Prologue: Nightmare

Prologue: 

-Nightmare-

It was a cloudy and the stars refused to shine though the full moon was still hanging in the sky. A lone figure of a boy was in the second floor of a mansion. The boy looks like a 6 yrs old and was wearing sleepwear. He has dark blue hair that almost seemed black.

His room was wide, has a balcony outside, and a glass swing door with white frames. Red silk curtains hang on the windows. There are no other things visible because of the lack of light in the room except for the the bed and a very exquisite sword that hangs in the wall. The sword shines and comes into view because of the ray of the moonlight that strucks it. It is an elegant silver sword with different symbol engraved on it.

The bed was wide with 4 bedposts one in each corner. Thin white silk curtains hang on the sides. The boy was sleeping comfortably as he lay on the bed sideways while hugging his pillow. The peaceful sleep of the boy was ended when a man entered his room and grabbed him. The man put his hand on his mouth so that he could not shout.

He turned around to see who was it but because of the darkness that envelopes the room, he could not see his face. The only he could see on the man was a silver bracelet was on his right wrist and a neclace that hangs on his neck. The silver bracelet was engraved with  

different unknown letters while the necklace was a diamond shaped sapphire. Its size is of a small marble. A pair of silver wings on its side and a sword was on its top. It intersects the sapphire from the top to the bottom.

The boy tried to break free from the man's grasp and making noise but he can't. The man gestured him to be quiet. Then the man took the boy with him as he went to the back of a wardrobe to hide. The boy struggled to break free again but he stopped when he heard several footsteps of many soldiers in armor running towards his room. Their metal boots makes metalic sounds as it collides with the floor. 

The boy thought that they might be here to save him from the strange man.

"This is the room!" a soldier 

shouted as he banged the door open with a bowgun on his other hand.

The soldier gestured his colleagues to follow him. Soon, about 7 soldiers including the soldier earlier was inside the room and they were gathered around the bed then with their bowguns ready.

However, the bed which was now empty because the boy was not there, still looks like there was still someone sleeping on it. It was because of the pillow that was tucked under the blankets. The soldiers then continuously fired on the bed. Until the room was filled with feathers that came from the skewered pillows.

The boy now confirmed that they were trying to kill him. But the reason is still unknown. The arrows were still nailed on the bed yet not even a trace of blood was there.

The arrows were still nailed on its target yet they seemed confused. It was because up to now, there was still no traces of blood. The soldier who came first earlier realized what just happened. He cursed under his breath and then shouted to his comrades

"He is not here! Someone might have known about our plans and escaped with our target. Search all around the place and report any suspicious things that you will see!"

As the others received their orders, they dashed towards the door and started parting ways to probably look for the boy. When all the soldiers have left the room, the man went to the wall beside the door with the boy.

The man took a peek outside. When he finally confirmed that the soldiers have went somewhere else and their way was clear, he lifted the boy and carried him with one arm while they were dashing into the hall. The hall was dark because of the lack of light caused by the soldiers when they extinguish all the torches' flames. The hall's walls was made from stone in the style of bricks and their only source of light was the occasional moonlight ray that passes through the windows as they ran on the hall. When they reached another room at the end of the hall, the boy saw his parents. While the man looks distracted by the sight of his parents, he took this opportunity to break free from the man's grasp and ran towards his parents thinking that he will be safe when he's with them.

One word echoed on the room.

No!

It came from the man when he saw him ran. Before the boy could reach his parents, the moon got covered by the night clouds. It made him halt bacause its too dark to see where he was going. When the moon was free from the cloud and shone a light again, it revealed a horrible sight before the boy's eyes. His parents were lying on the ground with their blood spilled on the ground.

The boy gasped because of the horrible sight before him. The boy ran towards his parents. He kneeled beside them. His mother ran his hand his son's cheek for the last time leaving a trail of blood on the boy's cheek. She handed him a keychain. It was small and the other details are not visible because of the limited light that their surroundings can provide. With her last breath, she said I love you and I'm sorry.

As his parent's corpse lie beside him, tears began rolling down his cheeks. While he was crying, he realize the murderer's presence and stopped. The man was standing in the place where the moon's light cannot reach well. His face and figures were barely visible. The boy could see the sword he was holding. It was a black sword with blood dripping from it. The murderer grinned and raised his sword, ready to slash the boy but the man from before quickly grabbed him so that he won't be killed. The murderer, however, is also quick. As the man grabbed the boy, the murderer was able to wound the boy at his right arm. The man carried the boy again and they dashed towards the way to the stairs. Before the view of the room faded, the boy can saw the murderer dragged his parent's corpse towards the shadows with him.

They ran towards the door of the mansion. The boy 

was still shocked from what happened. The only thing that he remembered was that the man protected him from the soldiers by knocking them down with his sword.

Soon, he found himself cradled in the man's arms while he was running in the forest. The man then halted to a stop. The man crouched and slowly lied the boy down on a patch of grass beneath a tree. The man put his necklace on the boy's neck and brought out a silver bracelet.

As he do this, he spoke in a soft tone "I'm sorry. It's such a tragedy for such a young age. I tried my best to save you. May you live peacefully and till we meet again. Maybe by that time, you would be able to fulfill your destiny as our only hope."

As the man stood and turned back, ready to leave the boy, he looked back at him with a painful expression. The boy raised his hand towards the man as if grasping him and gesturing him not to leave him.

The man walked away from him and vanished on the nearby trees. As the boy still raised his hand, the bracelet shone with the moon's light. He noticed that the symbols on it was different from the man. Before he black out, He managed to read the symbols. He read it as

"Stein"

Beside it was another word but it was scratched and almost invisible to read.

"Fhreor".

He combined the two words. He realize what it all means. He doesn't know how it happened but he can now fully grasp its meaning.

It was "Stein Fhreor or Stained Freedom"