The town of Rondo was a tiny insignificant mining community with most of the townspeople working in the nearby mountains harvesting assorted minerals.
They were hardy people who worked themselves to the bone every day to provide for their families or so they say.
The truth is they were assholes who spent most of their time getting drunk and hitting each other all the while being oppressed by the intolerable upper class you sucked up to the Baron.
The town and the surrounding region were controlled by Baron Andrew and his cronies who ruled with an iron fist.
Taxes were crazy, the upper class could do whatever they pleased, and no one could be allowed to live if they spoke out.
In short, this place was a feudalist nightmare!
...
A young boy walked cautiously through the streets toward the town square making sure to stay out of sight.
Slithering from alleyway to alleyway he quickly arrived at the square where a large group of children had gathered with their parents all eagerly awaiting for the tuxedoed man to arrive.
Hiding in the shadows the boy watched as a carriage arrived and the same plain-looking man in a tuxedo came out set up his wooden stool and took out his bullhorn.
"Hello everyone my name is Lane and I am Lord Andrew's butler I will be escorting you all to Baron's estate to be tested and as you all know only the best may be accepted so if you believe yourself to be mediocre then go fuck off as to not waste the Baron's precious time."
The butler Lane then hopped off the stool and under the surprised faces of the parents jogged his way over to the carriage gesturing for those to follow.
"Children follow the carriage parents stay where you are. This is the first test let us see if you can keep up don't fall behind or else you fail!" Shouted Lane before disappearing inside the carriage.
The driver with a wicked grin cracked his whip and sped off at an incredible speed toward the mountains where the Lord's mansion was situated.
The crowd of young children at first stood bewildered not understanding what they should do before they realized they had to move quickly when a frail boy covered in filthy rags sprinted out of an alley toward the carriage and jumped onto it just before it sped away.
"Hmm? What was that noise?" said Lane as he popped his head out of the carriage.
Lane looked all around until he found what was causing the disturbance. A small dirty boy no older than four latched tightly to the back of the carriage holding on for dear life.
"Oh, clever little roach aren't you well whatever just don't fall off and die!" spat out Lane before going back into the carriage where he began gingerly sipping tea.
The boy with all the strength he could muster pulled himself onto the roof of the carriage breathing heavily and covered in sweat from having greatly overexerted his emaciated little body.
'Dammit, there was no other way. I could never run that far with how weakened I am but still, that was a close one. One wrong move and I'd be dead under the wheels of this carriage!' thought the boy while he clung desperately to the carriage roof.
However, he was faring much better than the rest of the children. Anyone under the age of 10 had already given up by now as there was no way they'd have the stamina to keep up with the carriage but even the older children struggled to keep running.
It didn't take long for them to reach the Lord's mansion and by the end, less than a dozen had made it including the young boy who hitched a ride on top of the carriage.
Carefully he jumped down while under the heated gazes of the rest of the exhausted children clearly jealous of how clever he had been.
Lane exited the carriage taking a look at who was left before sighing at the pathetic sight of the weak children.
"Tch! Only about twelve of you and all of you look miserable from such a light jog how sad maybe there won't be enough of you to fill those five spots!" spat a furious Lane.
The children all quickly fixed themselves so as to not appear weak before the imposing butler.
"Now fall into smallest to largest the next test shall begin!" roared the butler as commanded the anxious children.
Under his gaze, they fell into line with the short boy in the back there they stood for several hours no one daring to move an inch.
As they waited the boy couldn't help but admire the massive fortress-like mansion made out of stone covered in iron plates that stood before them.
The mansion had a strange gothic vibe to it since it stood in the center of a barren patch of land overlooking the vast chain of mountains to the east.
It was in those peaks the town made its money and the Baron got his power. Those mountains contain enormous iron deposits which provided a vast amount of valuable materials for their nation's army.
They were a precious resource that has been entrusted to the Baron's family for generations. Without it, the Baron would be nothing which was why his ancestors decided to build their impressive home directly beneath those sprawling mountains.
The children all waited patiently until a man finally came out of the massive stone fortress and walked towards them before coming to a stop next to the butler.
He had a sicking air of superiority around him as he judge them with his fierce blue eyes.
He was tall broad-shouldered with a head of long curly brown hair which draped over his chest and back.
His jaw was chiseled like a piece of marble and covered in a layer of brown stubble.
His face was rugged and manly with strong lines of muscularity and he wore only the finest of clothing fit for noblemen like himself.
By his appearance alone one could clearly see he was an important man of high social standing.
"My name is Baron Andrew Eisen and I am the great lord of this region this will be the next test come to me so that I may examine you!" He spoke in a deep authoritative voice.
"Hurry now you in front come here let's hurry this up!" yelled Lane at the startled young boy standing at the front of the line.
He quickly walked over to the Baron who examined his body feeling his arms, legs, head, and chest in a strange methodical manner.
After a few minutes, he stopped suddenly before erupting in bought of frightening fury.
"How dare you!!!" he roared before striking the surprised boy in the head with so much force it ruptured like a melon.
His blood and brain matter flew through the air and splattered all over the terrified children as well as painting the surrounding terrain a bright red.
Breathing furiously the Baron wiped his bloody fist with a handkerchief before glaring at the remaining kids who stood paralyzed with fear.
"Listen up because it will not be said again only those twelve and under may participate anyone over twelve will be punished accordingly understood!!!" shouted the irate Lord before demanding the next child to come forward.
The next child a girl ignoring the gore all over herself stepped forth and the Lord examined her, touching all over her body.
"Hmm? You fail, be gone with you!" shouted the Lord before the little girl covered her face and ran away crying.
The Baron paid her no mind and immediately ordered the next child to step up.
After a while, the line was over with only one child still left, a gaunt little boy covered head to toe in grime.
The boy stood there surprised by the outcome of the exam, in the end, no one passed.
He was the only one who was yet to be tested but so far no one else could make the cut so what were his chances?
"Hurry up you detestable little street urchin I don't have all day!" spoke the pissed-off Baron.
'Damn all these children are useless not one had any talent their bodily potential was so low it's laughable and I doubt this scrawny sack of bones will be any better than they were!' thought the angry Baron as he watched the boy walk up to him.
He examined him just like the rest except this time trying not to breathe in his rancid odor and after a few minutes he became thoroughly surprised.
"Well well well...his bodily potential is top-notched...even higher than my own children." muttered the Baron before standing up and walking over to his butler.
Placing a hand on his shoulder he said quietly. "Clean him up, get him some decent clothes, and while you're at him feed him a nice hearty meal he passes." making sure to say the last two words loud enough for the boy to hear before walking back into his mansion.
The butler although confused by his Lord's request quickly regained his composure, turned to the boy, and motioned for him to follow.
The boy who was just as confused by the kind gesture decided to follow the butler anyway and soon was subjected to hours of vigorous cleaning and grooming by a team of maids in a large unused lavatory in the back of the mansion.
The boy although embarrassed by the fact he was being seen naked by a bunch of young maids was far happier to be clean after a lifetime of not bathing.
After he bathed the maids dressed him in a nice white tunic and blue trousers before moving him into a large dining hall.
Where they sat him down at a long exquisitely crafted black wood table with dozens of pristine ebony chairs and placed several dishes full of food in front of him.
The boy wasted no time in frantically devouring the meals like he thought someone might try to steal them.
After he finished they escorted the boy to a room in a small corner of the mansion and told him this was where he will stay for the next few days until the caravan arrived to take him away.
The boy, exhausted from today's activities immediately found the sole item in this room, a small worn-out bed, and retired for the night.
In his entire three-year life, that meal and this old scratchy bed were the best things he has ever partaken in.