After finishing his patrol duty, Venom had asked Rue to meet him by the waterfall near Wistvale. He had promised to tell her his story for having tried to answer his question at Margrett's celebration. The water was cool and the fish were large and colorful swimming under it. Venom decided to get in the water to wash up a bit before she arrived. He had taken off his shirt and let his hair down before he got in.
He also forgot to wear pants. And that water is REALLY cold. Well it's not THAT cold, I mean seriously? I'm sure someone thinks it's cute... you know... like a smurf.
Rue headed out towards the waterfall, planning to meet Venom there. As she approached, she could see Venom swimming in the falls. She smiled and sat down on the banks the water.
Startled by the voice of someone, Venom quickly turned around to see who was there. Upon seeing Rue he smiled and began to swim back towards his gear.
Yeah, a little actually.
He dries his body the little he could with his shirt, before tying his hair up and putting on his gear.
You came earlier than I thought. Sorry about that. I didn't even get a chance to go home and wash up after my patrol to meet you here. By the way, thanks for coming. We just met the other night and you trust me enough to meet me alone out here. You must understand why I can not teel everyone my past. It's something I'm not too proud of, but something about you... I don't know why but I feel I can trust you. You were the only one who really tried answering my question that night.
Rue looked into the water, watching the fish swimming around. She thought about her own past, the stories she had withheld at the party. Still studying the fish in the water, she said
"Oh, don't worry about it. And I understand completely, but don't be ashamed in telling me. We all have our less-than-gratifying stories." She then looked up at him. "Of course I can keep a secret."
Rue crossed her legs and began absentmindedly picking at the weeds growing up from the ground around her. As much as she didn't want to share stories of her own life, she felt that if Venom told her his story, she owed it to him to tell hers.
"Okay, deal... but only as much as I can relate to." She paused for a second. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She greatly appreciated his trust, but she didn't want to make do anything he didn't want to do.
Trust me when I say that this is letting the skeletons out of my closet and I feel this will be a great relief, not having it all bundled up inside me anymore.
Venom looked up to the sky, watching the clouds pass by. His head then lowered and began to look at the river.
Life is an extradinary thing. My people didn't see it that way. I have just now got to realize what life has to offer. It is simply... beautiful.
Eyes turned to look at Rue.
I come from Kelandra. It is a land high in the mountains to the west from here, many seasons away. It was always a small village that grew very little for many reasons. From the day a child is born, they are examined by the few elders for any imperfections. At any sight of weakness, it is carried to a deep cliff that connects to the sea and thrown into it as a sacrifice to the gods. As a child they are taught honor only to their own kin and to fight for everything to become stronger. Once they reach 13, they are tested on many aspects but mainly to survive on their own. Few survive to become adults and reach their goal of being named an "assassin". That is what my people lived for. Death of others. We killed and took what we wanted leaving no one alive to tell of our existense. If one was captured, he was taught to take his own life. For one, he would never be allowed back to Kelandra, and also because if he were to be interogated, he would only be rescued to receive a harsh punishment. The punishments were usually extremly long and very painful.
Venom paused for a second. He wondered how Rue was taking it. There was always a risk that she would not fully understand him and see him as pure evil.
Rue did not think of Venom as evil - she didn't blame him for the ethics of the people he was born into. On the contrary, she thought of him as brave for leaving that society and searhing for something new. As he talked, she flashed back to memories of her own upbringing, and realized that while hers was not as extreme an environment as the one Venom grew up in, she could relate to what he was saying. Somewhat. She didn't say anything though, and nodded for him to continue.
I myself fulfilled some of those tortures on those we considered a disgrace to our kin. One could say we were without a soul, since we felt nothing when it came to taking one's life. There was no sorrow in me when I took the lives of those who you would consider a friend to me.
Next to riches, we searched for better ways to become a more sufficient killing society. Fighting against those who had learnings of weaponry or martial arts, we would learn their methods by stealing their scrolls or taking their masters as prisoners to teach our next generation. That would one day be their end.
I was part of a new elite group, training under a master who was a prisoner and threatened to teach us or his family would be killed. It was a group of about twenty. We were learning new hand-to-hand combat styles, but with it it's way of thinking. They believed in a balance in life. Good versus evil. As the years went by the master slowly gained influence in us. I looked up to him and one night he rounded up a few of us that he considered trustworthy and brought up the idea of peace to the world, but in order for that to happen, our kin would have to be eliminated. It was mutiny... it was then that I remembered the pain my victims felt and the fear they had in their eyes before I would run my blade through them. Peace... It was an idea that could free people from the pain of war. War that was our everyday life, and I was sick of it.
Venom stood up. He was becoming tensed and his fists gripped together. Flashbacks began to run through his eyes.
Rue stopped picking at the weeds and look up at Venom when she heard him stand. She could see that this was painful for him to recite and although she was intrigued by his tale, she also felt bad for causing him to have to relive these memories. She got to her feet and stood beside him.
"You don't have to go on if you don't want to. You've told me enough for now."
