Byzantium

by Grymm BlackHeart

Rating: mature
Tags: King Sombra, Tragedy, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Changelings, Original Character
Length: 5516

During the days before the Alicorns, ponies had worshipped deities known as godesses who'd given them gifts essential for their own survival. Hidden deep within the annals of time lies the story of a boy who dared question the goddesses themselv

Before the Alicorns, before Equestria, before even the princesses themselves, ponykind had worshiped goddesses, deities of the earth, sky and of space and time itself. Lost within the annals of time itself and any records at all pertaining to or relating to of this subject, is a story of the first Alicorn, the foal who'd dared set out into the unknown world, questioning the existence and will of the goddesses themselves, and was given the the powers of a god himself, though at an extremely high cost. Delve into the abyss, leap into the deepest depths of Tartarus itself and learn what it truly means to be a god. This is the Epic of Byzantium, the rise, corruption and fall of the first Alicorn...

Published 2014-03-05 05:00:05 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-01 03:02:33 UTC

Prologue

In the beginning, the goddesses gave Ponykind four gifts.

Avelyn ran through the forest as far as his aching hooves could possibly take him. His heart was pounding from his chest and beating his face in. His breaths were fast and short as his lungs contracted and compressed trying to keep up with his heart rate. Goddesses above, this was horrifying. Why had he done this?

The goddesses gave us ponies, specifically the unicorns, Arcane Magics and Enchantments used to help ward off all that would aught to do harm to us and to use as a charm against any of that which was evil. The goddess, Thena created magical staves designed to emanate spiritual and inconsistent energy. These staves would eventually become the horns in which unicorns today use for utility and other uses.

Avelyn circled around a tree, smashing his hind hoof into the face of one of the horrible, disgusting creatures as he jumped up into the air and kicked it right in it's face. Upon doing this, he pulled out a small magical charm from his pocket and threw it at the creature. Not looking back, he heard a gigantic boom as sparks flew from behind him. A basic light refraction fragmentation enchantment meant only to hinder and slow down your enemy, though to a normal pony with very weak eyes, it could very damned well permanently blind them.

The goddesses then looked down on us in pity, for we were in the dark. The goddess of life and energy itself, Maere, breathed down onto us and then there was fire. Through this fire, the world was enlightened and in the arcane magic in which it was created came to be the everlasting torch known to us as the sun, the source of the Earth Ponies' strong resolve, the Pegasi Ponies' extraordinary ambtion and confidence and of course the intelligence and intellect of the Unicorn Ponies' magic due to their daily exercises in which they raise and lower the sun geometrically and organizationally.

Avelyn hid behind a ruined wall, tripping and stumbling on fallen debris and tree roots as he did. Upon doing this however, a small glimpse of a tiny floating orange flickering light caught his eye. Seeing a golden opportunity to fight back, he ran towards it as fast as he could, gaining traction along the way. His mind was in shambles as he heard the guttural shrieks and growls of the creatures slowly growing ever louder behind him.

Once he finally reached the torch, he took it, biting it and taking it into his small snout. He reared back, turning towards the creatures, waving the torch around and warding them of, the light hurt their eyes, so they weren't quite fond of fire.

Avelyn threw the flames into a bed of dry grass, trapping one of the creatures into a wall of inferno and making the other two run away in fear, though one remained resolved and determined to catch him at all costs, so once more, he ran hoping that the night sentinels out on patrol along the city walls would spot the flames and run to his aid.

Save for the our ability to trust in our goddess's ability to provide and care for us, they had given us yet another gift specifically to make everyday chores easier, but not only that, for many other useful things as well. The goddesses gave us the gift of technology. Fair lady and craftswoman, goddess of blacksmiths and creation, Phaye gave to us technology. The best way to describe it is the ingenuity and revolutionary irrigation, farming and plowing tools created by the earth ponies to help harvest and grow plants every year.

After a few minutes of panicking, screaming for help and nearly losing his life simply for not watching where he was stepping, Avelyn saw the slightest hindrance that he was close to the city. A Way Castle stood before him with it's rusted metal grates and stone structure giving him the most intense of comfort.

