Rain pours down, hitting the brim of his dark blue Razam cap, handed out to him at the shelter as an "act of charity" from the corporations. In the city, with all its borders and districts, the giants of industry, the great empire builders, the corporations, whatever name you knew them by, they ruled this district, and in it, they did as they wished.
He sat on an old wooden bench, its metal joints rusting and its wooden boards rotting away, sagging under his weight. In all aspects, it was not an especially interesting scene. Illuminated only by the city's bright neon lights, each offering a different kind of pleasure or paradise to those who know they can't get it.
The rain started to let up, and eventually, the sounds of the small city park returned. The leaves of the slowly suffocating tree in the strong cold breeze, crickets in the morning dew, the smell of fresh new grass growing, and in the distance, the far-away sounds of the bustling city.
As he sat there in his old torn and ragged clothes, an entourage of far better-dressed people approached him. Somewhere around twenty in total, each with a solemn look on their faces, eighteen of them wore black business suits, while the other two were far more uniquely dressed.
One, a young man who could not have exited his twenties yet but whose face was riddled with scars and a scruffy-looking beard, was dressed in a suit of black crystalline armor, which looked like someone had torn it off of the cave wall and carved holes in it for a person to fit into. It was more a natural feature and less a work of a craftsman.
And yet, there was something innately beautiful about it. Perhaps it was not craftsmanship by man but rather by a force of nature.
The woman, on the other hand, was quite good-looking. You could tell she was not some lowborn like the man, who had likely carved his place in high society through a mix of talent, hard work, and some wits. Although that was just his stipulation, at times, there were figures in high society who truly did work hard to preserve their family name or such.
Where was I? Oh yes, the women. Her looks were only amplified by her pure white suit of armor, which was crafted so that all who saw it could tell it was not some work she had found but was created exactly for her and nobody else. She had long red hair that was tied into a bun on her head, likely so as not to restrict her in combat or anything else of the same. Some daughter of a high-up corporate, perhaps?
Warriors, both of them - thought the man on the bench. - although neither carry their weapons, which could mean… but, then…
Shut the fuck up, Teijin.
He groaned, clutching his head. Voices contended for his every thought and the right to control his body as they wished. He suddenly stood, and each one of the many in front of him. At that moment, all of his voices spoke at once.
"Whatcha want?" - the thousand faces all spoke at once in a cacophony of volumes and keys, each different in their own right. Although the officers only heard a single voice, Teijins.
Now, to set things straight, let me tell you that Teijin is not strong, nor does he have an especially sharp wit. But he is the head of this part of the city's crime syndicates, which consists of a few dudes and a hell of a lot of home-manufactured Taida, which was a popular narcotic. It worked on the basis of magic, so who in the hell really knew why it did what it did, but Teijin's clientele knew it was good stuff.
In the commercial district, they were what might be considered the only non-gang-affiliated and non-corporate-funded criminals left, which was why such a massive entourage was coming to pick him up. When the corporations gained something from criminal activity, they were more than happy to engage in any sort of more than illegal activity. Anything from bot brothels to murders to manufacturing every kind of illicit substance imaginable. Of course, that was only in their parts of the city.
"So, gentlemen and ladies, I have a strong suspicion that you're all far too good-looking to let me participate in this little tape, so I'll just get out of your way while you do your little thing here. Although I'd be honored to take a look at it when you're finished." Teijin grinned and started towards them in such a way that you knew he was intending to walk past them and away. As he got to the man with the crystalline armor, he put his gloved hand on Teijin's chest, stopping him.
"I don't think so, Teijin. You know as good as we do, this is the end of the line for you. The big man has decided."
Teijin looked into his deep blue eyes, wondering exactly what fate awaited him. Teijin had never had an especially exciting life. Or an especially good one at that. His mother had left him and his father alone at a young age, somewhere around four or five, and they had struggled to survive from then on.
Unlike many other of the city's stories, his father had cared for and loved him with all his heart. To that man, his child was like the sunshine in the dank corners of the city they resided in. Then, on a cold winter morning, Teijin's father died. In the cold months of the year, food had to be imported, and therefore, prices rose greatly, which in turn made people far more desperate for money.
