“No one is coming to save me.”

Those were the words Haki muttered before he, at the tender age of fourteen, cast aside all thoughts of hope or salvation.

It wasn’t not that Haki didn’t want to believe it but be he had been disappointed to many times that he eventually stepped bothering.

There was no knight coming to the rescue.

No galloping into the sunset.

No grand quest or adventure waiting for him beyond the city’s walls.

Not that he expected such for himself.

Orphaned at a nascent age, starvation etched its mark into his bones which were surprisingly robust

Survival was almost impossibly hard at times but a relentless drive born from the depths of his suffering kept him moving.

Even amidst the filth and darkness of his prison cell, that fire burnt for reasons He didn’t fully understand.

One thing he understood plainly well, however, was the possibility that be often entertained.

That, if he ever got the chance, he would set the world ablaze.

So that for a brief, hellish moment, the world would be united in agony before finding peace in death.

“Get up, worm! You have visitors, if you can believe that!” One of the dungeon’s guards spat from beyond a wall of iron bars.

Haki raised his head from a filth lined stone floor, leaving behind his fellow prisoners although, unlike they who were covered in scars, the seemingly untouched brown smoothness of his skin could be seen beneath the grime.

The cell was dark, lit only by a single torch in the corridor beyond its walls. It smelled like piss, shit and death which was the same for all of the dungeon’s lower levels. Floors which were lined with the guilty, the innocent and the bubbling corpses between them.

Haki raised his dark brown eyes to glare at the guard who wore tattered leather armor on top of his a grimy green uniform.

As for Haki, he had nothing to cover his meager frame but old torn rags.

His damp kinky red hair messily covered his face and he brushed a little of it to the side to properly stare daggers at the guard.

“Who is it?” Haki snarled only for the guard to kick the iron bars, making the young man flinch.

“A pouch of silver told me not to tell so shut up, get up and follow me.”

Haki bit his teeth and did as instructed, leaving his cell as the guard opened it. His empty stomach filled with dread as he wondered what was in store for him but be steeled himself for the worst – a tactic often used by those who are frequented by pain.

He then followed the guard down a hallway lined with cells towards a staircase at the end.

It led to the dungeon’s first level above ground which was filled to the brim with guards and heavy with the stench of mead.

Since he hadn’t been imprisoned for a serious crime, he didn’t have to wear iron binds which spared him from a lot of the torture the guards would often dish out to those they found guilty.

He was still frequently abused but it was nothing in comparison to what happened to the murderers and rapist.

The guard led him to what appeared to be an office wherein he saw a small woman who wore a black, silky gown sat. Her head was obscured by a black veil cloaking her in mystique. Her form was harshly illuminated by the pale grey morning light that fell from the cloudy skies above.

Standing next to her was a knight clad in steel armor which was adorned with the crest of the illustrious House Ardhi. A crest which depicted a shield, at the center of which stood a tree within a mystical circle. The knight wielded a broad sword and a shield which bore the same crest as the uniform beneath his shiny plates.

“Please, sit.” The woman prompted in a voice so soft, it could barely be heard in the near silent office.

Haki did as instructed while keeping an eye on the man in steel.

“If everything in the cosmos is the product of causality and everything that is was meant to be then maybe you weren’t a mistake after all.” She muttered ever more softly than before.

“Huh? What are you on about, lady? What do want from me?” Haki asked loudly only for the guard behind him to slap him in the back of the head and while the man in steel wanted to raise his sword in response, the veiled woman raised her right hand ever so slightly, stopping him.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you respect?” The guard snapped but Haki simply clicked his tongue while rubbing the back of his head.

“Wouldn’t know. My old lady’s probably dead in some ditch somewhere and you still haven’t answered me, princess. What do you want?”

The woman took a deep breath, a moments pause, before finally exhaling while assuming an upright posture.

“While I do not know who or where your mother is, I know where you father is. Or maybe I should say that I know who your father is.”

Haki’s eyes widened to their limits and he clenched his jaw hard.

