Third pov:

It was noon on the 4th day of the 8th month of the Arcanian calendar, and on a train heading to the country of Hazubeki in the sekitsetsu domain a child was waking up unknowingly from a long battle

Itami's pov:

'What happened? Why am I on a train? The last thing I remember was …' being tortured by that man in the crow mask for months, but how did I get here?

I highly doubt that they'd let me walk away Scott free, and send me home on a luxury train.

The more I look outside the more I know that I'm not going home. Growing up I wasn't the best student, but I knew how to read a map.

Our world is divided into six continents, and the continent I live in is Raitokyuu, the eastern continent.

Raitokyuu is split into eight domains, and the numerous countries within them. These eight domains are the domain of flowers (Hana domien), Rain (ame domien), snow (seiketsu domien), the lost (ushinatta domien), fire (hi domien), water ( mizu domien), earth (chikyu domien), and air (Kuki domain).

The Hana domain where I grew up is a land of eternal spring, where it typically stays warm year round, but outside right now it's snowing.

The only place it snows in October is a place that snows year-round, the Seiketsu Domien, and that's on the other side of the continent.

This is bad. I'm a long way from home, but it's better than the alternative of being tortured for another two weeks. At least here I'm safe, and….. Wait a minute, where's mom?

Third pov

As Itami started to panic wondering where his mom was, the door to his compartment on the train opened.

Itami's head immediately spun around, and he froze.

It was the guy in the Crow mask. Itami thought about running away, but quickly realizing there was no way he could escape he decided to glue his feet to the floor in hopes he wouldn't torture him again.

After a brief stare-off between the two the crow Man decided to speak.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you" he said with a leisurely tone.

"And how am I supposed to believe that when you've tortured me for the last two months," Itami said in aggression.

'For the past two months, I've been through unspeakable hell, and I'm supposed to believe he's not going to hurt me.'

'That's rich.'

While lost in thoughts of how to survive, Itami unknowingly started to release his pent-up malice from the past two months.

Seeing this Kage was once again astonished, and began to think.

'To have this much-built malice at the age of 8 it's terrifying and scary, but I need to nip this in the bud, or else if he survives that day he'll hunt me down until my body parts are scattered to the crows'.

Then Karasukage started to release his ether to offset Itami's and pressure him. "Boy!! Stop this foolishness now unless you want to die before your mother." Hearing these words Itami fell to the ground.

It felt like he couldn't breathe. It felt like the weight of the world had fallen on his shoulders' eventually, Itami subconsciously stopped releasing malice, and Kage did as well.

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After everything calmed down Kage started to speak again "Sit down I've got something to talk to you about".

Hearing this, Itami reluctantly sat down, but he never let his guard down. Kage didn't care about the foolish boy's antics, but he knew it'd be hard to continue if he kept up his indifference.

Kage decided to change his approach and started to speak. "This is the last time I'll say this I've no plans to kill or torture you.

I've already signed a contract tied to my ether preventing me from doing so". When Itami heard these words his mind blanked, but he still kept a calm front.

Then he asked "How do I know you're telling the truth", Kage showed him a contractual marking on his palm.

"So you can relax now. I don't have any plans of killing another nephew anytime soon, and your mother is right behind me. You can put away the tough guy act."

Hearing this his mouth went wide open.

'What? I have an uncle.

Why didn't anyone tell me?

More importantly, if he's my uncle, why did he do all of this?

Does he have some sort of animosity with the family?

Is this like one of those stories Dad used to talk to me about the knight running away with the princess?

I have so many questions.' "I know what you're thinking and yes I'll answer all your questions, but first let me tell you a story. I heard you like them." Kage said.

"This is no time for stories!!" Itami retorted.

"However, first to tell you the story I'm going to need you to be quiet".

** Rip ** Kage ripped a talisman from his pocket.

'Why can't I speak'

" I've just temporarily sealed your vocal cords, so just sit tight and listen"

'I hate this guy'

"Once upon a time in the domain of sekitsetsu there used to be a kingdom called Kuraokami.

The kingdom was always blanketed in the snow year-round.

However, because of the deity that lived there, they were prosperous.

The name of that deity was called ikkite inu Yuki, but the people of the land called him lord Yuki; the great snow dragon.

Because of lord Yuki's blessing crops could grow in the mountains of Kuraokami, and food never ceased for its citizens.

When bandits and enemy kingdoms tried to attack no one could survive his wrath.

It is said that when his breath landed on enemies they would create new mountains freezing them to death.

For centuries, they were unquestionably the kings of the north until one day lord Yuki went into his castle and closed the gates forever.

Afterward, without lord Yuki's blessing, the crops stopped growing, enemies started conquering the lands, and the kingdom was split apart by internal stress. Slowly the kingdom dwindled and dwindled until what it is today, Hazubeki, the fallen kingdom.

AUTHOR:

Thank You for Reading. as always if you have any critiques, opinions, or things you want me to add or edit please let me know. Know I will not listen to every request, and I can't compromise certain things.