Valorpoint Academy School Grounds - Vespa’s Capital City - Many Years Ago

A boy in his late teens swung his feet over a small stream as he sat on a stone bridge connecting two streets. He leaned back onto his hands as his emerald eyes swept across the beautiful gothic architecture of Vespa’s capital city.

A soft breeze blew through his messy black locks as he appreciated the scenery. Tall and thin, the buildings interlaced with delicate designs that offered a sense of wonder and mystery. A smile danced along his face as he daydreamed of taming a mythical creature and riding off into the sunset, to faraway lands filled with riches and adventure.

“Wow, they're really giving it to the new kid, huh” he could hear a passerby chuckle as a group of his classmates passed behind him. His smile wavered briefly as the coldness of reality clawed back his attention. The boy rose, dusted off his school uniform, and slung a small satchel over his shoulder.

As he walked back through the gate into the sprawling academy’s school grounds, he noticed a small group of well-dressed boys standing above a slightly smaller blond-haired boy.

“That’s what you get for looking at my girl, commoner trash,” One of the larger boys spat as he slicked back his short golden hair and gave another kick to the small boy’s ribs.

“Please, I assure you there's been some kind of misunderstanding!” the smaller student pleaded, cowering in fear as they continued pelting him with sharp kicks.

The green-eyed boy’s brow furled, and his hands balled into fists before he felt a thin pair of arms wrap tightly around his stomach from behind and something press against his back.

“Don’t...” Breathed a girl’s voice from behind him, the word closely followed by the scent of strawberry perfume.

“This is always the hardest part…”

“No one else will...” He sighed as he looked up to the stunning blend of reds and pinks streaking across the evening sky.

“Jasper, please...you’ve hardly healed from the last time...” whispered the girl’s voice as he felt a dainty hand run along a bruise on his abdomen.

“Don’t you think I know…”

“I can help him Vinae, If I don’t...then what’s the point of all this” He sighed as he watched the younger boy attempt to stand up as the others shoved him to the ground again.

“I can’t watch you get hurt anymore...not again...” She cried into his back.

“Please! Anyone, help me!” The young boy on the ground desperately cried out before Jasper stepped away from the girl’s grasp and turned to face her. Her long black hair draped loosely over her crimson Valorpoint uniform as he barely managed to match her tear filled gaze.

“You worry too much...besides, don’t you know the hero always wins” He reassured her, forcing a brief smile before turning and walking towards the commotion.

“Is that any way for a noble to behave?” The green-eyed boy asked as he dropped his satchel and approached the smaller boy on the ground. “Whatever happened to noblesse oblige?” He asked while glaring at the leader of the nobles before shifting his gaze to the first year. “Everythings going to be alright”.

“Fuck no, you don’t get to pull this shit again Jasper,” One of the three nobles said as they grabbed his shoulder.

“Come on, you don’t need to do this...” Jasper said as he eyed the growing number of spectators.

A small group had been forming to watch the events unfolding in the academy's courtyard, classes had ended some time ago but the few students who remained were drawn like moths to a flame.

“Oh I think it's long past due,” The leader of the nobles said as he shoved Jasper back.

“Let's teach him some manners,” Another of the boys chimed in.

Jasper shed his academy jacket and handed it to the smaller boy on the ground, who looked up at him in awe. “Hold onto this for me, would you. This shouldn’t take long,” he whispered with a reassuring wink.

“What did you say you little shit,” One of the nobles said as he approached first, throwing a wild punch.

Jasper focused his attention as he dodged the blow and grabbed the attacker’s wrist. He quickly looped a foot behind theirs and easily pushed him to the ground.

As the noble hit the grass, Jasper shifted his gaze to the onlookers. “Are you all really going to just watch these three punks torment this first year commoner? Do you have any idea how hard he had to work to even get into this academy?” Some averted their eyes, but most just stared on, indifferent.

“We need to be better than this...we have to-” He began before he felt a leg sweep beneath him and he felt himself falling.

“You think you're so much better than us, huh,” one of the nobles said as he struck Jasper in the face as he attempted to stand, sending him back to the ground.

“What I think?” Jasper breathed as he spat blood onto the thin courtyard grass. “What I think is you're going to have to go through me to get to him,” pointing to the smaller boy on his knees, whose eyes were full of wonder. “And I’d love to see you try,” He added, stark determination burning within his emerald eyes.

“Get him!” The nobles yelled as they attacked one by one.

Jasper quickly rolled backward to gain distance before readying himself. As the first assailant advanced he couldn't help but remember his martial arts instructor's words. “If you keep pretending to be a hero you're going to eventually run into villains. When that day comes, you need to make it clear why storybooks end the way they do.”