“Look, Lady, I don’t know what kinda game you’re playing or what you really want but you can fuck right off-“

Chuma stopped as the woman lifted her veil, revealing a face which Haki and the entire region of Ardhi recognized. Her beautiful dark skin and youthful face seemingly glowed in the dimness of the office.

Her dark eyes stared at Haki unshakingly and belonged to none other than Lady Fure of House Ardhi – second head of one to three Great Houses that ruled over the world.

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“Does that mean-“

“Yes, your father is Lord Kutsunga.”

“Wait- what?” The guard exclaimed loudly.

“Ma’am, are you sure it is safe to release that information here?” The steel knight asked as Lady Fure lowered her veil, covering her face once more.

“Just how little faith do you have I me, Sir Darian?”

“My apologies, Lady Fure, I meant no offense.”

“I know but the boy was going to make a fuss if I hadn’t so let us move on.”

Darian lowered his head.

“Now I’m sure you have questions but they are going to have to wait until after you meet your father although he stressed that the choice should be entirely up to you. So… will you stay, be put back in your cell and live the rest of your days among the filth of this land, wallowing on the brink of starvation or will you follow me to the Seat of Kings where you will be given not only food and shelter but purpose!”

Haki bit his teeth and his face contorted violently.

This wasn’t even a choice but what enraged him further was the fact that, if he chose to follow Lady Fure, he would come to face his father - the man who left him to the wolves.

But… it was also an opportunity.

He would never get another chance to confront him.

The offer of food and a roof to sleep under didn’t hurt either so Haki leaned back and relaxed his face while trying his best to smile even as tears welled in his eyes.

“Thank you, my lady, for coming all this way to make such a generous offer to one as lowly as I. Allow this humble one to accept.” He bowed with a shaking voice.

“Good. I am pleased that you chose to come willingly. Now, follow me- oh and you, guardsman. It would do you well to remain silent on this matter if you have anything to live for. You will be free to gossip as soon as his existence is made public.” Lady Fure warned while standing up.

“Y-yes, My Lady!”

Haki remained silent while following Lady Fure and her knight out of the guard tower and onto the dank streets of the northern outskirts of Ardania, the capital city of Ardhi.

Waiting in front of the guard tower was a sturdy looking wooden stagecoach which Lady Fure was helped into by Darian who then gestured that Haki enter as well.

Haki complied and sat in front of Lady Fure who’s gaze seemingly never left him although it was hard to tell due to the her veil.

Darian joined the carriage’s driver, another knight, and the group set off immediately after, passing by a small crowd of curious townsmen.

As the carriage made its way South through the outskirts, Haki found himself thinking about his supposed relation to the Lord of Ardhi.

“Huh… I guess that explains the red hair. Why is that, anyway?” Haki asked through cracked lips while glancing out of the window. Beyond the mucky outskirts were the great stone walls of Ardania and beyond that was the plateau which was said to be the Seat of Kings.

“Those born with the blood of House Ardhi have a deep connection with the world and the vitality within. That explains why someone who has led a life as… eventful as yours barely has any scars.”

“Oh… I see.” Haki sounded while trying to calm his heart which hadn’t stopped racing.

Years of hardship had taught him to be skeptical and even cynical but as soon as the possibility that he could meet his father arose, all of that was undone.

As if the boy who was cast aside all that time ago was loudly crying out for some sort of paternal connection.

A foolish smile crept onto his face as he acknowledged the fact that Lady Fure may have been using him and his clear weakness for her own means but the child within foolishly chose to break his promise to himself.

He chose to hope.

“I’m guessing you’re not my mother.” Haki raised an eyebrow prompting Lady Fure to lower her head slightly.

“I am not.” She answered curtly and while Haki expected himself to feel disappointed, he didn’t.

If anything, her monotone delivery felt strangely comforting.

He scoffed at himself for somehow getting involved in whatever this was and turned his head once more towards the slums beyond the carriage.

Rows upon rows of rickety, damp wooden buildings were haphazardly build next to each other and crawling along the narrow spaces between them were the downtrodden, the outcasts and the outlaws.

