Nameless Village Backstory · 无名村背景

Backstory of the characters in the Nameless Village. Condensed into one as some points overlap.

Pumpkin's grandparents

The war with Atlasia lasted from 1947 to 1954. In 1950, two young souls left their village and war-torn country behind, seeking out opportunities in Bauhinia, where the last bits of the empire was cleared out two years ago and a soon-to-be economic giant called Starcorp was up, rising, and hiring.

Pumpkin was their grandson. Helsinki was descended from the part of their family that did not leave the village.

Candlelight

In 2003, Candlelight was born into a humble little nameless village on the outskirts of Area 29. Among those passionate villagers who welcomed him into the world, the ones he would share a roof with were his older sister Sundew, doting mother Muscat, and abusive father Ember.

It was not just a drinking problem, though that certainly amplified it. His dad acted like that when he was sober too. Twice Muscat attempted suicide. She succeeded the second time.

But that happened later. Throughout his childhood, he played with Sundew, cuddled into Muscat's lap, tried to avoid Ember as much as possible, and stole sips from the wine tub in the basement¹. Sundew told him it was put down there when she was born, and would be taken out to treat the guests at her wedding.

The first night when the ambulance came and took Muscat away, Candlelight and Sundew crashed at Thyme's. He was 8 and she was 11. Candlelight did not understand what was happening. Thyme told him that his parents were the kind of superheroes that lived normal lives by day but saved the world by night. Sundew scoffed at him, but Candlelight believed it. It was also on that night Candlelight and his sister made great bonds with Thyme's daughter, Mooncake.

One year later, the old village leader died peacefully in her sleep. Next to her bed, her apprentice Thyme kept her company through the night. Right before she passed, she told him the true name of the village, and told him to keep it in his heart, remember it, but never say it to anyone else.

Another year passed. Candlelight and Mooncake had fun at school. School was great because Ember was not there. Muscat made a second suicide attempt. The ambulance came, mom and dad went, and only dad came back.

Thyme's again. He told them that Muscat had sacrificed herself in order to save the world. This time, Candlelight didn't believe him either.

Ember got worse after that. They tried to stay out of the house whenever possible; but the more "sleepovers" they had at other villagers', the angrier he was going to get when they did get back home. Westavian hospitality was not infinite, and while the other villagers did care for the children, there was little they could do about it — after all, who hasn't troubles in their own families?

The turning point for Sundew was when Ember didn't allow her to go to college. He had lost a woman in this house; he was not about to lose the other. With money gathered over the years, stolen, and borrowed, she left for People's Vanguard, leaving behind this rotten place once and for all. It was the summer of 2017.

The aftermath of an attack

• See also: The Occupation

The years around 2019 were a time of turmoil for Westavia. Terrorists were swarming the nation, launching attacks on civilians who weren't prepared and could not fight back. In March, a market in Area 29 suffered an attack where a bunch of thugs with knives and sticks rained themselves down on merchants and buyers. They had a multitude of personal reasons, but they all shared a common despise for the Westavian government. After the attack, they fled west according to plan.

Towards a nameless little village on the outskirts of Area 29.

They had a liaison there, in case the villagers weren't cooperative.

It was Ember.

Together, they controlled the village and made sure to gather enough food and water to go further west into the wastelands.

Thyme resisted, but got beaten up and his right leg crippled. To this day he still walked with a limp.

The terrorists took Thyme's house for the night, and for once Thyme had to stay at Candlelight's, instead of the other way around.

Everyone was too scared not to cooperate. They handed over their food, their wine, and their water, praying that the terrorists would soon end their brief rest and move on.

They did. And Ember followed. Thyme was regarded as the village hero, though he thought he didn't deserve the title.

Candlelight was shaken. Ember had nearly killed him once during the takeover of the village, and though he was glad to be rid of him, he didn't know what to do as now he was essentially orphaned at 16.

Thyme got some connections in the government and changed Candlelight's legal birthday two years earlier to make him 18, which allowed him to join the army.

Candlelight went to the recruitment center in Area 29, and successfully made it in. After serving 6 years, he was recruited by the SPF. At some point, Mooncake became a police officer. Eventually he heard news that the original group of terrorists, including his dad, had been apprehended and sent to reeducation.

• Next: Sunflowers in the Dark