Rome 27 BCE
A soldier stands alone on a massive battlefield yards and yards of farmland once a peaceful tranquility to the area now stained with blood splatter , all around this soldier lies the bodies of allies and enemies alike, the smell of fire burning and the sight of gore made an attack on the soldier's steeled senses he's used to the sight of his spear, and sword caked in blood.
He somehow by the gods was the only survivor, his brown eyes scanned the enemy bodies making sure he didn't see any movement as he was trained to do.
His Copper armor had holes from enemy arrows and stab wounds. He was bleeding not fast but a slow bleed which was better than nothing. The soldier turned hearing a muffled moan of pain near the middle of the gore fest. He walks slowly and cautiously to the sound, he unsheathed his sword as he ventures forward.
When he nears the sound he sees not an enemy soldier but what appears to be a peasant, probably the owner of these farmlands that now was scarred and destroyed crops. The civilian was an old man he was barefoot skin was as thin as cloth, his bones were visible beneath the surface.
On top of this old man head was a shoulder length worth of white and silver hair, he had deep wrinkles around his eyes, his eyes were milky white so the soldier assumed the poor creature was born blind or lost his sight due to old age. The soldier looks down and sees one of the man's legs is broken from what he assumes is a fall.
The Soldier sheathes his sword and kneels down in front of the man. "What happened to you?" The Soldier speaks to the man in Latin.
W- wolves attacked me, they smelt the blood of your battle." The man looks up showing a grim expression. The soldier eyes him kindly and says
"My name is Amadeus Servius I have a slab of medicine that I can give you."
He turns a satchel he was wearing to him and opens it, inside there's a pouch that holds a medicated cream that the Temple priests made for each soldier, he slathers the medicine on his hand and rubs it on the old man's injured leg. The man's face turns from a grim expression to one of content finally relieved from the pain.
"Thank you sir ...now I wish to bestow a gift to you for your kindness, in truth I haven't been fully honest with you.." Said the old man mysteriously. "What in the gods names do you mean?" Amadeus asks suspiciously.
Suddenly the old man transforms from a eldery man, to a well ...thing that was purely skeletal. It wore black robes that covered the back of the creatures head,where his eyes once were were now nothing but black empty sockets, he held a scythe it's handle was a different arrangement of bones and the actual weapon glowed red like it sprouted fire from the tip of the blade.
The creature was now perched on a Pegasus like creature but instead of a beautiful mane with Colored skin.
This creature looked like it came from the underworld itself, it's sockets had eyes but they glowed a fiery blue as well as it's mane, instead of feathered wings it had battered ripped and leathery ones.
Amadeus backs away eyes in fear "W-what type of abomination are you?!" His voice filled in shock. The creature just says in the same somber tone as before "Not what but who, I am the being your fellow soldiers witness before their last breaths, I am the being that people consider evil even though I'm neither evil nor good I am death."
Death responds to the mortal man before him. "For your kindness...mortal I offer you my power, you would have an extended lifespan be able to control who lives and who dies... only when you have a hier will you die and your power shall be passed on to the child.
"For you to access your power and this stead you see before you all you need to do is hold this scythe when you hold it you shall look as I do now." He continues on
"But when you let go of the scythe you shall dawn the mantle of a mortal man once more. Only the chosen member of your family can touch and use this scythe." Death stares down at the mortal man waiting for an answer.
When Amadeus hesitates death says in a somewhat kinder tone "I was once like you mortal until I ended up in the same situation as you do now, I never had any heirs to claim this mantle so I chose you to now take this power and let my soul enter the afterlife."
Amadeus thinks of the possibilities and his eyes are now set with determination. His mother told him as a child that before he was born an Oracle came to her and told her that son was destined for greatness.
This was his moment he stretches out his hand to Death and him and death shake on the pact. "I accept your gift." Death turns into a pile of dust and the only thing left was the glowing scythe, Amadeus leans down and picks it up he physically feels himself transform and sit upon that skeletal horse. He knows now and forever as long as there's heirs in his bloodline they'll live as saviors for all time.
YOU ARE READING
Death runs in the Family
Fantasy(Cover is not mine it belongs to Adesina) For centuries eighteen year old Aurora Servius family has kept a secert in her small town near Rome. Her family for generations was the acting members of Death. Being chosen for the mantle of death is consid...
