So to be clear It didn't start with a bang It started with a forgotten pot An aluminum pot the water for the late-night coffee long since boiled away left on the gas stove as he'd stumbled to his desk drowning in textbooks and began to open adobe acrobat His father Mariwan was away at the university late as usual The apartment in Sulaymaniyah was silent save for the frantic clicking of his mouseHis mother's absence was a quieter older silence a space carved out by a brain tumor years ago that no sound could ever fill again he got bored after few mins of studying and he was already doom scrolling on tiktok with his headphones in his ears well unknown to this retard The pot melted first A soft metallic sigh he didn't hear Then the escaping gas found the open flame
The explosion wasn't cinematic It was a sudden concussive WHUMP that shook the floor and hurled him from his chair. The world flipped into a roaring orange chaos Not the clean fire of a movie but an instant hungry inferno of melting plastic igniting books and blossoming curtains The acrid stench of burning synthetic fabric, his own hair, and something sweetly chemical his laptop melting filled his lungs He scrambled a raw animal scream tearing from his throat. The front door was a wall of flame The window, barred The fire born from his own dumb neglect surrounded him with a terrifying, logical finality. It wasn't heroic It wasn't an act of fate or a villain's plot It was a stupid mundane mistake with a catastrophic price The searing pain was absolute a blanket of agony and then came the nothingness a vast complete void that felt less like peace and more like the universe's coldest insult
Then a pressure A crushing overwhelming squeeze and a sudden shocking rush of cold air A slap A raw, instinctual gasp that tore through him and sound flooded in a messy distorted clamor that slowly resolved into a ragged cry that's definitely His own cry
What the fuck ?!
He tried to open his eyes but the world was a blur of shapeless light and shadow His body felt odd tiny and impossibly weak Panic pure and infantile surged through him He flailed but his limbs were useless uncoordinated packets of nerve endings
"Shhh, shhh my love it's okay it's okay Mama's here " she said it in some language cevver couldn't understand
The voice was soft young and trembling with exhaustion and something else relief maybe, or fear A warmth enveloped him a smell of clean linen sweat and something metallic He was bundled against softness
This is a dream no it's A coma or a hallucination perhaps maybe I'm still alive and not dead it's probably just a bad dream right?! But the days that followed or were they weeks stripped that hope away Time was measured in feedings in blurred faces coming in and out of focus in the frustrating, humiliating helplessness of infancy His mind the mind of Cevver son of Mariwan Kakabra a 21-year-old Kurdish bum ngga from Sulaymaniyah who'd spent more time trying to forget his father's political compromises than studying for his engineering finals was trapped in the tiny writhing body of a newborn Memories of his past life were unpleasant punishingly so His father's tired eyes behind his university professor's glasses always watching always wary The complicated unspoken shame of their position The smell of kebabs from the street vendor below their apartment why's it always a kebab?! Meh forget about that The burning These memories were a silent film played against the mundane reality of his new existence He learned his new name through the soft cooing of the young woman he learned was his mother "Hector" she would whisper her finger gently stroking his cheek. "My little Freeman"
Freeman ?! AAAAAAAAAA The name hit a dormant wire in Cevver's mind A strange resonant echo from a half remembered game he'd played in another life It felt portentous which was ridiculous It was just a name
His vision cleared His mother Charlotte, was beautiful in a worn out way She had kind green eyes that held a permanent layer of anxiety, and blonde hair she kept tied in a practical fraying braid She looked too young, barely twenty His father Kardinal was a not your avg op max status Isekai knight or whatsoever of a man who seemed to be an ordinary soldier by the hearth. He had an action bolt rifle that looked something representing kar 98 but in a fantasy designing Kardinal was often gone for days at a time When he returned, he brought the outside world in with him It came in food,some carved figures, presents for hector and Charlotte old leather, and something faintly sour fear sweat It was in the way he'd sit by the fire staring into the flames his left hand scratching his goatee beard
Their home was a stone and timber cottage in a village named Edgawter, on the very fringe of the Vonlenian Empire Hector his mind slowly organizing the snippets of conversation he overheard began to piece together his new world
