Awakening
I don't remember anything of my early childhood. All I know are the stories. The Grandmaster tells me I was discarded from my family like a common disease. He says the Lin Kuei are my family now. We are forbidden friends, our existence is forced simplicity. Trust no one, your trust can only be given to the clan as a whole. Each individual a building block, weak in their own sense but important all the same. Not to say they aren't disposable...
Today it was my own blood on the chopping block. My brother SubZero stood before the council of elders to face the most serious of charges: Defeat. He knelt in our classic style, one knee on the ground and head arched towards the floor. His clothes were that of a monk. Long silky robes with a sash red with the stain of blood and a single name to signify his first kill. The Lin Kuei were not some ordinary temple. It was a temple of death. Each monk trained here is pushed past his limits. Those who live, kill.
I was never quite as good as my brother. He was their star pupil. My sash still white with ignorance for the circle of life. I don't know what happened on SubZero's mission but I know there will be blood spilt for his mistakes.
"Rise, SubZero." The Grandmaster spoke through thick dark robes with blue trim. "Beg for your forgiveness. Beg for suffrage." The room was silent and time stood still. Why wouldn't he answer? All he would have to do is plea forgiveness and his life would be spared. I could see The Grandmaster bow his head slightly in disappointment. He could no longer keep this defiance. I imagined pain in my brother's eyes but I would never really know. A shorter man revealed himself from behind The Grandmaster. He glided to where my brother stood, in the middle of everyone else and place a hand on his chest.
This pushed my brother too far. The man in front of him was the Coward Taker, capable of delivering death with touch. He was only used when the target was considered true coward. In a split second SubZero's arms turned a sickening blue and he swung at the Coward Taker's arm. As soon as he make contact it turned to ice and shattered. The room was battle ready, SubZero had no escape. Coward Taker lay shocked at his feet staring at his missing limb, completely unresponsive.
"I will not be made a coward! I accept your punishment on my terms." SubZero held out his arms and made a cross with his body. Ice rolled over him starting at his hands and totally consuming him. For a split moment he was an ice crucifix and then he fell backward to the stone. He became a million broken pieces of his former glory.
That night I had a fever. My temperature rocketed up the 104 degrees. In my mind I replayed that scene in my head over and over. I was cold, my bed seemed a freezer. I closed my eyes in an attempt to finally put the images out of my head. It didn't work. Nothing will ever erase the feeling of losing my only chance at a real family.
A single tear fell out of my eye, it froze on my cheek.