THE LEGEND OF RAZINER RASSMEEN
ABSOLUTION
There are many kinds of soldier. There are the ones that are honored and loved, and there are the ones that are forgotten. There are the ones that run and hide, and there are the ones that stay and fight. There are the ones that go out in a blaze of gun fire and glory, and there are the ones that are crippled, left to suffer. And then there are the ones like Raziner, the ones that should have died. And yet time after time after time again though shattered, beaten, and bloody, they walk away from the train wreck. But what's the cost, what do they become? They become hero's, and they become monsters. They become high ranking generals, and they become forgotten images and medals. They become the ones that we hold closest to our hearts, and they become the ones that are punished the most. This, dear reader, is the story of our hero. This is the legend of Raziner Rassmeen.
It is a cold, rainy, gloomy nigh on the planet sanghellios. Any other sanghelli would be inside their home by now, waiting out this storm, all but one elite, that elites name is Raziner Rassmeen. As he stood at the top of a tall building, looking down on the cities inhabitants like a hawk ready to take its prey, he thought about all the horrible events that had transpired through the past year. He recalled all he had lost, all he missed, all he longed for…urged for. He thought about his brother Navado who gave his life to save his. He thought about the elder who offered all of his wisdom to Raziner when it meant the most. And most of all, he thought about Hanica, the love of his life, the only women that ever truly loved him, and how she was robbed of him. He thought about all they could have done, how even through all the dark and hard times, she stood by his side…forever loyal…forever loving. He thought about all those years of military service he was forced to endure. All those years of killing and sacrifice, this chapter in Raziners life had left its mark on him and left the great Raziner Rassmeen eternally scared. But, there was one last thing he thought about, he thought about the plague of his mind that refused to leave him. A pestilence that would not give in and followed him about like a shadow or a ghost. As the black armored figure glared down on the state of Rassmeen, seemingly immune to the freezing cold rain drops buffeting his face again and again, he studied the cities layout with the diligence and attention to detail that only a zealot could give. He just stood there perched on the lofty building like a gargoyle. Raziner could not help but detect a eerie and unwelcomed presence manifest behind him. This presence then spoke in a language that Raziner could understand.
"Raziner Rassmeen, a mighty Zealot, seeking peace on the top of a building? How humorous, most zealots find peace in salvation on the battle field doing what they were born to do." Said the voice that reveled itself to be Navado.
"Killing is not what we were born to o, it was a fate decided for us." Said Raziner in a silent, calm voice never once turning around to face Navado.
"Oh, please brother, you know this in your heart to be true." Said Navado.
"What heart?" Asked Raziner in a silent and depressed voice.
"The heart you abandoned when they killed her. And that was your mistake wasn't it brother, you waited this long to abandon your soul. We zealots must become heartless demons to do what we do. If we retain our hearts, our minds, like you did, then we become like you. Haunted, unforgiving, vengeful." Said Navado in a scolding voice.
"And I am grateful for my suffering, it reminds me that I am not dead, that I am not just a vessel for the insanity that refuses to dissipate." Answered Raziner in a increasingly angry voice.
"You should be grateful for the prophets actions. They remember what you did to achieve your rank. They remember all those poor, young soldiers that you killed, they remember all the times you stood idly by while your inferiors slaughtered women, children, everyone. You….remember, don't you. But now, you deny your true nature. Your purpose is to kill, to murder. Now you attempt to forget that, you have corrupted your purpose." Said Navado poetically and bluntly.
" I had to, I had no choice, were it not for…." Said Raziner as Navado interrupted him.
"Were it not for Hanicas begging, you would have killed off entire sub-species and were it not for Antones council, you would have glassed this entire planet." Said Navado in a scolding voice.
Raziner fell silent as he heard his vision continue.
"We are warriors brother, fated for honor, condemned to die." Said Navado.
Raziner turned his head around to face his parasite, but there was nothing there. Any other sangheilli would have been frightened by the strange encounter, Raziner was not. He had become used to the strange vision that followed him about like a shadow. Though he hated the manifestation of his own madness, he felt comfort in the voice it created. It had a familiar face and voice and this kept Raziner company through the darkest of times, were it for better or worse. Done thinking yet not ready to take action, Raziner stood and then stared up at the gigantic planetoid that was known as high charity. He wondered what the council was up to, and most evident in Raziners mind, he wondered if the prophet he hated so was still aboard it. He wondered what the prophet thought about, how much fear he must be drowning in, how he would be preparing his death, his torture, his punishment.
