The Ashveil were an ancient lineage that survived famine, plague, and war, enduring for centuries through the craft of blacksmithing.
Their work provided them with financial stability and protection, as the kingdom bought large quantities of weapons and armor from them, as did some families with sufficient purchasing power.
When Nadir Ashveil was born, his family was already part of the upper echelons of society. They had almost as much influence as the government itself—after all, they were suppliers to the local army.
But for that very reason, life as a member of the Ashveil wasn't easy. All young men were trained in blacksmithing from a young age, and their workload only increased with time, especially if they proved talented.
The family prided itself on the quality of its products, so those without talent were expelled. For better or worse, Nadir wasn't so lucky.
At the age of ten, his father taught him how to forge. Surprisingly, the boy was able to perform the process flawlessly, and if that weren't enough, his creations were of excellent quality even when using common materials. It was then that it became known that Nadir had the Divine Protection of Forging.
After that event, Nadir's life became a living hell.
Day after day, Nadir had to create industrial quantities of weapons—a task typically shared among dozens of blacksmiths. Thanks to the high-quality production ensured, the Ashveils stopped using expensive ores, reducing costs and exponentially increasing their profits.
At first, Nadir had fallen in love with blacksmithing, not only for the pleasure of creating something new with his own hands, but also because his family was constantly praising him and paying attention to him. But as his skills improved and his body matured to allow him to work longer, everything began to go awry.
He was no longer praised for his incredible work. What had once been a great and unprecedented achievement was now the bare minimum expected of him. He lived locked away in his workshop, refining and shaping metals. Little by little, he lost the thrill of creating. Everything was repetitive and overly familiar shapes.
Nadir's only escape was the rare free time he was given after he had completed a specific quota of lots. On those occasions, he would go to the city and drink alcohol until he lost all sense of reality; only in this state of extreme intoxication would he muster the courage to go to the red-light district to satisfy his masculine needs.
Even if he got into trouble, his family supported him to the point where he was untouchable. All his "mistakes" were erased as if they had never existed. But of course, even though people didn't mention it and he was even capable of denying it, Nadir was very aware of each of his own sins and those of his family.
***
She was a beautiful girl who had begun working as a prostitute to support her family. It wasn't by her own choice, but on her mother's orders. Her name was Adela. Nadir fell in love with her at first sight. From then on, he asked for her every night.
During one of those occasions, Adela confessed that he was the only client she didn't hate because Nadir was so kind and patient with her. He never got angry when Adela didn't know how to do the things she asked him to do, or when she started crying in the middle of the service.
She also told him that she couldn't stand her job anymore, that she felt disgusted with herself for becoming an object to satisfy the lust of the disgusting men who paid her and used her without tact or consideration. The only thing that kept her afloat was seeing the happy faces of her two younger sisters.
Nadir could not contain himself any longer.
"Don't do this anymore. Quit this damn job, I'll give you more money than you make here."
"Huh? Why would you do that for someone like me?"
"Because I love you."
Without the effects of alcohol, Nadir couldn't bring himself to utter those words out loud. He pressed his lips together and regretted being such a coward, but instead, he held Adela's hands and looked at her firmly.
"You deserve something much better than this life."
From that moment on, Nadir became Adela's emotional and financial pillar. Every few days, they would meet secretly at an inn, have dinner together, and eventually, he would give her money for several days.
Adela didn't know how to return the favor, but what she did know was that Nadir liked her a lot, and she had certainly begun to feel more than just gratitude for the handsome young blacksmith.
During one of their weekly appointments, she stopped him as he was leaving after giving her the bag containing the payment. Nadir looked at her, surprised and trembling slightly at the unexpected physical contact.
"Wait, let's stay a little longer."
Smiling nervously, Adela took out one of the coins and paid for a room for the two of them. Nadir couldn't believe what was happening.
Adela never let go of his hand as she led him upstairs, leading him to the best night of his life. From then on, Nadir eagerly awaited the next night at the inn, calming his longing with the vivid memory of the most recent night.
One night, Nadir managed to overcome his fear of rejection and proposed to Adela. She immediately accepted, blushing instantly for having replied so quickly. Although she had sold her body for a time, Adela never saw herself as an easy woman.
