The Beginning of SCYTHE

Reapers filled with corruption, thy mercy is never an option

Souls. All of their souls, stolen. Stolen right from underneath their scythes. How could they let this happen? How could they be so naive? Reapers trust no one. No one trusts Reapers. That’s the way it works around these parts of the Underworld, everyone is out to get one another. Everyone must choose a side. The living or the dead. That’s what it must come down to. Now someone has betrayed the trust of the Empress Banshee, how foolish. Don’t they know that she is the queen of all that lies in the Underworld? No one has ever taken her for granted, nor has she ever put her trust in someone other than another Reaper. The souls of the others who dare take on her precious realm are her most prized possessions. Now the have been taken, and she has set her Lady Siren and Lord Phantom out to create the largest army of every Reaper species there has ever been.

. . .

Empress Banshee and her cult of Reapers never started in the Underworld. She once was a beautiful, living human. She traveled the world with her sister, Lady Siren, and her brother, Lord Phantom. They fought together against other clans, winning victory after victory. They loved each other very much. Even though The Empress Banshee and Lady Siren are older, Lord Phantom never fails to step between his sisters and danger. They take care of each other and always stand by each other’s sides. Of course, sometimes they fight and disagree, like all brothers and sisters do, but when it comes down to it, they would die for each other. No one has ever seen such a powerful bond between family members before.

The family had a rough life, though. It wasn’t all about victories and happiness. Their father was strict. They forced them to become the best sword fighters in town. Each town they traveled to, the sword wielders became stronger and stronger. Their father beat them raw for each battle that they lost. Lord Phantom took most of the beatings, not because he wasn’t as good of a fighter, but because he hated seeing his sisters get hurt. He always stood up to their father and took their beatings for them. Their father not only beat them, but also their mother. He was unfaithful to her, lied to her, and abused her. She loved him though, took an oath for him that she would forever be his. Only, she didn’t know it would lead to her death.

Finally, Lady Siren was tired of seeing her brother beaten every day for them. She brought her sister and brother to the only place they could be alone and talk to each other; Reaper’s Realm. Reaper’s Realm was a place only Reaper species could lurk, but since their father trained them so hard to be assassins, the only good thing that came from him, they were always able to sneak in and hideout in a small cave within the Realm. Empress Banshee and Lord Phantom didn’t know this, but Lady Siren met a Knight Reaper there, who actually kept them safe and hidden. He was unlike all other Reapers. Loyal only to Lady Siren. She couldn’t tell her brother and sister though, what would they think of her? Traitor. She only met him secretly after her trainings, before she went home.

The last time they ever went back to the cave was to formulate a plan. A plan to kill their father. Lady Siren had a plan to rid them and their beloved mother of the gruesome man. He has never been caught for his actions, but now once they kill him, his soul will be sent to the Underworld for eternity. They would take him to The Edge. It was a large hole in the ground that everyone blessed as a portal to the Underworld. They prayed for The Underworld everyday, prayed that the Reapers would stay hidden another day. It was abandoned during nighttime though. No one dared go near The Edge after dusk. Sightings of different creatures, including the ugliest species of Reapers, lurked out from The Edge. It was perfect. Perfect for their devious plan. Lady Siren snuck over to the Knight Reaper and bid him one last goodbye. But what she didn’t realize was that she would come to see him again, in a different world.

. . .

The plan would be carried out the next night. Empress Banshee was our father’s favorite. Still today, no one knows the reason for that, as eerie as that sounds. Therefore, she was the one to ask her father for his presence at The Edge that night, to prove to him of her worthiness. Surprisingly, he accepted. He allowed her brother and sister to follow along, only to rub it in their faces that she was the best among them and that they needed to follow in her footsteps. Their mother didn’t allow the family to go to The Edge after dusk, so they had to wait until she had fallen asleep. They finally arrived at The Edge around Midnight. Empress Banshee began showing off her skills by taking out a couple of the mysterious creatures that creeped out of the hole. She looked down into the darkness, a light blue light faded into the darkness. Her eyes widened, she didn’t know what it was, but she knew this was her only chance. Lady Siren smirked because she knew what it was. She knew that it was her Knight Reaper creating a distraction. She didn’t know how though, just knew it was him. Empress Banshee pointed to where the light was coming from and called for her father to come see. There was a lot of fog, so he bent towards the light, squinting. It was time. She couldn’t do it though. She stood behind him and hesitated. This was her father and she was about to kill him. Lord Phantom saw her hesitation and ran up, slid in between her and their father. Their father turned around confused. At that moment Lord Phantom pushed him into the darkness. Their father fell, but not before he grabbed ahold of Lord’s jacket. He started falling backwards with him and yelled for his sisters. They both ran and grabbed him. Lady Siren took out her sword and slashed their father’s hand so that Lord Phantom could not be taken with into the darkness. The hand went limp and fell with their father after it was cut off. They turned and watched as their father fell silently into the screeching blue fog. There came a scream. A loud, ear piercing scream. But it didn’t come from the fog, it came from behind them. They all turned to see their mother standing there, crying, screaming for her abusive lover.

