Sinful Pride - Volume 1 Chapter 1 Starting Point

The Lerien continent was one of turmoil. There was always bloody wars being fought between the numerous races and countries. The two human countries which were once feared by their neighbors were no more. Humans were united no more and slaughtered each other over a small piece of land even though they were surrounded by enemies.

The human countries were numerous and tiny, making them easy pickings for their hostile neighbors. To humanity’s West were their arch enemies, the Demons. Under the leadership of the Demon Lord they have been united and fought against them multiple times. Fortunately for the Humans, the Demons have been quite since they have taken loses over 200 years ago, after their strongest general suddenly past away. Their enemies have interpret that as a sign of weakness and invaded their lands almost simultaneously with the goal to wipe them out. The Demons took considerable loses but have managed to survive with the help of the Elves. Surprisingly, Elves and Demons, had formed an alliance and came to their aid from the western part of the continent.

Demons did not age. In their eyes the lives of mortals were as short as the sunset and therefore meaningless. Elves were of similar mind but their kind and calm nature – kindness even shown to insignificant mortals – were the polar opposite to Demons making everyone question their actions. The alliance lasted only for a small time – even by a humans standards – but the course of history has been changed greatly. Maybe that was what the Elves were after, many thought.

The Northern and biggest country in the continent, belonged to the Dragonborn. They looked very much like humanoid Dragons, without wings and tail. They claim to originate from Dragons and have the power to back that up. They are a proud race of warriors who act with the greater good of their clan and species in mind. Dragonborn have been launching small skirmishes over the years against the humans but haven’t made any big movements which made the Northern Human kingdoms think it was the calm before the storm.

To their South were the militarist Orcs. Orcs are giant green creatures. Even the smallest a.d.u.l.t orc was over two meters tall. Brutal and savage with distinctive tusked mouths. They are many Orc tribes in the Orc territory. They have been seen to cooperate with each other on many occasions, defending themselves from the Goblin and Hobgoblin hordes that are hiding in the deep caves of the mountains and also to attack human forts at the frontier. Other times they have been seen to fight among themselves, making their behavior unpredictable. The humans living close to them were always terrified of hearing the drums of an Orc horde coming their way. Their numerous forts and defenses attest to that more than words.

The human kingdom of Shierna was on the South-West edge of the human kingdoms. The people were accustomed to the threat of Orcs which tried raiding their lands frequently but the Demons who never left their lands in this generation and have been known only as bed time stories caused the fear of the unknown to take roots in the their heats. In a small village close to Atestari city, that gloomy mood was nowhere to be found today. All the villagers have gathered outside one house. A joyous occasion was occurring for the Raigon household, as a new member of the family was being born. The Raigon couple were poor farmers in this small village and the only family without children until now. The new mother and father were smiling with tears in their eyes to their son. The boy stopped crying and was slowly opening his eyes.

‘Hands…? Mine…? Everything is blurry… I can’t….’ the boy couldn’t move his body as he wished and was consciousness

“Keita” said a female voice lovingly.

‘Keita…?’ the boy closed his eyes.

Eight years later, the boy was finally able to grasp who he was. Points were he would forget his real self and think like Keita Raigon, a normal human didn’t occur any more. He struggled to remember who he was for a long time but it seemed his body has finally developed to catch up with his thoughts.

He was lying on a hill at the edge of the village, thinking.

“Now what?” Keita muttered to himself.

There were no kids his age in this tiny village and he spend most of his time helping his parents. He had nothing to do sometimes – his father insisted that he should go have fun instead of helping – so he spend a long time at this hill, watching the forest and grasslands to West from afar.

‘Living as a normal human, helping father and mother with the farm, marrying a human woman and making kids… It doesn’t sound all bad…’

‘But it does sound boring…’

‘Revenge then…?’

‘For what though? I don’t really hold a grudge on her for killing me.’

‘Maybe I should just join the Militia, like the other youths. Maybe even become one of the human heroes that I have been killing until now. If I do something I should be aiming for the top right?’

“…” he had a difficult expression.

‘No…’

‘Now that I have become a mortal I think I can finally understand them a bit better. They were a blinding light. They gave strength and hope to everyone around them. When I met them I thought they were just foolish overconfident ego maniacs. But… They gave their lives for what the believed in without a second thought. I can never become like that.’

‘Then what was even the point of me being b…’ he stopped himself from finishing his thought. He did not want to start thinking about a reason for his existence. He also thought that his mom and father would be sad if they knew what he was thinking.

‘Human parents are nice though’ he thought with a bitter smile. ‘Even if I know that humans are creatures that live in family-based social structures and their parents continue caring for their offspring long after they are born, I can’t help but love them back…’

“Is that what she meant by family…?” he muttered thinking of the past.

‘Well, whatever. It has nothing to do with me any more. 200 years is a long time, for the world to change. Even to a demon.’

‘But a human… What am supposed to do in such a short time…? I don’t want to waste this second chance.’

The young boy was undecided but a small spark ignited in him. He smiled, got up and looked at his surroundings.

“That should do” said the boy with a pleased smile. He grabbed a wooden stick and started swinging it around.

‘If I can’t find the answer now then there is no reason to think about it. I should do what I can do and let problems I can’t solve for later. For now…’ the boy slashed the air with his stick and yelled with vigor.

‘I do not need a reason’ he threw a rock in the air and hit it with the stick.

‘I do not need a goal’ he kicked a tree with all his strength.

‘What I can do now is…’ he jumped as high as he can and swung his stick wildly in mid-air.

“Become stronger!” Pride said with a bright smile and shinning eyes.