⁕ Horseman: War

Thousands of years ago, as per the three brothers' pact, Vichama went to Asia while Pachacuti remained in South America. Meanwhile, the third brother, Chuki, travelled to Europe to find his prodiges. However, something else followed him as he travelled to Europe.

Chuki's first few years in Europe proved to bear no fruit as none of the people he had chosen to wield the crystal managed to gain an ability. Everywhere he went, a strange presence followed him. Upon walking into a forest full of life and light, he would find the path behind him obscured by an aura of power that suffocated everything in its steps. As he exited the forest, all but the dead husk of what once was free and wild remained. 

No matter where Chuki went, this presence followed. No matter how hard he tried to find new disciples, no one he ever encountered managed to wield the crystal's power. The sickness, as Chuki would come to name the presence, transformed the soil into infertile lands, mutilated the gifted hands of the people into the rotten limbs of the dead, and bent the will of those who sought a better life into senseless violence fueled by greed. 

Thousands of years went by as Chuki waited for the dead branches of a tree to bear fruit. That is until a few men from the dying Mycenaean civilization demonstrated their ability to manipulate certain elements in nature. These men later became Chuki's disciples and became the founding members of the Greek city-states.

Unlike Vichama, Chuki instructed his disciples to show control and morality when it comes to the usage of their abilities. Subsequently, many descendants of Chuki's disciples became Greek philosophers who provided the knowledge that propelled the growth of Greek society. Through the use of their abilities in a controlled manner, they were quick to learn the inner workings of nature of the earth itself. 

However, as the years went by, Chuki forgot about the sickness despite it being very much present. Chuki was able to witness Greece's golden age but all this was nothing but a facade put up by the sickness to send a message to Chuki. Slowly, the virtuous will of those in power slowly corroded into the vice of power and greed. Wars after war followed until, the Greek city-states and later the Macedonian empire was entirely dismembered. 

As a massive fire consumed a major Greek city, Chuki was reminded once again of the empire he and his brothers built together. The sickness had a very clear message: "There is no defying fate. No matter how far you run, no matter how much you fight, no matter how strong is your will, you cannot defy what is fated to happen. "

[Chuki] - "I will not yield! I will fight until the end! I refuse to believe your nonsense! "

Yelled Chuki atop the mountain which overlooked the city. 

With a wave of his hand, Chuki summoned a massive cloud which began to extinguish the fire that engulfed the city. However, the sickness mocked his feeble attempt to save the civilians inside the doomed city. Soon, the water from a river upstream abruptly rushed into the village before sweeping away everyone still left alive after the fire. Chuki recoiled in shock as his attempt to save the city ultimately only resulted in its further destruction. 

Later, inside the Roman empire, Chuki began involving himself more closely with its politics and management. Chuki sought to rebuild the civilization that faltered before his eyes by protecting the Roman empire from The Sickness using his own power. In around 100 BC, Chuki found his first prodigy in the form of a baby named Julius Caesar who had shown himself capable of lifting his entire house upon birth by simply coming into contact with his mother's crystals. Later in his life, Caesar used his power to pull many victories against the enemies of the Roman Empire. Despite all these achievements, what impressed Chuki was how Caesar possessed the heart and power to truly meet the criteria for becoming the champion prophesied by Pachacuti.

However, Chuki's favouritism toward Caesar sparked jealousy among his other less gifted disciples. The ultimate breaking point came in 44 BC when Chuki had a private conversation with Caesar. It was a cold summer night as Ceasar sat down to converse with his master over some fine wine. 

[Chuki] - "Caesar, my champion, I think you are ready to receive the secret to immortality. You have shown yourself capable of virtue and empathy all the while you demonstrated your mastery of the crystals. Your victories over enemies who also possessed powerful abilities like the Gaules and Bretons also proved the power of your mind. "

Said Chuki as Caesar poured him some wine. 

[Caesar] - "I will gladly accept your gift, my master. You have taught me well over these years and that's why I was able to achieve so many victories. Let us drink to us and the republic. "

Said Caesar as he raised his cup. 

The two men collided their cups and drank. Later that night, soon after Chuki left Caesar's residence, a young man suddenly phased out of the wall before sneaking out of the area. Having overheard Chuki and Caesar's conversation, he reported the conversation to Brutus, another one of Chuki's apprentices. The Sickness slowly swam around Brutus as his face slowly turned red with rage. 

[Brutus] - "Just because I was slightly weaker than that son of a dog, Caesar, he overlooked me as if I didn't dedicate my life to him and the republic. "

Yelled Brutus in anger as he banged his fist on the table. 

[Brutus] - "All of you were his disciples as well but look now, without his mask, Chuki revealed his true intention. We are nothing but pawns to him! We are simply left to wither as old age consumes us while Caesar gets to have the secret to immortality. Tell me, fellow senators, how is this fair? "

Ranted Brutus to all his fellow senators in the room.

Brutus' fiery speech sparked a feeling of betrayal even in the hearts of Chuki's most devoted disciples. Murmurs sparked inside the room as the men discussed what the make of the situation. 

