A flash of light, and then it was done. Renalus and Dura would stand at far ends, their backs to each other. The song had ended, the sparks no longer danced.
A moment passed, then another. Dura smiled, and her blade fell to dust at her side, even as she herself became nothing more than sparks of light.
Renalus would find himself surrounded by the intermingled red sparks and Blue sparks, before they all swirled around him. The light faded rapidly, the world he found himself in collasped, and the memories began.
A dark room, you hear her crying. You step inside and your daughter cries out "mommy" before rushing to you from her bed. She had a nightmare. You hush her and sing to her, and as she falls asleep she says "i'm scared... Mommy". You know she is, and you say the one thing written in your heart, you know it to be true. "I will always protect you."
The images flash, time passes by, your running through the night, holding her close to your chest, she's crying, and you hear them behind you. You don't know what they are, only that you have to protect her, you have to save your daughter no matter what. Something wraps around your leg and you fall to the ground. It starts to pull on you, pull you towards them. You take and shove your daughter forward. "Run! Run Erna, run and don't stop no matter what! I love you my darling now run!" You scream and shout, and she listens. She runs as fast as she can, never turning back, and the last you see of her is her silver hair as it flows in the wind.
Torment, agony, endless torture. What feels like eternity stretches as the demons rip and rend and tear at your body, your mind, and your very soul. You don't know how long you've been here, you don't know where you are or what they want, all you know is that you will do anything to make the pain stop, anything to make them stop.
You march forward, beside thousands of monsters. Your body is twisted and broken, as is your will. Every moment is pain and agony, but it is bliss compared to what awaits you should you disobey. You march forward, and slaughter thousands of your kin, those you once called your people, all to avoid the pain they'll inflict on you. They shudder at you, and they begin to call you 'The Butcher'
You find pleasure in it, not in causing the pain, but in the knowledge that at the very least, someone else now suffers through what you've been subjected to. A part of your soul is sickened by the very concept of that thought, but with every life you take, the blood you spill stains your soul black, and the light shrinks and grows dimmer.
Viatn, the last free city of your world. It is broken, and the demons run rampant killing and murdering by the hundreds. In front of you, unmistakable to you. You would recongnize her no matter how she aged. Your daughter, standing, the light of hope filling her eyes. Fear is in them too, but it is outweighed by the faith she has that you can be saved, that somewhere deep inside your twisted form is her mother, and that she can wake you up, and that the nightmare will end.
She embraces you, her warmth reminding you of days long past. You embrace her with one hand, and the other brings a dagger to her back. You stab your own daughter in the back, and as her head rears back in surprise, you impale a spear down into the hollow of her chest, through her heart, and into the ground below. You see into her eyes, as they fill with tears. The light of hope is still there, fading alongside her life. Even after what you have just done to her, she believes in you, trusts you, has faith that you can be saved, and that everything will be alright.
And in that moment you are broken. The last bit of light in your soul extinguished as you fall entirely into darkness. You are a demon, a tool of the dark gods, and serve their will unerringly As your whole world is consumed and brought into the void itself.
A bright light, impossibly so in the dark. It radiates with such purity and innocence that it burns you by it's mere presence. Lesser demons are ash before it, and the dark of the void itself is pushed back with ease. He walks forward, unstoppable and unflinching. You and others like you are sent to destroy him, but as you get close you find it impossible to even bear it, the pain his light causes. His hand brushes your cheek, and just like that it's over.
You sit in a darkness, and before you stands a young man. He smiles at you, with such innocence you wonder how he can be real in this dark and evil world. He offers you a hand but you can't take it. You have done too much, you have fallen to far for redemption. "I am not worth saving" you say.
He smiles at you and responds. "You have lost all hope, given up on yourself. I have not given up on you, and never will. Stand up, and come home."
His words strike into your heart and you look once more into his eyes. The sincerity is impossible to deny, and you realize that no matter what you have done or might do, he will forgive you and help you. A feeling blooms inside you that you have not felt for so long that you've forgotten what it feels like.
Hope.
And with that hope comes light, as the darkness in your soul is cleared away. The corruption in your body is expunged, and you fall to your knees with tears in your eyes. The impossible has happened, you have been saved and the nightmare has ended. He walks past you and you turn to watch him.
He stands against the darkness, unfazed and unafraid, as it retreats from your world, and your people. They awaken one after another as the void is shoved back, and your world is brought into the light once more.
And it is then that you realize, that after everything you have done, that after all that you had given up, this man has given it back, expecting nothing in return and asking for no service.
He may not ask for it, but you know in the depths of your soul that from that day forward, until your very last you will stand at his side and do as he wishes, for in him you have complete faith and utter trust. He has delivered you back from the darkness and evil, and you will do everything to repay that debt.
"You have fallen, now stand up and save others from making the mistakes you have."
These words echo in your ears as you undergo the trials. The burning sensation is like pain you've never felt before, but it is nothing compared to the agony of eternity in darkness, and you happily welcome it, if it means you will be able to protect others from what you experienced.
