Birth of Grimm

"I do not understand why it must be you to carry out this task." A beautiful woman asked, watching as her husband was dressed in his armor.

"My duties are clear. As the Emperor this problem is my responsibility."

"What of your family? Do you not have a higher responsibility to them?"

"Do not speak of such nonsense. You are most important to me, but the people of this land are also my family. I must go." The woman could not fight back a wave of tears as the Emperor continued to speak. "I cannot let this evil destroy us all."

An elderly man dressed in robes worn only by monks stepped forward with a vial held up in his hand. "My lord, the elixir is ready. It is the key to extinguishing this devilry."

The Emperor took the vial and placed it in his pouch. He then walked over to his wife, placing his hands under her face, raising her up to look at him as he smiled and placed a hand on her stomach, over where their first child was still growing, a few days away from being born. They both smiled and stared into each other's eyes, not saying a word but what was left unsaid was more than enough between the two of them.

"My Lord." The Emperor's bowed behind him and his wife, holding up the golden helmet that went with his armor.

The Emperor slipped the helmet on, glancing one last time at his wife and turned away, walking outside of his palace and climbed onto his horse. He rode out, followed by his best warriors to the Black Forest that had spread across the land. The journey to the center of the Black Forest was long and hard, with long black trees pointed like spears sprouted from the ground, killing many of his warriors. The spear like trees sprouted without warning, impaling anyone in their reach who only had the chance to scream for a mere second before they were silenced.

It was only mid-day and by that time only the Emperor was still alive. Letting out a scream the Emperor unsheathed his sword as he galloped further into the Black Forest. He heard the ground cracking and encourage his horse to move faster to avoid the fate of his men. The horse ran faster and faster…Until they came upon the center of the forest, where the source of this evil forest existed.

The Pool of Darkness.

An ever expanding pool of tarlike darkness that consumed anything in its reach. From it came a forest of black trees shaped like spears and killed anyone or anything as it expanded under the Earth like a plague. The trees would form from cracks in the ground, allowing the pool to spread and capture unsuspecting victims and pull them into it. A truly horrible fate for anyone who was unaware of the dangers of the Black Forest.

The Emperor off his horse, patting it to calm it down as more cracks in the ground were formed, moving in his direction. He placed the vial of the special elixir on the ground, chanting quietly as the ground cracked even more, removing the lid that released a white mystic smoke. He then dipped the end of his arrow into the elixir, coating its head in the special substance that seemed to fuse with it and turned the arrowhead white. He then lifted the arrow and readied his bow aiming at the sun that seemed to dim in the center of this evil place.

He released the arrow and watched as it shot up towards the sun, catching on fire as it bathed in the sun's head and then fell down into the center of the pool, releasing a blast of fire that spreads across the pool. The Emperor watched as the trees in the pool began to sink back down into the black tar they had been made from. For a second the Emperor thought it was finally over but then he saw two flames emerged from the pool.

These two flames were followed by more lights scattered across the pool, from which emerged expanding, shapeless masses of tar that crawled out onto the land, morphing and shifting before the Emperor's very eyes. The shapeless blobs became more defined, clearer, and eventually took on forms of great beasts. Their bodies were made of pure darkness and their faces painted white with red glowing eyes. The Emperor stepped back and quickly pulled out his bow, aiming at the nearest monster and fired off several arrows.

Every shot struck home but had absolutely no effect on the monsters, instead only embedding themselves in its skin. The monsters then turned to the Emperor as he backed away in terror, realizing his efforts to destroy the evil had only caused it to rise up in the form of these demons. He had no choice but to run and the monsters chased after him, howling as more were born from the pool. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him but he could hear the demons getting closer.

He turned around and unsheathed his sword as the first monster lunged at him. His sword cut into the monster's skin, injuring it but not doing nearly enough damage to deter it. The beast shrieked and swatted him aside, cutting through his armor and knocking him several feet away. He skidded across the ground, his chest armor losing components which trailed behind him. The monster growled as it and its pack mates surrounded the Emperor, ready to finish him off.

