Post by Valquist on Jul 14, 2014 21:58:14 GMT -6
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My name is Valquist. I am a former Architect. A dark sanctuary of hope and despair. Bound by an un-turning road which shelters both the desire to do what is right, and the desire to do that which is wrong. A name is everything. Valquist is a name with no meaning, and no origin, unlike other names it is a symbol of infinity. Alongside my best friend Isis Derrida we once ventured far from the comfort of our home in Infinity City to find a meaning within the wrestling world, to find enlightenment. Now I find myself alone, without my friend.
“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”
Emily Bronte.
I am The Valquist and this is a story about my longing, my resurrection.
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Thursday 26th 2013
Infinity City
Infinity Wrestling Federation
Infinity, a home to hundreds of thousands, and those people who dream so deeply during this Christmas period were left wondering if their sanctuary was to be demolished. A futuristic metropolis not bound by the credence of the United Nations or any other law-making body, other than its own of course, is in crisis.
The city is crumbling from within, and those that have inspired an entire generation; its celebrities, its infamous wrestlers and its own government, are left at fault, unaccountable and lost beneath the agonising bellows from its public.
By daybreak of Boxing Day two thousand and thirteen, snow fell fiercely amongst the scrambling news teams from around the world that were witnessing a major changing moment in the city’s history. One reporter from Infinity’s Historical Hub, the city’s vast historians that are responsible for cataloguing every piece of history, stood beneath the Infinity Wrestling Federation’s HQ, right at the heart of the city. The female, late twenties, wrapped tightly in fur coat and matching hat, braced the frozen surroundings with a solemn glare, trying to reserve her own nervous feelings.
“Good morning Infinity City. I’m Jessica Lerner from HHTV and if you’re tuning in during these early hours then you will have heard the major announcement coming from Infinity Wrestling’s network broadcaster, the Battle Zone Network. BZN President Mr. Osman has shockingly closed Infinity Wrestling, sparking a mass financial crisis that is sweeping the city only hours after the Christmas festivities. The Infinity Wrestling Federation, principally owned by Chairman Roderick Blackmore and COO, The Copycat Kid, violated clauses in its contract with BZN, sparking Osman to close the federation on the day of its hugely anticipated themed show, An Infinite Xmas. The wrestling federation was responsible for the rise of several influential icons in the city; Adrian Flynn, Murray Muir, James Jameson, Jamo and the city’s poster boy, Matt Rydell. Reaction to the closure has seen a major plummet in stock revenue, resulting in over seven hundred major investors withdrawing finances from the city’s main sector, entertainment. Within hours of Infinity’s closure its currency, the Eagle, has also seen a rapid decline in value compared to European and North American currencies, resulting in major housing problems, with many families harbouring mortgages fearing for their job security as well as future housing payments. We have reached out to the BZN for further comment but as I deliver this message there has been to reply from network officials. Stay tuned to HHTV as this citywide story continues.”
A Samsung thirty-two inch, high definition television blared these startling images into the law firm, Derrida & Valquist, a law firm that was helping the Battle Zone Network in their legal preceding’s against Infinity Wrestling. Valquist, a lightly toned black male, athletic in all places, and equally as stubbly, sat upright, eyes bloodshot in what seemed to the exhausted wrestler as the middle of the night. The sun had not fully risen over the law firm’s skyscraper that is less than six hundred metres from Infinity Tower where the news scaremongering had galvanised the city’s attentions. Val was resting his head in his private studio two levels from the top, his best friend and wrestling partner Isis commandeered the level above. Val checked his phone to see not a single message or missed on his phone, but that was expected. Val’s quiet life outside of wrestling meant he could focus his time away from wrestling at the firm. Sparsely dressing himself into a clean white vest and black denim Val’s head instinctively turned towards the elevator entrance and the signal above that was pinging. The silver chrome doors open just as Val finishes dressing and his father, Oria Valquist, dressed in full black business attire as always, enters swiftly. Val brushes off and puts on his loose fitting leather jacket before meeting his steely eyed father in the flesh.
“Son, there has been a major development in the Infinity case. Osman’s gone ahead with termination without our go ahead. He’d put the organisation in jeopardy.”
“Why now, just hours before the next show?”
