Swift,The Shadow's Vengeance
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Contents
Things to know about Swift
-He joined UNITY soon after coming to Millenium City,they provided him with a grav bike but he doesn't like using it too much.(too high tech and stuff)
-His allies include Sylvia,a soreceress he met here in the city and Deena,his assasin companion.They are the leaders of the supergroup Forbidden Shadows.
-He will usually not initiate a conversation when he goes to Caprice because of his extremly shy personality.
-He always carries his two katanas with him.You can never be two careful you know...
Powers and abilities
-Due to the Orb of Shadows he carries with him all the time,he is surrounded by the aura of an ancient dark avatar.It works like a predator instinct allowing him to sense organics around him,especially when he turns invisible.
-He is able to phase out of his human form for up to 5 seconds,during which his senses are at their best.He usually uses this to chase specific targets.
-He has a bit of magic knowledge although he can't summon Jeebus or bind Cthulhu to his will.
-Due to his aura being able to detect only organic beings,spirits,ghosts and all that stuff are not sensed by it,therefore he may be weak to paranormal powers.His aura can also be blocked by dense ammounts of pure magical energy.It messes his dark self up.
-In combat,the shadow avatar takes over half of his mind,which means Swift doesn't fight alone,he uses his ally most of the time.
History of Ophreas
It was twenty years ago on a normal day like you are probably enjoying right now that the fate of the great land of Ophreas started to change...and no one could have ever fathomed the coming cataclysm,events that were bound to lay waste over such a prosperous empire.
Ophreas was a land of pure democracy,a little slice of a paradise where magic,sorecers and martial arts came together in their dream to form an ever growing community away from the wars of the outer world...and the dream came true,just not as everyone expected...
Ophreas was ruled by a powerful king named Triyulas,the Edar Senate and the Council of the Three which was composed of three high ranked generals:Akylion,Bharas and Zartes.Decade after decade the king kept the peace within his land and he intended to do so for even more decades to come.
One day though,while the weather was harsh and the wind was turning trees into graceful dancers on an empty field,a courier caught in the coming storm got blown into a sewer entrance and decided to remain in there for when the storm ended.And so he did.After a while his impatience grew and he started exploring the sewers until he started hearing ground stomping noises coming from behind a wall.Curious and,with a storm brewing outside,he approached and after a second of hesitation he looked through a shattered part of the wall only to see what was to become the end of Ophreas...
The Great War of Ophreas starts
Elite armed 7 foot tall soldiers,all armed with blades and covered in metal armor were fighting against each other.The courier turned back quickly and set straight for the king's palace to deliver the news,storm or not.When he got there Triyulas laughed at him and did not believe what the courier said but at the man's further insistence,the king sent an assasin squad down the sewers to investigate.When they arrived the place was empty,no soldier,no samurai,no ninja...something was very strange.
When the squad reported in the king sent the courier home saying he should not invent such stories at his age...what the king did not know is that whatever was down there already put its plans into motion and it was now too late to act...
Three peaceful nights followed after the storm and people were happy although there was something strange in the air,it was almost as if things were awufuly quiet....definitely too quiet.
Then disaster stroke swiftly and quietly.The secret army that grew in numbers and force atacked overnight and destroyed half the capital and reports came from all over Ophreas,reports of destruction and losses.The king was devastated and broke down mentally.
The High Council quickly aimed to discover who was behind the atack and they found out it was the king's brother,Nephios.During the king's lifetime Nephios always seemed to want the power his brother held and so he grew a secret army he would one day use to take over the land....and he did.
He took over the Senate in the blink of an eye and dissasembled the Council of the Three in an instant.Akylion and Zertas swore loyalty to the new tyrant while Bharas vanished to later form a resistence group.
Nephios then came in front of the revolted crowd and presented himself telling everything about the imprisonment of the king and so the tyrant started an age of war in the once peaceful Ophreas,conquering more and more of the land with each passing moment...
