Frost Ziegler/Short Stories

Here is a collection of stories that will mostly be featured at the beginning and end of each chapter in the upcoming fic Hero of the New Wave. Be wary of spoilers, though it should not reveal much since it is mostly just exaggeration. The stories are meant to be a symbol of just how far and legendary Frost Ziegler, his eventual legacy, and various other characters would become, despite it being against their own wishes.

Prologue
Not much is known about Lord Inquisitor Frost Ziegler’s childhood, the man who emerged from the fog of obscurity and became a major component to the peace between the Three Factions and its prolonging time thereafter.

What is truly known is his birthright, a descendant of the blasphemous priest Joseph Caiaphas, the man who is said to have plotted the death of the Messiah. It was feared that young Frost would grow and follow in his ancestor’s footsteps and become as blasphemous, if not become the Antichrist who would appear in the coming of the Apocalypse.

Upon further study however, there have been no conclusive records of Frost ‘Caiaphas’ Ziegler, nor was there a single mention of a Frost Ziegler within the databanks of any country he had once frequented in. While it is generally agreed that the Church was responsible for this purge of information, it was also not enough to explain why they did not have a proper transcript of the hero in question.

By the time his birthright was fully revealed to the public however, young Frost had already established his reputation as one of the brightest, if not the greatest, exorcist the Church has the pleasure of bringing forth that bloodlines could no longer deter his rise to glorification.

Like the Messiah rising from his grave, young Frost enters the realm of undying legend. Holy Sword Tizona unsheathed to carry out His will, his existence declared the end of an era and its subsequent rebirth.

– Ewald Cristaldi

Heroes
Heroes are fragile creatures. They put on this outward appearance of great strength, but deep down they know the truth. The war they are waging is taking a toll on them. The constant strain is pushing down upon their bodies, yes,  but it takes a special toll on their mind. For as one travels deeper into the darkness, i t is inevitable that one won’t be able to see the light.

In those times, the line between good and evil begins to dim, a nd it gets harder and harder to tell right from wrong, u ntil eventually  <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">they might just forget a <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">nd before them are their sins laid bare.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">Those they once tried to defend begin to run in fear of them. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">Their great power, once used to save others, now act as the instrument of their isolation. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">For a man who does not know right from wrong, holding great power is a danger to all around them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">So yesterday’s hero becomes today’s villain.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">The freedom fighter becomes the untrustworthy rebel.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">The peacekeeper becomes the oppressor.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">The king becomes the tyrant.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;">And the world is left darker then it was b <span style="font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;">efore.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">However, there is one simple solution to this. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">For every hero, there comes a time when they must put down their arms. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">They step away from the fray. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">They stop fighting b <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">ecause their war is finished. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">Their opponent has been vanquished, t <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">heir enemy has been laid bare,  <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">their win condition has been met, a <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">nd as such their job is done.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">It is time to go home and prepare for the next bout. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">Heroes that can’t see this will inevitably become villains, a <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">nd Heroes who still can will rise to fight them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:normal;line-height:21px;">Such is the nature of Heroes.

<p style="margin:0in0in0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-attachment:initial;background-size:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial;">– <span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; font-weight:normal"> Vasco Strada becoming an Evocatus