Hello and welcome to another chapter of Sun Thief. I recently put out yet ANOTHER FT story and im having mixed feelings. Am I making too many stories because I have something like 3 going on right now.

My name is Fatherfail and I like writing. I think that was a bit obvious. Im did have this chapter finished but I decided to throw it out after I noticed that the flow was completely off. Anyways, here we go.

Varso, X1000

A new day had risen and the workers were out breaking the rock like they had done for over 4 months. However, there was newfound energy in them as they chipped away at the dusty rock and sweat under the hot sun. Osman stayed in his tent, reading the journal. It was surprisingly well written, for a criminal with almost no education. The journal seemed to say the facts about Jackson's life like his age, birthday, parent names and how much education he got. He was only 18 years old, his birthday was Frost Day, Kaelia which was the equivalent to January 14th. His parents were Manuel Parson and Gertrude Parson. He received almost no education for his parents worked in the mines and were soon killed after Jackson's 13th birthday.

The most important details though, was as if Jackson was telling them himself. Osman could hear his voice, feel every emotion in his voice and he could almost see his face. It was as if the journal had carried Jackson's soul through the years. Osman could not bring himself to put it down.

Rainsford had a mayor. Every city did. But Rainsford was no ordinary town. It was one of the only seaports that allowed foreign ships to dock. Although, there were not many foreign ships in our time. The Sagonian Empire stretched from the Black Isles to Fiore in my time. I have no idea how large it used to be for it seemed like the empire was in decline.

The mayor of this town, loved nothing more than wealth and he had plenty of it. He adorned all of his daughters with golden jewelry and fancy clothes simply to show off his wealth. He also hated the crews of thieves that plagued the city. The only thief lord he tolerated was Bubba. Any thief that was caught in the city, had their right hand chopped off as punishment. The mayor tried hard to get rid of thieves like me but we were smart. We knew the city. We survived.

The mayor had special dealings with Bubba and his crew of thieves called The Smokers because their hideout was near a bronze pipe that let out grey smoke. Bubba might have been on the good side of the mayor but he wasn't stupid. He would never give away the location of his hideout. The mayor relied on Bubba for information on the thieves but neither of them trusted each other.

The only thing they had in common was their hate of magic and love of money. I was one of the few thieves in the city who knew magic. The mayor's name? Though he was little more than a pawn in a big game of chess, he had a name. His name was Adam Yosser.

Rainsford, The Black Isles X -400

It was night but the sun still shined. People chose when they wanted to sleep. Jackson almost never slept. He couldn't afford to. He was essentially the father of 30 children, some even older than he was. But as he stared out the broken glass window at the very top of the Runner hideout, he couldn't help but think of his parents. His parents, the very people who had brought him into this cruel, poverty stricken world. There were mines in Rainsford but only the poorest of the poor worked in there, meaning Jackson's parents…

~5 years ago~

"Jackson, brush your teeth!"

Jackson groaned and opened the rotten wood door of his room. His hair was messy and his clothes were dirty with a collage of different colors staining the once white fabric.

"Ma! I don't need to brush!" Jackson shouted downstairs to his parents.

"Son just do as your mom tells you! We are going to the mines so be good while we are gone! Know where the knife is?" Jackson's dads voice carried up the stairs.

Jackson walked into the bathroom and grabbed the side of the mirror and moved his head out of the way as it swung on hinges and revealed a collection of knives, one being over a foot long. Jackson stuck his head out of the bathroom.

"Yeah I got it!" he shouted down to them.

There was a grunted as his parents opened the door to the house and left for the mines. Jackson pretty much sat in his room all day, sleeping. He didn't notice the sound of the explosion or feel the tremor before the explosion happened. But for some reason, he was awoken by the sound of tapping.

Tap Tap Tap Tap

Jackson forced his eyes open and got out of his small bed. He was sleepy and he barely made it down the rickety wooden stairs and went to the front door. A man stood there, his face showing several emotions. He wore a clean suit, a nice bowler hat and was carrying a black brief case. He was tapping on the dirty glass pane door. Jackson slowly opened the door, having grabbed a knife from the bathroom before coming downstairs and holding it behind his back. The man waved to Jackson and smiled a sad smile.

"May I come in?" he asked nicely to Jackson.

Jackson nodded slowly as the man stepped into the house and sat down at the old wooden kitchen table. He placed the brief case on the table and Jackson sat down at the table with him, knife hidden under the table. The man on closer inspection had black hair, light brown eyes and he seemed to seem stricken with some sort of emotion. His pale hands quickly undid the latches on his briefcase and opened it. Inside were thousands of golden crowns. Jackson nearly fell over from the massive amount of money that was in the briefcase. He looked at the man suspiciously.

"What that." He said bluntly.

"You may not be aware of this but," the man's voice broke. He fixed his tie and took a deep breath. "Your parents are dead. A mine explosion killed them both. This money, is the money your parents have been saving their entire life. For you. I also have the adoption papers. It seems that your family was on good terms with the Vamnia Family and your parents arranged for you to be adopted by them should anything happen to them." The man said as he handed the papers to Jackson.

Cold. Dead. Angry. Disgusted. Pained. Broken. Jackson felt this as he reached out to take the papers from the hand of the man. The signatures were authentic and Jackson felt a tear come down his face.

"Ma parents. They dead?" Jackson asked, the hand not holding the knife curling into an angry fist.

The man nodded sadly and stood.

