Essence

Essence DCWW

Insert Essence quote or description of who Essence is here ~ Jason

## History

The sound of a young child’s broken-hearted sobs echoed throughout the deep cavern she found herself in… She had been running for what felt like hours, but in reality it had only been a few minutes. The last thing she remembered of her home were but a single glance over her shoulder, looking back to the horrific sight of flames, smoke, and cinders. There was no rhyme or reason why her family and clansmen alike would be the target of sudden conquest. Perhaps it was the never ending thirst for power, money, or land that spurred the inevitable loss she now had to deal with for the rest of her life. It didn’t matter. All she felt was pain, the urge to stay balled up against the cold and slimy walls of this cave and cry, with nothing left to hold onto aside from her own two knees. All alone, there was but one thing left to hold onto;  fateful last words her elder sister had imparted to her before her legs had carried her here. “You are most precious to me… I love you, and because of that you will live on.”

As bellowed cries faded to tired, soft weeping, the girl brushed away the streams of tears that ran down her cheeks with an arm, lower lip still quivering as more teardrops threatened to follow… But then that’s when she heard it. A faint murmur coming from deeper inside the cave. It was almost like a whisper, although specific words could not be distinguished. She quieted herself in anticipation only to hear it again. Growing ever more curious, the girl slowly came to an exhausted, buckling stand, beginning to make her way toward the noise. Moving away from the entrance, it became dark, but just barely she could see a crevice that stood in her way from advancing. Luckily, the small child was able to barely slip through…

There was light glimmering down from a moderately sized hole within the opening, illuminating the space around her. The first thing she noticed was the slow deliberate dripping sound of water periodically hitting the rocky canvas beneath her feet… Next was a pool of sorts a few meters in front of her, then she heard it again, the whisper, although it didn’t sound comprehensible— gibberish even. Intrigued, she began to walk closer, peering over to view the oddly blackened waters of the pool that were at her waist. It was devoid of anything but absolute blackness. Suddenly the voice from before became ever so clear. It spoke to her, saying. \_”Bathe, child… And in darkness, you will find light.”\_ Startled, she began to retreat backward, only to be once again lured in. “Fear not, your pain and suffering… It will be taken from you. Such a burden that a child should never have to bear.”

Giving into temptation, she knew no better. Stepping forward once again, though still hesitant, the young girl leaned over the stone that held the dark and presumably shallow waters. One foot was first as she stepped over, the other soon to follow, and she would sink down so that she’d be neck high within the pool. At first there was nothing, although she did sense an eerie calmness comforting her entire being. Minutes passed, and as she contemplated removing herself from what could be considered temporary solace, soon a black mist began to rise from the water— as if it were evaporating before her very eyes. It felt alive; sentient even. Once again feeling peculiar, her hand extended to feel what was transpiring before her. Suddenly, the misty substance had hardened, latching itself around her wrist and snaking its way to her neck. There was no time for a scream, only a gasp of horror. The darkness materialized, enveloping her entire frame, working its way in between her lips. Muffled screams reached no one, as she were inevitably pulled under… now completely submerged in a pit of dread… Two wills and consciousnesses fusing into one.

Time passed on… Hours, days maybe. She was lost within a dream state inflicted by unconsciousness, one last time able to see her family until they inevitably faded away again; one last reminder of what she must now do. A familiar voice now spoke to her within her own mind. ”You are free… We are free.” As responsiveness returned, a hand shot out of the pool to latch onto the now dampened stone, pulling herself from what she thought would be certain death. A heavy, strained gasp inward for air to fill her lungs resonated as she emerged. Quickly, but oddly enough without too much franticness, the girl stepped out onto the side, looking back over the edge of the pond to gain understanding of what had happened. Astonishment lined her features as she could now see her reflection, and just as the waters once were, her eyes now held no light— completely devoid of color aside from a now acquainted blackness. Her hair, once black now entirely whitened. Hands ran along her face to gain sensibility, though something spoke to her, a mixture of her own consciousness and something else entirely… It assured her that she should never have reason to weep again.

So the child now viewed the debacle as a gift that were given, along with a newfound purpose in this life. Although she didn’t quite understand it entirely, she listened to her innermost thoughts and hovered a hand over the large puddle one final time, the same black mist that she remembered now emitted from her palm and back into the waters… Staining it deep black once more, imbuing with it a mysterious portion of her newfangled power along with her will. The will to change this world forever. Little did she know she had unknowingly traded her very soul for such a wish. One that was coerced unto her, accepted as both duty and destiny.

