Vito the Orphan

The guard carefully observed his surroundings as he walked to one of the few intact homes in the slums. He knocked on the door and prayed for an answer.

“Yes?” A man opened the door and greeted his unexpected guest. “How may I help you, good armored sir?”

“My lord and lady have ordered me to take their newborn away,” the guard explained. “I would hope to give him a better chance at life than they intend.”

“Oh, how dreadful,” the man sighed as he gingerly took Vito into his arms. “Of course, I will give this boy all the care and love in the world.”

“I am glad that the rumors of the saint in the slums were true, Sir Andriu. Please, take this as well. May the goddess smile upon you.” The guard was relieved to hear that the newborn would be all right.

“Ah, yes, thank you. I will put this toward this little one’s future. What is his name?”

“Cyrenic.”

“Such a warm, good name. I swear to care for Cyrenic.”

Vito didn’t like this man one bit. His words were sweet like honey, and his smile never failed.

The guard rode off as Andriu took Vito inside. The home looked nice and proper, not a speck of dust to be found on the clean furniture or decorations. In fact, such a home would befit a nobleman, not a peasant in the slums.

“Gather around, children,” Andriu called to the others. A group of children, none older than ten, gathered at his call. They were dressed in nice clothing, but their eyes reflected only despair. “Please greet your new brother, Cyrenic. He will help you with your chores once he’s old enough.”

God damn it, this bastard uses these kids as slave labor, Vito angrily realized. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it right now! Rosa, give me strength.

Vito endured different frustrations for the next few years. Andriu proved how cruel he could be by employing child slave labor throughout the slums. He would have them run errands such as delivering messages, serving him as butlers and maids, and performing repairs around his beloved manor. Andriu would often lend them to others with a benevolent face as a form of on-the-job training. No one but the children knew how vile he truly was.

Vito watched all this while having little control over his newborn body. Different girls would tend to his needs until he was just old enough to move about on his own. He was still too young to properly deal with Andriu and rid the world of his evil. Still, Andriu didn’t pay him much mind, which allowed Vito to sneak in and read his magic books. He also managed to recover his older sister’s coin pouch years after he emptied it into his own pocket.

“Only roughly one-fourth of the population can use magic, and few of those would go on to actually become noteworthy people,” Vito read in a book. “These people are born with a ‘skill,’ an innate skill that allows them to master different fields more easily. Blademasters are capable of mastering the blade with ease and performing superhuman feats, whereas normal swordsmen are not. Skills suited for battle or magical research are highly praised, and those with more average skills, such as crafting, are ridiculed.

Vito found a basic crafting book and pored over every page. “Wait, I just need material and knowledge of what I wish to create, and I use magic to create it? It can’t be that simple.” He found some spare cloth and piled it together. He held his hands above the pile and imagined a teddy bear. Soon, his body was enveloped in a white aura as the cloth glowed and moved. He imagined the pieces breaking apart and reconstructing themselves. In but a few moments, a cute teddy bear sat before him.

“I can’t believe this. That idiot thought such a useful skill was worthless? I don’t even need tools!” The possibilities seemed endless. “The goddess Ivalis wants me to revive the land, right? Oh, I can do that, and so much more. I’m the son of Giovanni and Claudia DeCapio, and the…no longer future consiglieri of the DeCapio Family. It’s time to branch out and take the family across a new world.”

He quickly replaced the books and brought the teddy bear to one of the other orphans, a shy girl named Amelsia. His intuition told him that she wouldn’t survive for long as she was, so he decided to teach her what he could to survive.

“A…teddy bear?” Amelsia looked the brown bear over and quickly fell in love. A nearby child stalked through carrying a tray of dirty dishes, prompting her to hide it beneath her white dress.

“Yeah. No one has ever given you a gift, right? Let’s change that.” Vito offered her a blue ribbon to tie her long black hair back. “Let’s be friends.” Amelsia hesitated to accept his second gift, but she took it and quickly tied her hair up. She was quiet and blended into the background, so he would focus on teaching her how to sneak around and hide.

Vito made his intelligence known as he grew up, intentionally gaining Andriu’s attention. By the time he reached the age of ten, Andriu began to take him out on business excursions. Vito had already aimed to take Andriu down and usurp his network to build a new DeCapio Family in Rhavina. He also tried to keep the orphans safe from Andriu and his men. Though none were abused too much, they truly were treated as slaves. The only reason they didn’t try to escape is that the slums were far more dangerous than their home. It was a lawless place that made up one-fifth of the royal capital’s space. It was Kyrenia’s gutter more than anything.

“Today, I will teach you about magical contracts,” Andriu announced as they walked through the slum, their clean clothes and healthy statures standing out from the rubble and despair. Naturally, Andriu forced Vito to wear the same purple suit as his. “They’re different from ordinary contracts in that each party is bound by greater forces to uphold their end. Failure to do so would result in a penalty befitting the failure of their obligation, from incredibly poor luck, to suffering extreme pain, and even death.”

“Would people agree to sign such a contract? Even the most honest person would feel uncomfortable with a blade hanging over their neck,” Vito inquired.

“Quite right, my boy. However, desperate people will sign whatever you wish as long as you have the right leverage,” Andriu replied, a sinister grin on his handsome face. “We’ll be coming up to one of my contacts. Mind your manners, Cyrenic, my boy.”

Two hulking guards stepped aside for Vito and Andriu, allowing them into the thieves’ guild compound. Vito thought that Andriu would make for a good wise guy, given the way he casually strolled through the yard, flanked by dangerous men in matching dark uniforms. Well, Dad would have had him whacked years ago for employing child labor, Vito thought.

The so-called King of Thieves was little more than a brute who used fear and violence to secure his throne. “Well, what can I do for the saint of the slums?” He sat behind a desk in a relatively clean and well-decorated office.

“One of your men has failed to uphold his end of a deal, Barton,” Andriu began. “I gave him all the time and information in the world, and he failed to steal that wretched priest’s staff. I could have made a name for myself with the clergy, which would have benefitted you as well,” he argued. “That staff makes even advanced healing spells simple to cast, and I must have it if I’m to make my way into the clergy.”

“Oh? Is that so? Which one of my boys failed to perform such a simple task as stealing from Father Deveran?”

“Roderick, who else? That trifling idiot you keep sending my way.”

“Well, I do apologize. I’ll select a new messenger from now on. For now, Roderick has to answer for failing to uphold the contract.” He nodded to one of his men to retrieve the thief in question.