Chapter 1 - A Child's Destiny

It was the 12th of Eirm'Haiir in the year 13,126 RD (After the Fall of the Dragons). The day was cold in Tamasi, the high kingdom of the Dominions. Their feathers drifted everywhere like autumn leaves across the temples painted with chestnut-colored sketches. Though the weather was far from kind, the date was marked on the calendar, for Igorus, the general of the Dominion army, was expecting the birth of his child that very day.

The people rejoiced, proud of the occasion, for the general carried immense weight in the shaping of the Dominions. Among his greatest achievements were the repelling of the vampires two and a half centuries ago, the securing of peace among mortal folk, and many more.

Igorus, together with his partners and the aristocratic circles, dressed in crimson coats and gowns, lingered in the royal palace corridors, feasting and conversing. Crimson carpets and multicolored petals spread warmth through this most special of days.

"I kept telling my wife: Rejoice, for you will bear a son. You can't imagine how proud I would be, alongside the others, if he grew into a skilled warrior. But Kaeda, being Kaeda, never cared for such things," said Igorus, clad in a red-and-black cloak, his short black hair framing deep chestnut eyes, as he held a golden goblet brimming with wine.

"I think the drink has already taken hold of you," remarked one of the commanders at his side.

"No, that's not true. Who said—"

"Today is indeed a day to be remembered," said King Kasama, placing his hand upon Igorus' shoulder. His crown reflected the startled face of the general.

"Y-Your Majesty, your words are an honor to me," replied the general, who had been drinking wine with his companions.

"There is no need for such formality, especially today, Igorus. Consider me your friend."

"Yes, Your Majesty..." Igorus muttered, glancing at the king's black cloak as Kasama turned away toward his throne.

"Listen to him, still saying 'Your Majesty,' hahahaha!" the other commanders laughed at Igorus' expense.

While the commanders and the royal aristocracy celebrated inside the palace, Kaeda, Igorus' wife, was in her home, giving birth with the help of the midwife and her two sisters, Luena and Ueda. In the bedroom, golden curtains hung heavy across the windows, dimming the rays of the sun.

"Come on, just a little more!" urged the midwife, encouraging Kaeda to push the child into the world.

"You're almost there, just a little more!"

"NNHHHHKKKKK!!!" Kaeda cried, and at last, the boy was born.

The midwife, who also acted as midwife, together with Kaeda's sisters, were overwhelmed with joy.

"Congratulations, my lady!"

"Congratulations, sister!"

"Thank you... so much," Kaeda whispered, exhausted from the ordeal of childbirth.

The midwife lifted the newborn and gently laid him across Kaeda's arms.

"Oh, he's so beautiful!" exclaimed Ueda, her face alight with happiness.

"What will you name the boy, sister?" asked Luena.

"Isn't that the duty of the Rali'Aze?" Ueda interjected.

"That doesn't mean we can't choose a name ourselves, does it, Kaeda?" Luena insisted.

"Heheh... Perhaps—"

But Kaeda froze, her lashes parting wide in shock. Before her eyes, the midwife suddenly collapsed, overtaken by a mass of roots that coiled around her like a prison. The women cried out in alarm, stunned by the suddenness of it.

And then Kaeda noticed something. The child in her arms was not crying. Instead, he was looking at her from the corner of his eye, as though he was on the verge of revealing some secret.

Amid the panic, Ueda grabbed a clay jar beside the bed and smashed it. The loud crash startled Kaeda, yet it was the sound that finally drew a laughter from the newborn.

In that instant, the midwife stirred; the roots had vanished as though they had never been, and she was herself again. Kaeda's sisters, overjoyed, embraced the moment with laughter and relief.

"What in the world just happened? I was certain I had just witnessed chaos. Could it be... the strain of childbirth playing tricks on me? " Kaeda wondered to herself. "No... that's impossible."

"Ilo!" she called to her midwife. "Did you faint after my son was born?"

"No, my lady. I was perfectly fine," the midwife replied.

Then the general's wife noticed something else. The clay jar was whole again, sitting exactly where it had always been.

"Impossible! I was certain it shattered. I even heard it break! Ueda, has that jar been there all along?"

"Of course, sister. Why are you asking such things? Your child has just been born. Celebrate him."

"You're right... forgive me," Kaeda murmured.

Yet even as she spoke, the doubts did not leave her. Something was wrong. Still, she resolved to go along with the flow of events, deciding not to dwell on it, for now.

