"One thing that intrigued me about redcap culture beyond belief was the fact that a word for 'god' didn't exist in their language. When referring to Obelisk or Dhalene or even Elase herself, though only in condemnations, they would call them fathers and mothers of their respective domains. Of course direct translations wouldn't do their true connotations justice, as Obelisk isn't merely the father of the dark, but it is something worth noting."

-Redcap Translations, by Cameron Coy

Ikiann sat on a small incline just on the edge of his settlement, watching the lifeless landscape of the Father's Dark Lands. Wind currents bashed the ash covered desert in front of him into nothing, painting waves into the sands, slowly moving to-and-fro across the ground. Although today was his nameday, nobody cared for Ikiann but his mother. It had just so happened that he had been born the same day as the chieftan's twin son and daughter, becoming but an afterthought for his entire life. After his father deserted a skirmish against kwatch troops a few months after his fifth nameday, his family was scorned in disgrace, and Ikiann was granted the opposite kind of attention he had wanted all his youth. It was because of that that his younger sister had died, he and his mother unable to get medicine for her after she fell ill, suffering a slow and terrible death from a disease they couldn't even get diagnosed with.

Soon, though, that was all going to change. Traders often told tales of the lands beyond the Spine, lands where the Dark Father's and the Storm Father's blessed troops lived in harmony, away from the curse of the Light Mother and her terrible offspring. No rabid kwatch in sight. If only his dreams were true, dreams of fleeing his settlement with all that he and his mother could carry, and being welcomed by those on the other side of the mountains. There he wouldn't be ignored or shunned, finally able to work for someone who would take him and earn enough money for a proper practitioner of the Dark Arts. And those dreams were where the plan was first thought of.

Ikiann's daydreaming was put to a sudden stop when the noisy celebrations of the nameday parade were carried to his ears by the wind. Although Ikiann wasn't skilled in the holy Dark Arts, the one art he had access to was an elite one: Messenger's Winds. Allowing manipulation of the winds themselves, it would've been praised as a great boon to his family name, even if it didn't belong to the Dark Father. And unlike other arts, it was much more akin to a Node Control, allowing passive use even without constant chanting of it, though a chant can certainly help focus it; an even greater achievement. Except his own father's betrayal meant that it was seen as a sign of the Dark Father's judgement, deeming him unworthy of his great arts and leaving Ikiann in further disgrace.

Taking a large mat of ash-coloured tarp from his bag, Ikiann hid himself with it, sinking deep into the sands and only allowing a small amount of light in through gaps for his eyes. If he was seen attending this event then it wouldn't end well for him at all, the usual tormenting suspects likely plaguing the twins' coronation. It was all very boring and official, he noted absently, watching the twins march through the Ancestor's Path in ceremonial garb, each holding torches alight with black and purple flame. Straight black hair flowed down both of their faces and back down their backs, only their differing physiques differentiating them: Kilia with her slender and lithe frame allowing for swift attacks befitting her shadow based Dark Arts; and Pfial with well-built muscles that threatened to tear his ceremonial garb apart, a consequence of his own strength enhancing Dark Arts. Just behind them were their immediate family, the chieftain and chieftainess fitted in typical soldier's gear, deep crimson-stained caps on their heads. Distant family and friends followed behind them, though they all only wore formal clothing. The rest of the settlement followed further behind, with the exception of the disgraced, all required to attend on the chieftain's orders.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ikiann didn't dare get close enough to witness the actual ceremony at the Ancestor's Altar but everyone knew what was going to happen. They would be gifted the traditional caps to dip into the altar, filled with fresh yet diluted kwatch blood, soaking them with their First Blood. With every distinction and subsequent heightening of rank in the Dark Father's grand army, their caps would be soaked further and further with more concentrated blood, until bathed in the sanguine Final Blood. The last Final Blood was a decade ago, all the chieftains and chieftainess of every settlement called to it to attend. As his father was of high distinction, Ikiann also attended the Final Blood, though his recollection of the event was foggy at best, being too young to remember much. The only things that stuck in his mind were the massive crowds filling the great halls of Oglathoth, and of course the Dark Father's Altar itself. Filled to the brim with the fresh blood of a thousand kwatch sacrifices and enchanted with the Dark Father's magic, the great General had bathed in the blood alongside his cap, enhancing his strength and granting him the holiest of all the Dark Arts, only bestowed to the Grand Marshals. No one but the Grand Marshal was allowed to know its name or capabilities, however it was said to cause destruction only comparable to that of the reviled Guildmaster of the kwatch forces.

Once the procession had moved on, Ikiann threw off his tarp and ran back home, propelling himself further and faster with the winds. The only thing that mattered to Ikiann anymore was his mother and the escape plan. In every moment he didn't spend resting on the sands, he worked himself to the bone, hunting beasts for food and helping his mother back home, her health worsening after his sister's death. It wouldn't be long now though until the plan would be complete. Then, all he would have to do was gather the necessary supplies and carry it out. It would have to work no matter what, the settlement be damned. Even if it meant betraying the Dark Father, Ikiann would make it work. All for his mother. All for another life. No matter what.