This is an idea I've had for a while. I've been working on this for ages. More chapters will be posted as soon as possible.
Since the beginning of time, six regions divided the world. The mountains, that stretched into the sky and cut through the clouds, defined the regions. Unbearable weather and deadly monsters surrounded the mountains. No humans knew what was at the peak of each mountain. All who had climbed them had died.
Monsters, territory and people differed with each region. Unfortunately, the six regions, Ice, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and the Void never got along. For hundreds of years the people have been at war with each other. The only time of relative peace was during the last seventy-five years. And even with the peace there was still prejudice.
Matthew Williams worked as a bartender in a small village at the edge of the ice region. His brother Provided all the money, so Matthew only worked to keep busy. Alfred, Matthew's brother, was a famous warrior for his home. While he fought for their regions freedom, Matthew never even left the village. Matthew's bolder, stronger, and handsomer brother overshadowed him. It was unavoidable to hide behind Alfred, since his ego who could fill an entire region. Alfred's constant mob of girls and overinflated hero complex made him hard to live with. And, if Matthew was honest, people needed to see him. He needed to stand beside his brother, not behind.
Sighing, Matthew served up cold Vodkas to a small group of people at the bar. In the early night, the bar was quiet and calm. He enjoyed working The earlier hours because the bums didn't come to drown their sorrows in beer until late into the night. Waking up the passed out men was awkward and tiring. Most of the time, They would be angry or cranky, making Matthew more uncomfortable than he already was. People migrated into the bar to escape the frosty air of the ice region. Weather in the ice region was the coldest of the six regions. Half of the year was snowy and the other half was like a chilly early spring. A large part of the region consisted of Tundras and pine forests
"Another beer sir!" A tipsy man yelled across the bar. The man chuckled waving his hand in the air. Matthew filled a glass and slid the beer to him. Matthew's village was a popular tourist spot in the ice region. Known for the cathedral that stood at its center. Because of the tourism, Matthew picked up on a lot of outside news. He would listen in on conversations floating around the bar. The rumors were the best he could get since Matthew was too afraid and far too comfortable to leave the village. The bar was filled with chatter and drunken laughter. It was easy to pick up information off of drunks. The words slid off their lips, like a waterfall. Their brains, too intoxicated to tell a lie. "Did you hear about the whisper attack in the wind region last week?" An old man with silvery hair chatted to a woman wearing fire region armer. The armor was golden with red stripes of metal woven around her torso. Despite being a woman, her armor was not revealing and did not make her look weak. If anything, it made the woman look fierce and terrifying. "A whisper attack?"
The woman had long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, with a flower holding a few loose strands in place. She held up her glass and waved Matthew over. Despite being a woman, her armor was not revealing and did not make her look weak. If anything, it made the woman look fierce and terrifying. Matthew gulped and filled her glass. He hoped he wouldn't anger the woman. "Yeah, the whisper broke into a farm house. Took the whole family 'cept one. The poor guy still believes they're out there." The old man chattered "I don't mean to eavesdrop, but what's a whisper?" Matthew asked, while he busied himself by wiping down the counter. The woman set her glass down and turned from the old man. She looked over Matthew, as If deciding something, then spoke. "Have you ever left the village, kid?"
After a monster killed Matthew's parents, he and Alfred had grown up in the village orphanage. Since then Matthew had been too scared to leave. "N-No" He stuttered under the unwanted gaze the woman gave him. The woman shrugged and took a large swig from her cup. "A whisper is a ghost like creature from the wind region. It snatches their prey from their homes. They don't kill on the spot like Eisbärs do can't see Whispers because of their speed. We only know they exist because of the whistling sound they make." The woman spoke of Whispers like she had encountered one herself, she could have. Only God knows what Warriors went through, Matthew sure didn't. "You know, Kid, You should get out if this village, go have an adventure or something. Here!" The woman flicked a gold coin towards Matthew. Then downed the rest of her glass and pushed from her seat. "If you're on an adventure in the fire region and you need a place to stay asked for Elizabeta Héderváry and I'll come, bye." She paused for a second and looked for Matthew's name tag. "Bye Matthew," Elizabeta walked out of the bar, threatening the eager, sex starved men with a frying pan.
Hours later, Matthew closed up the bar. He whistled as he wiped the tables down and stacked the chairs. After he mopped the floor and locked the bar, He started walking home. Snow fell onto the ground, collecting in a thin layer. It coated buildings like sprinkles on a cake. The houses in the village were small, simple, two story buildings. Most of them had a market or store in front, that all surrounded the cathedral. The cathedral had saved the village from an outbreak of smallpox in the hundreds of years it had existed. The village worshiped the cathedral because of that.