A shadow comes to light
Deep within a forest at the edge of the capital of Karvas,Jonathan and his family tried to hide from the guards and Nephios's hunters that patroled the forests day and night.It was a hard life but the Ryarr family was prepared.Jonathan's mother was a trained assasin who was once part of a spy team for Triyulas and his father was a wise Blade&Shadow master.
During the day Swift used to explore the surroundings of his home while during the night he trained with his father gaining knowledge of his forbidden arts.
One night though,he heard footsteps patroling around his house and went to check it out only to discover that Nephios sent guards to find escapees that did not yet live under his tirany.The guards saw the assasin and launged for him when his father quickly appeared out of nowhere slicing their armors and blades alike and butchering them one by one.The fight was quick and Jonathan and his wise master returned home without knowing that a spy already returned to Nephios to report the vague events.
When the tyrant found out about the assasin duo,he took his,now,most trusted general with him,Akylion and set for the hidden home in pursuit of gaining the Ryarr assasin family on his side for they were not just mere assasins.
Back within the forest,suspecting that Nephios might have already found them,the boy's father told them they had to move immediately to a new location and so they packed up everything and set straight for an abandoned shack in the north of Karvas.
The Night of the Lonely
AT their arrival things were peaceful.No guards,no Nephios,no danger at first sight.The boy and his father kept their training schedule while his mother hunted half abandoned markets for a source of food.
Days and days of constant fights with his master made the young assasin stronger by the minute.But somehow he felt it was not enough.Normal days followed after their move and then one night,when his family was sleeping,Jonathan went out to explore their new location as he loved exploring.Seeing himself at the bottom of a mountain that most likely appeared out of nowhere,he started cutting through the dense vines and found himself in front of what appeared to be a huge wooden door built in the base of a mountain.After a moment of hesitation,he attempted to open the door when he felt his mind overwhelmed by a thought of a whispering voice:"The shadow is not ready...pain of loss...it has to feel...not until the sun downs will it be able to survive..."
Back home after the strange event,he returned only to find that his house was devastated.Nephios and his general,Akylion were waiting in front of the door while his father and his mother fought through the waves of soliders the evil tyrant was sending endlessly.In the end,the young assasin's heart was overtaken by rage as both his parents perished in their endless fight.
Jumping out and dashing from behind a bush,he sliced all the remaining soldiers and set right for Nephios,cutting through Akylion's defenses and going straight for the tyrant wrapping his blades around his neck ready to strike....but he didn't.Jonathan was not a merciless soul so he could not finish the War in this opportunity he had even though Nephios clearly underestimated how his plans would go.
The boy kicked Nephios off his feet and vanished into the night alone...
The Master and the Temple
Wandering alone for days and nights,hiding from hunters,running from wild beasts,Jonathan was lost.In a moment of silence,he felt his mind once again overtaken by a thought of the same whispering voice he heard back at the mountain base:"Yes...it's time,the boy is ready." It was as if two people were talking and their conversation echoed in the boy's mind.
Needless to say,Jonathan returned quickly to the hidden door he found that dreadful night and attempted to open it again.In a clash of stone and an awufuly loud sound,the door opened and the assasin entered.
Inside he was amazed of what he found:assasins were jumping around tall pylons,some fighting on the second floors of what appeared to be a whole wooden temple hidden inside the mountain.
After some seconds,a figure of an old man came to the boy as if he knew he would come to him.It was the temple's master who explained to the boy that he was to become a great assasin one day...
For days,the old man trained the boy in the arts of the blade until each dawn when Jonathan and other assasins gathered together around a campfire sharing their own stories.
"Have you heard about what happened to Skarn?",said one sitting on the opposite side of the campfire.
"No,but I've heard he beat a whole battalion of guards last night.",replied another.
"Hah,really?I thought the guy would never be good enough for something like that."
As the guys got lost in their conversation a girl approached Jonathan.
"What about you?How did you get here?"
The assasins looked at her for a moment then remembered how his parents died fighting bravely Npehios and his guards.After a moment of paralyze he simply replied...
"I..."
"Hehe,it's okay! You don't have to tell me.I'm Deena by the way.I am impressed by your skill.My father said that all the Blade&Shadow users died long ago,even before Nephios came to power."
