When one opens a history book, They will read the facts about history. What scholars do , though, is that they don't emphasize on all the bad things that happen in history. They don't explain it. There have been plenty of horrible acts that you may not know about, but should. Because. History simply repeats itself.
A large manor sitting in the country side of Durem is where Steven Smith called home.
He belonged to a very wealthy family. His mother stayed home with him all day as his father was never home due to being head of an office wing in G-corp company.
At age ten, Steven had education at a very young age, the best tutors money could buy to thank for that.
Steven grew a tight bond with his mother as they both stayed at home all day. He was spoiled, and his mother knew how to pamper him with gifts, and kind words.
This lifestyle would change one day when Stevens father came home with a slam of the door.
He had been laid off, and he was lashing out in rage at everything. This was the first time Steven saw his father hit his mother, looking down from the stair banister as he was supposed to be sleeping. Days went on, and the income became very slim. Things had to be sold, and luxuries wouldn't exist in the household anymore.
Stevens father became a household bum. Demanding this, and that from wife, and son.
One day as Steven lay to bed, he heard strange noises coming from downstairs. Upon creeping down the stairway from his room leading down to the living room, Steven saw that his father was trying to stab his mother with a large butcher knife. Steven would yell out to stop him, catching his fathers attention. As his father let go of his mother, and started to go for him, Steven ran up to his room, and locked the door. His father chopped into the door to the bedroom, and Steven rushed over to his window. As soon as he tried to jump out, his father would catch him by the neck, and forcefully push him back down to the living room down those longer than usual fleet up stairs.
His father tied him, and his mother up together. In front of Steven, his father quickly lashed out, and slit his mothers throat in front of him. As Steven yelled out at his fathers reaction, he could feel a sharp cut fly through his arm as his father knifed him. Steven remembered his father saying something about how he wanted Steven to live, and suffer more than his mother because Steven wasn't supposed to die that night. So his father gave him a little more time. Just a little.
His father laughed, and pulled out a box of RIPWARE matches. The father struck a little fire with a match, and threw it to the manor floor. Quickly, Stevens father left the building as the blaze would build up. He left his son to die along side of his mother, who would be screaming, if she hadn't been silenced.
Though Steven was meant to be left there to burn, Steven leaned back in his chair. Now surrounded by flames, he fell back in his chair falling with his dead mother. He let her land on top of him, He didn't want his mother to be burned. She was too good to him for that. As Steven felt back into the fire, the ropes binding him to chair would burn, and weaken the binding. Yelling came though with coming free, as Steven's flesh scorched. Breaking free from the binds, Steven carried his mother out from the manor. Once they were outside, he fell to the ground, he was able to hold his mother up from the scorched manor with a cut arm, and burnt flesh. It would be at this time that determination would show that he could overcome many obstacles that would come.
After resting a bit on the grassy lawn on the manor that lighted up with the dim fire of a home that once was behind him, Steven rushed to the nearest hospital. From there, the authorities at the hospital called the police when the heard of his story of murder.
A few days passed, and Steven was patched up. The burns were minor, and the cut was fixed up nicely.
His mother was already gone, and buried in Durem Cemetery.
A few days later, Steven was invited to a court hearing of his father. They had caught them.
Steven coldly, and justifiably denied his fathers freedom. He accused his father for as much stuff as he could. During that court hearing, Steven learned that his father had taken out large insurance policies on his wife, and the house.
The murders happened for the simple greed for more money.
Guilty. Verdict.
Now with nothing at age 11, Steven had no parents. One was dead.One wasn't really a parent anymore, and even if they were parent, his father was thrown in jail.
Steven had to live an orphanage now.
With the horrible acts he witness, and was part of, Steven was very quiet.
His anti social behavior made him a target for countless beatings by other children, and even the staff.
In between beatings, and spare time, Steven would read. The orphanage had little to no books, and the ones they had were old.
Steven discovered a book about Alexander the Great. He read on, and he wanted to be a great leader, and ruler as Alexander. He dreamed about wanting more than his simple life now held in the orphanage. When he finished reading, he would start reading a book about weapon techniques, and how to make them.
He found weapons quite interesting, and the fighting techniques with them even more clever.
Steven was always interested in strategy, if anything.
Steven would spend hard years at the orphanage. Now at age 15.
One Halloween, Steven wanted to join the Trick or Treating activities with the other children. He even made a mask out of paper, and string. It was all he had to work with. When the other children saw that he had created such a mask , they picked on him. They beat him, and called him various names like freak, oddball, and creep. Fed up with this, he ran straight out of the orphanage. When he could that is. When the kids found something new to do, and the staff not looking. He never looked back to see if anyone had chased him.
Moments passed, and he was in downtown Durem. If anyone followed, they were long gone.
As he was out, Steven took part in the holiday festivities. Collecting candy until his feet where sore. He knew when he got back, that he would probably get it. Steven thought if he went back, things at the orphanage would be even worse than they were already. So he decided he wasn't going to go back, but first. He wanted to get revenge on those kids who picked on him.
