Post by Ebony on May 12, 2005 3:13:22 GMT
Author's Note: This is a series based on a killer amusing video. I'm only done one chapter, because I've been told not to waste my time. *sigh*
There are few ways to tell the story of a life that never really happened. The life of a Phantom can be a depressing thing at times. But, unfortunately, it is a life that I have come to know quite intimately. My name will never be recorded in history, for few people knew me by other things than a ghost. What few did know, are passed away by this point in their lives. Not many lived long around me, or my house. The house which I grew to manhood in, and died in, another intimate thing in my life.
My few friends were rare and far between. I never liked living with another person in my atmosphere in my mid-twenties, until I met a few people who promised me eternity. Eternity happens only in one’s dreams. Eternity is something that is quite impossible, but ever in one’s hands.
To start my life, or lack there of, I will start where I was first conceived to the point of which I died. Latito Forma was a small village in the middle of a vast prairie, and neighbour to a large mountain. On the other side of this mountain was Amplus Urbis, a city to match any of the cities of the modern worlds. But, for now, Latito Forma is where we will stay.
My parents had once been rich landowners of the city. They were vain and self-centered. I was the child of their dreams, pale as moonlight with bright brown eyes and perfect dark brown hair. I was their addition to the world, their poison to the Earth.
I grew up to be same as them, vain and self-centered. These were the only personas I had known. I was not allowed to have playmates as a child, my parents feared they would interfere with my life. I did not have a life at this time, for again, I was a Phantom.
It was this way until I was a mere child of ten. It was here that I learnt of the outside world and yearned for it. I started reading stories of people like me, locked away and imprisoned. Whether in their own minds, or in the worlds around them, I was a prisoner of both.
Two years after this unfortunate occurrence of knowledge, I learnt of something else, more alarming then the next. I learnt that there was a large world out there, and that I would never be able to reach out for it. In revenge for this happening, I striked out at my parents, they died tragically, the police never did find out who the culprit was.
That was a day I shall never forget, it will be imprinted in utmost colour and vividness in my mind. I soon got over their deaths, and was allowed into the outside world. I was taken care of by a businessman in town, my Godfather. He was much like my parents, and loved to show me off. I did not like him either, but I endured his presence until I was old enough to move out on my own.
It was at this time, at the age of sixteen, which I came into my fortune. Unlike most youth, I believed in a future. I wanted a legacy, I wanted my name to be known. So I built a castle on the top of that large mountain beside my hometown. This castle was named days after I created it. It’s name was Bronwen Pravus, my home, my life.
The mountain soon absorbed this name as well. Latito Forma lived in fear of the man on the mountain. I could evict anyone in town, for I owned the town. My love of money lead me to have great parties, inviting men from great families to talk business.
It was at one such party that my deeds in the city and village caught up with me. A man built on furry and hated of me came to my party, and attacked me. That was the last day that I attended any of the parties that I had created.
The man had come equipped with acid. This acid, he poured on the left side of my face. Until the day I died, it remained a constant scar of horridness. In my twentieth year I was turned into a monster. The scar enveloped my entire left face, searing off all hair that might have grown there and replacing it with red scars. In attempt to hide these, I had used wigs and masks. They never could fully conceal the monstrosity beneath them.
Nonetheless, I still kept a silver mask on my face at all times, even when I slept. It was a constant goal for me never to be seen. My goal caused me much strife in my business that I had to hire some help to be my face. The first associate I ever found was a man named Vasilios, a vampire.
He met me first in letters, being as penniless as a rat. He knew money matters quite well, having been alive many a year. He came to my home, and was hardly affected by my face. He’d seen many a horror in his time as well. Vasilios was my face where I could not go.
My next acquired assistant was a human man named Conall. He’d been orphaned in the town, but had an incredible number sense. The poor boy was nearly a decade younger then myself, being only 15 years of age. He came to live in my mansion at this time, and was trained in math and numbers. Soon Conall became my second in command at the mansion, above even my dear vampire friend.
Third in my staff was a man named Cass. He’d come from the city, and suffered much the same fate as myself. He was handsome, and knew he was. He came to work for me at the age of twenty, and had a horrible accident later the same month. Cass became a cursed man, split down the middle into two very different men.
Nonetheless, he was my lead into stocks. The man was a genius, being able to guess at stock numbers to the very second they would rise or fall. It was a useful skill to have about the household of a businessman. Cass was then kept in a small room, left to himself and his petty amusements. Him being around me, in my world, allowed me to realize that there are worse things then a scored face.
A fourth addition to my household, not necessary being related to my business was an Egyptian man named Neter-Khet. He was surprising guest, appearing out of thin air. After ordering a rather expensive piece of art, a mummy’s tomb, this man started popping out of cracks and enjoying himself at parties. It became known that he was a mummy, and that he could somehow miraculously rise from his death in the coffin.
