Wandering along the winding emerald path through the forest, a man absent-mindedly made his way towards the city, reminiscing about the first time he had ever visited it. He had been with his father at that point, and they had been travelling for the same reason as he did now. Edward had lived peacefully for almost his entire life, in seclusion and self-sufficiency. He was generally able to get by without encountering others. However, after a particularly bad harvest, he had been forced to take a journey into the city to replenish his stocks and was shocked at what he saw. Government officials, guards and noblemen were swarming the streets, beating women and children for crimes they obviously hadn't committed. Urchins hid in the shadows, and men’s eyes flitted nervously, betraying their fear and paranoia. In the city square were several execution tools. From nooses hung rotting bodies, where pyres had been were now ash, and a head was lying on the ground next to a chopping block. An old body was being removed from one of the nooses in preparation for another. Edward held his nose in disgust and dashed down a street that would take him to the market. Almost having reached it, he saw a group of guards harassing a woman who was protecting her child. When he tried to step in to help them, the men drew swords on him.
“Lower class citizens have no right to judge us. We're not accusing you, so get lost.” Edward could tell these people were trouble, so despite being hurt from their comment about his class, he hurried on his way instead of correcting them. Buying what he needed and going home, he passed many such forms of injustice as he walked through town and forest alike. He calmed slightly as he entered the beautifully lit forest pathway that led to his home. Further down the road, a hooded man stopped him.
“You were noble today in stepping up to those guards, but you will not be able to get away with the same kind of intervention later. This problem is much more deep-seated than it appears on the surface. If you wish to continue, then you must be prepared to wage war.” The mysterious man went on his way silently, and a confused Edward carried on walking home.
When he got there, he was met with a horrendous sight. All his livestock had been slaughtered, and his fields and house had been burned to the ground, the orange light from the setting sun merging with the black of the smoke and ashes. Embers still glowed here and there, winking and taunting at him. There was a letter nailed to a post outside, that read:
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This property has been forcefully collected as a tax for the Emperor. Anything of great value has been collected, and anything contributing to your wealth has been destroyed. You need not do anything, as it is the Lord's justice.
Grenitier of the Emperor's Court
At this, Edward was finally furious. He almost cut himself on his dagger as he was equipping it, and did cut himself as he was cleaning it. He was surprised to see the small wound heal in an instant but was too angry to care. He was looking for a fight.
Edward carefully wrote out a threatening note, leaving it unsealed but taking a candle with him, and stood wait outside the city walls. It wasn't long before a group of the emperor's men came out boasting about the public hanging of another innocent man. Edward struck out at them, planting his dagger deep in the neck of one man, and taking his bow to shoot another from five feet away before the others were aware of his presence. He quickly retrieved his dagger and got ready for a fight, but they simply ran off. He shouted after them, “Cowards!” and sealed his note with the wax seal of one of the dead men, leaving it on his corpse, and fled to the mountains that bordered the empire on all sides, taking up residence in one of the many caves.
“Well, it's not exactly my old farmhouse, but for a base of terror operations, it's pretty good.” He chuckled. Edward thought he could hear running water, so he decided to check out the full extent of his chosen cave, being very careful in case it was one an animal still lived in. Amazingly, despite being a remarkably extensive cave reminiscent of a home in itself, there were no signs of recent life. He wandered through passage after passage marvelling at the cave’s beauty. Thankfully, there was also a natural water fountain leading into a pool not very far in. He wasted no time in taking a drink and found that the water was very clean and tasty. After refreshing himself, he took up exploring the caves once more. There were plenty of routes he could use to escape if need be, and there was another ‘room’ at the end of all of them, containing a massive pool of dirtier water on the western side, taking up a third of the space.
“I'm glad I found this place, it's almost perfect!” He mused before setting down for bed in a small alcove that was part of a group that seemed to be carved into a long, wide hallway.