Prologue
Exordium
The Beginning
Kim Seokjin stared forlornly at the place that he called home drifting further away in the distance. A small and rusty old village drowning in poverty and deprivation. People—alpha, beta and omega alike— were starving and many have already perished. There was famine in the land and the village leader had to take desperate measures to survive this desperate time.
An ongoing war was stirring between the Five Kingdoms and the Outlands. The Five Kingdoms consisted of the North, East, West, South and the Central Kingdoms. They were allied forces that venerated the Bathala—the almighty entity that created the universe—and lived according to the rules of their ancestors. The Outlands, on the other hand, were rebellious outcasts that refused to bow to any law and worshiped no god.
The war has always been there since time immemorial and the beginning was lost in the burned pages of history. But there was one thing certain at the moment—people were suffering.
Seokjin's village belonged to no Kingdom for they followed no rules and did not worship the Bathala. However, they also weren't Outlanders who were savage and barbaric in their ways, purging small villages and stealing whatever little means they have to live. His little village was caught in between the ongoing war, starving and oppressed.
Outlanders came to their village nearly every day to abuse their people, force their alphas and betas to battle, mount their omegas and enslave their children. Many tried to fight back—often alphas who were weak from malnutrition—and they all lost their lives, leaving their omegas and children to fend for themselves.
But the village leader had enough of seeing his people suffer in the hands of barbarians, thus he opted for his last resort—to submit to the Five Kingdoms.
That is how Kim Seokjin found himself sat atop of their beat-up calesa, drifting further away from his home. There were alphas stationed around him, the strongest ones from their poor village brought to protect him in their journey to the North Kingdom—the strongest and wealthiest among the Five Kingdoms.
He closed his eyes, visualazing the image of his small home with his thin and weak mother and her calloused hands weaving blankets to provide warmth for them in the coming winter. His little siblings—two betas and one omega like him—huddled in one place, trying to warm themselves for the cold night and sleeping with empty stomachs. He thought of finally giving them a chance to live a better life, to give them warmth and food to eat and most importantly, to keep them safe from harm.
Kim Seokjin wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes and braced himself as he accepted his fate. The tall and intimidating gates of the North Kingdom was in sight and he watched the place that would soon bring them salvation. He could only hope that things would go in their favor.
His home was falling apart and in order to save it, a sacrifice must be done. That sacrifice was Kim Seokjin himself.
Bathala n.- the almighty entity that created the universe.
Calesa n.- horse-drawn calash or a small two-wheeled carriage
This is still short but it's only the beginning. There will be more in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading!
—Chrysallion
