The world burned around him. Fire and metal had broken the last threads of harmony, the last semblance of what had been before. Cracked cobble lined the streets of the marketplaces, shingles decorated doorsteps and walkways, wooden walls lay splintered and charred, doors swung off their hinges, and glass had been strewn all over the picture painted before Octavian's eyes. His eyes were trapped in this cage of carnage, and no direction offered relief. He needed to look away from this constant reminder of his ravaged home. With tremendous effort, Octavian picked himself up from the stone steps leading up to the well, the center of Westray, often the place where lovers met and families rejoiced. Just yesterday he was here, celebrating an ill-timed birthday with his father. Memories swirled through his head as he walked, with no direction nor purpose in mind. Using his memory, as no street showed any resemblance to yesterdays, he found the doctor's home. The door had fallen inwards, and the glass of the window panes was cracked and jagged. He followed the walkway up, a difficult task, as dirt and pieces of wood provided rough terrain. Finally reaching the front door, his eyes peered inside, to find once more the same ugly picture he had just escaped. No fires burned here, but tables were overturned and chairs scattered within the brick shelter. Octavian navigated the wreckage with relative ease, for at last, he found a temporary purpose to drive him. He walked with heavy steps to the doctor's study, searching for one thing. When stepping inside the study, a library came into view, shelves broken, with burned and torn books blanketing the carpeted floor below. Looking away, Octavian turned to where the doctor's desk had always been. The desk had split right down the middle, papers covered the area around it. Shelves usually filled with colorful liquids and herbs were scattered over the same place, sometimes staining the already damaged pages and carpet. With one last sweep of the room, Octavian found what he was looking for. An inaudible noise rose from the direction from which he was looking, as Octavian made to pick up the mass in the corner of the room. He found the wheelchair he knew so well and brought it over to the now visible man. He lifted him up and set him on the soft sturdy fabric, and proceeded to grab the handlebars to wheel him out. The man was still not quite aware yet, but had understood that he had been, to some degree, 'saved'. Just before man and boy reached the wooden door, a whistling sound startled Octavian, immediately putting him on edge. In his gut, he felt something else was wrong, and quickened his pace, but the warning whistle that had touched his ears not ten seconds before did not guarantee their safety. Octavian, with wheelchair still being pushed, looked up to see a massive boulder of fire and metal heading right for the home they had just escaped. With just seconds to spare, Octavian grabbed the man and threw himself on top of him as the metal boulder hit its target. The last thing Octavian remembered was the feel of flames on his torn coat and bare arms.
The moonlight broke through the thick fir trees to lightly kiss the floor beneath. For miles in any direction, those trees covered the woodland valley like emerald green dots on a canvas, with the occasional splash of sapphire water. The forest, home to thousands of animals, was usually exempt from the noises of man or machine. This night, however, was no ordinary night. In the oldest section of the forest, far from the bustling city life that neighbored the Aurelian Woodlands, a valley perfectly exposed to the sky dominated the land near the Romulus Waterfall. Right in the center of the valley, the two figures were barely visible through the slight mist. A man and woman were locked in a tight embrace, hanging onto each other with unrivaled ferocity. This forbidden love had endured for a full year, avoiding the watchful eye of the royal family and government. Every month, the couple spirited away during the night, always worrying about a chance of capture or potential separation. With no plans of the future in mind, this couple did not realize their monthly trips to the forest did not go unnoticed. The wheels had been set motion, the trap had been set. Tonight, there wasn't just two heartbeats in the forest clearing. Just out of view, members of the First Legion lay at the ready. The royal family had sanctioned these members to find the princess Odessa and stop the affair that had tainted the Aurelian name. Led by legionnaire Julius Valens, the two had been tracked ever since leaving the city gates. Meanwhile, the couple, oblivious to their impending doom, continued in ignorant bliss until a mistake on part of the group of the soldiers cost them the key element of surprise. Out of the corner of her eye, Odessa noticed a rather loud light on the edge of the clearing, which had been accidentally ignited by a young soldier. Realizing they only had moments left, Odessa whispered in her lover's ear, "Run!". Without another word, they both bolted for the north side of the clearing, where the waterfall tumbled down into the lake below. The soldiers of the First Legion were quick to follow. Aided by their advanced technology, forty yards were covered in a matter of a second. Dante knew that they would never make it to the waterfall, so he gave Odessa a temporary boost, a last attempt to secure her freedom. In turn, Dante would lose his. The soldiers pounced on Dante like a cat striking a mouse, knocking him to the ground. Odessa, realizing that Dante would probably not live to see the end of the week, rushed back. Dante yelled to her, "NO! Stop! Flee so that one day-" but was silence by a calculated blow to the head. Odessa, with a wild but sorrowful look in her eyes, knew that she could never save him, but could save the last reminder of who he was with the child that she carried. She ran to the edge of the waterfall, looked back one last time at Dante's lifeless body, and jumped.
