Centuries ago, before kingdoms rose and fell like tides,
and before the Iron blood gods carved their sins into the hearts of men,
there was eight ancient families- old as the mountains, stubborn as the roots beneath the earth. They bore the legacy of the first humans, guardians of fragile peace in a world hungry for war.
These were the Houses of the Ancients, clans bound by honor and blood.
House Valis, one of the 8 Houses of Ancient families that stem from the first humans.
Born from fire and shadows, stood apart on the edge of the western continent;Vertasia.
The houses were not bound by a crown or empire, but by a fierce will to endure, while the sprawling kingdoms of Vertasia grew fat with their conquests and riches. House Valis remained a defiant whisper; they were an ember refusing to be snuffed. And they resided on the outskirts of the Vertasian lands.
Vertasia had two sets of kingdoms. Vesteria and Vesperia, and each had their own sets of kings and queens but were independent and neutral from one another, and Vertasia's expansive empire rich in vast resources, its inhabitants could even say the same for themselves, though the few who seek asylum to this grand empire could never bare to say the same. In the centerfold of this massive landmass is the great kingdom of Vesperia, the middle half of vertasia.
Its King and queen were feasting in their dining room. While the barbarians in which they call soldiers were on guard, looking from their watch towers for any that opposed the palace. The prince and princess were sound asleep.
While There I was, a Bannerman for House Valis, on guard among their soldiers. The King and Queens have hired any men they could, about 3/4 of clansmen of House Valis, what for? I don't know myself, All I was told was to not ask any questions. And to listen to whatever the King and Queen commanded of us. But from the chit chat I could piece together from eavesdropping the conversation between the royal family of Vertasia, was the supposed threat of annihilation from the hands of an opposing ancient nation.
Rumors of their Brutal and savage tale of conquests which could strike fear and initiate a spine chilling sensation to everybody across the continents, even the isolated families from the middle isles, who couldn't speak a lick of Vertasian dialect.
My task with keeping guard of the King and Queen at all times, I don't know why I was chosen, I'm not the strongest but i know I'm not the weakest of House Valis's soldiers. But I couldn't speak for my partner who was tasked alongside me to keep guard of the King and Queen. Whose frame was fragile and small. His stature weak. The job was tedious, the king snored like a horse neighing, and when his nose was stuffed, he even sounded a little like a wolf's growl. It wasn't particularly voracious, but it was still demanding, as a King must be.
And this was the routine every night for 3 months. It was the same thing every time. Accompanying the King and the Queen wherever they went, both me and my partner would switch every other day. Throughout the evening the king would spend his time taking in requests from his citizens, while in the afternoon was dinner time. Afterwards the king and queen would meet back up in their study hall, with their luxurious violet couches made from the softest of fur from the special Vertasian Tiger which was rumored to be extinct.
While the queen spent her evening and afternoon studying in their library full to the brim of ivory covered bookshelves, full of many books and scrolls. and even painting. She enjoys her privilege of free time while her citizens were scared with the rumors of a war which loomed over the innocent civilians.
I couldn't say I liked watching over the royals, my fellow soldiers could even tell you I despised the entire Vertasian nobility. But I had to do what must be done as a son of House Valis. This particular morning, however, was like none other. I wasn't awoken with the typical fanfare from the Vertasian squires, or even the smell of cooked Lamb meat for breakfast in which the chefs usually prepared in the morning. But there was no smell of cooked meat.
Though the smell of Iron lingered across the empire, matched with the sudden rumbling of the ground beneath our feet sent over 300,000 citizens in a frenzy.
When I walked out from the walls of luxury and entered the outer layers of the wall, screaming was heard around every direction.
The sky filled with blinding beams of light that illuminated amongst the skies. When I opened my eyes, there they stood in all their "glory", if you could even call what they were doing glorious. Nothing about their brutal conquest was glorious. And yet he we were, men of house valis standing our ground, and risking our lives to stop them all.
All 7 of them sat tall onto their horses, on the back line was men, mortal men. They were archers, and by the time I could call out the signal it was too late. The arrow heads pierced the back heads of those who attempted to flee from the kingdom. Men women and children were all slaughtered attempting to escape the 7 of the self proclaimed righteous iron blooded children, the reincarnation of the 7 iron blooded gods, the vessels of the Iron heart.
My blood boiled, my eyes sharpened, my eyes pierced and matched that of the man who stood in front of them all, on his horseback and crimson armor which looked like it was made with blood itself.
"Don't step on another foot!" I yelled to the man, with pure rage pouring out of my veins.
He looked at me, his gaze left me stuck, I couldn't move, I couldn't bear to even stand, I was trembling, But I knew If I gave up now these feins would never be stopped.
It felt as if time itself was tormenting me, I could see the remnants of him and his horse, yet they weren't there.
"It ends right here!" I yelled out moving my head to the right, my sword raised and my stance on guard.
The clash of steels collided with the sound of bloodshed and agony from the citizens they have hurt.
"What's your sword made of?" I asked the man with my jaw clenched and eyes full of rage.
I punched the man. If I wanted to end it right here I would have to abandon the way of my fathers and my fathers before me. It would mean having to fight dirty for the sake of defeating another dirty person like him.
The man raised his sword, this time it was embedded in flames, flames that burned brighter than the fires that grew naturally from the depths of hell itself. Fire that drained blood from even swords itself. This sudden supernatural event is something of legend, something I haven't heard about since I myself was a boy.
The 7 deadly sins of the gods of the ironheart have returned in order to cause destruction amongst us all.
His flames grew larger and larger, he raised his flame embedded sword once more, even higher in the air than it was before, and when it came back down, he wasn't aiming for me, but the gates of the castle.
And before I could even stop him, the castle and the people itself crumbled everything went down and the people followed it in silence and with their crimson tears. Everything turned to ash. A place once filled with love and joy now covered in blood and tears at the hands of those that seek to control us like puppets. Soldiers sent to die for monetary gain. Every single one of vesperia's citizens was destroyed, and a third of my family gone.
My heart ached, my head felt light, as if I was ascending into the clouds.
My blood ran cold, and my body was burning. My ears rang and my chest twisted and tightened up in pain.
"Why… just why... Did you really have to do all of this? Did their lives mean nothing to you?" I screamed out loud with all my might so much so I had trouble catching my own breath.
"All of them are gone, you murdered them all. And what for? You all have everything you could ever want, yet you seek more and more, when will you be satisfied? WHEN WILL THIS BLOODSHED END?" My determination was all I had left, I wasn't royalty, or even a nobleman, I was a common bannerman for House Valis.
And now they are gone, now I am nothing.
Pagnados looked at me with disgust, his grin faded as he heard me speak.
My body grew warmer and warmer, I wanted to kill them all, I will kill them all. I'll make these gods pay not for me myself or I, nor for House valis, but for everyone.
"One of us" they all chanted.
My sword and body glistened in luminescence and bright white aura, my eyes red to match the blood that these "gods" had drained.
"I'll never be one of you!"
"For I am the last sword of house valis, And the first slayer of the gods!"
"Let the heavens echo my name!"
The sounds of steel rechotched once more and the light in the horizon grew brighter. The soundwaves pierced the ears of the archers and even the gods, the clouds in the sky cleared, but when the light dimmed nothing was there. What was left was a massive impact crater, and the only smell that Lingered was that of blood and iron.