His house was in front of the cathedral, which was a good fifteen minutes away from the bar. He hated walking in the night. Matthew knew that the monster were lurking in the dark waiting to kill him. Any day could be his last. A trail of pale blue ice swirled around the path as he walked. Recognizing the signs of a monster in the area, Matthew sped up, trying to reach home before anything happened. Unfortunately, The monster toppled him over before he reached his house. It placed its hairy white claws on either side of Matthew, preventing escape. Ice swirled around it's feet, encasing Matthew's back in ice. The Eisbär looked like a large white bear, with two swirling ram horns on either side of it's head. It's eye were the bluest shade of blue Matthew had ever seen. Matthew knew that Eisbärs prefered to tear the prey into bits before eating. They froze the ground the walked on. Using the ice to trap their prey. Matthew screamed as the Eisbär began to sink it's claws into his abdomen. Matthew thought he was going to die without ever leaving the village. What a meaningless life that would be, Matthew thought with panic. Matthew should've left the village. As the beast tore at Matthew, he sunk into his mind.
Upon hearing the scream, people began to light the candles in their house and fire up torches. All the citizens knew about Eisbärs and were ready to attack them.
When Alfred heard the scream he tore away from the stranger in bed with him. He slipped on jeans and a robe. "Luckily Military training me how to dress faster." Alfred muttered.
He grabbed his sword and ran outside. A crowd had surrounded the Eisbär and prevented the creature from hurting the victim. They waved torches in it's face as the beast growled, snarled and snapped. "Alright." Alfred yelled, grabbing a torch from the crowd. He had a torch in one hand and a sword in the other. "Step aside, I got this!" The crowd parted and made a way for their village warrior to chase away the beast and save the unidentified man. Alfred waved the sword underneath the torch flame, heating the metal until it turned red. He lunged forward, nicking the white tuffs of the Eisbär. The monster growled, raising its paws in the air, like a frightened horse. Alfred took the opportunity to slice off the horn of the Eisbär. The horn dropped to the ground, sinking into the snow. The beast screamed and retreated into the forest. It knocked over plants and trees, toppling garden's and breaking shrines. The Eisbär screeched, disappearing in a cloud of snow. Alfred stuck the sword into the ground, then turned to the crowd. "You're welcome," He said, picking up the person from the ground, who had passed out when the Eisbär started to claw them. "Shit, Mattie! I didn't know I was saving you!" Even though Alfred seemed like he didn't care, he loved Matthew more than anyone else in the world. Alfred carried Matthew back inside and placed him on their sofa. "Don't worry little bro, Your hero, Alfred Fucking Jones, will fix you all up!" Alfred exclaimed stripping down his brother's clothes. Matthew had claw marks stretching from his right arm to is abdomen. The cuts made Matthews thin frame and childlike features stick out. Luckily they weren't deep cuts, but frostbite combined with dirt made Matthew at a high risk for infection. When wanting to become an ice region warrior, you had to have a basic level of healing capabilities. Alfred's childhood dream was to be a warrior, so he knew more than enough. He spent the night cleaning the claw marks and trying to quell Matthew's already developing fever.
O~O
"Lovino, Do you think you could fix my frying pan? I chipped it by accident." Elizabeta opened the door to the blacksmith. A man with dark brown hair that curled on his left side was hammering a dull blade. "Sure, you basket case." Lovino tossed his head to the side. "Put it on my desk," Elizabeta glared in response. She stomped over to the cluttered desk, sweeped all the items onto the floor and placed her frying pan on it. "If you weren't such a good blacksmith, I wouldn't buy from you." Lovino moved to the sharpener, "But you do. Bye bitch, you know where the door is." He pointed towards the wooden door. Elizaveta huffed, knowing he had a point, then stomped out of the Blacksmith's store. "That boy is never gonna get a wife."
Lovino placed the half sharpened blade on a cluttered desk. He placed some cast iron on in a thick steel pot then placed it under the fire. "Come on Lovi~ Try to be nice to the customers," A tall man that resembled Lovino stood in the doorway, smiling. "I don't need to be nice to them grandpa, they'll buy from us either way," Lovino shrugged, taking the cast iron off the heat. He slipped thick gloves and grabbed a handful of Iron. The heated metal was like putty, bendable, stretchable, malleable. "You never gonna get a wife with that attitude." Romulus laughed as his grandson ignored him. Lovino turned his head to face his Romulus, "I don't want a wife," Again, Romulus tossed his head back and laughed. "Are you finally coming out?" Dealing with cocky fire region warriors and his obnoxious grandfather drove Lovino crazy. "If I was gay I'd move to that weird, earth region, hick town full of dick sucking men." Lovino hammered down on the old frying pan.
As the best blacksmith in the fire region he found himself working with the warriors quite often. He has been repairing Elizabeta's weapons, Armor and frying pan, for years. No matter how many times the female warrior whined about she's only get her supplies repair by him. Sometime during Lovino's repair Romulus had left. Finishing the repair, Lovino gave the pan a quick polish and left his shop. His tools bounced against the brown apron as he walked.
