Main theme: Metro Exodus rap by Jt Music, featuring Andrea Storm Kaden
Theme: Looking for the Light from the Re:Zero soundtrack
"Gather around, my little lights, gather around."
The children did as they were told, and gathered themselves around the storyteller, her tail swishing behind her as they all sat down, crowding around her and sitting on the (Thankfully) Dry floor below as she declined a chair that was provided to her by one of the helpers nearby, and chose to sit on the floor as well, crossing her legs together as she looked upon the children around her with kind eyes that betrayed the venom that she spoke- And now regretted- Not too long ago.
Perhaps this would be her way of making up for it.
"Hear me, children of Vale, little lights of the next generation: Let me tell you the tale of our lost champions: The Knight Cast in Light Eternal, and the Barbarian Made into a Man."
The children around her- Boys and girls, humans and Faunus, all together as one- Looked on with knowledge hungry eyes.
"Once upon a time, mankind were as one, living in an age with no monsters, no evils, no sin. We were as one, forever and ever, in an age of silk and gold."
She spread her arms out wide for dramatic effect, and found it hard not to drift back into her usual speech patterns as she spoke. But, if it was for the kids around her, she could manage to be a little grandiose in her displays.
"But then, this age was cast asunder- Broke upon the backs of history- Not due to an outside evil, but due to mans own evil- Mans own sinful nature."
The children were enraptured by her tale now. Time to truly capture their attention.
"And such, from the folly of man came war. Endless war that tore our world open and swallowed the potential of human and Faunus whole, leaving them lifeless and lightless for the slaughter to come."
Nearby, some adults were listening in as well. She was reaching a wider audience, it seemed.
"And thus, as is the way of all things, the Grimm came forward from their hovels and hiding places- Malicious and wanting in blood- Jaws snapping and teeth sharpened like razor bladed bone-knives, chattering and salivating with the desires to rip and tear us to pieces, swarming our lands in their vast hordes, intent to drive us all the way to our extinction."
The children shivered and whimpered. Not the intended reaction that she wanted. Time to pull them in once more.
"But, as mankind began to gasp for breath, from the ether of Remnant itself, came forth two of our greatest warriors, now lost to myth and legend."
She smiled.
"They were known as the Knight Cast in Light Eternal, and the Barbarian Made into a Man."
And once more, they were enraptured.
"They were not god-chosen, or blessed with divine powers like those around them would've believed, and yet it was as if their mere presence was enough to show that the gods themselves smiled upon them."
The children looked on in wonder once more, their eyes wide and their minds eager to learn more about these warriors chosen by the gods.
"From nothingness- From the lowest of peasantry and poverty- The Knight and the Barbarian were brought together from both sides of the old slaughter. Once two enemies, now joined together in unity for all mankind, against the monsters of the darkness, and together, they would become so much more than they were before, and bring forth their grand reaping onto the Grimm, cutting them down by their swarming hordes, and casting away their evil wants by the dozens, hundreds, and thousands more. Where the darkness sought to swallow everything whole in it's inky blackness, the light of the Knight and the Barbarian would be that which burned away the evils of the night, and brought back hope to those whom lived in fear of that same darkness."
A larger crowd had formed around her now, eager to see where this was going.
This fairy tale- The Knight Cast in Light Eternal and the Barbarian Made into a Man- Was a fairly recent myth, coming into being around the time of the First Great War, though when was unknown. However, from what she could gather from the tale itself, it must've been during or after the Cataclysm in the middle of the war, thereby making it less around a century old. A very recent myth, then. No wonder not as many people knew about it.
"And then, when the time came, they pushed forth, and brought the Grimm to their knees. Not through military might, or divine intervention. The monsters of the night were brought low, and almost sent into extinction, by the mere hands and blades of the Knight and the Barbarian. And when they finally fell, their blades would run black with the blood of the enemy of hope, and the fields surrounding them, all the way to the shores and the mountain ranges, would be filled with the beasts of evil, felled and brought to their own ruin, their darkness never to taint the world that they stood on ever again."
She leaned back, and spread her arms out wide once again.
"And thus, the Knight Cast in Light Eternal and the Barbarian Made into a Man were felled, and through their sacrifice, was Remnant saved."
The children smiled and cheered, but the adults around them gave melancholic smiles in turn, feeling both happiness and sadness at the story told to them.
She understood this feeling well.
She clapped her hands together, and gained the children's attention once again, "Now then, little lights, I must ask you: What is the meaning of this story? What is its moral and message?"
The children looked at her, now confused.
"Does this story of Knights and Barbarians equate to man's taming of animals through the savagery of beasts, as some kind of allegory for ourselves? No, for we are all the same, and thus, such a message is a redundancy? Does this story speak of nobility leading us as kings and rulers against the darkness? No, for the Knight and the Barbarian were peasants and impoverished, and renders that message moot?"
The children didn't understand where she was going with this. From the looks of the adults, however, they understood perfectly.
"Well then, allow me to tell you what this story truly is."
She stretched herself upwards, and looked up into the sky.
"This is the story of those whom rose up, and stood their ground against the darkness. This is the story of those who were willing to give their lives, for the betterment of others. This is the story of those whom stood against the darkness, their backs to their lovers and loved ones, and spat in the face of fear."
Neon Katt looked down to the enraptured children around her, and smiled.
"This is the story of those who did not go gentle into that good night, and raged, raged against the dying of the light."
Final short story!
Next time, back to the main plot!