[Brutus] - "Think, fellow senators, once Caesar is made emperor of the republic, he will have all of us in his hands. If he decides to purge us with the iron legion combined with his own power, we'll be nothing by flies in his way. We must act now! "

[Longinus] - "I agree with Senator Brutus! We must act now and remove Caesar from power. "

[Cassius] - "How should we do that? "

[Brutus] - "We have the numbers. No matter how strong is Caesar, without his iron legion, we outnumber him greatly. Tomorrow, I and 24 of the most powerful among you will meet Caesar in the senate. "

Unlike history written by men without abilities or the knowledge of the crystal's existence, Caesar put up a decent fight against many of Brutus' men. Armed with his ability, Caesar initially fended off and killed a few of his assailants but when their number began to overwhelm him, Brutus came in for the kill by raining a storm of blades upon Caesar. It was only after The Sickness moved away from Brutus' waist that he finally realized what he had done. After their failed uprising, Brutus and his fellow senators all fled with a portion of the Iron Legion under their command. 

Upon learning of Caesar's death, Chuki and his few loyal disciples such as Anthony and Octavian gathered the rest of the Iron Legion and set off to hunt the conspirators down. It was the first time Chuki used his power in anger as he single-handedly decimated the men under Brutus' command. In the end, justice was never served as Brutus committed suicide short before being captured by Chuki. 

This, however, was the beginning of the end. After a successful reign under Octavian, the Roman Empire began to show signs of weakness. Despite all of Chuki's efforts, the empire faltered and collapsed into an inferno. As the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Chuki, in a desperate last-ditch effort to save his empire, gathered the last of his disciples to mount a defence against the crystal-armed invaders. 

[Aetius] - "Stop this madness, master, the empire cannot be saved. It's worthless to keep trying! "

Said Aetius as he tried to stop Chuki.

[Chuki] - "No, we must keep trying! We must defend our land at all costs! "

Unfortunately, in a twist of events, Chuki's disciples turned against him amidst their fight and joined the invaders. As Chuki led the charge, a row of arrows suddenly struck him in the back. Then, without hesitation, both sides converged on Chuki like two packs of wild wolves before trying to tear him to pieces. At first, Chuki hesitated to fight his own disciples but he was eventually forced to engage in senseless violence. 

Silence was all that was left in the end as Chuki kneeled inside a field of blood-soaked mud and dead bodies. Upon hearing a weak groan amidst the corpse, Chuki immediately rushed to see what was going on. Through the pile of bones and flesh, Chuki pulled Aetius, his most devoted disciple out of his muddy tomb. 

[Chuki] - "And you as well, Aetius? I trusted you like a son! Why have you chosen this path? "

There was no anger in Chuki's voice, there was only confusion and grief. 

[Aetius] - "I'm sorry, master... Please... Give me another chance... I don't want to die... I'm scared... please master! "

Pleaded Aetius as he let out a stream of tears through his barely visible eyes covered in mud. 

At that moment, Chuki didn't care anymore about Pachacuti's plan or his disciples' betrayal. Chuki simply wanted to save the last life that hung by a tread inside this silent field of death. Without hesitation, Chuki began to use his ability to grant his dying disciple the power of immortality. However, when Chuki looked again at his disciple, he was already dead. Chuki has lost again. No matter what he did, all that was planned by fate will occur without fail. 

At that moment, Chuki sat once more on the ruin of another of his grandiose visions. However, this time, The Sickness came to him and began to whisper into his ears. 

[Chuki] - "I know I can't win... who am I to defy fate... "

Said Chuki as he fell to his knees. 

[Chuki] - "I'm simply alive to serve fate's plan. There is no fighting it or alternate ways. In the end, no matter how free we might think we are, our limbs and minds will always be chained by fate. "

Said Chuki before he collapsed into the mud. 

When he next woke up, he couldn't tell for how long he had been passed out. However, the once bare infertile land full of death became a beautiful field full of grass, forest and wildlife. Upon seeing the result of his absence, Chuki finally understood his role in fate's plan. 

[Chuki] - "Life flourished... when I allowed fate to take its course. "

Whispered Chuki as he passed his hands through the luscious grass. 

As Chuki slowly rose up from the ground, he was suddenly approached by a white horse. The horse's body was so white that it appeared as if it shined under the sun. Unexpectedly, the horse invited Chuki to mount onto its back, an invitation which Chuki hesitantly accepted. 

After allowing the horse to take him for a ride around the area, Chuki suddenly came across a young boy playing around the field with a knight as his guardian. As expected, the horse's magnificence immediately caught the attention of the boy who immediately approached Chuki with his guardian following close by behind him. 

[boy] - "Good sir, where did you find such a majestic ride? "

Said the boy as he reached forward and awaited Chuki's permission to pet the horse.

[Chuki] - "I found it in the wild. What is your name, young sir? "

Said Chuki as he signalled for the boy to go ahead and pet the horse. 

[boy] - "Carolus Magnus, good sir. Pleased to meet you! "

Chuki suddenly felt a calling which instructed him to test the boy for his crystal sensitivity. This action would later prove to bear fruit as the boy became later known more famously as Emperor Charlemagne. However, unlike before, Chuki refrained from interfering with fate's plan. If his disciple turned out to be a tyrant, so be it. If his disciple turned out to be a great king, so be it. Chuki would only train his disciples for a certain period of time before leaving them to their fate. 

Over the centuries, Chuki, having accepted the vicious cycle of human animosity before every civilized era, changed his name to "War" as he held himself responsible for his disciples who often became powerful rulers and conquerors. War unknowingly became fate's slave as he created crystal users which would always ensure the cycle of endless conflicts. 

Despite everything, pieces of War's past stuck with him. War would often pick up scattered pieces of war equipment from different eras and wear them as a part of his attire to remind himself of his failure. Even in the present, the arrows fired by his disciples into his back remained. As for War's initial mission, if one of his disciples can stand up and defy fate, so be it. 

To be continued...