His village was known for the high population of fire region warrior and the military base at the edge of town. Most tourist avoided the area due to the warriors. Lovino walked up to a large stone house and knocked. Several latches unlocked before the door creaked open. "Ciao Roderich, tell you crazy wife I fixed her pan." Roderich rolled his eyes and let Lovino inside. "She's not crazy," Lovino tugged off his shoes and followed Roderich into the main living room. "How much do we owe you this time?" Instead of wearing her normal Warrior attire, Elizaveta marched wearing a green maid dress. "Did you fix her?" Lovino nodded and passed the Frying pan to Elizabeta. "Great! Now we can go to that ball thing. Thanks Lovi~" She smiled, straightening Roderich's tie. "It's Lovino, and y'all owe me one hundred coins, two loaves of bread and goat cheese, pay up." Frowning, Elizabeta turned to the grumpy Italian then shuffled to the kitchen. She pulled out two loaves and wrapped some Goat cheese then counted out one hundred coins. "Here, your royal highness." She passed the payment to Lovino. "Now leave my house." Lovino flipped off the couple before he left their house.
He always walked through the park in his way back from Elizabeta's. He loved to sit in the tall grass, with Sun beating on his skin. Lovino loved children, but he wouldn't admit it. Children were innocent and happy. He would sit at the park and listen to the children play as he sketched. The park used to overflow with children, now it had a few lingering on the monkey bar's. The population of children was decreasing because of monster attack. The fire region monsters were dragons whose scales oozed with magma. Their jaws dripped with lava and the heat of their bodies set fire to buildings. The regions called them Mantles. Mantles went after children because the meat on them was newer. Lovino hated to see the half eaten carcases after a Mantle attack. Lovino would do anything to stop the attacks, even climb the mountain peaks. Lovino sat under the Sun until it set behind the towering mountain. He dreamt about changing the world.
O~O
Ludwig had a routine. A system he followed everyday. He'd wake up, get dressed, eat, work out for an hour, then head to the Warrior headquarter, all before the Sun went up. The Sun never shined in the void region. It was either blocked by clouds or it was night. The Sun also rose later in the day, around nine in the morning.
At the Warrior headquarters he would train new recruits for three hours, break for lunch, then work out for two hours. He almost never broke routine. When he did it was because of an emergencies. After his second workout session he'd head to the meeting room that the higher up members held. Then he'd head home, walk his dogs before the sunset and eat. After dinner he'd take a shower and read a chapter of a book, then sleep. He followed his schedule like clockwork. Ludwig didn't mind the repetition of his day. I'm fact he prefered having a predictable life.
By request from his superiors, Ludwig's schedule shifted off balance. Marshal Wilson asked to meet with Ludwig in the morning. Meaning he had to skip his usual routine. Ludwig combed back his hair and strapped on his Warrior armor. The Armor was a thin steel material made by a Blacksmith from the fire region. Ludwig preferred hand crafted armor over the void region mass produced ones. The only hand crafted armor in the entire six regions
Ludwig knocked on Marshal Wilson's doors. "It's Colonial Beilschmidt, you wanted to speak with me, sir." A smiling man opened the door, he wasn't wearing the same armor as Ludwig. While Ludwig's armor was black, the Marshall's was a dark purple. The color showed his military status. "Yes, Yes, come on in Ludwig." Ludwig followed Dr. Wilson inside, then sat down in one of the many chairs in the room. "What is this meeting about, sir?" Ludwig also made it his goal to be polite to his superiors, not because he had to. Marshal Wilson sat down in a chair right next the Ludwig, his close distance making the Colonel uncomfortable. "I needed to ask for help." Ludwig nodded his head. If Marshal Wilson needed help it must be something important.
"I'll do anything you need, Sir."
"Before I say anything, I want you to know that you can say no to this, alright?" Marshal Wilson was a little reluctant to ask Ludwig, since he knew the blond wouldn't refuse the task.
"Alright." Ludwig spoke, not drawing his eyes off the Marshal.
Marshal Wilson glanced at the door. A slight mist of rain had started outside, making it darker than it already was. Noticing the darkness, Ludwig lit an oil candle that was sitting in the table.
"A ice region civilian has started to organize an expedition to each of the peaks." Ludwig gasped, the peaks were dangerous. Everyone knew this. Not only was the weather harsher the closer you got to it, but monsters guarded the peaks. The last time someone had tried to climb it was hundreds of years ago and the man had never returned. What could have happened to this person?
"He already has three other people. Once they get one from each region they plan on leaving." Wilson paused and glanced at Ludwig, who didn't quite understand. "I want you to join them." Ludwig was even more confused. His Marshal wanted him to travel with civilians in a death trip to the mountains. What confused him more was the fact that people wanted to go to the mountains. Were they insane? And he was being asked to go with them?
"Now, I get that seems a bit crazy,"
Not a bit crazy, Ludwig thought, completely basket case crazy.
"They are going to find out about the monster attacks."
Hundreds have perished to monster attacks every year and the numbers were climbing. It had started twelve years ago, dying from them was rare, about ten a year. Ludwig understood why they'd want to go. If a person was desperate enough, they'd do anything.
"I want you to protect the civilians. You'll most likely die. But, like I said, you don't have to say yes-" Ludwig interrupted Marshal Wilson before he could finish.
"I'll do it," Ludwig agreed. Marshal Wilson turned and look at Ludwig with the most serious expression that he could make. "Alright, you leave at once. Pack your stuff. May God protect you." Ludwig left that afternoon on a carriage to the ice region.