This is where I will be putting all of the short stories I write for the Golden Age, mainly focusing on the time of Pitch's rise. Each Chapter will be a different story and will have ratings and warnings at the beginning, so keep a look out for those. I probably won't be writing anything Mature, but some of the these are really depressing so be prepared.

In this Chapter some of the formatting got deleted when I submitted it, the original is a much more visual experience than what's posted here. If you want to see a version that is closer to what I intended you can head on over my AO3 account (link in profile), but I still think it came out pretty well, so enjoy.

Also this is really depressing. Seriously, I almost cried writing it.

Chapter Summary: General Pitchiner's second in command reflects on his life in service to a great man.

Chapter Rating: Teen

Chapter Warnings: Character Death, I mean really serious Character Death, I will not be offended if you choose to skip this Chapter

We thought we were doing Good. We thought that hunting the Monsters down would keep us safe, keep everyone safe. We never thought it would come to this. Even when we discovered that their Spirits had survived, warped and twisted beyond even the cruelty of Beasts, we just saw it as another Battle, another War to be Won. We were Soldiers; it was our Duty. Each day we trained and prepared, doing anything we could to ready ourselves for the inevitable Conflict. All we wanted to do was protect. But every day we would hear about how another colony was attacked, another constellation ravaged, another star extinguished forever. We held together as family members were lost, and comrades killed; always Strong in the Belief that we were doing Right.

I didn't have anything to lose coming into the War (the Shadow Wars they called it, those little weak men, sitting up in their ivory towers, sipping tea and complaining of the atmosphere beyond tinted glass). I had already lost my family a long time ago. Being a Soldier was better than being Destitute, wandering the streets for something to eat, nowhere to go when the Darkness came. The War was my escape. I never expected to Survive… at least, not this long. I was lucky they said; I didn't have anything to lose. I was one of the few.

The General wasn't so lucky.

He wasn't a General when we first met, of course, just a Second Lieutenant in charge of a small platoon. But the Nobles do get promoted quickly don't they (I just never expected him to bring me along when it happened). He was the one who convinced me to join him in the end, when his Soldiers came marching through that planet-bound settlement we all were sure the Nobles had forgotten long ago, swearing to do away with the Minotaur that plagued our village, promising us protection. How could I not follow him? He really was their little Golden Boy, the Noble who left his gleaming estate and the promise of a comfy seat in the Tsar's court to trudge around a Battlefield; abandoning his wife and unborn child to the laps of luxury, willing to give up his Life to protect them. Maybe that was why he was always so Good, always so Virtuous; the only Noble who every really deserved to be called Noble. He had something to Fight for, he had something to lose.

It hit him hard when it happened, when we received the News. We were camped out in a rocky clearing on a small moon that was being pillaged by a troop of Cyclops. He had just been promoted to Colonel, and I his Command Sergeant Major. We were discussing Battle Strategy when the Golden Hind sent down a messenger. I remember how strange that seemed. It was rare for the Starship to have need to inform us of anything after we Deployed, they were merely the transport as we Served our Purpose dictated by the Tsar's War Generals. Besides, any pressing concerns could be translated through the Moon Crystal kept safe in the Colonel's Tent (magic really was a wonderful thing). It was even more of a shock when the ship's Captain was the one to appear out of the Transport Light, not some lowly Ensign still taking his licks. I could tell from the Colonel's posture, the way his knuckles turned bone white as he gripped the handle of his Sword, that something was Wrong.

I've never seen a man more

Br .

. ok

en .

. before.

In the end, he did receive a Medal of Honor for singlehandedly freeing those people from the Cyclops threat; but at the time, I do Believe all he wanted was to Die. At least his daughter survived the Attack (she was the only thing that always kept him Strong), even if his wife wasn't so lucky. At the Award Ceremony, in amongst all the grandeur and opulence of the Tsar's Crystal Palace, I knew the only thing on his mind, the only thing he could comprehend, was how much he Wished he could trade that inane Medal, along with all the Honors he would ever receive and his entire Military Career, just to see his wife Alive again.

He stopped smiling after that.

Yet in spite of all this, all the pain and regret, we went back out, back into Battle. After swearing our Oaths and pledging our Loyalty, we took to the Stars, this time as Major General and Brigadier. We scoured the endless Void, intent on cleansing the Cosmos of Dream Pirates, and erasing all Darkness from innocent Hearts. Revenge was the only thing on our minds; he for his wife, and I for him.

We found it hard to Believe when it all finally came to an end. When we actually WON. All those years Fighting, all those lives lost and suddenly, everything was just… done. No more Cadets to train, no more Shadows to Fight, no more Battles to win. No more worries. At last, everything… everyone, was safe.

Suddenly, I had nowhere to go. No home or family to speak of. So, once again, I followed the General. I ended up living on his estate for almost a year, through the parties and parades and endless festivities. Although it wasn't because I was still poor, I had amassed a small fortune of my own being a Hero of the Great War (that's what they're calling it now, as if War could be Great). But after being together for so many years, living apart just felt… Wrong. Everyone was finally at ease, and even though the nightmares would still come and the fear would grip at our Hearts, we were content.

We should have known it wouldn't last. Peace never does.