They didn’t know what to do or say, so they stood there silently, watching their mother break down. Their mother ran over to The Edge. She screamed at them, asking why they would commit such a horrible crime. They pleaded with her, telling her that he was abusive to them in more ways than one. That he was abusive to her too and lied to her. She turned away from them. She told them that it didn’t matter what he did because she was under oath to be forever his, no matter how horrid he was. Now she must follow him into the darkness. She stepped over to The Edge and looked down. She turned to her children and told them that she loved them and forgave them for what they had done. Lady Siren called out to her mother and begged her not to follow him, but to stay and live happily with them. Empress Banshee told her that if she followed him into the darkness, she did not truly love her children. Lord Phantom just watched her, tears streaming down his face. Their mother looked at all three of them, standing there. She told them she was sorry. Then, she closed her eyes and fell back into the fog. No screams, no moans or cries, just silence. The three of them sat there on The Edge, not worrying about what would come out of it, just sat there silently crying to each other.

. . .

A week went by, routines went back to normal. All three of the children visit The Edge every day. There are still stains from the blood of their father’s hand. They can still hear the nothingness from their parents’ fall. They aren’t sad anymore though, no, they are angry. Angry with their father’s abuse and angry with their mother’s loyalty to their father and not them. The newspaper was dropped off to the door of their house in the morning. The top headline was about a boy. He murdered people. They were all rapists, thieves, and other murderers, but he still killed them. He was an assassin. No one knew who he was, no one ever saw him. He wore a black cloak, outlined in blue. He had jet black hair. He was fast, and smooth. Lord Phantom, Empress Banshee and Lady Siren admired the mysterious assassin, but they were also afraid of him. Empress Banshee kept tally of how many murders he had on his hands. There were 63 now, after today.

There was a knock at the door. Lord Phantom answered it, men in suits barged in and grabbed all three of them. They started screaming and the men told them that they must be banished from the living. They were taken to the Office of Judgement. That’s where people are taken to either be sent to The Underworld or given another chance to be among the Living. They stood before the men who chose their fate. The men listed their two crimes: killing their father and causing their mother to commit suicide. Although Lord Phantom was the one who pushed their father, they were all associated with the planning, so they are all being punished. Their fate was decided. They must be banished to the Underworld.

As they walked down the path to their holding cells in the Underworld, they passed awfully looking creatures. Different species of Reapers. Sounds you never heard of came from these beasts. The 3 of them huddled together as they came up to their cells. There weren’t enough cells to put each one of them in their own, so they were put into one together. Months went by and they were still in cells. They were treated horribly, but only because the Emperor was cruel to everyone. The reapers hated him, but they were not powerful enough to rule against him. Not without help at least. Little did the Emperor know, Empress Banshee and her brother and sister were devising an escape tactic.They knew that the reapers hated the Emperor and they would do anything to remove him from the throne. They also had Lady Siren’s secret weapon; her Knight Reaper. He would come and visit her in the daytime because that was when the Emperor was away. She had to tell her brother and sister since they were in the cell together. They felt betrayed at first, but realized that he was loyal to her and that they could use him to escape. Except, Empress Banshee didn’t just want to escape. She wanted to become the new Queen of the Underworld. Lady Siren and Lord Phantom weren’t so sure about this. They were afraid that the Reapers would betray them or they wouldn’t be able to take on the Emperor. There was only one way to find out though, and they were ready. They had their plan.