Upon running up to it, his heart sank as he saw that the gigantic, metal grated gates weren't open. Thy could've easily been opened with the lever, however that was where the problem was, The lever was on the other side of the bridge, behind the way castle. Way castles were usually designed so that creatures such as these or invaders couldn't have possibly been able to enter or even go near the city itself. The way castles were built atop geographically stubborn areas. As an example, the most famous way castle was the skyward tower way castle. It was called that specifically for it's incredible height and it's ridiculously fortified walls. It was build by a mountain pass. Two mountains on either side of it, ensuring no creature, no matter how big or strong, could possibly get through. The castle itself was pressed in between the two mountains, using it as a sort of wall, with gigantic fortified iron gates in between the mountains serving as the only entrance and only exit and atop the mountain sat the skyward tower, the largest and strongest citadel known to all of Earth Ponykind. Even commander Hurricane of the Pegasi Aerial Infantry Force himself had complemented it's extreme fortitude and ability to protect.

Other way castle's were built atop locations such as exactly that. Atop steep cliffs and rivers used as a moat against whatever might come their way. There was even a particular way castle built atop a lake of pure lava and molten, fiery led.

Inventions and ingenuity such as this were what set the earth ponies apart from the unicorn. The Pegasi were practically invincible due to their extreme training and ability to fly allowing them to escape many various situations and Unicorns were the most intelligent and refined race of ponies to have ever lived. Their magic is unmatched by any minor charm and/or minor enchantments any of the Earth Ponies could have ever done. However this was what earth ponies had in place of lack of steel ambition and confidence and inconsistent knowledge and everlasting power, they had will, determination and an unbreakable ability to constantly try again and again even if they knew they were going to fail. With a small mix of the Pegasi Ponies unbreakable resolve and the Unicorn Ponies unmatched ingenuity, the earth ponies were just as strong and just as unique as the two races.

Knowing this, Avelyn suddenly found a certain kind of confidence and sudden will to fight in his heart.

He ran to the side of the cliff and yelled to the bridge way castle, "Hey! Can anypony hear me? Please? I'm being chased by something!"

All he heard was nothing but mocking, an imitation of his voice echoing back towards him, signaling to him that his life was going to end and nopony would ever even know about it. However, he tried again.

"Hello! Anypony? Please!!" he screamed louder than before.

This particular time, a response came. Three small flickering orange lights came out from the other side of the way castle and faint yelling was heard from them.

His heart nearly leaped into his throat in excitement and hope as he saw the three night sentinels.

From their faint yelling he heard something that was reminiscent of "Were you the one that lit that fire over there?"

He replied answering "Y-Yes!" His heart beat faster as he heard the faint, but strong sound of thumps against the ground behind him. The creature was getting closer. "Please, hurry! I can hear the creature getting closer!" he added frantically with his voice trembling as his heart pounded against his chest, threatening to escape his rib cage and smash against the ground at how hard it was beating.

"Hang on, boy we'll get it open!" he heard one of them say as they approached the other side of the gate.

Avelyn's heart slowed down in relief, but only to start beating faster again as he heard behind him slow, steady, but gigantic footsteps, beginning to grow louder and louder matching raspy, thick breathing from a damaged snout and bloody mouth filled with sharp fangs. It was here, it was right behind him. He turned around to face the beast as the gigantic, rusted, metal grated gate behind him began to open, but at an agonizingly slow rate.

He slowly backed away, trying to distance himself from the creature. It slowly followed suit, but slowly treading towards him at the same rate. The process was agonizingly slow, but it was all he could do until the gate had opened. Once his flank hit the gate itself, he saw something in the creature's eyes, A sudden flare of animosity and wild, bestial hunger welling deep within it.

Avelyn stumbled back on his flank, screaming as the creature pounced on him, closing his eyes so as to not see it coming, though he realized he was alive and the gate had been fully opened.

Three pairs of brawny, muscled arms clad in hide, fur pelts and bronze chainmail dragged him inside to the middle of the bridge away from the danger.

"You okay, son?" asked one of the sentinels. Their halberds laid rested on their armored shoulders and their gruff, leather and fur pelt armor.

"Y-Yeah... thank you..." he said clutching his chest. His heart was still beating quite hard despite being out of danger. He looked back at the opened gate to see what had become of his pursuer. The creature was laying on the ground with a seven foot long wood and iron halberd lodged in it's neck. One of the sentinels had taken out a small utility knife and began skinning the thing.

"Well in any case you'd better get back home before your parents star-" the sentinel's voice was cut short by a shrill shriek on the other side of the bridge. The Sentinel on that had been skinning the creature was on his flank, backing away as dozens, possibly even hundreds of glowing yellow eyes began appearing from the dark forest.