“I believe he’s made a rash decision. The BZN are notorious for ruthless decision making, but this time they have catapulted a million citizens and every organisation to the fringes of financial hardship. This city relies on its cultural exports for its wealth and prosperity but now the world is asunder with brash news reports that BZN are crazy lunatics. Nobody from Europe or the States want to invest in us if they believe men like Osman are running the show.”
“He was never meant to close the federation. What powers can he exercise if his content is strangled with red tape? Infinity was this city’s solutions to a few years in the doldrums, his resentment was founded, but his executive decision making has proven exhausting and repulsive.”
“Everyone is coming in, we’re going to consolidate our assets. We have been hit harder due to our affiliations with the BZN, so damage limitation is our only option.”
“Have you seen Isis?”
“He is not upstairs, nor are any of his belongings.”
“We were both with him last night,” Val states with a bewildering tone.
“Find him,” Oria replies, “the last thing any of us need right now is another PR disaster. It’s been a breath of fresh air since you returned from GWR, but if you want my opinion, perhaps it’s time you and Isis set sail again on another journey together. Go to another wrestling promoter that will actually treat you with a shred of humility and humanity. I don’t think Infinity Wrestling is ever coming back, not if Osman remains in charge of the BZN.”
“There’s too much to fight for, right here,” Val insists.
“Let me pick at the bare bones. You and Isis should pick up where you left off, aspiring to be champions in any federation you step into.”
Val stood in isolation, theorising about Isis’s potential and his whereabouts. Often considered to be ‘standing in his shadow’, Val was often the whistle blower and the architect of their preparation, their travel and the orchestration of their matches as the tag team of Full Measures. Val believed his brother in arms to be an erratic decision maker at times, and was questioning the possibility that his friend may have perhaps been behind Mr. Osman’s sudden decision, but he remained solemn in front of his investigative father, a man who is known for uprooting Val’s problems just by looking at his body language.
“This news report confirms it Val, you’re future lies elsewhere, great moments that you and Isis talk about so fondly, can finally happen. You can erase your past, or let it drag behind you in the present. You are no longer burdened, that’s why I’m here, to relieve you of the duties here, so you can follow your passion. It’s about time the wrestling world sees Full Measures take flight again.”
“I’ll have nowhere go to for a while,” Val says, his father picking up on the use of I’ll.
“There will be an infinite amount of promoters with their arms wide open, wanting to put your skill set on television and on pay-per-views. Just don’t lumber around Infinity with your tail between your legs, those days are now behind you, neither me nor the city can protect you from what’s to come.”
“I’ll find Isis,” Val replies, his heart far from his words. “I’ll find us a new future.”
Val need shock his father’s hug, one that turned into a bracing and muscular embrace between two family members that have been inseparable throughout the course of Val’s life. Oria was the only person there for Val and Isis when they were kids, and now in the nearing fall of Infinity City he was there for his son once again. The two depart as Val heads towards the heart of the city, whilst his father tries to hold down his crumbling fortress.
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Monday 14th July 2014
Duluth, Minnesota
University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
Seven months have eclipsed since the fall of Infinity on Boxing Day two thousand and thirteen, but in another continent and in a country promoting different values; freedom, democracy, and an unrivalled entrepreneurial spirit. The United States of America, the country whose executive leadership are so fond of MediCare that more re falling sick. A country where polar opposites attract, a thinly stitched fifty-one states that are all bonded yet diverse enough to promote extreme ideology and causes.
Minnesota, the state of ten thousand lakes, the North Star state, a gentle Midwestern state where its population mostly gather in its twin cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Wrestling for folk in this region of the world is often stereotyped as being a hick event for hick people, but in reality, and in the modern there was a brighter truth. Val had travelled thousands of miles from his home in Infinity City, alone, for his upcoming debut at the seventh edition of VOW: Breakthrough, his second major promotion.
Val travelled the University of Minnesota and its heavily popular radio network, KUMD. Val was waiting potentially to be ushered into its prime time hot seat, and waited laboriously whilst the two radio hosts, devout wrestling fans Mike Johnson and Santiago Rodriquez occasionally glanced outside at the passive Val, an introvert who calmly read through phone what he could about news from Infinity City.
Most importantly as a short stretch of time procrastinated Val was alone, and he could feel the judging eyes from within the hot, mostly shaded interior within the host’s work habitat.
They could feel a void, a vacuum, that was inflating outwards with every slow, dull second that passed.
