literature

Oscar Bernhard: Grave Walker

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In the time of the sixth century, Sir Branden Bernhard was a knight that once used to believe in chivalry and honor, spending twenty years to become a knight and pledge to protect the kingdom of Camelot, ruled by it ruler, King Arthur and his holy weapon, Excalibur. People spoke about the holy sword, that it grant unimaginable powers that could defeated a whole army by itself, and that just seeing it make anyone feel the power of hope. Although he didn't became a part of the Round Table, he would still give his whole life to protect his home, but fate didn't do kindly to him. When he left the land to return home and see his dying wife, Arthur son Mordred betrayed the kingdom and caused the fall of Camelot. Returning to what was left of Camelot, Branden was disgrace by the people he sworn to protect and was exiled from the land. He end up traveling up north, living in a small village and worked as a barkeeper. Six years soon pass, as the former knight bitterness and rage grew overtime, his mind going over the brick of madness and soon decided that he should rule over his own kingdom and become king of the whole land. However, he didn't choice to starting gathering an army, but instead focus on finding a legendary weapon just like Excalibur, and spend held of his life scouring the whole land in search of such a weapon. During his search, he also began stealing and raiding other town with the help of barbarians, sully the man he used to be and became known as "The Black Wraith". But in the end of his years, he was unable to find any powerful weapon's he had imagine, and so in his final breath, he vowed that his family will continue his legacy and will not rest till the world is theirs.

Throughout the pass decades, the Bernhard family grew from a poor farmers into a noble family, thanks to the trove of treasures that Branden take from the land. Around the eighth century, the Bernhard were still not able to find any weapon that was powerful or magical, to which a member of the family, Felix Bernhard, decided to go with a different method; if they couldn't find one, then they just have to make one themselves. He had hired most of the blacksmiths of the land and had them used different materials to create a powerful weapon. Yet despite the best of the blacksmiths, none of their weapons were as powerful as the Bernhard had planned, thus end up killing a few of them to teach them a lesson. By the tenth century, it was Gavin Bernhard who discover that forging a weapon isn't enough, that they needed to added in black magic to infused the weapon with. With the aided of a dark sorcerer that they hired, the Bernhard family used their wealth to gather material and even few people as 'sacrifice' for their dark ritual in creating a weapon, though not of a holy element. The family tried to conjure a demon to make a deal in forging a powerful weapon, but the result came with a possess weapon that drive a person to go mad, or a ritual goes wrong and end up burning part of their home. By the eleventh century, after a year of constant failures, Ruther Bernhard then choice to abandon using magic and went with the coming art known as 'science', that it could bring their goal to fruition. Sadly that too didn't work well as he had imagine, causing one of their secret workshop to exploded.

Just as it seem that their goal will never come true, one among them was able to do the impossible and found a way to create the ultimate weapon, or rather the ultimate being. It was in the late twelfth century, where Lady Caesura Bernhard had learn much her past ancestor's methods and came with an interesting idea. Brandon wanted to find a holy weapon, but failed in even locating one. Felix wanted to forged a strong weapon, but only created simply weapons. Gavin then went to the dark arts to create a demonic weapon, but end up damning his soul in the process. Ruther than attempt to only try science, but it end up blowing in his face. So the lady of the house soon decided to mix all the methods and began spending month building her plan. With the aid of the scientists and blacksmiths, they had forged the weapon Caesura had pacifically instructed on making, which gave birth to a black, metal scythe. Many had question why Lady Bernhard chose to make a farm tool as a weapon, but only met with silence. To added the finishing touches, Caesura then used the dark arts to call upon a being that wasn't good or evil; the Reaper. She had made an insane deal that even Death itself was intrigue and accepted the bargain, though it was a heavy price the Bernhard family must make. Sacrificing hundred of men and women, their their souls were than taken by Death, while they had to use her own youngest child as blood payment, to which half of deal was done. To fulfill the deal, Death imbedded a wraith within the scythe, thus turning a simple scythe into the very weapon of Death. This scythe was thus created to not only take a mortal life, but also to take the life of a immortal, becoming the perfect weapon to the Bernhard view.

