It was a surprisingly quiet day, the first one in months that Felichs could remember. They lay on the ground beside a tree, legs crossed, running their fingers through their curly, brown hair that was just barely darker than their skin, while drinking water gathered from the nearby lake. 

"Ouch! Stupid knots! Ughhh, sometimes I really hate my hair. And this water…this can't be potable. This is life in Pauper I guess. My pants are all ripped up and full of holes. Shirts barely even a shirt — practically wearing a bra — but aye at least my shoes look cool. Although they're kinda tight, man I  wish that guy had bigger feet." Felichs groaned to themselves as they stood up stretched. "In three months it'll be my birthday. I became an adult last year and what have I got to show for it? Mom's still sick. No medicine. We barely have any food. What am I doing with my life? I don't care what happens to me, I just needa find a way to get mom better already. I hate this shit and I hate this nasty water!"

Felichs took another long, deep breath before pulling out a few chess pieces from their pocket. 

"A rook. A knight. Some pawns. And a stupid queen. I never understood why the queen's so loved. Like, sure, she's powerful, but so are the others. Besides, anybody can become a queen, hell even I could if I wanted to. Imagine me, Queen Felichs, ruler of Emovere! That would be something now wouldn't it…except nobody would want to call me queen because 'you're a boy not a girl' so stupid I swear. But at least I'll always have chess. It's a stressful game that's for sure, but the good kinda stress. The one that helps you forget about life's worries, take a deep breath, and completely and utterly dominate your opponent in many, many ways. Plus you can play by yourself too! Which is great…seeing as I'm always alone. Eh, at least I got that old man in Mediocris I can visit from time to time. Then again, he's probably mad that I stole from the shop next to his. At least he let me take these pieces from his old chess board. Huh? What's this on the queen? Some kinda flower carved into the bottom?" 

As they held out the queen suddenly a loud cry could be heard coming from the middle of Pauper.

"MÉNOS IS REAL! TOURNOUÁ TOU MÉNOS IS REAL!" Shouted a man on horseback.

"Great...And just when I thought I heard enough of this stupid Ménos, here comes another idiot to spread the good news..." grumbled Felichs as they put pieces into their pocket.

They climbed the tree to get a better view of the situation. As they scanned over Pauper, Felichs spotted a guy whose skin was as white as snow matching his hair. He wore jeans and a jacket that were both made of leather, topped off with spiked boots to match. He charmed no facial hair making his appearance to be of someone in their early to mid twenties. He rode through Pauper on horseback shouting as loud as he could as if to make sure the entire town heard him. Many were startled, not only by his shouting but by his odd choice of fashion.

"Who in Eirini's name would ever dress like that?" One man shouted from a fish stand.

"Come here sonny, I could use a new trash bag." An old lady gestured as she slapped her knee.

"Look, mama! I think he's the one who stole our tarp!" Shouted a little girl pulling on her mother's dress.

Pauper was an extremely poor town, one of the poorest in all of Emovere. Every building was made of old wood and if the wind hit hard enough all would come crumbling down. There were no conventional roads either as they were all made from dirt. The city had a foul odor fuming through it that, unless you were from Pauper, would make a nose bleed profusely. The council of Perdita had little to no care for the town as they removed the police force, hospital, and all other council-owned buildings.

This meant its residents either visited the local "doctor" who would give out stolen medications they did not know much of, or went to Mediocris which laid five miles to the north. So, to see someone like this was an anomaly to those of Pauper. The man continued riding through until he was stopped by members of a local Pauper gang, The War God's Reapers.

"So the Ménos is actually real eh? Snickered a young boy by the name of Snake.

"Seems so, but aye, who gave dis guy duh right to enter our turf?" Grumbled another man whom the town called Bulldog.

"Teehee, whoever he is, the boss is gonna get upset if we let uninvited guests come and go without permission!" Giggled a young lady by the name of Lana

"P-p-please gentlemen, lady, I assure you I m-m-meant no disrespect. I-I-I just wanted to make sure everyone heard or else I'd be in d-d-deep trouble." Said the oddly dressed screecher.

"Gentlemen? ZAHAHAHA! Oh, buddy you ran into duh last people who could be anythang but gentle." Bulldog huffed as he inched closer to the man.

"Besides, how do we know you're telling the truth? I mean, anyone can ride through a place yelling a bunch of nonsense." Challenged Snake as he placed himself besides the suspicious man.

"M-m-my name is B-B-Bert. I was t-t-told to deliver this message by my boss. I don't know their name, I-I-I've never even seen their face! But they massacred those people who attacked them during the first showing of Ménos." Stuttered Bert as they pleaded their case to the three individuals.

The War God's Reapers was a gang from East Pauper who had total control of its east river. Many knew not to show their face around this side of the town, the one exception being those who were outsiders. The Reapers popped up about three to four years ago and have been causing havoc ever since. The murder rate on the east side had gone up tremendously, including tensions with other gangs in the town, but the oddest thing is that no one knew who led them. The only known piece of information is that the leader has long red hair.

