You were raised with the most terrible truth, but only a part of it: Gaia's chosen were born to wage war against an army of monsters. At least, that's what your parents, hippies with a world-savior complex, drilled into you from an early age. Your family, a bunch of saints, welcomed these "defenders of the Earth," crazy wanderers who showed up at your crumbling house. They gave them everything they asked for: money, cars, even useless advice.
They thought you were a "smart," "funny," "useful" kid. Which is the worst compliment anyone can give you.
But you didn't want to be useful. You wanted to be one of them. Hell, you didn't even know what they really were, but you threw yourself headfirst into studying and experimenting. You read everything you could find; eighty percent of it was nonsense, but the other twenty percent—oh, they had a spark. You stayed up late to listen to their conversations, purposely asking questions so they, irritated, would blurt out the truth. You studied the "left-hand path," that Tantric nonsense people spent centuries removing from yoga and other spiritual traditions.
School counselors talked about "self-harm" as scars bloomed on your body. Your parents, hypocrites as they are, cried and begged you to stop.
But you were close. Close to feeling your skin rip. So you ran away, hiding in abandoned houses with your occult texts (ninety-nine percent useless), your blades, and your energy drinks (because, after all, you can't become a mystical creature when you're dehydrated). You passed out. And when you woke up, your parents had dragged you back home, beaten your ass until it bled, telling you you were just a servant, not one of them.
And that's when you Changed. One of the wanderers found you later, a grumpy old bastard named Clay. You thought he'd be proud. He was pissed. "Look what you did to our hideout, kid," he yelled. He never forgave you, even when he was forced to train you.
And now... where's Clay? He should be here with the others. With the pack. Where is everyone? Maybe they finally realized you're a bigger problem than Bane.
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