The Struggles of Johnathon Prowyll

[Rahvin]

The Struggles of Johnathon Prowyll


Chapter 1: A One-Sided Deal

The boy knew that this day was going to go horribly wrong. He couldn’t tell why, but there was a feeling in the air. A sense of danger, and even fear. He couldn’t tell if it was his or someone else’s.

As he was walking home from what he thought was just an ordinary day of being bullied at school, he heard a strange cry, like a bird.

"Ehh, it's probably just another crow." he thought.

As he turned around to see where the cry came from, he saw a black bird flying full tilt at him. He quickly ducked and the bird just missed his head. As he looked up in confusion, a gold-lined black feather floated past his face.

He caught it in his hand, and as he did so, he remembered what his father used to tell him. He would say that feathers like that were a warning, and sometimes prophetic. He had caught a feather that seemed identical to the one in his hand the day of the accident that killed his father.

As soon as he made the connection, he started running as fast as he could to get home, his strong track-and-field legs churning underneath him. The ground was blurring beneath him with the speed, and before he knew it, he was home.

In his panic-filled adrenaline rush, he noticed everything around him.

There were two strange black cars outside of his house, as well as his mothers Kia. To him, they looked like Mustangs, but he wasn't sure. There were four men standing outside of his door, and as he looked closer, he realized that one had a gun and the other three had swords. In his panic, he barely realized the strangeness of the fact that three men outside his house had swords in their hands. They didn't even try and hide the fact. They were facing the door on the side of the house so the boy couldn't see their faces clearly, but he thought he saw a strange light in their eyes.

He suddenly and decisively chose to slip around behind his house and grab the steel baseball bat he knew would be leaning on his shed.

In the backyard of his house, he saw the strange bird again, but instead of attacking him, it started to glow a pale black. It was as though the bird was absorbing the light around it, and when there was a huge cloud of seemingly nothingness around the bird, the cloud suddenly disappeared. In the birds place stood what appeared to be a woman, but he knew that there was so much more to her.

"Hello, Prowyll." she said in a harsh voice. "You look like your father."

He was so stunned he could barely speak but he managed to stammer "Y-you knew my dad?"

The woman's laugh was cruel. "Why, I was there the day he died! Don't you remember me?"

"You're the same... Thing?"

"I am no simple bird." she said with a smile. "I am of the Badb. We are harbingers of death. The Valkyriai. An ancient order of death-dealers. Those you must have seen by your door are my brothers in arms. We haven't come for you, but we know what you're capable of. I'm here to keep you from interfering."

"What? Are you going to kill my mom?” He paused. “What do you mean 'what I'm capable of'?"

"Oh you naïve child! You don't know what you are? Let me... Show you."

As he watched the woman, she began to change. He could see her very essence seem to change until her skin took on the dull colour of old marble. She slowly grew wings of darkest black, with each feather lined in gold. Before his very eyes it seemed as though she grew armour, yet he knew that was wrong.

Her armour was golden and shining brightly. It appeared to absorb the very sunlight and use it as a dazzling weapon.

"Look now upon Death, the headmaster of the order of the Valkyriai."

"D-Death?!"

"Why yes Child. I am Death." she said with a cruel smile. "The embodiment of our patron goddess Crowe, the Goddess of War and Death. You should count yourself lucky that it was I that found you, instead of one of the Morrígna. They're cruel and ruthless, and would kill you without a second thought."

"But.. Why are you here? What have we done to you?"

"Not what you have done. What you will do."

"But what is that?" the boy called Prowyll asked in the strongest voice he could.

Death's smile became less cruel, and more rueful. "I can't tell you. My mistress would kill me. Or worse."

"What could be worse than death?"

"Watching all those you care for die and be unable to do anything. Immortality isn't the gift it seems to be. And it can be taken as easily as it is given."

"But what does this have to do with my mom?"

"I suppose I can tell you as much. She was to be your teacher. She was to teach you the art of God-slaying. None know it better than her, for she killed the Hunter."