Val’s appearance here wasn’t a forced suggestion from his new parent company, but in fact his own decision. Unlike his friend Isis, Val would surround himself in humbling places that made him respect what he has, and even when he and his friend were travelling together would find time on his own to sit down in an unfamiliar setting to battle-harden his mental game. It was an effective strategy in the past, and after seven months in the grey Val needed to find his roots again before he was faced with a second beginning.
Soon enough during a commercial break that advertised the University’s upcoming sporting events, Val sat down in between both Mike and Santiago in a cramped office where their three sets of knees were all touching. It was an intimate setting, but then again so is the wrestling industry as a whole. Wrestling is an intimate, finely crafted art, and those that talk in good spirits about it would rather talk about with their knees touching, just as long as they expressed their views on the profession. Val was no different, though in his past he has been heavily critical on particular federations and their style of management.
Mike and Santiago both offered out their hand to Val, which he gladly shook, but an awkward smile promoted the hosts to believe that Val, coated in premium aftershave and dressed in his casual get up of leather jacket with a plain top and blue denim, was a little out of his element.
“Nice to meet you Val, I’m Mike and that salty burrito is Santi. He’s a big fan of your work you know.” Mike’s Midwestern accent was heavy, just as much as his Midwestern look, minus the cowboy hat.
“You and your amigo were terrific in GWR, you both deserved more plaudits, and more titles” Santi furthers, his Latin accent barely shone through, the American way of life has galvanised not only his tongue but his dress code as well.
“That is both very humbling,” Val replies, this time with a sincere smile.
“Now is there anything you don’t want to mention during our slot before we go back on,” Mike asks.
“I’d like to keep my answer about my relationship to a bare minimum. I’ll wind it in to one of my answers so you guys don’t have to ask any awkward questions.”
That is fine by me,” Mike replies, looking at his monitor and ushering the show back on air, “we’re back on KUMD 103.3fm and its sports hour with yours truly Mike Johnson and my partner in crime, Santi Rodriiiiiiiiiiiiquez. Sitting between us tonight is a professional wrestler that is returning to the ring after seven months following the sudden and tragic closure of Infinity Wrestling that saw its city enter a financial breakdown. We’re here with former Infinity Wrestler and GWR star Valquist just hours before his debut for VOW, the Visionaries of Wrestling. Val isn’t the only former Infinity wrestler to grace this roster, both Matt Rydell and the briefly appearing yet never debuting Daniel Kennedy are also on VOW’s books, and it appears that the aftermath of a chaotic winter has seen the former entertainment capital of the world move on, with its former wrestlers invested in new and exciting projects. Val you’re the city’s latest export, so tell us why now after seven months you’re back, and tell us a little about yourself, your arrival thus far has been a low-key affair to say the least.”
“Did you know that this city’s name comes from the Dakotan word for ‘clear water’? It’s been a struggle adapting to a new world, knowing your home is still burning and all you can do is watch has been at times a traumatic experience, especially given how close I was in the legal proceedings against the Infinity Wrestling Federation. It was never in my intentions to close it, just come to a resolution with Mr. Osman about the future of the organisation. Consequently Osman dealt his hand when the city was still sleeping, and I don’t think trust in our cities networks can ever be restored. Just like I thought my wrestling career would never pick up again, every day has been an uphill battle as I have sought for a new hunting ground, this time without my tag partner Isis by my side. A long time ago a former employer told me that I should walk away from any business where I cannot accept the nature of the business, but unlike a deplorable job wrestling as you two can attest, is not something easily shaken once you understand its finer print. At its finest wrestling is the greatest form of artistic impression, when written by people with a sound head for the game, and not by those seeking their own glorifying agenda. In seven months since my last match I have both struggled to enthuse myself yet distance myself from the profession. That is why I am here, right now, to try forge a new light for my un-turning road. Unfortunately myself and Isis saw are time at GWR come to a premature end, its owners rebranded and despite our considerable contributions we were outcasts on the outside looking in. We never felt connected.
