'Who would have thought Ladven could be so beautiful at dawn,' Valis thought, standing on the hill and looking down. 'Or that it could ever be beautiful...'

The morning was chilly but bright. Moisture settled on the grass and the air was fresh and clean, with a hint of salt carried from the nearby sea.

On the hill, above the town, Valis stood still, looking down at the city in the valley, houses, walls, towers, everything that once belonged to his world. The sun had just begun to touch the roofs. He hadn't seen this place for a long time. It had been even longer since he'd seen it like this, so peaceful and beautiful.

He remembered the day he was exiled perfectly. The memory was still vivid and forever remained in his heart.
It took him many years to reach where he was now, at the very top:
General of the Army.
A Grand Duke's heir.
The strongest in Avene.

Valis smiled to himself. The time of reckoning had come. The right moment for revenge on the man responsible for his misery.

Time to pull the rug from under his feet.

He had waited so long for this.

Now, at last, that bastard was going to pay back in full. He could hardly wait for the moment to see the asshole begging for forgiveness.

He pondered for a long time whether declaring war might be a better solution.

In the end, however, he decided that taking everything he owned away from him, piece by piece, would be more effective. He wanted him to suffer. To experience exactly what he had on that November day. Valis ran his hand through his blonde hair, then poured a little water from the bottle onto his palm and wiped his face, glancing to the side.

His companion was still asleep, a large figure, lying on his back with an arm under his head, right beside him. Valis poked him several times in the side of the arm, trying to wake him. A quiet part of his brain was nagging him that a sleepy warrior like that wouldn't stand a chance against an assassin.
After a few minutes had passed, he gave up and decided to give the man a bit more time.

As soon as they head down, everything will change, and they will have to watch their every step.

He struggled to suppress his excitement. If he met that bastard, Raven, would he recognize him?

Seven long years had passed since he had been thrown out. And then assassins were sent after him.

Valis probably would have died if not for the Grand Duke of neighboring Avene, who took him under his wing, and if not for his own determination to become stronger.

For years, he climbed to the top, defeating everyone who stood in his way. He commanded armies, made strategic decisions, and fought on battlefields himself. His determination was unwavering. He would not retreat a single step but achieve his goal or die trying.

But just a few years ago, he could have sworn his foot would never set on this land again.

Valis first arrived in Ladven when he was barely twelve years old. It was then that his engagement to Raven, the first prince of this distant family was announced. Engagements between two young men were still rare and drew various looks, but in the world of politics and dynasties, political advantages took precedence over tradition.
Thanks to this union, Valis could take care of the future of his family, the Eldermere clan. This way, both Eldermere and the House of Ladven gained trade rights and access to the sea routes dividing both lands.

Valis often visited Ladven to see Raven, and with each meeting, their relationship grew deeper and more intimate. Raven never seemed unhappy with this arrangement, quite the opposite, the boys were growing closer.

Every time Valis arrived at the port, Raven was already there, with his arms wide open. Their meetings always began with a warm hug and a tender kiss on the cheek that brightened both their faces.

They often wandered the coast together, walking hand in hand and listening to the sound of waves and the sea breeze. Sometimes they slipped into the nearby forest where, away from others' eyes, they shared a few stolen kisses, full of promises and hidden desires.

Valis admired Raven's strength; he was not only his fiancée but also a rock in turbulent times. In this land full of dangers and political intrigues, their relationship became an oasis of safety for him.

He eventually settled in Ladven before his eighteenth birthday, preparing for marriage. Everything was on the right track.

One summer evening, under the starry sky, Raven looked at Valis with a tenderness he had never known before.

"No matter what the future brings," he whispered, "as long as we're together, no storm can scare us," tying a leather bracelet around his wrist.

Valis smiled back then, holding him tightly.

"Together," he repeated, feeling that their bond was more than a political arrangement. It was a promise that would endure everything.

And so, although the world around still revolved around interests and intrigues, Valis and Raven found in each other a refuge, a place where love was their greatest strength.

'What a load of bullshit,' Valis bit his lip, thinking about that promise, which was completely false. The only thing he intended to offer was suffering. "That asshole would regret being born," Valis promised himself.

Not long after that night when those tender, meaningless words were said, Valis's family fell, and he was simply brutally thrown out of the castle. There was only one letter written with Raven's hand, saying shortly, "Get out".

