(If you do not know the context of the story, please read the prelude before reading this story I wrote.)
Corvus Rem (John Wick inspired series): Prelude - The Story Corner - THE SKY FORGE (ning.com)
(01. Every Ending Has a Beginning - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
It was a dark night at the marshes of Hjaalmarch. He was riding a black horse towards a run-down shack in the middle of the marshes. As he arrives, he gets off the horse, but quickly collapses to the ground. He barely crawls to the shack’s door and sits against the wall. He then closes his eyes and sighs as he thinks back the event that transpired in the last few days.
(03. John Mourns - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
He wakes up from his bed, barely with any energy as he walks to the bathroom and looks in the mirror. He can still see her face with that angelic smile before she collapsed to the ground. He remembered he was with her when he and her are at that temple of Kynareth in Whiterun. He remembered the priestess tried all she can but couldn’t heal her from the illness. He remembered he gave her the last kiss on her forehead before she passed. He walks out of the bathroom, holding her brass ruby necklace in his right hand and laid it at the cupboard beside his bed.
A dark rainy weather overtakes the sky as he and seven other people stands before the grave while the Priest of Arkay gives his eulogy, “The god Arkay was once like us, bound to winding mortality. But he willingly gave up this existence that we might better understand the vagaries of life and death. It is through the ebb and flow of this cosmic tide that we find renewal and, in the end, peace. May the spirit of Haki and all those who have left this world and its suffering know the beloved serenity of Aetherius…and may we one day rejoin them in eternity.” As the priest finished with his passing words, the seven mourners left but he stayed. He looked down at Haki’s gravestone, still processing how his wife has left him after all the time they have spent together.
After spending a good thirty minutes in front of her gravestone, he finally turns and heads towards the exit. As he walks towards under the arch of Solitude bridge, he saw man standing under it. An older man, scarred with an eyepatch on his left eye. He’s wearing common black clothes, nothing to special about. He approaches the man under the bridge, and he approaches him as well.
“Hello Corvus. It’s been a while.” the older man responded in a calm voice. “My condolences. I imagine this is not easy even for you even after…”
“I have not felt such peace and…happiness like this,” said Corvus in a bitter tone. “And now…it’s gone. I don’t know if this was her fate. I don’t know if I deserve this.”
“This is how it is. Things just happen. Some think the divines has a hand in this. And others may think it’s a cruel joke from a daedric prince. But I’m not a fan of either belief,” said the blind eyed man.
“Is that what you believe?”
“Do not blame yourself my friend.”
“What are doing here Marco?” Corvus asked.
“I’m just here to check on you,” Marco responded. “I’ve known you since you’re a child. You’re practically more than my ward.”
“Goodbye Marco,” as Corvus reaches and shakes his hand.
“Goodbye Corvus,” said Marco before the two men part ways
Corvus spent the next evening alone in his big house, not too far from Solitude. He is sitting at the dining table, motionless and without any emotions. Suddenly, he heard a door knock. He approaches the front door and upon opening it, he sees a courier with a noticeably large package on the floor next to him.
“I’ve been looking for you. Got something I’m supposed to deliver – your hands only,” said the courier. “Let’s see here…ah this dog for you and this letter.”
“From whom?” asked Corvus.
“Haki.” said the courier. “She said she wanted you to have this before she passed. Oh, and…sorry for your loss”
“I see,” said Corvus in a rather monotoned voice. “Here, for your trouble,” as he gave the courier a few 10 septims.
He brings the cage inside along with the letter. He sets the cage in the living room and sits on a chair. He opens the letter and as he read it, he could barely hold back his tears.
My Dear Corvus,
I’m sorry that you must go through this. But I don’t want my passing to make you bitter or insular. So instead, I have this for you. Someone to have by your side. Someone to love. Now that I have found my peace, find yours. I hope my last gift you will bring you peace that you deserve.
