The only thing that accompanies the pair inside is silence, the fierce rage boiling within the heart of this young man is palpable. The most sincere feeling of disdain and contempt is festering inside for those who wronged him. He will never understand why people would act hatefully toward him for things he cannot control; treating him like a dangerous animal even though he's done nothing wrong. These emotions that he'll never be able to truly digest, have to be buried down as he is expected to be the better person. There is only such much a person can face before finally reaching a climax, He knows that eventually; the rage will slip away from his heart, and the flames of his wrath will slowly simmer and fade into nothing, only leaving him with the charred remains of his heart now filled with an overwhelming sense of melancholy.
Before Genryu can fall any further into his own mind and replay the traumatic moment once more, Basmet breaks the silence by calling out to him, "You shouldn't heed anything those ignorant children have to say to you and don't believe their nasty jeers." Genryu slowly peers upward, locking eyes with his guardian, and without words, his glance expresses his inner turmoil. He knows that Basmet is wise, and his words are full of the truth and sincerity but it's not enough to bring him any peace. It's a sad truth held within his heart that even though he is blessed enough to have someone that loves and supports him unconditionally, it does little to soften the agonizing blows received by the grueling torment of ignorant and hateful individuals.
Basmet shifts his gaze to focus on his young ward's wound, as he prepares the supplies needed to treat it. He starts by using a damp rag which he soaked within an herbal mixture to sterilize the injury, Genryu winces from the sudden pain of the process. The stinging sensation quickly dissipates behind a sense of cooling relief. "Why is it that they distrust me so much... Why do they hate me?" Genryu asks sorrowfully. "They do not hate you... they merely fear what you represent... or rather what you could represent" Basmet replies softly. "As you well know... there are those with gifts similar to yours, who were not looked upon favorably; and that's due to individuals who would rather abuse their blessings for selfish whims and power instead of bettering the world," he explains. The old man starts to bandage the wound, using a makeshift gauze and woven cloth to prevent any further infection, "Let me tell you a story…" he says after finishing the treatment.
The old man shuffles out of the room, after a few moments he re-enters holding a tome, the cover and bindings of the tome seemed to be worn and the lettering upon the cover has faded with time. "Now, this is a story I don't think I've shared with you, but now that you're older I believe it's prevalent to explain a little bit more." He opens the tome to the first page, it begins to narrate the story of how the world came to be what it is today.
Many years in the past, almost two hundred, there was a single vast and glorious kingdom that spanned over the entire continent, it was led by a powerful and noble King "Lukai Solma". He was known far and wide as the great uniter of men or the grand protector. His accomplishments were numerous, such as sealing the primordial terror known as "Malachite" whose strength could easily remold the land it stood upon at its whim. He calmed the warring factions of the "Mul'Desh Plains" preventing a civil war that would lead to innumerable deaths and guided them down a path of peace that served to unite them into a powerful allied nation. But even with the best of intentions and powerful magic at his disposal, nothing could have prepared him for the day of the "Great Scourge". An alliance of dark mages came together to harness the power of a primordial otherworldly beast crafting dangerous artifacts using insidious methods and forbidden magicks deep within the ruins of a forgotten temple. They later used these objects to plague the nation with near-endless assaults.
The battles that ensued caused many deaths and marked each site with enough malefic energy to forever change not only the land but the animals and denizens. The reasons for these attacks were to create more twisted and powerful artifacts which later came to be known as a "Maleficarum." The organization behind these attacks had one goal in mind: harness enough power to tear open a rift into an otherworldly realm of darkness. According to the information uncovered within the temple, this place holds unspeakable power; however, it also serves as the eternal prison of an unfathomable evil who only seeks to escape his dimension. These dark mages were beguiled by his dissonant whispers and became corrupted, offering themselves up to the demonic creature from beyond to acquire endless power. These corrupted mages fought like monsters, armed with artifacts and devastating new magicks, unlike anything that has been seen before, they quickly began to turn the tides of war in their favor.
The various battles across the nation finally reached their apex after the king had located their secret ritual ground, he mobilized all of the forces under his control to launch one final assault on those hedonistic mages. The resulting battle almost cost the lives on both sides of the struggle, not much is known about what truly happened that day other than the scourge. They say, during a last-ditch effort to defeat the cultists, King Solma used all his remaining power, but that power was turned against him and almost unleashed the creature from the other side. The clashing magicks paired with the essence spilling out from the realm of darkness resulted in an explosion so colossal that it nearly decimated the entire continent. There weren't many survivors of that day but one retelling talks of a young squire who was able to survive due to the divine succor he received from a noble paladin, he and other survivors claimed that the clash of three powerful magicks is what sparked the scourge.
After the explosion, there was nothing left, not only was nature completely destroyed but it also became twisted and cursed preventing new life from growing. Anything unfortunate enough to survive the initial impact of the scourage was forever changed. This was the first recorded instance of monsters emerging, creatures almost animalistic in nature with special powers, unlike anything that has been seen before. With the emergence of monsters and the apparent loss of the king, humanity was at a grand disadvantage; with the loss of such a large fighting force and their guiding light, little could be done to fend off these creatures. Most humans retreated into naturally secluded areas like caves, islands, and valleys. A few of the surviving soldiers followed the noble paladin and retreated to the king's fortress which was rumored to hold access to a divine holy power; this power was used to establish that last human stronghold named "Bastion".
Humanity came to fear "Magick" because of what it could do, because of what it had caused." Basmet closes the worn tome, before placing his hand upon Genryu's shoulder, "Places like this, Kiah Island, were founded by the survivors of the scourge... Refugees who lost their kingdom... They taught their children their ways and those ways are the reason why people look upon you so unfavorably". He pauses for a short moment before continuing "I don't mean give justification to their actions, they are wrong, but you must understand why they make the decisions they do." Basmet continues "you're almost 16 years old now and you must understand more of the world before you leave this island." The old man's statement rouses Genryu and he jumps upward out of his chair, "What do you mean, leave the island!?", the boy wearing a shocked expression exclaims.