Victubia: An Origin

Chapter One

The wind was strong and the air frosty, despite the rising sun peeking out from behind the city. The town square was crammed with people, some trying to get away, others attempting to invade shops or climb buildings. The butchers shop was on fire but no one could stop to help, for standing still for too long would surely result in having some object thrown at you or someone leaping at you, their desire for chaos driving them to violence. The riots had plagued Victubia for the fifth day in a row, causing outcry from business owners and innocent injured civilians for some sort of prevention. The King of Victubia lay on his deathbed, and with no real democracy in place there was no one else to organize the peacekeepers, to keep the city running. Thieves and criminals took this opportunity, and the land was infected with crime. The city had never been a strong one- the people always poor, the healthcare unsatisfactory and the army sloppily trained. The neighboring cities never saw reason to invade them, so that was one less problem, they supposed. But it also meant to allies, and no trading partners, so they often lacked necessities, and it would be rare to find someone over sixty in the city.

In one large empty warehouse on the outskirts, seven hooded figures stood around some sort of ball of light. It shone softly, emitting a pale glow, casting vague shadows on the stone floor. The figures seemed to be chanting something of an unknown language, but it was not threatening- more coaxing, requesting. Suddenly the ball expanded and the glow became fierce, causing the tallest figure to step forward and the rest to step back.

“Come forth a servant of the people- someone who will do his best to help the community, connecting them and aiding them to the best of his ability,” a low voice proclaimed. Almost instantly the glow began to take a shape- it elongated until it was almost six feet tall, mutating and squirming until it took the shape of a man. He had dark hair and a short beard- he wore a black long sleeved shirt with a smart, red vest, punctured with silver buttons which matched the buckle of his belt. His trousers were grey in colour, plain, aside from the pouch strapped to his leg. The man opened his eyes, blinking a few times when he saw the tall figure in front of him, before slowly turning to see the rest of the group and his strange location. His mouth opened for a second before he was pulled forward- commandingly but not forcefully- to stand behind the group and the figures started to chant again. Once again the ball expanded, and the same mysterious hooded man spoke;

“Come forth a leader of the community- someone to befriend the people and become closer to them than any royalty could.”

The light took a similar shape to before, a man of average height and size, with brown hair, only his was slicked back, making his white mask prominent. The mask was a perfect oval, made of smooth porcelain, with two circles and a line to recreate an emotionless, anonymous face. This man wore similar attire to the previous, with a black shirt and red vest, only his had gold buttons with no belt, and a black tie. There was a small label on his vest which read ‘Late Night’, although that particular detail would not be noticed for a while.

Again, the hooded figures started chanting, aside from the one who had spoken alone to summon the two, who brought the newer man to stand next to the first, bowing slightly, as if he felt unworthy of being in their presence, but still wanted to project authority. His voice was so low the two men struggled to hear it over the chanting.

“You are Lord Kenneth and Lord Cryaotic, deemed to work with the people of Victubia, destined to play your part in order to restore this city to glory.” The men looked at each other, clueless to the whole situation. The figure turned back, joining in at the last word of the incantation, the ball of light repeating its previous endeavor for the third time.