*pauses, gathering his thoughts; he takes on a faraway look, voice soft*
I'm from a small kingdom called Fanelia. We weren't the most powerful country or the most advanced, but it was beautiful, covered in forests that had been old in my grandfather's grandfather's time. The "green land protected by dragons," it was called.
My father fell ill when I was fifteen, so it was just me and Mother and my younger brother, Van. I had to take care of him...it was my duty to take care of everyone. I remember hours of various types of training so I could be ready...