Arc 1 Side Story 3 : Tyra

5 Years Before the Story Begins...

[??? PoV]

The Noors were a people who made their home in the southwestern region of the Empire. A hundred years ago, when the Noors stood at the peak of their power, our people struck fear into everyone across the southern part of the world.

The Noors frequently raided anyone who ventured too close to our territory, killed those foolish enough to cause trouble, and launched a massive raid against neighboring lands once every year.

The Noors were divided into several tribes, each led by a Chief. These Chiefs would, in turn, select one among themselves to become the Tagus—the supreme leader over every Noors tribe.

But all that former glory vanished the moment the Empire invaded fifty years ago.

The war between the Noors and the Empire lasted a full year. With equipment far more advanced than ours, the Empire crushed the Noors warriors with ease.

In the end, they conquered us, annexed our lands, and forced the Noors people to submit to imperial rule.

Now, only six tribes remained out of what had once been nine.

I was born and raised in the Tyal tribe.

Our tribe had a population of roughly 5,000 people—a number that had grown considerably from the mere 2,000 or so who'd survived by the war's end.

The tribe's situation had improved as well. We could farm again and bring in abundant harvests, monster attacks hadn't struck in years, and most importantly, no one was dying for foolish reasons anymore.

"Sister Tyra, Sister Tyra! How do you read this?"

I was currently teaching the children imperial letters. Unlike our own script, theirs was far simpler and easier to memorize.

Nations that worshipped Goddess Diana all shared the same language. But the Noors worshipped a different goddess entirely, which meant our language had nothing in common with theirs.

"Come here, Gori. I'll teach you."

This was an orphanage, though several tribal families also brought their children here. They simply didn't have time to care for them, since they had to work in the Empire's major cities.

Their jobs there weren't easy ones—mostly backbreaking labor like mining, construction work, and sewer cleaning.

That was because tribe members had no skills or expertise to offer beyond their physical strength.

I'd been fortunate myself, meeting a kind soul who taught me to read and write back when imperial people first came through here.

"Alright, now go practice this on your own!" I called out to them.

"Yes, Sister Tyra!"

They were so adorable... I hoped we could hold onto this way of life and keep moving forward.

After teaching, I walked toward the edge of the village to meet someone—my closest friend.

"Hey, Tyra."

"You get prettier every day, Tyra!"

Other tribe members greeted me as I passed their homes. Most of them worked as beet farmers or herders. Still, we needed to diversify our local production so we wouldn't have to depend on just one product to survive.

"Good morning, Tyra."

I saw an old man approaching me. He was the tribe's Chief.

"Heading to the Yuris tree to see Jaru?" the Chief asked.

"Yes, I think his work should be wrapping up soon," I answered.

"Has your brother still not come back?" the Chief asked.

Hearing that made my heart grow heavy. My brother had left the tribe to go find someone he believed could help revive our people. It had already been two years, and he still hadn't returned.

"I've heard some troubling news from outside our tribe," the Chief said. "Some of our people have been causing trouble in the major cities."

Hearing the Chief say that left me worried my brother might have gotten mixed up with a group like that.

"About thirty young men left with your brother back then, didn't they?" the Chief said, his voice heavy. "I hope they don't bring trouble back to this place."

I hoped the same. Right now, the tribe was stable and moving toward a better future. If anything, I thought it might be better if my brother and the others never came back at all.

After talking with the Chief, I continued on toward the edge of the village.

Before long, I spotted a large tree with thick, full leaves. Beneath it sat a man, asleep, leaning back against the trunk.

I smiled at the sight and walked over to him.

His innocent sleeping face was so cute it made me want to tease him. I crouched down and gently stroked his cheek to wake him.

We were only friends, technically, but I was fairly sure we had feelings for each other.

We were both seventeen. The Empire only allowed marriage once both partners turned eighteen. I had a feeling he'd propose to me on that day, and tomorrow was my eighteenth birthday.

I could hardly wait for it to arrive.

"Hey, Jaru, wake up... how long are you planning to sleep?"

At my call, his eyes fluttered open. His face filled with surprise at finding mine so close to his.

"T-Tyra? You're here already..." he mumbled, turning his face away. "Sorry, I dozed off. Work today was pretty exhausting."

"Good grief... how are you supposed to protect me if you're this weak?" I teased him.

"Sh-shut up! At least I'm putting in the effort and training now!" Jaru shot back, pouting.

I smiled, watching him act like that.

"Hey, don't get all grumpy. Let's go to the river and catch some fish like usual, Jaru," I said, trying to cheer him back up.

He simply nodded in response. We left together to spend the rest of our time doing something fun.

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I made it back home as evening fell. My house wasn't large, so tidying up never took much effort.

Our family used to live here as four. But my father passed away when I was only six. My mother then raised the two of us tirelessly, never once looking after her own health.

In the end, she died two years ago from working herself to exhaustion. My brother left the tribe not long after Mother's death, leaving me alone in this house.

But things were different now. Those dark days were behind us, and the village's condition had improved. It was true the Noors people had fallen hard because of the war, but with enough time, we would rise again.

