Legacies of light

Interlude 1

Interlude: Lion’s beginnings

The eternal spider is my country’s icon. It produces silk that is all but impervious to the elements. It can be hard enough to cut through steel while being light and flexible, so its silk is highly valued and brings great prosperity to the country.

Everyone in the country is taught at a young age that it is the job of every citizen to protect those spiders, and those who rake in a multitude of achievements and are proven to be trustworthy are given spiders to keep as their own.

The giant spiders constantly crawl around our country to make webs and lay eggs. The webs they spin around the country are said to be one of the five most beautiful sites in the world. Whenever I see them, joy fills my heart.

“Lionheart, stop staring at the webs and come over here.”

“Ok, brother”

-Break-

I love my older brother; he has taken care of me and has always stayed by my side since I was a child. He is the only one who has done that since our parents were taken away.

I still remember the army coming to take Mom and Dad away. When I asked my brother with tears in my eyes why this happening, he said, “Mom and dad did something bad, they won’t be coming back, but I will take care of you”. After that day, I heard mom and dad were executed the following day.

My mom and dad owned the country's most significant artisan weaver business. They were trusted with hundreds of spiders. They were my heroes. It didn’t make sense why they were executed, so I went around to everyone I knew.

When I knocked at their doors, they all told me the same thing: “Sorry, Lionheart, we were not allowed to talk with you anymore.” Hearing this broke my heart, but it was worse when their parents answered.

They said horrible things to me like, “Get out of here.”

“I don’t want my kids to be infected by your family.”

“Scum of the nation, your exitance is a blight to every citizen.”

Broken-hearted by what they said, walking home, I can hear people around the town talking about my family and looking at me.

“To think that’s what the Animus family was doing, and yet they always went around acting all holier than thou. When all they were were traitors.”

“I concur. In my opinion, executing them was too easy a punishment, considering their irreparable damage to our country.”

“DON'T SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT MY PARENTS!”

The woman, infuriated by my screaming, told me, “A child of villains like them has no right to speak about this. Do you even know the gravity of your parents’ actions? You should be on your hands and knees begging for forgiveness for your parents’ actions.”

“Yeah, you brat, even if you spent your entire worthless life working, you could never repay all the damage your parents did to the nation. Now, apologise for all your parents’ sins.”

I try to speak up, but my voice is entirely suppressed by the never-ending words the women scream at me.

“APOLOGIZE”

“APOLOGIZE”

“APOLOGIZE”

They keep screaming at me. When I was about to say something, I noticed all the looks around me. Every adult was staring at me, waiting for me to apologise. All these looks caused me to freeze up. I couldn’t get my mouth to work.

But the screams of apologies didn’t end. In this situation, I feel all I can do is apologise. So, as I prepare to get on my hands and knees to apologise, I suddenly hear.

“I’m sorry for all the sins my parents have committed.”

It’s my brother. He’s on his hands and knees apologising.

“Do you think that will fix the damage your family has caused?”

“No, it won’t. Apologising never had the power to do that, yet you insisted. No matter what I do for any of you, it won’t undo the damage my family has caused, so maybe instead of bullying the 7-year-old behind me, you fine adults all around me should put your heads together and try to figure out a way to help yourself get through the country's current issue. But right now, I need to get my brother home, so good day to you all.”

The woman looked angry but didn’t say a word as my brother took me home. “Lionheart, I will tell you one day what our parents did, but remember, no matter what our parents did, it is not your fault. You hold no blame for the current state of the country. “

-Break-

So, as we return home, we see the head butler of our house. He’s been with me since I was a kid. He has also been with my brother since he was a kid. This kind man has been taking care of us since we were kids.

“Lord Cole, I would like to hand in my resignation.”

“Ed, are you leaving us too? You’re the last of the servants with us.”

“My lord, you must have known this was coming after our conversation. I had warned you, but you didn’t listen. This is simply the result of your actions. It has been a pleasure.”

“Ed, please don’t leave Cole and me all we have left.”

“Young master, it has truly been a pleasure serving your family, but I have a family I need to keep fed, and working for your family can no longer accomplish that, so goodbye.”

Ed said as he left. All the servants have left, and all my friends are gone. Everyone hates us, and my parents are dead, so now it’s only my brother in this big house, and the thought of that alone left me crying.

But Cole said, “Don’t worry, I will take care of both of us no matter what happens. Trust in me, Lionheart.”

“I trust you, Cole.”

Name: Lionheart Animus

Age: 7

Birthday: Scorpio 8^th

Hair: Brownish gold

Eyes: White

Height: 110 cm

Likes: spiders, brother

Dislikes: citizens of his country, lies