Once the Vonlenian Empire had spanned continents 80 Years ago Once humans were the masters of arcane artsarchitects of soaring cities That's what the stories said the ones Charlotte murmured to him when the wind howled outside. Then came the Convergence Realms collided The Elves of the Sylvan Weald, with their ancient deep rooted magic and bows that could pierce a mile The Oni from the south east valley they look like ordinary humans but monstrously strong you could only tell They are onis when they were transforming into red skinned demons them and the elves had some crazy access to magic and mana and there were also The Demi humansbeast folk of all kindsfilled the spaces in between they look completely human except for their animalistic ears and tails
The human empire shattered Their magic it was said had been a borrowed thing a technology they never truly understood and it failed them It was ripped away Now magic was the birthright of the other races a wall humans could never climb it was also said that a certain group among the humans were traitorous cucks who'd do anything for some gold coins it was often labelled as conspiracy theory and gedo phobia honestly the word reminded him a lot of something worded like anti septic sexmetci or something like that Kardinal was called them by giges which was an offensive slur towards that group interesting they remind cevver of those cry babies in Jerusalem who play the victim all the time yet the are the worst of mankind no wonder why they were expelled from many places
The Empire was pushed back decade by decade to its last fortified heartland Edgawter was a point in that final wall. Beyond the palisade and the watchtowers lay the "Ceded Territories" Lands that had been human now occupied
And here the memory of his father Mariwan said to cev The humans left behind in those territories… their existence was described in hushed bitter tones They were like the Palestinians under the heel of the Jewish Israeli occupation or Kurds under the Turkish rules his own father had quietly lamented in their old world a people dispossessed living on permissions and sufferance second class citizens in their own ancestral homes They served as laborers for the Elven empire that was mostly forests elves def have some kinks toward the trees eugghhh colonies or slaves for the Onis Their existence was a ghost story told to keep Vonlenian children obedient and a wound in the heart of every Vonlenian soldier like Kardinal
Hector swaddled and helpless understood the look in his father's eyes It was the same look he'd seen in his first father's eyes the look of a man living under a weight he could never shake a man compromised by a power he couldn't fight honestly like any father from a middle class family
One evening when Hector was a few months old and could at least sit propped up Kardinal returned earlier than expected His face seemed annoyed Charlotte hovered serving a stew
"The ration is cut again" Kardinal said his voice a low "Blackwood Province fell last season The granaries are gone Now we feel the pinch"
"We have our grove though" Charlotte said her voice desperately bright
"The grove won't feed us through a Blackfrost winter if the supply caravans are hit again" Kardinal replied not unkindly but with finality He looked at Hector his gaze complex "He will grow up knowing nothing but the siege in a world that gets smaller every year"
"He will grow up free" Charlotte insisted her hand on Hector's head "Here inside the wall He is a Freeman That has to mean something"
Kardinal gave a short hollow laugh "Freeman A name from my grandfather time When we were truly free to roam Now it's just a reminder We are all freemen in a cage we were never Freeman Charlotte The bars are just very very far apart ahh fuck I wish we were born as elves at least we wouldn't have to go through all of this "
Charlotte breathes through her nostrils fully and hits Kardinal right in his head which makes him scream "AYYYYYY?!"
Charlotte opened her mouth furiously "I'll never hear such a thing again in this house especially Infront of hector"
"Right right my bad Charlotte , speaking of hector" he said as he reached out to hector to lift him into his arm crook"who's papa's lovely boy it's you yes you are, mwahmwahmwah" cevver could feel his sharp facial hair strands scratch his chubby face and it was even worse when he nuzzled his cheeks against Cevver's cheeks Cevver—Hector was subjected to a barrage of sharp beardy kisses The coarse facial hair scratched against his chubby, infant cheeks and it was even worse when Kardinal nuzzled him the scratchy goatee a bizarre and overwhelming sensory assault He wanted to squirm away to protest but all he could manage was a disgruntled bubbly coo even in this life he must be pathetic...
