It had been ten years. That's how long it took him to get here. The burden was not something any child should carry.
Lucien Corvus Valehart. From the fallen Valehart dukedom. His father was a genius inventor and a benevolent ruler known throughout the empire.
Lucian could still remember the last time he saw his father.
Seven years ago...
There was a fire. Crimson. Smoke filled the air, banners were raised. Screams echoed from everywhere within the manor. Steel changed. The air was heavy with smoke and the scent of blood. His father pulled him to the side.
"Son, you must flee! Your father has no time to explain! Take this and head toward the Wyrmgolen forest."
He handed Lucien a Pocket watch and afterward a brooch. "It belonged to your mother"
Before he turned to head back he placed his tophat on the crying Lucien's head after ruffling his hair. He smiled.
"Grow up strong! My little inventor."
Before Lucien could process what was happening, he saw his father run into the flames.
"No daaaddd!!!"
"Go Lucien! Remember head to the Wyrmgolen forest!"
So he ran... He ran as hard and fast as his seven year old legs could carry him. Breathing felt hard. The tears begun to sting his eyes.
The forest came into view.
The forest said to be cursed with tree monsters. He had no choice but to keep going, even when scared. The deeper he went the harder it became to breathe. His vision was doubling. His head felt fuzzy like a static television.
Then black -
When he finally came to he was surrounded by men and women that he did not know. His vision was still a bit dark.
"(Sigh) seems Vale has been put down"
"No way... It can't be..."
"Looking at the watch and the message within it can you argue otherwise?"
"U...Uhm e-excuse me..."
"Oh look the lad is awake!" A huge man came up to me, he had a broadsword strapped to his back. "I'm Garran! You must be Arcturus' boy"
"Y-You know my father!?"
Garran let out a deep, almost mournful chuckle, rough like gravel shifting underfoot. His eyes softened as he looked at Lucien.
"Aye. Arcturus Valehart saved my life once, long ago. He was more than just a genius or a noble. He was a damn good man."
Lucien's lip quivered. He clutched the pocket watch tighter in his small hand. His eyes flicked between the strange people surrounding him—armored warriors, robed figures, even one wearing a strange helmet shaped like a bird skull.
"Where… where am I?"
"You're in the heart of Wyrmgolen now," said a soft voice. A woman stepped forward, kneeling beside him. "We were expecting you" Her hair was a cascade of silver, her eyes like moonlight. "You made it, just like he hoped you would."
"But... the forest… the monsters?"
Garran laughed again, this time more heartily. "Aye, they're as real as can be. But they don't bother us. Arcturus made sure this little corner was safe. Set up runes himself."
Lucien's breathing was still shaky. "Why did my father send me here? What is this place?"
The woman held up the brooch he had dropped beside him. Her voice was gentle. "Because this is where you would be safest for the time being. And also because of the legacy."
He stared blankly.
She turned the brooch over, revealing a hidden latch. With a press and twist, it popped open—revealing a thin shard of glowing blue crystal embedded in the center. Strange lines pulsed across its surface like veins of magic.
"This…" she whispered, "is [Deus Ex Machina]. The last piece in a hidden machine. The last key to the machine. One your father was building. One he died to protect."
Lucien's fingers twitched. His breath caught. "A machine?"
Herron nodded, kneeling beside them now. "Your old man believed the Empire was heading toward ruin—corruption, war, rot from the inside. He was building something that could change everything. Something powerful."
Lucien looked down at the brooch. "Then... he didn't just die. He was silenced."
"Aye," Herron said, his voice low. "And if they find out you're alive, they'll come to finish the job."
Lucien sat in silence, the wind whispering through the cursed forest behind him. The burden his father had carried now sat firmly on his small shoulders. And though it bent his back and made his heart ache, something in his young eyes burned.
Resolve.
"I want to finish it," he said softly.
Herron raised an eyebrow. "Finish what?"
"My father's machine," Lucien said, gripping the pocket watch tightly. "I'll finish what he started."
The group looked between themselves. The woman smiled first.
"Then you'll need training," Garran said, rising to his full height, casting a shadow like a mountain. "Not just as an inventor—but as a survivor. Because the Empire won't stop. And neither will we."
Lucien wiped the tears from his cheeks. He looked once more to the watch, opened it, and saw the inscription etched into the lid:
"To the one who dreams beyond the stars—ignite the future."
And so began Lucien Valehart's journey.
Not just of survive but also to finish what his father had started and to get revenge on the murderers of his family.
- Well that was how he had met his teachers. Truly the most fortunate encounter he had in his life.