The Emblems of Justice

Chapter 1 - The Fallen Raven

It all started three years ago, when scarlet flames engulfed the city of Cadavere. The people's screaming and wailing came from every corner, their blood staining the once pure field. Smoke and soot engulfed the air, alongside the stench of blood. It was all a far cry from what everything used to be. The company of a good friend, the comfort of a proper home, and the love of a family. Well, at least that's how Ex-Sergeant Cade remembered it all. Once a prodigious proud warrior, now rotting within the corners of a lonely cell. All battered and bruised, in comparison to his star studded history. How could someone like him even end up in a place like this?

"Day 30." Cade sighed as he marked it out on the wall using a shard of charcoal. It's been a month since he was jailed, feelings of shame and regret resurfaced as he remembered.

Loud steps could be heard coming closer, the jingling of the metal boots echoing soundly across the corridors.

Clang! The iron bars reverberated, moving to the whims of the guard, the man looked at annoyance at the young prisoner. "Caden of Escandia, it's time for breakfast. Get your lazy ass out here!" he barked.

He grumbled as he looked at the guard. "So you're one of the new guards huh? Just call me Cade. No need to say the whole thing like th—"

Without warning, the guard kicked him on the chest, causing him to land on the floor, giving an angry look as he stepped on the poor prisoner's back.

"Hey, I thought you were the Raven Knight. Y'know, it's your fault I'm here." the guard said as he stomped down on Cade's back, the weight threatening to crush and crumble the poor prisoner's spine. "You shouldn't have killed him."

The young man grunted, "H-Hey! Cut it off!" He attempted to squirm away, but to no avail. "I'm sorry, alright?! It's not like I meant to do it!"

The guard withdrew his foot from the spine, immediately planting his heel on Cade's temple. "Tch, sorry isn't gonna cut it." His steely eyes look at the prisoner's. "Move to the cafeteria right now before I change my mind." He got his foot off and left.

'Sheesh, what an asshole.' Cade furiously thought as he rubbed the forming bruise and replied to himself with a sigh, struggling to stand back up as he stumbled out of his cell.

As he walked through the halls to the cafeteria, he heard the rattling of chains and the lashing of whips, the smell of blood filling the hallway. It's only been a month since Cade was thrown inside this facility, yet it felt like he's been here longer. At least the smell of blood helps him reminisce on a fragment of his past. As he reminisced, time blurred, and before he knew it, he reached the cafeteria.

"Hmph, Cade. You're late again." The server was a petite young woman, her ginger hair tied to a messy bun. "There's none left for you, they had a ruckus earlier for whoever gets the last bowl of porridge." She said to him, her pinky pointing to the empty pot.

"Well... I guess some water will do," he replied, awkwardly looking the other way.

The server eyed the way he was moving, "...Say, did you get in trouble with the guards again?"

"Isn't it obvious, Amanda? The new recruits are total assholes, they're just so full of themselves." He clenched his fists.

She hummed, " I can't say that, you WERE a war hero after all. Whether it be for the glory of triumphing you or plain old revenge for the people that you may have murdered, it's hard to say."

There was a brief moment of silence between them.

"...I know, maybe It's best that I stay here for my transgressions. It's not like I didn't deserve it." His feelings of shame amplified. "After all, it's not like it helped me."