A Ninja's Past

Fourteen Years ago in an unknown part of the fourth kingdom;

It had been four years since the Great War. The kingdoms had been separated from each other, but order had been restored in a short time. Each king had taken control of a divided kingdom and we thought that everything would continue as it should be. But we spoke too soon.

With the division of the kingdoms came the appearance of the epics. We did not know where they came from or who they worked for. All we knew was that their intentions were evil. Although most of the kings opposed the epics, the fourth King Lıreno, cooperated with them.

King Lıreno had two daughters. One supported him in his cooperation with the epics, while the other disagreed with his actions. I knew these events intimately because after the war, I was taken prisoner along with many others. Being orphaned and young, I couldn't do much about it. I was captured by King Lıreno's soldiers and put to work as a slave in his palace.

The king's daughter who opposed her father's actions would secretly give us food whenever she saw us. For four years my life was one of slavery. Many times I thought about escaping, but I didn't know where to go. So I remained silent and endured.

One day, a new slave arrived at the palace. He was the same age as me and was assigned to work with me. I could see that he was scared but he didn't seem overly anxious. He was a warm person but like me, he was quiet. He didn't talk much due to his shyness and would just observe his surroundings. Although we were not similar in appearance, our personalities seemed to be alike. So I didn't say much to him either.

After a few days, we were given the task of taking the horses to the heavy. It was an ordinary job, but everything became difficult later on. As we were leading the horses to the heavy, one of them accidentally stepped on a scythe hidden in the hay. The horse's foot was injured and it reared back uncontrollably, causing fear among the other horses. We lost control of them.

One of the horses was running towards the boy who was working with me. If he was hit by a horse running at that speed, he could have been seriously injured. Acting quickly, I pushed him into a corner and we narrowly escaped harm. But the aftermath was not good for us. The king saw the chaos and ordered us to be thrown into the dungeon.

One of the orcs threw us in the dungeon directly on that order.

Somehow King Lıreno had taken the org lineage under his patronage and could give them orders. We did not know how long we would be imprisoned for our mistake. While we were in the dungeon, the boy broke his silence and approached me to thank me for saving him.

"Thank you for saving me, my foreign friend," he said.

"It doesn't matter," I replied.

The boy took a piece of bread out of his pocket and offered it to me. "Please take this as a token of my gratitude," he said.

"No need, thanks," I said.

"By the way, I didn't introduce myself," he continued. "My name is Kai."

"Shou," I replied.

"Nice to meet you, Shou," he said. "May I ask how you ended up here?"

"They caught me when I was a little boy," I explained. "I've been here ever since. Why were you captured?"

"I was hunting with my master," Kai said. "I was so focused on my hunt that I didn't see an ambush in the middle of the forest."

"Ambush?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "The leader org and the king's soldiers were organizing another attack on the villages when I was caught in an ambush meant for the people in the village."

"What happened to your master?" I asked.

"We hunt alone to strengthen our hunting skills," Kai explained. "My master knew I was away hunting but he didn't know I had been captured. I'm sure he'll come to rescue me."

Kai sat beside me, his face full of hope, and I didn't dare say anything more. I sat in silence, watching the moon shine through the bars until Kai fell asleep. As the night wore on,ı heard a faint footstep descending the stairs towards us. It was an eerie sound that filled with dread.

I urged Kai to wake up and prepare himself as the approaching figure drew nearer. In the dim light, we couldn't see who it was until the person stood right in front of our cell. It was the princess herself, but the look of panic on her face made it clear that something was wrong.

"Quickly, you must leave this place now!" she exclaimed, fumbling with the key to unlock our door.

Kai asked why we had to leave, and the princess explained that her father was planning to execute all the weak and powerless people in the dungeon, including us. She had come to warn us and lead us to safety.

"But what about you?" Kai asked with concern.

"I'll be fine. Just go and don't look back," she replied.

With gratitude in our hearts, we followed her out of the dungeon and towards the lower doors, which she assured us would be unguarded. As we left, I turned to the princess and thanked her for everything she had done for us.

"Thank you, Princess. We will never forget your kindness," I said.

"Go now, and be careful," she replied, before disappearing into the darkness.

Having spent a considerable amount of time in the castle dungeon, I knew its layout like the back of my hand. When Kai, followed my lead, we traversed the winding corridors and reached the lower doors, approaching the castle's exit. Yet, the thought of the many working children and elderly people still trapped within weighed heavily on my conscience.

Consequently, I came up with a plan to save them all. I expressed my dissent to Kai, who agreed, but pointed out the formidable army outside. Nevertheless, I revealed that I had a key that could unlock the slaves' chains, which I had surreptitiously retrieved from the org when they first dragged us here.

With the key in hand, Kai promised to free the parcels and meet me in the west woods after I had set a diversion. I instructed him to free the slaves upon seeing the fire and make a run for the woods. So, I took a torch from the dungeon corridor and headed uphill to the wagon filled with straw. I had placed it there earlier, anticipating the chance to set it ablaze.

I ignited the straw with the torch and pushed the carriage towards the gunpowder, resulting in a deafening explosion that caught everyone's attention. Kai acted swiftly, and the ensuing chaos allowed him to liberate the prisoners while the soldiers focused on the fire.

Later, in the west woods, Kai confirmed that the slaves had been saved. Feeling relieved, I decided to leave the castle, uncertain of my future, but knowing I could not remain there any longer. As I began to walk away, Kai suggested that I accompany him and that his master would surely reward me for my bravery. With no home or destination in mind, I agreed to follow Kai, knowing that I couldn't survive on my own for long.