Oken Rebirth: Tales of An Unknown World

CHAPTER 1: A BROKEN WORLD

It is the year 1400 LA, Liegen Age and peace has been restored to the lands of Orion under the reign of its current ruler; King Alexander III.

After years of conflict with Orion's neighboring counterpart finally came to an end, today Orion's capital beams with life under the second summer sun with the city's most stunning maidens falling over themselves all thanks to the presence of heroic adventurers lazing from their duties, all for the Soin festivities.

The Soin festival, an event that takes a total count of ten days starting from the twentieth of Soi to the thirtieth of Soi; it is well prepared for as food stalls line up in the market place filled with fresh produce and lively merchants travelling from the city's most dynamic shares to the outskirts and back delivering different chattels for the festival with the capital's soldiers, guards as well as a select few hired mercenaries and adventurers who take no days off in the name of greed masked as justice are on standby ready to enforce the law.

[Soi - The equivalent of February in Oken]

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"Be back before the festival begins or you can kiss your pay goodbye this month too, I can't have any of my girls up and about on one of the busiest days of the year. You have two hours to deliver those and get back, and not a minute later!" A round, middle aged woman with a veneer of strong perfume and more jewelry no commoner would ever know what to do with, shouts from up a brothel staircase.

"Oh and Belle!" the middle aged woman continues while making her way down the staircase. "Take that brat with you, all she does is cause trouble for my business and I can't deal with that during this festival."

"Yes ma'am." the beautiful Belle in her earliest of thirties, takes a halfhearted bow of agreeance and walks out through the kitchen door grabbing the dark raven haired girl sitting by the brothel's back entrance and tugging her along behind her.

The woman glares at the duo as they leave and after a short second she turns back to her duties.

As the duo walks, they stand out from all the excitement and festivities in the city like a sore thumb thanks their grimy garments. Having worked for the last three months and not receiving her full monthly pay, the young Belle has not been able to afford to maintain or get a new wardrobe. All she has is one good outfit left to work in and the rags she has on now and it's all somewhat thanks to the girl walking beside her.

That woman... Belle thinks in frustration. I swear to the highest of all the gods, one of these days I'll make her worship the very ground I walk on. One-of-these-days.

The pair decide to take a shorter route to their destination on the other side of the city through one of the busiest streets, but after taking a quick right turn at the end of the block; their shortcut is instantly registered as a bad idea.

"You damn brat! Watch where you are going!"

Soon after the girl bumps into what seems to be a wall of flesh and a heart crashing voice finds its way to her ears with everything and everyone around them slowing down to a halt. Some bystanders quickly stop and fix their attention on what is happening.

Character POV

"I-, I am very sorry sir, forgive her. She is but a lowly and clumsy servant, she knows no better." Annabelle speaks up in my defense and as I look up to what is in front of us, I see a mountain of a man dressed in what seems to be very expensive robes matched with even more expensive jewelry.

He's probably a man of high status. I can't help but register his features as my eyes work quickly up and down his whole being. A perfectly chiseled face sits on his shoulders with hazel colored eyes, a set pink plump lips and a perfectly trimmed crimped brown beard. His cheeks look somewhat full and he has shoulder length brown hair that is neatly combed and maintained.