Tears of Cruor

Tears of Cruor is a Story Arc of the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Regietto and follows first the perspective of assassin Raven, then of the tragic couple Nero and Alba.

## Main Arc

### An Assassin Rises and Fall

In the Eye of Cruor assassin society, Raven is an elite assassin. He trains alongside his "friends" Silva and Rose in order to become the perfect, emotionless killer. However, Raven is given a complex mission : to kill a princess in Regietto's capital city Palatina. He does so without hesitation, yet the dying princess opens her eyes, and Raven realizes they are the same as his. A few researches confirm his hypothesis ; he has slain his own sister.

Raven is tormented, and despite Rose and Silva's reassurance, begins to doubt his purpose. After several nights of hesitation, he runs away, betraying his comrades. Chased by Rose, village after village destroyed in his trail, he finds a single village in which he desperately hides.

### The Raven's Redemption

Raven encounters Amberia, an innocent innkeeper daughter to a nobleman, Ser Jade. As he falls in love, the assassin's extreme mental conditioning begins to falter and he begins to discover his true personality. After several days, he makes a decision - to fight against and disband the Order of Cruor. However, before he can make that choice, Rose confronts him, and forced to kill her in order to save Amberia, Raven does so.

He then returns to his headquarters at Cruora, confronting and defeating most assassins. The Order's Leader, Obsidia, runs away while Raven confronts Silva, who commits suicide when Raven attempts to spare him. The Order of Cruor is seemingly destroyed, and Raven becomes a hero, with Ser Jade using his popularity to become the new ruler of Regietto.

However, Raven slowly begins to uncover Regietto's last secret : Jade is the true creator of the merciless Order and everything was an elaborate scheme for him to take power. Raven confronts Jade who offers him a choice : to kill Jade and be branded as a traitor forevermore, with his wife orphaned and disgraced, or to continue to serve him and remain silent as a hero.

## Arc of Choices

### Alba's Story

In a possible timeline, Alba is the daughter of Raven and Amberia. Destined to become a great knight, her father's disgrace as he killed his father-in-law forced her to live as a pariah, exiled. She seeks to wash away her father's sins and earn forgiveness.

In her quest for redemption, she encounters young wanderer Nero and the two fall in love with eachother. However, their destinations are worlds apart, and they quickly split. Alba begins looking for answers within the Order of Cruor and clashes several times with an old, weakened Obsidia seeking to resurrect it. However, her quest is not in vain as she learns the truth about Raven and Jade... yet cannot prove it. She cannot rejoice about it however, as a new Order rises, guided by Nero.

Alba confronts Nero as he guides assassins towards the capital, but the latter does not answer for his intentions. They fight and Alba emerges victorious. Nero is captured and executed, with Alba branded a hero and her father's name is cleaned. Yet as she sees Nero's eyes, she only perceives victory and understands ; Nero staged everything to ensure her redemption.

### Nero's Story

In a possible timeline, Nero is a wandering orphan with a talent for war and assassination. However, one day, the troup of young orphans he travels with are slaughtered by Raven, assassin hero and servant of Palatina's leader Jade. Seeking vengeance, Nero embarks on a journey.

He meets Alba, which he falls in love with, and after they split, finds Obsidia who attempts to manuplate him, revealing his parents are Rose and Silva, victims of Raven. Obsidia also laughingly reveals that Alba is Raven's daughter. Enraged at Obsidia, Nero engages and kills him, ending the Order of Cruor's legacy. Then, he infiltrates the high quarters of Regietto and goes to Palatina's highest chambers.

There, he kills an aging Raven, as well as Jade, but Alba intercepts him and seeks to punish him for the murder of his father and grandfather. Nero emerges victorious this time, but unable to bring himself to eliminate the one he loves, he commits suicide, refusing to tell the truth so that Raven will forever live as a hero in the world's memory.

## Other Arcs

### Sigma's Tale

Sigma helps Raven find his path and fights against Specters attempting to feed on his guilt. She then helps him go back to Cruora and challenge Silva ; during that time, she fights against Tony Sabel as a test of strength. She departs with a Memento of Raven.

SHe comes back many years later to help Nero and Alba find a happier end, by challenging Jade by herself and letting herself become a demon for Regietto, With that, she wishes for Raven to lead a happier life and departs for the last time.

## Characters

* Raven
* Rose
* Silva
* Obsidia
* Ser Jade
* Amberia
* Nero
* Alba

## Trivia

* The choice of single words without a patronym for all character is a willing choice in order to deshumanize them.
	+ Furthermore, every single name is tied to a thematic color : Raven for black, Rose for red/pink, Silva for silver, Obsidia for obsidian (black), Jade for greed, Amberia for orange, Nero for black, Alba for white.