"I'm sorry, you're going to think I'm taking advantage of you." She was so embarrassed by her joy that tears filled her eyes even as she smiled.
"I know you'd never do that, but even if you did, I wouldn't care. My own family doesn't even try to hide the fact that they only see me as a damn tool to gain money and prestige." Nadir said with a hint of pain and resentment.
After that, the couple began seeing each other much more frequently. They went out day and night on romantic dates, which almost always ended in passionate encounters.
Nadir realized that his love for Adela grew with each passing day. Her miserable life seemed increasingly repulsive, and he wanted only one thing: to be free to be with his beloved and start a family with her.
But when she tried to discuss the matter with her, she ran into an unexpected obstacle. Hilda, Adela's mother, had learned that her daughter had stopped working and was currently engaged to a relationship. Outraged, she locked her in the house, going in her place to meet her mysterious, wealthy boyfriend.
"I can't believe it, this girl really hit the jackpot with you." The woman said with a wicked smile. "An Ashveil, no less."
"Ma'am, please don't blame Adela. I told her not to continue working at the brothel."
"I know, kid. I agree with the decision my daughter made, but I still have to punish her for disobeying me. So you won't be seeing her again for a while."
"Please don't do that! She didn't do anything wrong! I... I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."
"Oh? That sounds interesting. What's on your mind, kid?"
Nadir already knew what was going on. Knowing his background, Hilda was blatantly trying to get more money. It was outrageous, but all Nadir cared about was being with Adela. In fact, if he thought about it, his hateful mother-in-law was actually helping him get even with his family by demanding more money than he was already taking from them. Besides, this situation wouldn't last much longer.
The new agreement went smoothly, and Adela regained her freedom. Nadir was finally able to tell her what he'd been thinking about for the past few months.
"Run away with me. We'll go somewhere else, far away from all this. With my skills, we can live a comfortable and happy life. We can even bring your sisters so your mother can't force them to work to support her."
"Nadir..."
Adela cried with happiness upon hearing the proposal. Without hesitating for a moment, she threw herself into her beloved's arms and nodded strongly, clinging to him as if she never wanted to let go.
"Let's do it! I want to spend the rest of my life with you!"
For the next few days, the couple made preparations for their escape, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. However, as Nadir was packing his things for the trip, his father burst into the room.
"I had decided not to intervene because I thought this whole thing was just a teenage whim, but... Do you really intend to abandon us to run off with a whore?"
"... What did you call her?"
Nadir, the boy who never dared to defy an order, who never responded when reprimanded, who never complained when punished... At that moment, he looked at his father, the absolute and unappealable authority in his life, and his eyes burned with murderous intent.
Cyrus Ashveil would never have imagined his own son would look at him that way, having raised him to be submissive and obedient. The sense of danger that gaze inspired in him made him instinctively retreat, frightened.
"You..."
But when reason overcame instinct, fear turned to anger.
"How dare you!"
SLAP!
Nadir fell to the ground from the force of the slap his father gave him.
"Do you think you can intimidate me, you idiot brat!? You're centuries away!"
Curiously, despite what Cyrus was saying, it was Nadir who was looking at him with a fearless coldness while on the contrary, he was breathing heavily and his voice, although aggressive, was fragile and trembling as if it was about to break.
"You're a damn disappointment! If you weren't my son, I would have killed you for embarrassing me like this!"
"... And why don't you do it? I prefer death to what you call an 'honorable life.'"
"What did you say?! If it's so bad, you should have said it, damn it!"
"Why? It wouldn't have mattered."
"Of course it would have mattered! Why would I force you to live a life you don't want to live?!" Cyrus exclaimed sarcastically. "You know what? You're right, our family and our customs are garbage! You can go to the family cemetery with your girlfriend and destroy our ancestors' tombstones! Urinate and defecate on their graves! Also, tell them you don't give a shit about the legacy and dignity they built through countless years of hard work and sacrifice because you just want to marry a carnival cunt!"
"If you insist..."
Nadir stood up, grabbed his things, and headed for the door, but his father grabbed him by the arm and threw him across the room.
