This one holds importance to me for a potentially meaningless reason, but I still love it. I have always felt that a good villain is the key to a good story. All good villains must also have a great origin. What made them who they are? What drove them to commit evil deeds? Yes, a villain can just be evil for no reason, and I’ve used that as well. But a morally grey villain can be sooooo much more fun.
Chapter 1
It was a calm afternoon in a coastal village called Thale. The sun was beginning to set over the water, and the weather brought a cooling breeze through the houses. The village was not very big, and it only housed seven or eight families, but it survived during these hard times. It sat on the coastline on the north-western border of the Light Territory.
The buildings in the village were made of local wood and looked rundown. They had a darkened gray tint to the outside, likely from the coastal air, and some windows were busted out. The roads between the houses and the shops were nothing but packed dirt, and it wouldn’t take more than ten minutes to walk from one side of town to the other.
The people here were mainly fishermen. Some of the wives would weave clothing to make some extra coin with any merchants that may happen by, but they mostly were a self-sufficient group. There were no guards or established security in the area. However, the men kept weapons in their homes in case bandits tried to attack them.
This was where a young boy named Elijah called home. He and his family had recently moved here just over a year ago and were welcomed with open arms. The people of Thale took to them quickly and helped them dig in their heels and establish their home.
Elijah lived with his father, mother, and brother. His father was a fisherman now, but they had moved from place to place because of his last job. Elijah was your typical five-year-old; his clothes were dirty, and he asked a lot of questions, but he was very bright and learned at a rapid rate. He loved spending time with his brother, especially out on the water.
Jeremiah was his brother’s name. He mostly kept a tattered shirt and some torn pants on. He was fourteen and was Elijah’s biggest teacher. With their father occupied with his work most of the time and their mother taking care of the house, he became Elijah’s mentor and did his best to teach him everything he could.
Jeremiah was beginning to learn how to use his elemental powers. He could throw a lightning bolt and almost call down a strike of lightning, but he hadn’t mastered it yet. He would try to get Elijah to do the same, but all he could ever get out of him was a small spark from his fingertips.
“That’s okay, Elijah,” Jeremiah said as his little brother struggled to cast an attack. “You’ll get the hang of it one day, then me and you can go on a grand adventure together.”
“That sounds like fun,” Elijah said with a big grin.
“We could go to all of the Territories and see the world. It would be amazing,” Jeremiah began to daydream.
“But what about mom and dad?”
“Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. They’ve already seen everything the world has to offer.”
“But I don’t want to leave them.”
“You’ll change your mind one day, you’ll see, but until then, I’ll stick around with you,” Jeremiah said with a smile.
“Do you think it’s time to eat yet? I’m starving,” Elijah said as he scratched his belly.
Jeremiah looked toward the sunset and said, “I think it may be. Let’s go check on Mom and see if she’s done.”
The two of them then scurried off from where they were and went to their home. As they walked inside, they were greeted with the warming smell of a hot cooked meal and knew they were about to feast. The brothers stepped in and sat down at the table. Their mother, Angelique, was still putting out some food when they approached.
“Are you boys hungry?” Angelique asked as she placed the last serving of food on the center of the table.
Angelique was a more petite woman. She wore a bandana tied around the top of her head most of the time and kept on a set of spotless basic garments most of the day. She had long blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jeremiah said as he licked his lips.
“As soon as your father gets here, we will dig in,” she stated.
Almost as if he heard her talking, their father walked in the door and sniffed the delicious food. He was a stout man with broad shoulders and a mean look on his face most of the time. He was very quiet about his previous job and did not talk much about what he did throughout the day. He wore very dark-colored clothing when he worked, and he always seemed to be nervous about something.
“Right on time,” Angelique said with a smile. “How was the trip?”
“It wasn’t bad. We caught plenty of fish, at least enough to last us for a week,” Rufus replied.
“That’s good to hear. With the winter months coming soon, we’ll need all the food we can get,” Angelique stated.
“Speaking of that,” Rufus said, “I’m going to need you boys to go out tomorrow and try to bring in some more fish. I don’t expect much, but it will be good practice for the years to come.”
“Are we actually going to stay here?” Jeremiah asked.
“As long as we can,” Rufus answered.
“I don’t understand why we have to move so much to begin with,” Jeremiah stated.
“It’s complicated, son. I’ll explain it to you one day when you’re older,” Rufus said, brushing off the conversation.