Your Love
Haki
Corvus opens the cage and sees the dog, a Red Pit Wolf Cub. He reaches to the puppy and holds it in his hands. Upon inspecting the cub’s collar, he sees a word engraved on it, “Scrapper,” as he read. Corvus brings Scrapper to his bed and laid him on it. Corvus went and fetched extra small blankets and laid them on the ground beside the bed.
“Come” he said. When Scrapper didn’t move, he gently picked him up and laid him on the small blankets. Corvus climbs onto his bed and went to sleep.
The next morning, Scrapper went to the bed and licks Corvus on his face.
“Okay I’m up” said Corvus, seemingly a little annoyed.
Corvus and Scrapper goes to the kitchen as he makes breakfast for himself and Scrapper. After finishing the breakfast, Corvus puts on his fine clothing and grabs an elegant, engraved steel sword. He stares at the sword for a moment before noticing Scrapper by his side. He sheathes his sword and heads to the front door. “Alright then, lets go,” as he opened the front door to let Scrapper out.
Corvus and Scrapper heads to the street of Solitude. The two went inside Bits and Pieces and he bought a fishing pole.
“A fine purchase,” said the merchant. “But I’m afraid you will have to find baits at one of the stalls in the market.
Corvus and Scrapper went to the marketplace and perused one of the stalls for bait. As he was browsing, he hears some loud and boisterous talking from the distance. He turns around and saw three imperials walking towards the market. They look young, all dressed in some fine attires. Among the three, one of them is noticeably shorter than his other two friends who are slightly taller than him. He has noticeable blonde hair with a goatee and wearing a black attire. The second one wears a green attire with sword on his side. The third one wore red attire with a dagger at his hip.
“Solitude is just like the Imperial City,” said the second man.
“No, you won’t find any fine stuffs here. This place is too small and nothing fancy to offer here,” said the smaller man in an obnoxious manner.
“Hey, maybe you’re just too spoiled. Your father gave you everything on a silver platter you,” said the first one.
“Don’t forget, if it wasn’t for my father, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy what he owns and what he offers,” said the short one in a condescending manner.
“Whoa, we’re not being ungrateful,” said the third man. “You know we enjoy the benefits from you father. And by the way, I’m gonna head to the blacksmith, get my dagger sharpened.”
“Yeah, its not like you really use it anyway,” the short man scoffed.
As one of the men heads to the blacksmith, the short man notices Corvus and approaches him.
“Your sword, beautiful.” said the second man. “The engravings, never seen anything quite like it.”
“Thank you,” said Corvus without really looking at him.
“How much?” asked the man as he approaches.
“Excuse me?” as Corvus looked up.
“Your sword, how much are you willing to part with it?” asked the man in a more serious tone.
“It’s not for sale,” Corvus rebuked as he was gathering the fish baits and walks away with Scrapper.
“Everything’s got a price.”
“Not this one,” said Corvus as he turned around before he kept walking.
Corvus and Scrapper walks to the dock of Solitude and sets down his bait. He attaches a bait onto the hook and sets the line into the water. After waiting for a few seconds, he caught a fish. After that, he caught eight more fishes as Scrapper watched. The two then walked back to the house with their newly caught dinner. After finishing their fishes, Corvus goes to his prepares to sleep. Scrapper climbs onto the bed, but Corvus decides not to set him onto the ground.
“Want to sleep with me?” asked Corvus in a hushed voice.
Without hesitation, Scrapper sleeps by his side. After a few hours has passed, Scrapper wakes up barking. Corvus wakes up as well.
“It’s midnight,” muttered Corvus. “Do you really need to go?”
Corvus goes down the stair to find Scrapper. Upon walking down to the first floor, he saw two masked figures standing in the dark. Before Corvus can react, he felt a blunt object hit him behind his head and falls to the ground. As he groans from the pain, one of the masked figures kicks him in the chin while the two others rummage through the house and starts destroying the properties.
“Where is that damn sword?” shouted one of the men.