"Get back!" said the Sentinels as dozens more began appearing behind Avelyn, forming a phalanx with their halberds and their round wooden shields.

"W-Wait! Hey! N-No.. p-please don't leave me out he- AIAIAAUGHHHHKKHH" The Sentinel that had been skinning the thing suddenly collapsed to the ground in an attempt to run back towards the way castle. His hind legs had been ripped clean from their sockets. Slowly trying to crawl back towards the castle, he cried softly, begging for somepony, anypony to come to his aid, but nopony came. The creatures pounced on him, digging deep into his mangled body as the sounds of screaming underneath the sick orchestra of bones breaking, blood spurting and flesh being ripped from his body began to echo throughout the night along with the creature's guttural shrieks and growls as they feasted on what was left of the poor young pony.

The final and most important gift given to us by the goddesses, was a gift to be shared by all of Ponykind, however utilized perfectly and gracefully by the Pegasi. The goddess and knightess of warfare and ambition, Kuroko Tenshimaru, came down to Pegasopolis, one of the first Pegasi cities, clad in a suit of pure hard material not known to Ponykind before. She taught five Pegasi the way of Kajiya, the way of the blacksmith. With this, the fourth and final, but most important gift of all was given to Ponykind. The gift of metal and warfare, the boon that would give ponykind an edge against the dangers of the world outside...

As the Night Sentinels began forming a tortoise formation with their circular, wooden, round shields, the creatures began drawing closer and closer as did their terrifying howls and guttural shrieks and growls. Their movements were slow, fluid and generally spastic as though they were having seizures, though their eyes were quite keen on any sign of movement. The minute anypony made a run for it, that particular pony would be the first person they'd go after.

As they emerged from the darkness, they advanced forward in their rhythmic, spastic movements as though each and every bone in their body had been broken and every single movement they made was a struggle. Their tattered clothes, the inhuman noises that left what was left of their vocal tracts, their glowing yellow pupils and the many scars and flesh wounds that had been carved into them with each passing moment in their undeath. What was the worst of it was the stench of death, their rotting, decomposing bodies were the worst part about them.

"N-No... It's them... It's the undead..." cried a young pony in the front of the tortoise, The boy could've been no older than Avelyn himself.

"Oh, grow a pair, Ivory. You've been nothing but a fucking pussy the minute you were deployed here. Why don't you prove to us that there's anything left between your legs and show us what a true earth pony warrior can do!" shouted a gruff, muscly, bearded pony right behind him.

"Shut up, Brynjolf! As I recall you were the exact same way when you were just a scrub ten years ago!" yelled another pony from the back.

"Cool it, asshats!" shouted a pony in the front of the tortoise. "Now isn't the time to be bickering." he added. The stallion had the same particular uniform as the other warriors. Pelts, hide and armored plating where a true colt needed it most. The only difference distinguishing that he was the captain of this particular sect of Sentinels was his bronze chestplate with the royal mark on it. A normal Sentinel usually had silver armor.

"Y-Yes, Sir Black Blade, sir!" the stallions shouted in unison.

Capt. Black Blade was a normal colt with a lean build. He had dark brown fur with medium length hair that fell down the side of his face and the other side of his hair was shaved, leaving only a small patch of stubble where the hair used to be. It was a typical hair cut for the Northwestern Earth Ponies. Capt, Black Blade himself couldn't have been more than three or four years older than Avelyn himself. A captain at such a young age. What would a pony with such talent be doing leading a group of Sentinels? Surely if he was so talented, he would've been deployed in the Crusader's Elite Corps.

"You, kid." he said looking down at Avelyn.

"Y-Yes sir..." said Avelyn as he got up to his feet.

"Are you just gonna sit there, or are you gonna get the hell outta here?" he said.

"W-Well... I was just go-"

"If you aren't going to leave grab that halberd and shield and actually make yourself useful. If not, then you're just going to be another unfortunate death here, so get your ass to safety while you still can." said the Capt.

Avelyn stared at him incredulously. How could he possibly help them in any way? He was civillian! A non-combatant for Goddess's sakes!

"What's it gonna be, boy? Are you just gonna sit there and gawk at us some more, or are you going to make your decision?" he asked as the Undead began inching closer and closer.

