Prologue

It was so quite now, so different to the battle that had took place short hours ago. It wasn't long after the soldiers left that the populace of the nearby villages warily made their way to the spot, to scrounge whatever meager existence they could from the bodies of the fallen.

It was a scene Ryner was all too familiar with.

Ryner sighed to himself and looked on to a small boy wearing nothing but rags trying to wrestle boots and armor of the men nearly 3 times his size. He was seeming like any other child, but taking a closer look, one would note his jet back hair and eyes. The other villagers keep a slight distance between themselves and the boy, rushing hurriedly past and occasionally glancing up, only to glance away.

One would argue that the peasant folk were more worried about feeding themselves and their own families, rather than having to deal with an extra mouth to feed, but like with most small villages, they couldn't help but feel the need to at least make sure he stays out of trouble.

Ryner sometimes wondered if that truly was the case, hoping it was just them trying to distance themselves from a boy that was going to die soon anyways. Part of him knew that somewhere in their minds, they knew that he was something different, something to be feared, but what? Why should a tiny boy no taller than a grown mans wait be feared? They didn't know the answer either, so they did what any creature does in the face of a predator; they kept their distance.

At least this was the case for all the villagers, but one little girl, also on orphaned by the war. She sat beside him helping him strip the armored men. The look on her face is one of worship, the look one gets when looking on the face of their savior.

The boy had a determined look on his face. "They will get through this together." Their looks seemed to say. They could depend on each other, and have supported the other at one point or another. A makeshift family, although it was heart wrenchingly obvious they weren't related at all, the boy with his jet black hair and eyes, and the girl with her soft brown hair and amber eyes.

Then the soldiers came.

It was obvious why they acted the way they did, to return to the place of battle to bury their comrades, only to find them stripped naked and left for the crows to eat. Only they took it a step too far, and when the villagers look as though they were going to defend themselves, they decided to show what would happen if they resisted on the one thing no one cared about: the two orphans.

Ryner watched the spectacle, unable to do anything, and seeing this scene time after time again for so many years has left him without the will to try and intervene.

It worked out quite well really. The soldiers got to vent their frustrations, and the villagers got to feel safe knowing that no harm would come to their own family.

Or at least it should have.

Ryner awoke quickly, but not with a start, these kinds of dreams were nothing new to him. As he stretched, he took a moment to regard his surroundings.

"Still a prison cell." Ryner sighed.

His gaze turned now to the sky outside the three iron bars that served as his window, and his thoughts returned to the boy and girl getting pummeled by the soldiers, and the look of absolute terror on the girls face as maniacal laughter echoed through Ryner's head.

He stifled it out with an unnecessarily loud yawn, and glanced over at the rather large spider web growing in the corner, home to Ryner's only constant company these past five years.

"A cage is a proper place for a monster, eh friend?" Ryner chuckled to himself spitefully.

"Ah well, time to get back to work while waiting for breakfast." With that Ryner stood up and walked over to the desk littered with Books and notes. It was only through the kindness of the prison guard that he was able to have these, another person in his position would be lucky to even have hot food and clean water, or even a bed to sleep in.

Picking up the book that he had been writing in, he thoughtfully thought of what he had been doing for the past years while in this place.

Over the years he had been sending his research regarding hero relics to his good friend Sion Astal, the king of Roland. Of course, the king being a known associate of a bearer of the Alpha Stigma would only be used by Sion's opposition to topple his already precarious rule.

So Ryner gave them to the prison guard, telling him they were to go to the king. If they actually reached Sion, Ryner did not know. For all he knew the guard and his family warmed themselves over the flames of the burning research while he told his little daughter stories of the big scare demon he kept locked in the stone prison behind their house.

He chuckled to himself, he saw the house when he was first incarcerated. The man and his wife lived in a small house near the edge of the clearing the prison was located in. His wife was very pregnant at the time, so close Ryner had wondered if she was going to burst at any moment.

Their child had been a cheerful child, full of energy. Ryner recalled the few times she had come with her father to tend to him. She had been amazed he was without a doubt a person, not the scary monster she had imagined.

"Kids are so innocent," Ryner sighed again "They really don't understand some things."

Ryner's stomach growled in agreement, and he soon smelled food and the heard the sound of footsteps.

"Hey buddy." Ryner said turning in his seat "Whats for breakfast this morning…" Ryner trailed off. The Guard was not alone. With him stood two armored Roland Knights.

With eyes full of regret and sorrow, the guard looked at his friend from these past years. "I'm afraid.." he paused as though he words would not be true if he didn't speak them. Resolving himself, he spoke again.

"I'm afraid the date of your execution has been decided bearer of the Alpha stigma Ryner Lute."

He opened the cell and stepped in, placing the tray laden with food on the desk. His wife loved to spoil Ryner.

"But first," He said in a gentle voice "You had better eat your meal, and then these men will take you to the place you will be held until the appointed date."

Ryner was still in a state of shock, and had not noticed that he had tightened his hands around the edge of the table, loosened his grip with an audible creak.

Part of him had hoped, dearly earnestly hoped that Sion would have some kind of plan to get him out of here, he was the king after all. But it was because he was the king; he could not let Ryner go. Ryner was a danger to everything around him.

Ryner recalled the time he was imprisoned, remembering that he had almost killed Sion with his own hands. He recalled what Sion's throat felt like, having the life slowly squeezed from it. He recalled Kiefer's face, barely conscious after the Estabul soldiers had attempted to violate her and how slender her neck felt as it was being crushed in his demonic crazed grip while he watched helplessly from inside his own head.

It was thanks the Sion that the only others to die were the Estabul men, Ryner still felt bad there wasn't even a body left to bury, but that was pushed aside by the rage at having their entire company massacred after being lead into an ambush.

That was one of the last times he saw both Sion and Kiefer. Sion visited him briefly after his imprisonment, and Ryner declared his intent to research the Hero relics, or "Rule Fragments".

He had seemed to have interest at the time of Ryners research, but kings can't waste resources and time on unearthing legends.

The last time he saw Kiefer, she declared her love for him and promised him to find a cure for the Alpha Stigma, however it was no longer safe for her to stay in Roland after being discovered of being the very one that led them into the ambush.

Putting his head in his hands, Ryner cursed the fate he bore, cursed the friends that had betrayed him and cursed the parents that had abandoned him.

After a moment he sat up and started eating the meal laid before him.

The Guard was unnerved by the sudden change in his friend. Just a moment ago there sat a broken man before him, bent under the weight of the world. Now he was eating away ravenously like a mad dog tearing into its prey.

And still Ryner ate. He ate every last bit, even the bits he had never paid much mind to before. He would have eaten the bones and the plate if they could be digested.

Looking up at the guard who now had a mix between shock and worry on his face, Ryner simply replied "You wife would be upset if I spent my last meal complaining about her cooking."

The Guard started sobbing uncontrollably, crying for his friend that could not seem to even shed a tear in the face of his down death.

Picking up the cup filled with a dark liquid, Ryner sniffed and was pleasantly surprised to find wine.

"Hey common now, you aren't the one about to get executed." Ryner said comfortingly, reaching out a hand to pat his last true friend on the back.

Ryner downed the cup of wine in a few quick gulps, washing his mouth of the taste of betrayal