It took him a while to regain the will to fight.

At first, there was disappointment and fear. Right after the exile, Val just tried to survive.

Fleeing from assassins who relentlessly followed his steps through all of Ladven's capital, he had no idea where to go. Every alley, every street could be a trap, and he barely kept on his feet. Exhausted but unable to allow himself a moment of rest, he squeezed through the dense city buildings.

Hiding in the shadows, Valis jumped from darkness to darkness like a shadow himself, and only the distant lantern light showed him the way. Running from there in a hurry, completely surprised and unprepared, with no weapon, no cloak, not even a pouch with money, he prayed silently that no one would notice him.
His clothes were soaked with rain, and the cold wind mercilessly tore through his body, but the raging adrenaline effectively suppressed the pain and cold.

Steam rose from his mouth in short breaths as he heard echoes of his footsteps and some others, following behind in the distance. He had no time to look back, their numbers were overwhelming. If it were only one opponent, maybe he could still defend himself. But they, an army of darkness, gave him no chance.

The shadow army of assassins, following him, was spreading throughout the city. He realized he couldn't escape into open space; only death awaited him there. His only hope was to hide among people, in the chaos of the bustling capital.

Valis slipped into a group of passersby, changing direction and flowing with the crowd like a leaf on a river. Somewhere inside him, a hope flickered that no one would recognize him. At that moment, anonymity gave him the strongest shelter. He believed it was safest to wait out in the city, that if he went out into the open, he would be caught immediately.

For several days, Val lived like a rat, caught in a cage, scared, hiding in alleyways, uncertain if someone would find and kill him soon. He fed on scraps thrown to animals from the tavern and drank water from puddles, thinking that just like them, he was now an animal too, a hunted prey.

Val shed a few tears for his family he would never see again, for his miserable fate, and his own stupidity, that he had let himself be deceived by Raven and his family.

After closing his eyes, he felt something inside him break. A quiet sob escaped his chest. Tears streamed down his cheek, tears of pain, but also of longing. He missed his family and his home. It had been so long since he last saw them. He didn't know what had happened to them. Had they been captured? Murdered? Or were they still out there somewhere, fighting to survive? The thoughts wouldn't leave him alone.

Valis was the only son of Eldermere. After his father's death, it was his mother, Edna, who took the reins of the clan. She was an unyielding woman who could rein in the councils and lords who cared only for their own gain. To the world, she was the ruler of the Sea People. But to him... to Valis... she was a mother. Warm, gentle, and caring. The only person who truly knew him.

He remembered how she held him when he had fevers. How she would sit by his bed and stroke his hair, telling him about his father and how the future of Eldermere lay in his hands.
And she truly believed it. She believed that an alliance with Ladven was the only way to save the clan and to gain the power they so desperately lacked.

Valis squeezed his eyes shut tighter. The image of his mother was so vivid, it was as if she were right there.

He wanted to hold her so badly.

How had everything fallen apart so completely?

Who had betrayed them?

Why?

He was powerless. Imprisoned, humiliated, and abandoned.

In such a state, nearly starving to death, he was found by the Finger Cutters Gang. Two nasty guys leaned over him in a narrow alley.

"Hey!" said one to the other, "Isn't that Valis of Eldermere? The Sea People's clan?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's him. Apparently, the Shadows are looking for him, maybe they'd pay a few gold coins for him..." said the other, clapping his hands.

"But if we contacted the Sea People, he'd be worth much more... Before handing him to the crows in the shadow army's hands, let's try to bargain for more somewhere else," suggested the other.

'Don't they know my clan has fallen? I'm probably the last family member left...' thought Valis back then. It was his last thought just before he was hit on the head with something heavy that made him lose consciousness.

The kidnappers sent a letter, and meanwhile kept him in a basement under one of the city's buildings. At first, they treated him quite well, even fed him, but by midweek, after not receiving any reply, they grew impatient.

He subconsciously knew what is coming next.

His fears came true when the two of them turned up with a box of different tools, wire cutters, metal bars, knives...

They wanted to make him talk.

.....

The next chapter (2) contains some heavy description of violence, hence the mature tag. Please skip if you find it uncomfortable to read. 

But if you DON'T want to skip it, double check if tapas isn't skipping it for you