The Remnants

A boy walks alone through a decaying sandstone city. He carries nothing but tattered rags for clothes, a note and a heart shaped locket. The wind howls through the buildings and kicks up sand into the boys face. He does not react, he had been walking for days, with nothing but his thoughts and memories to keep him occupied. His feet were calloused from the brutal landscapes they had to endure, but the boy kept pressing on. Through desert, and jungle, through rivers and lakes, the boy did not stop. The ruins of the old city brought some comfort to the boy, he knew that some time ago humans roamed this land. This feeling of safety and comfort was ripped away when he started thinking about what had happened to the him and his family in this city Before the boy let his feelings of insecurity degrade to outright fear, he had began thinking of his mission. What had been a few years of travel felt like a lifetime for the boy. He was not wrong in thinking that however, he had been traveling for more than he had been settled. The boy was maybe 17, he had lost track of time after travelling countless landscapes and environments, slaying countless beasts and fellow men alike.

The boy began to recount where everything had began. His mother, that was where it had started. Her smile, kindness, affection and name were burned into his very soul. Eva, was her name. He smiled as he remembered his father calling for her.

The next memory began to dribble into the young boys mind, it was nightfall, and the moon was full in the pitch black night, he had been told stories by his father, that were passed down to him by his father and his father before that. A legend passed down from generation to generation. The story was of the sky, long ago before the god's tribulation, when the ancients had dominion over the land and sky, and seas. The night sky was not a barren, lifeless void, it was filled with a complex beauty. An uncountable number of sol's had reign of the night sky and formed beautiful patterns and shapes, it had colors of inexplicable shades. The father told the boy that his name was chosen after one of the patterns in the sky. And so the boy became enamored with the story, pleading for it to be read to him every night. The mother would call the father's name every night, Adem that was his name and so it was engrained into the boy's soul.

The boy smiled as he remembered his father, he was strong willed but just, he had always been kind to his family and friends. The next memory flooded into his mind like a burst dam, it was his most vivid and recounted one. He had recently celebrated his 7th birthday and was already in high spirits. He spent the morning sparring with his father, whilst the afternoon and evening was spent learning from his mother, she had been the city's physician for years, but that was not all she had been in her life. Before moving to the sandstone city in Uruk-nammu and settling with her husband, she had practiced forbidden arts. She had kept this a secret from all in the village, as witches were hunted and killed in Upias. The father was reluctant in letting the boy learn something that may harm him if ever exposed, but the mother was adamant about teaching it. As the sol began to set under the land of desert the full moon began to rise in the dark night. A gust of wind had swept into the young boy's room and he had felt a chill unlike he has ever felt before. The wind was not cold, no, something was wrong. The boy peered out from his window to see men dressed in the garbs of guards holding torches and wielding strange daggers. The boy knew something was wrong, he had met all the guards during festivals and visits to his house, his father was a guard after all. Yet, these men wielded daggers, and not swords of steel. He began to turn around from his window to warn his parents. Just as he opened the door to his room, he heard a knock on the front door. His father went to answer it and was met with a dagger carved of Sol Stone in the chest. The father staggered back with the knife lodged in his chest, he turned to see his son staring at him, his boy on the precipice of tears. The father grit his teeth in anger and let out a war cry, he pulled the knife out of his chest dripping with blood. Adem plunged it into the neck of one of the trespassers. Eva rushed out of her room to see Adem at the door, Adem turned around and with all his will and might he yelled "Run". Eva did not hesitate, with teary eyes she took her child into his room, blocked the door and escaped from the window with him in her arms.

Eva used the shadows to hide from the attackers, she moved from house to house in silent focus, all while she carried her son. One of the false guards had seen her sneaking about. The man approached her unsheathing his dagger. Eva had noticed the composition of the dagger right away, it was sol stone. She knew who these men were, it was the same men who hunted and killed her sisterhood, witchfinders. They used the remnants of the ancients to enact a strict rule over the people of Upias. She held her son tightly in her arms, preforming an incantation. As she finished her spell the witchfinder burst into flames, he did not let out any screams he seemed unfazed by his sudden state. As he walked towards the duo his charred body began to disintegrate until nothing but a pile of ash was left.