“Maybe we should tell him,” Angelique suggested. “It may be for his own good. Just in case th-”
“No. Don’t even mention it. I’ll tell them when I feel they’re ready,” Rufus declared.
“Okay, if that’s your wish,” Angelique agreed.
Jeremiah and Elijah knew better than to ask what they were discussing, but they already knew. They may be kids, but their intuition was enough to connect the dots. They knew their father was running from the people he used to work for. They did not know who that was, but they knew it was why they were on the move so often. However, they dared not to ask for more information because the last time Jeremiah began to get nosey, he was punished for his disobedience.
Once they finished their meal, they were told to get ready for bed. They crawled onto their bunks and pulled the covers over themselves. Angelique came in and gave them a goodnight kiss as she tucked them in.
“Goodnight, Mom,” Elijah said as he rested his head.
“Goodnight, boys,” Angelique replied. “Get your rest. You’ll need it for tomorrow.”
“We will, Mom,” Jeremiah replied.
“I love you both,” Angelique stated with a smile.
“We love you too,” Jeremiah replied.
She turned and left the room to accompany her husband to bed. After the brothers were silent for a few minutes, Elijah spoke to break the quiet ringing in his ears.
“Jeremiah, do you think we’ll get to stay this time?” Elijah asked hopefully.
“I doubt it. Dad will decide it’s too dangerous to stay, and we’ll have to run away.” Jeremiah said as he turned over in his bed.
“I hope not. I really like it here.”
“Yeah, me too, but you should know by now that we’ll never get to stay in one place for too long.”
Elijah sighed quietly and turned to his side. He wanted to stay in Thale, but even though he was only five, he could also remember the last place they were at. He remembered how fast they had to leave and had heard Jeremiah talk about how often they moved before Elijah was born.
He drifted off into sleep as he pondered about their living situation, and it felt like only seconds had passed before he felt his brother shaking him awake.
“Elijah, wake up. We need to get ready to get out on the water,” Jeremiah said.
“But it’s so early,” Elijah complained.
“Quit whining. We need to grab the boat and go,” Jeremiah grumbled. “Get dressed. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Elijah growled as he rolled out of bed. He slowly pulled his clothes on and slipped some shoes on his feet. He stepped out of the front door and was greeted with a crisp chill that surprised him.
“Come, I’ve already got the boat on the water,” Jeremiah said.
The sun was barely beginning to shine through a thick fog surrounding the village early in the morning. The brothers had woken before anyone else and tried to beat the others to the better fishing areas.
They both made their way to the water and climbed into a small boat with a few fishing rods and a large bucket inside. They sat down, and Jeremiah grabbed an oar and began to row them out into the water.
The fog was dense enough to block their view of the village within seconds of rowing away, so they didn’t want to go too far and risk getting lost on the water.
The chilled air made their breath appear in front of them, and Elijah began to pretend he was a dragon breathing fumes into the sky. Jeremiah smirked as his little brother pretended, and he kept rowing.
After a short time, Jeremiah stopped rowing and used the oar to slow them down to a halt. The water was completely still, so he figured it was a perfect spot for them to settle in and try to catch some fish.
“Grab a rod. I know you’re not very good at this yet, but we need to try and bring some fish back, so we’ll be out here for a while,” Jeremiah explained.
“Ugh, I hate fishing,” Elijah moaned. “Why can’t we do something else?”
“Because this is what Dad wanted us to do. Now quit crying and grab the rod.”
Elijah grouchily grabbed the rod and cast it out into the water. It didn’t take long for them to start getting some attention, and within the hour, they had caught a few fish. Jeremiah threw his third fish into the bucket and looked at his little brother, who had just recently caught his first.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of this in no time,” Jeremiah stated encouragingly.
“I doubt it, fishing is stupid,” Elijah grumbled.
Jeremiah chuckled a little bit and then looked out around the water. He had expected to see at least one or two boats come by, as this was a popular spot to fish amongst the villagers, but there had been absolutely nothing. He paid it no mind, assumed they were somewhere in the fog and kept fishing.
As they continued fishing, Jeremiah began to grow more and more suspicious. He thought he had heard some strange noises echoing across the water, but all types of sounds came from the sea around them.
“Hey,” Jeremiah said to get his brother’s attention.
“What?” Elijah asked as he placed another fish in the bucket.
“Have you seen anyone else go by at all? Or at least heard anyone?”
“No, just us.”
“I feel like someone else should have come around by now.”
“Maybe they stayed inside because it is kind of cold.”