As one of the intruders kept hitting Corvus, Scrapper bites him. The intruder screams in pain and chases down Scrapper into the kitchen. Suddenly, Corvus hears a large blunt sound and Scrapper’s barking suddenly seized. Corvus tries to crawl, but another intruder kept kicking him.
“I found it!” shouted one. “This will make a fine collection or fetch a good price!” as one of the intruders comes back holding the sword in the scabbard. The intruder approaches Corvus and crouches next to him before he takes off his yellow dirty bandana. Corvus immediately recognizes him as one of the young men he met at the marketplace. His blonde goatee is unmistakable.
“I told you, everything has a price” said the man with a smug grin. He then knocks out Corvus with a punch.
(11. Chop Shop - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
Corvus wakes up in the next morning. He opens his eyes and sees Scrapper lying next to him and saw a trail of blood that led to him. Corvus picked up Scrapper’s lifeless body and held him to his chest. Corvus takes his body outside of his house and buries him. As Corvus stares at the small burial mound, he was overcome by hatred, rage, and unbridled vengeance. He then quickly leaves and walks towards the Solitude dock warehouse. As he enters the warehouse, he saw many workers hauling goods, either stocking them on shelves or off shelves. The warehouse has no shortage of supplies and workers as everyday they receive new goods. Corvus walks to the shack that sits above overlooking the dock. Corvus enters the shack and approaches a green Argonian in orange clothing counting coins.
“Gulum-Ei,” as he pulled up a chair and sat beside him.
“Been a while. Business is booming thanks to you,” as Gulum-Ei poured two cups of alto wine and gives one to Corvus.
“I imagine you know why I’m here”
“Yeah…” as the lizard nodded.
Sometimes earlier, the three men entered the warehouse, with the short man bragging his new sword.
“That was too easy. That milk drinker didn’t even put up a fight,” said the second man. “Let’s hope it was worth it. You better share some of that coin with us”
“Hey, I always pay my dues to my friends,” said the second man with the goatee.
“Sure, just like you said back in Markarth last week and you didn’t give us a single repayment,” said the third the man.
“This time, I will I promise,” insisted the second man.
The three men walked up to the office and approached Gulum-Ei. The short blonde man with the goatee drops the sword onto the table in front of Gulum-Ei.
“Got this new sword. I want you to fence it and give me the full payment of the sword’s worth.
“What’s this? Where did you get it,” demanded Gulum Ei.
“Who cares, I said buy the damn sword.”
“I asked, where did you get this sword.”
“Why the question lizard? Aren’t you a fence who takes “special” goods?” said the man condescendingly.
“Get out. Take the sword and get out of my warehouse,” as Gulum-Ei picks up the sword and shoves it back to the man before proceeding to return to the office.
“Where do you think you’re going? Did you forget that we own you?” demanded the man.
“What did you say?” as Gulum-Ei walks back towards the man
“We own you.”
“Is that what you think? I may work for your father, but you forget who I also represent, so don’t thinking you can simply walk in like you own this place,” Gulum-Ei hissed in an aggressive tone. “So…the owner of this sword, did you kill him?”
“No. But we did butcher his dog” the man laughed.
“Really, butchered his dog? Oh, that’s good” as Gulum-Ei feigned his laughter. He then punches the man in the face, causing the second man draw his sword.
“So now you think you can threaten me? I didn’t take you people stupid as well,” said Gulum-Ei without flinching. “Try me. Cut me down. Or you can get out of my warehouse.
The third man puts his hand on the second man’s sword, gesturing him to lower the sword. The second man does so while the short one gets back up.
“Vitrus is not going to be happy when he hears about this” said the third man.
“If you think you know what he gets angry about. You know nothing. Now, get out”.
“You’re going to regret this!” shouted the blonde man. Guess we’re going to have to sell it elsewhere.”
“It was Nerus Trasius,” said Gulum-Ei as he drank from his cup
“Vitrus’s son.”
“Yeah.” Gulum Ei nodded. “So…what do you need?”