Venom turned to look at Rue, and there was then a calm within him. He took a deep breath and then placed a hand on her shoulder.
... I want to.
Venom sat back down next to her, hoping she'd sit as well.
... Although I has tired of war... I was what I was... a Kelandrian and honor, it was the worst thing I had learned as a child. Because of it, I was forced to tell the elders of the mutiny that was going to happen. When the word got to them, they acted quick and went where the secret meetings were held. When we arrived, they were helding one at that moment and were shocked to see that their plan was ruined and they were caught. Seeing me with the elders, they realized I was the one who ratted them out. There was an aweful feeling deep within me, but I was only a soldier.
They knew a painful death awaited them if they surrendered. It was obvious they would go down fighting, as I would have as well. Swords clashed and fists broke bones... it was a fierce battle. I stood behind watching it all happen before my eyes. I wanted to fight, but I couldn't. My mind was in a middle of a crisis trying to decide which side to choose. The elite group were much better fighters, with all their teachings. The elders had to call for more soldiers to try and stop them. Soon, the master and his faithful students were outnumbered ten to one. You could see that they were beginning to tire from the long and dangerous fight. One by one they began to fall until the master was on his own. The room was now crowded by soldiers, with more waiting outside. The floor was now filled with bloodied corpses and limbs. The master now cornered with no where to go. He took time to gain his breath, when the unexpected happened. One of the soldiers stepped out towards him and turned around right in front of him to protect him. It was her... the child that had showed me mercy when we went out on our first mission. I hadn't seen her since that time, but I recognized her by her eyes and the mercy she was showing once more. My eyes were fixed on her and my master and before I knew it, something happened that I had never experienced before... guilt... A single tear formed on one of my eyes and fell down my face. There was this horrible feeling in my heart that made me feel disgusted. I could no longer stand there and do nothing. I knew it was too late, but if they were to die, I would die with them and take as many as I could with me. Next to me was a torch that lit up part of the room. I grabbed it and threw it towards the curtains that hung over a window. I ran next to my master and the girl, while the room quickly began to catch on fire. We fought with everything we had.
Venom's voice began to sound different. There were tears coming down his face now.
Rue sat down next to Venom and continued to listen intently. When he admitted his betrayal to his master, she looked away from him and into the water. She tried to be understanding as to why he had done it, but if there was one thing in the world she hated, it was traitors. However, at the sound of his voice when he described the battle, she looked back up at him to see tears on his face. Not knowing what to say, she simply placed a hand over his and waited for him to continue.
When Rue placed her hand over his, he relaxed once again. He wiped his eyes with his other hand and continued.
The battle didn't last long. Soon I heard a loud scream and when I turned around, I saw my master with a spear through his chest. She was standing next to him, trying to do something to help, but there was nothing either one of us could do. By then the whole room was in flames and the other soldiers began to pull back, leaving us barricaded inside with the intense heat and smoke. I ran to his side and got to my knees, holding his head up a little off the ground. With blood coming out his mouth, he gave his last words. He said, "Does it hurt?... Learn from it and don't let it hurt again... I leave you to complete my mission... Bring peace... I can feel it now... and it hurts no more...".
Before he gave his last breath he pointed at a rug nearby. After closing his eyes and placing his head back down, I walked towards the rug and lifted it up. There was a hidden door that led to an underground tunnel. I grabbed a nearby torch and we jumped into it. It was apparent then that my master had been busy during his free time. The tunnel led to a room where there were many tools and even a map of our village. On the map were specific details of how his plan would free himself and his trusted group out safetly after destroying it. As I looked around the room I also noticed barrels. We had passed by some of them along the way in the tunnel. Next thing we heard were explosions that rocked the tunnels hard. We followed the instructions on the map and ran as fast as we could to get out. One after another the explosions got closer and louder until we finally made it out into the forest nearby. At a distance we could see our whole village and civilization burning and being wiped out of excistence. I was at awe at the destruction and size of the fire. We were out of words and could do nothing else but simply stand there watching it burn all night.
I don't even remember when I fell asleep, but the next morning the rain woke me up and I didn't see her around. It had been raining for some time, and I had not even noticed for I was so exausted from the night before. If it wasn't for the ground being so wet, I may never have spotted her tracks. They led me to the cliff where the rejected children were sacrificed and found her standing there on the edge looking at the sea below. She turned around to see me and just smiled. It was an akward smile I had never seen before. I could not tell if she was crying because fo the rain, but it was obvious we had both just been through a dramatic time in our life and did not know where to go from there. I could only guess she felt lonely now and had no reason to live anymore with everyone she knew now gone. I extended my hand out to her and waved for her to walk away from the edge, but instead she took another step and she was gone. There was no sound afterwards, everythinng around me was silent... When I slowly walked to where she once stood, I looked over and her body was all over the rocks... Confusion filled my heart and I was now the last surviving Kelandrian. That whole day I stood there looking down at the sea and rocks, wondering if I should have done the same and made sure my kin died with me...
Venom's eyes were fixed on the river before turning to look back at Rue. He then smiled at her.