So, dear reader, ...
... may I interest you in a family tale.
Tis quite tragic, truly.
Hmmm?
Jake?
Nay.
These have little to naught to do with him.
Hmmm?
Taking long?
Well... are you not having fun?
Pish posh.
In any case, ...
.. the family of which I speak, is the family Darlington.
Hmm?
Does it ring a bell?
Well.. perhaps a refresher is required.
Do you recall a shinobi by the name of Thorton Hessenger, murdering a poor defenceless maiden?
Quite gruesome, I would say.
He simply snapped her neck.
Almost as though a twig.
Hmmm?
Do you remember?
Hmmm.. Excellent.
For in order for this tragic family story to be told, you, the dear reader must know of the family Darlington.
And also, the man by the name of Wallace Darlington.
Voice: Abigail...
Amidst the burning houses...
Name: Wallace Darlington
Age: 47
Description: Large, muscular, oraneg haired man
Occupation: Knight, hunter, patrol, rank C
Weapon of choice: Spear
Threat level: C
Fact: He, sadly, has just lost his daughter.
... lay a man and his compatriot.
Voice: Sir Wallace...
Name: Dwight Fettersquare
Age: 35
Description: Muscular, bearded
Occupation: Knight, city guard, rank C-
Weapon of choice: Short sword
Threat level: C-
Fact: While he be a knight, he does indeed find himself mixing drinks by and by the bartender. Therefore, the pair remained great friends
Truly, a father's love is not something to be under stated.
Even while looking upon her burnt corpse...
Yes...
This man could tell...
Without a shadow of a doubt
That woman with a twisted neck was indeed his daughter...
And as for his heart, truly, was a definitilely horrible pain wrought within it
The pain of loss
The pain of regret
Mayhaps had he been there...
Mayhaps had this somehow been averted
Yes
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In this situation...
This man would be able to return home to his daughter.
But, for now... nay.
Nay.
It was impossible.
Truly, I say unto you brothers...
Die not under tribulation.
Such is the way of men
As for this man
Wallace: Abigail....
He wiped the flames off of her body, one by one, before tenderly carrying her corpse in his arms.
The scent of burning flesh did indeed write a pain into his heart
Almost as though a painful reminder of the fact that she was dead.
Truly, I say unto you, truly...
What a man feels... when his pride has been taken from him.
His daughter.
His child...
His offspring...
His...
Something in whom he put his pride
Nay.
Someone in whom he put his pride.
His daughter
And that had been taken from him.
Yes. Indeed dear reader.
Love is truly a terrifying thing.
However, I do believe you are aware of where I am going with this.
Yes.
You simply must be...
For, several moments later....
Thorton: Hahahaahaha
... the man by the name of Thorton Hessneger was simply cutting dowm people, one by one, slaughtering them left and right.
Jason: Burn...
Meanwhile, Jason took a far less... "on hand" approach, simply burning them with his fire spells.
Thorton: This brings much fun, brother!
Yes, even amidst the screams of the suffering... this man would rejoice.
Jason: Yes, yes. Calm down you twit.
Thorton: Yes, sir!
For truly, Thorton was having much fun indeed.
The ability to slaughter many without a second thought.
Widowing, orphaning, and even ending bloodlines.
Why... tis such a strange thing that happens when you end a man's life
One could even say that much happens right after.
However, moving on... mere moments later.
Thorton: The children flee. Brother, let us...
However, before he could continue his speech
Yes, indeed.
He heard it loud and clear
Footsteps
Heavy and laboured?
No.
But... quite heavy?
What's more?
They, were headed in their direction
The pair of Hessengers turned to face the direction of this sound
Yes.
These men could hear that clearly even amidst the screams and the sound of burning
Yes indeed
Heavy footsteps
Heavy footsteps that made no intention of hiding their location
Truly... could only be one thing...
A knight
But... nay,
Twas two.