Moments later, the gates of the citadel opened. Kaeda, accompanied by her sisters and the noblewomen, entered wearing a fairytale-like gown of radiant yellow. Together they made their way toward the Tarpae sanctuary, where all Dominion children received their divine blessing on the day of their birth.

Priests in crimson aprons adorned with golden pendants, bishops in hooded robes interwoven with red and gold stripes, all turned their eyes toward Kaeda as she walked in among the other ladies. From the choir loft, musicians played gentle classical strains on violins and harps, filling the air with a warm serenity.

Aristocrats lined the carpeted path, their faces hidden behind masks shaped like falcons, flamingoes, eagles, and sparrows, watching silently as the women advanced. The sacred custom of blessing a newborn required that the child be anointed with dragon's blood at the heart of the temple, and that his name be bestowed on that same day.

It was believed that the dragons had perished at the hands of demons over 13,000 years ago, though the true reason for their extinction remained unknown. Why then was dragon's blood used in such sacred rites? The answer lay in its miraculous property: it was the only blood that never clotted, not even after thousands of years. The Eleven Kindu dragons had been revered above all creatures in the Dominion, and their legacy lingered in this solemn ritual.

Igorus, standing proudly with his companions, watched as the newborn was carried in Kaeda's arms toward the great vessel brimming with dragon's blood. His face was alight with pride and joy.

"He's handsome and brave, just like his father," Igorus said with a broad smile.

"It's true, hahahaha," Kaeda replied with a laugh.

Igorus leaned closer, whispering into her ear:

"My love, are you happy?"

"Yes, dearest," Kaeda answered softly, though her mind still wrestled with the troubling doubts of what she had witnessed earlier.

At that moment, the king appeared before the vessel, clad in his regal black attire, its golden buttons gleaming across the fabric. From beneath his crown, strands of his slightly long, silver-streaked hair fell gracefully. At his side stood Queen Kaliga, dressed in a chestnut gown, her straight brown hair braided in the style of a Viking queen.

With a dignified expression, King Kasama turned toward his queen.

"Kaliga, the birth of a new member of the Friola family is a cause for celebration. It symbolizes the continuity of the Dominion legacy."

Queen Kaliga nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, Kasama. Every addition to our noble families strengthens the foundations of the Dominions. May this child bring prosperity and honor to the Friola line."

The king then lifted his voice to the gathering:

"Friends, companions, and honored Dominions! As you have witnessed, the commander of our divine army has been blessed with a son. I wish to extend to the Friola family my most heartfelt congratulations. May he be a miracle for our Dominion people, and a beacon of hope for our future! Laus!"

"Laus! Laus! Laus!" roared the assembly within the sanctuary. Priests and bishops joined in, lifting their voices as one. The nobles removed their bird-shaped masks, filled them with wine, and feasted as they continued to chant the word "Laus."

"My love, it is time," said Igorus, squeezing Kaeda's hand.

As she glanced at her son and then at the king, Kaeda could not help but recall that unsettling moment when the baby had refused to cry.

"Yes, dear," she answered softly, stepping with her husband toward the great vessel filled with dragon's blood.

Ueda and Luena watched proudly as their sister advanced, carrying her child toward the vessel where he would be completed, recognized as a true Dominion. Yet beside the basin, two shapes began to take form, shapes that stirred unease.

Kaeda's eyes widened with fear, but Igorus drew her into his embrace, silently assuring her that all would be well. That he would be with her at every step.

The figures solidified, two ghastly beings, like mummified nuns draped in black gowns. Along the hems of their sleeves and robes glimmered tiny dragon fangs. Their faces were lifeless, eyeless, with ashen flesh and jaws fully exposed in grotesque grimaces.

They raised their frail hands forward; from the rotting palms, skeletal hands burst through, one for each, until four bony appendages stretched outward, reaching, clawing toward the newborn.

Kaeda held the baby close to her chest, clutching him protectively, her gaze locked on the horrors before her.

"Do not fear the Rali'Aze. Do not be afraid," the king intoned, watching Kaeda tremble before them.

With hesitant hands, Kaeda extended the baby forward. The skeletal palms of the Rali'Aze closed around him, lifting the child and drawing him toward the vessel. The infant did not cry, nor did he make a single sound.

"Brave indeed," Igorus declared with pride. "To show no fear in their presence."

The Rali'Aze lowered the newborn into the vessel of dragon's blood. After several tense seconds, they raised him again, his tiny body slick and crimson. Applause resounded throughout the sanctuary.

