At first glance, Wolf-Breath would seem like a small, poor, farming and trading town, and, for the most part, it is. Unless you look a little closer at the town's children: Aiden Lockstone, Eve Frost, and Rowan. To understand what, exactly, makes them different, we have to turn back the clock. We'll start off with Aiden, six years ago. Aiden was playing out on the streets one day when his father was particularly angry, when something broke the monotonous routine of these days: a face, peering out at him from a stack of crates. The face had two different colored eyes, and he could just barely see black hair above them. They stared at each other for a moment before Aiden said, timidly: "Hi? I-I'm Aiden." The face stared at him for a moment before saying: "Eve. Eve Frost." "C-cool name" said Aiden. "I'm a girl. Are you a boy?" said Eve, rather rudely. "W-well yes, but you shouldn't ask like that. Some people aren't g-girls or boys." As Aiden explained this to Eve, who had never heard of anything like this. She was eager to learn, and, slowly, they both became less and less intimidated. In fact, they spent hours on the streets together. The next day he came back. And the next. And the next, and the next, and the next. They played together every day for years. As they got older, they started talking about more serious things like their lives, and their struggles. They were each other's best and only friends. Over time, as she grew older, Eve's feelings for Aiden... shifted. She began to like Aiden in a new way, which she hated since she couldn't understand it, and she couldn't share it with Aiden. Still, everything went more or less smoothly for them until one fateful day in early December when they were ten.
Rowan (male) was looking for something to eat, when he saw two kids about his own age playing some sort of game in Wolf-Breath's tiny town square. One was a skinny little girl whom he quickly dismissed, but the other... a strong-looking boy with the loveliest face he had ever seen. The boy had jet-black hair, pale white skin, and jade green eyes. Rowan then internally screamed at himself for thinking things like that. Right now, he was a boy. Boys were supposed to like girls! He began to hate the boy, for... well, for existing. He left, and swore to never return. And yet, Rowan did return, day after day after day. One day, months after the first day Rowan saw them, the girl saw Rowan (female) staring at them from behind a wall. So, Rowan turned, and fled. But, Rowan (male) returned the next day. However, the girl and boy were waiting for them. The two grabbed Rowan and dragged him into an alley. "Who are you and why are you here?" growled the boy. Rowan glared stubbornly at him and locked his jaw. "If you don't talk I'll make you!" threatened the boy, pulling back his fist. Rowan, in response pulled back his fist. The boy's confidence wavered. Seizing the advantage, Rowan demanded "Who, are you." Glaring, the boy said, grudgingly, "Aiden. And this is Eve." Seeing the way he turned to her and grinned, and seeing how she smiled back so gently, he began to hate Eve with a fierce passion. He couldn't explain why, (or, rather, couldn't acknowledge why) but he loathed her deep inside. If Rowan were making an enemy list, Aiden would be at the top, and Eve second. Aiden he hated because he hated himself for admiring his easy grace, his fierce defense, his lovely face. And yet. How Rowan admired him. Liked him, even. And so, day after day, after day, Rowan came back. They were caught multiple times, and yet, the two never got anything out of Rowan. Until. One time, Aiden was waiting. With the element of surprise on his side, he scared Rowan (male) into saying his name. Only his name, but that was enough to scare him. That night, Rowan futilely tried to convince himself that it wasn't safe to return, that he couldn't go back anymore. He failed miserably. The next day, Rowan (female) came again. Today, they were sparring, one with a stick, one with a sheathed sword. At the end of the match, they traded weapons. Soundlessly, Rowan took out her dagger and copied their moves. By the end of the third match though, her arms were shaking, and she dropped the dagger. The clang resonated around the square. Rowan held her breath, praying she wouldn't be discovered... she was. This same thing happened day after day after day. And, day after day after day, Rowan tried to convince themselves not to return. And, day after day after day, they returned. Over time, hate hardened between them. Although Rowan hated Eve with a fierce passion, they hated Aiden more. Aiden was the person they loathed most in the world... and the only person they would sacrifice themselves for. Over the next two years, all three became remarkably strong, and all three became excellent fighters. Aiden and Eve with the sword, and Rowan with their dagger. Aiden's stutter faded, and he became quite confident. Eve stayed quite small and shy, but was brave when it was just her and Aiden. Rowan's hatred deepened, and their sense of street-smart heightened. And every time the three came face to face, you could feel the loathing between them.