Wallace Darlington and Dwight Fettersquare
Thorton: Tch... Knights
The pair of shinobi simply watched the pair of knights approach from the distance
Neither one moved
Nay, there they both stayed
Soon after, it became quiet clear that one of the knights, the larger one to be certain, was carrying something
And as the pair of shinobi narrowed their eyes to get a closer look...
.. it soon became clearer to them
A dead woman
Twas obvious for what reason this man had approached them
As for his compatriot, he lacked a thing to carry.
However, he was indeed quite angry.
Thorton: Hey! Who goes there?
The man by the name of Thorton Hessenger lay his knife towards him.
The man simply continued to walk towards him.
Meanwhile, Jason simply watched, bored and uninterested as he usually was.
But for the Thorton...
... he simply cast a blast of flame in front of them
Thorton: Step no further! Or burn!
Truly, I say unto you.
He said this all with a bright smile on his face.
Truly, battle was beloved by Thorton.
As for Wallace, he simply stopped.
Yes.
Motionless and without a word.
His compatriot did as he.
As for Thorton...
Thorton: Well... what shall it be? Death...
The flames from his palms grew even stronger
Burning brightly.
Thorton: ... or cowardice.
Mmm... yes.
Many a shinobi would rather run than fight,
However, this man... Thorton Hessenger was of, how you say, a strange upbringing.
He.... and, well... not only he... but he did truly believe... yes.
Battle was the only way for him.
As for Jason, he simply accepted his brother in arms simple trivialities.
After all, what is a pair of knights... two shinobi with control over fire.
Yes.
Truly, I say unto you.
These men stood no chance in heaven
As for Wallace, without a word... he simply... and quite gently.... dropped his daughter's burnt corpse unto the ground.
He did it as any father would
Putting his daughter down... for that would be the last time
And... on arising to his feet...
Wallace: Twisted neck...
Thorton: Hmmm?
Jason: Of what do you speak?
Truly, a perplexing question at this time.
Wallace: Twisted neck.
He simply repeated himself, causing the Hessengers to exchange glances
Truly, of what was he thinking
Wallace: Twisted neck....
Thorton: What ails you, sick man?
Wallace: Twosted neck.
Thorton: Tch....
The man by then name of Thorton Hessenger lay his hand out to burn them.
However...
... Wallace simply and unflinchingly continued.
Wallace: Twisted neck
Thorton: Grr....
His repititions... slowly angering them
Wallace: Twisted neck
Thorton: What is wrong with you... you snivelling crone?
The shinobi then fired his own flames to the right hand side of the man
This, as you may have imagined, was simply a threat.
Thorton: Answer me!
Truly, this was getting on Thorton's very nerves
Thorton: Would you like to die?
However, the man simply continued. But also, in a... more precise manner..
Wallace: Twisted neck.
Thorton: Tch....
It was then, for the first time since they'd met him, that Wallace said something other than, "Twisted neck"
Wallace: (bitterly) I inspected my daughter's body. The cause of her death was not fire. No. Her neck was twisted.
There was not a tear in his eyes.
Nay.
Not a one.
But he spoke with a pain.
A pain of unrelenting fury.
Truly, this man was looking for his daughter's murderer.
In fact, it would suffice to say, that had these men nothing to do with it, he may very well have left them be.
However....
Thorton.... simply cackled.
Thorton: That maiden? Twisted neck. I do believe I saw her earlier.
As he spoke... Jason simply shook his head in disapproval.
Truly, what kind of man makes the mistake of angering the enemy before battle?
Thorton: A truly handsome man did approach her. And her, fully swept off her feet, did chase after him. So much so that the man simply had to run away. So, you see... it was not the man's fault. For when she would not give up the chase, he simply had to strangle her. Shame... really. She was quite the beautiful lass. Had she only been a bit more... reserved.
Hmm?
Ah... yes dear reader.
I do understand.
Why... I suppose I have no need to tell you of how Wallace Darlington felt... having heard that.
And also... I suppose I have not ned to tell you of where this is going.
A battle
Yes
And a great one at that.