第1章 亚索（1/3）

“death ilways by my side.”

~ ya child， yasuo often believed what the otherge said of him: on the best days， his very exin error in judgement; on the wor mit could never be undone.

like mos some truth to it. hi widow already raising a young n who would be yather blew into her life like an autumn wind. and， jut lonely in before the blanket of ionian winter settled over the mily.

even though yalf-brother， yone， wasuo was not—reutious， conscientious—the two were inseparable. when other children teased yas there to defend hiwww. but what yatience， he made up for in determination. when yone began his apprenticege’s renowned young yaiting outside in monsoon rain， until the teachernd opened the gates.

much to the annoyance of hil talent， and became the only tch the attention of elder ster of the legendary wind technique. the old man saw yal， but the impulsive pupil refuge， remaining unbridled like a whirlwind. yone pleaded with his brother to rrogance， gifting him a maple seed， the school’s highest lesson in humility. the next morning， yasuo accepted the po’nd perrd.

when word of the noxian invached the school， some were inspired by the great d been taken at the placidium of navori， and ge wable bodied. yadd hiutes and brother left to fight， he wain and protect the elders.

the invar. finally， one rain-slicked night， the drumrch could be heard in the next valley over. yasuo abandoned his post， foolishly believing he could turn the tide.

but he found no battle—only a raw grave for hundrednd ionian corpses. something terrible and unnatural had happened here， t no de could have nd itinted by it.

suo returned to the school the next day， only to be surrounded by the remaining students， their wn. elder nd yasuo found himself accused not only of dereliction， but of murder. he realized the true killer would go unpunished if he did not act quickly， so he fought his way free， though he knew thill but confirm