In the city of Velethar, a kingdom in the northern mountains, tensions reached a boiling point. King Loran, a descendant of Valerius, ruled with an iron fist, imposing harsh taxes on his people to fuel his ever-growing ambitions. The Nobles in his court, eager to maintain their wealth and status, supported his actions, leaving the common folk burdened and resentful.
A young Aurelian named Thane, a farmer by birth emerged as a leader among the disgruntled. He spoke of the old days, before kings and nobles, when the Aurelians were equals, and all lived in harmony. His words sparked a flame in the hearts of the oppressed.
"The kings have forgotten their purpose," Thane proclaimed to a growing crowd. "They were meant to guide us, not rule over us. We must reclaim what was taken from us—our freedom, our dignity!"
Thane's movement, though still small, began to gain momentum. His followers called themselves the Children of the Tree, invoking the memory of the Tree of Will and the freedom Milton had bestowed upon them. They saw the rise of kings and nobles as a betrayal of that gift, and they vowed to restore equality to Novus Mundus.
King Loran, hearing of the rebellion stirring in his lands, dispatched his soldiers to crush the uprising. But Thane, cunning and charismatic, evaded capture. He spread his message to other cities, finding sympathizers in Icaris and even Caelum, where dissatisfaction with the ruling class had begun to fester.
Milton watched this growing unrest with mixed emotions. Was this the natural course of free will? Or had he made a mistake in giving the Aurelians the power to choose their own paths?