"Are you still trying to make fun of me!?"
Cyrus's blows were cruel and merciless, without a single shred of consideration, even when those blows were directed at his own son.
"Ungrateful brat! After everything I've done for you! You don't deserve to be part of this family! You don't deserve to be an Ashveil!"
Nadir didn't react to any of the insults, reproaches, or physical attacks. Cyrus began to despair, as nothing seemed to make his son see reason.
"For now... For now, you're going to stay in the underground dungeon for a while. That'll make you think. As for your girlfriend... I'll make sure you never see her again."
"No!" Nadir exploded, revealing the emotions beneath his mask of indifference. "Do whatever you want with me, Father... But if anything happens to her, I swear you'll regret it!"
"Are you threatening me?"
Nadir was so furious that he didn't feel the pain of the beating he received. His father left, and guards politely escorted him to the cozy catacombs, a veritable luxury suite... for rats and cockroaches.
Because it was close to the septic tank, the place stank of feces, urine, and putrefaction. Nadir knew his family used the site to torture traitors, spies, prisoners of war, and the like. It wasn't unreasonable to think that many people had died there.
Once left alone, Nadir wasted no time in searching for a way to escape. It took him almost a full day to come up with an escape plan, due to limited resources and his chaotic mental state.
The key was the pile of bones that had been swept into a corner, proving that someone had indeed perished during their stay in the dungeon. But Nadir was determined not to see out his life in such a place.
By scraping the bones he found, the boy managed to create a sort of awl with which he managed to open the lock at the entrance. Then, being very cautious, Nadir slipped out of the dungeon just a few hours after entering, breaking the record for corrupt politicians.
The mansion was heavily guarded, and all its inhabitants were aware of the punishment being carried out, so Nadir had to be careful not to be seen. However, he realized it would be impossible for him to escape without running into the sentries patrolling the surrounding area.
"Fuck it, I'm already screwed anyway."
Nadir thought of Adela to fill him with courage and bravery. Then he took his bone weapon and approached an unsuspecting guard, stabbing him in the back with a silent motion. He then hid the body and changed into a sentry uniform.
Turning into a stealthy assassin, Nadir continued advancing from point to point, killing everyone in his path and bypassing all the surveillance rings until he was finally able to leave Ashveil territory.
"I couldn't take anything, but it doesn't matter as long as I can be with Adela... Shit, that's true! Father mentioned her and said he'd do something about it!"
Nadir rushed into the city, running as if his life (and that of his girlfriend) depended on it, which presumably they did.
When he arrived at Adela's house, he was disconcerted because the entire building was boarded up with wooden planks. With a little effort, he broke the wood covering one of the entrances and entered.
The house was abandoned: not empty, just uninhabited. It was as if the residents had left without taking anything at all and then blocked the entrances.
Nadir could see some valuables scattered throughout the house, there was even a chest full of coins that he recognized as Adela's savings, as she had mentioned it when they were thinking about how they would pay for a new blacksmith shop for Nadir once they had settled in another region.
The chest had been opened and was lying on the floor, as if it had been dropped or deliberately knocked over. Coins were scattered around it. For some reason, this deeply disturbed Nadir.
"Oh no. I have a horrible feeling about this."
"I knew you'd do this... You shouldn't have been so persistent, son."
"Father?"
Nadir froze when Cyrus revealed his presence, invisible until that moment. The expression on the older man's face was a strange mix of coldness and sadness. He was sitting in an old rocking chair by a fireplace.
"Come with me." He said simply, getting up and leaving the house.
"..."
Tormented by doubts and paranoia, Nadir felt that if he didn't go to his father, he would never see Adela again or know what happened to her.
Cyrus led him on a long walk along a path that ran deep into the woods north of town, on the opposite side of the family's territory.
"Why are we going so far?"
As if hearing his son's thoughts, Cyrus looked at him blankly, an attitude that contrasted greatly with the one he displayed in their previous interaction, when he lost his temper and sent him to the dungeon.
"We're almost there."
A few minutes later they stopped in a forest glade that seemed unremarkable, except for one detail that Nadir noticed when he looked down.
There were four small mounds of earth in the center of the glade.