“I need a hammer,” as Corvus drank from his cup of wine.
“What kind?”
“Strong enough to crack quarried stones.”
Gulum-Ei takes Corvus to the section where the weapons are kept. Corvus browsed the shelves for war hammers and takes a dwarven one. Corvus then leaves the warehouse and walks back to his home with the hammer on his back.
Sometimes in the afternoon, Gulum-Ei continues with the operation from his office, counting coins. Suddenly, his office doors open, and a man comes in with two armored men standing by the door. The man approaching is an imperial, wearing fine dark colored clothes with red trimmings. He has grey hairs, with a grey beard and with a somewhat big physique, but not muscular.
“Hello Gulum-Ei,” said the man in a stern voice.
“Greetings Vitrus” said Gulum-Ei in a cordial tone. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“No pleasure I’m afraid,” said Vitrus coldly. “I’ve been told that you struck my son.”
“Ah yes…whoever told you was correct.”
“Then may I ask why?”
“Why? Your son broke into Corvus Rem’s house to steal his sword. And killed his dog too,” said Gulum Ei in a serious and concerning voice, but with no fear.
“Oh…” as Vitrus’ confident and cold demeanor is soon replaced by a sense of dread. He then quickly leaves the office with his bodyguards accompanying. As he leaves the warehouse, he is approached by his right-hand man.
“Kjald, what news?” asked Vitrus but with a somewhat distracted outlook.
“Good news. Jarl Elisif has agreed to your term. Well, more like she didn’t have much of a choice because of your…leverage. So she is as good as secure,” said Kjald. He notices Vitrus is visibly distracted, “Sir?” he asked. For a moment, Vitrus is staring blankly as if disconnected from reality, but the expression shows concern.
“Have you seen my son?” Vitrus asked.
“Last I heard he’s in Whiterun, with his usual friends.”
“Good, go to Whiterun and tell him to meet me at my base in Falkreath Hold.
(10. Iosef the Terrible - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
Nerus Trasius and his two friends ride their horses into a small base surrounded by wooden walls in the forest of Falkreath Hold. The three men signals the gatekeeper to open the gate and they enter. They leave their horses at the stable and enters inside a large manor at the center of the base. The men hang around the first floor before Kjald comes down.
“Your father is waiting for you upstairs.”
“Fine. Jagar, Brucus I won’t be long,” as Nerus and Kjald head upstairs. The two enters Vitrus’ personal office as he pours two cups of Black-Briar Reserve. Vitrus picks up the cups and as he approaches his son, Nerus takes a small step back by Vitrus’ more imposing physique. Vitrus hands him a cup before clinking them and Nerus drinks the mead. Vitrus puts his cup back on his desk without of drinking it.
“New clothes?” asked Vitrus. “It suits you.”
“Thank you, father.” Nerus responded. But instead, Vitrus punches him in the stomach causing him to vomit the mead back out. Vitrus then tosses a small cloth to him.
“Clean it,” said Vitrus with some anger in his tone.
“What did I do?” Nerus groaned as he tries to clean up the mess on the floor.
“You…have messed up big time.”
“We did not let anyone see what we did. It was quiet!”
“I’m not talking about that simple job in Bruma,” as Vitrus picks up Nerus from the floor.
“What is it then? Gulum-Ei? That stupid lizard with his little warehouse? So what if I stole a sword?”
“You think it’s about the sword!?” Vitrus said in an aggressive tone and tosses Nerus back to the ground. He proceeds to grab a colovian brandy from his shelf and pours it into another cup. Nerus looks back at him angrily, but Vitrus remains unshaken.
“Its not what you did, son, that angers me so. It’s who you did it too,” said Vitrus in a stern voice and not looking at his son.
“Who? That milk-drinking nobody?”
“That ‘milk-drinking nobody’…is Corvus Rem.”
