Out of pain comes the joy of living.
In a land hidden in the depths of darkness—a place known to have no hope, it's people lived as though they were dead. This story is about a young boy who would soon come to understand that the journey he must take would either change or destroy the history of his people forever.
In the silence of the night came the cry of an infant. Far in the darkness, the smell of blood attracted a pack of wolves. They approached the helpless child.
My name is Narito Tiza. I cannot tell you who my parents were, since I do not know them. As you may have guessed, I was that helpless infant in the dark woods. My first memories of life were of pain, from the claw of the wolf that marked me—a mark that would come to be the symbol of my entire life.
The world I was born into did not welcome life. It was a place where sorrow clung to the air like fog, and even the wind carried the sound of mourning. People survived not by living, but by enduring, their eyes hollow with memories of a better past long forgotten. Hope was not stolen from them—it simply faded, generation by generation, until no one remembered its shape.
That night, the forest bore witness to my first breath. The trees stood like silent judges as the wolves circled closer, their eyes glowing with hunger beneath the moon. Their growls blended with my cries, and fate itself seemed to hesitate in that moment, as though deciding whether my life was worth sparing. Pain followed—sharp, burning, unforgettable—as claws tore into my flesh. Even now, the memory lingers, etched into my skin and soul alike.
Yet I lived.
When dawn broke, it was as if the world itself exhaled. The darkness retreated, and light poured through the branches like a promise whispered too softly to be believed. The morning's warm, gentle light felt like a longing. I awoke to a creature so beautiful that her smile mirrored upon my face—a kindness unlike anything I had known. That was when she found me, the one I would come to know as Mother.
Her hands carried me to the bosom of her breast, her skin so warm, and her touch brought peace to my troubled soul, making me feel whole. Her presence was gentle, almost unreal, like warmth after endless cold. In her eyes, I saw no fear—only compassion, an emotion I would later learn was rare in this land.
She held me as though I were precious, as though my broken beginning did not define my worth. In her arms, the pain dulled, and for the first time, I felt something beyond survival.
I felt wanted.
I felt loved.
Though I did not yet know it, that moment marked the true beginning of my journey. For I was not saved by chance alone. The scar left by the wolf would grow with me, shaping my destiny and guiding me toward a future where pain and hope would forever walk side by side.
And so, from blood and darkness, my story began.
The warmth of a home is best forged in the love of a mother.
I still remember the day I first spoke. My first word brought tears to her beautiful eyes. The moment she heard what sounded like "Nana", I saw joy bloom on her face. She had cared for me for four years by then, yet in that single moment, I truly became her child.
I called her Nana. A name that would stay with me long after childhood, Nana sacrificed everything to keep me safe. She worked harder than anyone, loved by the villagers for her kindness, until the day she chose to keep me. That was when everything changed. The villagers called me the cursed one, a child born in blood and darkness, marked by the beast. They whispered that my presence would bring ruin upon them. But Nana saw something different. She saw an innocent child in need of love. So, she chose me. To protect me, she moved far from the main village, ensuring I could have a normal childhood, free from the cruel eyes of those who feared me.
Nana was a young and beautiful woman, but she carried the sorrow of a love lost. Her partner, the man she had vowed to spend her life with, was taken by the great war that once brought balance to these dark lands. After his passing, she chose solitude, living in quiet remembrance of the love she once had. Until she found me. I was her second chance at family. But fate would not let us live in peace forever.