The Cursed Orphan(1)

The door creaked open as a figure crept inside, trying to avoid detection. Slowly tip-toeing towards the bed, the person stood beside the sleeping boy.

"Jake, why are you still up?" A sweet voice broke the silence, and the boy's eyes fluttered open.

"I won't sleep," he declared with a rigid tone, clearly upset with the intruder's presence.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because you haven't been telling me stories anymore," he pouted.

"I'm sorry, my dear," she said, sitting on his bed and caressing his head. "But I've been busy with your baby brother. You understand, don't you?"

The boy's tears welled up, but he nodded reluctantly.

"Tell me a story then, mother, something that nobody else knows?" he said, his eyes lighting up with anticipation.

"Alright, I'll tell you a story of a land far, far away, a story that has been passed down through generations in our family." she began, and the boy settled into his pillows, eager to hear the tale.

Long ago in a far-off land beyond the Regin Mountains and the Great Belarus Ocean, there lived a Man and a Dragon who were the leaders of their respective clans. The man's name was Shin Cheong Rong, and the dragon was called Zhu Ryo Jung. They were the best of friends, and their bond became even stronger when Shin's son married Zhu's daughter.

But their joy was short-lived when a disaster struck the continent, killing many members of both clans, including the bride and Shin himself, as he tried to shield Zhu's Daughter from the Calamity.

Unfortunately, both the human sects as well as the dragon clan were almost wiped out.

The Dragon King fell down, injured and weak. But he managed to keep Shin's child safe before he took his last breath. Together with the groom and the surviving clan members, Zhu's son set sail on a ship and bid farewell to their homeland for the last time.

After months of journeying, they arrived at Falcon Harbour in the Sven Kingdom. They were unfamiliar with the customs of this new land, but with the help of some local merchants who spoke their language, they managed to settle in the kingdom. As time passed, they learned more about the customs and culture of this new continent, known as the Land of Dusk.

The Dragon King's son eventually left the kingdom, but the surviving clan members decided to stay and build a new home for themselves. They renamed themselves the Vermont family and settled in the Damascus Kingdom of the Grand Relios Empire.

And that, my dear child, is how our family came to be," she finished the story, turning to see that the child had already fallen asleep. Smiling, she kissed him on the forehead and left him to rest.

Before leaving the child, she turned back to the bed and quietly said,

"My child, be Brave because someday, I-"

-a bright flash with the sound of "I" echoing-

"Don't Leave Me, Mother!", Jacob woke up in a cold sweat, tears streaming down his face.,

"Don't Leave me Alone"

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"May I enter, young master?" said a deep, mature voice.

Jacob quickly rubbed his eyes and composed himself before answering,

"Yes, Remvar, please come in."

Remvar, Jacob's mother's attendant, entered the room. He was a stout man with greying hair, elegantly dressed.

"Young master, are you not feeling well?"

"I rushed here as soon as I heard the noise from Your room."

"Master, is everything fine?".

When Jacob's Mother died, she asked Remvar as her last wish to attend him.

With tense eyes gleaming with worry for his master, Remvar stood there.

"I'm fine, Remvar, It's Nothing.", Jacob replied as he got out of bed and headed to freshen up.

" Master, are you still blaming yourself for madam's death?", Remvar who now hanging his head down and spoke softly.

Jacob turned his head back and replied

" No Remvar, I am not, but-.", after a short pause Jacob spoke, "-Nothing, don't fret about me."

As Jacob got down from his bed as he walked to the bathing room.

"Master Jake, I forgot to remind you that today is the Family Gathering Event of the Gathering Festival."

"As you know Young Master, Today is the 3rd Day of the Gathering Festival."

"Previously, you haven't attended much of the Festivals for the Past Year. So, will you be not attending this one too??"

"No, This Year I will Remvar", before entering Jacob spoke.

The Gathering Festival was a grand event held twice a year for noble families (for Marquis and above ranking), including the Vermont family. The area which the noble family governs are thrown into the festive mood. Markets bustle more than ever, it is an event that other nobles, even sometimes the Royalty attend it. It lasts for a week, and the main family hosting the event organized seven different activities for each day.