A random amusement entering in my life, Neter-Khet was a tolerated annoyance. He was, at one point in his life, royalty, however. So he was treated with respect, having his own quarters and his own servants.
Any man living in my household had their own servants. Vasilios had his vampires. They were all girls, and all dark beauties like him. They were tolerable to me, and switched for others every few years.
Conall handpicked his women as I did. He was not quite as precise as I was towards his end of the servants, feeling his way towards the more needy orphans. But they were all his servants nonetheless. He would take girls ranging in ages of 15 to 18. At the age of twenty, they would no longer be in service.
Cass was the single man in my household that I did not trust to choose his own servants. I picked his servants from an asylum, giving him girls that would be just as twisted as he was. They were often scored and undistinguishable as women, they did not wander about the household as frequently as any of the other women.
Neter-Khet had all his servants brought in from Egypt. His servants served him as long as I lived in his presence. He did not care for ages, only for beauty. He was vain and had an appetite for women that needed to be sated quite frequently. He was a man that was only tolerated.
For myself, however, I brought in women from only the village for my servants. I would take only the most beautiful, hardly being able to keep what was not as such around me. My women would always be transferred out when they reached the tender age of twenty, being sent off to marriages that would be arranged for them. I also had my ladies, five of the exceptionally beautiful women that lived around me. Normally these women would enter my household from Amplus Urbis. Only once or twice have I ever had a lady that would come from the village.
These women would also be transferred out at the age of twenty, into arranged marriages designated by the families. These ladies had been famous around my home. Many a women would wish to be one of the rare beauties. Being brought to my home meant that you were of the best, would marry the best, and would have the money to do so. Any dowries would be paid for by myself, even if the parents had the money to pay for it themselves.
My ladies were named after myself. There were only ever five at a time, and would usually be transferred out every year, fluctuating with their ages. I was the only one in the household, however, with these women. The others had a total of three servants, one of them would order the others. Usually this servant would be the only one to see the one they were named servant to.
No one who left the castle would tell of what they saw. Often times the things they saw while in the presence of myself or any of my comrades were things too frightening for the women to say.
I never had a last name to many people. I was the same as my vampire comrade when it came to these things. I was known simply by my first name, or as the Phantom. My true last name was lost to me when my parents were destroyed by my own hand. For the time being, my last name was Williams, the name of my Godfather.
My first name had a meaning that I had yet to know with time. The truth of my name strikes into my own memories. The name “Darnell” means hidden. It was the perfect name for the Phantom that I am.
Bronwen Pravus
There are few ways to tell the story of a life that never really happened. The life of a Phantom can be a depressing thing at times. But, unfortunately, it is a life that I have come to know quite intimately. My name will never be recorded in history, for few people knew me by other things than a ghost. What few did know, are passed away by this point in their lives. Not many lived long around me, or my house. The house which I grew to manhood in, and died in, another intimate thing in my life.
My few friends were rare and far between. I never liked living with another person in my atmosphere in my mid-twenties, until I met a few people who promised me eternity. Eternity happens only in one’s dreams. Eternity is something that is quite impossible, but ever in one’s hands.
To start my life, or lack there of, I will start where I was first conceived to the point of which I died. Latito Forma was a small village in the middle of a vast prairie, and neighbour to a large mountain. On the other side of this mountain was Amplus Urbis, a city to match any of the cities of the modern worlds. But, for now, Latito Forma is where we will stay.
My parents had once been rich landowners of the city. They were vain and self-centered. I was the child of their dreams, pale as moonlight with bright brown eyes and perfect dark brown hair. I was their addition to the world, their poison to the Earth.
I grew up to be same as them, vain and self-centered. These were the only personas I had known. I was not allowed to have playmates as a child, my parents feared they would interfere with my life. I did not have a life at this time, for again, I was a Phantom.
It was this way until I was a mere child of ten. It was here that I learnt of the outside world and yearned for it. I started reading stories of people like me, locked away and imprisoned. Whether in their own minds, or in the worlds around them, I was a prisoner of both.
Two years after this unfortunate occurrence of knowledge, I learnt of something else, more alarming then the next. I learnt that there was a large world out there, and that I would never be able to reach out for it. In revenge for this happening, I striked out at my parents, they died tragically, the police never did find out who the culprit was.
That was a day I shall never forget, it will be imprinted in utmost colour and vividness in my mind. I soon got over their deaths, and was allowed into the outside world. I was taken care of by a businessman in town, my Godfather. He was much like my parents, and loved to show me off. I did not like him either, but I endured his presence until I was old enough to move out on my own.
It was at this time, at the age of sixteen, which I came into my fortune. Unlike most youth, I believed in a future. I wanted a legacy, I wanted my name to be known. So I built a castle on the top of that large mountain beside my hometown. This castle was named days after I created it. It’s name was Bronwen Pravus, my home, my life.
