There was nothing but darkness then;
only silence,
and it was cold, I remember that.

I was nothing like my ancestors before me; I wasn’t a soldier, a warrior, a guardian, or any kind of hero. I was fully aware of my blood; I knew exactly what I was – a half-breed. However, my family stopped fighting generations ago. There are even legends that Angel blood runs through our veins as well, but no one is really sure if that’s true. Whatever the case, my family is legendary…well at least among those who are privy to the events of the Fatho-Cyran War over 1000 years ago.

My family no longer lives on Oaska; we have made Earth our new home. In my entire life I’ve never actually seen Oaska much less ever been there. I only have stories that my family has passed down for years…and the abilities that come with my heritage. Everyone in my family is taught to control their power, but very rarely are we ever trained to make them stronger, to harness them. No, the sense of duty that my family once held has faded after many years of fighting and betrayal.

Yes, I remember…it started raining too.
I could feel the water drenching my hair and clothes.
No…something wasn’t right.

I lived my life on Earth relatively normal. Every now and then you come across a person, who most likely has had experience with Oaskans, who can tell that I’m not entirely normal or human. I found that if I ignore those people long enough they’ll leave me alone after a while. Though that’s not say I haven’t had to seriously deal with some people before, but those occurrences were far and few between.

“Mark!” I heard her call my name,
she shouldn’t have been there,
“My name isn’t Mark” I told her,

I had two names growing up, my Human name and my Oaskan name. Similar to how, say, a Hispanic child would be called Antonio at home and Anthony among his friends. My human name was Mark Henderson; it was very unassuming if you ask me. Then there is my true family name, Astrus Anoez; now that was name worthy of the honor bestowed upon it by my ancestors. I never truly believed I could live up to that name. It never really mattered.

I had a girlfriend too and I truly loved her with all my heart, and she truly did mean the world to me. She of course was human, and while my family had no objections whatsoever to dating humans, it did make life just a bit more difficult. In keeping with my family Oath, I couldn’t tell her what I was, not yet anyway. There was a time and a place for that.

I could see the tears in her eyes as I told her everything.
We both stood there in the rain, it was painful for me to watch;
this wasn’t how she was supposed to find out.

As I said, life was pretty average for me. I went to school, I went to work, I went out with friends and I came home to chill and sleep, and that’s about it. I never complained much about it; there was never really much to complain about. Life was good and I couldn’t really ask for more.

I took her into my arms…and said goodbye.
This had to end tonight,
I turned and faced him.

I woke that October morning expecting just another normal day…
That is, of course, until I met him, the man that would change my life forever. He called himself, Healin, he gave me no last name. I remember from family history that Karase had a brother named Healin, but I highly doubted that it was the same man. Still, that thought remained firmly in my mind. While there is no record of Healin’s death, I found it highly unlikely that he could be Karase’s brother.

He spoke to me about going with him to Oaska. He wanted me to train and become a soldier, saying it was in my blood to fight for our homeland. Of course I refused; I had no intention of living that life, when mine was sufficient enough. Still, he was relentless in his efforts to convince me otherwise. He promised me power, wealth, fame…none were things that I really wanted. I was content with my life on Earth, and I didn’t want to leave someone behind.

This wasn’t what I wanted.
I was Not a soldier,
I wasn’t sure about any of it.

Then everything went to hell.
Oaskan soldiers began to arrive on Earth. Humans didn’t notice, but every Oaskan on the planet did. I wasn’t sure what they wanted, but Healin left me alone soon after their arrival. If there’s one thing that I ever fully understood about Oaskan military, it’s that they don’t waste their time with threats; if they leave home you can bet that there will be a fight where they show up. My family decided it was time we leave. Whatever was going to happen, we knew it was going to be bad.

I told my girlfriend that we were leaving, and obviously she had some difficulty understanding why we had to leave because I obviously couldn’t tell her about the upsurge in Oaskan military presence. She begged to come with me, and part of me really wanted to bring her along. However, I knew that something was happening and I didn’t want her right in the middle of it all.

We left the city the next day fully prepared for just about anything that might happen. Our destination was a safe house out in the mountains for precisely this reason. It was relatively unknown and naturally well protected by the mountain sides. There were some other Oaskan families who lived out there as well; they were others who, like us, were trying to escape whatever was going to happen.

I should’ve known…
The signs were all there,
I should have paid more attention.

Two days after we arrived at the safe house, I had an unexpected visitor. Healin showed up at the door, once again asking that I “return” to Oaska. Once again, I refused. This time Healin got angry and took me by the collar and pinned me against the wall. I was stunned and had no idea what to do. My first instinct, which had to have been Oaskan, was to use my poison claws and lunge at his throat; an attack he quickly dodged but caused him to release me. Unfortunately for me, I was the only one home at the time to help me. He took two steps back and gave me sly smile. I stood there with my claws still withdrawn staring straight at him trying to figure out what he was thinking.
He was testing me…

At this point I was unsure whether or not he was going to come at me again, or just leave. I was ready for the former. I was braced for attack, and while I knew I wasn’t trained to fight, I knew that all it took was one scratch and he’d be done. But he did neither; he just stood there with a smirk on his face. He relaxed himself from a fighting position; I didn’t allow myself to do the same. “You’re good.” he said, “You’ve inherited his skills.”
“Whose skills? What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The skills of your great ancestor.”
“What ancest- … you don’t mean…”
“Yes, you possess the basic untrained skills of Karase.”

“…This can’t be happening,” I said to myself. I was never meant to take up that torch. My family left the fighting behind after Aura left Oaska for the final time; since then my blood hasn’t set foot on Oaska. “You…You’re not like the rest of us. You’re not Oaskan; you’re not even a half-breed. You’re something else,” he  said, “You’re blood is mess, tainted by years of breeding with humans…you even have Angel blood in you.” He was right; Karase fell in love with an Angel of Fate and their child was my great grandmother Aura.

I remember now…
It wasn’t long after that day;
it was the next in fact, when they came.