The year Leorino was born, the Kingdom of Fanoren was in the midst of a war with the neighboring country of Zwelf.
The cause of the war was the great cold wave that had hit the Agalean continent the previous winter. Many countries located in the northern part of the continent suffered tremendous damage. Fanoren was no exception. In an effort to minimize human suffering, the country took large-scale measures, among them moving its citizens from the north to the relatively undamaged south.
Fanoren was an affluent country, covering a significant portion of the continent stretching from north to south. They were fortunate to have ample stockpiles that allowed them to provide half a year’s worth of food for the entire population, which helped in overcoming the crisis.
The neighboring country of Zwelf wasn’t as lucky. Because Zwelf was located in the northernmost part of the continent, their people froze and starved to death at higher rates than in any other country. Although Zwelf was rich in mineral resources, the climate was cold and the land barren. Starved and freezing, Zwelf spiraled out of control. Desperate in its poverty, Zwelf turned to the fertile lands of the neighboring Fanoren. When the crown prince at the time, Vandarren, took the throne, he insisted on southern expansion, and Zwelf quickly trended toward war.
The following year, Zwelf invaded Fanoren.
Fanoren had already been informed about the unrest in the neighboring country and was prepared. If Zwelf were to invade, it would be either from the side of the border fortresses of Zweilink through the forested area in the northeast or from the Baedeker Mountains in the northwest. The Royal Army of Fanoren expected the enemy to attack Zweilink first.
Zweilink was a doubly fortified structure built along the border, consisting of separate outer and inner forts. The outer fort, especially, was a huge wall ten times the height of a man and said to be impregnable. However, going through Zweilink was still less dangerous than leading a large army across a steep mountain range still covered in deep snow.
A cutting-edge unit of the Royal Army was dispatched to Zweilink from the royal capital.
The Brungwurt province, which bordered Zweilink, could not sit back and watch. August, the lord of the land, quietly reinforced the Autonomous Army and prepared for war.
However, the Royal Army’s prediction that Zwelf would begin their invasion with Zweilink was wrong. Zwelf, to their surprise, entered Fanoren through the Baedeker Mountains in the northwest. The Royal Army had already been marching toward Zweilink and was forced to suddenly change course and deploy its main forces in the Baedeker Mountains. Zwelf’s forces were scattered to invade the area. Skirmishes continued endlessly throughout the mountain range. The Royal Army had no choice but to disperse its forces.
But that was exactly what Zwelf had wanted.
Just as the Fanoren army was able to use its geographical advantage and force the Zwelfs to retreat to the other side of the mountain range, a horde of enemy forces invaded the thinly stretched northeastern border fortress of Zweilink. The soldiers in the Baedeker Mountains were a decoy meant to lure the Fanoren forces to a point of no return.
The sounds of war began reaching even Brungwurt.
August took immediate action. He gathered his family and informed them that Brungwurt might be overrun before long. August was forty years old at the time. His wife, Maia, was expecting their fourth child, whom they would later name Leorino. To preserve the blood of the Cassieux family, August allowed his first son, Auriano, to stay, but evacuated Johan and Gauff to Maia’s family estate in the royal capital. However, Maia could have gone into labor at any moment, and escape by carriage seemed risky at best.
With a heavy heart, August had his pregnant wife stay at the castle.
It would be at least seven days before reinforcements from the Royal Army arrived. Until then, August steeled himself to somehow withstand the invasion on his territory.
One night, a message from the border arrived in Brungwurt.
《THE ZWELF ARMY HAS RAIDED AND CAPTURED THE OUTER FORTRESS. ZWEILINK HAS BEEN SET ON FIRE, AND ITS GUARD WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY DESTROYED.》
August prepared himself for the worst. The province of Brungwurt was only half a day’s ride from Zweilink. If Zweilink fell, the enemy army would reach the castle the following day. Beyond Brungwurt, there was only one major river, and the rest of the country was an expanse of rolling plains leading to the royal capital. If Brungwurt was breached, a large-scale invasion would roll through the country, and disaster would surely ensue.
At that moment, tensions were stretched taut in Brungwurt. Maia went into labor right after the letter arrived. August and his men hung their heads in despair and dread, lamenting the worst possible timing.
A deep darkness hung over Brungwurt Castle. It was almost dawn when Maia’s screams cut through the night sky.
“Father! A message from Zweilink!”
Auriano rushed into the great hall with a letter. August took it and opened it with trembling hands. He read the short message, and his eyes widened.
The time had finally come.
Maia’s maid rushed out of the delivery room and into the great hall, calling to August: “My lord, your child is born!”
August shuddered. “My god…”
The letter fell from his hand.
Auriano rushed to pick it up and parse through it. His eyes widened, just as his father’s had.
《THE TROOPS LED BY THE KING’S BROTHER HAVE RECAPTURED THE OUTER FORTRESS. ZWEILINK HAS BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE ENEMY, AND WE, FANOREN, STAND A CHANCE AT WINNING THE WAR.》
“Father…”
“Yes… His Royal Highness has really done it.”
The war was still raging. But for the moment, the crisis in Brungwurt had been averted. The Royal Army had recaptured Zweilink and driven away the enemy.
From far away, a quiet first cry could be heard.
“It’s a miracle…”
The long night had ended and dawn had arrived. The first rays of daybreak cut through the darkness.
The birth of a new life and the simultaneous news of the victory at Zweilink filled the province with relief and glee. The baby born that day was beautiful, with violet eyes bearing rays of dawn racing across the indigo. His eyes, which seemed to reflect the firmament itself, knew nothing of the world’s harsh realities and were instead brimming with untold potential.
August held his newborn in his arms and wept. “This child is the guardian angel of Brungwurt—no, the guardian angel of our country. He is a miracle.”
The baby, illuminated by the morning sun, was the very hope and future of Fanoren itself.