Avelyn scowled at the ground. All his life he'd only ever ran. He didn't do anything else, but run, hide and tell himself everything was going to be okay, But in the end it's what had always worked. Fear kept him alive, forced him to be stronger and endure everything in order to live another day. It was what ensured his safety, so he wouldn't die. He gritted his teeth shaking his head as he got up and made his decision.

Chapter 1

Carmine looked on beyond Precipice of the hill top at the village below. Massive wooden fences and stone ruins were scattered bellow the bulwark, below even the very bastion in which the entire village stood on. The modified Motte and Bailey design of the village was wholly considered one of the most steadfast and indestructible forms of protection against the monsters of the outside world. Rather than having massive wooden pikes risen from the ground and moats, however, the village was composed mainly of limestone and sandstone serving as a fortress against the outside forces.

At the top of the village, overlooking the entirety of nearly the entire forest stood the Everfree Prefecture's keep with the Silverspear and the Blackblade citadels on either side of it. Most if not all of the Prefecture's residents were mainly composed of dukes, chamberlains, barons, counts and of course, individuals in which Carmine himself loathed to his very core, Bishops and Saints of the Goddesses.

Despite being called the Pony's Republic of the Province of Everfree, it was more of a theocracy to be exact. Codes of conduct, laws, trials and nearly every aspect of political ordeals were dominated by the church of the Goddesses. Everypony believed that they were under the care of some divine Providence, no matter what happened, it was always up to the Goddesses to fix it, and nopony else lifted a single hoof to even help reach a resolution to the crisis at hoof and it was all thanks to the Divine Syndicate at the head of the Everfree council.

It was one of the many things Carmine hated about Everfree. Growing up, he was taught that the Goddesses were the only reason they were alive that very day. Give to the goddesses and they shall give back. In this case it was complete and utter spiritual, physical, mental, and psychological surrender to the divine mistresses. He'd eventually began to question their very existence and soon enough began to not only not believe in, but also despise and estrange nearly any and all aspects or even hindrances of the Goddesses. A main factor to this being the many strict rules and the 'Divine Code' limiting him from doing many things that he thought should be done by an independent, young colt if he wanted to. It was also the fact that the church system was even more so corrupted than the slums of the city itself, which was controlled by guild lords, prostitute barns and the drug traders. Church officials had the rights to any young virgin they had set their eyes on in the name of 'Divine Conception' as sacrifices to the goddesses. Daily taxes were collected from every citizen, in the name of the Goddesses, though the church officials sat atop their bedchambers, showered in gold and luxurious furnishings, stuffing their fat flanks off with cheese and wine while young fillies and foals beneath them taxed themselves and strained every fiber of their being just for a measly half bit, not even enough to buy bread scraps. Indulgences and Indictments were sold at extremely high prices. Indulgences ultimately conned the masses into believing that they were tickets out of Tartarus, the minute they held an Indulgence, they were free to commit any sin they wished and were made to believe that they were free from the depths of Tartarus itself the minute they died and were free to join the goddesses in Luxens, the home of eternal pleasure and light for those who obeyed the goddesses accordingly and who's hearts were of goodness and peace. Indictments were quite the opposite, however. If anypony saw 'corruption' or 'evil' within another pony, they'd buy an Indictment and basically damn that pony to Tartarus for the rest of eternity, though they weren't used for that at all, but rather for personal grudges and rising hatreds among the corrupted, but misguided and manipulated masses. Indictments and Indulgences counteracted each other, so the church made an easy bit off of the poor saps who continually bought Indictments against each other and then bought Indulgences to save their sorry rumps. There were many aspects of the church that was corrupted, though nopony saw it nor acknowledged it, for if they were to point it out, they would be branded a heretic and shunned for the rest of their lives, though in most cases, the punishments were even more severe.

Getting up from his perch, sighing, Carmine decided to return home. He was hoping he wouldn't have to confront his father and mother today about his disbelief in the Goddesses. T'was a cruel thing in his honest mind's opinion. Why would the Goddesses allow for ponykind to simply suffer and wither away like this when they'd put their complete and utter trust of them? In his mind there was naught but two options left, either the Goddesses were simply cruel and evil beings, or they simply did not exist.