We had managed to Kill the Monsters and imprison their Phantom remains, we had trapped all the EVILS of the universe inside a single jail cell, and the Prison needed a Warden. I pleaded with him, begged him, to let me go, let me be the one who this burden fell upon. But he just shook his head, and said it was an Honor. An Honor to be chosen, an Honor to be trusted, an Honor to do what needed done. An Honor the Tsar had given him to bear. I would have gone with him if I could. If the Crypt needed watching then surely two guards would provide better security than only one (and at the very least a little company to distract from an eternity wandering bleak catacomb halls); but he gave me a Job, an Order, one last Command to his most trusted subordinate. For, even if he was a Soldier who would give his life to defend Good, he still had a daughter to care for.

So I took my Burden. I let him go down into that Dungun of Shadows, with nothing but his sword and a golden locket, while I stayed above in the light. I watched as his daughter grew. I saw her learn to dance and sing and play the piano. Every day, I looked after her as she drank her tea, and laughed with her friends, and tended her garden. I watched her become a woman, and when the boys came calling, it was I who chased them with away with the threat of my blade. In his absence, I raised his daughter for him. And the only thing I could think of was how Wrong it all felt.

We wrote to him, his daughter and I, we told him everything. About the visitors we had and the goings-on of the court, whether it rained that day or if that night the moon would be full. She wrote to him of how she lost her last baby tooth, of the pain she felt when she broke her arm, of anything that made her sad. I wrote to him of his family's investments, of the birth of the Prince, of my fears of letting him down. Both of us wrote of how we Wished he was there. We'll never know if he ever received any of those letters (some I hope he didn't), for after the Crypt was closed, nothing was supposed to escape.

But it was folly to think that all EVIL could be contained, that fear could be Conquered. We're paying for that dim notion now, paying for our Mistake, and we deserve every minute of it. We who gave the commands and passed on the orders, We who followed the edicts of men who never saw a Battlefield, or even the outside of their crystal spheres, We deserve to watch as our brightest Hope tares us asunder.

She deserves none of this. That precious little girl who lost her father to War long before he died, she did nothing to warrant the Horror of being Sentry as Darkness extinguishes all Hope. Darkness that now takes the visage of her father.

It's been several hours now. She should be far way from here, hidden safe aboard the Moonclipper, protected by the same Guards who watch over the Tsar and his family. We did our Job, we gave them time. Even though the Shadows have moved on, taking to their own vessel in desperation to follow what's left of the Brightest Light, their greatest Enemy... they won't be able to catch them.

It's strange… being able to smile, being so content. You wouldn't think it possible, surrounded by so much Death and Destruction… knowing your end is nigh. I can feel the hole in my chest, that bleeding emptiness. It doesn't hurt, not anymore… but I can still feel it there. I can see it happening too, as if I'm not me, but a spectator watching some gruesome sport. I can see It, the Monster, the Shadow of the General (my General) raising its grisly scythe high above Its head, cragged teeth on display, sharp between cracked lips, golden eyes alight. I can see It bringing the Blade down, tearing through metal and flesh, painting the ground with another fresh coat of Blood, creating a hOle that will never be filled. Only Rage is written on Its demented features. I can see my body, falling, plummeting to the earth, I want to reach out, to catch myself, but there is nothing I can do. My body collapses on the hard wet ground where I now lay. That Monster steps over me, not even bothering to glance down, and I know, I know, I am Nothing to him, just another Faceless Soldier standing between him and his Prize.

It's silent now. Most of the Fearlings have gone, with their Battle won, only those who feed on the dying man's fears are left behind. But they will find no sustenance in me. It's so very silent… or maybe my ears have just stopped working. Suddenly I'm overcome with the urge to laugh (I don't know why I find it so funny), and I suppose I would… if only I could breath.

I can see the Darkness coming in now, starting at the edge of my Vision, soon it will overtake me. I look up at the Stars, it's not Night (the Asteroid Base where we chose to make our Last Stand has no Sun, and thus no Day or Night) but the Sky is full of them. So many Stars… so many points of light… one could spend the rest of their Life counting all of those Stars.

She was up there now, among those Pinpricks, and that Monster could chase her for the rest of eternity, but she would always have a Star to go to, a safe place to hide.

I try to count them, those little Beacons of Hope, but it's hard… so very hard. I can't move my head, and I don't think I even have the energy to blink. I believe I make to twenty before it becomes too difficult to concentrate and I lose my place. I try again, but I can't seem to remember what comes after five, so instead I just… stare. Stare at all that light that shines down on a world destroyed by Darkness.

Soon my Vision begins to blur, and slowly the Dots merge and combine. The Sky is now filled with Stars, a blinding sheet of Light that stretches for all eternity… I stare, and even if I could turn away, I know I wouldn't. The Lightis everywhere now, and I understand that it will be alright… that she will be safe… that there's nothing to worry about anymore. I go on staring, and I watch as darkness is extinguished, and All of Existence is consumed by blinding…

.

white…

.

.

.

LIGHT.

.

.

.

.

So there it is. Told you it was depressing, or maybe not. The formatting might make a lot of difference, the end was supposed to slowly fade to white and "DARKNESS" was supposed to diminish throughout the entire thing. Oh well, you can only do so much.

The rest of these shouldn't be nearly as depressing, but I can't promise anything.