On the ship, the council chamber is chaotic and disorderly. Council members argued and panicked, yelling and screaming. The prophets could not control their assemblage of aristocratic followers as different council members shouted out their own view at one another.
Raziner has escaped the clutches of our top commanders and killed one of our own!" Yelled a councilor elite.
"He has trespassed in near by states and made off with the contence of their armories, he has access to highly experimental highly dangerous technology!" Screamed another.
"This has gone on long enough prophet, you must bring your pet back." Yelled another.
"Thank you councilor, the obvious escaped me!" Yelled the prophet of order in a enraged tone.
" I purpose a that we sent a spec ops unit after him." Yelled a prophet minor.
"No, that will not help, you will be sending more of our kind to die." Said a councilor elite.
" Are you questioning a superior councilor?" Asked the prophet of mercy.
"No, I am merely expressing my concern that the spec ops will." Said the elite as he was interrupted A prophet.
"Will WHAT councilor, fall like the rest of them! No, I am not so sure. What of you? You seem to have a different perspective on this matter." Said the prophet of regret.
"You don't seem to realize what you are up against. You are dealing with a zealot, a angry one if that. One that is our for blood, a unstoppable force." Said the councilor.
" A unstoppable force? I beg to differ!" Said a Prophet minor.
"Believe what you want. Why you refuse to listen to me is beyond my comprehension." Said the councilor.
"You seem to know much about our little problem. Tell me, whats your name?" Asked the prophet of order.
"Antone Chavamee." Said the elite.
"Chavamee? Are you related to Fal Chavamee?" Asked the prophet of order.
"He was my brother." Said Antone.
"And you participated in the battle of Cascade correct?" Asked order.
"I did, though I fail to understand how ANY of this is relevant to the situation." Said anotone.
"And what relationship do you have with Rassmeen, fully?" Said the prophet as if he ignored the councilors last statement.
The entire council room went silent as anotone took a deep breath and explained himself.
"In the battle, I was pinned down with the rest of my balliton, bodies dropped all around me and the ash from the bombs fell from the sky like snow. It was hard to breath and I was blinded. Once I was able to see, I saw that all my friends, all my men were dead, I failed them all. Just as the enemy squad began to charge and I gave up hope, a hand reached out and pulled me away from a incoming plasma grenade. We made it out just the area was glassed." Explained antone.
"So he saved you life?" Asked the prophet.
"Yes, I would not have made it out without him." Said antone.
" And what else do you know about Rassmeen?" Asked the prophet.
"I trained him, he graduated top of his class and made it to grade 3 minor meer weeks out of the academy." Explained antone.
"You must be proud of your student." Said the prophet in a flattering voice.
"I am, which is why I don't understand why you have focused all of this time, energy, and men on this one individual. You gave us the assignment of destroying Raziner and we have followed them to the best of our ability. Yet you refuse to explain why his eradication is necessary." Said the councilor.
"I don't need to explain myself to you councilor. But I have come to the conclusion that your view on this matter is as misplaced ass it is bias." Said the prophet.
"What are you saying?" Asked the councilor in a disapproving, insulted voice.
"I am saying that you are dismissed, take him away!" Commanded the prophet as two honor guardsmen walked up behind antone.
Antone took a defensive, dominative posture and looked over his shoulder and glared at the guardsmen nearest to him, making the guardsmen flinch as antone walked past him. Antone walked out of the council room, listening for the gossip of the other council members. He made his way down the cold, drafty, crome hallway, he found himself in one of the many docking bays of high charity. He glanced around the gigantic room and saw a group of unmanned drop pods. Though he did not have clearance, he snuck by the superviser and climbed into a drop pod. The pod door slowly closed shut and made a air sight sealing sound as it locked. The inside of the pod was alive with sounds and lights as he pressed the necessary buttons and the pod began to drop. As the pod dropped in and out of sanghellioses atmosphere, the troubled, conflicted elite thought to himself.
"Alright raze, lets see what you've gotten yourself into this time."
There turned for the next chapter of Raziners story, please review.