Waking up upon feeling the warm rays of sunlight gently shining upon his body, being greeted by the softness of the blanket and mattress he rested in, enjoying the high-quality fabric he was clad in for the duration of his sleep and servants ready to help him change into his daytime clothing - truly, a life befitting a noble; that was, at least, how life could have been for Armalius every morning upon waking up as the first-born child of a Viscount.
Yet instead, his gaze was greeted by the usual darkness his eyes had become accustomed to over the years. The cold, near-metallic sensation pressing upon his facial features had also become something so normal to the young boy, that questioning its presence was what would have been perceived as odd instead by now.
He wore a slightly oval, white mask without any holes for the eyes - a mask that was simply too big for his currently young and small face. Viscount Glacies and his wife paid a hefty sum for its acquisition, enough to leave them indebted, albeit no longer as heavily as they were years ago, to this very day. This mask was a unique 'relic' found in one of the many ruins existing in the world.
Ruins had been, so to say, remnants of the previous civilization that flourished, yet one day vanished from the surface of the planet as if they never existed - except for one part, which were various so-called 'areas of danger', oftentimes labeled as 'ruins'.
Scholars, Royalty, people seeking adventures or fame, many were drawn in by these ruins' strange, yet all too understandable allure. Among the many things that could be acquired in said ruins, were the legendary and famous "Scrolls". Their existence, similar in their essence to Grimoires, were highly valued due to their ability to grant Blessed Ones additional gifts to their existing Blessings or possibly even so-called "Manmade Blessings".
Whilst one would need to study and grasp the entirety of a Grimoire to unlock anything resembling the above, oftentimes taking years if not even decades depending on what secrets the Grimoire held, a Scroll would only need the user to trickle a drop of their blood on it and they would naturally receive the gifts stored within them, followed by the Scroll turning into ashes.
Yet ruins offered far more than just scrolls: They also held various other items, ranging from obvious-to-understand creations like weapons, clothes or the aforementioned mask Armalius is wearing right now - to items so bizarre in shape and nature that rarely someone is lucky enough to grasp their purpose and almost each time they do, it creates waves of worlwide change, like new technological or magical advances, and more. These items held various names to them, but the term that spread the most around the public would be "Relics".
Thus, the mask Armalius was wearing, was not part of an act to hide away the face of their child out of malice or shame, but one meant to grant him protection for as long as the Viscounty was capable of, hence why his father spared no efforts to get his hands on this relic. The mask, called "Forget-Me-Now", had once been used by a criminal group to wreak havoc in Kheljera's capital and its surrounding cities. It possessed various effects, like its ability to never fall off the face of its wearer until they want it to or when the wearer dies, but most notably was its ability, once activated, to make anyone catching a glimpse of the mask forget nearly everything about the encounter with its wearer, merely leaving behind questions within their minds akin to "Didn't I speak with someone just now?"
Yes, the effect of this mask was not perfect, for it couldn't erase everything out of the mind of the other party and as long as one solely saw the back of the wearer, they would not be affected by it. These tiny problems were also the reason why the criminal group, Ashen Phoenix, ended up getting caught and sentenced to death. Their leader, Wilfried Garstein, held on to the mask until the day of his execution. Up to that point, Wilfried had been tortured in many ways to make him relinquish possession of the mask, yet he never once yielded. Only death was able to bring them apart, thus why it is known that the mask stays on the face of its wearer until they either take it off willingly - or upon death.
Arnold Glacies saw this mask as a ray of hope for his beloved child. He deemed it so necessary, that he was willing to spend almost every single gold coin his family had earned over generations to get his hands on it, and even then it was not enough, for the other party he was buying the mask from was the royal family, demanding, aside from acceptable reasons as to why he would need such a dangerous relic, an exorbitant sum in exchange.
After plunging the Glacies family into a debt so absurdly high, none were sure if he could pay it off in this one lifetime alone, Arnold proved once again that he was a man with more than just a talent for handling his Blessing of Ice; he had connections, was smart enough to handle money well and thus increase it easily, and he was the head of an important Viscounty that guarded the eastern part of Kheljera Kingdom.
That, and the country had been involved in a war with their neighbour four years ago, where Arnold himself had played not an unimportant role in deciding Kheljera's victory, which had a positive influence on his financial situation.
Armalius himself had heard these stories a few times, but considering his young age, whilst he understood the meaning and felt joy and pride towards such an amazing father, was not yet fully aware of what an indescribably rare relic it was that was hiding his face at this very moment.
"I wonder if Mother and Father will visit me today?" He asked no one in particular, mere curiosity had formed this question within his mind and a habit of speaking with himself, formed from long periods of isolation, had made him voice out this thought. "Will they bring Doctor Arduo along, or maybe Miranda?" His lips naturally curled into a smile, hidden beneath the white, eyeless mask. Wondering if someone would accompany his parents today, Armalius stood up from his bed.
"Activate: Vision!" His words made the mask's outer edge shine lightly and following this, his eyes that were used to the darkness the mask was granting to his sight, became able of seeing the various objects inside the small room he had been living in since his birth. A drawer close to his bed, a wardrobe opposite of it, a small wooden desk and chair in the corner, diverse toys placed inside a box and decorations arranged smartly. The only window existing, was a small quadratic one on the sloping ceiling, but it was so high up, that even as a grown-up would he not be capable of reaching it.
Whilst every object inside of it was of incredibly high quality, a child of the famous Viscount Arnold Glacies should not be residing in a room like this, away from the people without any servant attending to it, but it could not be helped, because to the world, Almalia & Arnold Glacies' child was a stillborn seven years ago, thus no records existed in the kingdom of Kheljera of a boy named Armalius of the Glacies Viscounty. And ever since that day, he was locked away in the most remote tower that no servant was permitted to enter.
Whilst all this may surely grant one the belief he may have been mistreated, he, in truth, never was. Both of his parents visited him daily and spent time with him for as long as they could, showering him with love and affection whenever possible.
Yet regardless of the reasons or whatever gifts and love they may shower their child in, the Glacies couple always felt shame and pain within their hearts for having to hide away their child. Even though it was done to protect Armalius from the mistreatment of the people living in this country, and especially from those who may make an attempt on his life, it nonetheless burdened their minds and hearts every day for the last seven years.