Fade To Black ...

[Warrior X]

As the legend would be passed down from generation to generation, each time a little more added, or taken away, depending upon whose lips the lore was told by ....

Spartan King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the last man against Persian King Xerxes and his massive army. Facing insurmountable odds, the Spartans' heroism and sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against the Persian invaders. The story is very loosely based on the famous Battle of Thermopylae which took place in the summer of 480 BC.


Kratos was once a warrior feared throughout the civilized world, famous for his relentlessness in battle, cunning combat tactics, and prowess as a leader. Many men, women, and children alike fell to his blade. It was said that his wife was the only person who could stand up to him. When she questioned his ways, he claimed to be warring for the glory of Sparta. She thought differently, feeling that he waged war more for himself and his own glory than any noble ideal.

Then came the day that Kratos could never have foreseen - the day that he met his match on the battlefield. His army, which had grown from a mere fifty men to a force of thousands, faced off against the barbarian hordes from the northeast (these barbarians could have been Thracians or Illyrians). In these new enemies the Spartans found their own brutality surpassed, and in a mere few hours, the battle seemed to be lost as his men were being decapitated, impaled, and their throats slit. Kratos himself lay at the feet of the Barbarian leader, seconds away from death. In desperation, he called on Ares, pledging his eternal loyalty if only the God of War would destroy his enemies.

Ares, seeing the potential of a god in this mere mortal, answered Kratos's plea and ripped the Barbarian hordes apart in seconds. He gave Kratos the "Blades of Chaos", phenomenal weapons forged in the fires of Hades. They consisted of two massive swords fastened to the end of long metal chains, which themselves were wrapped around Kratos's arms and fused to his flesh. In the blink of an eye, the tides had turned as the barbarians were dying in many brutal ways such as heads exploding, bodies twisting, and spontaneously combusting. Kratos decapitated the Barbarian leader.

True to his word, Kratos did Ares's bidding from that day forth. His former savagery paled in comparison to his acts under the watchful eye of the God of War. But one day he attacked a village loyal to Athena. He won, as always, but towards the end of the raid, he attacked a temple to the rear, where the aging village Oracle warned him not to proceed. She claimed that the temple was forbidden to him, that he must not enter. Kratos ignored her pleas and carved a bloody path of murder through the temple attendants who dared to stand in his way, blinded by his bloodlust. As he struck down his final two victims, however, everything changed.

Kratos came to his senses to find his wife and daughter lying dead before him, slain by his own hand. But what were they doing here in this obscure village? He had left them in Sparta. It wasn't long before he realized the truth. Ares, who had once saved his life, had elaborate designs for him. The God of War appeared before him, and explained that the death of his wife and child were meant to sever the last vestiges of his humanity, to forge him into the greatest warrior the world would ever know. As the horrifying truth dawned on the blood-stained warrior, the temple, which had been engulfed in flames, issued forth a cloud of white dust. The village Oracle used the ashes of his wife and daughter to curse Kratos thus bleaching his skin pure white, with the exception of his blood-red tattoos. This frightening appearance, and the tales of what he had done, would earn him the name Ghost of Sparta, and a fearsome reputation. Kratos renounced his allegiance to Ares, but the damage was done. He would wander the known world for the next ten years, sailing from port to port, but never able to outrun the nightmares that plagued his mind.

Ares himself attacked Athens, his sister Athena's patron city, as a testament to his superiority. By Zeus's law, the gods could not fight amongst themselves, and so the task of stopping Ares would have to fall to a mortal. The Olympians sought the aid of Kratos - the one person they felt could succeed in killing the God of War. Having been promised absolution for his crimes, he agreed.

Kratos first had to find the Oracle in Athens. When he reached the Oracle's temple, Kratos met an old man who was digging a grave. The old man said that he had a lot of digging to do and not a lot of time. The old man then told Kratos something he couldn't quite understand. The grave he was digging, was for him. Upon reaching the Oracle, she revealed to him that the only way to kill a god was to use the legendary Pandora's Box. Athena told him how to reach Pandora's Temple, which is built into the side of a great mountain, which itself is chained on to the back of the last Titan, Kronos. Kronos, who was the cruel father of Zeus, was ordered by his son to carry the mountain on his back through the Desert of Lost Souls until the whipping sands tore the very flesh from his bones.

After many trials and tribulations, Kratos claimed Pandora's Box. However, before he could return to Athens with the box, Ares realized that Kratos had succeeded and hurled a sharp pointed pillar toward Pandora's temple. The pillar pinned Kratos against the wall and in his last moments, he had a flashback of the day when he accidentally murdered his wife and daughter and became the Ghost of Sparta. Kratos watched helplessly as the minions of Ares took Pandora's Box away. Kratos fell into Hades, defeated but unwilling to die. He fought his way through the Underworld and, at the end of the path, came across an anchor on a rope leading to the sky. On the other end was the old grave-digger: "Athena is not the only god looking out for you."

Kratos recovered Pandora's Box and engaged Ares in a final battle that would decide the fate of Athens. As a defensive measure, Ares trapped Kratos inside his own mind and made illusions of Kratos' family. Kratos vowed that he would not let Ares take his family from him again, and defended them against numerous doppelgangers of himself, representing his Agony, Remorse, and Regret. Though Kratos was successful in saving his family, it was all for naught, and Ares dispelled the illusions easily, taking back the Blades of Chaos while he was at it, and purposely killing Kratos's fake family with them. Ares's goal was to break Kratos's spirit so that he would admit defeat. Though deprived of his weapons and powers, Kratos managed to break free of Ares's assault on his consciousness, and took up the mighty Blade of the Gods. After an intense and protracted duel, he finally got the better of the God of War and plunged the sword through his tormentor's heart.

