Chapter 1: The Orphans' Battle

Vein, the kingdom at the center of all others, has always been shaken by catastrophes and invasions of goblins, demons, and other supernatural creatures that brought fear and misery to its people.

A priest, tired of witnessing so many atrocities, chose to defy his own fate and discovered relics whose origin remains unknown, yet everyone knows it was these relics that allowed Priest Gorb to protect the small district of Mulestone, which lay on Vein's border.

His courage inspired the king and several members of the church to create a knightly order known as the Knights of Vein, divided into scouts and squires who supported the front lines, preventing more people from suffering due to political and supernatural conflicts.

The relics were extensively used by the church's alchemists and engineers, who forged various weapons for all units, including the royal guard and city watch.

With the priest's sacrifice, Mulestone was renamed Saint Gorb in honor of the martyr who fought on the front lines, becoming the pioneer of the scouts.

Even though the church created divisions of military and support units, the entities continued to spread rapidly. Alchemist-priests made pacts with certain entities known as the "Voices." These beings assisted them in crafting sacred weapons to face their enemies, but not all entities were trustworthy. Some alchemists knew this and still continued forging such pacts, causing ruptures and even internal wars due to their practices.

This group of alchemists became known as the Midnight Witches, for they forged contracts with the entity called the "Voice of Despair," an entity that manifested as an elegant woman who offered knowledge in exchange for war and blood.

The relics were classified into four categories: B, A, S, and Immaculate,the latter considered by many to be mere legends due to their extreme rarity, though they truly did exist in this cruel world.

With the rise of wars, many children became orphans at an early age and had nowhere to go. Because of this, the church created an orphanage to keep the young ones safe, placing guards at the entrances to ensure their protection.

An old knight, known as "the Butcher," found three children in a district. They were only seven years old, yet they already knew how to fend for themselves remarkably well, which impressed the knight, especially since just hours earlier that place had been invaded by the "Volny Raiders," renegades from the neighboring kingdom of Volny. These invaders stole, murdered, and abused women merely to satisfy their pact with the "Voice of Arrogance," an entity that delighted in the suffering of others.

The knight approached them and said,
"Come on, children. I don't know how you survived all this chaos, but I can tell this isn't your first time, is it?"
The children lowered their heads.

"What's your name, son?"
"Isz," answered the boy who was standing.
"And the others?"
"Helena and Alphonse."

"Let's go. I'll take you somewhere safe. Don't worry, we're going to the capital."
The children brightened, and Helena began to cry, remembering that not too long ago she had lived in the capital's castles.

When they arrived, they immediately felt at home. They bathed and went to play with the other children. Anna, a knight, stared intently at the pale-skinned, silver-haired little girl, then retreated into the orphanage.
The Butcher asked, "Everything alright, Anna? I didn't think you'd get shaken by orphans,we get new ones every day. This war feels like it never ends."
Anna simply lowered her head and went to her quarters.

The next morning, the children were taken to training by Baron, the academy instructor for cadets. He had heard the stories of how they survived the invasion and became curious about them.

The first to be tested was Isz. Even though he was clumsy, he still gave the strong Baron a hard time and managed to withstand the trial set before him.
Baron said, "Damn, kid. I didn't expect someone like you to put pressure on me like that. You still need polish, but you've got potential."
"Thank you, sir," replied Isz, clearly exhausted but satisfied.

Next was Helena. Baron expected to go easy on her since she was the smallest, but she swept his legs and knocked him to the ground. He immediately noticed that, besides speed, she had incredible terrain awareness, and that her fighting style favored quickly taking down opponents.

Anna, who was watching, whispered to the Butcher,
"That girl will be trained by me. I have the perfect relic for her."
The Butcher simply nodded.

Alphonse, however, displayed something entirely different. Despite his innocent face, he already knew some alchemy techniques and even wielded weapons, which left the head alchemist, Grand Alchemist Jako, stunned. It was the first time he had ever seen someone so young use alchemy techniques so well. The only other orphan with such advanced skill was Kana Boom, another child from the orphanage.

Baron interrupted the spar and said,
"Easy, boy. This is only a test. If you push yourself like that, we'll both end up hurt."
"I'm sorry, sir... I'm just used to fighting for my life," Alphonse replied.
"It's alright, son. We're not on the streets of Vein anymore. This is just training."

Helena held Isz's hand tightly and whispered that Alphonse scared her.
"He's probably just nervous," Isz reassured her.

Alphonse glanced at the two and felt a small pang of envy toward Isz, but Jako quickly calmed him down.
"Very well, boy. You'll be my apprentice in the alchemy workshops. How does that sound?"

Alphonse nodded, clearly pleased.

"From now on, you are the new knight aspirants. I know you're children, but you possess immense potential, potential we cannot afford to waste in times like these. This was the first of many battles you'll face. Stand firm, for we are the ones who safeguard the kingdom of Vein."

At the orphanage, there were other children with the potential to become knights as well: Irineia, Mary, and Kana.