Miguel Lucalus

War has a terrible effect on all those that survive it. Men can become bitter, depressed, they are no longer the same man afterwards. Miguel Lucalus was a young man when the Myreison War began, and with the odds stacked against human kind, all able bodied soldiers would fight. Miguel was quickly drafted and entered the greatest war of all of history. On the battlefields he stood with countless different men and women, most of which he never saw again.

Miguel watched as hordes of Myreison soldiers massacred his brigade, as flames erupted from the earth in massive geysers, destroying their forces by an invisible enemy. Miguel could feel his humanity slipping away as he saw a new battlefield each day; he wondered when he would be the next corpse. But he never died on the battlefield.

Miguel saw the war through from its beginning to its end, sustaining no injuries, many considered him to be in the good graces of God. At the war’s end he was awarded numerous medals and honors for his dedicated service, but they were meaningless to him, it could not account for all of the friends he lost, all of the cities he knew destroyed.

Without any war to fight, Miguel was forced to seek work out in the new world, a world where Myreisons were commonly seen in everyday life. He had to find a job of some sort, but he could not bear working for someone that he swore was the one that took his friend’s head off before his very eyes. Miguel was almost forty, he was bitter towards the Myreisons, as many war veterans were after all of the atrocities of the Myreison War. He wouldn’t work with them, to him they were despicable, they killed countless scores of humans, and couldn’t be trusted.

Miguel, like many others learned that the world still had quite a bit of trouble from the newly formed Shadow Council. As regular peace keeping forces could not keep up, soon bounties were being placed on the most dangerous of the members, and bounty hunters appeared to bring them to justice. Miguel joined the ranks of the bounty hunters, they fought to keep the peace they all worked so hard for, however Miguel had no money, he had no family left, he had no way of keeping up with just a set of handguns. He was constantly outclassed in every bounty he hunted, and the bounty themselves were too dangerous for him to fight head to head with conventional bullets.

As time wore on, Miguel found himself in a small pub and restaurant one day. He was there frequently in all honesty, as it was run by an old friend from the war, he helped Miguel out occasionally so he would visit him periodically. One day he took note of a strange red haired girl sitting off in a corner, he inquired about her, the bartender told him she was a homeless person like himself, he let her into the bar because it was cold that day out, and she seemed harmless enough.

Miguel paid no further attention to the girl, until he noticed that some of the people in the bar began to harass her. Miguel still had enough humanity left in him after the war to pay heed to his basic nature, one that still held true to old values of mannerism and gentlemanly ways. He tried to stand up for the young girl, but ultimately he received a punch to the face and a black eye. Miguel pulled himself back together, he was not happy about his situation, but at least he did a good deed.

He looked over the young girl, she was obviously still a teenager, at best near early adulthood. But he could tell she too was loaded with emotional burdens, it was written all over her face. Miguel decided to talk with her, if anything else it would make himself feel better; to have human contact with someone else. He soon found himself telling stories of his life, from his time in the war, of his life in the day, his hopes, dreams, desires. And of course, he complained about the subpar lifestyle he was saddled with. Eventually the bartender was tired of the complaints, and to Miguel’s surprise, leaked information of a bounty he could pursue that was not yet posted for the public. On the ground below the free hanging city of Lutenia lay an old Myreison warship, and it could be sold for a king’s ransom.

Miguel was ecstatic to hear of the chance for a new and better life, and in his haste nearly forgot about the new company he had acquired. Miguel ultimately decided to take the girl with him, he didn’t want to simply abandon her, but taking her along with him on a bounty seemed foolhardy, but it was a simple retrieval, it would be alright.

Upon reaching the scared surface world, Miguel and his new travelling companion sneaked through in-between patrols of the mutated life that formed from the war’s side effects. But finally, Miguel saw their goal, the downed warship that sat in the earth that the world forgot. He rushed to it with enthusiastic joy, but it was foolish of him. A massive biomechanical life form emerged, acting as the guardian to the craft. Miguel began to make a hasty retreat, however he left his female companion for dead. As the thought of what to do came to mind, he considered abandoning her, but he could not think of it for more than a second, he never let a soldier stay behind in the field, even if he could die if he went back. In the world, only a few things are constant, and good people were one of them.

Miguel went back and arrived in time to push the girl out of harm’s way, however he sustained a slash in his back from one of the limbs of the creature, sending him down to the ground bleeding. He told the girl to run, but she appeared to have no intention, and instead did something he couldn’t have guessed. The young girl released streams of fire from her hands, burning the creature to the ground in a divine blaze.

Miguel was stunned. He had no idea of what to think any longer. For the longest of times, he believed that all Myreisons were the same; they were all savage and brutal beings. However, he was able to speak and talk to “one of them” and it was talking with any other human. The girl even saved his life, Miguel was suddenly unsure of things. Perhaps he was wrong, and in the end he was sure that he was. Myreisons were like humans, all have wills of their own, hearts and minds. One bad person from either group could not denote how the rest would behave.

Miguel gained back some of his humanity that day, and he and the girl named Vespera became fast friends, almost like family. Miguel repaired the ship and soon was in the air with it, wearing a regal blue uniform with golden and red decals on it. With a pair of white gloves, grey army pants and tall black boots he appears to be nobility. Miguel keeps a sword at his hip, along with his two trusted handguns from his bounty hunting days. Atop his head he has dirty blonde hair that has been untidy throughout the years and an aviator’s cap over it all.

Miguel works with Vespera to keep the peace, their names spreading all over the world. They lead the Regal Guard as they work against the Shadow Council which desires to reset the old order of the Myreison High Council.

The two opposing forces found each other, and in turn revived the damaged pieces of themselves, even finding a place to belong once again. Miguel does not regret his injury from that day, though it weighs heavy on his mind. The wound has become infected over time, and slowly saps away his life. Miguel knows his time on his mortal coil will be short, but does not speak of it. He is too worried to bother the girl, Vespera with his troubles. Instead, he would rather keep her from the truth, at least for awhile. To him, she appears happy, and in turn he is happy to see smiles in his life again.