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From Darkness to Light, and Back Again – Prologue Sunday, 25-Jun-2000 11:15:21
“They are among the blackest souls; a different sin has dragged them to the bottom.” A puddle of mud split into hundreds of tiny drops, colliding with his face, as his boot crushed downwards into the mud. The shirtless upper half of his body appeared completely brown, concealed by a layer of dripping muddy water. He’d been under deep meditation for nearly two weeks, and after finally being convinced by Grandar to sleep, he’d only been awoken by him, for unknown reasons, to run in the middle of the night, only to watch Grandar drive a sword into the dirt. He’d been half asleep that night, but enough awake to realize what had happened. But he still didn’t understand why… nor did he know where the answers resided. He didn’t even know where he was anymore. He’d tried to lose knowledge of the past… of his brothers, his mother… their wills and mentality, controlled completely by the dark side, but he couldn’t. It seemed like an impossible feat to accomplish, even now, with the skill he possessed. Their voices still spoke to him with a chilling tone, continuing to drive him deeper and deeper into the darkness that he was trying to escape from. Yet, every time the dark voices arose, a voice of “reason” arose alongside them, to quell them. The voice of his father. But that was quickly fading. Although the past with his brothers and mother continued to arise an unneeded times, the past he’d had with his father quickly faded, his voice seeming to have died under the loudness of the dark side that still possessed a half of him. Although at times, it seemed as if the darkness controlled him more than he was supposed to let it. The evidence that night showed that his father was still alive, but to what extent? The last time he’d seen his father, he was dying, his entire form shrouded in a bloody mess that had transformed from Blackstone to Azazel Gilkane. He knew not of his father’s location either, but he wasn’t sure if he cared to know anymore. It wasn’t that he hadn’t cared for his father, but it was more of a concern… if his father saw him, would he break down again, and lose the name of Azazel Gilkane, and once more become the darkness that had once ruled the galaxy… Blackstone? He didn’t know… but what he did know, is that all of the questions were driving him deeper and deeper into the ground, causing him to delve into a fiery hell, where only one thing existed in his mind and body… Hatred. _________________________________________________ “For here…one must leave behind all hesitation; here, every cowardice must meet its death.” A puddle of mud split into hundreds of tiny drops, colliding with his face, as his boot crushed downwards into the mud. The shirtless upper half of his body appeared completely brown, concealed by a layer of dripping muddy water. He’d been under deep meditation for nearly two weeks, and after finally being convinced by Grandar to sleep, he’d only been awoken by him, for unknown reasons, to run in the middle of the night, only to watch Grandar drive a sword into the dirt. He’d found out only later, that that had meant his father was alive. Tears of joy streamed down his face at that very moment. He wasn’t afraid to show his emotion anymore. Even so, the dark side still resided within him, still held a place in his heart, if such was possible. Anger had taken a hold on his mind every once in a while, but the new light that he’d allowed entrance to his mind would never allow it to take complete control of him, to drive him to do something he would eventually regret. Remembering that night hadn’t been hard. It wasn’t a night to forget… ever. He’d thought his father dead most of the time, but something always told him he would never die… his spirit, at least. Ever since he’d allowed the light side to hold a place within him, things had changed. His sanity remained for more than a day… he was able to remain calm… his mind could be at peace. That night, as he cried, heavy drops of rain pummeled his entire form… Grandar couldn’t see him cry, and being too caught up in his own actions, he couldn’t feel the immense amount of emotion pouring from Kedemel. But… his father… even if alive, had he returned to the darkness? Or had he found the path that he promised he would… the path of the light side… the path of redemption? Perhaps he would never know, but a voice inside of him… or perhaps the voice of his will… vowed to find out, and nothing would stop him. His current skill level wouldn’t allow him to know of his father… his location… nothing. But the sword.. and what Grandar had told him, allowed Kedemel to know that he was alive. One thing Kedemel did know, though… is that his father would never die, as the voice had said. His spirit… would never die. The legend of Azazel Gilkane… would never meet death. Kedemel Sorath Gilkane |