Now that you know that history, maybe you can see what makes them exceptional among the plain, thoughtless people of Wolf-Breath. Do you still want to continue? It won't have a happy ending.
I see you are brave. Very well. Continue.
This is now in the present. Aiden and Eve and twelve, and we think Rowan is as well. It's October, and the air has a harsh bite to it, although there isn't snow yet. The relationship between the three is no different: Aiden and Eve are friends, both hate Rowan, Rowan hates both.
Maybe you're thinking, why are they so different? Everybody has someone they can't stand. Well, while that's true in most places, it's not true here.
You see, roughly a hundred years ago there was an uprising. The cities rebelled against the king, and he was overthrown and later killed. The land dissolved into chaos. Everyone was constantly fighting for the position of ruler. The late king had a son, but he was weak, and reluctant to rule. He was also cruel, and greedy. He wanted someone else to do the hard work in the position of the king, and give him the benefits. However, with so much madness, he was forced to step up and take the position. The first thing he did as king was ship food to every city. Year after year, the citizens ate what he gave them with no complaints; it was free food, after all. Little did they know, however, that the food contained a drug that, when consumed, dulled the mind and the reactions. It made the citizens incapable of experiencing real emotion, and thus preventing another uprising against him. It's not that they could experience no emotion, as people like Aiden's father could still feel anger, it's that it went away shortly after, leaving the person mostly unable of remembering why they were mad.
This didn't affect the three because they were, for the most part, street kids. They ate very little, meaning they consumed little of the drug. As a result, they experienced normal emotion.
I know what you're thinking. A dystopian world. A paranoid, all-controlling king. How did this world get so broken?
I am the omniscient narrator of this story. I can tell you anything about my characters, can explain the history of my world without thinking, but I can't explain human greed. Power lust. Stupidity.
Again. It won't be a happy ending.
This is still the present. One of the king's thousands of spies warned him about the street kids. The spy told him that they were smart, strong, and good with blades. This translated, in the king's mind, to enemies. He dismissed the scout, and summoned his assassin. The assassin was completely loyal to him, was a master of stealth, and had the best skill with blades of anyone he had ever met.
Swish. That was the sound of the assassin's cloak. Creak. That was the sound of her tipping over a crate to search for the three. Bang. That was the sound of her finding Rowan. Hiss. That was the sound of her drawing her blade. Whoosh. That was the sound of her striking- Clang. That was the sound of her blade being met by another, smaller blade.
Rowan(male) was frantically parrying her attacks. He was good, but she was so. Much. Better. Her skill was unnatural, like the blade was an extension of her arm. For every hit he got, she got five. Besides that, she was wearing armor. Light, subtle, but impossibly strong. She got good meals, too. (For the sake of her skills, the king let her eat uncontaminated food.) There was a big gash on his left arm, which was his good arm, and he was losing blood fast. He was losing the battle faster.
Bang. That was the sound of Aiden and Eve joining the fight. Clatter. That was the sound of the assassin's blade hitting the ground. Thud. That was the sound of the assassin being thrown to the floor.
She stared at the three, feigning surprise. While Aiden and Rowan were fooled, Eve saw her going for her blade. She lunged, and kicked the blade far out of her reach. Seeing that she had been defeated, she did the one thing she could- the thing that was a last resort. The thing she knew she might have to use. Poison.
She grabbed a pouch from her waist, put a finger in, and licked it before they could stop her. She had been trained to do this if she was captured. To kill herself for the sake of her king.
They yanked her finger out of her mouth and gave her water, anything to wash out the poison so they could get information out of her, but it was too late. She was gone.