You are a warrior, a member of Du Vercinge Lagion, The Legion Warriors. You stand together against the demons as they seek to consume another world. Behind your line thousands of innocent lives run and seek the salvation of the Transports that will take them to the safety of Du Tenor. The monsters before you are numberless, but no matter how many times they kill you you will return again and again to stop them. You are endless, you are Immortal, you are the light!
Another millenia, the demons continue their assault upon all who live in the light. Another world is besieged. You have grown since your early days. You cannot even remember alot of them, time is meaningless to you. You stand, A member of Orya Abr Sundavr, an Arrow of Shadow. You command legion warriors, holding the line and ensuring civilians are able to escape. You fight and do what you can to delay and force back the corruption. A Warrior runs up to you, giving her report. Her voice is excitable, and filled with an obvious need to show something of herself. Her helmet hides her face, but you know her name. A daughters voice is unmistakable to their mother.
Another world, this one falling. A dark god, Kragoth, leads this invasion himself. The Solskain, the God of Hope, is not here to stand against him. There is only you and the warriors you command. Hundreds fall to him, consumed by him, their souls forever his to torment. His presence fills you with memories, of how you broke, of how you surrendered, of how you lost all hope of salvation. And in that memory you grow strong. You will never give up again, you will never cease fighting, You will never lose hope because you know that no matter how strong the dark may be, the light will always shine to drive it away.
Your body cracks and breaks, but the pain is not pain, it is joy, relief. It feels as though a weight you have carried so long you have never noticed it has fallen from you. Your body breaks apart and the light beneath is revealed. You stand tall, taller than the dark god and in him you sense it.
Fear.
He knows what you are, what you have become. Equal to him, but greater of determination, more ferocious, more relentless. You are impossible and unstoppable and without doubt. You have become a miracle, and you strike at him. Like a wolfs fangs, a mother protecting her cub, you slash and tear into him, and he is destroyed. As he ends, his very essence burned away by the light, you feel a shuddering of the void, as they realize one of their own has perished.
You were born mortal, but you are mortal no longer. You are ascended. Like the God of Hope you are a god. A Spirit of Protection. And now none who are weak and without defense will need fear, for you shall guard them with all the love of a mother.
Centuries pass, your new 'body' is made. They name it the Kukri of the Gale. It is not what you would call it, but it will suffice. Now bound to it, you will continue to save worlds from the forces of the void, from the dark gods and their evils. You do so, leading thousands of thousands of thousands of missions over the endless time of your existence.
You watch with worry as your children, the people you have become part of change with time. They are refugees, and they change from the fearful children who have lost their homes, to the arrogant sorcerers who think themselves untouchable. They have forgotten what it is to live in fear of the dark. They are not to blame, for they do not remember. They are not immortal like you, they live and die, their children following, growing to adulthood as they too live and die.
A new mission. After eons of debate and discussion, it is finally decided. A home must be built, a place where the people can find peace, can live in solace. Where they can find the prosperity only available from having a world to call their own. Many oppose the idea. Demons are drawn to mages, and that is who most, if not all the refugees are. They're abilities draw the dark to them, and living on a planet puts that world at risk. To protect them, The legion must go forth and secure the Planets nexus, ward it against the demons, prevent them from ever being able to touch the world.
A compromise. A world deemed expendable is selected. Terra. Doubt fills your heart, but you follow orders without hesitation. You are to take this world, locate and designate the key ley lines necessary for the ward, and enroot the Rooks to begin the process. The one of the Key Leylines is located in a city, so an evacuation must be done, to protect the innocents from the magical backlash.
A demon is found on the world, and an assault is sent to purge it. Demons must not be allowed to take root on this world. They must all be routed out and destroyed. You send your troops and begin the invasion, hoping to act quickly enough to prevent the dark gods from reacting. The plan to ward the planet is to go as planned.
Forces are met that stand against the Legion. He calls himself Renalus. He is brave, he is ferocious, he fights for his brothers and sisters, for the innocents on the planet. He defends those who are not his own. Such tenacity, in the face of odds they cannot hope to best. You like him, you wonder if he would be a good father for Erna. Battle means you must put these thoughts out of your mind. He challenges, and you must answer, much to your dismay.
Erna is gone. She passed into the void, and now sits in the realm of the demons. Dread fills you, and you resign yourself to accepting your daughter as lost. But then he returns, bringing her back with him. His men have been slain, and yet he protects those whom would have slayed him from them.
Your mind is set, you will speak to him. You will face him and see him for who he is. You have seen much of what he is capable, but the question remains, when it comes to it, would he stand to face the darkness, to protect those he loves, to save them from a fate worse than death, worse than torment.Renalus would awaken in the empty circular room. Konugr Dura is no where to be found, and all the lights are dim, as though there is no longer power throughout the vessel. Where Dura once knelt there now sits, watching him patiently, a faint vision.
There are no more questions. I put the fate, the future, of all my people, in your hands.