1 The Fall

From riches to rags. A story as old as time, what once held all now holds none. A family full of life and love- tortured and killed, betrayed by their own. How could this have possibly happened? Did my dad really just kill my own mother in front of my eyes? Looking up at their hanging corpses filled me with sinking realization- I am alone.

…

What once used to be a thriving kingdom full of spoils, shows of wealth, and peace has become a deadly republic needing to be fled. It all started once Florine was killed. The nations proudest, strongest protector and last of her lineage of spectral leviathans. The kingdom of Giliad was founded and has been defended through its relationships with the beasts. There was a mutual respect between them for codependency as once a beast bonded with their chosen they grew in status and potential while humans gained a portion of their abilities in return. What should have been a mutual relationship was obliterated due to the discovery of the rituals- ways of killing the beasts and siphoning a majority of their powers into weapons, the stronger the material the stronger the siphon. Once the king learned of this power from the invading Avalonian's, he wiped out around 40% to 50% of the beasts residing in Giliad in his quest to find the strongest beast to secure his rule over his nation. In his ruthless pursuit of this goal, many of the beasts and former guardians seemed to go into hiding as well- vanishing with no trace left behind. The culmination of his pursuit led to him killing the sacred protector of the land, who had guarded and cherished all her people- and had once fought by the king's side as his chosen, in a fierce battle sacrificing half the legions under his command, but granting him a power so frightening he could be compared to a god. The ensuing chaos rained down upon the entire kingdom, without the beast's help basic necessities like agriculture, construction, travel, and general day-to-day tasks became much harder and more costly. The economy as it was became ruined and threw any middle to lower commoner into ruin without much way of life, and all chosen were required by law to submit their beasts before the capital to forge weapons for the kingdom's armies. The heartbreak spread throughout the kingdom as their partners and way of life were stripped from them by a selfish greedy man. So selfish that when the royal family fought against this idiotic new way of life, he murdered them all and hung them outside the palace gates to show how he would now reign with fear and terror. Rumors claim that he used Fenrir (Florine turned ritual weapon) to demonstrate the torturous powers he possessed to the public, and supposedly his youngest son was never seen hung nor was a record of his death ever reported. The country is now constantly at war for new land against their neighbors Avalon and Eshlun, for power and beasts respectively. All young men over the age of 17 were conscripted into the king's culling- a challenge to root out the best warriors of each new generation for the king's army, a spot meant your family was free of starvation and potential servitude- over the years as the new way of life set in this nationwide ritual became an honor and fantasy for all the young men. The only way to even be considered for the top few spots of the village is to perform one's own ritual and create a bonded weapon to siphon the powers of any beast to get an edge. To secure this most boys left their families at 16-17 in search of the most powerful beast they could find for this in a process now called "the hunt".

…

8 years after The Fall

…

"LEIGH YOU GET YOUR ASS DOWNSTAIRS AND EAT! IF YOUR SUPPER GETS COLD IT'S GOING TO PA!"

Ugh, I hate it when Ma gets in a mood. Why does she always need to yell? I'll just head downstairs and hope she calms down. It's a big day today, though. Gotta give her some credit for being as strong as she's being. It's not every day your son gets to go out and join the hunt! I can't wait to see what Ja'el finds for his ritual. Hopefully, he becomes strong and gets us out of this gross, dingy, mud nightmare of a house. Some actual meat would taste good for a change, any that we get is always given to Ja so that he can grow as strong as possible. I miss having fresh food. I was barely old enough to remember the brief time after the fall when we still had decent food in the house for all of us. Luckily, Father is the town smith, so we get a steady ration of oats from the capital in exchange for helping young men draw out the power of their ritual slayed. Speaking of, I can't be late for work again. I don't want another day of breathing in ashes while keeping the fire going all day as punishment. Handling all the chores is more than enough.

"SORRY MA, IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"

"It better not young man and keep your voice down the neighbors already complain as it is, shut up and eat your food we have to get your brother ready for his journey. We are giving him a couple of weeks' worth of oats to help him survive- a small sacrifice from us so he can get us out of this Florine-forsaken shitty town and back to the outskirts of the capital, where business is booming and the food is hot. Ah and there he is! rise and shine love are you feeling ok? Anything you need on your big day? Aw you are gonna make us so proud! Look at my baby boy all grown up!"

Baby boy? Ja'el is a massive 6'2" behemoth with rippling muscles across his chest and is the envy of all other boys in town. His wavy brown hair only adds to his charm coupled with a pair of bright green eyes, just like mine. The years spent hammering out weapons with father have shaped his body into a strong lean perfect hunter, along with being the dream of every girl in the village- Freya I hope I inherited those looks.

"Hey hey ma don't fuss you know it'll be alright I'll bag the finest and come out on top for the culling, I have been dreaming of getting you outta here too long- and I will make fatha proud."

"Aw that's my boy, give me a hug before you leave or I will make you regret it."

"Maa get off of me, I'm going to be late. Anyways, I'm gonna head out soon and meet up with a few of the other new hunters. We're gonna stay together for the first bit so we don't get taken out by scrappers."

Ah, the notorious scrappers. Those who have been at the hunt for over a year and can't seem to find a beast of their own lurk near villages to kill and take the beasts of rookie hunters, who are oblivious to the dangers they are in.

"Good luck Ja! I know you can do it, and I am joining the training program this year. Now I can finally catch up and be strong like you!"

"Leigh… we have talked about this. There is no need to put you in training like Ja'el. With him, we can get out, and until we do, you are gonna do all the chores in the smithy so that Father can relax and keep the capital's supplies coming in. You know this was always the plan. It's all you have been good for, born so scrawny like you are."

Scrawny? Of course, I'm scrawny. I'm 12 years old, and my short and spikey black hair doesn't help my childish appearance. I've finally started to grow a bit and am just a little shorter than Ja, but spending all day just fanning the forge fire what does she expect me to look like? I'm filled out, but look wispy due to my stark lack of muscles. Should I have arms that look like a bag of ropes like Ja? Anyways, this is about the age boys are moved into their village's training program to get those muscles to be strong for the hunt and the culling. I can't believe they are gonna make me stay away.

"Ma it wouldn't hurt for the kid to train every once and a while, I may be strong but I am going after the beast of beasts and won't settle for less- there is a chance I don't come-"

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH. You are going to come home and you are gonna get us to the capital you hear me? I don't want this nonsense of you chasing fairytales to lead you astray you find a decent beast, you catch it, you bring it on home, your father will make you a weapon of your choosing and we will perform the ritual and you will go to culling and get into the king's army. That is it. You hear me?"

"Yes ma, just thought it'd help protect him too."

"He will be fine. Now you get on your way. You got a big day ahead of you. The first night is the hardest. Now be safe out there. Mwuah!"

"Ah Ma Ma get offa me! I will I will and I won't forget the plan," He shoots me a wink, I knew he wouldn't give up on his dream that easily. Then he leans down and whispers to me while Ma is finishing up packing his bag, "Oh and L, take this, it saved my life a few times in training and it'll help you for sure too. Be safe and grow big and strong alright?" He bends down and hands me… a dagger? But it's illegal to have weapons before the hunt. How in Giliad did he get this? Did he steal it from father? And it's got a note attached… words escape me as I just stare at him one last time. 

"Bye little bro, I'm off. See you all soon!"

And just like that, he left. Ma was weeping uncontrollably, so I went upstairs to escape having to do chores for a while. And I wanted to investigate Ja'el's note. I leaped on my bed and started to read, and… I… I don't understand. Does this? There is no way it's true. Why wouldn't they tell me? How do I not remember? I was… adopted?

…