"The Hunter?"

“I forgot, you humans do not know of our pantheon. Adaemas, the Hunter, is one of the Elder Gods. The first born of Gaia’s seed.."

“But if my mom can do that... Is it possible... That I can do the same?"

"Boy, she is many things, but not your mother. Not even our top intelligence operatives know who your mother is. It's as though you were not born, but simply created. As a child would create a sand castle."

"Can... Can you please spare her? Whoever she is, she was good to me. I never needed to ask twice for anything, and she's all I have.."

"Let's make a deal. If I order the other Valkyriai to spare her, you join our order. Think hard, for it won't be easy."

He thought for a few moments, before deciding. "I'll do it." he said finally.

"Good. Now let us inform my associates of our arrangement."

As they approached the door, side by side, the Valkyrie with the gun turned smoothly towards them, as though he’d been expecting them, with a smile on his face.

"So I see you got through to the boy, good."

"But not without its costs. We must spare the woman."

"What?!" the Valkyrie exploded. "This was not in the plan, Master."

"I know it wasn't, but I also know what it would take to bring that creature down. It wouldn't be worth it. You know she killed the Hunter. How would five of the Valkyriai, even being the best, bring her down? The Hunter was an almost unstoppable warrior."

"Hmm... I suppose you're right, Death." He turned to the boy and extended his hand. "My name is Jakaran, some people call me Jack, but you can just call me Captain."

"Hello Captain, I'm Johnathon. Johnathon Prowyll" he said taking the man's hand.

“We know,” Jack gestured to the others. "These are Ronaldus, Henrien, and Austaric."

They all nodded their heads in acknowledgment.

"We cannot stay here in case the woman wakes up." Death said.

"She has a point Captain." Austaric said.

“Well if she has a point, what are you three doing standing there? Let’s go!”

As Death lead Johnathon to the car, they heard a shrill screech.

“Captain, it appears the beast has awoken,” Henrien said in an eerily calm voice.



Chapter 2: A Violent Encounter

Ronaldus was the first to die.

The whole wall exploded outwards in a burst of fire and ash. The heat was so intense that it was obvious that nothing natural could have caused it.

Standing in the wake of the explosion, was the woman he had known to be his mother all of his life. He thought he knew her, but what he saw happen made him realise just how little he knew her. What he saw only had the face of his mother. The figure was standing there, in armour of the deepest red. Within an open helmet on her head, framing her once beautiful face, he saw the truest aspect pure rage. In her right hand was a sword of purest gold, and in her left, a shield of blackest night. Her once blue eyes, now turned red, belonged perfectly in the contorted visage that he saw before him.

With another harsh screech, she launched herself towards Ronaldus. As she swung her sword in eerily graceful arcs, he was struggling to parry her blows. He was visibly struggling with every movement, and Johnathon knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. As soon as the woman focused enough to notice his inability to fight on, she swung her shield and smashed his sword arm. As he staggered back, she finished him off with a disgustingly graceful sweep of her sword, taking his head clean off.
Bellowing her all consuming fury, she looked Johnathon dead in the eye, and spoke a single word.

“Arcturis”

With that one seemingly simple word, Johnathon’s body heat dropped to that of the dead. He fell to the ground in a heap, as Jack, Henrien, and Austaric turned towards the raging creature he once knew as his mother.

With a harsh cry, she started to back away from the trio. As she backed away, leathery wings erupted from her back. Her body became lightly dusted with frost and her movement slowed.

The three Valkyriai advanced on the slowing woman-thing, and as they advanced she started to weep.

A sound of such despair would have stopped a normal man in his tracks, would have made him run for his sanity. But not these merciless creatures. When the woman-thing realised that her weeping was not affecting them, she stopped instantly and charged once more. With a cry like lightning, winds swept through the area. Winds not seen since the time before time. Winds not heard since man first took breath. Winds not felt since the Elder Gods created the world.

