Happy Birthday to me. So I'm putting out a lot of stuff today.

This is the prologue for my rewrite of the fic Corrupted Legends. I released the original at a really bad time and it wasn't read much.

I hope that this time I can do better and I even made the prologue so I could provide backstory easily as well as give myself time to touch up the first chapter.

This was written to the most beautiful piano piece I have ever heard. It is called A Sign of Things to Come by Keith Merrill.

Dark Descendants Prologue

It was all but Armageddon.

The sky was a blood red from the rising sun yet corrupted by black clouds of smoke from the pyres for the dead. The land itself was akin to hell; a barren wasteland it was, sharp outcroppings of rock sprouting from the dark dry earth.

All the while two armies clashed. One was made up of millions of humanoid figures in blocks of cavalry, spearmen, archers and warriors all marching to a steady drumbeat. A beat that faded into a muddle of screams and clashes of metal on bone as they approached the true battle that was the front-lines.

The other army was more of a swarm; instead of glinting weapons and armour it was a solid mass of black fur and scales as well as stark white bone highlighted by red runes. Wolves, bears, snakes and innumerable other animals were in a corrupted form of creatures would best be described as monsters or beasts, grim life forms of destruction.

That was what the humans called them, creatures of Grimm, to signify their soulless drive to destruction and their total lack of any empathy or pity.

Little did the humans, the self-labeled "Protectors of Remnant", know that they are responsible for the creatures' torment.

On an elevated stone plateau jutting out over a cliff there were two figures both swathed in black robes that hid their forms. The two were silently staring out at the terrible standstill before them. An battle of equals that had been going relentlessly for an entire week to the day. A sudden gust of wind blew noiselessly across the landscape to stir the black cloth of the two beings standing there as they stared into the rusty light bleeding from the morning sun.

"Wulf, my friend," the righter most figure spoke with a slight hiss, sliding like a whetstone across steel on the breeze, "do you ever wonder why we are here?"

The figure on the right recoiled slightly at the words, contemplating the question.

"Do you mean why we are standing here, observing the battle that will likely be our downfall or are you wanting another meta-physical debate?" It replied with a question, voice slightly lupine and growling. "Because you know I hate those."

The first figure hissed in satisfaction, changing to a more comfortable stance, "Take it how you will, Wulf."

"Well, we're here because of the Plague and because of the humans acting all superior and killing all of the true Children."

The first figure let out a clicking laugh, "That answer shows your immaturity. Correct but inaccurate."

The second figure growled softly, "I'll remind you that I am indeed the youngest of all the Primogenitors-"

"And yet you have contributed the most to both the Grimm and Human sides. Those of your blood swamp their foes."

"I was one of the first to be hit by the Plague!" Wulf snarled, taking a step towards the other figure. "And I cannot stop my brood from doing what they do. They have a natural pack instinct."

He returned to his original position staring at the battle, body tense under his cloaks.

"Your blood are also in the battle; I have seen many a Grimm and Human fall from an assassin's blade or claw. I am here to try and repent for what my brood have done. She said that she had a plan to save us, as well as what little heart and soul we have left."

"And so I shall." A voice spoke up from behind the two black cloaked figures, prompting them to spin around with hoods flapping around their faces.

The figure in the left nodded politely, "Ma'am."

Wulf ,however, dropped to one knee submissively, "Milady, you have come."

"I did promise you I would, and I keep my promises." The voice was like the first two in the way that it had no specific gender. Unlike the others, however, it was not a growl or hiss but more like a song of two voices in perfect harmony.

"You do not need to bow pack master." The new arrival walked forwards with black heeled shoes clicking even on the dry earth, wearing a long and elegant gown trimmed with dark feathers that shimmered into multiple colours in the glare. Her, for the figure was reminiscent of a female, face was covered by a shining ivory half-mask in a beautiful representation of a bird while only her hands and throat revealed her marble like skin.

"And I can see that the shadow walker needs not that request." The dress clad Primogenitor spoke with a laugh, the sign of a grin showing from under her mask.

The righter most figure, now revealed to be the shadow walker rolled it's neck before turning back to the battle. "The lady Nevermore has never asked to have worship and I will thus refrain from doing so. And I would not bow anyways. As much as Wulf and Ursai seem to forget it, I would curtsy."

"A little jealous aren't you, assassin?" This voice was growling, like Wulf's but deeper and lacking the lupine qualities. "So much that you would dare speak to the wisest of as all in such a manner?"

Wulf whirled around in circles with his head darting to and fro.

"Where is he? I can hear him."

The shadow walker chuckled.

"Ever so clever my lady." She sneered, "You brought a brute to destroy me if I tried to kill you. Again. Now tell him to come up the cliff already."