Exiting her temporary home within the cave, she wandered for days, although she never grew ill, or succumbed to hunger, thirst, nor the elements. She was finally strong, just like her sister. Most time within her head was spent reflecting on her losses, though there weren’t any tears to be had. Emotionally, she could no longer be held back, and fears were non-existent. She continued onward, eventually stumbling upon a small cult of warrior monks  consisting of nine. There were five brothers, and four sisters. She asked them for food and water, still unable to quell basic human necessities completely despite living without them. The group saw only a facade of innocence, and thus agreed to take her in, the second eldest of the nine, Ducra, in particular grew fond of the child. She adopted her as her own daughter and bestowed upon her a new name as her own happened to be the one thing that eluded the memory of her past. She was called from then on, Essence.

Essence spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years with the group, who called themselves The Untitled. She was trained in their ways of what they deemed to be “blood magic”, constantly experimenting with the magical forces of the world, seeking a path for true immortality for themselves, although to no avail. Ducra personally spent time molding her into a fine assassin as well, training her in the way of the blade, and the art of lethal hand to hand combat to refined mastery. There would come a time though, that Essence knew what she must do. With maturity came clarity in her mission to rid the world of conflict and constant pain. As a young adult, she explored on her own, feigning stumbling upon the cave that rescued her from her own long suffering by coincidence. It was then she lead her new family to that very cave, where they all sensed the power that radiated from the very same pool of dark waters she had bathed in.

While most of the siblings agreed to investigate, Ducra however, remained hesitant, but reluctantly agreed. As they proceeded forward, Essence watched as one by one they all reached into the waters, the shadowy substance entered each of the siblings, starting with the weakest and it built in ferocity with each of the souls it consumed… not knowing that she were the one to allow that power to attach itself to them. Ducra and Essence would be the last to take this supposed blessing, and quickly the sole daughter of The Untitled realized there was an unexpected problem; while she felt the others beginning to bask in their enhancement and confirm within her will, Ducra was different… Being the most defiant of her siblings, she were able to resist the temptations of a stronger yet darker, more maniacal form of magic. She dubbed this pool the “waters of absolute evil”, and tried to persuade her siblings to use their gifts for the greater good.

This wouldn’t be the case. The other eight siblings detested Ducra, thinking she were weak. They now had the means to further explore their magical prowess in ways that weren’t thought to be possible, and immortality was within a mere arm length worth of distance. Over time, Ducra watched as her family grew ever more ambitious and wicked due to the power they’d received. The Untitled grew in numbers, as they sought to expand in numbers so they might not be opposed. When the objective became clear to Ducra that The Untitled were now a cult seeking to enslave humanity— and leave themselves standing as gods to rule over those who they deemed now as mortals, she secretly withdrew from her siblings with the goal of thwarting their plans.

Knowing this to be a problem for her mission, Essence sided with Ducra to furtively observe her mother’s mission, ensuring her own were not in jeopardy. The two of them left together to gather a new family, embarking on a quest that led them to the Himalayan mountain range of Nepal. Having in a sense achieved immortality through the use of blood magic, the two had an overabundance of time to form a clan to oppose The Untitled, their numbers grew and they dubbed themselves the All-Caste, and their home the Chamber of All.

For years Ducra and the All-Caste were able to directly oppose The Untitled, a conflict rarely hard to come by. Though her brothers and sisters had grown far more powerful than she could have imagined, their numbers grew just as rapidly, easily outpacing that of their own. With little hope left for certain victory, the All-Caste retreated back into hiding within their walls, living to fight another day. Around this time, Ducra had taken a pair of copper blades, and through a ritual using her profound magical skills she enchanted them, empowering them to a significant degree. They could be assigned to a wielder’s soul, and summoned at will any time. Naming them the All-Blades, they served the purpose of annihilating magically based threats, specifically The Untitled, as well as those who were weak to magical enchantments. It was a bit of a failsafe, but an immensely powerful tool nonetheless. Essence, knowing she could neither destroy or wield the blades for herself, greatly feared this. She opted to craft her own magically empowered blade, a sleek crimson katana that was able to reconstruct itself should it be broken by drawing blood. As one might expect, she donned it as the Blood Blade.

More years had passed, The Untitled still remaining a constant, ever looming threat to humanity as a whole, but they’d made no significant moves to enact their plans. The All-Caste remained stagnant as well, bolstering their methods and numbers the best they could, though it proved difficult. They were isolated, cut off from the world as it evolved around them. This left them at a massive disadvantage, and Ducra had realized this. Upon hearing the news of the emergence of a new group of assassins, called the League of Shadows, headed by Ra’s Al Ghul, Ducra knew in due time it could be an opportunity. It wouldn’t take long for the Shadows to become a feared and respected organization not to be trifled with. Once she had assumed the League was peaking in strength, both she and her daughter set out within the Himalayan mountain range to find Nanda Parbat, where the League of Shadows allegedly made their home. It was a long and difficult journey, but their efforts proved worth it as the two arrived at the front doorstep of Nanda Parbat.