After washing up and wiping the sweat from my body, I headed straight to my room to sleep.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Today had been wonderful, spending time with him. I already had a happy life.

Teaching in the mornings, hunting with Jaru in the afternoons.

I hoped everything would keep going well in the days ahead.

—Knock! Knock! Knock!

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a knock at the door.

I got up from my straw bed and walked slowly toward the entrance. Peeking through the window, I saw the shadow of a mysterious man.

Before opening the door, I made sure to have a knife ready in my hand.

—Clack!

The door swung open, and the man stepped inside without waiting for my permission.

I quickly shoved him against the wall and pressed the knife I was holding against his throat.

"Who are you! What are you doing coming to my house this late at night!?" I demanded, my voice full of menace.

"E-easy, Tyra! It's me, your brother Hama!" the man blurted out.

"Brother,Hama? Why have you come back here?" I asked, releasing him.

"What do you mean, 'why have you come back here'? This is my house! Why would I need your permission to return!" he snapped, his voice rising in anger.

"You're the one who left me here all alone without any shame! You're the firstborn son! You should be taking responsibility for your family's life!" I shot back, my own anger flaring.

He ignored my words and sat down at the dining table.

"All the young men who left back then are returning to their homes now," he said, lighting something and taking a drag from it. "We came back with a fortune for this tribe, Tyra."

Huh? A fortune? Had they found good jobs in the big cities? But didn't imperial citizens discriminate against our people, seeing us as backward and narrow-minded? So how had my brother come by this fortune?

"We left the fortune near Kulfu Bridge," Brother Hama revealed. "I need you to go get it and bring it back here."

"Answer me honestly—where did you get this fortune from?" I asked seriously.

"Tch, does it matter where it came from, as long as it's used for the tribe's welfare?" he said, dodging my question.

"Don't tell me you committed a crime to get this money?"

At my question, he simply looked away. It seemed my suspicion had hit its mark.

"You and those young men are complete fools, Brother! Money like this won't help the tribe's situation—it'll bring nothing but danger!" I snapped at him harshly.

"What did you say!? We've fought this whole time for this tribe! Some of us even died for it! I won't let you disrespect their sacrifice with that mouth of yours!" Brother Hama shot back, shoving me hard.

"Your efforts weren't needed, Brother. This tribe is already moving in a better direction—it won't be long before this place thrives like the other big cities, if it's built the right way."

I truly believed that. By teaching the next generation about the world, this place would eventually earn more attention from the Empire. The real problem we faced now was language—many Noors still hadn't mastered the imperial tongue.

"You're a fool to hope for something like that, Tyra," Brother Hama said, standing up. "The imperial people will never accept our kind! Look at what they've done to this place! They tore down our goddess's statue and replaced it with theirs, they banned our culture, and they've always looked down on us like animals!"

It was true—the Empire had forbidden us from worshipping the Noors goddess and banned us from practicing customs they deemed too barbaric to be shown publicly. If left unchecked for too long, the Noors people would eventually lose their identity as a nation entirely.

Still, all of that was something we could live with, compared to everyone here dying or being turned into slaves. I believed we would eventually produce remarkable people who could bring real change and rise to positions of importance within the Empire. All we needed was time.

"Fine, I'll go get it for you, Brother. But you and your group need to leave here as soon as possible, understand?" I told him. The longer they stayed, the more danger they'd bring to this tribe.

"Alright, we'll leave after resting here for a few days."

After that, I headed out of the house carrying a torch. There was no lighting here at all, unlike the cities of the Empire.

I'd only visited a city once before. That place was completely different from the tribe. They had tall, sturdy buildings, roads paved smooth with materials I'd never seen before, and their clothing was far finer than anything we wore.

After walking for quite a while, I quickly extinguished my torch. That was because I spotted a group of patrol soldiers passing through the area.

"It's unusual for them to be out here," I muttered. "Could it be because of my brother and his group?"

I didn't want to think about anything bad.

Once they'd passed, I relit the torch by striking two stones together. Before long, I reached Kulfu Bridge, where my brother had hidden the fortune.

I climbed down beneath the bridge and found a tied-up sack. Peering inside, I saw a mound of gold coins filling it entirely.

Judging by the size of this sack, I guessed there had to be around a thousand gold coins inside! An amount like this would be more than enough to buy equipment and build a proper school for the Tyal tribe!

But if the Empire ever found out the Tyal tribe had stolen this money, we'd be finished.

I hurried to sling the sack over my shoulder to bring it back to Brother Hama.

The journey back wasn't nearly as smooth as the trip there had been. I had to stop frequently to avoid being spotted by patrol soldiers.

Still, I stayed patient and eventually reached the edge of the village. I was almost there—everything was about to be over.

—Clang!

I dropped the sack I was carrying.

That was because I saw a massive fire consuming the tribe's homes.

"What in the world is happening...?"

Walking closer, I saw countless imperial soldiers throughout the village. They were tying up tribe members and torturing them.

