Board Thread:Fun and Games Forum/@comment-25175520-20150521200045/@comment-26388714-20150620065423

The amber sun drifted slowly past the mountains, warm and caring, not the harsh glow of the servants of the Darkness, but the gentle caress of sunlight. Baryos looked out over the City, feeling the warmth of the lighht on his face. His armour had been repaired, but it sat in his wardrobe. Baryos wore no armour, no flowing, shimmering Warlock robes. He donned simple civilian clothes. The sun finished its crawl to the horizon as Baryos walked back into his living quarters. His small bedroom was made more cramped by the hundreds of books across 5 bookshelves, all neatly organized. He sat at his desk and began polishing Once Bitten, which he'd since repainted with the Rune of the Disciple instead of the Vanguard symbol. However, his mind did not drift toward the Fireteam he had met on Europa, as it did usually. He began to think of his family.

His father, Remus, had brought his family to the Southern Appalachians when Baryos was an infant. He remembered very little of the early days. His sister, Artemis, came soon after, and they bonded immediately. Remus taught the children as much as he could- languages, arithmetic, sciences, coding. Baryos, took to the knowlege like a sponge. Artemis preferred the more tactical lessons, however, showing prowess in simulated battles. At age 21, Remus tought her how to use firearms. She chose precision over all else, not unlike her namesake. Baryos chuckled when he remembered that. She had once given him her opinion of automatic weapon users.

"They're weapons of savagery," Artemis told him. "They're for fools who have no aim or don't care where their shots hit."

Baryos removed Once Bitten's magazine, beginning to clean the magwell.

"No," he had replied. "This is not true. By that same logic, I could say that precision weapon users are sadistic murderers, only hunting for the kill. See? It's not effective to stereotype."

The lens in the gun's scope was thoroughly cracked. He would need to buy a new one from Banshee-44.

Their mother, Celeste, tought them about space. They learned many things from the skilled engineer, including matter-code with glimmer. She was a brilliant woman with years of education.

Baryos had removed the cracked, mirrored lens from the scope. The fragmented glass distorted his face.

His heart rate quickened as he thought of the day his life in the bunker had gone to hell. The Nomads, as those wandering theives called themselves, had been negotiating with Remus for food. Things seemed to be going well. Baryos stood guard by the door of the room where his father was talking to the Nomad leader. As Remus gave the coordinates of a stash of food to the man, the leader stopped. He stood up from his chair. Baryos backed up to open the door when he heard a gunshot from the opposite direction. He turned away from the door, and started down the hallway.

Directly behind him, came another gunshot.

Silence.

Baryos kicked the door to the room in. Remus lay on the floor, motionless, the top part of his head scattered around the room. Blood pooled on the floor. Before the Nomad could react, his kneecaps were broken in. He pointed his hand cannon at Baryos, but he was disarmed, and then Baryos shot the bastard's balls off. A third bullet went into his face. Baryos shuddered, then dropped the hand cannon. He whipped around, now facing his father. But he turned away, in shock. He looked back at Remus, tears welling in his eyes. He pulled off his father's dog tags and stuffed them into his pocket. He wiped his face as he ran out of the bloodied room.

His mother was nowhere to be seen, but a trail of blood and bloody boot-prints suggested the worst. He sprinted, finding her dead as well. Tears streamed from his face again, but he wiped them away. Whoever did this would pay.

Baryos followed the bloody footprints, and found the men downing MREs in a cellar. He blacked out as rage burned in his throat. When he snapped out of his murderous trance, there was blood everywhere. He didn't bother looking at the bodies. He had to find Artemis.

The flashbacks didn't stop. Baryos broke into a sweat, shivering. He sunk into his chair, holding his face. He hadn't had a flashback this strong since... ever.