Part One: Flashback (Alexei)
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Birds were always quite interesting to Alexei. Luckily enough for him, he was a Verbatian child, which meant he lived in the forest, hardly ever seeing sunlight under the thick canopy of the trees, but never at a lack of seeing the feathered creatures. Verbatium was rich in spiritual species and creatures, especially birds. Sometimes, he would leave home early in the morning to come out and watch them. Nobody ever stopped him, despite being merely three years of age.
His parents couldn't care less about him, and he already knew that for a very long time. They never checked if he was at home, they never sang him to sleep, or paid him any attention. They hadn't even given him a nickname.
