"Seat of a Monarch" - HIGHER POWER

It’s great to be back…

(The Scene opens up with Aren standing on the shore of a secluded lake watching the sun go behind the trees and listening to the birds that sing around him. Behind him is a fire one that is so small that it’s just used for the warmth as the cold wind starts to come in from behind. He looks over the lake taking in the scenery)

This has been my life. Secluded, calm, watching and listening to the life blossom around me. It was like waiting for something to happen, waiting for this serene calm to be disrupted. I don’t know what was going to happen, all I knew is I kept waiting and waiting and waiting. It wasn’t until I got sick of waiting that I finally just decided that it wasn’t coming and to go on with my life. Even then there was this lurking in the back of my head I could never shake away. It was always there, always seeping through the cracks no matter how many times I wanted to shake it off. I thought if I could do anything it would go but it wouldn’t. The only time it would was when I reminisced about how it was before retirement. The hectic schedule, the audience, and the people I came into contact with, all helped suppress that feeling. And I kept that going for so long, I even would watch what was happening in OWA from the back and when I was the GM it would feel better being within that atmosphere. And being a part-timer it felt even better. It felt as if I hadn’t even left. And then it all came to a head where I have left apart from OWA. I left and was back in the same hole of feeling this instinct of something going to happen. It was always in the back of my head but the thing that used to help me now did nothing. I didn’t know what to do and for so long felt as if this was going to be permanent. Until someone reached out. Some reached out and gave me the opportunity that was needed for me to finally feel as if I could get rid of this feeling. And I declined at first because I didn’t want it to be something I had to feel as if I had to depend upon it. I didn’t want to but then with some more pushing and some more temptation I finally went ahead and signed a contract. And now here I am, back to the dogs with a goal and a way to pursue it. And I am all for it because in my time at OWA and beforehand let me tell you, the talent has been dryer than anything I have ever seen. In different organizations, the talent is nothing like the caliber I have been for the longest time. There have only been a select few to take me to a limit I haven’t been in since I last stepped in the ring. It was amazing then, and it was something else when I had to face them. And it made me realize that I was born for this. This transaction of going through hell just to feel gratified and as if what I’m doing is great enough for me to continue on and create my legacy. Do I shudder at what I left behind? No. Do I look forward to what I can make from this point forward? Yes. Because as I said before this is just another book in the library of greatness that is Aren Mstislav’s career. And before it becomes a boring tale it needs to be that of a great epic. One where the chapters detail the points of grandeur that I have left and the points of importance that I have given the companies I have graced my presence with. So with that why not start this new book with a new company, one with many new faces and old ones as well with a reinvigorated purpose.

(The shot is of Aren as his face is behind the fire. The wind picks up which in turn makes the fire shoot up and Aren is gone. Now in a location that’s darker, a little light for which only Aren’s face can be seen is where we are now set up.)

The sequel to something like all sequels should be. Acknowledging the past groundwork, some callbacks to what made that book unique and to round up loose ends that people may have been wondering would end or how it would end. And with my first chapter, we get to all three. I get to see someone from my past and get to show them something that they haven’t seen in so long, competition. And like me, they have gone through a sort of evolution. Losing the name of Aleks Cole to now go under the name of Alec Fernandes. This name change hopes to be something of more than just that at least I hope it will. It would be very disappointing of him to just think that changing his name would be the same as changing his philosophy or changing what makes him tick. We are at a point where he is going to need to do more than that and if he hasn’t then it’s just going to be flat of my expectations. And if he falls flat of it, then he’s going to need more than a prayer to ensure that it’s just a mistake once. I do not plan on leaving that ring unsatisfied and will do anything to feel as if my return has been emphasized with other than a win. So you have a tall order for yourself, Alec, you have a tall order from me an old friend. You have to bring your best because if you don’t I’ll make sure that it takes a bit longer for you to leave that ring. You’ll be battered, bloodied, and beaten. You’ll be someone that people will pity because they know your ability, they know what you are able to do and they’ll see a beaten dog when it becomes clear you stepped in the wrong room with me. You know me, Alec, you know when I speak I don’t just do hyperbole, I just don’t say anything to make you afraid. I have some respect for my opponents that way. If you’re afraid of what I have to say then that’s something you have to take up with whatever god you talk to. Because you are someone who should have some self-respect to not fear the words of some man no matter the talent gap. But I digress, I don’t know how far you’ve grown if any, I just know the name of the man that is going to stand before me is different than what he’s usually gone by. So he may have lost his self-respect along the way, he may be a shell of what he used to be, or he may be a beast lying in wait I don’t know. What I do know is that whatever he is I’ve more than certain fought against the likes of him and am ready for anything he will throw at me. It’s going to be a pity to fight against someone unprepared so I would like for him to extend the kindness that he isn’t boring. For everyone actually, if you are listening when you face me do not be boring. That’s the one stipulation I should’ve added to my contract is to not face boring competitors. But nonetheless, I don’t think Alec will be, I think he’ll be fodder but enough to entertain me as I get back into the thick of what it means to be wresting for an organization. Actually, this leads me to a question I’ve been meaning to ask.

Alec. Do you find it boring in the position you’re in? I mean you’ve been here longer than I have and have had the time to survey the talent around you and do you find it boring. Does your time here feel boring and do you feel a sense of dread, a sense of regret for being here because the talent is so boring? Because I’ve been here for a bit and there is talent I don’t know, talent I do know, and some I’ve heard of. And their accolades I can see why people find them exciting and I can see why people are drawn to them. I can see it but I don’t understand it. You know where I come from, you know where WE’VE come from. You know the amount of talent we’ve seen around us and it just seems as if I can’t compare nor feel good comparing them to these people we’ve met. It feels as if there’s a disservice done to them. I don’t know if you feel that way. I don’t know if you feel as if your time here could have been better spent elsewhere. And I’m not here to knock on anyone, because I know talent comes to a head at someplace, and with an organization as new as this one, it could come to a head soon or this could be what we’re dealt with and it will take a bit longer. All I know is the excitement of a new organization is what is tiding me over. What I am seeing and what I know can grow is what is keeping me from getting out of my contract and just leaving. Because I need excitement, I need that feeling of I’m going to get my ass kicked by these people just to feel as if I’ve done anything around here. I don’t need to feel bored. If I wanted to feel bored I would join a federation that is dying or clinging on to some outdated prospect that has been there since 2009. I would join that so I could be a part of a dying commodity and be bored with the rest of my tenure. And I don’t want to. I don’t want to be bored at all. I want excitement and I need to know if that’s something I can get from these people. And you are the man with the firsthand knowledge of it all. So are you bored? Do these people bring that excitement? I’m unsure and will be for a bit but maybe you can change that thought. I mean unless YOU’RE boring. I mean are you? For a man who made so little impact when I first saw him, I had no reason to think about where you’d be later down in life. I had no reason to believe I’d see you again and yet here you are an obstacle in the path that I’m trying to make for myself.

And the thing about being that obstacle is the fact that you’re not doing it because you want to be seen as a credible threat but to fuck up my fun. Because I had no reason to choose someone from the back I wanted someone with the gall to come and find out if I’m legitimate for their own. And you decided you wanted to be that man. You think you know me from our time in the past but you knew THAT man and THIS man you see before you is a different breed altogether. And if you think your evolution has brought you to a level that was better than it was beforehand then I hate to break it to you but you are still not there to my level. I’ve been a king in many places that could crown me with many others who wanted to take it from me. Neither have, and neither will. As the Monarch of APEX I’m going to show my subject what it means to rule. And I’ll use you as an example.