Although each of them were strangers, their weary faces were all Haki ever knew.

He looked ahead and saw the grand iron gates of Ardania.

He wondered what the faces of those within looked like.

Were they all pretty and clean like Lady Fure?

The carriage eventually arrived at the near twenty meter tall stone walls of Ardania.

At the iron gates were several knights who barred all entry into the city with the exception of members of the Merchants Guild and foreign diplomats or other such special guests.

Lady Fure’s carriage was allowed into the city without question and Haki didn’t even need to be fully inside to see just how different Ardania was from its outskirts.

To begin with, unlike those of the outskirts which were paved with mud and piss, the roads within the city were made of smooth, equally sized square shaped blocks of stone. A structured uniformity which matched ththe grand buildings which lined the streets.

The people who could be seen walking about or dining at restaurants wore strange clothing made of shiny fabrics and, of course, they were draped in jewelry. Among them were guards and other officials who tended to their needs.

Haki turned his eyes toward the grand staircase near the center of the city. That which led up to the Seat of Kings.

“Now, before you can even think about meeting His Lordship, you must be thoroughly cleaned and be dressed in the appropriate attire.”

“Huh?” That’s the only sound Haki could make in response and before he realized it, he was being roughly handled by Darian who scrubbed him from head to toe in a bathhouse the stagecoach had stopped by.

Haki kicked the knight in the face when he got a little too handsy, breaking the Knight’s nose in the process, but it wasn’t enough to save him.

He was then dried and forced into some stiff black clothes by a group of seamstresses and before he knew it, he was back in the stagecoach with Lady Fure.

Haki’s mouth simply hung open as he tried processing what happened and while he sat in shock, Darian hopped back onto the coach which eventually reached the grand staircase.

“Alright. The time has come.” Lady Fure declared as she was assisted off the wooden vehicle.

“You are free to turn back, if you wish. The Freedom of Choice is a most precious thing so consider every possibility. Or, more plausibly, think about what would benefit you the most. That is how great men think. That is how you father thinks.”

Haki bit his teeth.

It was a trick question.

There was only one answer.

Forward.

.

..

After ascending what must have been no less than a thousand steps, an exhausted Haki was led into a grand Palace of dark stone but he was far too tired and far too hungry to think about how beautiful any of the architecture or the furniture looked.

All he could think about was the grand doorway which led into what Lady Fure called the Throne Room.

Standing by it were two knights who opened the two great wooden doors revealing a grand chamber lit by a row of candle bearing chandeliers.

At its end was a man who stood next to a grand wooden throne which was covered in intricate carvings that depicted the crest of House Ardhi.

The man, like Haki, had red hair although his temples had begun to grey. He had dark skin and his dark eyes were like blank dots that scanned everything in sight with what looked like scorn.

He wore dark, clothing that seemed heavy and stiff although it didn’t affect his upright posture.

The man, Lord Kutsunga, silently glared at Haki who silently approached and ultimately stopped alongside Lady Fure who bowed but Haki remained standing.

He stared at the man who he had been told was his father but just as his racing heart grew its fastest with a mixture of excitement and hope, the man’s face twisted into a scowl.

“One would think that whore would have taught you some basic etiquette at the very least but your blatant disrespect proves otherwise. Oh, well. All learning begins somewhere.” The man sighed while walking towards Haki who frowned in confusion and anger at the man’s words.

“Kneel.” The man instructed but all Haki could do was let out a dumbfounded “huh” before suddenly having his head slammed onto the marble floor.

Haki’s confusion turned to internal cries of agony as he realized that somehow the man had dashed in front of him in an instant. He had followed this by grabbing Haki’s hair and forcing his head onto the floor.

The middle aged man then placed his foot on the back of Haki’s head and scoffed.

“Your form is appalling but this is your first time so I will forgive you. Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Lord Kutsunga, seed of House Ardhi but you will simply refer to me as ‘My Lord’. Is that understood, runt?”