The transformation of the Four Rose Petals Boarding world happened gradually. First came the communications blackout—all contact with the outside world severed without warning. Then the monthly supply deliveries stopped. Finally, the massive wrought-iron gates groaned shut, their metallic clang echoing with finality across the sprawling campus.
The black-suited figures who patrolled the perimeter offered no explanations. As days stretched into weeks, civilization began to crack like drought-parched earth.
From the chaos, five factions dominated, each claiming territory within the school's neo-gothic architecture. The Echowood Retreat, Aurora Bluffs, Seraphic Summit, Starfall Reach and Shadowmere Groove.
Resources became currency: bottled water, preserved food, medicine, blankets. Each faction hoarded what they could, trading or fighting for what they couldn't. Those who refused to choose sides found themselves adrift in a turbulent new world, battling starvation and agony in the spaces between territories.
The constant skirmishes took their toll. Every victory was Pyrrhic, won with bruises, broken bones, and dwindling supplies. The relative equality of strength between factions created a bloody stalemate—until he emerged.
Emrys Arlorias didn't start as anyone special. But he possessed something rare in this new, hopeless world, foresight. While others fought for immediate gains, he saw the bigger picture. One by one, he dismantled the other factions—not through brute force alone, but also a combination of strategy, charisma, and calculated mercy. Seraphic Summit fell first, then Aurora Bluffs. Echowood Retreat and Shadowmere Grove soon followed, their members absorbed into his growing alliance: Crescent Dawn.
Now, in the repurposed grand dining hall, Emrys sat at the head of a massive mahogany table. His white fluffy coat—a symbol of his promise to someone—draped over his shoulders, covering his black tactical outfit. The setting sun painted the stained glass windows in blood reds and burning gold, casting his face in dramatic shadows.
"I would've loved to make a toast," he announced, his voice carrying to every corner of the room, "but our work isn't finished." His fingers traced the rim of an empty crystal glass. "We're at the final stage. One last obstacle stands between us and total unification: Starfall Reach. Their leader is clever, I'll grant them that. But what we need now is information—and with it, victory is inevitable."
He stood, the cape flowing around him like liquid moonlight. "Students are suffering under this wickedness, scraping by between territories, living in fear. With our victory, we can end this cycle of violence. No more factions. No more fear…. No more losses of loved ones. We'd have our answers as to why we've been treated so unjustly. We'd get to see our families once again."
The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices shaking dust from the rafters. Emrys' lip curled in a slight smile, and he whispered, just loud enough for his inner circle to hear: "Let's put an end to this darkness."