‘I was born in Pergrande if that wasn’t obvious enough, I’d rather not get into the exact details of where. My mother was a member of the branch council there, the best one at that. There was a request for a liaison from Pergrande to visit Fiore in order to establish a stronger connection between the councils of the two countries. She thought it would be a great chance for the entire family to travel to a distant land and learn more about the world. So much foresight and compassion wrapped into one person.

So there we are, my parents and my baby siblings, traipsing across Fiore, taking in the differences. We spent days in Era and Crocus for business and pleasure, sightseeing, and meeting people from places we never knew existed, a valuable insight into the world at a young age. Unfortunately, knowledge comes at a cost.

The day before we were heading back home, my mom was invited to check out one of the council’s facilities in the Marchen Mountains. I doubt I have to tell you all what they were researching in that facility. I hated that cold, sterile prison, a perfect place to hide something like that, at least I’m sure that’s what the higher-ups thought at the time. Sometimes I still have to take a moment to wrap my head around it, a high demon, right under your noses.

It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. During one of the obscura tests the scientists were running, something went–awry.  It broke free, running rampant through the facility as security attempted to quell its onslaught. Even though it was weakened, its desire and will to conquer was immense, driving it to decimate many who were unlucky enough to be in its path. My mom was no exception.

The best part was that the demon wasn’t even the one that took her life. Amidst the rampage, one of the Rune Knights stationed there was able to enter the fray. A Nephilim at that, the day was saved, right? Except, there was a child, probably one of the staff’s kids, who knows. She was lost and crying out for help, wailing out in terror. The fight was nearing its climax, both sides exhausted and worn but the knight held the upper hand, and the demon knew it.

In a last-ditch effort, the demon noticed the little girl nearby and dispersed some of his obscura into her. Its intention was not only to create a Daemon in his service but to also disorient the Nephilim and force it into an impossible decision. Maybe he thought he was fighting some morally upstanding knight who would never have the balls to make the call. A part of me wished the same honestly. Instead, the Nephilim turned its weapon on the little girl, the wails of terror from earlier replaced with bloodcurdling roars of agony and rage as the obscura contract started to take hold.

We stood by in horror as the knight released a burst of magic, there was no confusion about its power and potency, it was a lethal attack. Before I could register what happened, it was all over. Two scorch marks remained where the little girl, and my mother, who sprung into action, hoping to– I don’t know, shield her, save her maybe? I can still hear my little brother and sister crying out for her, my father screaming her name from the pits of his being. I couldn’t muster any words, I could only look on in shock.

At least, until I saw the knight. He was sporting this cold, uncaring look as if the lives he just took meant nothing. One of those justice above all else types. I burst into a fit of rage, every fiber of me roaring out in vengeance, not that I could hold a candle to either of the combatants that stood before me. For all the stoicism that the knight displayed, the demon showed the opposite. Laughter overtook it in its final moments, its defeat all but assured. The torment that was taking place before it was a satisfying end, so much so that it decided to leave a parting gift. The last of its obscura was dispersed, same as before, except I was its target this time. I must’ve been speaking its language.

I guess I got lucky though, the Nephilim only had enough energy left to finish the demon off. It couldn’t stop the contract rites as the obscura overtook me. I could feel my malice and hatred rising exponentially, it also felt as bad as watching my mother be vaporized before me. My family, refusing to lose another member, called out to me, embraced me, snatched me from the edge of the abyss before I lost everything that made me who I am. The demon dying didn’t hurt either, there was no one to uphold the contract over me.

And the rest is history, right? Most people don’t know what happened in the mountains that day. My father returned home with my younger siblings while I stayed here. I vowed myself to the service of the Rune Knights, though you didn’t give me many options initially. But don’t worry, I’ve grown to like most of you.