Rome, the pinnacle of human civilization. The first city in the world to reach a population of 1 billion, and the first city to completely abolish all criminal activities. From here, the Roman Empire had completely conquered all of the new world and Europe. Here, the greatest collection of artists, entertainers, scholars, and scientists have developed the most technologically advanced city to ever exist. At the center of this great city, the people's plaza was located. Citizens from all over the Roman Empire visited this plaza, for it was often home to the most well-known concerts, entertainment shows, debates, and lectures. The plaza today, was more populous than it had ever been before. When the moons light shown upon the center of the plaza, Roman emperor Cato would make his last public appearance. From then on, Prince Darius would take over the crown and potentially lead Rome to an even greater future. When a life-threatening illness had been found in Emperor Cato's body seventeen years ago, he had voluntarily abdicated the throne in favor of his beloved, Empress Celeste. However, Empress Celeste had died of causes not revealed to the public a year into her reign. Sixteen years after her untimely death, Emperor Cato could no longer perform the duties required of him, and prince Darius became the best viable option. Like every bloodline to precede them, the Aurelian Royal Family had its share of enemies and a string of assassination plots against them. Not one attempt or revolution had ever succeeded against the supposed 'immortal' line of Aurelians. For the first time in eighteen years, those enemies would once more cross into the capital city of the Roman Empire and attempt to end a bloodline that had been genial to the people but ruthless to those who lived outside the comfort of the Roman Empire. These enemies would escape the shadows cast over them to remove the first major piece in what was a tyrannical government system. This plan had already been set in motion, wheels spinning evident by the two figures close to the center of the plaza, lounging on intricately designed steel chairs next to the small fountains that circled the inner plaza. The stone that made the whole plaza was pure white, almost having a luminescent glow to it, no matter what time of day. This plaza was walked on by millions of feet every day, but only two pairs of those feet knew what lay below the ten meters of white stone. Unbeknownst to the common citizens of the Roman Empire, the whole inner plaza was a movable platform, controlled by massive gears beneath the thick stone. For the first time in three hundred years, those gears would turn to reveal a marble platform that would rise three meters into the air. The time was six hours past midday, and any minute, the royal family would appear, to signal the coronation of the new emperor. The two men, who had sat in the chairs since noon, knew their task would soon present itself. If one would remove a coat from either man, one would find two pistols with a suppressor attached ready and cocked. Time had been slowly been ticking away, and the remnants of the once numerous Aurelian Royal Family had finally made its way to the platform below the plaza. Five minutes after the eighth hour, the gear beneath the inner plaza began to turn, slowly causing the center, with a diameter of about fifty meters, to sink into the ground to reveal the platform beneath it, which rose to its desired height and came to a stop. The common people, who had been shocked and scared to experience such a strange commotion, turned to the inner plaza to stare in wonder at the people upon the platform that had been elevated into the air. The whole plaza had been designed to look like an amphitheater, with each level consisting of various shops and corporations until the bottom two levels, which was just rings of open space for the Roman people to enjoy and make use of. The two men were at the bottom second level, and although being situated about 300 meters away, were incredible marksmen. Both men knew the risks of an attempt to this scale, Roman security was known to be ruthless, and there was plenty of them. Another five minutes passed, and at last, the force field surrounding the royal family was lowered so everyone could clearly see the young prince being declared emperor. The two men, upon seeing this took their cue. Pope Claudius stood above Darius's bowed head who was kneeling before him. Emperor Cato stood with his back toward the western side of the plaza, looking at the direction in which the two men were sitting. Just before the Pope declared Darius emperor, the two men stood, with both pistols drawn. Within five seconds, eight shots had been fired, all directed at the plaza below. Six of those eight shots were true to their intended targets. The first, second and third bullet pierced the thick armor that Emperor Cato wore with ease, making him hit the floor before anything was registered. Darius looked over at his father with pure horror, before he himself was hit in the right shoulder after turning just slightly so the bullet missed his heart. The force of the bullet sent Darius flying three feet before settling near the body of his father. The Pope, who had by then turned to flee, sustained a bullet to the knee and stomach, making him curl and crumple to the hard marble floor. At six seconds, the two men both reached for the last thing that remained in their pockets, a small orb. At seven seconds, the crowd finally realized the horror of the situation and caused a mass panic. Unfortunately for the two men, one soldier was situated near the left man's chair. Eight seconds, the orb had been pressed by both men, but the soldier had reached the left man, gladius in hand. At nine seconds, the soldier ripped the hood from the man and saw his face. At ten seconds, the orbs detonated and teleported the two men 1000 miles away. The soldier was frozen in shock, was thinking of the face that he saw for less than a second, thinking only of one word. With eleven seconds gone by, the soldiers consciousness had found a name, a name that he thought he would never read or hear again, Octavian.