He didn't look all that imposing, but years of personal training in martial arts from one of the Vespa empires best had given him a firm grasp of hand-to-hand combat.

Jasper swatted the first punch away before he delivered a crushing blow of his own to the attacker’s lower body, the heavy strike rippling through their abdomen. They reeled back, groaning in pain and gasping for air before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

The next twenty seconds passed in a blur of adrenaline and pain as he traded blows with the remaining two. The next thing he registered was the sting of his knuckles as he looked down to the three nobles sprawled out on the grass beneath him.

The small crowd looked stunned for a moment before quickly dispersing as their early evening entertainment drew to a conclusion. “What losers...” “Three on one and they still lost” “What a joke...”

Jasper breathed in sharply before striding over to collect his uniform jacket from the commoner. As he took the eagerly offered apparel, he appreciated the true reward for his efforts. One of the brightest smiles he had ever seen adorned the commoner’s face as he finally stood up.

“Thank you, truly. I’ll find a way to repay you... I promise!” The smaller boy beamed. “Oh I almost forgot, my names Cassian”

“Jasper. Delighted to meet your acquaintance,” he responded gleefully.

“Try and lay low for a few days, they’ll forget about you before long,” Jasper said as he managed a pained bow. He smiled before turning and making his way toward the gate. “She didn't wait for me…”

The glowing feeling was short-lived however when he went to retrieve his bag and it was nowhere to be found. He sighed and continued through the gate.

As he slowly passed over the bridge he saw his bag quietly floating down the river, well out of reach. He began to lean over the edge to make his way into the river before letting out a pained groan and quickly throwing away the notion of retrieving it.

After turning around, he slumped to the ground and lifted his uniform's shirt. Blood and bruises lined his torso, but he couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he laid there. “I guess the stories never mention this part…”

After a brief respite, he slowly raised his pained body and made his way home for the evening.

Jasper’s family estate - Vespa’s Capital City

“Home sweet home,” Jasper thought as he strode through the large wooden double doors to their family’s estate in the inner portion of the city. The affluent neighborhood was home to lightly wooded areas and had several mansions spaced around a hundred meters from each other. Built and offered exclusively for use by the noble families of Vespa.

“Apologies for the delay. I had something come up,” Jasper yelled into the relatively modest two-story estate before starting to climb up the left side of the large wooden staircase that came down through either side of the home's foyer.

“Jasper? Is that you?” a soft, caring voice called back from deeper into the first floor. “Wash up before supper would you, I’m making your favorite tonight. Redbear steak, just the way you like it,” Jasper heard his mother call as he threw back a cheerful thanks and headed upstairs.

While technically recognized as nobles by Vespa’s monarch, their only true claim to nobility was their father's tireless efforts as a master blacksmith for the kingdom. As such, their modest wealth only stretched as far as to give the appearance of nobility. No guards, maids, or butlers. Just a fancy home for three among a few other modest luxuries.

“Ahhhh...I really needed this,” he whispered as he lowered himself into the steaming bath. “First three on one went pretty well I suppose. I’ll need to ask Seraphina for tips on fighting outnumbered. A win is a win though, I guess” He shrugged, resting his eyes.

“Who am I kidding...I took way too many hits. Vinae is going to kill me herself...if she even cares anymore...” He contemplated before slipping under the warm water and enjoying a relaxing moment to himself.

After rising from a rejuvenating bath, his bruised body began to feel a bit relieved. As he grabbed a towel and began to dry himself, he could faintly hear the sound of the home's large double doors open with a flurry. “That's odd, I assumed father was home already. We don’t get many guests, especially not at this hour in the evening.”

He could hear a commotion on the floor below him as he quickly dressed in a plain black shirt and pants before walking out into the upstairs hallway. The front doors were wide open and a light breeze rolled through the spacious foyer. He quickly moved towards the steps when he noticed his father lying face down on the ground.

“Father!” Jasper yelled as he stumbled down the steps as quickly as he could manage. He fell to the ground and turned him over to reveal a large puddle of blood around his abdomen. He cradled his head as he looked for any sign of life, for which he found none. “H-Hey. Come on, talk to me!”

“Look who it is boy’s, the man of the hour!” A gruff voice said from the hallway in between the staircases as a strange man walked around the corner twirling a bloody dagger.

“Jasper! Run!” he heard his mother yell before a blood-curdling scream wrapped around the corner.

He closed his father's lifeless eyes before standing and glancing around for a weapon, anything he could use. “I need to get to her!”

