The Akirus Legacy
Chapter 1 - The weakened stems
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The Akirus Legacy
Chapter 1: "A Weakened Stem" (Synopsis)
In the world of Aether, the nation of Ascot stands as the wealthiest of thirteen nations — a land of luxury, festivals, and prosperity. But beneath its glittering surface lies a dark law: any child born an orphan, abandoned, or disabled is branded a "Weakened Stem" and sentenced to execution. Ten years earlier, a government official tried to abolish this cruel law, arguing that even a weakened stem still gives life — but he died before he could succeed, his death quietly ruled a suicide.
Now, in the year 1348, Ascot celebrates a grim milestone: the execution of 10,000 children. Monks, officials, the White-Red Organization, and nobles gather for a festival marking the massacre — treating it as a triumph rather than a tragedy.
Away from the celebration, thirteen-year-old Shinro Hakimichi — a thin, hungry orphan with messy dark-blue hair and green eyes — wanders the festival streets, only to be met with whispers, disgust, and hatred from the wealthy citizens who call him "the thief's son." Alone and unwanted, he retreats to his only home: an abandoned temple holding a statue of Lord Lazis, the God of Hope. He prays not for wealth or revenge, but simply for strength.
Unable to sleep from hunger, he heads back out and encounters a group of drunken old men. Picking up a discarded bottle, he snaps it in half with his bare foot — silencing their laughter. As they turn toward him, Shinro's quiet sorrow gives way to something else entirely: not fear, not sadness, but pure, burning anger.
The chapter ends on that unresolved tension — setting up Shinro as a boy pushed to his breaking point, standing at the edge of a much larger reckoning.