"The Vamnia Family will send a butler to get you. You are lucky young man. The Vamnias are a respected family and they will take care of you. They are very nice people." The man said as he opened the door and left Jackson alone.

He stood there for a while, thinking. Thinking in the decrepit little house he lived in for 13 years. He had loved his parents. He truly had. The reaction took a few minutes. It built up, like pressure in a bottle and finally exploded. He stabbed the knife into the kitchen table, screaming in rage. He knocked over the briefcase, sending golden coins spilling all over the dirty wooden floor.

"MY PARENTS ARE WORTH MORE THAN THIS! MORE! THEY WERE WORTH MORE THAN THIS! THEY MEANED EVERYTHING TO ME!" Jackson screamed as he slashed the table into pieces with the knife he held in his hand.

Jackson continued to rampage through the house, breaking nearly everything he came across. He smashed the wooden railings of the house, smashed windows, smashed doors in, smashed his bed into pieces. He finally ended up in the bathroom, staring at a broken mirror. His face was bloody from the cuts from broken glass, his eyes wide with anger and his body seemed to flame. He made a fist and smashed it through the mirror and pulled his fist out, blood flying across his clothes and the floor. He grabbed the mirror, tore it off the hinges and threw it into the bathroom. He grabbed every knife he could and stuffed them into a bag. He put everything he cared about into a bag and awaited for the Vamnia butler to arrive.

He eventually did. An old man wearing a suit, he was nice. Jackson was escorted into the carriage, the spilled money gathered and given to Jackson once again and the adoption papers handed to him as well. The carriage rode off to the huge estate that over looked the city he lived in, Rainsford.

The man had not lied. The Vamnia family was very kind to him. Their daughter and sons protected Jackson fiercely from bullies who called him "street rat" or just "rat". The Vamnia family educated him to speak properly, dine properly and for a while, Jackson lived in comfort and luxury. But he kept the collection of knives underneath his bed. One day, a bully made a comment on his mother and the bully went down in a hail of punches. His step sister and brothers had not been there to hold him back. Jackson broke his nose, his collarbone, and several other parts of his body. He even pulled a knife and threatened to kill him. The boy ran and never came back, the family simply moved to a different city.

A big change came on Jackson's 16th birthday. He was given all the money his parents had left for him and told to go chase his dreams. The Vamnia family gave Jackson credentials, enough to earn him a high government office easily but Jackson took a different path. He sold the credentials to some random man in the taverns and used the money his parents left him to get him into the Runner thief gang.

The Vamnia family eventually moved out of Rainsford and Jackson never saw them again besides the occasional letter from his sister and brothers. He had felt awkward in the noble world but as a Runner, he flourished. He quickly overtook even the most veteran thieves and soon became the second in command. Time came to choose the next thief lord, Jackson was chosen. His legacy had begun.

End flash back

Jackson had been gazing absent mindedly out of his window the entire time. He snapped out of his daydream and looked down at his desk. Only the piece of paper that Oleg had given him lay on it. Jackson unfolded it and looked at it once again. He tapped the paper with his fingers and circle several words. A high chance his adopted family would be at the festival. He stood and opened the wooden door to his office. Oleg, Nick and Ebon were busy playing cards with a few other kids and Vale stood in corner, twisting his knife back and forth. Everyone looked up at Jackson as he exited the office.

"Vale, you're in charge until I get back. Don't do stupid things. Nick, Oleg, Ebon, come with me. We need to take a little…walk." Jackson said as they stood and nodded.

Streets of Rainsford, near King's Crossing.

King's Crossing was the center of the city and was the place where people gathered to listen to the recent news, watch plays and also watch executions. Thankfully none were happening now as Jackson and his lieutenants walked the streets, knives on the quick draw. People walked around, dirty bodies mingling with dirty bodies. Jackson led them to a small café with a rising tower. They went inside and were greeted by Alvinus, the man who ran it.

"Alvinus, im going to the top of the spire. A crown for your trouble. Tell no one to disturb us." Jackson said as he handed Alvinus a crown and he nodded.

They went up the long stone steps that led to the single table where Jackson used to eat when he was younger. The view was perfect. You could see King's Crossing, the dirty streets, the slums, the houses of the nobles, the house of the mayor and the harbor too. It was a tight squeeze for everyone but comfort was not the objective of this meeting. Jackson pointed across the street to a few kids holding knives and smoking standing in front of a big wooden scaffolding.

"Look across the street and tell me what you see." Jackson said as he looked up at the top of the spire.

Everyone saw the 2 kids and looked back at Jackson.

"2 smokers. So what? They pretty much act as the unofficial body guard of the mayor anyways." Nick said to Jackson.

Jackson closed his eyes and strained to remember the time. Had it been 7 in the morning? No, 6. Bingo, show time.

"Alright, now look across the street. Anything change?" Jackson asked.

They looked again to see that the kids had disappeared and that the gates to the noble village was opening. Out came a young woman, Ebon's age wearing a fancy red dress and golden bracelets on her wrists and a golden necklace around her neck. She had straight blonde hair and a slightly tan complexion and she seemed to be hurrying towards somewhere.

"Alright, a girl. So what?" Oleg asked as he turned to Jackson.

Ebon didn't feel too good about what Jackson was about to say. As the second in command, he knew Jackson's crazy schemes. Jackson opened his eyes and looked at his 3 most trusted lieutenants.

"Gentlemen. I have a plan."

This was super awesome to write and I loved the flashback part the most. There was a reference and a hint in the chapter so see if you can find them! Thanks and don't forget to review! FF