Chaos, the world is nothing but chaos. There once was a man feared by all, clad in a mixture of chain mail and robes. This man bore the mark of the beast and for that he was feared. His disposition was that of a dove, both gentle and peaceful. His stature was nomadic. Finding work was hard for him and pleasantries were few, but he did not care much for the trivialities of the average man nor did the average man care for him. His life was dull and he craved for meaning.

One day an offer came to him from an unknown source. Little did he know that this offer was bound to change his life forever. A hooded figure on horseback wearing dark grey robes appeared before him,

“Greetings my friend, how have you been?” he said.

The man’s expression was of shock, not from how he was being greeted, but because he was being greeted at all. His mere presence was usually enough to scare the most courageous of souls away.

Hesitantly, he nodded his head and responded,“Greetings stranger, do I know you?”

The hooded figure let out a chuckle,“No you do not but I know you.”

“Well that’s not surprising.” the man said. “Many know of me.”

The hooded figure leaned closer. “Not quite like I do, I reckon.”

“I’ve known you since before the day of your birth, I know your past, your present and your end.”

Slightly startled now the man asked, “Who are you and what do you want from me?”

“I have come to offer you a job as my apprentice.”

The man looked puzzled, “You’re offering me a job? What exactly is it that you do?”

“Why my dear boy, I serve as executioner for his judge and jury.”

With a perplexing look, the man said, “You work for the King? How do you know so much about me?”

“Not quite the King,” the cloaked figure said as he pulled out a large scythe from the side of his steed to lean on.

“What say you? Will you take my offer?”

Unenthusiastically, the man shrugged and said, “It’s not like I have any other offers pending. Why not?”

“Very well then,” the figure said. “Now that I have your word, let us shake on it to seal the deal.”

At that moment, the hooded figure outstretched one of his large, gloved hands. The man hesitantly seized the hand, then asked, “What exactly will I be paid?” As the hooded figure came into grip with the man’s hand, he guffawed.

“Why nullification of your sins, of course!”

At that very moment, the man felt a strange emission emanating from the figure’s hand. He began to tremble and very soon he was on his knees.

“What are you doing to me?” he asked.

The figure leaned in close enough for his face to be seen by the man. What he saw though was not that of the face of a mortal though but that of Death himself.

“Why, I’m finalizing our pact of course,” Death said. At that very moment, the man collapsed onto the ground and drifted away into unconsciousness.

When he awoke he found himself in a field of flax, and thought it all to have been nothing but a dream, until he saw his hand. As he moved his hand from his aching head, to his amazement the mark that had been there for as long as he could remember had been removed, and instead replaced with a new one. A looming, familiar voice in his head spoke.

“This mark binds you to me. I have bestowed upon you my powers and with them you shall aid me in the collection of souls.”

“When I call upon you our pact will begin,” he said

The man clamored, “What do I do until then?”

At that moment, Death suddenly appeared and said, “It’s simple really, you will watch and observe my techniques and learn from them.”

The man and death began their travels that day, they traveled from place to place collecting souls and sending them to limbo for judgement. As time passed, the man would grow stronger in character and, with every challenge that he would face, his mind and soul would exceed further unforeseen limits. Immense amounts of effort and skill would go into each of the man’s tasks and efforts. Task after task were completed effortlessly as the duo began to grow cogent in their unison. With the strength given by this hooded figure, the man would go on to accomplish more and more daring feats. People began to forget of his past as the one with the mark of the beast, and would marvel at his exceptional resilience.

As time went on, Death began to pride himself in his apprentice. The veil where one began and the other ended seemed nonexistent, both of their movements fluid and precise. Accolades came pouring down from the heavens as life prospered with the balance that death and his apprentice brought.

Together they went around for eons, collecting souls for judgement until they became the stuff of legends and folklore. Out of this simple act, this pact with Death, both Death and this man grew not only to be feared, but respected by all who live.