The Kingdom of Ortus was one of the Seven Kingdoms in the Center of the Continent of Pestis with the Twelve Northern Tribes Occupying the North, The Four Unions to the East, The Nine Slave States to the South, and The Beast Mountains to the West. The Continent was plauged with war and destruction that showed no end after the fall of the Empire of Magnus which once ruled the Entire Continent. The Empires demise led to the birth of the Seven Kingdom by its descendants who warred against one another to restablish the ruined Empire which led to the peoples suffering.
Until one day, A new power rose to dominance in the Western part of the Continent naming themselves the Republic of Pell. The Republic was led by a famous Heavenly Knight nicknamed the "Light Bringer" Adrian Chase. They Subjugated the Beast Mountains in the west that was mostly dominted by beast to establish their capital 'The City of Peace'. Many people from the Seven Kingdoms flocked to this new power in hopes of finding respite from the war torn state of the Kingdoms. Though the Kingdoms did feel unsatisfied by the Republics action of taking their citizens, the Power of a Heavenly Knight compelled them to think otherwise, for that was The Pinnacle of which a warrior could reach.
In little time the Republic manage to bolster their power with new recruits from those seeking refuge in their city while the Kingdoms warred each other for lands and riches. The Republic was mostly ignored in the following years due to their peaceful nature until one of the Kingdoms decided to assess their capabilities by launching a probing strike on one of their border cities. The Kingdom of Everos was a strong power in its own rights housing Two Heavenly Knights and One Ancient Sage which were the Pinnacle of a Warrior and Magician. But even then they underestimated the dreadful power that lay hidden within the City of Peace known as the Priscus Covenant which housed Six Ancient Sages whos power lay at the pinnacle of Magic.
Only a Few hours after the incident at the border, the citizens of the Kingodm of Everos witnessed a sight they would never forget, an INFERNO that towered through the clouds rampaged through the Captial City of Everos destroying everything that lay in its path be it Men, women, children, elderly all were swept in the blaze and burned into ashes that were swept into the heavens above. The incident was later named the Burning Heaven Masscre and it shocked all the other Six Kingdoms to their feet as they began to realize that there was a monster capable of destroying them living right under their noses.
In only a Couple Years the Republic was able to surpass the might of its neighboring kingdoms and were begining to be percieved as a major threath to the current status quo of the continent. Thus the Seven Kingdoms layed down their arms and formed a temporary truce that came to be known as the Kingdom Alliance to combat the lingering threat of the Republic. This brought forth an unprecended era of Peace that was once foreign to this continent as the Kingdoms became more wary of their actions.
This Republic is where the two young teens Edgar and Maynard wish to go, since it offered them plenty of opportunities to make a name of themselves and freedom which was only seen with the nobilities of the Kingdoms. Yet before they could start their journey to the Republic their hideout was sorrounded by the guards of the City of Ars.
"We're sorrounded Ed!" Maynard Yelled.
"I know! Be quiet let me think" Edgar replied.
"Shit!Shit!Shit!...We're Fucked Ed!!" Maynard Panicked.
"SHUT UP!!" Edgar Screamed.
"We've come so close to leaving his hell pit" Maynard complained.
"All those days of hunger and pain just for it to end like this" Edgar seethed.
Painful memories flashed by in Edgars head as he recalled all the hardships hey had to endure up to now. In the begining there were Five of them and has the days went only two of them remained from the original five. The five of them grew up in the slum part of the City of Ars since they were young. They were all Orphans that were abandoned at the Church of Divinus which was later razed when the Church was accused of treason against the Crown. Alongside many other Orphans they had to scavenge for food in the slumbs to quell their hunger. Some of the Orphans decided to resort to stealing regardless of the danger and consequences to satiate their hunger. But many of them had tragic endings when caught by the city guards which included beheadments, hanging, and torture.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A small minority of them even ratted out their fellow Orphans for food and shelter from the City Lord, leading to mistrust amongst the Orphans. One of these individuals name was William and he was part of the Original Five group. Due to his betrayal it led to the capture of two of his fellow orphans, Mary and Daniel. The two boys luckily were doing a steal at the time so when the guards raided their previous base they were no where in sight. They later came to know about the tragic fates of their comrades from eavesdropping on the guards. Mary was sold as a slave to a nobility family and daniel was send to the mines in the far North of the Kingdom. While William on the other hand showed great potential when tested by the City Lord and was given an Opportunity to go to a Knights Academy and start walking the path of a Warrior. He was even given the Last name Gard meaning 'Worthy' in the Ortusian tongue.