The ground shuddered before a brown clad shape shot over the edge of the plateau to land with a jarring crunch. It was bent over; white spikes of bone limned with flame jutting out from its back through the drab brown leather before they slowly sunk down into the creature's flesh as it stood up.

"Sibling!" Wulf cried out, taking a step forwards before looking guiltily towards Nevermore.

"It is fine Wulf." Nevermore spoke, "I brought Ursai here because he too wants to stop this fight, not to kill anyone. And none of us need hide ourselves." The lady sighed, "All of the humans are fighting and we are the last of our kind."

"Impossible!" the assassin snapped, "The last I saw, Taijitu was still holding on to his Soul and his Remnant. As well as Tusk."

"Look behind me, sibling." Ursai growled in an undertone, "Taijitu lost his battle this morning and was sundered."

As the four looked over the battle a lightning fast blur of black and white bolted across the no-man's-land before circling around a squad of cloak clad humans. It revealed itself to be a large snake, half white and half black with a mouth on both ends, constricting around the warriors in an ever tightening spiral.

There was a flare of flames and suddenly the warriors were bouncing from coil to coil, their cloaks trialing flames that scorched scales and their punches causing massive explosions of kinetic force.

"We must leave now." Nevermore sang out.

"Why?" Wulf asked quizzically, "It's not like we are in that much danger. Some of us have yet to be divided, have our Souls and Remnants intact." He looked at Nevermore and Ursai.

"Unfortunately, no." Ursai snorted, "I was corrupted months ago. And Lady Nevermore has contributed a single of her ilk to both sides. Even she cannot hold it back and more may appear soon."

"And what are "her ilk" as you put it?" hissed the shadow walker.

Lady Nevermore simply looked upwards as a shadow of awesome size flew over the landscape, passing over the group before blotting out the rising sun. It was a black bird with a mask of bone, swirls of red accenting the osseous material. It let out a challenging shriek before diving down into the ranks of humans, rending with each swipe of its clawed feet.

"And the human?" Wulf hesitantly asked.

"Watch, younger sibling and you shall see." Ursai rumbled.

Sure enough a single human female clad in robes shot into the air seemingly from nothing, glowing circles covered in runes, glyphs, appearing around her as she began to combat the raptor.

"As I said," Nevermore whispered, "We must be going. And I know exactly the place."

It was a gigantic castle of a grey stone like material with no seams, six spires reaching to the heavens surrounding a central peak. The structure was in the middle of a chasm, it's mirror image built underneath to create the image of an upside down citadel, and held only by six bridges whose supports vanished into nothingness as you looked down into the pit. Around it all was a forest of such a thickly woven canopy that no light reached the floor.

"Behold," Ursai rumbled, "The Fortress of the Forsaken. We can survive here."

"Of the Forsaken." The shadow walker spat in disgust, "Now we're insulting ourselves. Why name it that, dear Brother and Sister?"

"We are not brothers and sisters, assassin. We are siblings. Whatever form we want to be known as, we can be." Ursai growled.

"And you must admit, Forsaken is an applicable name for us now." Wulf spoke up for the first time since their arrival to the stronghold. "None of us are pure and we are being pushed out of the realm we created."

"So very correct you are Wulf." The melodious voice of Nevermore spoke up, the Primogenitor floating on a white symbol towards the group.

"Lady Nevermore, what were you doing over at the temple?" Wulf questioned.

Nevermore laughed, the sound both beautifully haunting and terrifying from her dual tones, at the question.

"I was merely opening the majority of the locks I set. We must not tarry much, but we do not need to run yet. In this sanctuary we can hide ourselves away until we can reclaim our lands."

The masked entity paused, "We can use our very enemies to destroy the covetous humans. Why do you think I asked you all to create a genome, a seed, of human that has a Remnant and a Soul? It was so when we rise again we can claim one of that blood to be our avatar. Taijitu, Tusk and others were only just able to create a champion with my aid before they succumbed."

"And what became of them?" the shadow walker hissed, "Even if their bodies were sundered you must have kept some form of them to let them revive."

"I can show you." Nevermore said, "Come with me."

The group of Primogenitors ambled rather slowly towards a large slab of a door, indentations running the length of it glowing with light from glyphs. With a wave of her hand, Nevermore bade the door to open and, the glyphs along it spinning at different speeds, it opened with a thunderous roar of crashing stone.

None of the Primogenitors had even entered the structure however when a piercing shriek caused them all to spin around.

"No. They should not be here yet." Nevermore spoke softly.

"Who is it milady? The humans?"

"Not just them, little sibling. The Grimm are there too." Ursai's body tensed as a mixed horde of humans and monsters began appearing from the treeline, waiting tentatively.