“I don’t know. Maybe we should go back and see what’s going on.”
“We’ll be in trouble if we go back now. We don’t have enough fish.”
“You’re right, I’m just being paranoid.”
The two of them kept fishing, and the fog started to clear more and more as the sun fought to shine its light through a thick layer of clouds that hung in the sky. Jeremiah placed another fish he caught into the bucket when he saw something that caught his attention.
“Elijah, do you see that?” Jeremiah asked as he pointed into the distance.
“See what?” Elijah asked.
“That light,” Jeremiah stated as he focused on a flickering light that came from the direction of the village.
“Yeah, it’s probably just a torch light.”
“A torch wouldn’t look that big from this far away, something is wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we need to get back now. That’s a fire,” Jeremiah said as he rushed to grab the oar and started paddling them back toward the village. Elijah quickly reeled in his lure and lowered his pole as his heart rate increased.
It didn’t take long for them to get close enough to see what the light was coming from, and when they did, panic began to settle in immediately. The entire village was burning from top to bottom.
“I’m scared. What’s going on?” Elijah said as he clung to his brother’s arm.
“I don’t know, but we need to find Mom and Dad,” Jeremiah stated calmly as he rushed to get them to the shore.
Once they touched land, another grim reality settled in. There were bodies of their neighbors scattered around the burning homes, and blood stained the sand and dirt beneath their feet. Men, women, and children had all been slaughtered, but their parents were nowhere in sight.
Elijah fought back tears as he stuck close to his older brother’s side. This was the first time he had seen a dead person, and he did not know what to do.
“Stay quiet,” Jeremiah whispered as he looked at his little brother. “Don’t worry, we’re going to be okay.”
“But I’m scared,” Elijah said as he began to breathe faster.
“It’s okay to be scared. I’m scared, too, but don’t freak out. We will find Mom and Dad and get out of here together. You can do this,” Jeremiah said with a grin.
The two boys slowly moved around as they looked for their parents. They made their way toward their home and saw a man wielding a bloody sword coming toward them. He was a normal-sized man wearing all black; even most of his head was wrapped in a black fabric.
They ducked behind a piece of debris and waited for the man to get closer. The man had no idea they were there and nearly walked right on top of them when Jeremiah jumped up and placed his hand over the man’s mouth. He surged a wave of electricity into the man and stunned him into unconsciousness.
“Let’s go, we need to get out of here,” Jeremiah said as he waved Elijah onward.
They continued toward their home when they saw a big group of people standing just outside their front door. They quickly ducked into some bushes to get a better look without being seen.
They nestled into position and saw their parents on the ground in front of their home. They wanted to run out immediately but didn’t know who the other people were. Both their mother and their father were tied up, but they were alive; they were on their knees and were talking to five different people.
It was hard to determine what the people looked like, but they could tell there was a giant man, a woman, a very skinny man, and two average-sized people. The one in the middle was the easiest to see, and they could see a mask on his face that was all black with a blood-red stripe over the left eye.
“Did you think we would never find you, Rufus?” the masked man asked.
“I knew this day would come eventually, Adsimulo, though I had hoped you would have just let me be,” Rufus replied.
“It’s Herra Adsimulo,” the woman corrected angrily.
“Easy, Jaycee, there’s no need for formalities at this point,” Herra Adsimulo stated. “You cannot do what you did and expect just to leave. No general is ever allowed to have a family, let alone a child; it’s an offense punishable by death. Your family could be used as leverage by someone to pry information from you, and you know far too much about our whereabouts for us just to let you walk away. So let’s get right down to it then, where is the boy?”
“He died many years ago. There was a bandit raid on a village we were staying in, and a stray arrow hit him in the heart,” Rufus stated.
Herra Adsimulo laughed devilishly and said, “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth,” Rufus replied.
“So, the son of the great Rufus dies by a stray arrow, that’s highly unlikely. He’s somewhere around here, and I will get it out of you, one way or another. Rooka, grab the harlot,” Herra Adsimulo ordered.
The giant man immediately crouched down and grabbed Angelique by the back of her hair. He picked her up to her feet and waited for any orders.
“Leave her out of this. This is between you and me, Adsimulo,” Rufus grunted.
“Tell me where the boy is, or I will slit her throat,” Herra Adsimulo stated.
“It’s okay, dear. I love you,” Angelique grunted through tears as she winced in pain.