"Oh...who is your father?,asked the boy intrigued.
The girl pointed to the old master who was looking at them sleepily and giggled.
"The master is my father but don't take it too serious,he is a really nice old man.He built this temple and assembled what you see now here.We are the League of Shadows and our goal is to rid this land of Nephios's existence.It's nice to meet you,Jonathan."
After long stories and laughs,the night ended and everyone went to sleep.The next day the master took the boy under his extreme guidance and intesified his training.He wandered why the old man was going so hard on him but he knew better than to ask as he believed he got there for a reason...
A shadow awakens
It was a sunny day of December and soft snow covered the outskirts and the forests of Ophreas.Inside the temple,the young assasin and his master kept dueling.The old man said the boy was now ready for his final tests and Jonathan seemed surprised by the man's ssaying as he had no idea what he was talking about.But then the man came to him.
"Have you ever wondered why you couldn't enter this temple in the first place?Or why I brought you here now?"
"Can't say I have not.But I take it you will clarify it all now?"
"Listen...Jonathan.You are no mere assasin nor ninja nor just a mere fighter.Your father was long ago my student and when he died I knew I had to train you to become the next avatar of the shadow.It is a huge burden but a very rewarding one too.You are the last one left in Ophreas with knowledge of the forbidden arts and so you are destined for this."
The old man handed to Jonathan a piece of paper with a piece of a map and smiled.
"You are ready to take your final test but the outcome of it will not be decided by me but by yourself.Go to this location and you will find answers."
And the assasin departed during the following night.Travelling all around Ophreas to find the hidden location,he felt closer to his destination by the minute.It was a temple in the middle of a bamboo forest.
Surrounded by statues of wise long-dead assasins and rocks inscribed with ancient symbols,the boy made his way through the door and found himself at the start of a seemingly never-ending corridor fogged by a dense mist.
Making his way further inside the temple,memories of ancient techniques flooded his mind more and more as he kept going.His head was hurting more and more but he could not let this stop him.
All of a sudden,in a moment of utter insanity,the fog dissipated and the pain went away followed by a whispering voice:
"Could it be...?"
"Who's there? Why do I keep hearing voices? Tell me why am I here!?",yelled the boy.
"Please...proceed..."
A door materialized at the ending of the corridor and Jonathan entered.After the darkness inside vanished he saw everything clearly.It was a room with four pylons with spectral shards on each of them.In the middle sat an empty pedestal with a craving in which a small orb seemingly could fit.
The voice whispered then again:
"Finish the four tests,get the shards and if you are worthy,the orb will assemble.Then you will know everything you have to know."
So he approached each orb in turn,only to find himself in four different places with a huge rock soldier holding a runic katana in front of him.He understood he had to destroy each guardian to claim the four shards...and so he did.After hours of fighting,he was returned to the temple room where the shards were not materialized and touchable.He took each of them and made his way to the pedestal.
A moment of emptiness and a feeling of cold followed before the four shards came together as one forming a small purple glowing orb.Long-gone memories took once again over the young assasin's mind flooding it with ancient techniques he did not know they existed.
He understood then that he was to become the new avatar of the shadows,The Shadow's Vengeance.A dark aura surrounded him for a moment and two katanas inscribed with runes appeared out of nowhere on the pedestal.He took them and felt instantly stronger as he felt like a new persona took place inside his mind.It was almost as if a dark self covered now half of his soul.
Once he understood that he was now responsible for keeping the forbidden arts alive,he made his way out of the temple and set foot for the old master's temple once again.
Saving Deena
Back to the temple,the master was waiting Jonathan sat on a chair in a corner watching other students fight.The boy approached him and told him everything about his journey.After all that the master's facial expression did not seem to change as he told Jonathan how his daughter was kidnapped the same night he left for his journey by a group of Zertas's soldiers while she was investigating the movements of local soldiers.At the hearing of all that,the boy felt responsible for the master's sayings and knowing he would not be able to withstand another loss so he decided to go look for the girl alone.
So the night came once again and he set straight for Zertas's Council Chambers.