---
Welp Hector was four years old he could speak and walk and write and read pretty neat right? And he had few friends as well so one day when his dad dragged a dragon into the yard of their new house in the village his father could refine the cottage and now it was the quite cozy house the economy has stabled due to the human alliance with the dwarfs and soldiers now got payed more than before
Alright s Okay not a dragon But close enough Kardinal entered the room looking more tired than usual "before anything please don't scream Charlotte" he grunted before stepping aside
Behind him something huge and orange filled the doorway It was like if a lizard and a brick wall had a baby and that baby decided to become a professional wrestler It had yellow eyes that glowed like some old yellow lamp and skin the color of a sunset after a forest fire A tail as thick as Hector's whole body swept the dirt off the step
Charlotte dropped the potatos and the tomatos she was collecting from her own garden "Kardinal What in the gods hells is that?"
"what Charlotte you never seen A Rognarr from close?" Kardinal said like he was announcing he'd brought home a stray dog. "They've got a farm for em over at Fort Crag the Army's been breeding them since the Siege of Blackwood Every grunt on the wall gets assigned one eventually They're like… really ugly really dumb and smart mules that can also punch through an Oni's skull which is good right hector"
Hector's mouth was wide open and couldn't form a word yet
He patted the creature's massive scaly arm It didn't even flinch "This is bojj My new partner or our pet or whatever you guys call him and he's so strong he's Strong as ten men or probably more I don't want to exaggerate it Charlotte he follows orders and doesn't complain about the rations And before you ask yes he's house trained"
"kardinal that thing is not staying in the house" Charlotte said her voice hitting that high note she used when a muddy frog jumped to her face one time
"Charlotte Charlotte my love calm down He's not going to stay in the house He's got a spot in the lean to But he comes with… a package deal"
Kardinal shrugged off a heavy pack and rummaged inside He pulled out a wriggling bundle of dirty cloth. "i Found this little reject clinging to bojj when they assigned him to the Farm said they usually… well, they don't keep the runts wouldn't move from bojj So the sergeant just shrugged and said Happy fatherhood Freeman"
Kardinal entered the house followed by hector Kardinal placed the bundle on the table Unwrapped it was a baby Rognarr It was tiny barely bigger than a fat chicken with dull peachy scales and eyes that looked perpetually confused It let out a squeak that sounded like a baby rusty hinge
Hector walked over staring His old memories flickered to something Rognarr from Invincible the viltrumite killers This thing looked like it would lose a fight to a grown cock
"What are we supposed to do with that?" Charlotte asked her hands on her face
"uhhh about that my love .....I....Dunno" Kardinal shrugged "The he's bonded to bojj Where bojj goes this dumb thing goes do I don't know maybe Think of it as… a loyalty accessory and hector can look after it Good practice right ? It will Teach my hector responsibility" Hector reached out and poked the baby It was warm and weirdly heavy like a bag of wet sand It blinked its dumb yellow eyes at him It didn't look fierce It looked lost And retarded Incredibly retarded
A weird feeling settled in Hector's chestNot pity exactly More like… recognition In a world of magic he couldn't use in an empire that was falling apart his dad had brought home a giant lizard and its reject baby It was the most absurd messed up pet
He grabbed the bundle with both hands and hefted it The baby squeaked again Hector looked from the dopey creature in his arms to the mountainous Gron standing guard by the door then up at his tired dad and his exasperated mom
A slow faint smile spread across his four year-old face It wasn't a cute smile It was the smile of someone who had just accepted that his life was officially, completely weird.
"Mutt" Hector announced "I'm naming him Mutt"
Kardinal snorted "Sounds about right what do you think love "
Charlotte just put her face in her hands and sighe the sound full of a love that was already exhausted "whatever if he makes a single mess I'm kicking in it out "
---
And Look the soldiers showing up wasn't some dramatic end of the world omen It was mostly just annoying
Thirty guys and ten Rognarr tromping into Edgawter didn't bring a hush of dread It brought noise mud tracked everywhere and the line at the communal well suddenly tripling young Man comotanos a friend of my father probably my dad him... slapped each other's butts instead of shaking hands comotanos pointed them to the lines and went back to drink with my dad and I cevver or hector was the one who distributed the wine
The official word passed from the sergeant to comotanos to everyone at our yard by sundown was simple "Precautionary reinforcement."