Trading his candy with a local teen who had a sweet tooth, Steven received money. Steven had been gathering up the candy all night. Steven asked the kid for his Halloween mask, and the older kid said sure since he was done for the night. Using this money, Steven went down town, and bought a pocket knife, and RIPWARE matches.
He had to persuade the store owner that he was going camping.
Marching back to the orphanage, Steven was approached by a regular bully. Steven stabbed the kid in the heart with a blunt knife he had purchased. Upon seeing this, all the other kids scattered out from the orphanage. The staff remained to try to calm Steven down, but with a blank stare, the orphan would cut down them one at a time. Aiming for the Adams apple, heart, or forehead each time.
As the staff members fell, Steven marched towards a door that read "Disciplanarian administrator" He marched in. Without haste, he lunged over the the admninistrators desk, and struck him down in cold blood. More than one stab this time. Steven was raged at the administrator for ignoring his cries for help, and tattling about the bullies who caused trouble for him.
After this was done, he marched out of the orphanage, his Halloween mask up on top of his head, ready to go more trick or treating.
Before he left the orphanage though, Steven lit a match, and threw it behind him lazily.
The orphanage would burn down to the ground.
Roaming the streets once more to trick or treat, Steven came across a newspaper stand.
On the front page it read. "Roger Smith free by bail." Steven clenched the newspaper.
His father was free. By money. The same thing that caused the damn murder in the first place.
Now when telling house owners "Trick or Treat!", Steven would ask him afterwords if they had seen his father, and held up the newspaper article with his photo in it.
Upon one house, he actually got an answer. Steven's father was staying at a local apartment complex.
The next destination was known.
Steven marched up to the floor his fathers apartment was said to be my the land lord.
He kicked in the door next to his fathers apartment. The family there was shocked. Steven was lucky, there was no man of the house hold there to stop him. He just went to the kitchen, and grabbed a butcher knife. Leaving quietly with no harm done as he left. Now his main attention was his father's apartment next door. Kicking in another door, he would be face to face with his father.
His father had just been watching TV, and Steven was standing in the door way with a butcher knife.
His father would yell out "Steven!", but he would just stand there.
As Steven approached, his father would say: "Steven, don't!"
Steven shook his head, and pulled down his Halloween mask to his face.
Cutting madly at his father with the knife he had gotten next door. After a few seconds, the murder was done. It took awhile for Steven to get done cutting. His father wouldn't be recognizable.
Lighting another match, Steven dropped the fire hazzard to his father, and started to walk out.
As he walked away, he knew that the fire hadn't grown, but it would by the time he was out of sight.
With no where to go, and all his anger finished, Steven stood over the Durem Reclamation Lake.
He was ready to commit suicide, and drown himself.
That was when he came. Lord Jack who was making the holiday festivities, pulled him back.
Steven was startled, but when the Halloween being spoke, he would listen.
Halloween Jack told of how fear gripped Durem when the orphanage was burned down, and that the orphans who escaped told of murder.
Jack wanted more fear for a Halloween Event, and said he'd give Steven anything if he were to help out with spreading fear among Gaia to help with Halloween.
Steven thought about it, and noticed how killing seemed to make everything better. How he saved children from being picked on in that orphanage for years to come, and how he stopped his father from killing another women again. Steven replied with wanting power.
Jack understood. Putting hand on Steven's shoulder, Jack shared some of his powers into his new vessel.
Oh how the flesh would burn at first when he felt the energy come into him, and the darkness from mischief, and Halloween manner sunk into his mind.
When Steven said he'd cause fear to the whole town, he turned to face Jack, but the Pumpkin had vanished.
Steven was dressed in Halloween wear. He wasn't the same person.
It was this day on Halloween that Steven would die.
Looking for a new alias, he noticed the match box.
These brand of matches had caused his downfall, and he wanted to share his pain, and suffering with all the sorry excuses for human beings in the world.
He adopted the persona of Ripware, and Gaia's villain would be born.
It was late into the night, and with these new powers, Ripware felt alive.
He went to Durem cemetery. Sitting on his mothers grave he thought of all the changes he could make.
He dug up his mothers grave frantically. Upon opening the casket, Ripware gave his mothers corpse a long hugging embrace.
He spoke to his mother. Saying how he delivered his own justice for her.
He held onto the corpse until the darkness turned into daylight.
Several years passed, and news articles were sprouting up plenty of times about a mass murderer in parts of Durem.
Ripware killed for fun, and pleasure. Making sure to spread fear.
The safest feeling in the world is at home in your own bed, and that's where Ripware would strike. No where was safe.
It was only until one day, that Ripware stood up on Durem rooftops. He noticed the small busy specs of people below. He then thought of how he had these powers, and they didn't. It was obvious that he had to kill off the powerless. Ripware thought this would be natural selection. The weak die off, and only the strong survive.
He would need more followers.
Distrust in man, hatred in money, Interest in conquering, Wanting to be a leader, A delight of killing, and a power above common man is what makes Ripware who he is.
Over years, Ripware had grown to age 22, but still acts like a child. A child who never grew up.
A leader of Jacks Army. A man wanting to see the human race die out completely.
Wanting to see the world burn.
