Summary:

Kozmotis clutched the gleaming locket tightly, relishing the feel of cool metal against his clammy hands, the whispers of the demonic nightmares behind him coaxing him, tempting him. But so long as he had this locket, he would not give in.

I honestly cried my eyes out when I read up on Pitch on the ROTG Wiki:

Before Pitch became the Nightmare King, he was once a hero of the Golden Age named Kozmotis Pitchiner. He had
led the Golden Armies in capturing the Fearlings and their ilk, then volunteered to guard the prison planet they had
been imprisoned in. He kept vigil for years, forced to listen to the prisoners' constant whispering and pleading.

His only solace was thinking of his daughter, of whom he kept a photograph of in a locket. But one day, sensing his weakness, the prisoners imitated her voice and hypnotized Kozmotis to believe she was being held inside with them. Frantic, he opened the doors to release her, but was instead possessed by ten thousand Fearlings, transforming him into Pitch, the Nightmare King.

If you did not well up while reading that...I wonder how you did it. Pitch has one of the most tragic backstories of any character...ever.

I have not read the books, and the ROTG Wiki does not specify the name of his daughter or wife, so I have made those up. Also, apparently the Golden Age was when the world was ruled by Constellations, and the enemy was the nightmares...something like that...I'm not entirely sure...I will have to read the books :')

I decided to do this as an exploration of Pitch as a character, as he really intrigues me. Not only that...as I have mentioned, his past makes me cry. I dedicate this to Kozmotis Pitchiner.

And..quick note- I did get rather emotional writing this :'(

Cover art by: *Wavesheep

From: Deviantart

'Kozmotis...' the nightmares whispered from their cage.

Kozmotis pressed his lips together in a firm line, willing himself to ignore their hypnotizing pleas. He wads weakening...that he knew...but he had to hang on to what strength he had left. Clutching the golden locket in his hand, Kozmotis shut himself off, so as not to fall prey to the demonic nightmares he guarded so vigilantly.

Flashback, Seven years previous

"Father!" Seraphine rushed up the docks towards him, leaping for him, almost knocking Kozmotis over as she hugged him fiercely.

"Seraphine..." his voice softened as he returned the embrace, holding his child close.

"Me and mother came to say goodbye!" Seraphine beamed up at him, with a goofy smile, face framed by raven black curls of hair.

Kozmotis raised his head, and tears pricked at his eyes as Eveline, his beloved wife, hurried towards them, dress rumpled, and face flushed from running, yet looking just as beautiful as she always did. Eveline wrapped her arms round Kozmotis and Seraphine, and the small family had a moment of pure peace.

"General!" An armoured man called from the ship. "Sir, we need to depart swiftly."

The moment shattered as tears escaped the eyes of all three of them, the reality of the looming separation finally coming to fruition, months of silent tension unravelling like ribbons. With a heavy heart, Kozmotis gently unlatched Seraphine's little arms from around his neck, gently placing her on her feet on the wooden ground of the docks.

"Father..." Seraphine's young voice broke as tears escaped her eyes. "I don't want you to leave!"

The sorrow in her voice tugged at Kozmotis' heartstrings, and for a moment, he wished he could stay. That wish was brushed aside quickly. The nightmares needed a guard, until such a time when they could be permanently disposed of. And, as a hero of the Golden Age, the brave General Kozmotis Pitchiner had accepted the responsibility

However...Kozmotis did not want to leave. He truly did not. But as a hero of the golden age, he had to sacrifice his own happiness if he wished to preserve the happiness of the world. It broke his heart to admit that to himself.

"Don't cry Seraphine...it's not really goodbye, after all." Kozmotis ruffled her hair affectionately.

"What if I never see you again?" Seraphine sobbed.

Eveline let out a sob of her own, voicing her own fears without a single word.

"General!" A soldier hollered.

A desperate glare from Kozmotis silenced the fool.

"You will." Kozmotis spoke firmly, returning his gaze to Seraphine.

"Really?" Seraphine's face brightened. "You promise?"

"I promise, Seraphine." Kozmotis smiled warmly.

He took a deep breath to control the sobs that wanted so badly to escape his mouth, before voicing the only words Seraphine would hear from him for a long, long time.

"You have to believe in me."

Present

A single tear rolled down Kozmotis' pale face, grey and strained from lack of sunlight. Followed soon by another...and another...until the brave General Kozmotis Pitchiner was in floods of tears, burying his face in his trembling hands. Tremors wracked his body so fiercely that his teeth chattered. The man was slowly breaking.

And no one was there to fix him.

'Kozmotis...' the nightmares hissed.

Kozmotis bravely wiped his tears away, face wrinkled with emotion quickly transforming into the stoic mask he had learned to wear in these troubled times.

'You do not need to be alone...' the haunting voices of thousands of nightmares flooded the room once more.

"I am not alone." Kozmotis spoke firmly, willing his voice not to waver as he gazed at the golden locket in his hand. His voice softened. "I am never alone."