The mountain soon absorbed this name as well. Latito Forma lived in fear of the man on the mountain. I could evict anyone in town, for I owned the town. My love of money lead me to have great parties, inviting men from great families to talk business.
It was at one such party that my deeds in the city and village caught up with me. A man built on furry and hated of me came to my party, and attacked me. That was the last day that I attended any of the parties that I had created.
The man had come equipped with acid. This acid, he poured on the left side of my face. Until the day I died, it remained a constant scar of horridness. In my twentieth year I was turned into a monster. The scar enveloped my entire left face, searing off all hair that might have grown there and replacing it with red scars. In attempt to hide these, I had used wigs and masks. They never could fully conceal the monstrosity beneath them.
Nonetheless, I still kept a silver mask on my face at all times, even when I slept. It was a constant goal for me never to be seen. My goal caused me much strife in my business that I had to hire some help to be my face. The first associate I ever found was a man named Vasilios, a vampire.
He met me first in letters, being as penniless as a rat. He knew money matters quite well, having been alive many a year. He came to my home, and was hardly affected by my face. He’d seen many a horror in his time as well. Vasilios was my face where I could not go.
My next acquired assistant was a human man named Conall. He’d been orphaned in the town, but had an incredible number sense. The poor boy was nearly a decade younger then myself, being only 15 years of age. He came to live in my mansion at this time, and was trained in math and numbers. Soon Conall became my second in command at the mansion, above even my dear vampire friend.
Third in my staff was a man named Cass. He’d come from the city, and suffered much the same fate as myself. He was handsome, and knew he was. He came to work for me at the age of twenty, and had a horrible accident later the same month. Cass became a cursed man, split down the middle into two very different men.
Nonetheless, he was my lead into stocks. The man was a genius, being able to guess at stock numbers to the very second they would rise or fall. It was a useful skill to have about the household of a businessman. Cass was then kept in a small room, left to himself and his petty amusements. Him being around me, in my world, allowed me to realize that there are worse things then a scored face.
A fourth addition to my household, not necessary being related to my business was an Egyptian man named Neter-Khet. He was surprising guest, appearing out of thin air. After ordering a rather expensive piece of art, a mummy’s tomb, this man started popping out of cracks and enjoying himself at parties. It became known that he was a mummy, and that he could somehow miraculously rise from his death in the coffin.
A random amusement entering in my life, Neter-Khet was a tolerated annoyance. He was, at one point in his life, royalty, however. So he was treated with respect, having his own quarters and his own servants.
Any man living in my household had their own servants. Vasilios had his vampires. They were all girls, and all dark beauties like him. They were tolerable to me, and switched for others every few years.
Conall handpicked his women as I did. He was not quite as precise as I was towards his end of the servants, feeling his way towards the more needy orphans. But they were all his servants nonetheless. He would take girls ranging in ages of 15 to 18. At the age of twenty, they would no longer be in service.
Cass was the single man in my household that I did not trust to choose his own servants. I picked his servants from an asylum, giving him girls that would be just as twisted as he was. They were often scored and undistinguishable as women, they did not wander about the household as frequently as any of the other women.
Neter-Khet had all his servants brought in from Egypt. His servants served him as long as I lived in his presence. He did not care for ages, only for beauty. He was vain and had an appetite for women that needed to be sated quite frequently. He was a man that was only tolerated.
For myself, however, I brought in women from only the village for my servants. I would take only the most beautiful, hardly being able to keep what was not as such around me. My women would always be transferred out when they reached the tender age of twenty, being sent off to marriages that would be arranged for them. I also had my ladies, five of the exceptionally beautiful women that lived around me. Normally these women would enter my household from Amplus Urbis. Only once or twice have I ever had a lady that would come from the village.
These women would also be transferred out at the age of twenty, into arranged marriages designated by the families. These ladies had been famous around my home. Many a women would wish to be one of the rare beauties. Being brought to my home meant that you were of the best, would marry the best, and would have the money to do so. Any dowries would be paid for by myself, even if the parents had the money to pay for it themselves.
My ladies were named after myself. There were only ever five at a time, and would usually be transferred out every year, fluctuating with their ages. I was the only one in the household, however, with these women. The others had a total of three servants, one of them would order the others. Usually this servant would be the only one to see the one they were named servant to.
No one who left the castle would tell of what they saw. Often times the things they saw while in the presence of myself or any of my comrades were things too frightening for the women to say.
I never had a last name to many people. I was the same as my vampire comrade when it came to these things. I was known simply by my first name, or as the Phantom. My true last name was lost to me when my parents were destroyed by my own hand. For the time being, my last name was Williams, the name of my Godfather.
My first name had a meaning that I had yet to know with time. The truth of my name strikes into my own memories. The name “Darnell” means hidden. It was the perfect name for the Phantom that I am.