When it was done, the weapon was pass to Caesura only son, Marcus Bernhard, while Caesura daughters (Lilah, Cerci and Dawn) began looking to make families so that their legacy would still go on. As for Marcus, the moment he wielded the weapon, his very being was joined with the wraith, revealed to be Branden himself. From that moment on, Marcus has become a being neither alive or dead, and his skills has gone beyond human limitations. In the following years, Marcus had tested his strength by slaughtering hundreds of men by himself in one day, and later on killing more men with each passing years. He slowly began taking over a small part of land of Europe for himself and attempted to build his own kingdom. Many had called him the Lord of Bone, as he used the bones of both his enemies and the innocence as the foundation of his castle. Eventually an army of men from different kingdoms were sent to challenge the undead king, yet only few had return home, along with what remain of their fellow knights as reminder against all who challenge the Bone Lord. Meanwhile, his malice and evil had grow so potent, that the air around him became corrupted to the point that it was deadly like a very disease, and soon it began to spread like a plague all over the land, thus been known by men as the "Black Plague". Marcus had believe he was unstoppable, yet he was unaware of the price he had pay for such powers, like not being able to sleep or eat, and that he needed to kill at least one person every day like a addicted. But as his land became an empty graveyard without a soul living in it, he was unable to kill a single soul for five days and then he simply turned to ashes by the fifth morning light. With the Lord of Bone gone, the plague soon disperse and soon people began to recover and building their society once more, but Marcus weapon was never found. The weapon soon appeared at the household of the Bernhard family, as if returning back to it creators and await for another person to wield it.

As each member of the family through the centuries were willing to wield the scythe, they had become the dark plague upon humanity, and yet like always turned in ashes if they can't take a single soul for five days. Some were able to live far beyond hundreds of years, yet slowly end up becoming a walking skeleton, while others gone mad from losing their humanity and simply choice to wait out the days till they died. Beside turning to ashes if they don't take a life, no other mortal weapons were able to slay the 'Grave-Walkers', while silver weapons can only harmed them, but not kill them. Only something that is either a holy or demonic weapon can kill him, but by the power of Death, they have the ability to return back from dead after few days has pass and start the cycle again. The wielders who have turned to ashes end up being suck into the scythe, where the souls are transported and send to Purgatory. Around the fourteenth century, the Grave-Walker of that era end up being confronted by the most dangerous hunter in the land, known to few as the "Night Angel". Hearing the terrible legend of the Grave-Walker's and the path of destruction the current one could do, the Night Angel and a pack of hunters tracked down the Grave-Walker in the attempt to kill it. However, they soon realize that this being isn't like any other wraith's they have ever come to face, having no corpse to burned and already killing most of the hunters, till only the Night Angel remained. Both of them were quite skilled and were more monsters than men, yet the battle seemed to go with the Grave-Walker way, till the monster hunter tricked the wraith into entering a magic circle to trap him, though at the cost of the Night Angel life. Though the Night Angel was dead, it force the Grave-Walker to wait out the five days and soon turned into ashes.

In the coming age of the mid-seventeenth century, the Bernhard family soon decided to leave their homeland and enter the land of America. There, the head of the family had come to the conclusion that the scythe was more of a curse then a gift, sealing it away within a vault so no one will ever used it again, expect for the blood of a Bernhard to unlock it. By the twenty-first century, the Bernhard family grown from just being wealthy, to be the family that founded a town and also started on a company. Although the Bernhard have grown in wealth, their numbers slowly dwindled away, to which the only reminding members of the Bernhard family is the mother Louis, her son Oscar (age 18) and daughter Mariel (15). Oscar wasn't as muscular than other men in his school, though he was trained to learn martial arts as self-defense from his father who passed away five years ago. He get a bit scared when he see anything that related to horror movies much to his shame, yet was always the kind to support no matter how tough the work is and learn quick like a genius. He had chose to be a teacher when he graduate school, so he could at least help out his sister who come to cherish, as she was there to help him when he get depress and cheer him up. However, Oscar and his mother soon had to spend much money to help Mariel, who gotten sick a year ago and yet no doctors have yet found the source of her illness. As his mother worked hard to earn money for the hospital, Oscar end up stumbling to a hidden pathway that goes deep under the house, where a vault lies and Oscar accidently open it from scraping his hand and dripping blood on a console. The vault open and reveal a scythe that draw the young man to wield, to which end his day as a human being forever. He soon confront the wraith, Branden, who told him the power of the scythe and that it required him to reap souls to lived, much to the man horror.

It was obvious that he would tried to do ignore the wraith, despite the warning of being turned to ashes by the fifth day, yet would take the chance. Just before tomorrow, Oscar went to see his sister one last time, yet the wraith reveal to him that his sister was in fact cursed, and that his sister will die when two years pass. Yet through this darkness, there was still hope for Oscar sister, for only the death of the one who place the cursed can be undone. Oscar demand to know who did this, yet even the wraith doesn't know, but he was willing to aided him, but in return to he must take a soul. Oscar still didn't want to take a human life, to which Branden was force to reveal to him about the truth of monster and magic, and told him to wait at night by the forest. There, hoard of zombies were crossing the woods to find human flesh, to which they stumble upon Oscar waiting for them. Oscar was rather scared by this and would rather run like hell, but Branden convinced him to accepted the power of the scythe and soon the two became one. A white cloak appear out of nowhere and cover his body, while a hood conceal his head, yet only a white, skeleton skull is reveal. In less than a minute, Oscar had already shredded eight zombies, as if the world had slowed down. Oscar could see the souls within the living corpse free and fly off beyond the star, seeing this power in a different light. Afterward, Oscar had come to forge a pact with Branden; the two will find the one who cursed Mariel, while taking lives' from monster's or even possibly the sinful men of all kind.

