"All my thoughts are a sea of rejection;
My whole body feels the rebellion.
And in the mirror I see an unknown reflection.
Silence screams with violent objection;
The space sings soft in quiet affection.
All my thoughts are a sea of rejection.
Their warmth is gone, a cold disconnection;
The void wears faces with no direction.
And in the mirror I see an unknown reflection.
Blood soaks the walls, a grim recollection;
The reaper now holds their heart's insurrection.
All my thoughts are a sea of rejection.
The adrenaline fades with no mention;
I am left staring at my own dissection.
And in the mirror I see an unknown reflection.
No god, no justice — only deflection.
I too fade now, into Hades' collection.
I now understand the sea of rejection.
And in the mirror, lies my own reflection."
The inner hall rang with the old man's words, as liquified remains lifted off of the earth. They flowed in ornate fashion, dancing and singing at his recollection. As the last of his words fell upon the floor, a whirling shimmer of purple appeared. A makeshift circle of bone, liver and brine created a formation from outside of time. The greying man placed his hat over his heart, and through the purple gate came a smothering tide. Tumbling and racing came out the black mist and from inside the cloud came a thin trembling fist- it reached out and clasped through the man's hat and into his core. As it pulled back and out of his body, he saw a woven red flame perched in its hand and a faint chuckle was heard through the otherworldly connection.
His eyes grew dim and his hand began to quiver. The last of his breath felt like iron in his chest as the last of his spell echoed through the old throne room and a vision appeared in his mind's eye:
A red bird rising over a burned down castle. A young girl holding a bow standing over the slit throat of a knight. A loving pair of parents holding a melted candle as it burned into their palms. And lastly, a small golden haired girl sitting on a pile of bones- smiling as a ghoul placed a crown of thorns upon her head. Each image etched itself into his memory- one after the other- and as quickly as they entered, they vanished leaving the empty hall about him.
A stream of crimson blood flowed down the man's chest from where his heart had been ripped out- and in his final moments he recorded what he had seen. As his trembling hand finished, he tied a white string around the parchment and handed it to a nearby raven, muttering something in its ear. As it flew away the wrinkles on his face sank deep into his bones and he looked out over the mountain of dead corpses dressed in both red and gold- two armies bodies no different now that they lay dead at his feet.
With a final sigh he bent down and with a quiver of his lip kissed the forehead of the baby boy in his lap, "You will one day understand the actions I have taken- they will hate you, love you, revere you, and fear you. No matter what happens I know you will see the truth one day my son.
"The soaring bird will call over the mountain
And so falls the shattered illusion
The truth springing from you like an undying fountain
While delivering you from all of collusion"
As the man's voice faded and light left his eyes, a small scar ingrained itself on the baby's arm. A little red robin burned onto his skin, with the promise of his father lingering within.
— 15 years later —
The clashing of swords echoed through the quiet of the courtyard. A well built blonde young man stood towering over a scrawny red-haired boy. His red eyes glimmering like a demon as a grin etched across his face.
"Ah ha! Gotcha again Robin, ye need to tighten up or Gerard is going to have yer head!" With a flick of his wrist he disarmed the fallen boy and moved his sword to hover above the throat. "If this were a true duel, yer head would be rollin'."
Robin groaned and pushed the sword away, "Whatever Thornton, if this were a real duel I would not be restricted to sword fighting. Then we might have an actual competition on our hands." With a grin he whipped out a dagger and threw it through the neckline of Thornton's shirt.
Robin raised an eyebrow playfully as Thornton snorted and flicked Robin's sword back to him, a cocky grin still on his face. "Aye, sure thing small fry, let's go see if ol' Gerard's sobered up enough to teach more lessons- sun's high already, surely he's able to crawl outta whatever endeavors he'd got into."
The click of metal echoed around the yard as the two boys brushed themselves off, sheathed their swords, and headed across the courtyard. Cherry blossom trees in full bloom covered a small stone arena with walkways stretching out in each of the cardinal directions. They were enclosed on all sides by towering stone walls of carefully laid brick, and as they walked through the northern gates two servants rushed to take their sandals away from them.