'How can...you be so sure?' The nightmares hissed. 'Reach out to us, Kozmotis.'

Kozmotis was not sure how much more his already fragile mind could take before he spiralled downward into insanity. By pure mental strength alone had he prevented insanity for so long. The whispers of the nightmares had increased in recent times, their haunting voices never ceasing to send chills down his spine, only increasing his vulnerability.

He found tiny amounts of strength, miraculously. If at any time he weakened, and extended his hand towards the nightmares' cage, his memory reminded him of the promise he had made to Seraphine, lifting his heart...

And giving him hope...

Hope...

Seraphine...

Oh how he longed to see her face...see a smile stretch across her features as she laughed, skipping amongst the butterflies in the lush green gardens beyond their home.

And Eveline...

Just the thought of her caused Kozmotis to seize up, his heart aching nearly unbearably. Tremors wracked his body as he fought back cries of anguish. Leaving the two people who gave his life meaning...was more difficult than words could ever express.

'Kozmotis...Pitchiner...you have struggled long enough...' the nightmares hissed in low, menacing tones.

Kozmotis' grip on the locket faltered...ever so slightly. His brow furrowed slightly as he concentrated on the precious possession in his slowly weakening tiniest of details did not escape the piercing amber eyes of the nightmares.

"Your pleas are nothing to me." Kozmotis hissed back at them.

'We can take the pain...away...Kozmotis...' the nightmares teased.

"Nothing, much less a troupe of nightmares, could ease the pain of loneliness." Kozmotis whispered to himself.

There was a moment of peaceful, yet eerie silence, in the stone room, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

'Father..' Seraphine's voice echoed softly, the shard of hissing speech piercing the once-silent air.

Kozmotis' eyes widened, fear striking him, and he rose to his full height, back straightening. As he mentally fought the battle against the treacherous nightmares, forcing himself to remember happy times long past, small tendrils of shadow escaped the thick bars of the nightmares' prison.

'Father...' the nightmares taunted in Seraphine's voice.

Kozmotis shook his head, willing his mental barriers not to fall prey to the nightmares, but the tendrils of the fatal shadows had slithered closer to him, gathering in number as they navigated the cracked and frozen stone floor, just touching the soles of his boots. His grip on the locket faltered once more, slipping ever-so-slightly, the chain of the pendant clinking.

'Help...me...father...' 'Seraphine' pleaded.

Body shaking all over with many tremors, Kozmotis turned towards the dark, unforgiving cage that housed the nightmares, whose amber eyes glinted evilly in the darkness, unblinking and soulless. Taking one tentative step, as he heard Seraphine plead for his aid in the midst of the nightmare demons, Kozmotis let out a shuddering, shallow breath.

'Please, father, hurry!' 'Seraphine' cried.

Kozmotis mental barriers cracked, leaking, before finally caving in, as the once-sane man was led into a trance, limbs dangling like a puppet, a cruel testament to the power of the nightmares. With a trembling, greying hand, Kozmotis placed the rusting key into the cold, freezing slot in the lock of the door...the only solid object separating him from being completely swallowed by nightmares.

With one...slow...agonizing movement...Kozmotis unlocked the door...

And set the nightmares free.

Howls of triumph pierced the frigid air as hoarded of nightmares flooded forth, engulfing the room in pure darkness, leaving a broken Kozmotis to slowly fall backwards.

'Kozmotis...' Eveline's voice echoed in the man's head.

Tendrils of shadow wove round him, sinking into his skin, the nightmare sand burning the blood within Kozmotis' veins. The once-calm man let loose an agonizing screech, back arching as the shadows latched onto his bones like cursed leeches, sucking away his very soul.

'Kozmotis...I..." Eveline's voice echoed once more.

'What?' Kozmotis heard his own voice.

Blood seeped from his lips as his throat threatened to tear from the animalistic screeches that Kozmotis released, blood spots in his eyes testament to the sheer volume...and pain...as the nightmares seized control over his body.

'Kozmotis Pitchiner...I love you.' Eveline's innocent voice remained untainted by the demonic nightmares that now possessed Kozmotis' body.

Tears of blood streamed down Kozmotis' face as his skin turned ashen grey, black, nightmare-filled veins painfully visible. The searing pain...could not be described in mere words...

Even if Kozmotis still hailed control over his own voice...

'Seraphine...my belief in myself has failed...' Kozmotis conscience hung on a dwindling thread. 'I could not keep my promise to you...but nonetheless...I beg of you...'

Blood trailed from Kozmotis' nose in a single, thin line, the vibrant red a contrast to the colour of death that painted his face.

'Believe in me...'

For the last time, the warm, golden eyes of Kozmotis Pitchiner closed shut, his pain finally silenced.

His body slowly went limp...

And the golden locket slipped from his grasp for the final time...falling slowly to the floor as he rose anew as the king of nightmares...

Alone and unbeloved for evermore...