When he goes into battle, he can easily summon forth the scythe and his physical strength, speed and reflex are greatly increased. In his Reaper-like form, his voice and appearance is alter to not only hided his identity, but to also bring terror and fear to his foes upon hearing his inhuman screams, to which could make those with weak will's to flee in terror. No matter if the weapon was taken from him, the scythe will simply return to his master, to which Oscar throw the scythe at his enemy and summon it back. Even without his scythe, Oscar can used martial arts and inhuman strength to fend off enemies in close combat. Oscar has mastery of the scythe in combat for both attack and defense, and is able to slice a creature into pieces in unnatural, lightning speed. He doesn't care about risking his life, due to being unharmed by mortal weapons and does insane attacks that get the enemies by surprise, though only become caution if the foes held silvers or holy weapons. He possess certain abilities of a wraith, like temporally become intangible thank to the cloak and is also able to slow down time to deal much damage in a short time, though need a minute to do it again. Oscar can also see through another plain of reality through the eyes of a wraith, thus is able to see where a person is no matter where he/she hides and can see them from a far distance. Another ability of a wraith is to teleport right to a person location, though need to see the person well to do so. Beside the scythe, Oscar is also able to summon forth dozen of chain hooks from his cloak to snatched his target and drag them to him. By grabbing a person and touching his head, he is able to pierce into their souls and learn everything that this individual knows, for the soul can't lie. Unlike his ancestors, he had found to not let the bloodlust blind him and used his new form to instead help benefit mankind and protect his family from danger, while only taking the life of only evil.

A year soon went by, and Mariel only has few months before the curse is complete and soon will pass away. Yet even with the eyes of the wraith, Oscar has not been able to find the one who cast it, or known the reason why there was a cursed place on his little sister. The only explanation why he couldn't find the caster is if the caster had move far away or is concealing itself with magic. Meanwhile, he has fought against all kinds of monster's living far out the boarder of his home, as he goes out by night and cross great distance with his inhuman speed. He soon came upon either the undead, troll's, vampires, werebeast's, or even creatures he has never heard before, yet that doesn't stop him from fighting them. Oscar had no problem killing zombies or mindless monster, but it was harder to kill creatures that acted like humans, though he soon see their dark, tainted souls and eventually kill them. He also learn that his scythe is capable of killing those that were said to be impossible to kill in the normal method, like ghoul's who can only be stop if the voodoo charm is destroyed, vampire who are said to be immortal and even able to slay monster bigger and tougher than him. It was actually thank to Branden effort in training him, giving him advise regarding the world of monsters and being his 'eye and ear' in combat, though he kind disagree with Oscar methods of taking life without harming the innocence's. However, the killing never become easy for him, always feeling bad even for the right reason, as he soon pray for them after the battle as a way to respect the dead, no matter what sin's they bear. In time, his fame of being the Grave-Walker end up getting the attention of monster and hunters alike, to which caused fear to some, while also becoming a goal for others to fight the Grave-Walker. Though a course, this same rumor would soon get the attention of a group of special people, but if it is to destroyed the Grave-Walker or for any other reasons...

This is a story about an ancient, noble family that spend thousand of years trying to create a powerful weapon that would rival the like mythology legendary weapons, like Excalibur, Ea, Mjolnir, Lance of Longinus and many more. To that end, they have spend years using up their wealth and research, going as far as having slave workers, blacksmiths, and even delving the depth of the dark arts to complete their goal. In the end, they have made connect with a being that wasn't good or evil, and with it aid create a weapon that would truly represent "Death" itself. In the wrong hand, to which is their hands, they had brought a great plague across the land during mankind worse hours, for the wielder of the weapon had now become something far worse than death. But there was a price for having such a dangerous and powerful weapon, to which would cost their souls to be suck into the scythe for all time, should they not fulfil their deadlines. After mankind had soon step into the 21th century, the weapon is now in the hand of Oscar Bernhard, who instead used the weapon of death as a tool for justice and protect the weak. But will be different than his ancestors and become the hero he believe to be, or will he share the fate of his family and bring upon death to the world?

Oscar was inspired and influence by the like of Ghost Rider, and more importantly Talion from the Lord of the Ring Game, Shadow of Mordor (later on Shadow of War). The wraith power's and weapon have also been alter to match a similar image of the Reaper, or also known as Death. Also to point out, the stories and characters that involve the "Night Angel" all belong to the Account, :icongabrielraven:, as the OC's is based if it was living within the Night Angel world. So by right, this is just an OC Profile and nothing more, so can't say it this is canon or non-canon.

Everything that involve to the series "Night Angel" belong to :icongabrielraven: or :iconthe-knight-writer:.
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