Writing Prompt #8 - Making History - (2/20 - 3/6/17)

[Custodian]

What's this? The writing prompts are back?!

This week's prompt is... *drum roll*

MAKING HISTORY
Your character somehow ended up making it into the history books! The question is... what for?
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You get to play historian this week! Write out a paragraph or two (or three, or four, for the long-lived characters out there!) that might be found in the books that new recruits might be forced to read some time in the future.

You can post your reply directly into this thread, into the Storybook, or in both places, if you wish! Please remember to follow the rules when sharing your response(s). Love one of the responses that you've read? Shower the author with compliments here!​

 

[Kuro-Hebi]

2017.03.18 - Ripples (Making history)
Your character somehow ended up making it into the history books! The question is... what for?
Something that might be found in the books that new recruits might be forced to read some time in the future.

The hospital was quiet at this time of night; reduced staff and patients sleeping. One of the nurse was making his round in the children's ward, comforting a child or two along the way who'd woken up either in pain or calling for their parents. He lingered in some rooms longer than others, tucking the little sleeping forms safely under the covers and checking on monitors, making sure everything was alright. When morning came, the whole floor came alive as the body of a young girl was found lying in a pool of her own blood, a single shuriken laid into her lifeless open palm.

Video footage of that night were of little use; the nurse that was suspected never showed his face clearly to the camera and the staff strangely couldn't even remember what he looked like. Did he wear a sleeve the same color of his skin on his right arm? It was a foggy memory at best and the cameras didn't managed to pick up that detail. No fingerprints, no discarded clothes, no clues. It made the front page of many newspapers but, in the end, even this gruesome story died.

***​

A young woman raised her hand to get the attention of the teacher, who momentarily lifted her eyes from the book she was reading to the class. A simple motion toward the student gave her permission to speak.

"Why would the assassin leave the weapon of the crime on the scene? Unless it's a serial killer and that's like, his trademark or something?"

"Excellent question Miss Tvardovsky." The teacher replied in a monotonous voice. "The shuriken is as the stone thrown into the pond that makes ripples. It is the catalyst of a chain reaction that took years to come to fruition. The girl simply dying peacefully would not have had the desired effect; rage was required. Strong emotions of loss had to be dulled by an equally strong feeling of outrage and hate."

The student clearly didn't understood, as could be plainly seen on the expression on her face; an expression mimicked by most of her fellow students in the room. With a slight sigh, the teacher gently laid the book she was holding onto her desk and cast her gaze upon the class.

"The child was sick, terminally so. Had she died of illness, or any other cause that could have been attributed to her poor health, her parents would not have 'moved on' quickly enough. But having the girl assassinated sparked something else, and the media were but too happy to keep the flame of hatred burning bright. Her parents, willing or not, were swept into the chaos of the moment, in an attempt to find the murderer and get retribution for their loss. Though their pain was still the same, it was somewhat dulled by the events. It was all carefully planned so they'd take the path the Dragon had set for them and, ultimately, their lineage."

With a quick hand gesture, the teacher motioned for another student to keep quiet before he could utter any words.

"I know what you are all thinking right now. 'Why?' Why kill the child in the first place. She would have died eventually. She still had an estimated 4 or 5 years of life ahead of her, maybe more with any luck. But that is 4 or 5 years we could not afford to wait, at the risk of losing an opportunity to make significant ripples in time. Her death was the flapping of small butterfly's wings. Time heals broken hearts and her parents were no exception. They moved on, after the whole affair settled, and eventually had a second child - a child, should I add, that would not have been born had these events not occurred."

The teacher took a long look at her class, making sure everything was sinking well into their minds, before she continued with the explanation.

"This second child would grow up and become a respected tattoo artist who will, inadvertently, stumble upon the Secret World after moving to Seoul... Pan Jung-Soo is the name. Some of you may have met him. He often comes to the Dragon's Coils as he's become one of our informant."

"And he offers discounts for Dragon members too!" One cheeky student cried out, followed by low chuckles from his comrades.

"Yes.. that too." The teacher replied, her tone as monotonous as ever.

"So... who's that guy who killed the girl? Is he still around?" An older male student suddenly asked.

"Bet he's either super old or he's dead." A woman replied with a snort.

"Pfff of course he's still around. I know Pan he's like in his 30's. And the guy who assassinated the girl couldn't have been an old fart so maybe he's old now but I'm sure he's not dead." Yet another voice contributed to the conversation.

"Guys guys! I've got the weirdest idea on who it could be! So the dude wears some sleeve on his right arm, ya? Meaning he got something there to hide."

"He could have worn long sleev-"

"Of course not stupid! Nurse don't wear long sleeves."

*Oh.. right."

"So I was saying, something to hide like... a tattoo!"

"Oohhh My. God! Could it really be 'him' though?"

"Who? Come on don't keep it to yourself!"

"You know that dreamy guy with crimson eyes that gives advanced swords lessons at the dojang? He got that sweet full-sleeve tattoo on his right arm."

"Isn't he just a teacher?"

"Come on! You don't get to be 'just a teacher' with the mad skills he has."

"Class, please be quiet." Despite her rather boring tone of voice, every student stopped talking and turned their attention back to the teacher. "The man is still around but I shall not be the one to disclose his identity. Feel free to deliberate this among yourselves AFTER class, as we are not done analysing this story with the application of what we call Chaos theory-"