9th day of Vernal, in the year 1092
Today was probably one of the busiest days for the people at the mountainside town of Backridge.
Last year, the winter was unusually harsh for the people at Backridge. With many blizzards and snowstorms, it has forced many townsfolk to stock up on food and stay indoors for the entirety of winter.
With the arrival of spring however, the sun regained its strength and it began to chase away the cold of the winter.
For the people of Backridge, this is the greatest opportunity to get back on the road and start earning a living again. The streets were the busiest it has ever been. Merchants set up their stalls, farmers begin to toil away on the soil again, and miners begin to lift their pickaxes to head straight to the caves.
Liam, just like the rest of these townsfolk, was also busy. Though in his mind perhaps, whatever he was doing was way more important than anyone else. At least Liam thought so.
Liam was busy screaming for his life.
'You son of a b*tch, come back here'
'F*ck, can anyone hear me? I am going to die already again?'
His body was already getting unbearably cold. His voice was slowly fading, and the smell was getting more and more unbearable.
Liam Mason, was just a regular college student. One day, in the middle of the night while he was up late reading novels, he looked out of the window and a bright fiery light came crashing down on him. When he woke up, he became a baby in the arms of a woman before being promptly dumped here in this trash bin. It has been hours now, and despite the busy noise outside, not a single person could hear him screaming.
'What kind of crimes have I committed to warrant being hit by a meteor? A truck can't get me so you sent a meteor after me?'
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. So he kept on screaming, hoping for a chance to escape. He couldn't tell the exact time, but he estimated that it had to be at least 3 hours.
The hunger, pain, and cold was slowly getting to him. It was slowly but surely getting to him. The more he shouted the more energy he lost, and soon he decided it wasn't worth it anymore. He could only hope that somebody for some reason would come into this alleyway, only then would he use his final energy reserves to alert them of his presence.
Time passed, and the sun was slowly dipping to the west. The sounds of footsteps on the road grew increasingly infrequent, and even the birds have all gone back to their nests to rest for the day.
'I am really going to die twice in one day. How ridiculous' Liam chuckled but no sound came out of his mouth.
Right now, Liam is powerless. Even if he wanted to move and shout, he did not have the energy to do so. He couldn't help but remember his past life. He missed his family, and friends very much. He wondered how his little sister was doing now that he was probably gone. He imagined the pain his parents would feel once they found out about his death.
He was filled with regrets, all the actions that he did and didn't do flashed back into his mind like a slideshow.
'Maybe, I wasn't the best son, or brother, or friend.'
At this moment, he swore that if there is another chance, he would begin to do things differently. With that final vow in his heart, his thoughts slowly drifted away, and he lost consciousness.
However, fate has another twist in store for him, just moments after he passed out, light footsteps echoed in the deserted alleyway.
A boy with red hair, and sharp matching red eyes came into the alleyway. The boy's name is Roland. He looked about 3 or 4 years old, and he was very thin, and wearing wet rags covered in mud. He has scars all over his body, especially his arms. On his shoulder was a brown sack riddled with holes. He walked slowly and silently until he came to the trash can.
'This is the last bin today, hopefully I can find something good' Roland thought.
He stood on his tiptoes and lifted the covers of the bin fully, then he peered inside. His face turned pale instantly, 'This...'
Roland let out a gasp and slowly dropped the sack he was carrying. He picked up the baby, and cradled it in his arm. The baby was so cold and stiff that it was hard to carry. Roland's heart was beating like a madman, and he tried to figure out what to do. He put his fingers in front of the baby's nose and slowly but surely he still felt a breath of life.
'He is still alive.'
Roland's eyes sparkled with a renewed determination as he bolted out with the baby still tightly cradled in his arms. He ran and ran, and ran. He felt as if he never ran as fast as he did right now.
Not when he was chased by the Dark Dog Gang. Nor when he was fleeing for his life from a Monster Mole Rat.
Soon he arrived at a dilapidated stone house at the outskirts of the town. Although a bit overgrown, the house still looked very nice. It has a chimney with smoke blowing over the top, 2 floors, and many windows. Arriving at the door, you can see that it is full of childish drawings of animals and other things like that. The sign on the top state's "Mary's Orphanage". Roland slammed the door opened and shouted
"Mom, are you home! Please come here right away. I need help."
Inside the building, it is remarkably clean and cozy. There was a fireplace and a bunch of kids were sitting around it playing with some sort of marbles. There was a big dining table and kitchen as well to the left. Looking closely you can see that although clean, everything has signs of heavy use, things like the sofa being patched up over and over again. Roland quickly glanced around and made his way to the fireplace, and set Liam down on the chair nearby it.
Not long after the sound of footsteps came down from the stairs. A middle aged woman came down, with a tired look on her face. She had her hair tied to the sides of her shoulder and she was carrying another baby in her arms feeding her a milk bottle.
"What's wrong Roland? I was busy taking care of your new sister Rose."
She spoke softly with a gentle smile, as she looked at the kids. However, as soon as she spotted Liam, she quickly rushed to him. Her face was grave, and she began to work with the utmost care on him.
The whole night while Liam was still unconscious, she was taking care of him. She brought him food and water. She changed his clothes, and even cleaned him. It was only until his condition stabilized that her expression grew a little better.
She sat on the chair and cradled both Rose, and Liam in her arms, doing so with a smile.
After a while, Roland comes up to her to check on Liam.
"Mom, how was the baby? Is he okay now?"
"Lucian is fine now Roland. Come here, you did a great job today."
Saying so, she put both babies down on her lap and beckon Roland to come near her. She places her hand on Roland's head only to be quickly slapped away by Roland.
"Mom, don't treat me like a child. I am already 6. Also, who is Lucian?" Roland said as he looked slightly annoyed.
She ignored his childish concerns and simply laughed it off.
"Lucian is the name I am giving this baby boy. It means light or illumination. Just like the first sun after a long winter."
She smiled at the baby, and then looked back at Roland.
"Anyways, Roland, you did great today. But do you mind telling me the full story of how you found this baby boy?"
Hearing so, Roland carefully recounted the story from beginning to end. After Roland finished recounting the story the smile on Mary's face is no longer as bright as before.
Roland then seeing this looked a bit nervous.
"Did I do something wrong?", he said as he avoided eye contact.
Mary, then stroked Roland's head again this time succeeding and looked him in the eye and stated.
"Roland, did you lie to me? You said you are going out to help Uncle Desmon, why are you looking through trash?"
Roland then became anxious and nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Uhh.. I am sorry mom"
"There won't be any punishment since you did such a great thing today. But I don't want anything like this to happen again, understand?"
"But mom, we don't have much more money. At least doing this, I can help by selling scraps and stuff I find to make some cash back" Roland shouted back defiantly
"This is not a matter you should worry about Roland. Your uncle Desmon and I are already working hard. Now that it is the month of Vernal, your uncle Desmon can go out hunting again. Uncle Desmon is a Rank 1.."
"Uncle Desmon is going to get enlisted to the wall soon!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Roland's shout cutted her off.
Mary frowned, "How did you know about something like this? Anyways, you don't have to worry about this, it is not a guarantee yet, we still need to talk with the supervisors and maybe-"
"Maybe what? Everybody knows once you get enlisted you are required to serve your time!"
Saying so, Roland ran up the stairs, leaving Mary's mouth hanging.
'This child..' Mary sighed, and then shook her head.