Hush, child
The darkness will rise from the deep
And carry you down into sleep
Child, the darkness will rise from the deep
And carry you down into sleep

 

 

Many moons ago, somewhere far away in Ancient Korea, was a tiny cottage in the woods. Inside the humble home sat a young mother in a rocking chair, cradling her tiny son in her arms. She gently kissed her baby and spoke soothing words to her child as the babe began to cry and squirm uncomfortably, his cries growing louder and his kicking even more persistent.

 

"Shhh~... Sleep, my child~... Let the darkness embrace you~...", the woman whispered as she fondly her son's head.

 

She began to sing him a strange, haunting lullaby that sooned calmed the infant and carried him to the shores of a dark dreamland where the spirits of the dark and mystical beings embraced him with welcoming arms. Placing him in a makeshift cradle of reeds with magical charms decorating its edges, she stared out the window at the pale blue moon and her eyes burned with a fire of pure hatred...

 

 

---

 

Guileless son, I'll shape your belief
And you'll always know that your father's a thief
And you won't understand the cause of your grief
But you'll always follow the voices beneath
(Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty only to me~...)

Guileless son, your spirit will hate her -
The flower who married my brother, the traitor -
And you will expose his puppeteer behaviour
For you are the proof of how he betrayed her loyalty
(Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty only to me~...)

Hush, child
The darkness will rise from the deep
And carry you down into sleep
Child, the darkness will rise from the deep
And carry you down into sleep

 

 

"Mother, who is my Father?"

 

The woman looked at her thirteen-year-old son, now named Tao, and sat on the old rocking chair. She said nothing, but stared at the youth. He had grown so much now and bore such a striking resemblance to his father - the same auburn hair and golden eyes with a lean, yet masculine, figure.

 

"Who is my Father?", he reiterated his question. "I'm 13 now and I think I deserve to know about my birth.", his golden eyes burned with curiosity.

 

She gazed sadly at her son and buried her face in her hands. Tao, sensing his mother's distress about the question, hurried to her side and knelt by her feet. He touched her pale hand gently and she removed her hands, revealing tears.

 

"My son, what I am about to tell you is the truth about your father and how he left us. Are you sure you want to know?", she asked seriously.

 

Tao nodded firmly as his own eyes stared back into his mother's eyes seriously and she began her tale...

 

*****

 

"Your father and I were of royal blood and we ruled a kingdom - Evanesce - together as brother and sister. It was into the third year of our reign when we both realized our feelings for each other. Even though we both knew our love was forbidden, it could not be helped - we were hopelessly infatuated with each other. I gave my body and my soul to him entirely because I loved him so much."

"But I should have known it was too good to last forever. We had barely gotten together for ten moons when a visiting princess from another country came to pay her respects to us. The minute she stepped in, I could tell by the look on my brother's face that he was smitten by her.

 

 

"I felt jealous. Was I suddenly to be cast aside and forgotten by the one I loved? Was this newcomer prettier than I? Was she another enchantress who had somehow cast her spell upon my brother to make him fall head over heels for her?"

"I spied on my brother when he began to pay more attention to the visiting princess more than I. I noticed the way he spoke when he was talking to her - it reminded me of when we confessed our love for each other. It started with gentle words to subtle carresses until I finally caught them kissing."

"Angry with his betrayal, I stormed towards them and confronted the both of them, but my brother summoned the guards to me out of the palace after claiming that I had gone mad and wanted to murder them both so that I could seize the throne and gain power."

"But before I was banished, I placed a curse upon his head: Traitor with a silver tongue, heed my words and beware: a boy in the form of a wolf shall be borne to avenge his mother dear with your blood upon his hands. Though she will be avenged and her anger quenched, she will weep for her son for he would have to pay for her cause with his life."

 

*****

 

"That boy is me, isn't it?", Tao asked after a moment of silence.

 

"Yes. After I made that vow, your father became afraid. Soon after he wed that woman, he ordered that every baby boy in the kingdom be killed to prevent the prophecy from coming true. But at that time, nobody knew that I was carrying a child - you, my son. Your father had no idea and if he ever heard of it, he would have us killed in cold blood. So I escaped into the forest, bore you and raised you up alone all these years. Only when the time was right would I tell you everything, but now you know.", his mother nodded as she fondly patted Tao's hair.

 

Tao felt a powerful hatred burn within him and stood up, a fierce determination blazing from the deepest depths of his soul and coursing throughout his entire body like a raging fire, filling him with unspeakable power.

 

"I will avenge you, Mother. I will fulfill the prophecy and slay this traitorous worm, even it costs me my life.", Tao swore as he gripped his mother's hand.

 

As Tao stared into his mother's eyes, she could see her vengeance taking its roots in her son's very soul and being, consuming him entirely...