They continued down the halls with smells of barley and retch wafting towards them from the barracks till they reached a door with an iron cross on it. Murmurs of sleeping soldiers could be heard a ways off down the hall. Laughter and gambling was a norm on the off days within the barracks as they only had required training during the week- most still practiced on the off days but typically enjoyed a relaxing morning first. Then there were those like Gerard.
"Get up ye lazy good for nothin' captain, what would yer soldiers think if they saw ye drunken ass laying around bed well past sunup. Are ye not supposed to inspire them? Lead 'em?" Thornton kicked the side of one of the cots as he jeered at the clearly incapacitated captain within.
"...ugh my head, what are you kids doing here this early- this is the captain's quarters you folk cannot be in here."
Robin smirked and shook the cot a little, "Come on sir, get up we need to do some training and I am getting tired of fighting this numbskull over and over."
With a quick spin Gerard rolled out of bed, muttered something under his breath and a knife appeared under Thornton and Robin's throats from a small shiny blue portal. Grinning Gerard leapt up, "Yeah you boys are a bit too relaxed… do not worry I will make sure to get you up to speed today. Basics of the basics for eight hours straight, you are going to hate that you woke me up this morning…"
…
"Alright lads. First things first let's see your initial poses and battle phrases. Thornton first since you got a lip this morning."
Thornton rolled his neck and cracked his fingers. Shaking out his hands he jumped a few times before landing on the balls of his feet and taking a deep breath:
"As sleeping ships lie
Thy ghosts haunt my soulless blade
Sea and grave entwine"
As the breath left his throat the air around him chilled and collected around his sword- it rose, fell, and swelled into a layer of icy wind that shone with ethereal light. Sweat covered Thorntons brow as his eyes remained locked onto his weapon. His glace flicked over to Gerard and a tight grin covered his face, "Next?"
"Swing at me." Gerald pulls his sword out of its scabbard with a dull sound and places it in a horizontal position before him.
"Happily ol' man", with a sudden lunge Thornton leapt forwards and arched his back- swinging his sword through the air with his full weight behind it. As it curved through the air a swirling ripple of water trailed behind it and on impact the clash of steel was muted by the sound of roaring water crashing against Gerard. The water rushed over him and moved him back slightly but he was able to shake off a majority of the blow.
"HAHA GOOD LAD, that is what I like to see. Now again. This time, make sure to put emphasis into your Kireji- the stronger your determination and thoughts, the more weight the words will carry. Magic comes from the words in your soul lad."
As the practice continued, Thornton's normally tan complexion was replaced by a pale sheen. Eventually Gerard put up a hand to stop him, "All right good enough for now, recover your will while Robin gives a go," He looked to the other boy and raised an eyebrow, "Have you discovered your inner will yet? Or are you still using the basic phrases?"
Robin's face grew red, giving Gerard all the answers he needed as he raised his blade to block the boy's strike. "That is fine lad, now come at me with all you got."
Robin pulled out his twin daggers and held them in a prayer position before his face and began to recite in hushed tones:
"A Reaper calls out
The midnight breeze hears your name
Reflecting your sin"
The words slip from Robin's mouth and the light around him begins to warp. As the last syllable leaves his mouth the light around him flexes and bends till he is removed from sight.
A silence comes over the foyer and not a sound can be heard. Gerard spins in place and brings up his sword with a violent clash as twin daggers come out of thin air from behind him, followed by the remainder of Robin's body.
Gerard's eyes have a glimmer of joy as he looks down at Robin, "Lad you got some monster of a will to sneak up that close to me without letting your intent slip. Your Kigo was remarkable, your will carried deep in your words- you just need the speed to back up your strike. Again."
Gerard had the boys take turns till each was dripping with sweat, their bodies shaking slightly. "Well boys, you did well. Do you remember what tomorrow is?" He gave an arched eyebrow to them.
Thornton looked up through his dripping hair with a devilish grin, "We finally get to explore tis place. We can rough up some real folk."
A smile broke out on Robin and Thornton's face as they looked up at Gerard expectantly. With a chuckle he grasped the sword at his side and looked down on his two disciples, a small frown passed his face for a moment before he smiled back at them, "It sure is, you lot finally get to take on the Syndicate."