The Thoughts and Meditations of a Looming Shadow

In a suspicious act of cruelty at the highest levels of society, a secret war was all but won. Members of a secret society were systematically assassinated by an enemy that they had been promised was destroyed but everything is true until it wasn't, and in this case, the falsity was a devastating miscalculation for the High Society Interfed Stable; an ancient and exclusive faction that held an untouchable status for ages, and part of The Legacy, that was one half of an original religious movement to be the truth-bearers of God's final days- but the other half, the opposing side believed God's final days must be forced to come; this half called The Left Hand.

The Legacy had kept the Left Hand from imposing their global plans to induce a premature apocalypse and leader after leader had been thwarted until ultimately, A man named Danny Starr was able to order their entire destruction to win the loyalty of both the Legacy and The High Society. The Left Hand was gone... but soon, Danny Starr would lead the High Society down a dark path of his own, ultimately ending in the destruction of their order- an order that had lost its purpose in waging a holy war in place of Danny Starr's personal and mortal ambitions.

The members of the High Society, stripped of their status, were imprisoned for their exposed crimes that, up until this point, had been secret and unchallenged due to their privileges. Their time had been brought down in a flaming collapse of what once was... and now, with the Legacy and the High Society unable to use their status or influence or wealth, the remnants of the Left Hand saw their opportunity to reclaim their own position once again.

One by one, the High Society members were destroyed, tracked down, and hunted by The Baphomet, a once strong man for the Left Hand, who has now assumed power in a vacuum created by the assassination of their previous leadership.

There's nobody now to stand against The Baphomet and without the hierarchy to determine the Left Hand's limitations, a quiet storm of a man now has the circumstances he has yearned for to recreate the Left Hand in his own image and to move forward a global initiative as he so chooses.

Only one more powerful than He has provided him the latitude to conduct the Left Hand as he demands so long as She oversees half of what the Baphomet controls... but despite her great power, the Baphomet still plots secretly, knowing when the time is right, she too will bow before him as the true leader of the Left Hand.

The Baphomet had been given his command and he too had a part to play. The game board was set to how the XWF preferred it, but like any game board the rules depend on good faith and if anyone knows the Baphomet, there's only one gospel that one is loyal to... the gospel of the Left Hand.

Better still, The Baphomet knew a game board could be destroyed by force against the other player's consent, but this game wasn't to destroy, but to pollute and poison- after all, his orders were simple- and his orders would be fulfilled one way or another.

The Baphomet knew playing this game would require great incentive. He knew to poison the like-minded he would need theatrics; for they were within this system of rules and the rules were set long ago... but soon, their faith in the Baphomet's true power would be realized and their good faith in the XWF would be tested, then dismantled.

Since the dawn of man, one rule remained in stone: First impressions mattered and so, The Baphomet recorded his introduction for the XWF to bear witness.

Theatrics... the seeds... the camera is but another weapon in a war for the minds of men.

The video, when played, abruptly begins and from not existing to being undeniable... the Left Hand's symbol appears- and a once thought obliterated institution was once again alive and well.

When the symbol of an open hand across a pentagram fades, a dark intimidating bust of a man is lit behind a single flame of a dying candle. The Baphomet speaks:

"High Stakes. What do these puppets of clay know of high stakes? Fish aimlessly swimming without cognition; purposelessness. Oh, what pleasure it must be to live as a fish- uncaring for the abyss everso present beneath them; always observing their mindless droning and clashing and fucking and serving no purpose other than shallow and temporary alleviation. This... is their existence.

To live, ignorantly, floating along the currents manipulated by unseen chasms; they fail to recognize their own selves; might serve better as undead, migrating within the herds of similar creatures of empty substance. Mindless creatures. Sheep.

And to what end is the life of a sheep if not inevitably to be sacrificed... ultimately slaughtered to serve the achievements of greater beings and yet... the audacity to define "High Stakes" when the very existence they have come to misunderstand is a distorted image of the light that was promised, but unfortunately for them, I am now here... on behalf of the dark.

And what, if anything, does someone like Champ Sportsman understand of the dark? Surely, not the same darkness that I call home... but home is where you lay your head, and now that the Circle Television Network has discovered and sponsored yet another house of lamb to feast upon, not even the athleticism of this open wound of a specimen will feel secure.

The XWF is not a wrestling organization... it's a pool from which I will seek out the vilest and violent to consume the weakest. The weak are a majority, but like sheep in a pasture, even a small minority of wolves will conquer them in time. I will find the wolves... the most violent of the XWF and I have a really good feeling about certain individuals that might not see the violence within themselves, but I have studied Alias and their unfettered nature... their willingness to sacrifice their own body; to suffer so their victim may suffer more through violence like no other in the XWF. This is something I will challenge... Alias is someone I will seek to join the shadows and raise their left hand in allegiance.