"Your child is now a true Dominion," Queen Kaliga announced, her voice calm and assured, as she looked upon Igorus and Kaeda, who seemed at last eased by the fulfillment of this great rite.

"It is time for his name, my love," Igorus whispered.

"Yes. I wonder what name they will bestow upon our son," Kaeda murmured, watching the Rali'Aze hold the blood-soaked infant above the vessel.

The creatures' jagged teeth began to grind and rasp, struggling to form sounds that could be understood by mortal ears. Their guttural utterances echoed through the chamber like fractured words clawing their way into existence:

ᦓꫝᛕᦔᠻᛕᦓꪮ... ꫝᦓꫝꫝᦓꫝᦓꫝᦓꫝ...

The assembly held its breath, waiting for the name that would mark the child's fate. Out of the dreadful murmurs, a voice seemed to take shape, trembling and yet clear enough to be known:

"The name of your son... is..."

The sound stretched, twisting from chaos into meaning.

"Voi... Danos..."

Then, with chilling finality, the word was spoken whole:

"Voidanos."

Everyone froze at the sound of the name that came from the Rali'Aze. Surely, it was something none of them had expected. Murmurs swept through the gathering, and the chanters fumbled in confusion, uncertain how to continue with their instruments in such a moment.

"He does not... cry... Voidanos... does not cry..." Igorus muttered to himself, repeating the name of his son, trying to grasp why such a name had been chosen, while his eyes sought Kaeda's.

"Then what I saw was true," Kaeda whispered in disbelief.

"What did you see? " Igorus asked his wife.

"Our child did not cry the moment he was born. That is why the Rali'Aze named him so," Kaeda said, her gaze fixed on the infant, now held in the skeletal hands of those spectral beings.

In the Dominion language, void meant "tears," while anos meant "none."

"You may return to the Seventh Gate, Rali'Aze," Queen Kaliga commanded.

"Yes, your majesty..." they answered in unison, placing the blood-marked child back into Kaeda's arms.

"Are you certain the child never cried?" the king asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Kaeda replied.

"Your Majesty, Kaeda is mistaken. The child was born crying. Both my sister and I saw it. We are certain of it," said Ueda.

"What I witnessed was something entirely different," Kaeda countered. "I saw you both in shock, the midwife almost lifeless, bound by roots, and the child in that dreadful state."

"It is very likely that the child's abilities manifested," said Queen Kaliga, who was eyeing Kaeda from the corner of her gaze.

The hall fell silent, astonished by the words that had just left the queen's lips.

"Don't tell me..." Igorus said, shaken.

"It is exactly what you think," Kaliga replied. "There is a strong chance that the newborn child is Uanamangura, the supreme dominion, whose power has terrified the gods for millennia, and the very reason for our conflict with the angels. Look upon his chest and see the mark."

Igorus and his wife looked down at their son's chest. As the blood trickled away, they saw it. A symbol: a cross with a half-broken circle around it.

"It is the mark of Uanamangura," said Igorus in disbelief.

As expected, everyone present was captivated by the revelation. Some wished to burn the infant alive, fearing he might be a dreadful omen. Others saw him as a chance to conquer the nation of the angels.

"The mark of Uanamangura is not something that appears on just anyone," said King Kasama. "On the contrary, it has long been spoken of as mere legend among our people."

"My dear..." Kaeda whispered to her husband in a fearful tone. "What are we to do?"

At that moment, Igorus ignited, literally engulfed in flames. He looked the king straight in the eyes and declared:

"Your Majesty, I swear this child will never bring harm to the kingdom. Punish me instead for any mistake he may commit."

"His fate," said the priest solemnly, "is to destroy the divine island and then bring about the world's end. Uanamangura is a cataclysmic force, known only in legend. And yet, such a being now stands before our very eyes."

King Kasama studied Igorus intently. Just as he was about to speak, the queen intervened:

"We accept your proposal, General Friola. Uanamangura shall be raised in your home as an ordinary dominion. But when he reaches the age of sixteen, you know well what fate awaits him, do you not?"

"I accept whatever you decree, Your Majesty," said Igorus as he knelt before the queen.

"Igorus..." Kaeda whispered, distressed.

Relief spread among the gathering, easing the paranoid fears that had taken root in their minds. Igorus extinguished his flames and embraced his wife. Yet the king still harbored his doubts...