This resurrection of my career has put into retrospect where I stand as an individual. I am lost, longing for restructure, hopelessly bound to a path without light, and the vacuum that Isis has created simply by not being here really speaks volumes about where others place me amongst the wrestling elite. Naturally, I am struggling for status for I am the patch of grey in clear water. Not an anomaly, people who have faced me know that I’m an architect in the ring, a meticulous planner and a ruthless executor, but a somewhat disfigured version of myself that people watching me at VOW might not recognise. Even my end goal is distorted, without Isis, without your best friend, it is only second nature to doubt is the clouds will ever part and if fortune will favour the brave. This open declaration doesn’t diminish my athletic credentials, but as of right now it is the only fuel for my internal fire, and just like clear water I open speak with great transparency. No one should be afraid to either congratulate or dismiss their opposition, and perhaps the greatest truth of all during this lengthy point is that I no longer grasp the creative vision of my past, especially in a federation whose first word in its initials is Visionary.”
“Are these mental challenges going to hinder your debut tomorrow against three other debutants; Daniel Kennedy, Death and Lucas McCann?” Santi spoke from the script, something Val never really appreciated, but one he respects seeing as it might not be his call to make.
“In truth, nobody looking at the opening match will be making great leaps as to naming a winner, yet I find it hard not to say that victory on my part will be achieved. When the curtain opens and the Minnesota public watch without much investment, they will see a match dedicated formulated and paced in my own design. A crisp and exciting encounter, an encounter where under no circumstances will I downplay my opponent’s credentials, even if Death’s name is self-defeating from the very beginning or that during my time in Infinity when Daniel Kennedy joined just days before the collapse that he wasn’t anything more than a novice trying to carve some kind of pre-cooked persona that I have come to see across my travels in the States and abroad.
My opposition should know that I was bred to believe in the mantra of Full Measures. Since childhood we have schooled with its principles in mind, and we left no stone unturned in our efforts to fight any person in any environment, and just because Isis is not here with me, it doesn’t mean that the name we swore by is redundant. I am no single measure, and those capricious enough to underestimate my resolve and adversity will be stripped of their livelihoods and made to wallow in their humbling moment.
If none of that was enough for your stimuli I’ll put this another way. The debut match has become a staple, an outrageous mix of talents that don’t belong together and only persist because management rightfully haven’t found a place for them to exist. Purgatory is much the same. None of the wrestlers can move on until the clear water thickens and shape, and just like the dead, the process of moving on to who knows what cannot happen until there is harmony. In this case, in this scramble of four sharks all veering to show they have the biggest teeth, the sturdiest jaw and the wettest of appetites, is often a brutal evaluation that can destroy a career before it can ever take flight. Speaking from experience very few of those put into the first matches ever persist, but those that do usually explode in big ways and I expect that not tonight, but next week, people will turn their heads with the hair standing on their neck because then and only then will the VOW audience understand that they stumbled across a gem, and just like any jewel those in charge will not want to hide it, they’ll want to lace it with gold and shout about it across the globe. Can Daniel, Lucas or Death attain that status? I categorise them unfairly, but also justly, because my own doing doesn’t pertain to their doing, trying to diminish their already lacklustre profiles will only bring me down to a level that I’m not willing to step. After the briefest of evaluations my intrigue tells me that just like my own sinking feeling of being lost, these three will struggle even more so. It is hard to hold a candle under one of four when three others try to scorch the others, but I will stand the test of time. We, me and Isis, we still stand the test of time.
A promise of Full Measures to my brother-in-arms will see me through to the other side, victorious, and then judge me as you will. The firing squad is near and I can hear metal chambers loaded with vicious, and effectively blank bullets, for my skin is not to be pierced by voice or fabrication, but it doesn’t mean I can’t hear them coming, which they are.
“Val, with all due respect, I say this as an admirer of your vocal expressionism and of your poise as a competitors, but your voice seems cold and you look a little discomforted and disinterested. I appreciate all your saying, and I can strike this off the record if you want, but is it wise to be back when you have several unresolved issues that seem to be dictating the flow of your speech?”
“Mike, the biggest tragedy in life is the acceptance of mediocrity, and even worse, succumbing to it. My voice will often rally against the norm because of my nature telling me that what ‘their’ saying is a form of compromise. I may at times be inward looking, but never once did me and Isis compromise, it is the world’s biggest sin. You can’t own the wrestling world and its inhabitants with settlements and democracy, somewhere down the line I will step on toes and speak my mind in a manner befitting a champion. We are all witnessed to tragedy and have a gruesome image that we have seen from news sites or videos that are now a permanent fixture when we close our eyes at night. All of this is relevant to my overall feelings about my debut, not accepting the status-quo isn’t a Neo-Punk attitude or an anti-liberal ideology. It’s just the nature of my making.
