Rise of the Midnight Raiders

Chapter 1: Dark Beginnings

Tira scowled at the bundle in her arms as she walked through the moonlit forest. The child she carried was not one of choice, but rather a punishment for a grievous failure just over a year ago. She could still remember clearly how it had happened.

"You insolent, worthless brat!" the azure knight had roared, just before promptly swatting her aside.

"Forgive me, my lord! It was just a mistake!" she had said in her defense.

"Just a mistake?! You were supposed to destroy Soul Calibur and kill that meddlesome wretch Siegfried! But apparently it was too big a task for someone like you, seeing as how he is currently making his way here with the spirit sword in hand! If you ask me, the only mistake around here was allowing you to serve under me in the first place!"

Nightmare raised his malfested arm to strike her again. Tira cringed and waited for the blow to land. Physical punishment such as this was common from the azure knight, so she would probably be able to endure it like she had countless times before. Besides, if he did kill her, then she would be absorbed by Soul Edge, her true master, and thus would fulfill her purpose. But, at the last moment he stopped. Nightmare seemed to go into thought for a moment, just before his wicked yellow eyes shone with cruel intent.

"You know what? I know an even greater punishment I can give you, one that will ensure you don't make another careless mistake."

Without warning, he lashed out with his malfested arm and slashed across Tira's front, ripping apart her top and the front of her pants. The insane girl fell to the floor with a yelp, shortly before the azure knight pinned her beneath him. From behind his helmet, Nightmare smiled maliciously as he removed the armor around his waist. Realization dawned on Tira at seeing the garments drop to the floor.

"No…my lord, please no! Not that!"

"I'm afraid it's necessary, my servant. If I don't teach you a lesson, how will you ever learn? Now, be obedient and hold still…"

She screamed as he entered her. When it was over, Tira could only pick herself up and find a corner to hide in. Eventually, her son, Thalias was born. Though the azure knight despised children, he ordered Tira to keep him alive so that she could properly endure her torment, lest she be forced to look after another. By then Siegfried had battled and chased them to the outskirts of Wolfkrone, where the wielders of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur held one final duel. In the end, the azure knight fell, and with him Soul Edge. No longer threatened by him, Tira decided to put an end to Thalias. Taking a fragment of the cursed sword she had managed to recover, she roared with fury before stabbing the fragment into the infant's chest. Her darker personality took over, and smiled with glee as the child cried out in pain. But then, something happened that she would never have suspected. Instead of killing Thalias, the fragment merged with him, disappearing inside his body and leaving a glaring red scar. Before Tira could make another attempt on his life, she was discovered by the soldiers of Wolfkrone, and was forced to flee for the time being.

"It'll take some time," she said to herself as she walked. "But my master will return. And when he does, he will need someone strong enough to wield him. But who…"

A thought suddenly entered her split mind, and she smiled in mischief.

"Ah, yes…she would be an easy pawn to play. But, even if it takes awhile, she'll become the perfect wielder for Soul Edge."

Thalias fussed in her grasp suddenly, causing her to glare down at him. The boy had wolfish yellow eyes, lightly tanned skin, and hair the color of midnight. Thalias reached up with a small hand toward his mother and tried to speak. Being little more than a year old, it was somewhat garbled, but Tira could make out what he was trying to say.

"Mama…"

The insane girl paused at this, then renewed her glare.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! I tried to kill you, you whimpering little insect! How can you still want to be with me after that?"

Thalias just reached toward her again.

"Mama…"

"Everything was fine until you came along! I was able to work faithfully for my master, without having to put up with your stupid crying, your stupid shit, and making sure you kept your stupid life! Do you understand?! I hate you! Your mama hates you! I wish you were never born!"

Tira heard wolves howling nearby. She looked back at her son and held him away from her, causing him to whimper in distress.

"I should just leave you here…wolves love easy meals, right? I hear crying babies are special treats for them."

Thalias could only watch helplessly as his mother put him down in front of a tree, and slowly start to back away. Tira looked down at him with a sinister smile.

"Ta ta, sweetums. Mama's got a lot of work to do. Make sure you scream extra loud when they're eating you."

With that, the insane girl cackled maniacally as she ran off into the night. As she leapt from tree to tree, Tira found herself pausing for reasons as Thalias began to wail and call for her. She found herself glancing back briefly, then shaking her head as she ran off. Back on the ground, a pack of hungry wolves was circling Thalias. The infant cowered in fear as it cried out desperately.

"Mama! Mama!"

The lead wolf snarled before preparing to pounce. Thalias saw a flash of teeth, then in the next instant the wolf and all its allies were nothing but bloody bits. Tira stood in front of her son, blood staining her large ring blade. Growling, she picked up Thalias and started on her way again.

" Rrrrr, fuck! I can't believe I'm doing this! If there's one thing I hate more than children, its weaklings! You're a piece of shit, but you're still my son!" she cursed through clenched teeth.

