The markings on us shape who we are, a story of what we have seen, accomplished, and defeated. Some markings are left on the inside of us, shaping our mentality forever. Some are created from our own hands. In the grand scheme, each mark holds significance, and even the littlest fragment carries the heaviest weight, making us what we are today.
Eons ago in the dark wastelands. A battle waged between humans and Yokai. Casualties were on all sides, and in a desperate attempt to protect his people. One mystic killed a High Demon and developed an ink from its blood known as the Aether. At first, humanity laughed at the mystic for believing any good could come from "Aether." The powerful mystic ignoring their taunts and jeers marked himself from head to toe in markings derived from Aether, and he had found that he could conjure creatures of the dark to defend against the Yokai hordes. Humanity watched as this mystic killed the Yokai in an instant, summoning the deadliest creature in his arsenal: A black dragon marked across his back. This dragon displayed godlike power and overwhelmed the demon hordes, thousands he killed with his mystic powers, after saving his village he was no longer the pitiful fool, This mystic grew in respect and power and would forever be known to those around him as "The Dragon." Not too long after the Demon Lord Azasaba sent his minions to slay The Dragon it was a bloody battle and eventually Azasaba was able to kill The Dragon by ripping the skin from his body and throwing him into the Underworld. Aether was then lost to humanity.
March 14th, 1982, a young man sits in his apartment building listening to music. He takes off his headphones, looking out the window onto the rainy landscape. "Eh, look the world such a mess out there." He says to himself, putting his headphones back on. At the same time across the street, a hooded figure is looking up into the young man's window, holding a bottle of black unknown liquid figgiting with it in his hand. The figures concentration never leaving the window. And the man laughs to himself disappearing as the young man exits the house walking down the street moving to the beat of the music blaring in his headphones. He passed many people and went deeper into the city.
"Vincenzo, why you keep ducking me man"? Another guy came out of nowhere wrapping his arm around the young man's neck. "Bastard" Vincenzo yelled. Struggling to throw the man off eventually he threw the man against a wall holding a blade to the man's neck. "Whoa, whoa killer chill out there man I was only joking". Vincenzo looked up to see Cody Duece a friend of his. "Asshole don't do that man, thought you were Slim". Vincenzo said laughing putting the knife away giving his friend a bear hug. Cody and Vincenzo had been friends for years starting at the age of five. Now they were grown men on the streets of Azvala a sick city with even sicker people. Vincenzo and Cody walked into a nearby bar, they weaved through countless people to see two guys in a cage with strange markings on their body fighting. "What's this"? Vincenzo asked Cody. "What you never heard of Aether"? Cody asked smirking. "Can't say I have" Vincenzo responded. "Noone really knows where Aether comes from, there's legends and descriptions but the real face is, anyone who marks themselves with it can do things,". Cody explained. "Like what"? Vincenzo asked. "Watch" Cody responded and Vincenzo watched the fight to see one of the men had tattoos across his body of tentacles. Turning them into blue transparent tentacles rising from his body, whipping them against the other man who attacked him with a green transparent tiger, each one fought with all their might and eventually the man who summoned the tiger succumbed to the tentacle man's poison collapsing on the ground. "And for some reason" Cody started talking. "A contract is made with the creature you put across your skin, and if you fail the creature can be taken from you". Cody said as the tentacle man reached out his hand to the man who summoned the tiger, touched his forehead and the marking of the tiger disappeared on his shoulder and reappeared on the tentacle man's shoulder. "Now your avatar is mine". The man said. "Avatar"? Vincenzo asked. "The name that was given to these creatures Avatars or Fighters, only named that humanity could come up with realistically". "Sounds cool" Vincenzo said. "I've been wanting to put one on myself but not sure which one or where to find an Aether dealer". "There's dealers for this"? Vincenzo scoffed. "Yea, Aether dealers, artists very rare to find one, about maybe three or four in this city and they are secretive, paranoid probably driven insane by whatever Aether is, one claimed Aether spoke to him". Cody said. "Really, who"? Vincenzo continued questioning. "His name was Uric Dagmar, legend says he was the of the first in this craft". Cody said. "Yea let's cut the history lesson for now and grab a bite to eat im starved" Vincenzo said his stomach growled. "Good point" Cody said as they both walked away from the arena and existing the bar.
Later a hooded figure enters the sewers, below ground lied a underground network of tunnels. The figure walked for miles finally coming to an opening where a man sat in a black rocking chair, the man seemed as old as time itself. "This one are you sure Dag"? The hooded figure asked the old man, the old man never looking at the hooded figure responded. "Yes, I believe this one may be the one". Dag said. "Aether is extremely volatile and cataclysmic to the human body, what makes you think he'd handle the process let alone accept "that" Avatar's contract. The hooded figure revealed himself to be a pale skinned yokai almost humanlike. Dag got up from his chair, walking up to a small bottle resting against his nightstand, picking it up and analyzing it. "I shouldn't have survived, even this long I believe this boy is the one we've been looking for, one who will truly end the war of yokai and humans. His shirt fell and revealed hundreds of markings almost covered from head to toe in Aether, among them was a faded red dragon across his back. "I promise you I've found you another". Dag says aloud, the dragon on his back glowed a dim red and you could hear the growls and snarls coming from his mark as if it were a real dragon.
Vincenzo walked home that night, when he got there, there was something in his mailbox. A package, he hadn't ordered anything or expected mail paranoia struck his mind of the things it could be. "Screw it" He opened the package to find a picture drawn of a an exquisite black dragon, it's eyes piercing into Vincenzo's the air began to grow cold all of a sudden and Vincenzo took the picture returning to his home for the night. Never looking away from that exquisite black dragon.