Four brothers born under the same moon. An anomaly that gave the nameless village just north of Haense a short burst of attention. People whispered, some even cried witch, but in the end, it determined that the babies were conceived naturally. Coincidentally, they were born underneath the stars that formed the Hammer of Urguan, Sword of Heron, Axe of Krug, and the Bow of Malin constellations. The four brothers. As each boy grew older, they became proficient with the weapons of each constellation. The oldest, Jasper himself, was particularly fond of bows. He could hit a target if he focused enough. Being only 18 now, he was on the path to becoming a great marksman. His life, however, has prevented him from following that dream.
The youngest brother, Alheim, was a great swordsman up until the age of 14. He had gone down to practice by the lake as he had always done, but that day a storm had rolled in. Desperate to get back as the rain poured down, making the mud thick and impossible to get through. He had almost reached his home where his three brothers when a tree collapsed from the pressure of the wind and pinned him onto the ground. Screaming for help, he went unheard as the winds drowned out all of his frantic yellings. Those who would study his body in later years would find out that his cause of death was asphyxiation and a broken arm. Alheim literally drowned in the mud. The second brother, Marshal, was not great at anything he did- except when he picked up a hammer. Spending all of his time in the workshops and blacksmithies, he built homes, weapons, and even crafted Alheim’s first sword. Having a hero’s spirit, when the small town caught fire a month after Alheim’s death, no one could stop him from running into growing flames and trying to save as many people as he possibly could. This proved to be useful, as he dragged his now youngest brother Amir out of the burning soldier’s barracks. Saving Amir, Marshal turned back to attempt another rescue. Once inside, the building collapsed and no one else had been brave enough to rescue him beside Jasper, who was dragged away by his parents who were crying at the loss of their two children. At the end of the city’s burning, only twelve members of the town were left alive at the end. Jasper and Amir’s father had gone back to save those whom he thought he could- but failed and had been trampled by fleeing horses. Later that year, their mother succumbed to tuberculosis and left them penniless. Amir, who used his skill with an ax to support his older brother who failed to find a job that lasted long enough. Becoming a lumberer, Amir ventured out into the forest almost daily and brought back wood to repair the town. Eight out of the ten survivors were out late at night when a pack of wolves descended on them, surrounded them, and tore each of them to shreds one by one. Hearing the screams, Jasper started to run into the woods only to be pulled back by the other town member. Four years later, it is still just him and Jace, the ex-local blacksmith. At age 18, his birthday, Jasper’s mentor grew old and sick. As his dying words, Jace explained that each of the four brothers had been supposed to die on their 14th birthday. Jasper had inexplicably avoided this as if fate had a different plan. The old man didn’t have much time to explain, but all he could mutter were ‘The Old Lords’ before he fell into a deathly sleep.
Now alone, and confused, Jasper set out in search of a new life- and maybe some answers along the way. Although, his true goal, was only to have a family once more.
(Side note, I couldn’t find my actual skin so I found the closest one to it).
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