Just as the lead monster was about to strike the finishing blow a light shined down from the heavens, bearing down on the Emperor and the monsters. The demons were blinded by the light and screamed out as they stepped back. From the source of the light emerged a giant horse, its pure white fur gleaming as it touched down on the ground and leaned down closely towards the Emperor. The demons stepped back, unable to handle the light and retreated into the remains of the Black Forest. The Emperor looked up, seeing the massive horse before him and watched as it lowered itself in front of him.

He patted it several times before he finally understood that it wanted him to climb onto its back and did so. The horse then shot up into the sky, causing the Emperor to cry out from how fast it flew and held on tight as the horse flew above the clouds.

Suddenly the entire world vanished behind him, with clouds rushing past on all sides. The Emperor clung tightly to the horse as he felt moisture pelting him. Eventually the horse burst free of the clouds and was flying towards a mountain…one that the Emperor was certain had not been anywhere close to the Black Forest based on his understanding of his own kingdom's geography. This anomalous landmark reached and seemingly touched the sky itself, standing far taller than any other that he knew resided within his lands. The horse landed at the bottom of a set of stairs and knelt down, allowing the Emperor to climb down.

The Emperor looked up, staring up at the massive temple before feeling the horse push him slightly, snorting impatiently before gesturing up towards the structure with its head. Seeing that the horse wanted him to go up the stairs he hesitantly began his ascent, scaling the vast steps until he stepped into the temple and was consumed in darkness. When his vision adjust he found himself standing before three massive statues of beings he did not recognize.

One resembled a man with multiple arms and dressed in outlandish garments carrying a bow and arrows. The second looked like a man with the head of some kind of avian animal carrying a curved object clasped to its chest. The third in the center was the largest of the three, taking on the appearance of a vast man with a thick beard, heavy armor and one eye missing.

There was another flash of light and the Emperor saw three old men standing before him at the feet of the statues. All three were dressed as Buddhist monks and were indistinguishable save for the color of their robes. Each slowly opened their eyes, showing eyes that were not a human eyes but an endless void of space filled with stars.

And behind the monks appeared three giants, looking like the statues given life and color.

"You have been chosen." The God with the Falcon head spoke.

"An ancient evil has resurrected itself on thy world." The bearded God spoke next.

"This evil can only be destroyed by the power of a spirit of righteousness." The six armed God finished.

The Gods looked down at the Emperor and beams of light shot from their eyes, colliding with the Emperor. In a blast of light an orb of pure light emerged from Emperor's chest. The monks each held a giant hammer and one by one brought them down on the orb, shaping it as the Gods shined the light from their eyes on the light with each strike. The Emperor watched in awe as the light was shaped into a sword, a beautifully crafted katana.

The sword floated towards the Emperor who hesitantly grasped it and in a flash of divine light he wore armor that shined with a divine azure light, resembling the armor he originally wore.

"This sword was forged from the righteous energy within thee." The Bearded God spoke.

"It possesses the power to destroy this evil force." The Falcon God continued.

"But be warned. This evil wields magic not of this world." The Six-Armed God cautioned. "Such evil cannot be destroyed alone."

"Thus this sword shall awaken great power that sleeps within thee and thy people who prove themselves worthy." The Bearded God then explained before the Gods all vanished, leaving the Emperor alone in the temple. "It is a power that exists within all those who possess a soul, but only those of great capability can access it at will; the power to call upon the energy within their very spirit and bring it to bear as a weapon against the darkness."

The Emperor held up the sword that had been given to him and it emitted a bright azure color aura that traveled down his arm and into his body, awakening something within him. He gasped as he felt a surge of power from within, merging with his soul, causing an aura that glowed the same azure light as the sword and his armor to surround him. A cloud formed under his feet, surprisingly lifting him off the ground and he stared down at in surprise. Staring at it for a few seconds he realized that he had summoned it and he likely controlled it.

He pointed his sword in the direction of his home, knowing that the monsters would go there. The cloud shot out of the temple, flying through the sky like a comet. The Emperor looked down below, seeing the dark creatures emerging from the Black Forest and they were moving towards the nearest place that was populated.

