Atuel stared with wide eyes. It was the first time he could get close enough to see the gates or walls.

The guards there were especially harsh to him. Unlike the patrol guards of the city, the wall guards would beat him at sight. They were hard faced and a scent of death followed them, never smiling once since he had learned about them.

Many a demon attacks and beast stampedes crashed onto these walls only to fall short to these warriors’ blades.

The walls were massive reaching above all the houses that were stacked above each other. Not even the city lords' manor matched them in height. Pure white with many years of battles clear on them.

Many bastions, towers, crenelations littered the walls with holes in them. He could see soldiers man the massive defensive weapons and even more standing and watching as people walked in and out of the city.

Now, cavalry lead them away from the city towards the tree lines. They wore the city lords colors, watching them with skeptical eyes.

Atuel’s fists closed tightly and teeth gritted.

Everything they had passed. The soldiers that swore to the Hua banner. All the walls and defensive structures that were manned by strong unrelenting soldiers. He was supposed to inherit it all.

Since the earliest days, he could remember being told everything he saw would one day be his. But not anymore, he was an outcast that would never call his ancestral hearth a home. In that moment, he swore he would create his own family, brothers and sisters that would die for him and himself for them.

Within moments he fell asleep to the consistent bumpy ride. It felt like a mantra that slowly had his eyes closed.

--

He jumped in his seat, hands scrambling for his saber and shield. He had heard something! Was it a bandit? Maybe a demon? Only when he felt the now familiar feeling of the sabers sheath did his heart slow down to survey the darkness around him.

The darkness for a few long seconds felt like it was impenetrable, but his eyes adjusted. He could not find his mother in the carriage, which had stopped some time before he woke up. Atuel rushed out only to find her sitting in front of a fire with a few old ladies hanging on her every word.

The wrinkled ladies giggled and laughed to his mothers whispers, whatever she was saying made them blush. Atuel could not help but smile, his mother had finally found someone willing to speak to her other than him.

Past struggles were slowly being eroded as he watched.

As he surveyed the clearing, a few mercenaries had their own fires around them in what seemed to look like random placement. He could see a few eyes with the same disdain the city folk of Anworn had for them, but they were few and far.

Atuel would have to watch out for them. He decided to get naps in the morning and evening so he would be completely awake in the night to cultivate and guard his mother. That was the only way to take care of her.

He could not fall asleep. What if a beast or demon sneaks up in the cover of darkness and takes his mother before he is awake? Or a bandit shot an arrow from a distance. The thought of losing her made his body shiver and jaw tighten.

If his body didn’t need it, he would stay awake every moment.

Only his need to use the restroom stopped him from watching from a distance.

He weaved his way out of the camp, he hadn’t eaten anything this day, but a lot of clean, pure water was made available by the mercenaries. He had made sure to gulp more than he could possibly contain, he had to be pulled away by a few guards.

Once done relieving himself, he made his way back.

But, he suddenly heard a voice in the distance crying. He could not help but gain a massive amount of interest. The closer he got to the weeping voice, the farther he went from the camp. Only when he was close enough to peek out of a bush did he find the source of the sobbing.

A figure in the darkness sat slumped down, hands spread and raised like he was begging for food or coin. The words the person said were still indistinct at this distance.

Atuel, confused and even more interested, made his way to get a better vantage point and maybe hear what the man was saying in between large gasping breaths filled with pain and sorrow.

He shivered everytime the man took the same harsh and broken deep inhalation of air. Something inside him told him to run, it clawed at his head and hole in his chest. A realization hit Atuel and with it came the effect he was so familiar with.

The Qi in the area literally burned in madness around him. The bottomless hole in his chest began to gulp everything like he had never seen before. His body started to steam at how much Qi was invading his senses.

Where was this all just a moment ago?

Atuel took deep breaths he moved closer, saber shaking in his hands. He knew deep down, this person did not even attempt to release any Qi, but it simply shook around him because he existed.

He wasn't sure the cultivator who had given him the parchments would survive against this monster.

The voice sounded clearer once he reached the very edge of the brush. It was a man that begged for something from the way he was pleading.

Who was he pleading to? What in the world could lead to someone forcing this person to plead for anything? He could take it and no one would even dare to think otherwise.

Once he found a perfect spot, he got a full image of the person. An old man with a long white beard soaked from tears. The only thing that made him seem old was the hair. His age could not hide the power that his body carried. He wasn't as thin and frail like the grandpas and grandmas of Anwron. No he filled out the clothes and cloak he wore.

And his eyes, while the tears streamed down like river torrents, were clear and focused.

Atuel looked up to where the man was staring and found nothing there. He got closer, until he could hear the words being said.

“-forgive me! Oh Merciful One. Oh Benevolent One. He who covers the world in forgiveness pardon this servant of yours! I have killed thousands, widowed and orphaned countless more. I’ve stolen the most prized of treasures and eaten the wealth of the weak!

But, I’ve learned the evil of my ways.

Please. I beg of you. Forgive me.”