The real word passed over fences and while mending nets was simpler "The pointy eared faggots prick up in the Weald are getting frisky"
See, the eight villages along the taiga edgeEdgawter being one were basically the Empire's porch. And the elves in their fancy forest empire next door had been eyeing the porch furniture lately Scouts went missing Traps were found Nothing big but enough that Fort Crag finally sent a squad to each village The logic wasn't complicated
"If they come sniffing," Kardinal explained, shoveling a chunk of chicken meat into his mouth after a long day helping the new guys dig latrines "these lads and their Ragnarrs aren't here to win a war They're a speed bump like A loud sticky one so Their job is to make enough of a racket shoot a bunch of bolts let the Rognarr maul those elven fags maybe blow a signal like lighting red Fire ball into the sky to inform the fast support forces we should hold the line for few hours at least Just long enough for the proper force from Crag to saddle up and ride "
So it wasn't about shadowy invasions It was about logistics A deterrent A way to make the elves think "Is razing Edgawter worth the hassle of fighting thirty stubborn humans and ten very large very angry reptiles for an hour only to then face five hundred fresh troops from the fort?"
Most folks thought it was a good deal Free extra security The soldiers were mostly bored youngsters from the inner provinces, easy to trade with Their Rognarr scared the hell out of the local predator animals which was a plus
The only real tension was between our new "pet" Bojj and the military Rognarr The soldier raggnars were disciplined unlike bojj quiet moving in unison Bojj was... Bojj Kardinal has spoiled this giant a lot He got confused by formation drills He once tried to befriend one of the military males by offering it a half-rotted cow thigh Watching the professional raggnars I'd glance down at Mutt who was trying and failing to climb onto my foot A speed bump or A tripwire That's all we were But even a tripwire had to be set And sometimes tripping someone up was all the time you neededThe whole soldier thing should have been a relief More guns on the wall Bigger lizards on our side A real official army promise that reinforcements would come if the elves got stupid So why did it feel like a rock was sitting in my four year old gut?
I watched the new Rognarr They moved like machines Quiet Their eyes didn't seem dumb and confused like Mutt's They were just...idk, empty? Like they were waiting for a signal to switch from "guard" to "kill" And the soldiers who handled them They'd lightly slap the creatures thick hides with the same casual boredom a farmer slaps a plow horse
It was all so… normal for them This was their job Guarding villages that were probably gonna get hit Being a speed bump
And I was part of the village I was the thing being guarded The thing in the way
At night, after Charlotte blew out the candle the dark in my corner of the house didn't feel cozy anymore It felt like a preview I'd had nothingness before That vast cold void after I was set on fire guhhhhh I knew what it tasted like It wasn't peace It was an insult
And now in this magicless baby body in a backwoods village the universe was lining up to maybe deliver that same insult all over again But slower Maybe with an elf arrow or fireball Or magic Or just getting trampled in the panic Mutt would wheeze-snore in his basket by my bed a dumb warm lump I'd reached down and poked him just to feel something solid He grumbled in his sleep.
My dad wasn't very afraid.... Or he was but it was a tired fear worn smooth like an old coin He'd already made his peace with being a speed bump My mom's fear was sharper bright it was for me and for our home but mostly for me not for the nothingness but I gotta appreciate having a mom she reminds a lot of my own Mom But me? Cevver the idiot who burned himself alive over a pot of coffee I was terrified Not heroically Not with a clenched jaw Just a cold quiet four year old's terror that sat behind my ribs and whispered : You already messed up one death You don't get to choose this one either It might just find you
The soldiers outside were a comfort and a threat. Their presence said we might live. Their reason for being here said we might not I pulled the blanket over my head. Mutt farted in his sleep which was funny
My options were cosmic nothingness or dying to an elf in a taiga biome forest while smelling like Rognarr farts
I didn't know how I was supposed to feel So I just felt scared, overwhelmed and at the same time a bit excited And weirdly really really annoyed