Orgen returned to the delight of the people, and the children saw him as a hero. But the praise he had sought became a burden to him, because he knew that his disappearance was the cause of what had happened. Now he is just waiting for the end, so he can stop pretending. advice supporting characters
When Orgen was young and had lost his father, he found care and attention from the villagers. They helped him and stood by him, but as he grew older, he began to see that attention as a weakness—something that made him dependent on others. He didn’t want to be seen that way, so he completely changed his perspective: instead of needing attention, he wanted to be the source of it.
He sought power, not just to be strong, but to make others look up to him with admiration. He rescued people from bandits, protected villages, and quelled chaos. On the surface, he was helping, but deep down, he wasn’t doing it solely out of kindness; he did it to feel proud, to prove to himself and others that he was someone worthy of respect.
Over time, he achieved real accomplishments. He saved villages and earned the loyalty of men who followed him on his journey. But like any human, he didn’t just want loyalty; he wanted recognition. He wanted to be praised by the highest class: the nobility and the king.
But that didn’t happen.
Despite all he had done, he was not considered one of them. In the eyes of the nobility, he remained merely a peasant from a village. They gave him the title of “Baron” and a remote piece of land, as if they were banishing him to a distant place rather than elevating him among them. This struck a deep blow to his pride.
He was the one who protected the kingdom from rebellions and wiped out the bandits, while the nobility claimed this role for themselves.
That’s when he decided to disappear.
Before the start of Orgen’s journey, there was a merchant.
This merchant started from scratch. No name, no lineage, just a mind and hard work. He built a massive fortune, then bought the title of “Baron,” and eventually rose to “Count.” And there he stopped, because what came after that could not be bought. The title of “Duke” required royal blood, which he did not possess.
This is where his real problem emerged.
He had money, armies, and influence in more than one kingdom. But when he sits with kings, he remains a guest. He lacks the legitimacy with which they were born. In their world, lineage matters more than achievement, and that is what he could not change with money.
That is why he stopped trying to buy his way in… Instead, he decided to build a kingdom of his own, a kingdom that would make him a king with a legitimacy no one could deny.
And the kingdom he chose was the Kingdom of Orgen.
The merchant did not act randomly; rather, he understood the king’s nature well. He knew the king was arrogant, saw himself as superior to others, and despised those without noble lineage. For this reason, the merchant did not try to prove himself to the king; instead, he deliberately made himself appear inferior.
In the king’s eyes, he was merely a merchant who had bought the title of “Count” in another kingdom, with no true noble family. The same condescending gaze with which King Orgen looked down on others, he would apply to the merchant as well.
But the difference between them was vast.
Orgen refused to be seen as weak, so he tried to prove himself through force.
As for the merchant, he accepted this view… because he needed it.
The more the king belittled him, the closer he got to him. The merchant began lending him money, exploiting his arrogance and misjudgment. Over time, the debts began to grow.
At the same time, he was building something else in the shadows.
He established gangs within the kingdom and started small rebellions—not enough to overthrow the regime, but enough to annoy and weaken him. The goal wasn’t total chaos, but to create a constant problem.
After that, he used one of his noblemen to convince the king of a “logical” solution:
hand over the regions where the rebellions were taking place to the merchant in exchange for repayment of part of the debt, on the condition that the merchant would take care of eliminating the rebels.
The king saw this as a clever solution. He would get rid of the debt and remove the threat from himself.
But the truth was that the merchant controlled both sides.
He was the one who created the problem, and he would be the one to appear as its solution.
As soon as he acquired the land, he began “cleansing” it of rebels—that is, he cut off the support he had been providing them. It appeared as though he had restored stability. Then, he used agreements and debts to legitimize his control over these territories, step by step.
The plan is clear: enter as a merchant, establish influence, then turn that influence into control.
But there was one element he hadn’t accounted for.
Orgen
All the bandits and rebellions that the merchant supported… were quelled before they could grow. Orgen, driven by his pride and desire to prove himself, would hunt down these problems and put an end to them quickly.
Without realizing it, he was undermining the merchant’s plan.
Every time he wiped out a gang or quelled a rebellion, he severed a part of the Merchant’s network. This forced the Merchant to rebuild time and again, slowing his progress.
That is why, when Orgen disappeared… the Merchant didn’t just see an opportunity.
He saw that the only obstacle standing in his way had finally vanished.
The merchant seized this moment immediately.
Orgen’s disappearance was an opportunity, and he wasn’t about to let it slip away. The first step was to confirm it. He sent out his spies, and once he was certain Orgen was truly gone, he began to move quickly. He spread rumors: that the king and the nobles were responsible for his disappearance.
The rumors ignited anger. Rebellions began to spread, and the king found himself besieged from within. So he decided to withdraw the army to the capital to protect himself, rather than protect the borders.
And here the merchant began to reap the rewards.
Because of the debts, the king handed over some lands to him. He believed he was solving two problems: paying off the debt and making the merchant face the rebels in his place.
So he returned to his original plan, but this time with greater ruthlessness, fearing that another Orgen might emerge.
The army to crush the rebellion
But the merchant did not possess a traditional army.
He had no kingdom, no banner, and no officially recognizable army. But he possessed something far more dangerous: money. Enough money to buy the best fighters from several kingdoms. His army consisted of professional mercenaries, fighting for pay, not loyalty.
He entered as a merchant, exploited the chaos, bought the land, and then surrounded himself with an unofficial military force and external political cover.
And most importantly of all…
He did all this while appearing, on the surface, to be merely a man solving the kingdom’s problems.
And this is where the fighting truly began.
The rebellious people were not scattered this time. In several regions, loyal men of Orgen took up the leadership. They knew the land, they knew how to fight, and most importantly, they fought with a clear motive: to protect what they saw as their right, and to defend Orgen’s legacy.
