•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────• •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• Somewhere in the outskirts of Crookback… An Altalar, of light, walks down the secluded woods. Rainfall battering against his navy-blue cloak, aged and worn as his soul. A kind, loving soul, stricken by guilt and pain. Chains that would never leave him. Invisible, yet unyielding. What was this man seeking? Solace? Peace? Relief? Even he did not know. The absence of that warmth he once held onto, that glimmer of hope had been extinguished as the last embers in Floral Court had burned out. Now, he wanders the ancient woods for now. Lost, and desperate. As with all light, there must come shadows. And that was certainly the case tonight. A Kathar, a shadow, follows the Altalar down into the woods. Rain drops turning to steam upon contact with his blood red cloak, regal and filled with vanity. This soul was wicked, and hateful. Free from the restraints of morality and regret, it moved freely and without concern. Following the light like a beacon, a predator eyeing his prey. Soon the Altalar comes to a stop in a lush cave, glancing up towards a center tree and kneeling. A gentle prayer escapes him, seeking guidance from the Heavens. To which god he asked the favor didn't matter. All he wanted was a way forward. From this pain that burdened his soul. These chains that held down his heart. The Kathar’s step made no sound as he approached his counterpart, a wicked permanent smile plastered on his face. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself this time, brother. By far your most spectacular failure yet.” The Altalar turns, hood pulled over his sullen eyes. “.. what do you want, brother? You have no reason to quarrel with me or my family any longer. You’ve proven that a long time ago.” “Am I not allowed to simply visit family?” The wicked shadow responded with poisonous charisma. “You are not family.” The Altalar asserted, standing. “You’ve endangered me and /everyone/ I have cared for without remorse. They are my /real/ family.” The shadow laughs with joy. “Tsk tsk. Typical Forahtel. Trying to deny the truth, as always. … You think you can just come here, be a little hero for a bit, then become a daddy? Forget everything that you’ve done? The people /you/ have hurt?” “I /changed/. But you /never/ will.” “Oh, is that so... What else has changed than, hm? Still stricken with guilt I see. That hasn’t changed.” The shadow begins to pace around the cave they stood in, his form crawling up the stone. “You still wallow in your squalor when you fail. That hasn’t changed. And you still try /so/ hard to help everyone you can. That certainly hasn’t changed either, has it?” “You know /nothing/ of what I’ve been through. I chose to be a better person. I chose to help people who couldn’t help themselves, I protected people who couldn’t protect themselves. You would never understand that.” “Then why is the girl dead?” A pause. Tears briefly well up in the Altalar’s eyes. Sparks begin to manifest around his from, his pain fueling his righteous fury. “Quiet. You... You-” “You preach so much about being a protector, yet you can’t even save those closest to you. And if you can’t do that, what if strangers? What of other ‘innocents’? You’re going to try and help them too? Just because you feel like you should? Do you even realize how many times I’ve gotten close to killing that little brat?” Silence. The Altalar merely stood, hands shuddering. “That’s right.. You don’t know. Because you will never be anything more than a sad, lonely fool, who only knows how to deny the truth!” In a split moment, the Altalar’s body became consumed by electricity, divine occult of the Exist. A blade formed from sparks, he rushed forward towards the darkness to purge it once and for all. But the shadow acted as quickly as the light. Dark miasma surrounding him as a sabre of blood and malice formed in his hand. And so their battle commenced. A battle of light and shadow in it’s purest form. Two brothers, opposite paths. Equal in ability. The ground shook. Motes of light and shadow alike filled the air. The gods below and above watch the two brothers fight. Until a final blow struck out… but not one of bloodshed. A clang of metal signified the utter destruction of the other’s weapon, shattering it in half with a single slice. The two stand at odds with one another, staring the other down. The Altalar pointing his rapier towards his counterpart. “I win this time, brother. Now leave. Or I won’t be so merciful.” The dark one laughed again, wounded. “That’s always been your greatest weakness, brother. Your mercy. Your compassion. Your sentimentality. If only the other sprout was here… I would have ended this so much sooner.” “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM LEOPOLD! YOU TRY ANYTHING ON THEM AGAIN, AND I WILL SEE TOO IT THAT THE STORMS TAKE YOU!!” “Oh but of course. Surely you would be able to deliver such punishment, 'Stray Bolt.'” He scoffs, sarcasm in his tone. “You’re not that soldier anymore, brother. You’re getting weak. I can tell.” Shadows begin to surround the dark one, his laugh echoing throughout the cave. “No matter what you do... No matter what you try. I will always be watching. Following. Lurking. You will never have a moment's peace. I will make sure of it.” And with that, the dark one vanishes. Leaving the Altalar to his thoughts. His wounds were negligible, thankfully. But his heart still ached. He kneels in prayer once again, remaining in that cave for what seemed like hours. Before finally returning home. The chains on his soul still as tight as ever. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• (OOC Note: This is my first player story ever; I hope you enjoyed it! This story involves my characters Stray and his evil vampire brother Leopold, a character I’ve reserved for interactions with close friends and especially Samthing_’s Dathil/Ra’Rith. Speaking of which, this interaction happens shortly after The Brightest Candle | MassiveCraft Forums chronologically, so please check that out if you haven’t!)
