Beshaar's life in the ghettos of the Western Protectorate began as a testament to the despair and hopelessness left in the wake of the Eastern occupation. Yet, over time, it became the crucible in which he was forged into a cunning and determined rebel. This transformation did not happen overnight. It was the result of countless small moments—some tragic, some desperate, and some filled with an unexplainable spark of defiance.
Life in the Ghettos
The ghettos were not places where people lived—they were places where people survived. Crowded, filthy, and governed by the strict and brutal rules of the Eastern military, they were a constant reminder of the Westerners' fall from grace. The once-thriving communities were now reduced to shantytowns built from scrap metal, salvaged wood, and broken dreams.
Children, once carefree and full of laughter, scavenged for food in the rubble of what had once been their homes. Adults toiled in harsh conditions, working as laborers under the watchful eyes of Eastern soldiers, who patrolled the ghettos with weapons always at the ready. Even a whisper of rebellion was met with swift and merciless punishment.
Amidst this grim reality, however, there were pockets of resilience. Underground markets flourished, where people traded what little they had—food, medicine, and even hope. Illegal gatherings were held in secret to celebrate remnants of Western culture, to sing songs of their past, and to remember who they once were. The ghettos were not alive, but they were not entirely dead either.
Beshaar's Life in the Ghettos
Beshaar was a young man who carried the weight of survival heavily on his shoulders. When the war ended, he had nothing—no family, no home, and no purpose. He drifted aimlessly through the ghettos, doing whatever he could to scrape by. At first, he was a shadow of himself, too broken to fight back and too bitter to accept his new reality. He worked in silence, avoided trouble, and drowned his despair in the occasional drink when he could afford it.
But as time passed, the initial shock of survival gave way to something deeper—a slow, burning anger. He began to see the cruelty of the Eastern soldiers, the suffering of his people, and the injustice of their new lives. It was in these moments, watching the old be beaten for stepping out of line or the young be forced to bow before soldiers, that the first seeds of rebellion were planted in his heart.
Beshaar's way of life in the ghetto was a balancing act. He kept his head down during the day, pretending to be just another broken Westerner. But at night, he began to form connections. He would sit with others who shared his anger, whispering in the dark about the way things used to be and dreaming of a day when the West would rise again.
Friends and Alliances
Beshaar's closest companions in the ghetto were a diverse group of survivors, each carrying their own scars and their own reasons for resisting. There was Mara, a former nurse who had lost her entire family to the bio-chemical rain. She smuggled medicine into the ghetto, treating those who had no other hope. There was Jorvan, a black-market trader who seemed to know everyone and could get his hands on anything—for a price. And then there was Talik, a former soldier who had survived the war but lost his will to fight.
These friends became Beshaar's allies, each playing a role in his transformation. Mara taught him compassion and the value of fighting for something greater than revenge. Jorvan introduced him to the underground networks of the ghetto, where weapons, food, and information were traded. Talik, though reluctant at first, began to train Beshaar in the skills of combat and strategy, rekindling the fire of rebellion in his own heart as he saw Beshaar's determination grow.
Illegal Activities and the Arms Trade
The ghettos were a hotbed of illegal activity, and the black market was its lifeblood. The trade in guns and other weapons was one of the most dangerous yet necessary aspects of life in the ghettos. Though the Eastern soldiers kept a tight grip on the flow of arms, there were always ways to smuggle in contraband.
Jorvan was at the center of this network, working with contacts both within and outside the ghettos to acquire weapons. These deals were dangerous, involving bribes to corrupt Eastern soldiers and secret meetings in the dead of night. Beshaar often accompanied Jorvan on these missions, learning how to navigate the dangerous underworld of the ghetto and how to handle weapons.
It was during one of these missions that Beshaar first held a gun in his hands since the war. The weight of it felt familiar, yet foreign. He had sworn never to take another life after the horrors he had witnessed, but as he looked around at the suffering of his people, he realized that sometimes survival required sacrifice.
The arms trade wasn't just about weapons; it was about hope. Every gun smuggled into the ghetto was a symbol of defiance, a reminder that the Westerners were not completely powerless. Beshaar began to see himself not as a victim, but as a fighter.
Beshaar's Transformation
The pivotal moment in Beshaar's transformation came one night when a group of Eastern soldiers raided the ghetto. They claimed they were searching for contraband, but their real purpose was to instill fear. They beat anyone who resisted, tore apart homes, and dragged people away to the Eastern camps.
Beshaar, hiding in the shadows, watched as Mara was dragged into the street for helping an injured child. Something inside him snapped. He couldn't stand by any longer. Using a stolen dagger, he ambushed one of the soldiers, striking him down before retreating into the night. It was a small act of defiance, but it lit a fire within him that could not be extinguished.
From that night on, Beshaar was no longer a hopeless survivor. He was a rebel, a leader, and a symbol of resistance. He began organizing secret meetings with his allies, planning small acts of sabotage against the Eastern forces. They disabled supply lines, spread misinformation, and smuggled weapons deeper into the ghetto.
The people of the ghetto began to see Beshaar not as another broken soul, but as a beacon of hope. He spoke to them of a future where the West would rise again, where their children would be free, and where their land would be their own. His transformation from a lost survivor to a cunning rebel inspired others to join the fight, and together, they began to lay the groundwork for the rebellion that would one day change everything.