This Hypocricy Called Eden

         An overwhelming aura of hate, even the sky reflected it.  The screech of metal scraping against metal, the pound of leather pounding the hard barren dirt, thousands in uniform time, and the panting of exhaustion filled the air.
         “Halt!”  The army stopped.  Hundreds of scarred monsters of men clad all in worn iron plates, carrying swords, axes, pikes, and spears held at attention.  All of these were barbaric beasts in a uniform position.  All were silent, staring at one man.  This man, unlike the rest, had no scars across his face, no scruffy beard claiming his chin, and no armor to protect his chest.  He was no older than twenty, yet, all of these men fell silent at his command.  His wild blood-red hair sprouting from his head in all directions, eyes like the purest of emeralds, with a face that would be handsome if not so cruel.  His body, loosely wrapped by a black cloak, billowing and tattered, stood easily as he held a scythe, an enormous piece of weaponry that would have caused a strain for three men to carry, in his right hand.  “Men, the city lay ahead.  These opponents are no mere whelps, unlike those of our past battles.  Their numbers equal ours, as does their skill.  Do not take them lightly,” the boy said.  “Yes, Sir Siegfried!” the men bellowed in unison.
         Over the top of the hill, the men could see the city, a diamond in this barren wasteland.  The city’s spires climbed high into the sky, its lights nearly blinding.  The walls protecting like a mother’s arms, it was impenetrable, but these men would try.  These who once enjoyed the safety of those same walls, now rejects, exiled from their homes.  They were filled with rage, the same rage that had gotten them exiled from that peaceful society in the first place.  Who was the queen that she could decree anger against the law?  They would prove that she was wrong, that they, these angry tormented souls, were better, that they could use that anger, that rage, to their advantage.
         They marched on.  The city would be theirs; they would defeat the enemies’ guard and tear down the walls.  Something filled the air, something ominous.  All could feel it, but none understood it.  It then hit them, no soldiers guarded the gate.  No soldiers ready to counter their attack, no archers on the walls to repel them from the city, there was absolutely nothing, but this barren stretch of desert.  The city could not be completely ignorant of the army’s approach, no, it wasn’t possible.  As they approached, the front gates opened.  The army readied themselves for the swarm of enemies about to flood them, but only one man stepped out.  One man, clad from head to toe in obsidian armor.  In his hand, he held a sword that would take at least five men to carry.  Its blade was at least as long as this towering figure was tall.  He was the city’s hero, General Malekai, and the army knew that they had no chance against this man.  Only one could stand against him, only one had the skill and reputation to match this man’s force.  “Fall back men,” Sir Siegfried commanded, “this battle is for me.”
         These two men stood, still as the greatest of statues, staring at their opponent, neither moving.  “So, you dare to defy your exile,” Malekai’s voice echoed from within his helm.  “We only want our rightful place back in our homes, the homes that were taken from us!” Siegfried countered.  “Brother, you know that I cannot allow that to pass” Malek stated calmly.  “Then, I will have to kill you,” Siegfried stated without even the slightest waver in his voice or demeanor.  Siegfried continued, “Why were you, my twin brother, accepted as a hero while I was branded a beast, unworthy of the city’s splendor?”
“Because you could not control yourself, you all know the laws!” Malekai preached.  “Laws?  Laws!  Those laws are meaningless!  Anger cannot be a mortal sin!  It’s one of the basest of human emotions.  To ignore that is to ignore your humanity!”  Siegfried screamed in a rage, “You preach that peace is only attained by ridding oneself of these emotions, yet, you, a warrior just like myself, are considered a hero to them, a saint in the eyes of peace!  Yet your skills are no skills of peace.  They are tools of war, of anger, of the exact rage that you reject!  The very people of that city that whine so much for peace aren’t willing to work for it, to fight for it.  Then, they say that you shouldn’t fight, even if to attain peace, yet, you, who fought, are ranked among the greatest.”
         “If you cannot turn toe and walk away, I’ll have to cut you down where you stand,” Malekai stated without a hint of feeling, “Your death will be an example to all those who defy us!”