While the Emperor was asleep, Knight Reaper went with his comrades to obtain the keys to the cells. They succeeded and returned to the three siblings. As they were being unlocked, the Emperor appeared before them and let out a terrifying roar. How dare someone try to escape him? Fools. He went after them. They grabbed their sword and waited for him. Right as he reached them, though, every Reaper in the Realm came between them. They all attacked him with their unique powers. He fought and killed most of them, but once the siblings came into the fight, he didn’t stand a chance. Lord Phantom went in first, of course, then Lady Siren. Empress Banshee finished him off. Decapitated. The last of the Reapers screeched with happiness and took their former ruler’s head as a trophy.

All of a sudden, Empress Banshee let out an ear-piercing wail. Everyone looked at her in surprise. This meant that a death had occurred. The Reapers bowed down to her. This is how she became known as “Empress Banshee”. Then, Lord Phantom disappeared and reappeared next to his sisters in another form. And did it again. The Reapers bowed down to him. This is how he became known as “Lord Phantom”. Lady Siren was the last to gain her power. She started quietly singing. Such a sweet tune… It became louder and louder. The Reapers drew near, without even knowing it. Empress Banshee and Lord Phantom watched as the Reapers looked as if they were under a spell. They bowed down to her. This is how she became known as “Lady Siren”. The sisters were beautiful before, but once the change happened, they were the most beautiful women of the Underworld. Their brother was very handsome, as well, but he too became the most charming man of the Underworld. They walked to their thrones. They looked down at their new Reaper Cult.

. . .

Empress Banshee developed a new cult of Reapers. Creating newborns that Lord Phantom trained to be the fittest and strongest creatures in the Underworld. Lady Siren taught the Reapers to disguise themselves as beautiful beings in order to gain the advantage against the enemies. Each of the rulers used their powers to teach their new members how to show no mercy, yet show respect to all. These new born fighters use scythes as their weapons, the most deadliest of them all.

Someone was foolish, though. Foolish enough to steal from the Empress and her Cult. All her souls are now gone. All that she went through to earn them, all for nothing. How dare someone betray her trust. She couldn’t figure out who, though. And she was set on finding out. Lady Siren saw the newspaper with that Mysterious Assassin again. Three more people dead this morning. Empress Banshee wanted him on her side. She knew he was the asset that she needed to find the thief. Lord Phantom was sent out to hunt him down.

Finally, a week later, Lord Phantom returned with the Assassin. He was found hidden away in plain sight. Nobody knew, but the Reapers finally sniffed him out. He looked angry. He didn’t want to be there. Empress Banshee approached him and asked him to be apart of her Cult. He declined so quickly, she was surprised. He wasn’t owned by anyone. He was a lone survivor. It took the Empress days, but she finally was able to convince him to be apart of her nation. He could be a lone survivor, but he was her ally now. He would be there for her cult when they needed him. And now they did more than ever. He was sent with Lord Phantom and a group of Reapers to catch the thief.

Months went by. Still nothing. Her Cult was growing, though. She was becoming stronger. Lady Siren was in charge of the Souls. One night, as Lady Siren was falling asleep, she started to hear noises in the Chamber of Souls. She snuck out of her room quietly and watched to find someone in the Chamber. He was stuffing souls into jars. He turned around and saw her. He came after her. She screamed and fell back, unable to use her powers because she was caught off guard. In the matter of seconds, though, her Knight Reaper was there by her side. He caught the thief and held him in a headlock. They brought him to Empress Banshee and Lord Phantom. Empress Banshee was filled with fury. The thief tried to steal from her again. She wanted him gone, exiled. She wanted him dead.

The Mysterious Assassin was given the honor this time, to exile the thief. He took the thief by the throat and held him up against the wall. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. No one knew how strong he was. His strength was mesmerizing. He snapped the thief’s neck with one hand. Dead that instant. The Reapers screeched and Empress Banshee let out another wail to alarm his death.

Empress Banshee, Lady Siren and Lord Phantom’s cult of Reapers was finally ready. Ready to fight to the death and collect victory after victory, while bringing home Souls as their trophies. The perfect team. The perfect cult. The perfect family. And thus, the beginning of S C Y T H E.