Carving his way through the patrolling guards,executing them one by one with his newly aquired powers,he found himself at the entrance of the High Council building.Entering with no hesitation whatsoever,he sliced through all the guards,sound of steel clashing and shadows vanishing accompanying the assasin's graceful movements filled the building with panick.
Once he finished every standing guard,he raged his way to Zertas's chambers,sliced the handle off the door and kicked them open.In one corner the girl sat shackled with her mouth covered while the general,sat at his desk,quickly turned around to see the angry assasin come for him.What the boy did not know is that Zertas was not a high general for no reason,he was a powerful warlock.
So a fight started.Sounds of flying steel and dark lightning hitting the floor filled the room with an air of rage and anger.In the end the swift assasin turned into a shadow dashing right through Zertas's heart paralyzing the general.He quickly then turned to the girl,helped her untangle and made their way out the building through a ventilation shaft.
Arriving back to the temple,the daughter thanked the boy for saving her but things were now way to deeply damaged for Jonathan or Deena to ever be able to live in Ophreas peacefully again,concealed in shadows or not...
Escaping Karvas
After finding out what happened to one of his most trusted generals,Nephios went into a rage and sent his most powerful soldiers to find the assasin and the girl.Days of torture and public assasinations followed and the tyrant grew more impatient by the second.
At the temple the master gathered Jonathan and Deena together with a team of his most talented assasins.
"Listen to me assasins...This is hard for me to say but you are no longer safe to remain in this land.The League of Shadows cannot afford to lose its most powerful warriors so I decided what is the best course of action."
In a moment of slight confusion the girl rushed and said on a loud tone.
"After all we did here your best course of action is to exile us?How can you say that is for the better of the League?"
"You shall return once all your traces are erased and when the time is right...you will strike swiftly and deadly.Nephios will not stand assasins,fear not for I have not brought you all here all these years to give up.",replies the master giving a charming wink for an old man.
"Before you go..."
He turns his attention to the boy and says produly:
"Since you were born you did everything so quickly and since your father died you advanced through all my tests so swiftly...I shall name you Swift from now on,you will be the Shadow's Vengeance.You have to protect the Obr of Shadows at all costs.In time you will understand more about it,fear not."
Then,turning his attention to Deena he says kindly to her:
"My dear daughter,you've always made me and the League proud and you seem to make a great pair with the boy...From now on,I will name you Deena,Caller of the Choosen."
The girl gave a shrug and hugged her father.
"Go now assasins,go swiflty and let none stop you,one day you will return and save us all.",said the master giving a warm smile as he retreated into a room within the temple.
Without hesitation the assasins followed the orders,made their way easily through the main gate of Karvas and within hours they found themselves in the middle of an empty field...
Millenium City,A new beginning
Days were passing by and the assasins who accompanied Deena and Swift were all gone and settled in homes they made for themselves while the two young assasins kept looking.As they kept going,the world kept changing around them,as if it went from the traditional wooden pylons of the great Ophreas to simple highways and modern buildings.Everything looked scary to them.
Finding themselves at the entrance of a huge city graced by tall skyscrapers in the middle,the two youngsters made their way through it,immediately meeting with enemies like thieves and armed men wearing purple suits or green and yellow soldiers wielding strange guns,dashing through the confusing crowds as they approached the Rennaisance Center,where they were quickly seen by a man in metal armor surrounded by heroes who called himself Defender.He quickly then directed them to Witchcraft who could potentially help them establish a home in the city.
Some days followed after that and the assasins tried to get used to their new surrounding.The two assasins both rented rooms in a hotel in Downtown and started looking for allies for their upcoming adventures.
After some time spent in his new home,Swift saw the pain the people of MC went through after hearing stories of the battle for Detroit and,remembering what happened to his own homeland,he decided to do something to help them so after consulting with Witchcraft,he decided to join the organisation called UNITY.They accepted him quickly and provided him with a grav bike which he scratched a few times because of his lack of knowledge about all the high tech stuff people used outside of Ophreas.
Regardless,the assasin now became a defender of the people in this new magnificient city and is now trying to make a living until the time to return to Ophreas comes.