Why were the soldiers attacking innocent villagers? Even the children weren't spared from their cruelty!

I had to get back to the orphanage—I had to save them.

I sprinted toward the orphanage where I taught. But when I arrived, I found the women I worked with lying in pools of blood, their clothes stripped away.

My emotions surged at the sight of what had happened to the orphanage.

"Why...?"

I walked toward the children's room and saw their bodies scattered across the blood-soaked floor in the most horrific state.

"Why... why would they do something this cruel...?"

I... didn't understand... I was completely lost...

"Ughh..."

I heard a boy's voice—one of them was still moving. I rushed over and lifted his body up.

"Gori, hang in there! Sister's going to get you out of here and heal your wounds!"

"Sister Tyra..." he said weakly. "Gori's glad Sister's okay..."

After saying that, the boy took his last breath and left this world.

My tears fell onto his still-innocent face.

"They were just children... how could anyone be so cruel... hic... hic..."

Jaru... that's right! I had to find him and get him out of here!

I ran out of the orphanage and sprinted as fast as I could toward his house.

Please... please... don't let me be too late...

When I arrived, I saw a house engulfed in flames.

My heart shattered into pieces at the horrifying sight before me. Jaru and his mother were tied to a post. Their bodies were covered in stab wounds from the soldiers' torture.

"Why is this happening..."

My beautiful days, my great hopes, and my comfortable home—all destroyed in a single night.

"Hey, there's one more here!"

I heard a soldier's voice. They came toward me and struck me hard. All I could do was stare at Jaru's body, still hanging there.

What had we done to deserve a fate like this...?

Why was our tribe being slaughtered like this...?

Hic... hic... hic...

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.

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A few days later, I finally learned why the soldiers had massacred our tribe. They belonged to Prince Felix's forces, sent to hunt down rebels who had fled to our village.

The rebels in question were my brother and his thirty companions, hiding in our village.

But when the soldiers arrived, my brother and his friends fled immediately. Only four of them were caught in the village.

The soldiers then began interrogating the remaining tribe members, trying to extract information about their rebel relatives. When they failed to get the answers they wanted, they started killing the other villagers.

My brother turned out to be one of the leaders of the Noors Rebel group, led by Tuor—a Noors from the Omor tribe.

Because so many of our tribe members turned out to be rebels, and were proven to have sheltered them, the Empire sentenced our entire tribe to ten years of forced labor, as a warning to other tribes not to rebel.

But I couldn't accept this. Children murdered without mercy, tribespeople tortured like animals—this wasn't justice being carried out. It was a massacre.

I heard all of this had been carried out under Prince Felix's direct orders.

Just wait. I will make you pay for what you did to the home I loved so dearly!

After managing to escape the labor camp, I changed my name and began learning to speak the imperial language without a trace of a Noors accent, so imperial people wouldn't grow suspicious of me.

My goal now was singular—to kill Prince Felix for the crimes he committed against my homeland.

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Five years had passed since then...

I was now twenty-three years old, working within the Empire's military institution. I'd been training my body as a knight, hoping to catch Prince Felix's attention and get close to him.

—Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Judas, are you ready?"

I heard my colleague calling out.

"Yes, just a moment!" I answered him.

"Hurry up, Prince Felix is coming to select who'll become his new personal guard."

This was the moment I'd been waiting for. Five years of effort were finally about to pay off, now that I'd made my way into Prince Felix's inner circle.

Everyone... I will avenge you all...

Stepping out of the room, I found my male colleague already waiting outside.

"Let's hurry, Judas."

We walked together toward Prince Felix's chambers. I was currently at the Grand Palace of Aragon, where the Emperor himself resided.

A meeting was scheduled to take place here tomorrow. The Emperor's family would be attending, along with their personal guards.

Before long, we crossed paths with a beautiful blonde girl wearing an academy uniform. A black-haired man walked beside her.

"Good morning, Princess Elena."

We stopped to greet her and bowed respectfully, as was customary for the Emperor's family.

The princess simply smiled and walked past us.

"Hey, who's that black-haired man with her?" I asked my colleague.

"Hmm... if I recall correctly, he's the son of Duke Alvaro—Raul de Garcia."

Is that so? Why was he with Princess Elena? Wasn't Duke Alvaro rumored to be one of the nobles supporting Prince Felix?

We continued on our way toward the prince's chambers.

Before long, we arrived outside his room. Two knights stood guard at the door.

My colleague handed a letter to one of them.

After reading it, the knight knocked on the door to Prince Felix's chambers.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing a blond-haired man seated at his desk.

So this was him... the man responsible for the massacre inflicted upon the Tyal tribe, the one who'd condemned them to forced labor like common slaves.

"So, you're the one who'll be my new guard?" Prince Felix asked, looking directly at me. "What's your name?"

"Yes, sir. My name is Judas Victariot!"

Just wait, you bastard. I will drive a blade into your back at the most crucial moment of your life.

I will shatter your dream of becoming Emperor, and I will make certain you live long enough to watch it crumble.

Only then will I kill you—after I've destroyed you, body and mind.