The Tragedy of The Fates

CURRENCY PROBLEMS

They soon discovered that day travel took a toll on Kain's mental state, causing them to devise a strategy to maintain his well-being. They decided to travel at night, with Ryan assuming the role of the leader and Igneus following closely behind, his fear of his father evident. During their nighttime journeys, Kain would often mutter about the sand trailing behind them, occasionally erupting into frustrated outbursts of "SHUT UP!"

Kain could feel every muscle in his body, the way his chest rose and fell with every breath, the way the sand talked to him, and how it destroyed the spot in the back of his head. He'd spend hours scratching at it, trying to get the pain to stop, trying to get the sand to shut up, as he heard it.

"Young Fate, free me."

Kain ignored her voice, because, for some reason, he felt it was a her. He could feel it tug on him, bury herself into him and drive his mind apart, he could feel all of it, and he knew he hated it. He hated every second of it, and as he looked to the north, he could feel a tug on his mind. It was a quick jerk, but Kain was already heading that way, and it was only when Ryan shouted at Kain, that Kain stopped, looked around, and headed back towards the group. 

While Ryan and Igneus indulged Sihu's offer to ride on her back, Kain violently declined, his temper flaring at any further insistence. Instead, he would simply lie down on the sand during breaks, his mobility suffering. As a result, his pace slowed, and he developed a limp in his right leg. Kain could feel his head withering. He swore he could feel it. It felt like he had been left for dead, and he knew that it was their fault. Igneus and Ryan's.

That stupid brat, the stupid brat that had killed his wife. Igneus' birth had been complicated, and it had cost the life of Lily Fate, Kain's only love. He had met her a few years after returning to the Republic of Unity. She had golden blonde hair, she was almost Kain's height, and she was soft-spoken and strong. All things he loved. It had taken years for Kain to propose. He had told himself it was the ring cost, but that wasn't true.

He was the richest he had ever been at that point. Dragons were leaving the United Northern Division and heading for the Valley of Beauty, and contracts were being sent faster than Kain could complete them. After a while he had to be honest with himself, he was scared of losing her. His previous experience in his love life was as bad as Kyl's. But something about Lily made him happier, he felt safe, and in that safety insecurities bred rapidly.

However, after a long discussion he had with Nathan, he thought he should go ahead and propose to her. Their wedding was lavish, and the honeymoon was more so. Then one night Kain was pleased to hear that she was pregnant, and they were happier than they had ever been. 

Then Igneus killed her in his birth.

Kain had been so happy, holding Igneus in his arms, Lily unconscious, and he had tried to wake her up, he tried. He shouted at the midwife, and she said there was nothing to be done. In his fury he had struck her down with Vulneri, having to retrieve it out of his cabinet, as he had stored it there as he felt truly safe with Lily.

After striking the midwife down, he returned to her corpse, sobbing, as he tried to get her to wake up and hold her son. After a few months, suspicion had grown that Kain had been the one to kill the midwife, but no one wanted to do anything about it. But he was refused any service, and people would rip up any contracts that came to town. He dealt with it for six years.

Eventually, he got sick of being disrespected, belittled, and sworn at. So he did what he had to do. He took Igneus, his only reminder of Lily, a painful one at that, and stored him in Kain's haven in the woods where the man went when he got stressed out, his visits had been more frequent as the years passed. After putting Igneus in the cabin he lured a Teriarchy dragon to the town, and let it destroy the town before killing it. At this point, Kain had to find another house, so he paid one more visit to Lily's tombstone and left.