Thalias looked up at his mother in wonder, tears still streaming down his face. Soon enough, they began to near a small town the insane girl often visited. Tira glared down at her son while approaching the local orphanage.

"If anyone's going to kill you, it'll be me! But it's no fun if you're just a stunted weakling, I want to enjoy breaking you. So, until the time comes for me to gut you…"

Her violet eyes stared straight into the yellow of his as she set him down. Though no one was around to see it, her gaze softened by a fraction.

"Become strong. Become a more powerful warrior than me, and…more powerful than him."

Not daring to look back lest she change her mind unexpectedly again, Tira turned and vanished into the darkness of night.

17 Years later…

Thalias sat meditating deep within the caverns of an ancient mountain. Much had changed about the feeble child left on the doorstep of an orphanage so long ago. As he had gotten older, he had become more and more aware of how different he was from others. For reasons he could neither understand nor explain, he felt…higher…than his peers. Something about them seemed so lesser to him that he often times found himself growing angry simply by being close to those he deemed inferior. Because of this, he often wound up brawling with his fellow villagers, sometimes nearly beating his opponents to death before being restrained. What was more, he would sometimes begin to feel an odd presence of some sort, as though there was another being entirely within him, lying dormant. It called to him sometimes, whispering words of promised power in his mind. There was much he had not understood about his mother's parting words, but he had figured out one thing. He needed to become strong, and when he did he would find her again. And when he did that, he'd make her pay for abandoning him so long ago. So, not long after he had turned 16, he sought out the monk Kilik, a man said to have trained under the legendary Edge Master, a man who was skilled with every kind of weapon. The journey had been long, but eventually he found Kilik and asked him for training. Though the monk was unnerved by the dark aura that surrounded the young man, he accepted. For two years, Thalias trained to become a great warrior. While experimenting with different kinds of weaponry, he found himself favoring a cutlass with a slightly longer than normal blade. It was an ideal weapon for one such as himself. Broad, strong, and able to cut through most anything in his path. Now 18 and at the height of his physical human abilities, Thalias' hair had now grown shoulder length and wavy, and his physique was that of an able bodied fighter. Still, it was not enough for Thalias. He knew that Kilik was hiding something from him. He could sense the uncertainty in the monk's eyes as he watched from beneath his mask. Putting on his black and gold embroidered cloak and armor and retrieving Swift Reaver, his cutlass, Thalias made his way to Kilik. The monk was standing at the edge of the river that ran through the mountain, a golden staff in hand. Somehow, Thalias had a feeling he was waiting for him.

"Hey, monk." the young man called.

Kilik's head turned slightly to the side in acknowledgement.

"What is it, Thalias? Another sparring match?"

"No. I've got a question for you."

The monk paused at this, then nodded for him to continue.

"For two years you've trained me, so I must ask: am I finally strong enough to search for my father?"

Kilik sighed heavily and turned all the way around to face the young man.

"Tell me, in all your life, have you ever considered that there are more paths to take than useless revenge? Your father disappeared, and your mother abandoned you. It is plainly obvious that neither of them wish to see you, so why would you bother seeking them out?"

Anger rose in Thalias as he glared.

"To make them pay. I want to know why they left me, and I want to know who the hell the bastard that made me was."

"Then, perhaps its time I told you something I should have said a year ago."

Despite the fact he was wearing a mask, Thalias could feel Kilik's ice cold glare upon him.

"Even though we are in seclusion, the comings and goings of the world do not escape my attention. I learned of a rumor that a malfested woman who had once served under the azure knight, Nightmare, had given birth to a son. For reasons no one could understand, she left the child in a small village, and vanished. It was said that this child held an aura of supreme darkness around him, one that mirrored that of his father's…"

Thalias was sweating in anxiety and shock as Kilik finished.

"An aura, that mirrored that of Nightmare."

The young man stared blankly in realization. Nightmare…my father…is Nightmare…the azure knight…the wielder of Soul Edge…he's my father… the shock in Thalias' eyes began to change once again to anger, but now they also held a fierce determination.

"So, that's how it is…" he growled.

"You are the child of the greatest threat to ever befall this world. I had hoped with my training that you would abandon your delusions of revenge. Even should the azure knight return, you are powerless before him."

Thalias grinned maniacally, showing off unusually sharp teeth.

"Abandon my revenge? Fuck that! If Nightmare really is my father, then it'll just make it all the better when I kill him! His reign has ended, so its time for someone else to become Soul Edge's master! And that someone…is me."

The young man drew his cutlass and entered a fighting stance.

"I'll start by kicking your ass, monk."

Kilik simply glared at Thalias for a moment before sighing once again.

"So you have committed yourself to the darkness within you, then? Very well. If you wish to face me, then I will allow it. However, you are no match for me."

