Night of the Soulless Heathens – 48



#48. Aldis 3

It was Aldis who stood up against these elders. First of all he insisted that he be given a name since he was born.

Naming is sacred to Aragasa. When a name is given the person who names it will share a destiny with the person it is given. However a child without a name cannot be killed. All children who die before being given a name will be saved.

Aldis had convinced the elders that if they truly hated the children who might be the reincarnations of Acre they should give them names. The problem was that no one wanted to give these children names.

So Aldis insisted that he name the children.

*********

“You’re using a cheap trick Aldis. That can’t be allowed no matter what. You are Jedaha. You are a blood relative of the noble founder and a person with the eyes of Harconia. I can’t use the talents of my clan for such a thing.”

“But Master.”

“You want to protect the children so you can name them? So that the elders can’t kill them at will? But that’s just a stupid thing to do adding to your burden. Why on earth are you concerned about those children?”

“I don’t know either. But I think it’s right to protect young lives that need help.”

“What useless mercy. Why do you show mercy even to your enemies?”

“I was… friends with Acre. I understand a little bit why Acre betrayed his clan. Even now that Acre has betrayed his clan I can’t hate him.”

“Say such things only in front of me. If the other elders hear it they will be alarmed. Alright. Then I will name them. The boy is named Azadin. The girl is named Arael.”

“Yes? But that name is….”

Azadin was the name given to the Dragon of Mu-an the Dragon of Destruction who had been around since long before they came to Hybris.

Arael is an angel who fights against the dragon. They symbolize light and darkness and they are the main characters of a myth who fight forever and eventually oxidize together.

“Isn’t that an excessive name? It’s the name of the old gods before we came to Hybris and served the emperor.”

“It’s good that they’re the names of gods but one of them is the name of a god of death. And on top of that you’re giving twin siblings names that are mutually destructive?”

For the Aragasa the messenger clan naming is a sacred ritual. On the other hand it is also a superstition. No matter how grand the name it does not actually change one’s fate.

The Aragasa believe that the fates of those who give names and those who receive them are intertwined but it may or may not be true. But giving twins names that kill and kill each other is a terrible thing.

Aldis felt uncomfortable with the naming that seemed malicious. But the great master Hathir was firm.

“That should be enough to satisfy the elders. If you want to save those children Aldis do as I say. The elders will be convinced.”

“So it’s to save the children. I hope… Oh I hope that name doesn’t have a bad influence on the children.”

Indeed as Hathir had said the elders were satisfied with the name and no longer talked about killing children.

*********

The original messenger clan was a foreigner named Aragasa who came to the continent of Hybris on five ships. The descendants of the shipowners of the five ships are the founder clan.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

Among the people of Hybris who were called the soulless blasphemers and the killers of the god-kings there was a hierarchy among them: the five founding families were the most noble followed by their vassals and the lowly slaves were at the very bottom.

Since the status of the noble and the base was already known within Aragasa everyone dreamed of becoming a messenger.

A messenger is a position granted by the emperor. It transcends social status.

The rank of Aragasa was meaningless in front of the status granted by the Emperor. Therefore those who performed their duties honorably as messengers were able to transcend the nobility and lowliness of society marry into a good family and become a member of that family. Becoming a messenger was the only ladder for Aragasa to climb the social ladder.

So parents put in every effort to make their children become messengers. They feed them good food from a young age raise them with love and spare no support. So Azadin and Arael who were born with a curse and no parents were bound to be at a disadvantage from the start.

Of course that’s the story of ordinary people.

It wasn’t a problem for Arael.

The problem was with Azadin.

*********

“No magic?”

The elders of the council were carefully examining Azadin and Arael.

These children may be copies of the Shinwangjinseo itself.

It was because there was such an opinion.

So the magicians of the library and Aldis personally examined the children and came to a surprising conclusion. Azadin could see without eyes and had incredible black magic resistance. But the price was terrible.

“To be exact…..”

Aldis shook his head.

“What’s inside Azadin is not flowers birds wind and moon.”

Every member of the Herald Clan receives a Grimoire the moment they are born. It is a gift from the Emperor the power that is given to them through the contract of service.

The grimoire received in this way is the colorless grimoire ‘Flowers Birds Wind and Moon’.

If a person who possesses this studies and understands the ‘Harconia Book’ he will be able to use the magical power of the book within his body. However what was within Azadin was something like the remains of the book of flowers birds and wind.

“Perhaps those born with this curse of service are not twins. Originally Arael and Azadin were one. However when they were split into two they were not given the opportunity to live together.”

