Julian

A Raven assassin from the Church of Light, a young boy searching for his home... A member of the secret force of the Church of Light on the path to self-awakening. Julian was the son of Terizla, the leader of the Free Blacksmiths' Guild. The guild was exterminated by the Church of Light on charges of heresy when Julian was very young. The poor child was then adopted by the Archbishop, trained and molded into an elite member of the Ravens, a secret force that only listened to the Archbishop's orders. Later, during his mission to “purify” Xavier, he glimpsed the secret buried in time… ===Awakening: Nirvana===

Ten years ago, one winter night, a snowstorm raged on the citadel of the Free Blacksmiths Guild.

The Freesmiths' Guild of Terizla was accused of pledging allegiance to the Abyss and destroyed by the Church of Light. The only survivor was the ruler's six-year-old son, who wandered the streets for days until the Church found the starving boy. The archbishop saw in him a special talent, bestowed upon him the name of an ancient saint – Julian, and sent him to the special academy of the Church of Light – Raven's Nest.

Situated on top of a cliff, the school housed orphans with special talents. The Archbishop told them that children abandoned by their families were not worthy of love, but that he would give them love and rebirth, which must be repaid with gratitude and loyalty: they must become Ravens, a secret special force that answers directly to the Archbishop and cleanses the world of all heretics and evils for the Lord of Light.

Julian forced himself to forget his past, but despite all his efforts, he could not erase the nightmare from his mind: his mother left him behind and begged for mercy for herself, without even sparing him a glance...

Julian also remembered a strange gesture accompanying the nightmare: he always raised the corners of his mouth with his hands and forced himself to smile unconsciously. But other than that, he didn't remember anything else. He didn't know who taught him how to do that or what happened back then.

The children of Raven's Nest were called Nestlings. They performed arduous tasks and studied books and combat skills during the day, then stayed in their separate caves to rest and rest at night.

The life of Nestlings is lonely. But Julian started a family with the other guests of his cave: a rodent who loves breadcrumbs, a chirping sparrow and a goat he took care of. Every windy night, they listened to Julian talk about his loneliness and his doubts. For him, it was his family who didn't speak.

With their company, Julian worked diligently at the Academy and was one of the most excellent students when it came to work, study, and combat. He was congratulated by the Archbishop but did not notice another Nestling's jealousy towards him.

One night, Julian retired to his room and found three stiff animal carcasses on the stone bed.

Behind him came the evil sneers of the other Nestling, "Rodents represent infidelity, sparrows ignorance and the weakness of goats... Julian, you are not worthy of the love or revival of the Church!"

His vision blurred in a sudden rush of blood, as he clenched his fists, his mind blank.

After a bloody fight, Julien was taken away by members of the Church, and the archbishop who was there to review their work also arrived – the consequences would be serious. Nestling, seriously injured, lay unconscious on the ground. Julian almost lost his balance against the wall, as if his heart had fallen into freezing water.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the archbishop's punishment.

"Jealousy... Such a dirty and weak Nestling. Excommunicate this failure!"

The punishment was more terrifying than the execution! But how would the archbishop punish Julien? Much to Julian's surprise, the archbishop patted him on the shoulder.

"Julian, you did well. And you cleaned those things in that corner, didn't you?"

Julian was at a loss for words. He looked at the carcasses in the corner: they were dirty, cold and insignificant. The other Nestling's words still rang in his ears: Julian, you are not worthy of the Church's love or revival!

“Isn’t that right!?” The archbishop's voice was that of a pair of hands clasped around his neck, while Julian trembled slightly. After what seemed like a century, he turned up the corners of his mouth and forced a stiff smile onto his cheeks.

A sliver of morning light shone from the east, half of Julian's face exposed to the sun while the other half was hidden in the darkness. He nodded slightly.

"...Yes. I killed them, for my rebirth."

The archbishop stroked Julian's head, slowly chanting the scripture: "Your fear and your dread will be on every beast and every bird." Your verdict will be accepted by every soul that walks the earth. And every path on which the Light shines, by your hand they will be traced.

A strange light shone in Julian's dark pupils. He raised his hand to summon his weapon, proving himself to the archbishop.

Julian knew he would become the strongest Raven of all.

The years passed, and at the age of 15, these Nestlings faced their last trials before becoming Ravens: some infiltrated the enemy base, others explored the Abyss, others eliminated the heretics... After the perilous challenges, even the most elite Nestlings would be exhausted. But once they passed the tests, they would return to the Church of Light. The luminous arrow would be in front of them, as their faces lit up with hope – just one step before rebirth!

But this was only the beginning of the most difficult test.

At the turn in front of the church, someone called a nest by its birth name. If they could not stop themselves from turning back, they would be excommunicated and considered heretics. This step was to test if a Nestling was loyal enough to forget the person they once were.

Julien passed the test. All these years, he lived in fear of being abandoned by the Church and even heard in dreams the words of the Archbishop: A Raven must forget himself! But... he wasn't a pure Raven. A voice in the back of his head had always resisted the archbishop's voice. He had no idea what that voice was and was confused about the two conflicting voices.

Late that night, Julian made that gesture again: turning up the corners of his mouth into a forced smile.

Why should he smile? Julian didn't know that, but it didn't matter because he was the strongest Raven.

When Xavier blew up the city gate and fled with Yin and Melissa, the archbishop sent Julien on a mission: poor Xavier's mind had been poisoned by heretics and he had to be given mercy. Julian chased them for seven days in the mountains and finally caught up with Xavier and the other two who had exhausted their strength.

A battle was inevitable, and there was no clear winner between the strongest Raven and the greatest Arbiter of Light. But by accident, Julian's Raven hood fell off, and at the sight of his red hair, Xavier stood stunned for a moment as if he had recognized something. Then he took Julian's next blow.

Xavier could no longer fight but still protected Yin and Melissa. He laughed: "It was you who came to purify me. Very good. After all, your mother..."

Julian's gun didn't fall. His eyes were wide, "You know my past!?"

Xavier hesitated for a moment before telling the truth: on that snowy night, young Julian was hidden in a corner by his mother. She held Julian's face and forced a smile as she said, "Stay here. Everything will be fine. When you don't know what to do... Smile..."

Frightened, Julian clung to his mother before she cruelly pushed him away and ran away to attract enemies... After Julian's mother was killed by the Ravens, Xavier keenly noticed Julian hiding behind some crates.

Julian didn't know what was happening or what reaction he should have. At that very moment, he remembered the way his mother raised the corners of her mouth.

He forced a shaky smile.

The smile tugged on Xavier's heartstrings, and so he left with the Ravens.

"It's the truth."

The face of Julian's mother, whom he had forgotten for ten years, suddenly became clear, as did all the walls of the Artisans' Union, the fires inside the furnaces, and the wooden toys that his father had given him... Julian's hands were shaking violently. A Raven who found himself could no longer wield his sword without hesitation. His mother loved him deeply and even risked her life to prove it. He was never abandoned by his family.

At this moment, Alice appeared at the entrance of the cave with demons. Xavier and the other two were out of breath after days of battle. It was at this desperate moment that Julian stood between them and Alice. He gave Xavier and the others time to cross the rope bridge over the cliffs, before cutting the bridge and confronting Alice alone.

This did not protect them in Julian's book. Eliminating heretics was one of the Ravens' missions, but it wasn't just a mission for Julian. He would only be able to find Xavier and learn more about his past if he won this fight.

Despite the powerful demons before him, Julian still saw his mother's smile in his mind, and for the first time, her smile wasn't forced.

He finally found himself and learned to smile too.

====Remarks====

===Anne===

===The Awakening: Truth===