Actions

Work Header

Once, there were...

Chapter Text

The Scripture Of Lost Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who lived and died a million times.
She absorbed the death of her entire race,
took the burden on her shoulders,
and as she broke under the weight,
          she smiled.
“Why are you smiling?” asked the king
“Don’t you know that you are dying?”
She looked at him and said
“There is always another.”

 

The Scripture Of Youths and Visions

Once, there was a youth...
     ...who thought he heard the truth.
He heard that he would die,
he heard that everyone he knew would die,
he heard that he would die again.
He was right.
He was wrong.
But in the end, he lost his doubts,
     and his vision,
     and so much more...
But he laughed in the face of the void, saying:
“I have gained far more than I lost.”

Chapter Text

The Scripture Of the Youth Pretending

Once, there was a youth...
      ...who loved love.
She tracked it and charted its path,
imagined the possibilities of romance,
and never knew it herself.
      Until one day she found him.
And she was paralyzed. She could not act.
She did not know what to do, or how to proceed,
and in the end, when she was gone away,
she had never said a word of her love.
And if she had?
           She would have failed.
But she did not mind:
“Love, is in the chase”, she said.

 

The Scripture Of the Contented Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who had everything.
He made powerful tools,
and had prodigious strength,
and a position of power.
      And as he beheld his broken tools,
      and stayed his useless strength,
      beneath someone of greater power,
he was pleased.
“I have nothing at all”, said the youth.

Chapter Text

The Scripture of the Hated Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who was known for miles around as a killer.
But she did not kill for pleasure
     ...although she took pleasure in killing.
And she did not kill for profit
     ...although she gained profit from killing.
She killed out of necessity,
     because for her to live, others had to die.
And when she was freed from the tyranny of her home,
she killed again, and felt remorse. What made this
any different from the rest? She looked down and said
“You cannot kill your own heart.”

 

The Scripture of the Confused Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who could never understand.
They didn’t really “get” hatred,
     or why they suffered so much,
     or what was going to happen.
But they were always full of cheer...
     ...or at least they tried to be.
They didn’t understand what their first kiss meant,
     or what it meant when they died.
But there came a time when life left them, and they stared
     at the long-past events of their entire life.
“I still don’t quite get it...”
“...but who said I have to?”

Chapter Text

The Scripture of the Joyous Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who lived at the bottom of all things.
She slept in the arms of horrors,
     swam in the lightless depths,
and she laughed with joy.
But one day her past betrayed her,
     ending her in one stroke,
and still she laughed.
After all, she had always been meant for this:
“I am only here to help”, she told the girl.

 

The Scripture of Youth Alone


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who made every mistake.
He made all the mistakes.
He bore a false and lukewarm vendetta.
He lusted without loving, and never was met in kind.
He treated his allies as his enemies.
And one day, he decided
     to treat his enemy
          as an ally.
“After all...”
“You have to make your own hope.”

Chapter Text

The Scripture of the Loyal Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who tried to be everything to everyone.
Loyalty to every principle,
faith in even the worst of them.
Then they were betrayed by one friend,
     the one friend they truly loved.
But their sorrow lasted for only a moment.
They wiped away the tears, and soldiered on,
and returned to supporting their allies unfazed.
“She meant nothing of it”, they lied.

 

The Scripture of Youth and Inheritance


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who inherited a legacy of blood.
They hid from it with all their might,
     running from it,
     hiding in a haze,
     trying to leave it behind.
But the blood came through in the end.
“There is no way out, is there?,” asked the youth.
     ”there NEVER was”, said the blood.

Chapter Text

The Scripture Of Youth and Decisions


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who decided the fates of many.
Imperious and cold, laughing with every death,
sending body after body to the gallows,
     never thinking about the aftermath.
Like all of their friends, one day they found an exception
     a break in their rules
and it hurt them. They stared at what they had done, and wept.
“To pass judgement is to be judged”, they said.

 

The Scripture of the Ambitious Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who had great ambitions.
He was going to BE somebody,
rule over others and take charge as he was meant to.
He never got the chance,
     the end of all things drove him off his path.
And he nearly lost his path to betrayal,
     although the other party was not betraying HIM.
          (a fact that is still debated)
And in the end, when all hope of leading was gone,
when there was nothing left to lead,
he took grip of his weapons and smiled, wicked and sharp
“Ruling myself is more than enough.”

Chapter Text

The Scripture of Youth In Darkness


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who gave away her light.
Oh, she had her reasons.
She had a great task to complete,
and an even greater foe to fight,
and yet greater friends to guard.
So she didn’t think of it as giving away her light
     she was turning it into their shield,
          their sword,
               their hope.
“After all, someone has to do this.”

 

The Scripture of Youth Abandoned


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who lost all reason.
It was taken away in an instant, by a force
     from outside of time.
Or maybe they gave it away.
No matter the cause, they were lost with it,
thrown to winds that were
     black as coal
          and cold as death.
In these black winds of vengeance they flew, thinking
“This is my new, and only, reason.”

Chapter Text

The Scripture Of the Carefree Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who was loved and adored.
He lived his life untouched by hardship or loss,
and he had nothing for which to rage against.
But rage he did, at the little things,
     and run in fear of the voices,
          and balk at his father’s pride.
And in the end, when he grew and learned,
reshaped by the forces of his life, he knew:
“I never had anything to fear.”

 

The Scripture of the Careless Youth


Once, there was a youth...
     ...who was moments from death.
They did not know this.
After all, they trusted their advisor.
     And they knew they would live.
They couldn’t die.
After all, their friends were waiting for them.
And as the killing blow came down, they thought
“I have nothing to fear.”