Martin Fief.
This was one of the territories abandoned by the Church.
Even a fair and just god had places he could look after and places beyond his reach. This town, named after a saint, belonged to the latter.
After the locusts arrived, the Church withdrew all its clergy and forces, leaving only the city lord and the supernatural beings under her command to struggle on.
Chaos, hunger, plague...
These unimaginable shadows had enveloped the ancient city, deep and all-pervasive, waiting for the day they consumed it completely.
November 26, 3058 of the Semrio Calendar.
Inside a small but meticulously clean house, a thin boy stretched as he got out of bed-the light shining through the window was still the cold light of the moon.
The moon had not yet set, but he already had to get up for work.
The icy night air slipped through the gaps in the window into the warm room. He shivered and hurriedly put on his woolen clothes, then pulled on a battered suit of leather armor.
He had to wear the leather armor. It kept him warm and protected him, and it was one of the few things left in the house fit to wear outside.
His movements were brisk and efficient. Clearly, he was used to this.
Hard labor awaited him. In exchange, he would earn a few copper coins to buy some black bread and bring home meat broth that was little more than salted dishwater.
Yet just as he was about to leave, a sudden scratching came from the desk drawer. He immediately walked over, thinking that if it was a rat, he might get an extra meal...
A rat meant meat!
His eyes lit up, and he yanked the drawer open.
But when he opened it, what appeared inside