They were met with extreme caution at first, but Ducra and Essence explained their plight thoroughly, wishing to mean no harm. They would offer the All-Blades to either Ra’s or Talia as a means for their own use. A powerful item that could no doubt serve it’s purpose for them instead; in exchange all they ask is to be left alone, as well as the potential to call upon them for added security should The Untitled find them. A working alliance of sorts. The two were turned away, but the message was told to be passed on regardless… And after a few months time, they had returned for an update. They were met with the same caution as before, but only this time, they were granted an audience with both the Demon’s head and his daughter. It was a quick but fruitful meeting— Talia offering to take the blades herself on behalf of her father. Both Essence and Ducra would return to the Chamber of All with added relief that The Untitled now had a new enemy as well… or so Ducra hoped.

With the world transitioning to modernity, the All-Caste and its two founding members lived a relatively peaceful life. Essence opted to explore the world throughout her time spent as a way to alleviate her own boredom, becoming well acquainted with the history of the world and how it has evolved… or rather devolved in her eyes. Showing no signs of age past the prime of her life, she got most of what she wanted simply by manipulating those around her with relative ease. However one day after returning to her mother, her life and plans would take an unexpected turn… and alas an opportunity arose.

A young man had arrived at their secluded gates, brought there by Anya, and a few Sherpas of course. The woman had made the trip to the Chamber of All a few times before, primarily to drop off supplies in exchange for gold, which also bought her silence as well as that of the Sherpas. This time however, held at blade-point, she had with her a straggler. That man’s name would be Jason Todd, from Gotham City in America. He wished to speak with her mother, and she would humor him. Essence watched as the man explained his reasonings for seeking them out— quite the daunting task in and of itself… It proved his worth in tenacity at the very least. After some initial hesitation, her mother accepted his desire to learn their ways, and Essence, much to her own surprise, didn’t mind the idea either.

For the first time ever, a true outsider had been taken into the ranks of their family, and after the growing pains and the man adjusting to their way of life, to say he became one of them would be an understatement. Ducra viewed him almost as a grandchild of sorts, starting his training to become a living weapon in his own right, much like the rest of the All-Caste. Jason proved to pick things up rather quickly; a prodigy of sorts. Essence knew without a doubt in due time he would become worthy of being deemed a warrior by their standards… a fine assassin in the making. For three or so years, Ducra and Essence personally oversaw his training to become the lethal master he so desired to be… During that time, Essence got to know the man extremely well. She knew what made him tick, his trauma, his struggles, his happiness and his losses. This highly intrigued the woman. Even though true emotions had long since been lost to her, she couldn’t help but have an odd attraction towards the man. As the two connected, one day at a time they slowly grew closer.

The two were never meant to be lovers, but it just so happened to turn out that way. Of course Essence had attempted to latch strings onto his vulnerable heart, so that she might tug on them whenever she saw fit for her benefit, although Jason shot down all hope for too deep of an intimate relationship, stating that it wasn’t something he was ready for— and perhaps never would be again. She didn’t care, explaining to the man that she could never love him, nor anyone else in the way they would hope. So the both of them agreed that there would be no further steps forward… She couldn’t lie to herself though, Jason Todd was about as close as she’d ever gotten to anyone in a long time. He was special in that sense. Despite Ducra’s distaste for their association with one another, she accepted it, but nothing would prepare her for the day he left.

Essence and her mother stood at the Chamber’s gates with Jason a final time. Even though they knew the day would come that he would leave them, Ducra had hoped his heart would change… cast aside his quest for vengeance and stay. Jason did offer the promise to return however, hinting towards completing a prophecy that Essence herself conjured up. Therein laid her opportunity to push her plans to the next stage… The man promised to one day retrieve the All-Blades from the League of Shadows and return with vengeance on the All-Caste’s behalf, swearing to aid them in destroying The Untitled for all that they’d done for him. Essence knew that he could possibly be the one to complete this task… but she honestly envisioned having different plans for him when he were to return… Only time would tell.

As Jason Todd turned and threw a half-assed wave over his shoulder, she both felt and heard her mother’s heart break. There was a moment spent comforting her, and another glancing back to the man who had just changed their lives forever… A smirk slowly spreading across the low of her features.