 

 

~Eight years later...~

 

Tao, now 21, was practicing hard as usual against a wooden practice dummy with his enchanted sword Vindicta. Forged from vengeance, melted with rage and intertwined with hatred, the mystical sword was a powerful weapon to wield.

 

 

Tao could feel the rage pounding in his bones and sweeping throughout his entire being as he savagely attacked the practice dummy, imagining that it was his father. As he practiced, his mind swirled with questions.

 

How could his father be so heartless?

 

How could he lie about his mother?

 

How dare his father betray his mother like that!

 

In his rage, he violently stabbed the dummy and swiftly decapitated it, breathing heavily and furiously. He slowly stared up at his mother who had been silently mentoring his fighting skills.

 

 

She never seemed to age at all; she looked just as beautiful as she did when he was but a newborn babe. It still amazed him even to this day.

 

"Your skills have greatly improved since we first started, my son. I believe you are ready.", she spoke softly.

 

Tao didn't know whether he was imagining it, but it looked like his mother was about to cry and he knew the reason for her tears - he was about to perish along with his father. Even though he would not be seeing his beloved mother again, he was ready to sacrifice himself to avenge his dear mother. He gently hugged his mother and looked at her, his eyes tender and loving, as he wiped away his mother's tears.

 

"I'm going to miss you, my son.", the young woman wept as she held her son's hands gently.

 

"I'll miss you too, Mother. But I'm willing to die for you and we will be reunited one day.", Tao smiled lovingly even though his own eyes brimmed with tears as well.

 

With that, Tao hugged his mother for the last time, breathing in her scent - the fresh smell of pine trees and dew laced with the scent of wild flowers. With that, he picked up his sword and disappeared into the woods, a single tear escaping his mother's eye...

 

 

---

 

Guileless son, each day you grow older
Each moment, I'm watching my vengeance unfold
For the child of my body,
The flesh of my soul,
Will die in returning the birthright he stole

Hush, child
The darkness will rise from the deep
And carry you down into sleep
Child, the darkness will rise from the deep
And carry you down into sleep

 

His grip tight on Vindicta, Tao took a deep breath and broke into a dash, his body lowering and shifting into a streamline auburn wolf. The wind howled in his ears and snow began to fall upon the land, but Tao just kept on heading towards the castle.

As he bounded through the village, its inhabitants scattered in fear and there were terrified cries of "A wolf! A wolf!" resounding from the village. From the palace, the king hurried over to the main balcony and peered over the edge and saw the approaching wolf. His features stiffened and a single word left his lips: "Sister..."

Meanwhile down below, Tao reached the palace gates, but was stopped by the guards in the front. Bringing out Vindicta, Tao fought his way through the palace guards and made his way to the royal chambers where he found the queen. The poor woman, seeing a young sword-wielding stranger, screamed for help, but Tao was swiftly upon her and struck her down with Vindicta.

 

Suddenly, the doors flew open and the king stood there, wielding his own mighty sword. His gaze fell upon the dead body of his wife and he gave an anguished cry as he rushed over to her bloodied form, cradling her limp head in his arms. An oily shadow cast itself over him and the king stared up into Tao's golden eyes that pierced into his soul sharply.

 

"Hello, Father.", Tao spat the words out venomously.

 

The king stood up slowly, his fist clenching around his own sword, and Tao could see himself in this man - the same auburn hair and striking golden eyes. As the male's features twisted with rage, Tao could see his true form...

"You... You look so much like her...and...I... It can't be...", the man breathed heavily.

 

"I am here to avenge my mother whom you have wrongfully accused and betrayed. Let my face be your last sight.", Tao growled as he gripped Vindicta tightly.

 

"So be it. And let my sword's blade through your chest be the last thing you feel.", the king snarled as he unsheathed his sword.

 

The two men circled each other slowly, their cruel swords long and drawn as the pale moonlight glinted off each blade with a wicked gleam. Their souls were burning with a powerful fire of vengeance and hatred seeped from the very core of their soul.

Suddenly, they leapt at one another and their swords met in mid-air with a terrible slash and sparks from their blades meeting. When they both landed on the ground, all was silent until the king fell to his knees and then slumped to the ground, blood rapidly pooling beneath his limp body - he was dead.

Tao stared at the body with cold eyes until he realized that the handle of the king's sword was run deep into his chest until the hilt - he had been mortally wounded.

With so much as a grimace, Tao held the handle of the sword and slowly started to pull the weapon out of his chest, a slick wet sound followed by a warm gush of red spilling from his chest reaching his ears. Falling to the ground, Tao turned his gaze to the dark sky where the blue pale moon still hung high in the air, its glow falling onto him.

Raising a bloodied hand up weakly to the sky, Tao swore that he could see his mother's soul reaching down towards him with a gentle smile on her lips as she reached out to him with open arms. He grasped his mother's hand and allowed himself to be overcome by the darkness that carried him to the shores that embraced him as an infant, his soul disappearing for eternity into the dark unknowns of the spirit realm...