The Chronicles of Clan Kiegan ("Matthew's" Perspective)

I closed my eyes as I let the memories return to me. I hadn't much taken the time to think about what I had left behind since I came back in my new life. So many bittersweet memories flowed through as I decided how to retell my previous life.

It took me a minute to gather my thoughts before letting out a large exhale. I opened my eyes before speaking, "I suppose, that would require me to go back pretty far." I leaned back forward so that I was sitting normally, staring absently into the bowl of slop.

I let out a sigh to myself as I began my story. "I believe I should start with how it began. My group, that is. When I was young, I was different from most others. I got ahead of those around me in a few aspects. Among my peers, there were two I found keeping up with me at the least. The first was Connorroy, who had the greatest mind I have ever seen, able to figure out any system that used logic. Aside from him, the only one who kept up was Mike, someone who had inherent talent for just about anything. Among the three of us, I would like to say I was the one gifted with people skills, as Connorroy was a bit too logical, and Mike had little care for formalities." I smiled as I recalled my early years.

Of course, that wasn't the full truth of the situation, but I couldn't exactly tell a bunch of people from the medieval era that Connorroy was as gifted with machines as a sci-fi AI and Mike could repair a car engine in less than a day if you gave it to him without telling him the model. I also decided to leave out the fact that we used these skills for less than honorable means, hacking stuff with Connorroy's computer skills and lockpicking or carjacking thanks to Mike.

I chuckled to myself as I remembered more of my youth, "After a while we just kinda grouped together, not being able to fully connect with anybody else connected us I suppose. Once we grew up a bit more we started getting into trouble. I shall admit, my past is not clean." I made myself sound remorseful, though I most certainly wasn't. In my mind, I lived a good life, aside from how it ended.

I scratched my beard absentmindedly while trying to remember what came next, "After that... Well, our activities caused me to be injured pretty badly, which led to Connorroy introducing us to his brother." I chuckled to myself at his memory, "By my lord, was that man mad. He couldn't smile without it looking like he was about to stab you, and he had some concerning tendencies. However, he held his word and his connections at a high bar. If he said he would do something, he does it. No technicalities, no loopholes, no lying. He also had a knowledge of the human body that I don't believe is matched anywhere. He didn't have any magic, but he could heal you like he did."

I gave a salute as I thought more about Raddigain. He truly was one of the closest friends I ever had, even when he said he wanted my corpse in my will. I chuckled to myself, wondering if that actually held up, I did put it in there, after all. Aside from that, I remembered all the jobs I did with and for him, acquiring different chemicals or samples, and using a variety of what I could only imagine where war crime inducing reagents. Despite his unstable nature, he truly did feel like a brother at times.

I clicked my tongue in the process of putting the story together, "After that... it was just the four of us for a decent while. Making mischief, getting into all sorts of problems." I shook my head with a smile, "My family cut me out, but I didn't care at the time. I took the name of my new brothers, Kiegan." I of course neglected to mention that this change only happened when I needed a new name after dying. I had never legally changed my name in the past, I simply didn't use a last name for anything that didn't require it.

"Then... I met Samantha." I nodded to myself with a sorrowful expression, "She was my love for a while, though it wasn't exactly a smooth relationship. We got into fights on occasion, over all sorts of things. My bad decisions, her bad decisions, a variety of things." I paused and closed my eyes, using the moment for effect as I tried to think about how to phrase this next part right. "After one particular fight, I left in a huff. Before I saw her again, I get pulled away for a job with my comrades. By the time I got back..."

The memory played out again in my head. Knocking on the door to her apartment, only to get no response. I had thought she was just angry with me, so I used a spare key she had stashed to get in. Walking in, the entire house was trashed, I later found out because Patric had thrown everything around in a rage and never bothered to clean it up. I found Patric himself alone on the balcony, staring blankly out at the street. He turned to look at me, an emptiness in his eyes as he told me, "She's gone." There were no other words said. He never told me what happened after either, that's all I knew, and I left it there.

Before I left, I gave him my card. I felt obligated to look after him, he had become like a little brother to me. So it didn't matter his sister wasn't there to connect us anymore, I would still be there for him. And to my credit I would say I was. And he was there for me.

I let out a breath I had been absentmindedly holding, reminding myself I needed to continue. "When I got back, all that greeted me was her brother, Patric. We bonded a bit over the loss, and eventually he became the fifth member of our crew. There were some good times for a long while after that." I smiled to myself, until the smile faded as I had to get to the next part.

I bit my lip as I closed my eyes to exaggerate my grief, "While Patric was the youngest of us, he was also the first to go. On one particular adventure, we got into a dangerous situation. He decided that he wanted to be a hero, and **** us forward while he served as a distraction." I put my forehead in my palm, surprised that I didn't have to exaggerate my emotions as much as I thought. "Suffice to say, he didn't make it."

I moved my hand from my forehead in a brush over my hair to set it back as I leaned upright again. "Connorroy decided to stop after that, and told the rest of us to. He said he wouldn't lose another brother, if I recall correctly. Not too long after, Mike decided to find a more law-abiding life as well, leaving me and Raddigain. We worked together for a decent time after that, but it just wasn't the same. In the end, I got in some deep trouble, Moged-Ruun saved me, and here we are."

To punctuate my last statement, I took a bite of my "chef's special", further indicating I was finished talking. I took some time to genuinely reminisce on old times as I chewed on the chunks before swallowing the horrific material down into my gullet.

Now I could only look up to see how everyone reacted.