The sun dipped into the horizon as the last gleams of sunlight shined throughout Equestria. It was already hard enough to see during the day, what with the mist and fog that plagued the outside world, but nightfall only brought about pure darkness. In the outside world, the moon and stars were easy enough to see, but the mist, fog and heavy clouds blanketed the sky in an miasma of darkness, blocking any and all moonlight. Though it was quite hard to navigate, the city itself was easy enough to see from inside the walls, though the dense foliage and woodland outside the walls along with the high level of humidity in the air contributed to much of the mist and fog.

Carmine prided himself in learning that himself through reading science books and studying climate patterns with his teacher, though according to the church, the fog and mist itself due to the infamous event known as 'The Wild Hunt'. The Wild Hunt was a theory developed by Sir Bishop Gallant of the royal court. Despite being a bishop for the church as well as a cleric knight for the kingdom, this particular religious and political stallion was one pony that Carmine had actually respected and admired due to his philosophical ideals and ability to keep an open mind and learn about the world the way most wouldn't even dare. The Wild hunt pertains specifically to the study of survivalism and a pony's breaking point in pressure when their life is in danger. Sir Bishop Gallant states that in order to survive, one must adapt, change and fight in order to live in this dangerous world, lest he perish at the hands of the beasts that plague it. There are particular levels, meters in which a pony would fathom in order to survive until their breaking point and basically gave up on surviving and let themselves simply die. A pony willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of another, was not heroic, but rather suicidal and pretentious by all means, stupid in a way, when his life could have been prolonged and spent fighting, surviving. A pony willing to sacrifice another's life was smart and cunning, had the wits of survivor and would do anything, even if it meant losing the only thing that kept them civilized, to survive. Though there were certain aspects that would play in. Psychological aspects, factors as to whether the pony was fit enough or not to survive. It was all a complicated process. The basic Gist of it was that the world was cruel and there are many ways you can go about surviving in it. It was all simply a matter of how far you would take it in order to survive.

Somehow tying this to the goddesses, the church concluded that mist was brought upon by them to purge Everfree from the evil of those ponies with evil hearts who would plague ponykind,

As Carmine walked through the slums of the city, he pondered what he was going to do in order to survive this world. Even if he lived his life, successfully, he would never see the outside world. Many ponies leave the city, though only the wealthy and lucky actually survived long enough to see the outside world. Trading routes were heavily guarded, though the merchants who used them always traveled in caravans so as to not attract the creatures of the outside world while they were secluded and unprotected, though they rarely ever journeyed alone without an armored escort. Carmine's parents always assured him that he would be safer and more successful in the city.

Despite being one of the smartest students in his academy, having parents who were more on the wealthy side and not being necessarily ugly, but rather quite the extreme opposite, he still felt empty inside. He sighed as he rocked his head back in forth, making his long, thick mane fell down the side of his face, covering up one of his eyes. It wasn't necessarily that he wasn't always given what he asked for, not implying that he was a pampered, whiny, snobbish brat, but rather it all bored him. He'd once suggested joining the Royal Arsenal and completing a tour of duty around Everfree and possibly even Equestria itself, fighting rival families just so he could see the world around him, but it ended with his mother and father nearly waking the entire square with their bawling.

The lanterns and torched sconces surrounding the square flickered as he entered the Craftspony's Quarters. Homes to the upper middle-class, merchants, chamberlains, entrepreneurs, dukes, etc. His parents would worry once more that he was out past the allotted time he was allowed to wander. First world problems had always pissed him off...

"Mum, Da, I'm home." he said as the maids welcomed him in, but he quickly dismissed them with a wave of his hoof. It had always angered him that not everypony was treated the same. No one pony should be under another just because of social class. Despite being told not to, by his parents and even the servants themselves, he'd helped around the house with cleaning, cooking and many other chores. He hated that they had to go through hard labor like this just to earn so little money for their starving families, so he tried his hardest to close the gap between him and his servants. Eventually the maids and butlers began to warm up to him and grew to like him.

"Carmine, where have you been? Didn't your father and I tell you not to be outside of the Craftspony's Quarters after sundown?" asked his mother as she came down the stairs, rushing to her son's side.

Dismissing her and his approaching father with an indifferent glance, he said, "I was only out for a few minutes don't worry about it." he said as he began making his way up the stairs.

"Camine, come back down here this instant." his father said sternly.

Stopping in his tracks and immediately turning back around to face them, he said, "Yes, da."

"Son, you know everything we do is because we care about you." said his father as he crossed his hooves. "We only care about you."