While receiving the congratulations of the Olympians, Kratos asked Athena to remove the nightmares of his past that haunted him. Athena explained that the Gods would only forgive him for his sins, but no one could forget what Kratos had done under the tutelage of Ares. Feeling abandoned and hopeless, Kratos decided to commit suicide by throwing himself off the highest peak in Greece. But as he impacted the water below, he felt himself being pulled back up to the top of the cliff. Athena explained to Kratos that the gods decreed that he would not die today because of his excellent service to the gods. She reminded Kratos that the throne of the god of war was empty and a replacement was needed. She offered Kratos to become the new god of war and thus opened the door that would lead Kratos to Mount Olympus.

And so Kratos finally found himself going towards Mount Olympus and took the seat he had rightfully earned, the throne of the God of War. From that moment on, whenever men waged wars, fought battles, and conquered lands for good or evil; their will was driven forward by Kratos, the mortal who had become the new God of War.

But Ares had another warrior, whom he sent to the Nexus realm unknownst to the other Gods ...

His name was Keun Reitsma, the Messiah of Violence.

For the saga would continue ....

.... Fade to black.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 25, 2008 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Violent Messiah ]</font>

[Warrior X]

The warrior had felt the eyes/stares upon him the moment he set foot inside the tavern, as some even paused conversing with one another. So long as a single weapon remained sheathed, those prolonged gazes would be ignored. Pulling the hood away from his head, those dark eyes locked upon the round figure behind the counter, obviously a victim of one too many tankards himself, among other things. A single coin of silver would be produced, placed in front of the tender, who looked like he was going to fall over backwards trying to stare up at the hulking warrior ....

"A tankard of ale, and a leg of beef."

His order taken, Keun found an empty table near the rear of the tavern, gesturing to the tender to where the order would be delivered. It would serve his primary purpose of having his back to the wall, while having a perfect view of the patrons coming and going. After the initial shock of his entrance wore off, the dull roar of random conversation filled the establishment once again, save the random glances of the serving wenches who argued amongst themselves which would serve the newcomer.

He would have plenty of time on his hands to continue to ponder how he arrived in this land, but until then, he would need to find a place to lay his head. Keun still wasn't sure where he was, and how he arrived, but one thing was for certain, anyone he bothered to ask, had even heard of the region called Rhydin.


"M'lord, your drink. Your beef will be ready shortly." The wench's voice roused Keun from his self imposed deep thought like state, his eyes now focusing on the small figure standing before him. Dressed in the traditional serving garb, with enough exposed flesh in all the right places in hopes of taking one's mind off the sometimes poor quality of the food. Dark brown hair fashioned into a braid, while leaving enough loose to partly shield her eyes which were the color of crystal green. His eyes would linger around the area of the bodice, which offered to ... Enhance her ample wares.

"What is your name?"

Her cheeks would redden at the warrior's stare, now taking a small step back, having placed the tankard before him. "I am called Teshia, M'lord." Her eyes dropping to stare at the wooden legs of the table, before meeting his once again, only to see him holding a piece of gold between his fingers. "Tell me then, Teshia, where would be a suitable lodging for the night?" The material of her skirt would move slightly from the shifting of one foot to the other, her gaze darting away from Keun once again before answering ...

"M'lord, the taverns and inns are always full about this time because of the festival. But my uncle has a spare room above the barn, and charges only a copper a night." Several gulps taken, the tankard was now empty, Keun wiped his mouth. "I would like to see this ... Barn." Tiny hands would grasp the now empty tankard to refill it, her gaze meeting his yet once again. "My uncle sits by the hearth, M'lord. I can tell him of your request."

Nodding slowly, he would wave her off. "Very well. Do not forget my ale." Teshia would bow slightly, before turning to whisper the offer to her uncle that sat conversing with his friends by the hearth. He would not hide his displeasure of being interrupted, his mind set changing seconds later after looking over to where his niece pointed. Scratching at his long graying beard, there was a new conversation being discussed about the hearth now. Teshia would return to the warrior's table with his leg of beef, as well a refilled tankard.

"Your food and drink, M'lord. I hope they are to your liking." The baring of more shoulder, as well the exposing of more leg did not escape Keun's notice. Neither did seeing three of the other serving girls peering from a crack in the door that lead into the kitchen, were the ones responsible for the ... Adjustments made to Teshia's attire. The constant reddening of her cheeks that remained, combined with the averting of her eyes would provide less than subtle hints. "My uncle says that the room is indeed available if you so desire it."

Ripping a healthy chunk of the heated beef from the bone, Keun would speak between bites. "Desire it I do, Teshia. Will it be you that will show it to me?" The girl's face could not get any redder, unless her head would explode. The warrior did mean the barn did he not? Of course he did. "Y-yes. I am done here for the evening. I can take you to the barn any time you are ready, M'lord." Tearing another piece of beef free, Keun would wash it down with half the tankard of ale, setting it down. Teshia would be presented with two copper pieces. "The two copper pieces you will give to your uncle. I am finished here. Let us see this barn. Meet me outside the tavern."

Finishing off his ale, Keun would stand, before giving her uncle a single nod, upon his exiting the tavern. The skies were still clear, which meant the stars would be better viewed at night. That was good. He often navigated his travels that way. A light touch upon his forearm as Teshia now stood beside him. "It is this way, M'lord." Keun would follow the girl, unaware that his arrival as well departure to that tavern had not gone ...

... Unnoticed.