EREBUS .

a good boy with magic turned hostile royal hunter. 

erebus was a sweet boy growing upon land that was going through terrible famine as the winter arrived, barely any food to have, and money was scarce too because of the king and queen's taxing (the king more so than the queen). they desired lavish lives, gifts and wealth beyond all comprehension. they didn't really seem to care that their lavish needs overwhelmed their generosity and ability to see the suffering of their people.

things got worse. more people began dying as crops were straining to grow and food was growing more scarce beyond the harsh chill of winter.

criminals were on the rise and theft was at an all time high, consisting of men and occasionally women, just trying to feed their families. people got tossed into prisons and taxes could no longer be paid because villages weren't prospering as they were in the past. with only greed in his heart, the king opted for cruelty. he thought that in lessening the population, perhaps things would swing back into motion. perhaps the people would not struggle and complain so much and continue to pay. he lessened his strict laws in the days before but most who could not pay their taxes were either thrown into prison as he thought that they were little to no use to the kingdom.

erebus was a teenager now, about 14, but still keeping his head high in the hopes that things would grow better. the king promised prosperity and so he would eagerly wait for his parents and village to no longer strain. it was around this time that he discovered magic and with glee in his eyes, he aimed to hone it in hopes that he too would provide more assistance for others. 

he had heard of magic users dedicated to helping their kingdoms. he wanted to be one of them. 

but as time passed, things seemed to be growing ever more bleak to a point that the villagers sent word for help to distant family in letters and rumors began to spread to where other royals were beginning to hear of the issues within erebus' kingdom. they planned a meeting with aim to talk with the king and queen, but the selfish royals shrugged them off and demanded they stay out of their affairs lest they try to start a battle or be cut off from resources (that the other royal members did not know were low or gone) and it earned hesitation. 

silence.

it's this hesitation that signed all their troubles for the later future.

people were dying again, but this time, it's from the plan of the king. his promises of prosperity were revealed to be a cruel woven plan. lessen the population so that things will grow and all will be well! a selfish and foolish thought and in all the 'village attacks', erebus's village found itself to be next. 

a brigade arrives and the curiosity of the villagers morphed into concern, then fear, and then chaos. the village burned. so many people perished in the onslaught, including erebus's parents, who posed as distraction to gain ignorance of the frightened boy running off and away at their behest. come twilght and only a handful survived in the end.

the incident didn't outright change erebus at first. but among the grief and disbelief, it planted a bitter seed in his heart. one that would blossom to fierce, burning hatred.

he had still wanted to help. he still kept the hope that his parents helped instill; that with his magic and some determination, he could help others. but after months of wandering, he found more less fortunate villagers and more people toiling away. more thievery, more death, more arrests. more, more, more.

while the king and queen settled away in their ivory castle and their stolen riches without a care in the world. the bitterness grew and helpful hands were replaced with tomes and solitude and anger. dark magic to be learned in the forest away from the makeshift camp he lived in with some others. he learned things that would hurt, burn, and kill. he basically stopped learning of light magic and spun a web for himself in the trappings of darkness. 

and when he grew older, skilled, and the anger had morphed into revenge, he stole away to the royal castle himself one night after weeks of observation. there was never an expectation for magical offenders and it made things all the more simple. he took down the guards with the greatest of ease, whether through disabling or outright killing. he swallowed the lump when laying eyes upon a corpse, striding over it with the promise of intent. 

erebus eventually found his way to the king and queen themselves in time, the two hidden away in their room with the hopes that the four guards kept by the door would save them. 

there was no speech. no pride. no contented bragging. no bitter words to shoot at their face. he just looked to them and said, "you earned this." and executed them. 

the quietude his kingdom gained in the form of turned backs of the other royals he and many others had so desperately hoped would assist seemed to form a new incentive. 

now he wanders, promising to harm other royals as retribution for letting he and his people suffer.