(02. Story of Wick - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
Vitrus takes a drink from his cup of colovian brandy. “This man was once an associate of ours. His set of skills has earned him many different nicknames. The Shadow Hand, The Black Fox, The Midnight Raven. But the most infamous among them all, Sithis Incarnate.”
“Sithis? You mean the Dark Brotherhood?” asked Nerus as he stands up and visibly confused.
“To say he was an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood is a great understatement. No, he was literally the dread father in the flesh.”
“Oh…”
“Corvus is a man of focus…commitment…sheer will. Something you know very little about. I once saw him kill three men in a tavern…with a spoon. With. A. Spoon. And then, one day he wanted to leave…because of a woman. Somehow, he was able to leave both the brotherhood and the guild but leaving under my service was a different story. So, I made a deal with him. I gave him an “impossible” task. A job no could have pulled off. The body counts he accumulated on that fateful day…laid the foundation of what we are now. And then you, my son, broke into his house, stole his sword, and killed his dog…just a few days after his wife died.”
“Father, you don’t have to worry, I can make this right,” said Nerus with a defiant tone.
“And how do you plan to do that?”
“I’ll finish what I started.”
“Finished what you started? Do you know how stupid that sound? Have you not heard a single word I just said?” Vitrus berated Nerus. “Listen to me carefully. Corvus will come for you. You will do nothing because you will do nothing. Your soul is as good as sent to the void. So…get out of my sight,” as Vitrus pushes Nerus out of his office.
“Nerus is good as dead,” muttered Vitrus as he leaned on his chair. “He will stop at nothing until he puts a blade in his throat.
“So…what can we do?” asked Kjald.
“Gather a task force. Send them to his house.”
“How many men do you want?”
“How many do you have?”
(12. Baba Yaga - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
(04. Assassins - John Wick Soundtrack By Tyler Bates and Joel Richard - YouTube)
Corvus returns to his home, with the dwarven war hammer at hand and opens a door that leads to the basement. He went to the basement and removed clutters of barrels and other things the floor with a black square. Corvus proceeds to use his hammer to smash the black square. He smashed repeatedly while letting out some scream of anger. After reducing the black square to rubbles, Corvus swept them and reveals a hidden hatch beneath. He opens the hatch and climbs down a small ladder that leads a secret room. The room is a secret armory with weapons, armors, and tools from his time with the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild. Daggers, swords, bows, potions, poisons, throwing weapons (knives and throwing stars), soul gems and a few stashes from the Thieves Guild. Among the gears include the signature Blade of Woe, Bow of Shadows, shrouded armor, Thieves Guild’s armors, and the Nightingale’s equipment.
Corvus puts on signature unique black hardened leather armor, as dark as the void itself. Corvus then ties his signature black bandana on his forehead. And lastly, he puts on his bosmer mask. Suddenly, he hears multiple footsteps downstairs in his house. He picks up his Blade of Woe that was next to Haki’s necklace and Scrapper’s collar. He looks at the mementos one last time and prepares to greet the uninvited guests. Corvus quickly casts a silent invisibility spell and hid in a corner. He saw two men walking upstairs towards the second floor. As they drew closer, Corvus jumps out of the shadow and slashes the first one in the arm and swiftly stabs the second one in the throat before slitting the first one’s throat. Corvus makes his way downstairs and sees four more men. Corvus attacks one in the living room by stabbing him in the back and in the abdomen. Suddenly, another one fires an arrow, but Corvus swiftly dodges it and unleashes his nightingale strife at the archer, instantly killing him. Corvus kills the one he stabbed before two more men rushes towards him. Corvus throws a throwing knife at one of the men to his shoulder and counters the other one’s attack. Corvus picks up the goon’s body and slamming him at the dining table before snapping his neck with a quick hand chop. The injured goon pulls out a knife and attempts to stab Corvus, but he pushes him back and the two men struggle with the knife before Corvus turns the blade onto the goon. Corvus then pins him to the ground while having the knife pressed against the goon and slams the knife to his throat repeatedly. Corvus then breathe a sigh of relief from the fight since it has been five years since he’s out of this profession. Suddenly, he hears a door knock. Corvus approaches the front door, with his right hand holding the dagger behind his back and opens it. A guard is standing outside with his Haafingar uniform.