Teijin, although without parents, was not alone. He was accompanied by other orphans, beggars, and a myriad of street shadows, those who had lost everything, even their corporeal bodies. They moved from district to district, and with each move, their hope grew and fell. Sometimes, people would leave or join, and some even went on to make a name for themselves.
Although it may sound different to some, the gang was quite weak as they didn't have real weapons and were more of an information network throughout all of the people in the city. Of course, anything they learned was worth good money, and they sold it to anyone who wanted to know it.
At the time, Teijin was overseeing their first shipment of Taida, a big step in any gang's rise to power, when they had approached him, calling for him and his beggars to end their business in the districts. Teijin, like a madman, told some of the most powerful people in the world the one thing they didn't want to hear.
"No, I don't think I'll do anything for you filthy bastards"
War. There was always some kind of fight on the streets, but never like this. It had lasted for four years and had even given Teijin one of the fabled Nicknames, which were whispered by the people in bars and brothels. If you had one, you were a legend of the street, and currently, there were only four others with nicknames, and not all were as kind to the people as Teijin was. One was the corporate leader of the entire city. Another was the leader of the largest gang in the city, known as the Gutters. Third was the most famous mercenary and assassin of the city, and fourth and finally was the mayor himself.
Teijin looked at the man and woman, each powerful in their own right.
"Alright, let's get this over with." he put his hands up together in front of him and watched as massive cold iron cuffs linked onto his wrists. Not some sort of small handcuffs, but rather massive iron chunks. Similar links were cuffed to his ankles. The man and woman each held a chain which conned to his arms and legs. Most of it was more of a show of power, but Teijin knew that no show of power could put back together the amount of embarrassment they had faced in the war with a gang of mere beggars. Four years they had held for four years and had even, at times, seen victories.
In silence, they began to walk. Teijin's sentence was already determined by the high courts; he was to be exiled beyond the borders of the city to the places far away. So they walked, and as they walked, people gathered, and all whispered his name, the name.
"Khan"
Soon, day turned to night, and a new shift of people took his chains and guided him. All the while, his heavy chains weighed down on him until eventually every step was like lifting the world onto his shoulders. But Teijin continued, unbroken, carrying the weight of the city on his shoulders, watching the streets slowly fill with those he knew and those he didn't. The well-dressed and the beggars, the gangs and the force, all people watched his solemn march. Each said his name only once and then fell silent.
"Khan"
For four days, he marched. Finally, in front of him, the city slowly ended, and they reached a single metal line that was known to stretch the length of the entire city, known only as 'the border.' Beyond it stretched a great plain that seemed to go on forever, and beyond that were the lands that few ventured and fewer returned. Before reaching the line, he passed through a metal fence with watch towers and troops, each watching him and uttering his name but once and going back to their duties.
"Khan"
Finally, they stopped before the line, and Teijins cuffs were released. He felt like a great weight had left him, and he looked back. There was the city, in all its stark neon glory, and there were its people gathered in the tens of thousands to watch his exile. Nearest to the fence were crews of reporters, who had followed at his back the whole way, and he could see every screen in the great city was taken up by his face and the great expanse behind it.
He was handed a bag with four days' rations. The old bag was meant to be camo, but at this point, it was just a greenish brown. He put the bag on his back and faced the city once more. In all of its solemn silence, the city stood proud, and so Teijin did as well. Then, a single voice called out from the crowd.
"Will you be back!"
Teijin looked at the people of the city and smiled, knowing that even if, for only a moment, he had given them some sort of hope. Hope that fathers wouldn't be murdered in cold blood for a day of rations and that mothers wouldn't leave their children. Hope that the greed of their leaders wouldn't once again scar the city. They dreamt of staying in the Maralago, the most expensive resort in the city, and of eating all they wanted. Hopes and dreams were all left in the city, and every person clawed and struggled to achieve even a fraction of their dream.
Teijin looked on and told them this.
"One day, people, one day I'll return with all the glory of ten thousand men and women riding at my heels! On that day, I'll burn your motherfucking kingdoms to the ground!"