“…okay?”

“On the other hand the grimoire and magical power that Arael possesses… are amazing. To be honest isn’t it the best of all time?”

“Does the ‘Harconian Tradition’ say such a thing?”

The elders asked.

“He is stronger than me. This child will become the strongest messenger of all time. The title of ‘Harconia’s Origin’ will probably belong to this child not me.”

Aldis said that with a bitter expression on his face.

“Are you upset that you now have a competitor?”

“No. That’s not it… I feel bad for Azadin. What he should have had was given to Arael. Compared to Arael Azadin is inferior to even the basic abilities of children his age except for his eyes and magic resistance.”

“Magic resistance?”

“Yes. The incomplete grimoire causes all the magical power within his body to be released chaotically causing various magical powers to swirl around in a chaotic manner within his body. This gives him resistance to magical powers… but on the other hand he won’t be able to handle any magic.”

“It looks like Arael took Azadin’s too. How cruel. She took the eyes and the magic book and everything?”

Arael was born with her eyes open and aware of things. When she started walking everyone around her realized that this child would become a peerless beauty.

His powerful magic power was unmatched by anyone and his outstanding strategy excellent archery skills and overwhelming physical skills were unmatched by anyone of the same age. On the other hand Azadin was like a normal child of the Hybris people.

“A harsh fate awaits you.”

The elders said so but no one sympathized with Azadin.

He is the son of the traitor Acre and he is a man who does not care whether he lives or dies. However everyone is deeply interested in Arael’s talent.

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

*********

When basic training began the children hated Arael and Azadin who were orphans without a family. However Arael who had outstanding skills and peerless beauty quickly became the center of attention…

It took less than a month to turn all of the basic training comrades into followers. Those who did not become followers whether they were seniors or not were all defeated by their skills. Even the instructors either died in an unexpected accident or had no choice but to become followers of Arael.

Azadin on the other hand was serious.

By the age of four Aragasas are all potty trained. By the age of eight they can pull the Baekmokgung and by the age of twelve they can open the Iseongung dive two-legged and jump as high as their own height.

However even though he was eight years old Azadin still wet his bed and could not even throw a stone properly let alone pull a bow. He was not an Aragasa but an ordinary child of the Hybris people. The children of the Herald Clan could not tolerate Azadin like this.

*********

Aragasa is clearly stronger than the people of Hybris. Since coming to the land of Hybris they have intermarried with them and their blood has become clouded but even so Aragasa are still sharpshooters have excellent physical abilities and even have a contract of service.

The purpose of becoming the emperor’s messenger in the magical book of Hwajopungwol and the persecution from outside combined together gave the entire clan a spirit of constant martial arts. However this spirit of constant martial arts often degenerated into persecution of the weak.

*********

“Hey idiot!”

“Oh my. You little idiot. Are you still peeing in the bed?”

“Try to string a bow you idiot!”

“Hahaha did you see that? They all died with a runny nose just because they ran down a mountain path?”

The basic training process is difficult and arduous even for the Aragasa. In fact about 20% of the total drop out of basic training and most of them are children of the lower classes. However even these children of the lower classes despise and bully Azadin.

He is the child of Acre the traitor of his clan and is the most inferior being.

In fact among the people of Hybris Azadin would have been just an ordinary child. But among the Aragasa Azadin was nothing more than a developmentally retarded child who was extremely deficient.

*********

“Ugh… euaaaah….”

Under the waterfall of the sanctuary where the herald clan was hiding Azadin was crying because he was in so much pain. He had no eyes so he couldn’t shed tears but he just let out the screams of his dying heart over and over again.

I was persecuted by all the orphans in the world. On top of that I felt like my heart was dying during this ‘basic training’ process that made me realize no matter how much I hated that I was the most backward and powerless being.

Even now I want to run away but there is nowhere to run. Before basic training began Arael used to protect Azadin. When children of the same age tried to bully him Arael would come out like lightning and beat them all up.

Even the children of the upper class who had already entered basic training came out but no one could match Arael. However once basic training began Arael no longer protected Azadin.

As Arael distanced herself from Azadin the other children gradually began to notice her and began to harass Azadin. However Arael ignored the situation. Eventually some of them could not stand it anymore and beat Azadin openly but Arael just laughed and went about her business.

‘Arael has finally abandoned Azadin.’

Everyone was convinced. The basic training course was psychologically and physically taxing even for the sturdy children of Aragasa so they needed something to relieve their stress.

Azadin was a very good target for venting one’s anger.