The village of Eisenfluss, where Leonhardt grew up, seemed ordinary at first. It was just a collection of wooden houses surrounded by endless pine forests. But to him, it was his whole world.
The Empire referred to places like this as "frontier settlements." They were small, cold, and poor, but loyal to the core.
Leonhardt's earliest memories were filled with the smell of burning pine, the crunch of snow beneath heavy boots, and the soft sound of the river, which never fully froze even during the harshest winters.
His father often said:
"Nature teaches better than any book, Leon. The world outside the Empire requires strength or it demands blood."
Leonhardt listened closely. Even at eight years old, he grasped the significance of those words.
School and the Teacher's Son
Eisenfluss had only one school, essentially a long room with cracked walls and tiny windows. Children of farmers, lumberers, and blacksmiths attended whenever their families allowed it.
Leonhardt sat in the front row, not because he was the teacher's son, but because learning came easily to him. He soaked up lessons on mathematics, writing, Empire history, and even old tales about kings and conquerors.
Some older students whispered:
"He's strange."
"He learns too fast."
"He never complains."
Leonhardt didn't mind. He preferred books to people.
But he wasn't alone.
His Friends – The Pine Trio
He had two close friends:
1. Maren Hochfeld
A farmer's daughter, tough as boots and loud as thunder. She defeated boys in arm-wrestling and hated to lose. She believed she would become a soldier one day.
2. Otto Bruckner
A blacksmith's apprentice. Even at ten, he was broad-shouldered but gentle, always smiling. He dreamed of making weapons for the Empire.
Together, the three were known as "The Pine Trio."
They met under the same old pine tree every afternoon, studying, arguing, laughing, and dreaming about futures far beyond their small village.
Adrian's Letters
Adrian, now at the Imperial Military Academy, sent letters whenever he could. Leonhardt cherished each one.
"Leon, the Academy is harder than I imagined. But I will get through it. For us."
"I learned how to fire a rifle today. The recoil nearly knocked me down!"
"Brother… the Empire is changing. The officers whisper about unrest near the eastern borders."
The last sentence always worried Leonhardt.
Even as a child, he sensed war in the air, like the smell of iron before a storm.
A Hint of Power
One winter afternoon, Leonhardt and his friends ventured deep into the woods to play near the frozen river.
Maren challenged Otto to a race across the ice. Leonhardt stayed on the bank, watching the patterns of frost and water.
Then he saw it.
The cracks on the ice.
Maren and Otto didn't.
"Stop!" Leonhardt shouted, running toward them.
But it was too late. The ice broke under Otto's weight.
Maren screamed. Otto fell into the freezing water.
Without thinking, Leonhardt jumped forward. He grabbed a fallen branch and tossed it to Otto.
"Grab it!"
Somehow, instinctively, he figured out the angle and force, all in the blink of an eye. He pulled Otto out, who was coughing and shivering.
Maren stared at Leonhardt, astonished.
"How did you react so fast? No one else even saw the cracks."
Leonhardt had no answer.
Moments like this happened—flashes of insight, reflexes too quick for a child, instincts he never learned.
Leftovers from a past life.
But he kept them hidden.
The world was not ready to know who he truly was.
Empire Lessons
At eleven, Leonhardt's father started teaching him privately.
Geography,
Imperial law,
War history,
Economics,
Politics.
The Empire was split into:
- Northern Iron Provinces – harsh, military strongholds
- Central Capital Region – where the Emperor and parliament sat
- Western Merchant States – wealthy and politically ambitious
- Southern Grain Lands – warm, fertile, and sometimes rebellious
- Eastern Frontier – a dangerous border against the Vorska Union
Eisenfluss lay in the Northern Iron Zone. It was the harshest region, but also the most loyal.
"Leon," Tobias said once, "remember this: The Empire survives because its people endure. Weakness is death."
Leonhardt took every word to heart.
The Shadow of the Academy
When Leonhardt turned fourteen, everything changed.
The Academy recruiters returned to Eisenfluss to award a medal of honor to one of their top cadets.
Adrian Weiss.
Leonhardt saw his brother again for the first time in three years.
Adrian had grown taller, sharper, and colder—his gaze filled with discipline and purpose.
But when he saw Leonhardt, the hard mask broke.
"Little brother… you've grown."
They talked late into the night.
Adrian shared stories about military drills, political lectures, strict discipline, and the fierce competition among cadets.
"Three more years," Adrian said. "Then you can join me. Promise me you won't fall behind."
Leonhardt nodded.
He would not fall behind.
He could not.
The Empire was changing. The world felt heavier. Rumors of border clashes grew louder.
And Leonhardt sensed something larger—something dark—approaching.
For now, though, he was still a boy.
A boy standing beneath the endless pines, dreaming of the day he would leave this village behind.