The situation had started to drag out and the gang's frustration ever grew. By this point, the residents had hidden well enough to watch what would transpire but not be caught. Bulldog grabbed the man and ripped off his jacket and pants while Snake stabbed his foot with a large knife to keep him from running. Lana pulled out a crowbar and beat the man mercilessly until he broke his foot trying to escape the gang's onslaught. Felichs had no thoughts of intervening, as they watched the gruesome beating of this poor man go down. They had learned all too well to mind their own business as this was the way of Pauper. Gangs ran this run-down city and you either avoided them or faced certain death. With so many gangs in Pauper though, avoiding one gang meant possibly running into another. So the better you hid yourself the less likely you were to run into them. Sadly, a few female citizens were caught, and forced to chase the man who, after breaking his foot, was able to escape on his horse. Knowing what this gang's punishment would be for women, they ran as fast as they could, throwing anything within arm's reach.

"Those damn psychopaths...I really need to get out of here before I end up like Snow White's gay brother. Ugh, I wish I could have gotten closer though. I could've heard everything they said, but at least I was able to make out his boss massacring people. Although, I don't know what idiot just tells that kind of thing to anyone so willingly...Who am I kidding, there's no way that story was actually true. I mean, come on, one person wiping out a hundred people instantly? That sounds insane..."

Felichs thought to themself as they ran home hoping to not be caught.

An hour later Felichs arrived home, but something seemed strange. It was quiet. Too quiet. Now seeing as they lived on Pauper's poorest side this was nothing new. Most people were in their houses early to avoid and made as little noise as possible so they wouldn't be found. The houses, if you could even call them that, were made up of brittle wood, topped with leaves & branches to help against weather conditions. This was not the case for the home of Felichs since, thanks to their mother, theirs was built with clay instead of wood and plotted behind a few big willow trees. While this may not have been the best idea since their house stood out more than the others, Felichs, and their mom both felt it would be safer against harsh weather and possible intruders, or so they thought, as it seemed this night brought upon Lady Luck's ugliest face.

"Why the hell is the door open?!" Felichs thought to themself as they began to panic."Calm down you idiot, you can't lose your cool.

They started scraping their shark-like teeth together, the sound causing them frustration helped ease their worried mind. Before going inside, they went to the nearest tree and grabbed their makeshift knife. After an attack from a neighbor who tried stealing their bread a few months ago, they decided to hide a few knives in each of the trees and under the dirt for safety.

They slowly crept towards the door as lightly as possible, while avoiding branches and leaves, so they wouldn't make any noise. As they leaned against the wall, nearest the door, they peered inside. Nothing was broken nor had there been any blood marks.

"So it wasn't a robbery...or a murder...I know nobody stopped by to visit. We don't have any other family that I know of and the weirdos in this neighborhood know not to visit. So, what the hell is going on?" Felichs said in a low whisper.

As Felichs took a few steps inside they noticed a light coming from their mother's room. This was strange as they didn't own any lights and they just went through their last candle yesterday. Their grip on the knife started to get tighter as their breathing grew heavier. Their rage began to reach its peak as they could only think the worst possible thoughts. Their breathing grew so heavy it could hold down a raging bull then almost instantly eased as they heard the soothing voice of their mother call out to them

"Felichs? Is that you? Come in sweetie, everything's fine, we have a guest." Their mother said as loud as she could.

Their mother had a serious illness which made it hard for her to raise her voice. With a quick braiding technique they learned from an old friend, they were able to tie a part of their hair around the handle to hide the knife to conceal it behind them. Upon opening the door, a person in an all-white suit sat drinking tea with their mother. Their face was mostly covered but they noticed a big scar that appeared to be running down to their jawline. Their suit was topped off with a burgundy top hat and burgundy gloves. This mysterious person sat one leg crossed over the other, glaring at Felichs.

"I've never been to hell but it feels like Synkrousi's aura is tearing apart my skin. So why don't I feel bloodlust? It feels warm. Like I've felt this aura before, but I also feel scared. I can feel the hairs on my body sticking up. Shit, I need to calm down. Whoever this person is they don't know about the knife behind my back, so I'm good. Calm down Felichs." Felichs thought to themself as they could feel their heart pounding.

"Greetings dear Felichs, my my, you have such a beautiful aura to you, almost as beautiful as your hair." Giggled the mysterious individual as they slightly lifted their mask and sipped from their cup. "I bet you could warm the heart of an angered beast!"

"That's funny because I couldn't say the same for you." snickered Felichs as they tried playing off their fear.

"Oh? I get that a lot." Responded the individual.

Felichs raised their eyebrow then added, "So I'm guessing my mom gave you my name right?

"I mean that would've been the easiest way, but I already knew your name, my dear. You see, I happen to know the names of all the special people in Emovere. It's kinda like a job of mine. So, is knowing when to choose violence or peace." The individual smirked as they sipped their tea. "You know, I do admire an individual ready to protect themselves, but wouldn't you agree that violence is only needed as a last resort? Especially when the presence of it isn't needed."

"Don't worry sweetie, they've been nothing but kind the entire time." Sana assured them

Felichs, while shocked, did as the visitor asked, effortlessly throwing the knife into the wall. They chuckled at the sight before offering Felichs some tea and then sat, so they could converse. The watchful young Felichs kept their focus on every word the visitor said, every pause they took, even every breath they breathed., Everything seemed to be normal, but one thing did stand out though, whoever this person happened to be, they were no ordinary individual. They seemed to be so calculated, answering without any type of hesitation. It was like they knew every statement or question that would be said to them before it was said. The fear in Felichs' body had grown again, this time even heavier than before causing their entire inner self to tremble greatly.

They thought to themself, "I want to kill this person...I just need one opening..."

"Everything will be alright my child, quell your bloodlust." A voice whispered to them