Bryce Johnson, the "Hero of Velika" was tired. He was tired of the fighting. Tired of the blood. Tired of the demons that haunted his dreams and waking hours. He had gained power, wealth uncountable, and prestige that rivaled the gods. He should have been grateful for such renown. Yet when he thought about his achievements, they all felt hollow.
Everything he did came with a price that weighed heavily on his shoulders. His victory came on the backs of a thousand corpses. Arborea was a cruel world. His blade was stained with the blood of innocents and soldiers alike. For every demon he slew, he murdered five people that weren't. When he first joined the Valkyon Federation, he was just like every other wide eyed recruit.
He bought the Federation's propoganda hook line and sinker, yet for all the talk of taking back Arborea from the Argons they struggled dearly to even hold the home front. In his fighting and subterfuge against the Cult of Lok that had taken hold near Lumbertown and Crescentia, he had seen the way the Keeners were slaughtered by the day. He had seen what the cult did to his partners in arms.
Then when the Vampirs in poporia in league with the cult of Lok causing the entire countryside to go mad with dark magic. He would never forget the cages where Humans, Elins, Popori, and Aman lay emaciated and covered in welts and lashes, lying in puddles of blood within the cold iron cages.
The torture rooms were images he would never forget. The empty looks from men and women who were so broken that they had lost the ability to speak crushed him to his very core.
Then came what he thought would be a brief reprieve when he was stationed in Celestial Hills to investigate the Kumas that had gotten out of hand. Surely it couldn't be very bad. Oh how wrong he was. Demons and the remnants of the cult of Lok scattered the hills entrenched in their fortresses.
He had believed that he would die fighting with the elf Ryshan from Allamanathea when more demons than he could coun swarmed the camp the Symposium of Mages had set up. He had seen his comrades be torn limb for limb then devoured in the fray, yet he survived.
Then came his tours in the desert canyons of Elenea. The Giants that walked the land and their horrible armies still had a dark place in his dreams. Then came the Argons, twisted parasites that sucked the life from everything they touched. Hundreds of thousands had died to those creatures.
They terraformed the land, kidnapping and expirimenting on everything they came across. Bryce could still hear the screaming of their victims in the massive black tower strongholds they erected upon the land. He remembered as he saw half argonized men, women and children in constant agony in the tubes of liquid lining the science wing of the six towers.
That was only scratching the surface. Bryce Johnson could honestly say that he was no longer fit for duty. At least not until he took a long break back home.
With the death of his close friend Elleon, it was the last straw. He walked in to the Federation's headquarters in Velika, walking straight into Commander Sier who was just on his way to meet princess Rida.
He wore a gray suit and his white hair was slicked neatly back. He had to be in top condition and presentation for the event being held in a few days. Though top condition was normal for him.
Seeing the look on Bryce Johnson's face, Sier stopped and waited for Bryce to speak. He and the federation owed Bryce everything. Bryce had done things that mere mortals could never dream of.
"Commander, I need time off. I don't think I am fit for duty anymore. I'm requesting a month back home in Lumbertown" Bryce requested rather casually, however he and Sier were close friends who would give up their lives without questions at the drop of a gold for each other.
Sier looked over the face of Bryce Johnson, and saw the look of a tortured man. A man who had seen it all and then some. A man who above all else needed rest.
"Granted" the response was instantaneous and unquestioning. Sier's rough demeanor softened as he spoke to Bryce.
"Listen my friend. If you ever feel like you can't take it anymore, send word to me, and I promise that I will come to your side. You've done more than the federation or I could ever ask of you. I'm here for you and so are all your allies. Don't lose sight of yourself" Sier said, pulling Bryce into a tight hug.
Bryce hugged him back before the two let go.
"Thank you Sier. I'm not quitting just yet. Hahaha" Bryce laughed weakly, his large muscular frame slightly hunched with weariness.
"No problem. Just don't do anything stupid. Now get out of here and wash up. You stink of alcohol" Sier said as he gripped Bryce by the shoulder and turned him towards the door.
"Yeah, take care" Bryce responded before walking out of headquarters.
Sier stood and watched him go. When Bryce was gone, he walked to a nearby office and ordered the lady there to inform the Federation's headquarters in Lumbertown to be as accommodating to Bryce as possible and to spare no resources in ensuring he did not feel alone.
He knew the grim reality of war. Some men just shut down little by little, piece by piece. It started when they were no longer on the battlefield. They isolated and just broke. Hanging was a way many soldiers chose to end their lives. Hopefully, Bryce would not do something like that. Not after so many had passed.
Two days later Bryce boarded an airship to Lumbertown. He ran his large hand through his very short black hair. His light skin was slightly pale due to being away from the sun for quite a while.
As he sat in a window seat and stretched his legs, he looked down at the land below It slowly passed below him. The girls, the mountains, the lakes and rivers. The ride continued on for hours until in the distance he could see the town that he was born.
Shortly after, he felt the craft land at the terminal. Departing from the ship, he walked towards the high walls of Lumbertown. Greeting the guards who saluted to him and let him pass, he entered the large town. He passed Sal's groceries and the blacksmith on South Street and looked at the faces of the people he had not seen for twenty four years.
It truly was a beautiful place to be born. He could see the flag of the town flying up at the town hall. It seemed certain things were set in stone. Who he was, what he'd do and what he won't.
That night he stood at the doorstep of his parents house, the tears streaming from his scarred face.
"Bryce?" Came the sound of a hesitant woman's voice. Standing in front of the open door was his mother.
"Mom. I'm home" Bryce choked out before giving his mom a tight but gentle hug.
After all the pain and suffering, he was home.