The boy winced remembering that night, after so long, he reached his destination it was the house he used to live in. The roof had collapsed due to time, weather, beasts or men. He attempted to open the door but could not something was blocking it, instead he scaled the house and entered through the roof. He found nothing but the bones of his father leaning against the front door. He expected that his father was dead, but it made it no easier on him. He knelt down and cried with a long and deep sorrow, he had always held out hope for his father but now that hope had vanished just like the setting sol. As nightfall emerged the boy put himself back together, as best as he could anyways. He searched the house for any remnants of his past life he could carry. In his parents room, he had found the sword and sheath his father kept, it was a scimitar with an immaculate blade that could cut anything.

Although Eva and her child ran they could not escape, the witchfinders number was too great. They were cornered in an alley, Eva knowing that the witchfinders would soon descend upon them. She set her child on the floor and thought hard. Even with all the knowledge she had accumulated there was only one way to get out. She broke a stone against one of the walls, and used the sharp end to cut the palm of her hand. With her blood she created a rune that acted as key to the underworld. She took her sons hand and told him "My sweet boy, this will hurt but you must be strong", she cut the boys palm and squeezed his hand into a fist, his blood dripped onto the key. The mother talked in an primeval language. From that she had summoned a greater demon and pleaded with it to form a contract with her child and act as its familiar. It had refused and the mother continued to summoned demons, each time sacrificing years off her life. All of them declined a deal, with the last of her strength she summoned a lesser demon, one looking for opportunity. She had summoned Agoth, a self proclaimed devourer of souls but nothing more than a child amongst demons. It had promptly accepted her contract, the rest of her life for the demon to offer its services to her son. The mother weak now, with not much time left, assigned her heart shaped locket as the demons home. She grabbed her child's hand and croaked out a "Sorry" before bursting into tears, she kept apologizing, and her son soon join her. They embraced for a while, then the mother wrote on a rag. Eva heard the sound of an army march towards them, it was the witchfinders. Eva spoke to the boy, "I love you so much, my sweet child, I should have listened to your father and kept my magic in the past. I am so sorry". She breathed weakly now, "You must keep this locket with you, the familiar inside of it will keep you safe. This locket has been handed down to me from generation to generation, it stretches back to the time of the ancients. And this note, keep it with you, so you do not forget who you are." The witchfinders steps hit a crescendo, the boy began crying saying he would be better, he wouldn't be a bad kid, he'd do anything to stay with his parents. Eva just shook her head and spoke for the last time "No, no, no, you were the best son anyone could ask for, mom and dad love you with everything in our hearts." she let out a final tear, "Please stay safe my one and only child, Leo". With that the witchfinders encroached into the alleyway, and before the child could say anything he had been teleported away through his familiars magic. He fell to his knees and cried, even after his eyes dried out, and his throat grew hoarse, his pain did not leave.

Leo had traveled for so long, faced countless foes, and lost too many friends all for what the note had said "Leo, you will become a great man someday. Your father and I will watch over you always." He evaded the witchfinders for a time, but their grasp on the continent of Upias was far too strong for one man, no, for one boy. Although his life was short by most standards he has experienced unimaginable things, heard innumerable stories. He remembered the stories of the ancients most vividly, how their hubris caused the god's to take away the sky, the sea, the forests, the lakes, and the animals. It was only due to the ferocity and courage of 4 hero's that the planet was somewhat restored.

Leo loved hearing the stories of the ancients, and the legends of the hero's. He knew he could never be one, after all he was neither smart, nor strong, he was not adept with magic, nor was he the kindest. He was just a normal boy and he was always told, that normal men can never achieve great things. Leo however, did have something that no other friend or foe had, through trial and tribulation, through loss and hope, his tenacity, determination and immovable resolve was unmatched. "Great men are not born great" Leo thought to himself, "They are born human, flawed but with the potential to be great" and so, Leo burned this fact into his very being. He will be great, he will restore the planet, slay the witchfinders, takedown the god's himself and rewrite his destiny, his name will echo down the halls of history forever.