Chapter Fifty: Pain and Corruption
The Kaelin clan, a powerful family whose name was both revered and feared, for their mastery over dark Hindo and forbidden arts. Their control over decay, entropy, and shadowed secrets made them infamous, and nearly untouchable in their realm. No one dared to challenge them openly. Despite their power, however, the Kaelins had no true allies, as others viewed their ambition and unsettling arts with suspicion and terror.
Mordrin was only seven when the Kaelin family’s fortress came under siege. Under the cover of darkness, rival clans and hired assassins launched a coordinated attack, storming the Kaelin estate with deadly precision.
“Take Mordrin and hide him,” ordered Mordrin’s father, his voice a mixture of urgency and dread.
His eyes met his wife’s, who understood the gravity of the situation. She kissed him once, murmuring, “I’ll be right back to help,” before rushing to where Mordrin sat, terrified and confused.
She held Mordrin close, whispering, “You must stay here. I’ll be right back, my love. I promise. I love you.” Tears streamed down her face as she tucked him into a small, hidden alcove, sealing him away in the hope he’d be spared.
The sounds of battle vibrated through the stone walls of the fortress. Mordrin’s parents and the other elders fought valiantly, their powerful Hindo techniques lighting up the darkness. But the attackers knew too much, had planned too well. Information had been leaked, and the Kaelins were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The fortress, once filled with dark and silent power, now reverberated with the screams of their family and the stench of death.
Lyren, Mordrin’s older brother, arrived just as the final defenses fell. He returned from a mission only to find their home in ruins, his father lying on the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
“No…this can’t be happening,” Lyren thought, scanning the room for his mother and brother. Kneeling beside his father, his voice choked with desperation, he asked, “What’s going on? Where’s Mom? Where’s Mordrin?”
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His father coughed, blood trickling from his lips. “We were betrayed,” he rasped. “By one of our own…your mother…she’s already gone…” He broke off, gasping for breath. “Mordrin…is hidden…a secret chamber…beneath…deep within the stone foundation…”
Lyren barely had time to absorb his father’s final words before the light faded from his eyes. Swallowing his grief, Lyren fought through the remains of the fortress, fending off lingering attackers and searching for the hidden chamber. His heart raced as he found a heavy, iron hatch concealed in the foundation. He wrenched it open, calling down softly, “Mordrin?”
A small voice reach out from the darkness. “Brother? Where are Mom and Dad?” Mordrin’s voice trembled.
Lyren hesitated, his heart breaking for the little boy hidden below. “It’s just us now, Mordrin,” he whispered, pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Mom and Pop...they’ve gone on a sacred journey. But one day, we’ll see them again.” His words held a desperate lie, a truth he’d shielded his little brother from.
For hours, they hid in the suffocating silence, listening to the battle above them. They stayed huddled together, listening as the sound of their clan’s final breaths faded into the cold, haunting quiet. When the first light of dawn broke, Lyren led Mordrin out into a world forever altered.
The sight that greeted them was one of ruin. The Kaelin estate lay in smoldering ruins, its once-proud towers reduced to rubble, the grounds littered with the lifeless forms of their kin. Lyren felt Mordrin grip his hand tightly, sensing his brother’s pain, confusion, and despair. This was the price of their family’s power. From that day forward, the brothers were forced into a life of hiding, scraping by as they sought survival and vengeance.
Lyren, consumed by rage and a thirst for revenge, devoted himself to power, learning forbidden techniques that would one day allow him to strike back. Mordrin, young but fiercely determined, looked to his brother as the embodiment of their clan’s legacy. His heart hardened, and his spirit was filled with a singular vision: a future where he and Lyren would be so powerful, so untouchable, that no one could ever harm them again.
The brothers became inseparable in purpose, each vowing that the Kaelin name would rise from the ashes stronger than ever. They pursued dark power without hesitation, discarding kindness and compassion in their quest for strength. They abandoned old alliances, believing that in the face of absolute power, nothing else mattered.
For the Kaelin brothers, there was no cost too great, no line they wouldn’t cross.