As the boys were contemplating the best actions to take in their situation a heavy voice was heard outside.
"This is Squad Leader Jason Gray of the Ars City Guards! I implore you to surrender willingly or we will have no choice but to draw our swords!" Gray Yelled
"There is no where to go younglings! The building is completly sorrounded" Gray Assured.
"I know you are both kids thats why I want to give you the chance to offer yourselfs up or else I will have no choice but to treat you as criminals!" Gray Pressured.
"What difference will surrendering make at this point?" Edgar peeked out the window and asked.
"Surrender and the punishments wont be as severe as Death!" Gray replied.
"I have your Word" Edgar said.
"You have my word that you wont be killed for your actions as long as you surrender peacefully" Gray Assured again.
"Alright, were coming down" Edgar said.
Back in the base Maynard was shocked by Edgars quick surrender
"Ed, why are we surrendering like this?" Maynard asked.
"Nard, cant you see hes trying to help us" Edgar replied.
"What do you mean?" Maynard asked again.
"We have no weapons to protect ourselfs Nard, if he wanted to they could barge in and capture us whenever they want" Edgar Explained.
"So lets go down swinging then" Maynard complained.
"No! If we surrender peacefully the chances of the Death Penalty decreases and if im not mistaken this man Gray does not want to kill us for some reasonn. At best well be send to where Daniels at, the mines in the Far North" Edgar Assured.
"Bu..But what about Pell then?" Maynard Asked.
"We have no choice Nard, this is the only way we survive" Edgar Sighed.
"Alright then, im with you Ed" Maynard Agreed.
With that the boys climbed down the stairs and head outside into the open. Both were nervous of the Punishments but steeled themselves for the grim fates that awaited them.
"Excellent choice younglings" Gray Praised.
Gray approached them until he stood right in front of their faces towering two feet higher than where their heads were stationed.
"Do not worry boys, I will make sure that the de---"
But before Gray could assure the boys that the death penalty was not to be given to them, a robust man in silver Armor approched. All the Guards Sorrounding the House quickly gathered in front of the man and saluted.
"We Greet the Gate Commander!" All the Guards Saluted.
"At ease men. Gray are these the thieves?" Joseph Asked looking towards the teens.
"Ye..Yes SIr, Commander" Gray Reported hesitatingly.
"I see. Well what are you waiting for, KILL THEM" Joseph Ordered Coldly.
"Ye.... But Sir they've surrendered" Gray Rebuked.
"So what, Do they think they can escape death by Surrendering. How Laughable ahahahh" Joseph Laughed.
"They are just kids Sir, please take back your Orders" Gray said as he got on his Knees and saluted.
"Disobeying Orders now eh Gray?" Joseph Asked menacingly.
"Sir we've killed plenty of kids already and this soldier can take this no longer, So please recant your orders I beg you!!" Gray Begged on his knees.
*SMACK*
A Huge slap was heard as Gray tumbled to the ground.
"YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!! YOUR SUPERIOR!!!" Joseph Yelled with RAGE.
"Men take Squad Leader Gray to the Hold" Joseph Ordered.
"Yes Commander" the Guards complied.
"Now where was I?" Joseph spoke whilts turning towards the Two Boys.
Seeing the evil glint in the robust mans eyes, Edgar panicked.
"Run Nard I'll distract them" Yelled Edgar
"But what about you, Ed" Maynard Asked worryingly.
"RUN NOW DAMMIT!!" Edgar screamed towards the hesitating Maynard.
Scared by Edgars anger, Maynard turned and ran towards one of the alleys of the sorrouding buildings.
"oh,You think you can escape me" Joseph Smirked.
"You'll have to kill me to reach him" Edgar remarked with conviction.
"We'll see about that" the man said as he approached him. A transparent Aura could be seen swirling around him as he walked, attesting to the amount of power his body wielded.