“Do not give thought to what they will do to you.
Think only of what you will do.”
Seris

Advent

The indomitable strength and power of the Legion were once a source of pride for the Firan people, and those who heard of their deeds in battle once cowered at the news of their coming. Their numbers were without peer, their endurance for hardship was without equal, and no one among the other realms could match their ferocity and determination in combat. They had once been divided, and then they were united, and for a time in history, their dominance was unchallenged, but pride preceded their fall as they were torn asunder at the coming of the Great Beast.

Its shadow of death swept over the Firan forces in a tidal wave of war, and the blast from its nostrils incinerated men and consumed their bones reducing them to ash. Its talons were like a blade on the wind, and its roar was like the sound of a thousand thunders, and the heavens themselves were commanded by its fury, and no one could stand against it and live. It had taken days to gather the Legion and years to unite the tribes, but in a single night, the Great Beast came and destroyed all the Firans had hoped for.

Fifty years followed this tragic event, and the people of the Burning Realm lived in relative peace. The war was over, the population was healing, and unification seemed once again to be within reach. Though rumors of evil floated about, and though the tides of destruction were felt by some, festivities and celebrations were carried out to herald the season of joy they were in, but on their borders was a darkened figure whose presence would soon be felt by all, and the Great Beast watched the glow of the horizon and rose to return to the Burning Realm.

The Burning Realm

Known as the Land of War, the hardened region lived up to the moniker by being a harsh land with cracked, dry plains, dangerous burrows, cold-blooded creatures, and an unrelenting desert. And yet the Firans who occupied the territory were not only able to survive under the conditions but thrive as a large and powerful nation. United by ties of tribe and family, they were a force to be reckoned with during the Grand War, and the Burning Legion was recognized by all of the realms as the greatest and most fearsome body of fighters to ever stand upon the stage of conflict. As a result, their loss to the Great Beast inflicted such a traumatic wound on the wills of the people that no Firan could stand to face him and what he represented again.

Nevertheless, Firans were nothing if not resilient, and with no external adversary to fight, they issued their challenges to each other to strengthen themselves and recover once more. Administrators of the Twelve Tribes oversaw war games, a form of play in the region, while families carried on with their daily lives of vying for honor, respect, and recognition. Legionnaires guarded the city, the Beastmasters patrolled the land, and the Keepers recited history within their respective communities to keep the culture and hope of the people alight. The Burning Realm was a hard region that showed no mercy to weakness, but the Firans had conquered the land and would not lose ground over their hearts no matter what it cost them.

Characters

Sofa

The Comforter

Sofa knew little of conflict beyond what he saw at home. His father, mother, and older siblings knew the art, but to him, it was noisy and frightening. He saw no value in wielding it until it became necessary for the village’s defense, but he could only watch his siblings take up arms and lose their lives in the process.

Grieved and discouraged by his weakness, Sofa sought strength in a strange proposition. He accompanied brothers in tribe to a foreign land in hopes of finding it, but what he encountered instead was an even harsher world. A man took pity on him and sent him home, and Sofa was shamed.

Back under his father’s roof, Sofa tried to atone for his deficiency. He did not want to be a coward, but he felt something, a familiar presence from the foreign land he visited. He then turned to the shadows and dropped the skins he was carrying. It appeared strength had arrived in the village, and Sofa was glad to see it.

Corin

The Fighter

His father always told him to pay attention and listen, but Corin was never good at that. He was going to join the Legion and do great things. They were things of action he could not clearly define, but he knew he would do them and thought testing himself against a hunter would only sharpen him. He was mistaken.

The hunter was cold, dismissive of Corin’s intelligence, and calculating. Corin charged the dark skin but was humiliated by the altercation. Glaring vulnerabilities were openly exposed in his form and attitude, and he would never be fit for the Legion so long as those vulnerabilities remained.

The defeat cleared the blockage of pride in Corin, and he made a vow to his father. He would not return until he attained true strength, so he left to find the hunter who humbled him. He could not know what he would discover, but until Corin attained his goal, it would not matter. He had to improve or else die trying.

Eloi

The Instrument

It was Eloi’s domain to be small, without presence, and easily overlooked, so it was a wonder he was discovered in the Saline Realm at all. Found alone within a burned-out house, the only clues to his background were in the trio of charred corpses near him, but the dead were mute, and Eloi’s memories were sealed.

After a period of isolation, Eloi was put into service as a reconnaissance agent, but when the war ended, there was little for him to do. He could only watch how normal people lived until a spark of unity was ignited by a simple apology. Eloi felt something, and he knew the spark was dangerous.

Spurred by feelings he could not trace from a past he could not remember, Eloi fled through the streets from an unseen pursuer. He knew there was no escape, but he took solace in the presence of his captain. The pursuer would still come for Eloi however. His pursuers would always come, and they never failed to find him.

I will not be destroyed.

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