"I thought the Grimm and Humans would rip each other to shreds!" The shadow walker made an impatient clicking noise. "Why are they working together? And better yet," the Primogenitor turned to Nevermore, "why aren't they still fighting in the Hell Lands?"

"They must have sensed something; the power in this temple is powerful indeed. Everybody retreat inside now."

The army outside merely watched as the Primogenitors entered one by one, not moving a foot past the tree line.

"Nevermore," the shadow walker asked slowly, "I am sure we would appreciate it if you could close the door."

"It is done." With another wave of her hand, Nevermore caused the door to slide back down.

However, as soon as her hand moved, a shadow erupted from the forest emitting another scream. It was the raptor from the battlefield come to seek its master. And that was when the army, Grimm and Humans still fighting each other in insignificant skirmishes, charged.

"Can it close any faster?" Wulf demanded in a panic; not even Primogenitors could destroy that many beasts.

As if in response the door suddenly slammed shut, stopping all the sounds from outside and cloaking the area in silence.

"And you believe this is the correct path?"

"I do not think, shadow walker. I know." Nevermore's dual voices seemed slightly angered by the events unfolding around the siblings. The citadel was shaking from explosions, dust and aesthetics falling from the arched ceilings.

They passed a door with a boar emblem upon it, Ursai only pausing enough to mutter "Tusk". Up a staircase, around a fountain they went, getting closer and closer to the middle and bottom of the fortress.

The shadow walker hissed suddenly, a hiss of recognition, upon seeing a door emblazoned with an elaborate bull.

"It is indeed who you think it is. But he will not rise until the rest of us are in power." Nevermore spoke without even looking back.

The other Primogenitor let a finger linger on the picture before following the group once more. There was a sudden crash and a howl echoed through the hallway. A beowolf sprinted from the shadows to lunge at Ursai. The Primogenitor blocked its slash almost lazily, halting the follow up with just as much effort. The Grimm then snapped at the throat of its enemy, only to have its muzzle grabbed and subsequently atomized by a bone spiked fist.

"Sorry for killing one of yours, Wulf."

"Do not worry, I'll repay the favor."

And the pack master was in motion, blurring in and out so quickly that any who blinked would have missed it if it wasn't for the fact that a mail clad stag faunus with a large bardiche in hand seemed to stumble from the shadows.

The faunus did recover quickly, bringing the large metal head of his weapon in an overhead arc. Not fast enough for a Primogenitor however. Wulf sped in, one forearm being placed under the haft of the polearm, the other slashing with white claws at the warrior's unarmoured hands. The faunus let go of his weapon with a shout, the bardiche levering over Wulf's forearm before the Primogenitor grabbed it and shoved the point into the warrior's throat, prompting a gush of blood that Wulf deftly sidestepped.

"One for one.."

"Amen"

"We have arrived." It appeared to be a dead end with an intricately carved wall. But as Nevermore stepped forwards shapes began to unfold from her back, wings of night black feathers. With a single flap the masked Primogenitor rose through the air. She placed a palm on a lock symbol meshed in with swirls and edges, the ground rumbling once more as she did so.

"This place is going to fall apart."

"Shut it, assassin." Ursai defended Nevermore again, "We are too deep for them to reach us. Her plan will work."

The rumbling intensified and then the wall, once a dead end, parted into hundreds of interwoven parts to reveal an opening. An opening to a room cloaked entirely in shadow save a single object.

A mirror, larger than even the towering Ursai was glistening in the dead light, its surface shimmering like liquid.

"I am amazed you have this." The shadow walker spoke, almost reverently now, "All of these were destroyed. Ah, but you rebuilt them?"

Nevermore nodded, a smile gracing her face. "With a little help from Wulf, though the pack master did not know what I meant to do with them."

Wulf seemed the most captivated of all, staring at the hypnotic beauty of the mirror's surface.

"I suppose we just walk into it then?" The Primogenitor asked rhetorically.

They all approached the mirror slowly; such an object was not to be messed around with.

"Six hundred and sixty-six years." The voice snapped the Primogenitors from their reverie.

"Excuse me?" Wulf spoke, turning to Nevermore.

"Six hundred and sixty-six years. It's how long we have to wait."

"Well then." The shadow walker hissed, "I suppose we should get it over with then."

Then nothing, as the light faded from the room, the crashing of beasts and the explosions of dust ceasing as they lost all drive to assault the massive citadel. Those creatures that had already entered were left to die, having no way out.

And slowly, oh so slowly, time was ticking.

I would also like to say that I would appreciate help with this story; your constructive criticism -key word: constructive- is very helpful to me.

Please also check out some of the other content I am releasing today: The Closed Diary and Aiming for Glory.