The Orphanage was a facade to the public, while it normally served the purpose of one, it's location at the northern most town in the Empire usually led to almost no eyes focused on the Orphanage, and almost nobody wishing to adopt the children. Its true purpose proved more insidious than anything imaginable, with children trained in the art of the blade, hired as assassins or mercenaries for the High Nobles to exploit.
Ascot had learnt it in the most surprising of ways when first entered the Orphanage, finding the twins Aura and Faun clashing blades in the middle of the night, only to be roped in to their 'fun' by being given a blade himself.
Yet there was more to being a hired blade than what he thought, 'standards' brought up by the same nobles who employed the Orphanage's services. While masked as adopted children, these hired blades wore the most luxurious of clothes, silks imported from the southern island countries, adorn with gold and decorated with whatever coat of arms the employer was affiliated with. Being a mercenary under the Orphanage wasn't just about the skill of the blade, but also the skill to act as a noble. Which was surprisingly just as hard as one might expect...
Ascot's own 'uniform' proved a stark contrast to what he expected a rugged armed swordsman to wear, a significant level of flamboyance of his exposed dewlap, the dark pink of his coat that complemented his snow white fur, as well as the shining silver heels and sole pads that thankfully kept his footsteps as quiet as they would exposed. It was, after all, all to mimic the high court swordsmen who fancied themselves in hedonistic tendencies, rather than the lowly soldiers drenched in dirt and blood.
Whether or not the ten-year-old could bear the brunt of everything that was to be thrown at him... Was a story for another day....
~
There'll probably be some other changes to his design like shortening him drastically (I for the life of it cannot draw children for some reason), but the main character is finally here. What's pretty cool is that I am finally taking my basic animation class and submitted Ascot as the character I'll be animating for the next three months.
Chapter one of The Orphanage's Services is halfway finished, and should be ready by the end of september. Also free to add more tags cause idk how to tag lmao