         Malekai charged, merely a dark blur in the eyes of the onlookers.  His sword came crashing down, but struck nothing.  Malekai may be fast, but Siegfried was faster.  The men stared in awe at the speed that Siegfried displayed.  A roar echoed from within Malekai’s black armor.  He rushed Siegfried, only to be evaded, yet again.
         “Brother, no matter how many times you try, you’ll never be able to strike me.”  Siegfried taunted, “At least, not in that clunky armor.”  Malekai retorted, “Whether or not I wear this armor makes no difference.  I could cut you down even if I were lame.  But if I were to strike you even once, we know that this would be over.”
         “We each rely on our own unique strengths, I guess.”  Siegfried sighed.  Siegfried darted, striking Malekai directly in the chest.  The scrape of Siegfried’s blade against the impenetrable armor could make a deaf man’s spine tingle.  “This ‘clunky’ armor has its uses,” Malekai bragged.  He tried to strike at Siegfried while he was close, but it was to no avail, Siegfried was already at least the length of two men from him.  “We seem to be at a stalemate.” Malekai stated.  “There is no stalemate!” Siegfried screamed, “I cannot lose!”
         Like a flash of black lightning, Siegfried charged Malekai.  The army cringed in disgust from the screeching of Siegfried’s blade tearing at Malekai’s armor.  Malekai flung his sword, creating a crescent-like arc, throwing Siegfried’s blood into the dirt.  “You’re wounded.” Malekai teased in a monotonous voice.  Siegfried discarded his torn cloak, now a mat of dust and blood.  Without his cloak, his dark, ominous demeanor dissolved away.  His face lacked the youthful look that it once expressed, now nothing more than twisted rage in a flesh form.  “Your arrogance is blinding!  Even you know that one strike cannot fall me!”  Siegfried screamed.  He charged again, this time, being rejected by Malekai’s sword before he even reached him.  “Your wound has made you sluggish,” Malekai stated, “you have become much easier to see by now.”
         Siegfried, on one knee, coughed.  His blood spattered into the dirt.  “That one must have cut pretty deep,” Malekai laughed, “Leave now, or I will have to finish the job.”  Siegfried rose from the ground as if no wound ailed him.  “You… threaten me?” Siegfried laughed.  His cackle filled the air.  “You are inferior to me in every way!  Your armor is the only thing keeping you alive!” Siegfried mocked.  The echo of Malekai’s laugh gave it an eerie tone that made all of the hair on one’s body stand on end.  “Do you want to test your theory?” Malekai managed between fits of laughter.  Malekai’s armor fell away revealing what looked almost like a mirror image of Siegfried.  Only a few minor differences separated the two: Malekai’s hair was black, although it was the same length and style as Siegfried’s, eyes of crimson, and two black, fang-like tattoos dropped from Malekai’s bottom eye-lids to the bottom of his chin.  The army of uncivilized ruffians stared in awe.  Malekai dropped his sword to the ground and drew the katana that he kept at his left side.  Siegfried blinked.  “No,” Siegfried muttered, “he’s… gone!”
         “I doubt that a man could disappear,” mocked a familiar voice.  Siegfried turned to see Malekai’s back.  How dare Malekai mock him?  He, Siegfried, was superior.  He will NOT stand for this!  Siegfried swung, but his blade cut nothing but the air.  “So, who’s superior?”  Malekai asked, once again behind Siegfried, his back turned to him.  Siegfried’s eyes, like dull emeralds, opened beyond the realm of their movement.
         The ruffians scattered, the fear echoing in their screams of fright.  Siegfried, on his knees, motionless as his head rolled onto the dirt.  A cloud of dust arose with a dull thud as his chest smacked the ground.  Malekai’s eyes, crimson yet cold, stared down upon the body of his brother.  He lifted his head and stared blankly as the gates creaked open.  He strolled past Siegfried’s body, a marionette with no strings, without even a tear in his eye, for he, Malekai, had no brother.  The gates snapped shut, locking Malekai and all the other citizens considered worthy within its safe embrace.  To them, the walls were like a mother’s arms, loving and protecting, but to those outside, they were cold and ominous, keeping them from their only home, the only paradise in this hellish world.  It was their Eden, always just out of reach.