(Battle theme: Samsara: The Wheel of Eternity (Kilik's theme))

Thalias charged toward the monk with an angry shout. Kilik effortlessly ducked under a swing at his head and smacked the young man in his side. Thalias cringed, but was undeterred as he swung again, this time in a three slash barrage. The monk managed to deflect two of the blows with a whirl of his staff, but the third cut across his soldier. Shrugging off the pain, Kilik then struck with both his staff and feet. Thalias was too occupied with a strike to block, and took the full force of all the blows. Quickly rising to his feet, the young man shot his foot out as the monk was coming in for another strike. Thalias' armored boot hit Kilik in his gut, stunning him long enough for the downward cut that followed to land. The monk staggered back, blood running down his arm and chest. Focusing, Kilik then spun his staff in a vertical wheel like motion, striking the young man several times with the end of it before sending one final strike that launched him into the air. As Thalias began to descend, the monk then used his staff as a pole to lift him up enough to spin around the staff and kick the young man before he finally crashed back onto the ground. Despite the sever injuries, Thalias rose back to his feet and readied his sword once more. He ran toward the monk, then just as a blow was made at his head, he went into a thrust position to both dodge and prepare for the kick and upward thrust that followed immediately after. Kilik staggered back, then grit his teeth as he readied his staff. Before Thalias could react, he was launched into the air by an upward strike.

"I have reached…" the monk began as he leapt into the air.

Kilik delivered a trio of mid air roundhouse kicks before readying his staff for the next blow.

"Enlightenment!"

The monk sent the young man back to the ground with a final swing of his staff. Thalias shakily got his knees, badly bruised and beaten by the constant punishment. Kilik sternly held his staff toward the young man.

"It's fate. You weren't meant to win." he declared.

Absolute hate shined in the young man's eyes. He grit his abnormally sharp teeth as though he were an enraged beast.

"Fate? Don't screw with me! I will not fail before I've even begun!"

Kilik flinched in shock at the sudden distortion in the young man's voice. Looking out from beneath his mask, he saw an almost ethereal red glow begin to emanate from Thalias' eyes, and his right arm began to twitch uncontrollably. Crying out in mixed pain and anger, the young man watched the armor around his arm vanish as it suddenly became deformed and covered in organic rock like spikes and glowing veins. Now five gruesome claws gripped the hilt of his cutlass in place of fingers, all of which were glowing with the dark energy inside of him. This monstrous sight…could it be?! thought the monk. Cackling insanely, Thalias stood back to full height, all of his injuries fully healed.

"That hurt, monk. Now it's my turn!"

Before Kilik could make a move, Thalias was upon him, slashing about wildly and brutally, leaving no room for defense. In the midst of his onslaught, the monk saw an opening and made to counterattack. Kilik swung his staff at the opening, only to have Thalias grab it with his still human hand. Grinning madly, the young man tore the staff from his opponent's hands, just before plunging his sword into his stomach. Though the blow was not fatal, it was still very severe. While Kilik grunted in pain, Thalias grabbed his head with his normal hand, and held the deformed one back in preparation.

"The weak, shall die!"

In one swift move, he delivered a powerful punch that struck with enough force to make his sword fly out of Kilik's stomach as the monk went flying into the river of the cave. Whether he lived or died after that, Thalias did not care. The young man was currently entranced with the strange and gruesome transformation his arm had undergone. The voice that whispered in his mind was stronger than ever now, seemingly gaining in strength and volume along with the arm. But then, just as quickly as it had appeared, his arm went back to normal, and the glow vanished from his eyes. What was that? Somehow, that arm made me powerful…just what the hell is inside me? And more importantly… he grinned wickedly.

"…how do I make it permanent? With that power, I could become the strongest warrior that ever lived, and…I could defeat my father."

With this resolution in mind, Thalias packed up what belongings he had and departed from the cave. With Kilik possibly dead, the young warrior needed a new master, hopefully one that could teach him the truth about his strange power. A few days of traveling later, while he was in his room at an inn in a small town, a knock came at his door.

"Whoever's there, get lost. I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow and I need my rest." Thalias growled from his bedside chair.

"I think you'll find my words well worth listening to, son of Nightmare." came an indistinguishable voice from the other side of the door.

A figure of average height entered the room, wearing a pitch black hooded cloak that obscured their features. Thalias narrowed his eyes at the intruder as he stood up with his cutlass drawn.

"Who are you?"

A sinister smile and a flash of bright red eyes could be seen briefly beneath the figure's hood as they looked at him.

"Someone who's going to help you kill your father."

A/N: And so it begins. I've been planning this story for a loooooooong time now, but I only recently got the motivation to actually start. I promise to update as soon as I am able, and to write this story to the best of my ability. Please be sure to review, as it akways helps to receive other people's input. Till next time! DarkNovelist out.

Note: Thalias is an actual custom character I use in Soul Calibur 5. He wears black and gold, and uses the Damascus sword (a weapon under Mitsurugi's style)