“Let her go, damnit! Don’t you dare lay a finger on her,” Rufus shouted as he tried to stand to his feet.
Jaycee kicked him in the face to knock him back down as Herra Adsimulo crouched down next to him, “Last chance, Rufus. Where’s the boy? He may know something, and I can’t risk that.”
“All I want is peace,” Rufus stated.
“Wrong answer,” Herra Adsimulo said as he grabbed a dagger from his waist and quickly sliced it across Angelique’s throat.
Blood splattered across Rufus’ face as it spewed from his dying wife’s throat. Rooka dropped her and watched as blood began to pour out of the wound. She slowly tried to crawl toward her husband as she choked on her blood, but she died before she could make it to him.
“NO!” Jeremiah shouted as the blade slid across his mother’s throat.
He charged the five people surrounding his parents and blasted Jaycee in the chest with a bolt of lightning that knocked her backward. He didn’t make it much farther before he was grabbed by a different man and smashed in the face with a ferocious left hand that nearly knocked him out.
Elijah ran with him but wasn’t concerned with any of the attackers. He was moving as fast as his legs could carry him towards his mother. Tears were pouring down his face as he fell by her side and began shaking her.
“MOMMY!” Elijah shouted as he tried to wake Angelique up. “Please wake up.”
After he nearly knocked the young boy out, the man picked him up and held him by the throat as he pressed the tip of a sword to his heart. He twisted it a little to draw blood and grinned with an evil smirk.
“Theokeles, hold on just a moment,” Herra Adsimulo ordered. “What do we have here?” he asked as he looked down at the crying child.
“Leave them alone. They don’t know anything,” Rufus pleaded.
“So not only did you lie about the first one, but you had another and didn’t tell me,” Herra Adsimulo said, “What makes you think I will believe you now?”
“I promise, I have not told them a thing. I wanted them to have no part of this,” Rufus stated. “Please, don’t hurt them. Do whatever you want to me, but please leave my boys alone. They have nothing to do with this.”
“They have everything to do with this, Rufus. Because you decided to make them, we had to come out here and tie up loose ends. We’ve done remarkably well keeping the cult a secret so far, and we can’t have an idiot messing it all up,” Herra Adsimulo barked.
“Please let them go,” Rufus begged.
“I’ll make you a deal. You and the older one can go, and the young one will come back and be a slave for the cult. How does that sound?” Herra Adsimulo teased.
“The slaves aren’t expected to live longer than a year. He’ll die. Take me instead,” Rufus offered. “I could easily make it ten years there.”
“No, my offer is final. Also, it’s non-negotiable. You and the older boy will be leaving, and the little one will be my slave. Consider it a punishment to your bloodline for betraying the Cult of Chaos,” Herra Adsimulo shouted. “Theokeles, kill him.”
“You got it, sir,” Theokeles said as he rammed his sword completely through Jeremiah’s heart and out of his back.
Jeremiah twitched a little as the shock coursed through his body, but it only took a few seconds for his eyes to roll into the back of his head, and he was dropped to the ground.
“I thought you said we could leave, you lying bastard!” Rufus shouted in pain as he watched his oldest son fall to the ground dead. The pain in his heart was overwhelming as there was nothing he could do. Elijah was crying hysterically next to his dead mother as he watched his brother get killed as well.
“You both are leaving,” Herra Adsimulo said calmly as he tightened his grip on the dagger he killed Angelique with. “You’ll meet your family in the afterlife. The small one won’t be too far behind you.”
“You’ll pay for this. All of you will,” Rufus said as he sobbed on his knees. “In this life or the next, you will all suffer for the blood you’ve spilled today. I curse you all for this!”
“Boo hoo,” Herra Adsimulo mocked. He raised his dagger above his head and crammed it downward into Rufus’ skull, killing him nearly instantly.
Rufus fell to the ground, and the last image that went through his mind was the picture of his youngest son crying in confusion. Elijah’s screaming grew louder as his entire family was killed right in front of him. He was torn apart on the inside as everything he had ever known was taken from him in an instant.
“I’m glad that’s finally taken care of,” Herra Adsimulo said as he wiped the blood off his dagger and placed it back on his waist. “Someone shut the boy up and bring him with us. We’ll throw him in with the slaves once we get back. Let him die in there.”
Rooka punched Elijah in the head to knock him out and picked him up, then the five of them disappeared into the distance and left the village to burn to the ground. Everything the small boy had known was gone, and he would wake up in a new place where no one was expected to survive.
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