A Tale of Bastard

A man who was once the most powerful figure in the world walked away from all of it — no announcement, no explanation — and built a quiet life in a small village. A beautiful wife. Two sharp daughters. A chair by the hearth. For years, nobody found him, and he preferred it that way. Now the world is fracturing at the seams, the student he left behind is destroying cities out of grief, and the Supreme Knight — the most powerful active figure alive — has shown up at his door saying please. He said no. He meant it. Probably. Meanwhile his daughters, armed with nothing but sharp minds and too much curiosity, have started pulling at threads. Their father has no relatives. No history. No past that anyone will speak of plainly. Every answer they find leads to three more questions — and every question leads somewhere their father would very much prefer they didn't go. He retired from the world. The world, apparently, did not get the message. Neither did his children.