The winds buffeted the warriors, all but throwing them off their feet. The howling woman was unaffected. The charge slowed until the woman-thing was unmoving. The look on her face slowly went from twisted rage to slow realisation. The howling stopped abruptly. The winds slowed to a cool breeze. The battle was over. They had won.

But she was still alive and still very angry.

Slowly Johnathon stood up with the help of Death. It still felt strange to think that Death was a woman. He had always pictured Death as a skeletal man in a black robe wielding a scythe.

As Death helped him stand, she looked at Johnathon with an unreadable face.

Moving towards the form of his once mother, he looked closely. She was frozen solid.

“What.. What happened?” the boy stammered.

“Honestly,” the Crow Woman replied, “I am unsure. It appears though, that you defeated the God-Killer.”

“Excuse me ma’am, but I think I’ve read about this kind of thing happening before.” Austaric said.

“You have?” Death inquired.

“Yes. It was one of the ancient tales of heroes. A Lord of Hell had casted a spell on him, and it seemed to have taken effect, when all of the sudden the spell reflected at the Lord, but seemed more powerful than it should have been.”

“What exactly do you mean, Austaric?” the young man asked.

“Well, it’s exactly how it sounds.” the warrior said. “It seems to me that you might have that same ability. You also sort of look like the hero did. But it took some time… I wonder.”

After a short pause, Johnathon was getting somewhat annoyed.

“Well? What do you wonder?” he almost shouted.

“I just though.. Maybe you could be descended from him.”

“But Death said that I was just created, not actually born.”

“Well, to be totally honest, that was just a way of putting it. I see now that it must have confused you. I apologize.” the woman muttered, looking embarrassed.

“Guys, I don’t suppose you forgot about the raging demon behind us, right?” Jack said.

“Oh, right!” the Crow said. “I suppose we should deal with her.”

“But… Death. You agreed not to kill her!” Johnathon reminded her.

“I know, but that was before she took the life of one of my comrades. She must pay for this.”

“Whatever.” the boy said. “I’ll wait in the car. Just get it over with.”

And with that, Johnathon stalked back to the car, when he heard a familiar voice in his head.

“Johnathon, you must let them do their job. They’re right. But whatever you do, do not trust the Krens.”

And just like that, his father left him again.

Chapter Three: A New Life

Death had noticed the young man stop for a moment, before continuing to enter the car. For a second, she thought she saw a tear in his eye.

“Well boys, it’s time to do our job.” She whispered.

As Death approached the woman who was frozen in ice, a scowl formed on her face. Thoughts of death and vengeance flooded her mind, and within a moment she was overtaken by wrath and hatred.

“You foul creature. This is the last day you see this world. This is the day we take vengeance for the innocent lives you’ve taken. We will take vengeance for the Gods you have killed, and for our friends you have stolen from us.”

Death bent to pick up Ronaldus’s fallen sword. It was truly beautiful. It had Celtic patterns engraved upon the black blade, and golden scroll-work on the hilt.

As she raised the blade, poised to strike, she realised the pain her comrades have been put through, and decided that they deserved this more than she did..

“Jack, you were his captain.” She said, lowering the sword. “You should be the one to do this.”

“I suppose you’re right.” He whispered, taking the blade from Death.

For minutes, Jack released all of his frustration and hate upon the now unmoving, unseeing mass of flesh and blood. Bringing the sword down for one final wet slash, he collapsed into the arms of Henrien.

“Boss, that’s enough. We need to go.” His team mate said, his voice full of concern.

“I know. It’s just.. It’s so hard.” He said as he started to weep for all of his friends who were taken by this woman’s sword.

The four who remained returned to the car in silence. Johnathon, who had been unable to not watch the scene unfold, was deeply saddened, not only by the death of his mother, but also by the show of emotion from the man he had assumed was stable.

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This is all I have so far. Please comment what you think. All suggestions will be taken into account! Thanks for reading ^_^