“Evening Corvus,” said the guard cordially.
“Evening Fenren,” Corvus responded cordially as well. “Let me guess, noise complaint?”
“Noise complaint. Some people at Katla’s Farm asked me to investigate.” The guard, however, leaned sideway and notices the dead body near the living. “So…are you working again?”
“Just sorting out personal affairs. Nothing too special,” Corvus responded calmly.
“In that case, I’ll let you be then.”
“Actually… can you do me a favor Fenren?”
Corvus went back to the living room and grabbed a paper. He used a quill and quickly wrote something on it before coming back to the main entrance.
“Can you deliver this to Dennir? And here for you trouble.” as Corvus gave the letter and a pouch of 50 septims to Fenren.
“Sure Corvus,” Fenren said without hesitation. “Good night Corvus.”
“Good night Fenren.”
Corvus closes the door and went to the bathroom to clean himself up. After half an hour passed, Corvus hears some door knocks. Corvus goes to the door and upon opening it, he was greeted by an old bosmer. Behind him are two big nords, and a breton who is wearing what looks like temple robes.
(John Wick (2014) 17 - Dinner Reservation - YouTube)
“Ah, good to see you Corvus,” said the bosmer in a somewhat cackly voice.
“Hello Dennir.”
Dennir’s three servants enters the house and proceeds to clean up the bodies. The two big nords dragged all the intruders’ bodies outside to the yard and the breton cast a spell that instantly cremated all the dead bodies. One of the big nord sweeped all the ashes into a bag while the second one was inside cleaning all the blood. After the clean up was finished, the crew meets back at the front door and leaves.
“Alright, another day, another cleanup. Will I see you again?” asked Dennir.
“Goodbye Dennir,” Corvus responded without answering his question and gave him a pouch of 3000 septims.
“Corvus,” Dennir responded before he departs with his crew.
(John Wick (2014) 18 - Lure The Wolf - YouTube)
“Of course they’re dead,” said Vitrus with no surprise sitting at his desk. “Put a bounty on Corvus Rem. Have my ledgers write some bounty contracts for anyone who’s interested.”
“How much?” asked Kjald who’s standing beside Vitrus.
“10000 septims. Its time we lure the wolf with a chicken.”
“With all due respect, how do you plan to do that?”
“Put Nerus in the Paradise Lodge. Have him enjoy the luxurious benefits and wait. Corvus will show up.”
Corvus gathers all the necessary arsenals from his secret room and puts them on his horse’s saddle. He takes the Bow of Shadows, throwing weapons, additional bladed weapons, and potions. Corvus climbs onto his horse and rides to Riften.
Replies
Hey hey! So, I'll start with some constructive feedback.
the story is written in the present tense as opposed to the past tense. "Corvus takes him to the room." Vs. "Corvus took him to the room." And it hops back and forth a little too. Not sure if this was intentional but I'd do something about that since it can come off as a little jarring. Also, interspersing music throughout as opposed to one playlist is also a choice I respectfully question.
Now, this was very interesting and fun to read. I could remember all the scenes from the movie while reading this and it gave me some nostalgic memories. I love how Corvus is written, it reminds of John Wick a lot. And Keanu's voice in my head from that is another bonus.
i like how you blended the thieves guild and the dark brotherhood together too. That's something I do too in one of my fics. In fact this reminds me of that story a lot lol.
keep up the good work!
Thank you for your constructive feedback. I noticed my tendency of jumping back and forth between past vs present tense. I'm not alwasy sure on which tense to use when writing a story like this. I'm not an experienced writer when it comes to writing stories.
As for interspersing music, its my way of telling the reader a soundtrack is playing at certain upcoming part.
Other than that, glad you enjoyed it. I'm enjoying your story as well.