The Five

————
THE SUMMONER
————
You,

a whirlwind of pages, scrawled and torn, haphazard,
a flurry of thought and speech and ceaseless movement,
the bubbling of flasks and potions scattered,
ever toiling towards self-improvement

You,

a pair of unbidden eyes in dark places,
a capricious hand reaching between the planes,
flanked by scowling, snarling faces,
you wreath yourself in cold, loving chains

You,

full of love, full of curiosity,
so reckless, ever unsatisfied,
no error, no injury, no atrocity,
will ever break your stride

You,

will be the SUMMONER, the Call,
a voice beckoning Outsiders to your side,
to sift, to learn, to cut through it all,
and on their backs into the unknown you will ride!

Or else... you will drown, in half-tread lines of inquiry and failed potions, never having seen behind that curtain.

————
THE VOID
————

You,

a stalker, a chrysalis of shadow,
from which justice will be born,
a righteous dagger striking a brutal blow,
to protect those to whom you are sworn

You,

the afflicted, the blighted, the hated,
whose blood boils and whose vision clouds,
a shell from which suffering is fated,
but still you serve under your shroud

You,

the hidden, the meddler, the protector,
a glinting blade under the shade,
phasing in and out, darting about, a specter,
you will strike true and away again you will fade

You,

will be the VOID, emptiness pumping through your veins,
you will gather, you will control, you will command,
until it is only the righteous, the innocent, which remains,
and you will prove that the heaviest of curses can be a gift quite grand.

Or else... you will let it consume you, until you fade whole into that shadow, bearing your curse onto the world.

————
THE TORCH
————

You,

war drums beat as your heart, propelling a body of steel and fire,
artifice with so much potential like the flame within you,
infinite determination, clawing and blazing ever higher,
the reaper bears down on you, but you always pull through

You,

born into a world unfamiliar, sent on a mission,
derelict in the dark, confused and bleak,
but still, you resolved, this would be your ignition,
and through the dark you cleaved, and emerged at the peak

You,

a mere construct, of wires and metal, whirring and churning,
yet by chance or by fate, possessed of such brimming soul,
of kinship and love, of hate and resentment, all so burning,
all so new, unshaped like clay, you find your role

You,

will be the TORCH, a light guiding through dark,
a roaring blade cleaving through the shadows,
a friend, THEIR friend, providing the spark,
until the day your fire goes.

Or else... the fire within you becomes the tool of the abhorrent, and you burn away in it with all of them.

————
THE VERDANCE
————

You,

of damned blood, sulfur and brimstone,
of exalted soul, loyalty and light,
you from whom such brilliance shone,
and you, who feared such the creeping blight

You,

a persona forged in desperation,
a shield against the infernal call,
when, you wonder, comes its domination?
and when it does, who will be the one to fall?

You,

cried, coiled, in your bedroom,
cast yourself into wild exile,
to what you were sure was your doom,
and came out with a smile

You,

will be the VERDANCE, the bringer of life,
your infernal power is yours alone,
a scalpel, not a knife,
and you'll never have to atone.

Or else... you will succumb to the call, and the life you've built, and the life you've preserved, will all melt away.

————
THE ZEALOT
————

You,

a blade of great size and heft,
and a task of that same weight,
eager, proud, sheltered, you left,
to hunt your quarrel, your fate

You,

a force of balance, of repayment,
of the tide, the ebb and flow,
adorned in your tribe's raiment,
you will put the thief below

You,

ardent, assured, strict,
you know the scales so well,
you can feel them tipping amidst conflict,
and you will see them quelled

You,

are the ZEALOT, the force, a blade of two edges,
one of mercy and clemency, and one of harsh fairness,
may not a single deed go unrequited, honored be your pledges,
and may not one atrocity evade your awareness.

Or else... you will lose sight of the scales, and your blade will claim the blood of the undeserving, and you too will be profane.