Another; Corey Smith; a history of violence... and another person I take great interest in. Being frozen and reanimated to serve a dark cult and assassinate those would go on to destroy the world- I share a similar history and for that reason, I believe Corey Smith will soon raise his left hand to do what he was born to do... affect this mortal world for God's will.

To those I have mentioned, you have been allowed to join me and rebuild the army that The High Society had nearly extinguished... Alias... Corey Smith... Ash Quinn... and Atara Themis. At High Stakes... if you raise your left hand to me and assist me in winning the battle royale, I will know you have chosen wisely. However, I will not keep the title as these mortal instruments of status are meaningless to me... instead, I will hand it to one of those who join me... Think clearly because your decision will matter for the rest of our time together in the XWF.

Now, If I didn't mention your name- that means I'm unimpressed. To me, you are sheep already ready to be slaughtered for the greater good but...

I will give you the opportunity to prove your nature is dark enough... I will work to conjure violence in each of you... but make sure your violence is greater than mine for if the darkness rejects you, your light will be snuffed from God's will and be forever tormented in this realm and the next.

You see, the sheep have never impressed me. I often wondered why but when I observed people like James Evans and Chronic Chris Page, the answer is transparent and obvious. They lack the conviction necessary to enact true change on this Earth. They are unspecial and unremarkable creatures of clay that when introduced to an opposing force will crumble with little resistance. They are the weak that will be consumed. Those alike, Bobby Bourbon, and the Goddess of Ganja, Geri Vayden... insignificant beings ripe for the Left Hand's harvest.

The army will be built on the backs of XWF's weakest and those in the XWF who resist the new era that is coming. For years, the world of professional wrestling served as a perfect microcosm of society's darkest natures all placed in one building for the Left Hand to recruit.. but then, something happened. They discovered our methods and those against us began eradicating wrestling companies to slow down our means of finding the most violent human beings on the planet, so, we relied on the prison system- and combat sports but it just wasn't fruitful enough, but now, in 2020, it's a new world and professional wrestling has found its way back- and those who stood against us have fallen. There is nobody to stop the Left Hand from regaining its position and influence now and this next chapter begins here at the XWF with the blood of Marf Swaysons, and Job Guy... those who are to be forsaken like Barney Green and Thaddeus Duke... we will be successful and soon, the XWF will be subdued as those before it.

So, measure your interpretation of High Stakes, XWF... because on November 29th your definition of it will change. You will know what is truly at stake and the sheep will drown in their own blood and the shadow will crawl over this organization to cast perpetual darkness and if you feel safe because you are on Savage... or Anarchy... because I am on Warfare... there is no light that the dark cannot snuff... and it's important that each and every one of you understand that I am here on behalf of the dark."

The Baphomet has said enough for now and with that, his gloved left hand fearlessly is brought to the burning candle and pinches the light away, leaving nothing but thick darkness before the video ends.

Once the recording has ended, he relights the candle so he can once again see, for the dramatic effect had done its job for the audience. The Baphomet doesn't watch the video after it ends, he simply removes the USB drive from the camera and drops it into a ziplock bag he had prepared on the same table as the candle.

He slides his gloved fingers across the top of the bag to seal it shut and lays it down, pulling a black sharpie from his pocket and removes the cap. He writes across the bag in big letters "HIGH STAKES PROMO" for the talking heads that would receive it, uncaring of whoever it might be in the XWF offices, and anticipates that once they observe his message he would automatically be dismissed and/or underestimated... this was his hope. The Baphomet knew human nature and knew that there would be those who would try to test his promises and that had always been his strength- they would, like all the others, realize how much their world would soon change once The Baphomet had decided it.

He stands from a chair and lifts the bag, tossing it in on top of the contents already packed in a suitcase open on the floor. Inside can be seen neatly folded clothing, a flip phone, and leather books that to the modern eye would seem like Halloween decorations but they weren't... these books were aged quite naturally, but any identification once on their covers had withered away long ago.

He takes one last look at what lies in his suitcase before closing the large lid and fastens both buckles to either side. He grabs the handle and stands up from a kneeling position to walk back to the candle, his only light source, and blows it out; Darkness.

There's a moment his heavy footsteps were the only sensible activity until a blinding light entered the darkness from the hotel room door he had opened; only a silhouette of the dark man with suitcase in hand occupied the space within the door's frame and in a moment, that too was gone.

He was gone from that hotel room and even though his footsteps became less and less audible, his presence will haunt that space as his energy lingers wherever he spends his time. A gravity that can't be explained like an intuitive and sensible spirit that you'd bet was still watching... still lurking, but unseen- almost as if the man could peel the air open and hide behind it.

It might be because of the mystique of his character, or his unspoken dominance that could only be understood by being in his very presence, but there was something supernatural about The Baphomet- something that nobody could put their finger on, but something dangerous and severe disguised under a human's skin... a creature void of empathy, a real-life monster, and his next prey was already decided... you. All of you.