A tale of order and chaos, an endless cycle eternally retold. And yet, for within the balance of light and darkness, there is always a need to upset this equilibrium. Few know of its orchestration, even less knows when it truly started. All that is known is that somewhere within this cycle a seed was planted. With a thirst for dominance and power driving it to bloom, a new line of thought began to grow in the minds of those involved. Why did light and dark, order and discord need to exist in equal portions? Was it not true that if only a single candle flickered, then shadows and darkness could exist? Was it not also true that it took only a single rose in the daylight to cast a shadow?
For true darkness and true light could not exist. The never ending plains of white or black would only show…nothing. And so the war between the God of Harmony, Cosmos and the God of Discord, Chaos began to change. It was no longer a matter of defending boundaries with the pawns at the Gods' disposal. A measure of control needed to be gained, where the pawns would be vanquished and one of the Gods left with but a sliver of their power. Averting nothingness and letting the world's order be shrouded in either hope or dismay.
And so the warriors of Light and Darkness assembled onto the board, to go forth into battle and wage the war of the Gods.
The white lights of Sanctuary shimmered, small crystalline flakes floating upwards from the watery floor as beams of light danced around the long throne where Cosmos sat. The Goddess was radiant. Her beauty and poise parallel to no one in this realm. Her gentle eyes looked towards the figure in front of her, as she slowly rose from her seat, elegantly moving her a strand of her blonde hair away from her face.
"This war...cannot continue, a victor must be decided. I have battled with the God of Discord and our powers are evenly matched. We alone cannot decide the fate of this realm."
The figure before Cosmos shifted his weight and folded his arms across his chest. Brown gloved hands slightly gripping the sleeves of his upper arms. It was impossible to determine the expression he had on his face and without him voicing his thoughts, truly there was no way to really know how he felt otherwise, but Cosmos continued speaking regardless.
"Our powers have been used and divided amongst and the 19 other warriors. The warriors of darkness and the warriors of light. You are my confidant and as such, my last line of defense against Chaos' pawns. You are my Warrior of Light."
The final statement made the figure click his tongue slowly, his head rising slightly so that he met Cosmos' gaze. The Goddess looked down at the man, none of her puzzlement showing on any of her features. She had summoned an interesting individual this time, to be her champion. Truthfully when she had first laid eyes on him, she had thought him to be one of Chaos' tricks. How wrong she could have been. He could very well be the perfect warrior to tip the scales and reign in the darkness.
"You call me a Warrior of Light. That is…hardly accurate in my honest opinion. I am not a Warrior or Fighter, by any means."
His arms unfolded and a gloved hand moved to smooth out the blue robes that hung around the man's body. The hung loosely off of him and one would not think much of his frame at first glance. A man of average build, clad in long blue robes, brown boots, black pants and tunic.
This initial analysis would change immediately when one saw his face, or at least tried to see it. The brown, wide-brimmed hat the man wore shrouded his face in shadow. The features upon the face were almost non-existent, traces of hair, a chin, a nose being barely discernible. The man's only discernible feature made the others seem drastically less important by comparison. A set of glowing, amber eyes. Two lights that broke the shroud of darkness that hovered about the robed warrior.
A heart of light that glowed through the darkness that enclosed him. A warrior of light that was worthy of Cosmos.
"I am by no means a true warrior, in that sense of the word, my blade is not exalted," the glowing amber eyes examining the brown leather glove drawing the short-sword from its hip-sheath, "I am not adorned by knight armour," the free hand slowly lifting a part of the blue robe near the legs to demonstrate his point further.
"But…"
The Black Mage looked at Cosmos, his eyes burning with a solemn sense of purpose.
"For you I would be your sword and shield, a leader to my comrades and your defender. I will bear the mantle of Warrior of Light that you have chosen to bestow upon me."
Cosmos smiled. His eyes were fantastic, even when the darkness consumed the rest of his face. Eyes are a window to the soul and this was a soul that would not lose easily to Chaos or his minions. "Then go forth my Mage of Light, and strike down the darkness."
The Black Mage turned, his robe billowing behind him as he made his way towards the doors that would lead him from Cosmos' chambers and towards the Sanctuary's interior castle. He needed to follow up on the others. He could not let them run amok. This could be more problematic with some than with others. His immediate thoughts trailed off to one of them. The boy who's blood boiled with eagerness, but that in of itself presented a more than likely problem.
A lack of patience, which made Mage think of one phrase in particular, "Fool's rush in…"
"BOOYA! I'm ready to go! Those damn Chaos cronies ain't gonna know what hit 'em!"
Zell let loose a series of rapid straight punches out in front of him, before spinning on the ball of his left foot and performing a backwards round-house with his heel leading the way. Upon his completion of the kick, his foot came swiftly down onto the ground before he slammed his fists' knuckles together, the sound of his metal gloves ringing out sharply as he did so. He turned around to face his companion, throwing a thumb over his shoulder and tapping his foot, "Come on man! If we get going now we can start clearing the way for the others!"
Slow footsteps followed behind Zell, moving down the stone staircase that lead away from the Sanctuary castle. The man stopped and carefully looked at Zell over the brim of his sunglasses while the boy bobbed back and forth with a grin on his face. It looked as if he would start running off at any given moment.
"You're too eager. Do you even have a plan?"
The gruff voice replied as its owner watched the young man carefully. Zell stopped bouncing for a moment, only to raise his fist in the air and nod enthusiastically, "Of course! I'm gonna go find the first of Chaos' warriors and knock their teeth in! If we hit them hard right from the start then they won't have time to counter attack!"
The older man shook his head as he shifted the weight of the curved blade on his back.
"That's a terrible way to start a story."
Auron stared at Zell and deep down, had a feeling that he had horrible luck when it came to meeting people. So many of them were so brash and reckless, even if they did seem strong enough to back things up.
Zell frowned at Auron's reponse to his plan, slamming right fist into his left palm.
"Friggin' hell man! Don't just go looking down on me like that! Should I even bother to let you tag along if you're gonna act like that?"
Auron moved towards Zell and placed his right hand on the teen's shoulder. Zell's entire body visibly relaxed as his expression became neutral, letting his fists fall to his sides.
"Your heart is in the right place, but you need to be careful otherwise you may just find yourself in trouble."
Auron removed his hand from Zell's shoulder and began to walk away from the castle and towards its gates.
"You want to make a change in this world. I was like you a long time ago. I wanted to change the world, too. But I changed nothing. That is my story."
Zell began to follow behind Auron, much quieter now after hearing the man speak. He hadn't really thought of things like that. He grinned, running to catch up to Auron, giving the man a thumbs up.
"Your story isn't over y'know. I'll help you write a new chapter in that old book of yours."