I’ll tell you what I see every single night when I close my eyes. I see a million faces all staring at me and Isis for our aggression in the case against Infinity Wrestling. They look to me to vent their sadness about the current state of Infinity, and they look at Isis as the man who held Osman’s hand as the execute button was pressed. I am stuck with their half built dreams and lumbered with regret over my actions in the past, but I refuse to let is detract me from returning to my former state and walking the un-turning road again. Once I reclaim who I am in the midst of so much objection, then I will be able to help them and vanquish their disparaging words and their empty screams and frustrations.
At Breakthrough seven the first steps towards Infinity’s reclamation and my own will begin, the first steps in building a brighter future for the lives I have helped destroy will begin. I fight for Infinity until its last breath, and it all begins with Daniel, Lucas and the ludicrously named Death.
Isis, wherever you may be, know this. You breed my hope and my finality, you and I are one and the same, brothers. Adopting years of anguish and sorrow from your parent’s wicked hands I believe the only monstrosity left lingers in the forefront of my memory, every day. I would never speak badly about you, or plot with those you call an enemy. Through years of sheltering I have abided by one principle, patience. For years I have wondered how my patience will be rewarded and at long last I have found my dark sanctuary where I can express freely the extent of my patience. Soon, you will too, and you will re-emerge, greater than before, we will be reunited for I cannot finish walking this path without you. We are inseparable, and though you are not by my side in VOW, you will be with me always. I do not need to make promises to you, because you know I keep to my word, but I will for this special occasion.
I promise that our final chapter will end with what we both planned from the very beginning, we will be the heroes Infinity always needed, the champions it deserves.
Mike, Santiago, thank you for having me.”
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Tuesday 15th July 2014
DECC Arena
Duluth, Minnesota
Breakthrough had finally arrived, less than an hour to go Val lingered by himself in a private locker-room already dressed in full attire. Baggy orange martial arts shorts with a black and white outline, boots to match with black kneepads and an unzipped sleeveless hoody, also orange. Val had the hoody covering his head as he gazed up to a reflective mirror that steamed because of the condensation caused by Val’s pre-match shower.
A nerveless affair on the most part Val was composed and ready for his first taste of competition in seven months. Tying the near-impossible laces on his wrestling boots Val looks back up to see Isis’s figure, distorted due to the steam and water on the big mirror. A white male both taller and physically impressive, Isis had short brown hair and was a catch with each gender; easy on the eyes and easy on the lips in terms of listening to. Isis stood in his wrestling gear, nearly identical to Val’s but during this interaction the baby blue eyes of Val’s best friend never quick meet his own set of hazelnut.
“Valquist the Valliant,” Isis says in the reflection, Val’s eyes glued on the mirage. “Courageousness will lead us to victory. Courageous people carry integrity, respect, and humbleness, know their strengths and weaknesses, and keep to their vows. For me, the biggest attribution of courage is the ability to speak truthfully and know that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
“That is what you said on our first night in GWR,” Val says, reminiscing.
“Remember it always,” Isis replies, his smooth accent chilling yet powerful at the same time.
“I am not a good man, Isis.”
“No, you are a great man, and you fight a nobler cause than the three you face tonight. There is no nobility in squandering what you have, what we have, and I know you will raise our infinite flag once more.”
“You should be here,” Val pleads, as if speaking to Isis in the flesh, not reserving his tone of voice. Isis does not answer and allows Val to stew in his own thoughts and cerebral convulsions.
“Full Measures is a measure of our own worth. Tonight when our worth and value is tested, there is nothing, no odds that will overcome us. No greater value that will topple us. No force strong enough to dethrone us. No gods who can contain us.”
Isis spoke words that have bonded them since childhood, Val rests his head in his hands and when he looks back up Isis is no longer visible, disappearing in complete silence. Val took another breath and awoke in the shower, fully nude, with an hour still to go before his match. Val crawled out of the shower, a shaking mess, as he clings to a fresh bath towel for warmth. The phone on top of Val’s kit bag vibrates and Val opens the text message, and is left skipping a beat as he reads the text.
“There is no force strong enough to overcome us. Go god who can contain us. I know you’ll do us both proud, you always have and always will. Isis."
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Valquist.
