though of course, if I find a reason good enough to not do it, I’ll simply try and live a good life I guess” he said casually this time. Taken aback by his first comment , Marvin’s expression showed his shock in full view, but he quickly composed himself, as he understood his motives. “Most kids your age wouldn’t even consider stopping pursuing revenge , under any circumstances. I’m relieved you’re at least considering giving up if you find a good reason for it.” “Of course, I’m aware that it’s not an easy thing to do, this war has been going on for over a century, and they never even announced publicly the reason. Taking revenge would be pretty hard. So if I find a good enough reason to not do it, I’ll stop.” The kid replied, which Marvin simply smiled at relief.
A few hours quickly passed by, and now the carriages for the injured and orphans had arrived. Marvin escorted the kid himself to it, and decided to wait till the kid left to leave. After getting in one of the carriages , since they were still early the others were still only now arriving , so they had some time for a last chat.
After about 10 more minutes of them chit chatting, all the passengers and a few knights which would serve as escorts came and were ready to go. “Seems like it’s time,” Marvin said. “Yeah , I really enjoyed the time with you, hope you don’t die by the time I come and visit” the kid replied in a joking tone, which Marvin reciprocated in his reply “you’re 20 years early to worry abt me kid.” They both laughed for a few seconds afterwards , before continuing. “That reminds me, I forgot to ask your name, so what is it kid?” The kid looked at him very casually, as he had also forgotten to introduce himself before replying. “My name is Shinohara *****” Marvin stood there shocked after hearing that, not because his name was weird or anything, but because of his last name. Before Marvin could say anything else though , the carriages had started going on their way. They just waved at each other as a final goodbye, as the kid and others were now directed towards tertāmen. Even after the carriages were out of sight though, Marvin still hasn’t moved an inch, as he was still too shocked, but he finally managed to think of something other than the kid’s last name. “I see, so you’re his kid. It makes sense then” he thought to himself with an acceptant smile , before turning around and walking away, while saying a few words out loud. “Hope you find a reason to not go for revenge”.
It had been around 7 days since the carriages left the town. It was the 26th of December, around 14pm when they finally entered the gates of Tertāmen. After officially getting in though, not just the kid but everyone on the carriages simply looked around them amazed.
There were people of any race, age and kind around, all of them looking happy as well. It was something the kid had never seen before, (though it’s also true that this was the first time he saw anything bigger than the town he ran to) and even after the carriages split with the ones going to the hospital and the orphans, he had a surprised look on his face all the way to the orphanage. When they finally arrived, a few caretakers were there to pick them up.
This specific orphanage had rooms arranged with around 6 people in each, very large rooms which a group of kids would share. He was shown around the place for a bit , before being taken to what would be his room from now on. His new roommates were all already there, some visibly excited to meet him as they were informed that they would finally get a 6th kid which was completely new to this orphanage.
The room had a rectangular shape, with 6 beds layered 3 on each side on the left, the door being on the lower corner which would be the left side , and the rest of the room had a few wardrobes , desks and other personal things. The caretaker then left the room and it was time for the kid to meet his new roommates. The first to speak was a chubby ginger boy. He looked at the kid with a very confident and pleased expression before introducing himself “my name is Belvedere Shouren, I’m 8 years old and the most famous kid in here, you can call me Shou” (he was actually not lying there, though the reason for why he’s famous is the opposite of what he thinks) he then shook the kid’s hand, before getting out of the way so the next kid could talk. He had distinct blue eyes, and black hair. And a very casual attitude as he spoke “nice to meet you, My name is Riviera Ren and I’m 9 years old. I am Not as interesting as the others, but I still hope we’ll get along well” (Ren is the real most popular kid, for his looks) he then also shook the kids , which he reciprocated unlike with Shou.
The next to speak was a girl this time. She had short white hair (around neck length) and distinct golden eyes , which you wouldn’t usually see in this continent. and unlike the others she completely closed the distance with the kid and grabbed both his hands before introducing herself , visually more excited than the 2 before her. “My name is Ainsley Estelle, I’m 7 years old and ever since they told us we’d get a completely new kid as a roommate , I was so excited to meet you I couldn’t even sleep well. I really hope we’ll get along” the kid couldn’t really react to her, as Estelle’s eyes were glowing so much it was almost blinding. Her smile just made it worse for the kid, so he just complied with her, before another girl casually pushed her aside, making Estelle fall,though everyone ignored it as if used to something like this. While Estelle was growling like a wild animal , everyone ignored it , including the next girl to introduce herself. “My name is Ivory Teodora , I’m 9 years old. And unlike that gorilla, (she pointed at Estelle) I won’t invade your privacy and suddenly jump on you” she said with a smile , which was even more effective than Estelle’s surprise. Teodora didn’t have any particular features, in fact she was the one with the most regular features. Her hair was around a bit longer than shoulder length, dark brown and her eyes of the same colour. She also didn’t have any particular features. But her charisma was stronger than the one of the others by a large margin. The kid couldn’t help but again, simply comply with her just like with Estelle, and in the meaning the last kid , which was again a girl shyly got closer and started talking, her tone softer than the others, as she spoke barely. Her voice barely above a whisper “m-my name is Called Lydia.. I-I’m not as good looking, funny or smart as the others , b-but I really was looking forward to meeting you. I hope we’ll get along.” She then gave the kid a small smile.
Unlike the others Lydia was clearly very shy. Normally people would have problems even hearing her talking if they met her for the first time. But for some reason, the kid was able to hear every single word , loud and clear. Lydia’s presence was so small you could forget she’s in the room, but for some strange reason , the kid’s gaze was almost locked on her. He was completely mesmerised after seeing her smile afterwards.
He quickly composed himself though, as it was his turn to talk. “Nice to meet you everyone. Though I can’t say I was excited about getting here , I’m glad and grateful that you were waiting for me. I might’ve not been excited about ending up here, but I truly hope we’ll get along well. I’m 7 years old, and my name is Shinohara Shintaro. You can call me Shin.” That was how Shin came to his Fateful Encounter , which would be remembered by him as one of the best days of his life.