On a gloomy morning in east Brooklyn, a shadowy figure stands upon the ledge of a gothic cathedral, flanked by two stone gargoyles, they overlook the cityscape. They don a long, black hooded cloak, which drapes around the hilt of their back-scabbard.
"I stand here atop the tallest building in the Brooklyn borough," says the hooded figure. "As I look out into the distance, I feel myself lost in a boundless sea of concrete and steel. Only at this height do I feel a momentary relief from the soul crushing darkness that blankets this city. Like a man tossed about at sea, I manage to claw my way to the surface, only to gasp a mouthful of air before being dragged back down by the raging tides."
He continues, "Towering monoliths riddle the landscape. The ruins of a world long lost. They now stand as monuments to the hubris of an ancient race. THIS is what we call home."
"Who am I?" he asks. "I belong to no clan. I know not my kind. My own name is a distant memory lost in the fog of time. On these streets, I am simply known as… Ronin."
He looks down at a locket in his hand, its gold chain wrapped securely around his palm. An image of a ship with a flame atop its mast is engraved on the front face. He clicks it open and a white light shines from within.
"But no matter how black the night, I fear no darkness, for in the palm of my hand lies an ember of hope." He clutches the locket, closing it, and holds it to his chest as he gazes up stoically at the gray sky, now pouring down with rain.
"And I will fight to my last breath until this ember kindles a raging fire of faith. One that's light will pierce the densest stormclouds and illuminate every dark corner of this forsaken city."
The hooded figure mounts onto a gargoyle, then draws his blade and points it at the gray, loathsome sky as he exclaims, "For I am Ronin, knight of New York!"
His cloak and hood is now pushed back, fluttering in the wind like a war banner. A lightning bolt flickers across the sky, igniting the clouds with a blue aether, and thunder rattles the air.
Suddenly, an old mouse wearing a brown robe pokes his furry head out a window of the cathedral and shouts, "Ricci, stop brooding on the roof and get in here!"
Startled, Ricci quickly turns his head and says "Oh! Uh… yes Padre Topo, I'll be right in."
He puts the locket around his neck and pulls the cloak back over his shoulders, keeping the artifact secure. Then he climbs down from the roof, swings from a dragon-shaped water spout, and swoops into the window.