"Well don't care about me. I'm not some stupid little foal that doesn't know what he's doing, I can take care of myself." he said. "I don't need anypony's help." he added sternly under his breath.

"You may think so, but out there is more dangerous now, more than ever." said his mother, trying to grab her son and embrace him.

"Your mother is right, son. We just don't want to see you get hurt. Some filthy street beggars may give you diseases or you may get mugged by some thieves or even worse may happen." said his father.

"I can handle myself." he said. "What were all those swordplay skills you made me learn if I'll never get to try them out." he said sternly as he glared up at his father.

"You're not going to go on about the Royal Arsenal again are you?" he asked with an angry flare in his voice. "We already told you you aren't going to join the military."

"No this isn't about that. This is about you and everypony else being too much of a coward to even go outside of their own homes." he replied with an surge of rage welling up deep within him.

"We only want to protect you, Carmine. We don't want anything hurting you and I'm sure everypony else thinks the same." said his mother, trying to calm the two colts down.

"No! It's because you and everypony else are weak, scared little cowards who do nothing but hide behind the walls of the city! You all dream of the day when there are no more monsters out there plaguing Everfree and even Equestria, but the reason they are out there roaming free, keeping us behind these walls is because none of you lift a single hoof to help exterminate them!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Everypony in this goddessdamned city is a fucking lazy, cowardly dumbarse! You all depend on your fucking goddesses, but what have they done to even help us reclaim our land?! Nothing! If we need something done, we'd aught to do it ourselves and rely on our own strength!" he added as the servants began to hurriedly retreat to their rooms, not even daring to interfere.

Carmine's parents were dumbfounded as they stared at their son, speechless with both shock and dismay. "Carmine, go to your room right this instant." said his father with a surprisingly calm voice. "Your mother and I have something we need to talk about alone." he said with a dark and brooding tone in his voice.

Carmine complied and did exactly that. Trotting up the stairs and going down the corridor, he opened the door to his quarters and he retreated into his room and flopped down on his bed, sighing and breathing in hurried, deep paces.

From the other side of the room, he could hear his little sister crying softly in her room and his older sister trying to distract herself from the intense scene that had just occurred downstairs with her harp music across from his room. His eldest sister however, was eerily quiet.. He stared up at the large portrait of him and his family above his mantle and fireplace, depicting him, his three sisters and his parents. Underneath was a plaque with his family crest as well as the inscription, 'The Devil family'.

If one was to wander about the hall, one would find portraits and plaques describing each member of the Devil family. Scarlet Devil, his little sister, Carnelian Devil, his older sister, Cerise Devil, his eldest sister, Sangria Devil, his mother, Amaranth Devil, his father and of course, Carmine Devil himself. Though it was his family name, Carmine didn't actually like to be referred to as 'Devil' so most people only refer to his first name.

Despite the family dominantly having gray to black fur with brilliant shades of red serving as their mane and shades of light blue to deep purple eyes, Carmine was different. A recessive trait on his mother's side had given him brilliant white hair with a few silver streaks running down it and a generally light shade of brown color for fur, though it was quite appealing to the eye, so his family had found a way to cope with it. His eyes, unlike his family, however was the bloodiest shade of red, almost as though he were something else entirely different from a pony, but he was normal enough. Showing very little to no emotion whatsoever, they pierced the air with their very stoic and mysterious charisma. It was one of the many terrifying, but curious features about him. He was absolutely unpredictable.

Carmine sighed as he lay on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. His parents always had given him what he wanted, he was well fed and well clothed. He was lucky... He was also a pampered brat. He yearned for hardship. For struggle. To face real problems out in the world. To survive and to be kept on his hooves every waking moment of his life, The way life was meant to be lived. According to Sir Bishop Gallant at least.

After some fairly awkward moments of silence, he'd began to feel his eyelids getting heavy and in a matter of minutes, he was fast asleep.

It was probably only about a half hour to forty minutes into his peaceful state that his parents had interrupted his sleep, by barging into his room.

Shaking him awake and giving him a hard look, his father sat by Carmine's bed, with a distraught look on his face. It was almost as though he'd made a mistake he was going to regret for the rest of his life. His mother stayed behind, by his bedroom door, crying and sobbing softly into a handkerchief.

"Son... Carmine... Your mother and I decided..." he said as he comforted and consoled his crying wife. "We're going to let you join the Elite Crusader's Corps."