Story Time!

I knew a kid once, felt terrible for him. He was average all around. Bright, smart, sharp, but got picked on relentlessly. Elementary school was absolutely hellish. Every single day was dreaded. He was afraid to do well, afraid to really shine, because of the jealousy children can harbor and the horrid things it makes them do. He always wanted to be a doctor, told his family so, and when they asked why? "To help people!" Was always the enthusiastic answer. This kid grew into a teenager, got into a police training program, which shaped just about every aspect of his life. It kept his nose clean, it kept his hair short, and it kept him hyper vigilant. He knew how to defend himself mentally and physically, and from that point on was untouchable. The only true thing he feared, no.. fears, is abandonment. Having the people you love exclude you or choose not to have you around is debilitating to the ego. In college, he got a job as a salesman in an electronics store. His mind was inflated, he was going to run that shit someday. Then, he also started working for a bank. Promises of wealth, moving up the ladder, and helping people in a different way. There was a nagging in the back of his mind. That nagging wondered why it was he suffered a silk noose every day, why he stressed over performance, and why he wasn't doing something he enjoyed. Sure, finances had him pinned down. He was afraid. Afraid to excel, afraid to shine, afraid to be bright and take charge of what he knew was possible. Fuck it, let's blow both jobs and see what happens. That kid is a week away from a huge test. A massive, absolutely terrifying test c/o the NYS Dept of Health. However, that kid is going to walk into Ered Nimrais and make that test his bitch.

"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!"