1. Do not be Afraid

A young man stood atop a high building, his eyes gazing and the vast and colorful world below. His gaze blank; flourishing with myriads of thoughts. Troubled thoughts.

The cold wind dashed into his face unsettling the strands of blonde hair that clothed his youthful features. Unfortunately, not even that managed to get a significant reaction from him. The beauty of the world had faded in his eyes, and the importance of it had gone dark.

The many lights of the city below him reflected in his grey eyes, but he continued to stare endlessly. Searching for something only he could know, or didn't know.

'How could all this have happened in such a short period,' the young man's thoughts caused his eyes to tremble with deep pain and sorrow.

'I should never have taken that decision,' An even deeper sense of pain erupted in his heart at those vague inward words. 'No worries everything will soon end,' he concluded and a sense of inner peace washed over his pained heart calming him. Only for the moment, however.

It was obvious; he stood high up with the only goal of plunging to end his life. And the voice that assured him he would find peace if he did continued to ring with even greater intensity.

Valerian was a young man at the age of seventeen. Being a student at the best school in the whole state, he had a great life ahead of him. Unfortunately, like the story of many, things had gone wrong. Merely a few weeks prior at that.

It had all begun with his deep liking of a certain girl in his school. Her name was Hera; it was no wonder she was titled the goddess of the entire campus. Not only that, but her parents were one of the wealthiest individuals in the state. She had an even better life going for her.

Not being the least bit facially unfavorable in any way, Valerian had hoped he would get her to be his, but things had gone downhill the day he summed up his courage to ask.

Hera had revealed her vile side and caused embarrassment for him. The whole ordeal wouldn't have mattered much if it had ended there. But it didn't.

Valerian's parents were individuals striving to make acquaintances with her parents and the matter had ended up reaching the internet, a bad event for his whole household, and especially him.

Shame had been introduced into his family as a result of his actions and his father's particularly harsh words had managed to get deep into him. But not even that had been enough to push him to the height of the action he stood to take.

Merely a few weeks prior to his present, he had been on his way home like every other day. Life had started to reveal her bad side, but possessing a strong will, he had continued to endure her harshness.

He however hit his limit when the events of that day unfolded, to reveal a level of cruelty he simply couldn't handle, and had led him to that state.

What could have happened you ask, well death did.

A phone call arrived and the news reached his ears. His eldest brother had died.

His only real friend in his family had been taken away by life's tragedy, and that singular event had spiraled into uncontrollable events. Events that would prove even too much for him to handle.

According to reports and even evidence, his brother had been murdered. Shot sixteen times leaving the officials to believe it had been done by a group of individuals, rather than a singular person. And witness proved it correct.

Why? No one knew, but the search for these individuals put the entire area in distress. His brother Jason had been killed right in front of their house, apparently, he was on his way out when it happened.

According to witnesses a group of about seven or eight individuals all dressed in black suddenly pulled up on him with a simple-looking minivan and proceeded to rain bullets on the shocked man, before rushing back into their vehicle and bolting.

A burial followed after Valerian's father requested for the body of his eldest son.

Things couldn't have gone worse for Valerian during those periods. And a few days after the burial; he recalled his father, in a fit of rage wishing he had died rather than his brother Jason.

His mother had been silent about the whole matter, and not even his two sisters had tried to help the situation. He couldn't blame them, however. One was too young, and the other most likely didn't know what to do.

His entire family turned on him, now that his only protection had been removed.

The police had quietly moved them from their home to somewhere at the edge of the city.

Valerian had been required to stay home during the four weeks of their stay there, and there did his emotional suffering skyrocket.

Words of insults, borne out of pain, but filled with hate were poured on him many times. Although his mother who still moved about clearly shocked about the suddenness of his brother's death; had done nothing in particular to him.

Her silence and non-reactiveness had been far worse. His sisters did their own thing as though he didn't exist and then was he forced to realize that they had never truly had a family bond.

He soon began to question his reason for living and wonder where things had gone wrong in his family. But nothing added up, and his frustration continued to pile.

All of it led to his current position.

His eyes still as blank as ever, he gazed at the lights of the city and found solace in the whispers that had reached his ears during those weeks of torment. The voice that asked him to end it.

Taking a deep breath Valerian prepared for the final moment, but rather than pain, a sense of joy welled up in his heart. After that point, he would never need to face his family and would meet his brother.

A smile appeared on his face, as he spread his arms as though begging the wind to take him in its swift movement.

He let go, and with it, his life flashed before him. He remained glad about that outcome and felt no regret about his short life. Anywhere was better than there.

But life would not grant him that final wish.

Expecting the chains of gravity to entangle him in its pull Valerian felt himself remain in position.

Leaning forward, it seemed to take him hours to realize that he wasn't falling and to his unfathomable astonishment, he felt something push against his chest, resisting him.

Fundamentally confused about the entire ordeal, Valerian lifted his eyelids to gaze at the world below him but found a figure obstructing that view.

Slowly but surely he lifted his gaze while disbelief continued to run rampant In his mind.

A man unfolded in his eyes, and the first detail he noticed was his clothes. He could swear they shone with a soft light of their own. Next was the individual's face.

Shock and even more disbelief filled him when he confirmed that he had never gazed at beauty such as that. His smile was perfect, his hair black. Falling over his shoulders like silk.

A golden sash tied around his forehead revealed how perfectly parted his hair was. It had to have been done by the finest stylist.

His astonishment was brought to a whole new level when he realized that the man's feet had no surface. He stood on bare air allowing his long golden tunic of fine linen flow gloriously in the wind.

Before his lips could part in the fear that had begun to override his former joy, a voice softer than he had ever heard, yet commanding at the same time; seemingly speaking to his very soul, exited the figure's lips.

"I am a servant of He who sits on the throne. Do not be afraid."