On the other side, the mercenaries brought in by the merchant advanced.
The difference between the two sides was clear:
Orgen’s men fought with conviction, but their organization was loose.
The mercenaries fought professionally, with organization and discipline, but without any connection to the land.
The battles were not a single confrontation, but a series of skirmishes:
Ambushes on the roads.
Rapid attacks on caravans.
Sieges of villages and small towns.
Orgen’s men used their knowledge of the terrain, moving quickly to strike and then withdraw.
The mercenaries responded with a different approach: a slow advance, securing key points, then taking control of them one by one.
And over time, the difference began to show.
The mercenaries did not suffer mental fatigue from prolonged fighting, because they did not carry the burden of the cause.
As for Orgen’s men, every loss struck at their morale, because they were fighting in the name of someone who was no longer there.
The absence of a leader is a real problem
Orgen’s men were used to something simple:
One word is spoken… and everyone obeys.
Orgen was not just a fighter; he was the decision-maker. He ended debates, set the direction, and made everyone move as one.
After his disappearance, that disappeared with him.
Every squad leader began acting as they saw fit.
There was no complete agreement, no unified plan.
Orders conflicted, and communication was delayed or lost.
In battle, this meant immediate defeat.
A deeper problem emerged.
The villagers, who had joined the fight, were not real fighters.
They had motivation, but no experience.
At first, their numbers gave them strength.
But over time, their lack of experience began to show:
They were slow to react.
They didn’t know when to retreat.
They were easily exposed to the mercenaries.
And that’s when the balance began to shift.
Not just because the merchant was stronger,
but because the other side had grown weaker from within.
And after a period of well-known strife, numerous funerals, and human and material losses
Orgen appeared. He was in a spot in the forest where he had built a hut and lived all this time, paying no attention to what was happening in the kingdom.
Today he was short on candles and salt for cooking, so he went hunting for something he could trade for salt and candles.
He hunted a deer, skinned it, cleaned it, and carried it to the village where he used to trade.
In that village, he saw children playing. What were they playing?
They were carrying a straw doll, as one would carry a wounded person. They walked quickly with it, a strange seriousness on their faces, until they reached a little girl sitting in front of dried grass. She was the “herbalist.”
She took the doll, looked at it, touched it… then shook her head.
No cure.
No discussion, no further attempt.
The children take the doll, place it on the ground, and dig a small hole with their hands. They bury it. Then they stand for a few seconds in silence.
Complete silence.
Immediately afterward… they laugh and run, as if nothing had happened.
Orgen didn’t move.
The children aren’t imitating a game… they’re imitating reality.
Death is no longer a foreign concept to them; it has become part of their daily lives, even in their play.
And in that moment, they understood one thing.
This is not an unsolvable problem…
but a problem that was left to grow.
What did Orgen do?
He forgot why he came. He turned back toward the hut
On his way, he handed the deer to a man he met and said, “Distribute it among the children.”
And here, Orgen awoke from his arrogance and realized the consequences of his actions.
And now begins his journey to regroup his men and drive out the invaders.
This is the part where I need help—due to the many supporting characters and events—I hope you can assist me.
The ending doesn’t begin with a victory… but with a moment of calm that follows it.
Orgen returns, gathers his men, and leads them once more. This time, not as a hidden shadow, but as a clear leader. The battles are fierce, but different. There is one goal: to drive the mercenaries out of the areas they have taken over.
Gradually, they reclaim the land.
The mercenaries retreat or are defeated.
The villages return to their people.
And the day comes when they stand together after the final battle.
No shouting. No grand celebration. Just a heavy sense of victory.
Here, in his moment of greatest strength… Orgen chooses to speak.
No one asks him for an explanation.
No one forces him.
But he does.
He tells them that his disappearance wasn’t just because of the king or the nobles. It wasn’t merely injustice that drove him to withdraw.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the moment when they would come to him and admit their mistake.
Waiting to be asked to return, not to choose it himself.
He wanted to receive the acknowledgment, the status, and the praise… all at once.
His resignation wasn’t just an escape… it was a bargaining chip.
And worse than that—
he watched the kingdom crumble… and did nothing.
Here he falls silent.
And he doesn’t defend himself.
This is the hardest moment, not because it’s a sign of weakness… but because it came when he was in a position of strength. A man who had triumphed, who didn’t need to justify himself, but chose to confess.
The silence that follows is different.
It’s not a respectful silence… but a heavy one.
Then the truth begins to emerge among his men.
Orgen’s men were not all the same.
Some followed him because he truly changed their lives.
A man who saved his mother from thieves.
Another who saved him from certain death.
These men do not look at his motives… but at what he did for them.
For them, the outcome remains the same.
He saved them. And that is enough.
These men don’t say much.
But they don’t walk away.
On the other hand…
There are those who followed him because they saw him as a role model.
They saw strength in him, honor—a man who does what’s right simply because it’s right.
They built their image of him on that foundation.
And when they hear the truth… that image crumbles.
Not because Orgen didn’t do good,
but because the reason wasn’t what they thought.
These people are more affected.
Some don’t get angry; they just take a step back.
As if they’re seeing a different person in front of them.
And some ask a simple question, but a heavy one:
“If we didn’t need you… would you have come back?”
This question doesn’t need a long answer.
Because it reveals everything.
Orgen doesn’t run away this time.
He doesn’t make excuses, nor does he sugarcoat his words.
He stands… and bears it.
Here the real change appears.
Not in his strength, nor in his victory,
but in the fact that he no longer needs to be seen as perfect.
His men are divided… but not entirely.
Because the truth doesn’t erase what happened,
it only changes its meaning.
And in the end, no one remains who sees him as a flawless hero…
but only those who choose to stay despite knowing everything.