“You pissed off the wrong people, kiddo. Now it's time to pay the piper,” The well-dressed man drawled as he slowly stalked down the long hallway into the foyer, two others following behind him. They all wore suits and brandished daggers, some covered in a crimson liquid.

“Mama and pappa paid the price, but I think you’ve seen too much. We’ll have to remedy that.” The leader continued as he crossed into the foyer.

“They're gone, I...I did this…I couldn't protect them,” He thought before he threw a panicked glance towards the open doors where two men had now positioned themselves.

“Uh oh, nowhere to go boyo,” The man jeered as he began moving towards the boy.

His features darkened as he positioned himself, fists raised, still trembling from shock.

“Now that's more like it, entertain me a bit would you?” The man taunted as he quickly leaped in with a powerful thrust of his dagger.

Jasper instinctively dodged to avoid the strike before whipping his palm out, knocking the dagger from their hand. The man stumbled forward slightly before Jasper’s right elbow connected sharply with his chin, knocking him back.

Jasper grunted in pain as he recoiled, gripping his bruised torso from the recoil of throwing the blow.

“Keep him alive,” The leader called to the other two as he wiped the blood from his mouth and watched them sheathe their daggers.

Jasper barely repositioned before the other two men were on top of him, pelting him with punches from every direction. He deflected as many as he could before they inevitably overwhelmed him and his broken body crumpled to the ground beside his father in a bloody heap.

“Oh I’m going to enjoy this” Their leader laughed as he motioned for the two others to pick him up.

“HELP! SOMEONE! ANYONE!” Jasper screamed as the leader retrieved his dagger and brought it to the boy's terrified face. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest as his body flooded with adrenaline.

“That’s it boy! Scream for your life!” The man yelled as he began carving the boy's face with long deep cuts.

“Such a beautiful canvas” The man laughed maniacally as he wildly danced the blade across the young boy's face.

Jasper screamed and thrashed with all of his might as he felt the dagger tear into his flesh. He could barely scream anymore as the blade passed over his eyes and an endless shadow fell over his world.

“Welcome”

“That should just about do it...oh, and burn this fucking place to the ground. Make it look like an accident. You know what...don’t even bother, we paid everyone off anyway” the man cackled as Jasper could hear footsteps walking away from him.

He felt the arms release him and he fell to the floor, a stream of wet liquid flowing from his face onto the wooden floor beneath him. His hands were slick with blood as he desperately reached out aimlessly. He could hear the sound of torches being set ablaze as he scrambled wildly on the floor, attempting to orient himself. A moment later he heard the sound of the large double doors close and he stumbled towards the sound.

When he finally reached the door he ran his slick hands down the middle, searching frantically for the handle. He could hear the crackling of flames licking up the walls to either side as he began to feel the rising heat filling the room. His shaky hands finally located the handles and pulled them desperately, only to find the door sealed firmly from the other side.

“Please...help me...anyone...”

His knees gave out and he fell to the ground, resting his bloody forehead against the old wooden door. He sucked in air through pained breaths as he weakly slammed a fist into the heavy wood.

“I see you now” He could hear an unfamiliar feminine voice call from deep within his empty world of darkness.

“Who’s there? Please! Help me!” Jasper called back as smoke began to fill the large room, the flames growing hungrier by the moment.

“I can’t...I can’t fucking see!” He screamed in pain, shaking with fear as his mind began to spiral.

“Rise”

He gritted his teeth as he mustered every fiber of his resolve to bring himself upright against the door before twisting around. Pain the only thing tethering him to consciousness.

“SURVIVE!”

The word resonated deep within the core of his being as he began to push his broken body forward through the smoke, the roaring fire now almost completely consuming the foyer around him. His throbbing limbs somehow still in motion as he managed to make it halfway down the first-floor hallway. As he neared its end he heard part of the roof in the foyer collapse behind him, sending smoke and debris tumbling down right behind him.

He picked up speed, smearing blood along the wall as he approached the end of the hallway. “The window...where is the window,” he panicked before he heard a small object knock against glass.

“M-mom? Where are you!?” He cried as he stumbled out of the hallway.

He just heard another object ting off the glass again as the hallway behind him completely collapsed, shooting smoke and ash into the room. He staggered forward from the force as he felt the fire at his back.

“She’s gone now, but you are not alone”

Jasper shook his head as tears rolled down his face. He took several hobbled steps and launched himself into the air with everything he had before smashing through the first-floor window into the back lawn of the estate as fire engulfed the room behind him. He rolled a few feet before his body failed him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

“Come find me”

“I’ll be waiting at the end...”