Kai's Tale
A memory so sharp in clarity, it cuts my soul.
The feel of impact, the sound of shrieking metal and breaking glass.
Pain, vivid and bright. Am I dying?
No, I can't die, not yet, not until this cancerous darkness is stopped.
Above me, slightly out of focus, a figure.
I am so cold.
A melodious voice speaks to me,
"Last of the Brunnen-G"
I will not surrender.
Not to His Shadow, not to death.
But the choice is not mine to make.
"Die Brunnen-G"
The voice, its calling to me again.
It's dark here, so very dark.
Perhaps this is hell?
For it surely isn't paradise.
I try to go to the voice, but I can not move.
Madness! Then oblivion.
"Awake last of the Brunnen-G"
This time the darkness falls away.
A foreboding figure in black cloak.
So familiar.
There is sound beside me. I try to turn my head but I am lashed to a metal
construct.
My arms outstretched, my legs bound double.
There is something protruding from my chest.
Wires? No, tubing.
A viscous fluid is flowing.
A deep glacial cold spreads from my wound and radiates out to my limbs.
The sensation is strangely pleasant.
The icy fluid brings a clarity to my mind.
The room once muted now seems alive with subtle color.
The figure in black motions slightly and another reaches toward me.
The tubing in my chest is pulled free with a flick.
A soft rumbling to my ears.
"Do you know who I am?"
I know.
"You are my Master"
Laughter echoes from the walls.
There are others in the room now.
Watching, waiting.
I can smell their fear.
They fear..me.
My Master raises his hand
and the bonds are released.
"Arise my slave"
I come to my feet in a single fluid movement.
There are startled sounds.
They whisper their unease,
not realizing that I hear every word.
"Now it begins"
The corridor stretches long before me.
My Master walks ahead and to the left.
Behind me a procession follows.
The guards are armed.
It doesn't concern me,
nothing concerns me.
With a word, they would all die at my hands.
I am so exquisitely empty.
The Great Hall is filled with people.
Upon our entrance, the room falls silent.
All rise.
"Merciful Shadow we ask your blessing..."
My eyes secure the room.
It isn't curiosity.
It is strategy.
Deep and thundering, "You will all bear witness"
I stay close to my master awaiting his whim.
Two men are brought before the audience.
One head high, the other downcast and trembling.
There is excitement now.
I am unmoved.
I do feel...I feel
a sensation.
Anticipation perhaps.
I flex my arm and feel the spring lock on my brace.
I am death.
My master approaches.
I bow my head in submission.
"This is your baptism of blood."
"With this act, you belong to me for all time."
I do not understand.
But understanding is not necessary.
Only my obedience is required.
"Kill them, my assassin!"
"Kill them both."
I face the condemned and raise my arm slowly.
The cowering man starts to cry.
"Please, Merciful shadow...please!!
My wrist flexes slightly.
The re-coil as the brace leaves my arm is slight.
There is a high-pitched whir as the blades find their mark.
There is a soft sound.
It is a gurgling.
The downed man is choking on his own blood.
I stare down at his body.
I think I should feel something.
It doesn't matter that I can't.
Nothing matters.
I turn slightly to the other.
His eyes are bright and wide.
"I know you, I know who you are!"
Strange last words.
My arm is level to the man's head.
"Wait! Listen to me..you have to know!"
A gentle contraction of my wrist.
I need to know nothing, save what my master decrees.
Blood splatters.
It traces a red tear down my cheek.
I look to my Master.
He is pleased.
"Now you all see how useless defiance is."
The dark figure motions me to his side.
I worship His Shadow.
A memory so sharp in clarity, it cuts my soul.
The feel of impact, the sound of shrieking metal and breaking glass.
Pain, vivid and bright. Am I dying?
No, I can't die, not yet, not until this cancerous darkness is stopped.
Above me, slightly out of focus, a figure.
I am so cold.
A melodious voice speaks to me,
"Last of the Brunnen-G"
I will not surrender.
Not to His Shadow, not to death.
But the choice is not mine to make.
"Die Brunnen-G"
The voice, its calling to me again.
It's dark here, so very dark.
Perhaps this is hell?
For it surely isn't paradise.
I try to go to the voice, but I can not move.
Madness! Then oblivion.
"Awake last of the Brunnen-G"
This time the darkness falls away.
A foreboding figure in black cloak.
So familiar.
There is sound beside me. I try to turn my head but I am lashed to a metal
construct.
My arms outstretched, my legs bound double.
There is something protruding from my chest.
Wires? No, tubing.
A viscous fluid is flowing.
A deep glacial cold spreads from my wound and radiates out to my limbs.
The sensation is strangely pleasant.
The icy fluid brings a clarity to my mind.
The room once muted now seems alive with subtle color.
The figure in black motions slightly and another reaches toward me.
The tubing in my chest is pulled free with a flick.
A soft rumbling to my ears.
"Do you know who I am?"
I know.
"You are my Master"
Laughter echoes from the walls.
There are others in the room now.
Watching, waiting.
I can smell their fear.
They fear..me.
My Master raises his hand
and the bonds are released.
"Arise my slave"
I come to my feet in a single fluid movement.
There are startled sounds.
They whisper their unease,
not realizing that I hear every word.
"Now it begins"
The corridor stretches long before me.
My Master walks ahead and to the left.
Behind me a procession follows.
The guards are armed.
It doesn't concern me,
nothing concerns me.
With a word, they would all die at my hands.
I am so exquisitely empty.
The Great Hall is filled with people.
Upon our entrance, the room falls silent.
All rise.
"Merciful Shadow we ask your blessing..."
My eyes secure the room.
It isn't curiosity.
It is strategy.
Deep and thundering, "You will all bear witness"
I stay close to my master awaiting his whim.
Two men are brought before the audience.
One head high, the other downcast and trembling.
There is excitement now.
I am unmoved.
I do feel...I feel
a sensation.
Anticipation perhaps.
I flex my arm and feel the spring lock on my brace.
I am death.
My master approaches.
I bow my head in submission.
"This is your baptism of blood."
"With this act, you belong to me for all time."
I do not understand.
But understanding is not necessary.
Only my obedience is required.
"Kill them, my assassin!"
"Kill them both."
I face the condemned and raise my arm slowly.
The cowering man starts to cry.
"Please, Merciful shadow...please!!
My wrist flexes slightly.
The re-coil as the brace leaves my arm is slight.
There is a high-pitched whir as the blades find their mark.
There is a soft sound.
It is a gurgling.
The downed man is choking on his own blood.
I stare down at his body.
I think I should feel something.
It doesn't matter that I can't.
Nothing matters.
I turn slightly to the other.
His eyes are bright and wide.
"I know you, I know who you are!"
Strange last words.
My arm is level to the man's head.
"Wait! Listen to me..you have to know!"
A gentle contraction of my wrist.
I need to know nothing, save what my master decrees.
Blood splatters.
It traces a red tear down my cheek.
I look to my Master.
He is pleased.
"Now you all see how useless defiance is."
The dark figure motions me to his side.
I worship His Shadow.