The Canine Promise: Forgotten Soul
In the heart of Ozira, where the sun blesses the land and dogs roam freely, there lies an unspoken bond between every citizen and their four-legged companion. The Canine Promise, as it is known, is a sacred vow that each citizen must uphold. To break it is to defy the very essence of Ozira itself. And for one mother, this promise would cost her everything.
Sai Katta, the young king of Ozira, tells the tale of his childhood and the day his mother’s failure to uphold the Canine Promise led to her banishment from the land. It all began when Sai, just a boy, asked his mother for a dog—a companion to share his life with, as all children in Ozira were given. She promised him, with all her heart, that one day he would have a dog to call his own.
But time passed, and the promise was not kept. His mother, a woman who had long grown weary of the island’s customs, began to resent the unspoken law that every citizen must have a dog. She had grown indifferent, lost in her own troubles. Sai’s heart broke with each passing day that he did not have the companion he so desperately wished for.
The people of Ozira take the Canine Promise seriously. It is not just a promise—it is a sacred duty, a cornerstone of the kingdom’s very being. When news spread that Queen Katta had failed to fulfill her son’s request, the council of elders, bound by tradition, was forced to act. No one was exempt from the sacred duty, not even the royals.
The Law of Banishment
King Sai’s father, the ruling monarch at the time, stood with the council as they deliberated on his wife’s fate. In Ozira, banishment is reserved for the gravest offenses—betraying the kingdom’s sacred laws, especially the Canine Promise, is one such offense.
The King’s heart ached as he watched his wife stand before him, but the law was clear. The people could not be allowed to think that even the royals were above the sacred customs. And so, after a great silence, Queen Katta was decreed to be banished, never again to set foot on the island of Ozira.
The Banished and the Forgotten
As per tradition, a banished individual must leave Ozira without delay, never to return. Their name is erased from the annals of the kingdom, and they are forgotten by the people. Only the faithful dogs, ever loyal and protective, remember those who have been exiled. They are said to visit the forgotten souls in their dreams, bringing them fleeting moments of peace before they are lost to the void forever.
Sai’s mother was sent to the Outer Isles—a desolate region where no laws of Ozira reach. There, surrounded by wild beasts and no dogs to care for, she was left to face the consequences of her broken promise. Some say the dogs of the Outer Isles are wild, fierce creatures that roam in packs, but there is no certainty, for no one who has gone there has ever returned.
The Father’s Heartbreak
King Sai Katta, now an adult and ruler of Ozira, reflects on those dark days. He speaks of how, despite his mother’s betrayal, he still loved her. But the law must be upheld, for to break it would be to break the kingdom itself. His father, once a mighty king, passed away shortly after the banishment of his wife, heartbroken by the choice he had been forced to make.
Though Sai grew up with the weight of loss heavy upon him, he vowed to protect the sacred bond between man and dog above all else. He would be a king who never faltered, one who honored the Canine Promise in every action he took.
And so, as a new king and protector of Ozira, Sai Katta swore that he would uphold the laws of his ancestors, no matter the cost. But deep within him, he still carried the sorrow of a broken promise, a promise that was never kept and a soul who was never redeemed.
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