This Grand Event is second only to the Royal Events, as it shows the pride and growth of the Family organizing the Event.

Meet Up, the day every family gather in the governing region, and are provided places to stay for the upcoming days.

Greeting, the day when the Host Family Gathers and commences the Event,

Family Gathering, on this day, The Heads of Each Family gather around to host a Roundtable Meeting regarding the recent occurrences of any importance, while children of each families introduce and spend the rest of the day with each other.

Tournaments of Inheritance, this event is commenced after the Family Gathering for the Upcoming three Days, the host family's Children Compete in 3 Tournaments with three stages each. Here the contestant can start participating, when they are 7 years of age.

The First day Being the Test of Knowledge, the next day Test of Magic, after that the Test of Combat.

The test difficulty is also adjusted for their ages.

Each of the test is further divided into Initial, Final and Challengers Rounds respectively.

The first two of rounds are competed within the Host Family members while the Challenger's Round is for the 'Guest' Family members. In this round they challenge a person of the Host Family. These Challengers can only challenge once and cannot challenge the same person twice. A host winner of the previous round (i.e., Final) can take challenges from any three challengers and can only decline a challenge once. This doesn't affect the 'challenged ones' inheritance ranks, but it shows their overall potential when compared against other Families.

The Winner is finally crowned with title of 'Lord of the Gathering' and his/her rank in inheritance is changed from his previous heir rank to 1st.

While there are some cases when the participant wins all three stages of the tournament, even all the challengers round battles too. Then they are given, a special title of 'Ruler of the Gathering' and his ranking is also changed from previous to 1st, but they are also given a 'special gift' for their achievement.

In the room, Jacob walked up to his clothing chamber, after freshening up, and Remvar greeted him.

"Master Jake, Madam Revonna had already chosen your outfit for the Gathering. You should wear this dress," he said, pointing to a dress hanging on a stand.

It was a stunning ensemble, with a dark-purple royal overcoat, a black shirt, a white tie, and a ruby vest that matched Jacob's eyes. A White pant with an Oxford-styled Black shoe. The clothes were made of high-quality fabrics and had excellent handicraft.

Jacob was overwhelmed and hugged Remvar, thanking him.

"Thank you Remvar, for everything that you do for me" he said, wiping away tears.

"It's my duty to take care of you," Remvar replied with affection.

"Also relay my thanks to Madam Revonna."

"Yes, Young Master and also-", Remvar continued.

"As you were absent during the events that occurred in the first 2 days of the Gathering. You should be prepared and dress up properly, Young Master."

"Yes, I should do that, Then would it be alright for you to dress me up?"

"It will be My pleasure, Young Master"

Remvar helped Jacob dress, "Madam would have been very pleased to see your growth Young Master", Remvar commented sorrowfully.

"She sure would, Remvar.", Jacob replied.

"Young Master, you must show the others that you are also one of the heirs of the Vermont family."

"For Sure, they will see my arrival".

As Jacob was about to leave the room, he turned back to Remvar, who prayed, "May Madam be with you, Young Master." Jacob smiled and left the room.

The hallway outside his room was deserted. He resided in a secluded mansion on the Vermont Estate. He noticed two shadows moving through the corridor and became interested in what they might be. As he approached the dark form, he found two female servants.

"Are you certain the rumours of the 6th Master being cursed and being the cause of the kind 'Madam's' death are true?"

"Shush, Not Right Now, how do you think the Master would react if he sees us hanging around and talking about that?"

"He would kindly ask if you are here to lead him to the event place hosted today.", spoke Jacob.

When they both turned around, they noticed a tall, thin-looking figure standing.

"Kyaaaaaaaaah," shrieked the both of them.

Trying not to chuckle, Jacob said, "So, are you here to guide me or not?"

"We Apologize for our misdemeanour, Young Master", one of them spoke meekly, while bowing her and the other servant's head.

"And, are you here to guide me?", Jacob asked kindly.

"Yes, Master, we are here to escort you to the event location, which is Porcelain Lake."

"Ok then, Let's go".

The Servants guide Jacob through the white marble path from his mansion, leading to a crossroad.