His home.

Xxx

The Emperor's kingdom was under attack as the monsters of the Black Forest attacked in swarms. The warriors that had not left with the Emperor to the Black Forest were struggling to fight back against the monsters but there too many and they were too powerful. Arrows and swords were somewhat effective but they could not kill the monsters fast enough as they overwhelmed the army. The monsters chased after anyone living through the burning city and as they swarmed the city they began surrounding the largest human dwelling in the city.

The Palace.

As the leading monster, this one shaped like a dragon was about to attack a bright blur shot through the air and a second later the dragon monster's head fell onto the ground, followed by its body as it collapsed. The monsters stopped as the Emperor landed the ground, standing between them and the palace.

"You demons shall not pass!" The Emperor held up his in both hands. "Your rampage of mindless destruction ends here!"

The monsters stared at him for a mere moment…And then they attacked.

The Emperor did not run as the demons attacked on mass. He held his sword on both hands and swung it, slicing through the nearest demon with surprising ease. The Emperor went on the offensive, the power of his sword giving him the strength he needed to carve a path through the beasts that threatened his home. Bodies were hacked to pieces, screams echoed through the skies as blood was shed. The Emperor's armor broke apart under the constant attacks but he kept on fighting.

He let out a scream as he sliced off the head of a serpent demon, an azure flame erupting from his sword. He swung his sword out, releasing a wave of azure light that consumed the nearest demons and burning them to ash. The Emperor could not explain the power he now had but he knew it was given to him for a reason. The purpose of these powers was the same as the purpose of his sword: the destruction of the demons that he had unintentionally unleashed onto his home and the world.

The horde began to ignore other threats and converged on the Emperor, attempting to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. The surviving warriors on the ramparts of the palace watched, fixed in place by shock as they witnessed their ruler blaze a path through the horde, incinerating many of the beasts and cutting through even more. Claws, stingers and fangs attempted to rip into him, but the Emperor fought like a man possessed, knowing that his failure meant the fall of the land he loved and the death of those most precious to him. Dark clouds formed above the city, rain beginning to fall upon the city, extinguishing flames as the fighting turned from endless roaring and screaming to dimmed cries.

The horde of monsters had decreased heavily in numbers and they were just beginning to realize that this new enemy they were facing was someone they could not defeat. So the survivors, seeing their deaths in the eyes of the Emperor turned and fled, screeching as they fled back into the Black Forest. The Emperor watched as the fled before holding up his sword and screamed so loud the entire land seemed to shake from his voice and caused the ran to stop, splitting the clouds and allowing the sun to shine down on him. When his screaming ended he took a deep breath, staring down at the ground and took a moment of silence to mourn the unfortunate souls who died at the hands of the demon horde.

A sharp cry caught his attention and he looked behind, seeing his wife huddled with the survivors and was smiling at him. The Emperor smiled as he saw something moving in her arms and moved over to his wife, wiping a tear from her smiling face. He looked down at the newborn as his wife turned it to face him and saw the baby's crying face. When the child saw him it stopped, staring at him for a mere second before smiling.

His wife handed him his son and he hugged the child, happy they were all alive and all together.

He held up his sword. "We must learn from this day. We must be prepared when the evil of the Black Forest returns. We must…Have a plan."

The Emperor would make a plan to defend his kingdom from the demon horde he had unintentionally unleashed, by gathering fellow leaders from around the world and explained about the demon horde and the power he had gained from his sword. As the demon horde grew in number he helped many warriors awaken the powers in them that manifested as auras, each one differently colored than the other. As the demon horde returned many more battles were fought but humanity would endure for centuries to come.

The Emperor would long be remembered for not saving his people and his land but for the course humanity would take in the following years fighting against the monsters born in the center of the Black Forest. His actions and wisdom would be used in the founding of humanity's greatest warriors against the monsters that in the following centuries would be named the Grimm Horde.

And the warriors would be known as Huntsmen, following the path of righteousness the Emperor had passed down to his son and disciples, hoping that one day humanity would be free from constant fighting against evil.

Only time would tell.