Preliat Mantis
The Wolf
[media]https://soundcloud.com/callumbrennan/defeater-headstone-cover[/media]
Forever. That was what they said when they were wed. That is the word they used together, in harmony- to describe what their love would be. But now, as Preliat stood over the headstone of his infant daughter and wife, on the homestead that they used to live in together- he realized how utterly fruitless that word was. And how painfully unaware of the tragedy that awaited him. While many had been taken in by the Nether, sent to their own personal hells and then returned from them- Preliat was still living in one. He was without love, without family, and without reason to live. Everything that he fought for, everything that he did was for his wife or for his child- and here they were, the two most important women in his life- gone. Gone and they weren't coming back. He stood over them, or at least, where they should have been.
He did not have the luxury of seeing their remains, the vessels that held the souls of his loves. Just empty graves, caskets with no bodies, and headstones that were simply names, and dates. When they were born- and when they died. And in between the two sets of numbers, etched onto granite, was a line. A line that represented the cumulative experience of a person, summed up by simply the beginning and the end. And it was far too short for both of them. Preliat stared at it, felt the breeze at his neck, the weight of the empty soil beneath him. He looked around, and began to do what he had not done in so long- he began to talk to Aditya.
"I thought you would be the one thing in my life that I wouldn't have to give up on."He reached into his helmet, his buy'ce, and removed the picture of her. Crumbled and worn, faded from time- it still meant as much to him as it did the day he got it. It was her, covered in grime and grease, holding onto a wrench. She looked radiant, as always. He looked at the headstone."I thought you would be the rock to my castle. The bedrock that held everything I built myself on." He paused, looking to the headstone of Aditya. Aditya Mantis. His wife. Here he was, a widow, standing over the woman who he thought could have survived everything- endure, and even prosper in the face of all the adversity that she and him would ever face. But she was taken away from him. Taken away by a careless monster, who nearly destroyed the galaxy.
"I was excited. Excited to maybe, just maybe- grow old together. Not have to fight anymore. Let the younger men do my battles for me, fight the fights that I didn't need to fight anymore. And just live with you- happy as can be."He turned to Yasha's headstone, which drew a curtain of pain over his face."I'm sorry, Yasha. You were supposed to be the bravest girl in the galaxy, but..."He stopped and stared at it for a while, the line."But you never did, and you never will. I hope wherever you two are, that you're together. That you're together and that you're not alone, and that you know that I still love you. I love you both so much."He dropped to his knees, feeling his lip quiver. He reached up, placing his hands at the crown of his head, cradling himself. He began to sob, looking towards the empty graves, reflecting on his empty life.
"Why did you have to leave me? Why did you have to leave me alone? There's nothing for me! I don't have anything anymore!"He reached up, using his thumb and index to wipe the welling tears from his eyes."You were the only thing I cared about. You two. The only thing that I wanted to come home to. Not an empty house, not an empty bed, sitting alone and eating. Why can't you come back?"Preliat fell backwards, falling to a sitting position. He sat there for a while, until the sun was no longer at his back and the stars had come to shine their light on Mandalore.
He didn't speak for hours, let alone think. It was painful to reminiscence, more painful to hope of what could have been, of what he could have had. It was after a long while, when the winds came across the empty fields of his homestead, that he decided to break a chemlight, and bathe in the dim blue light it provided. He laid back on the soil, upturned and freshly mowed- by himself. The landscape around his wife and his daughter was to be pristine, and he would make sure every day that their memorials would be as clean and lively as they were. It was not a depressing sight to look at, it was filled with flora, and many rock formations that Preliat was a fan of, and that Aditya appreciated.
He wondered how simple his life would have been if he had never decided to stop playing Null-hockey, and just live at home, play, and enjoy his shallow, but interesting, life.
Forever. That was what they said when they were wed. That is the word they used together, in harmony- to describe what their love would be. But now, as Preliat stood over the headstone of his infant daughter and wife, on the homestead that they used to live in together- he realized how utterly fruitless that word was. And how painfully unaware of the tragedy that awaited him. While many had been taken in by the Nether, sent to their own personal hells and then returned from them- Preliat was still living in one. He was without love, without family, and without reason to live. Everything that he fought for, everything that he did was for his wife or for his child- and here they were, the two most important women in his life- gone. Gone and they weren't coming back. He stood over them, or at least, where they should have been.
He did not have the luxury of seeing their remains, the vessels that held the souls of his loves. Just empty graves, caskets with no bodies, and headstones that were simply names, and dates. When they were born- and when they died. And in between the two sets of numbers, etched onto granite, was a line. A line that represented the cumulative experience of a person, summed up by simply the beginning and the end. And it was far too short for both of them. Preliat stared at it, felt the breeze at his neck, the weight of the empty soil beneath him. He looked around, and began to do what he had not done in so long- he began to talk to Aditya.
"I thought you would be the one thing in my life that I wouldn't have to give up on."He reached into his helmet, his buy'ce, and removed the picture of her. Crumbled and worn, faded from time- it still meant as much to him as it did the day he got it. It was her, covered in grime and grease, holding onto a wrench. She looked radiant, as always. He looked at the headstone."I thought you would be the rock to my castle. The bedrock that held everything I built myself on." He paused, looking to the headstone of Aditya. Aditya Mantis. His wife. Here he was, a widow, standing over the woman who he thought could have survived everything- endure, and even prosper in the face of all the adversity that she and him would ever face. But she was taken away from him. Taken away by a careless monster, who nearly destroyed the galaxy.
"I was excited. Excited to maybe, just maybe- grow old together. Not have to fight anymore. Let the younger men do my battles for me, fight the fights that I didn't need to fight anymore. And just live with you- happy as can be."He turned to Yasha's headstone, which drew a curtain of pain over his face."I'm sorry, Yasha. You were supposed to be the bravest girl in the galaxy, but..."He stopped and stared at it for a while, the line."But you never did, and you never will. I hope wherever you two are, that you're together. That you're together and that you're not alone, and that you know that I still love you. I love you both so much."He dropped to his knees, feeling his lip quiver. He reached up, placing his hands at the crown of his head, cradling himself. He began to sob, looking towards the empty graves, reflecting on his empty life.
"Why did you have to leave me? Why did you have to leave me alone? There's nothing for me! I don't have anything anymore!"He reached up, using his thumb and index to wipe the welling tears from his eyes."You were the only thing I cared about. You two. The only thing that I wanted to come home to. Not an empty house, not an empty bed, sitting alone and eating. Why can't you come back?"Preliat fell backwards, falling to a sitting position. He sat there for a while, until the sun was no longer at his back and the stars had come to shine their light on Mandalore.
He didn't speak for hours, let alone think. It was painful to reminiscence, more painful to hope of what could have been, of what he could have had. It was after a long while, when the winds came across the empty fields of his homestead, that he decided to break a chemlight, and bathe in the dim blue light it provided. He laid back on the soil, upturned and freshly mowed- by himself. The landscape around his wife and his daughter was to be pristine, and he would make sure every day that their memorials would be as clean and lively as they were. It was not a depressing sight to look at, it was filled with flora, and many rock formations that Preliat was a fan of, and that Aditya appreciated.
He wondered how simple his life would have been if he had never decided to stop playing Null-hockey, and just live at home, play, and enjoy his shallow, but interesting, life.
