CHAPTER 3: THE PATH
LOCATION: Land's End Lookout, San Francisco, California
DATE/TIME: 11:15 AM, September 7, 2019 AD

The scene opens at Land’s End, a section of coastal parkland in the northwest of San Francisco. It is a decent enough day, with the odd warm glow coming down from the sky when the sun isn’t obscured by a passing cloud. The scene is set on a winding pathway overlooking a broad vista of the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge almost casually hanging in the background. People walk along the pathway - the odd hiker, clouds of tourists, the odd family, and then suddenly, Cambyses Jordan comes running past.

The soon-to-be-debuted professional wrestler runs at a brisk pace along the pathway, regulating his breathing steadily as he frequently passes people. He wears a gray cut-off t-shirt and black basketball shorts. His aviators are down over his eyes, the smart-lens attached to it projecting a fluctuating line-graph, along with red text reading ‘BPM: 105’ and the words ‘SAMURAI - NEVER FADE AWAY’ in small text beneath; matching the music blasting through the headphones connected to his ears.

As he rounds a bend in the coastal trail, he makes out a park bench tucked away from the main pathway while still providing a majestic view. There is a woman sitting on the pathway, and as Cam sees her, he suddenly slows his pace and comes off the path towards the figure.

"Hey Ma!" he booms out. The figure looks up, and a smile crosses her face.

This woman, Seren Jordan is in her mid fifties, and while age is finally beginning to wear away at her olive skin and around her emerald eyes, there's no doubt that for a big chunk of her life she would have been considered quite a beauty. Her dark hair, tinged with gray, is pinned back in a bun, and she wears a simple long-sleeved blouse, long ankle-length skirt and flats. Exotic jewellery lines her fingers and neck.

"Cambyses, my boy!" she says in accented English, rising to her feet and holding her arms out to him, "I was wondering if you'd ever get here."

"Had to go down the scenic route..." he replies, holding his hands up, "Kinda sweaty, Ma. Might want to keep your distance."

She wrinkles her nose at that - not too much of a surprise given the expensive perfume she's given to wearing. Instead she simply pats his hand.

"I thought you might be a bit thirsty," she motions to the park bench, leading back there and motioning to two glasses of a reddish-purple liquid, "So I thought I'd bring some nice traditional tea for you."

"Ooh, nice!" Cam scoops up the bottle and sits down alongside Seren, taking a long sip of the sweet tea. His pulse begins a slow descent, reflected by the readouts in his smart aviators. A wave of relaxation crosses him and he lets out a low breath as his mother speaks.

"How has your week been, dear?"

"Well on the plus side, I didn't have to go to work."

A disapproving frown crosses Seren's features at that, and Cam laughs shortly.

"Kidding. I've been pretty much going crazy in the gym. I have some serious contenders straight out the gate and I have a lot of catching up to do. It's pretty much been a full time job in there anyway."

Seren smiles at that, and then enjoys a long sip of the tea.

"I'm so happy for you, my boy. I wish your father were here to see it. You've been working for so long in jobs that didn't seem satisfactory and now you have a world of opportunity. I'm looking forward to seeing you perform."

That approval sends a buzz of warmth over Cam.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone into histrionics to be honest. This is a pretty brutal industry. I mean look at what they did to Cent at XX..."

"Cent? Who is Cent?"

"The guy I used to always watch on the TV, remember? I was a huge fan of the guy. Kinda looks like a movie star."

"Oh! Oh, him. Yes, he was always such a nice man. I hope he's alright."

"He is. The guy's tough. But coming back to the point, Ma. People get clobbered around a lot in this business. Some people's parents pretty much threaten to disown them out of terror of what'll happen. I've never heard anything but support out of you. And while I appreciate it, and while I'm really glad I didn't have to have the screaming matches, I gotta know... why?"

"A profession like that is in your blood." Seren answers him, looking away over the bay as she speaks, "It is like I've told you since you were young. You have a warrior lineage, and you were always going to express it in this way. Personally, I see it as something of an improvement from wrangling drunks out of some bar like you used to do."

"Dad was a gardener, Ma. I'd hardly call that a warrior lineage."

"You know what I mean. My ancestors. Your ancestors. I know you cast doubt on your lineage for a long time - after all, how can one possibly know they're descended from a long line of warrior nobles all the way back to Cambyses of Anshan himself? - but after that lady at that company confirmed everything, surely you know now. This is simply what you were born to do, Cambyses. And I would much rather you do it in a controlled environment in the spirit of a competition rather than you fighting in some war-torn country on the far edges of the world. If you must fight, then the way you are currently doing it is probably the best way."

Cam briefly falls quiet at that, not completely sure what to say. His mother had of course been encouraging of his embarkment on a career, but she'd never quite explained it like that. Of course it traces back to the lineage, however. His mother always had been the strongest believer in that. He nods quietly, taking a drink of his tea before replying.

"I guess it makes sense when you put it like that. I'll give this whole 'descended from ancient warriors' thing some credence - Lucy believes it, and Lucy's the smartest person I know. She's not the kind to believe in mumbo-jumbo without some kind of reason behind it. So maybe you're onto something."

"Ah, Lucy." Seren smiles and clasps her hands in front of her, "She's such a nice girl. You should really give some thought to courting her, you know. She's probably the best you'll ever find."

"Christ, n..." Cam catches himself quickly, "I mean no, Ma. She's like a sister to me."

"It's good to see you have that kind of relationship with someone I suppose." Seren nods approvingly, letting out a quiet sigh, "I always worried about that. With you an only child and with your father gone, you need someone looking out for you."

"Well, let's not go that far. Lucy is definitely playing her own game in addition to mine. But you're right, it's nice to have a confidant who's in the business."

"As opposed to outside the business?" Seren grins at him.

"Oh don't get too worried, Ma. I'm sure I'll still have plenty to confide in you."

"The point I'll come back to is that ultimately I believe you are following your destiny by working here. I know that this... Cayman Global have other plans for you in time, but for now I think this is where you need to go. It reflects in your character. And it reflects in the words that you said when you introduced yourself to the world."

Cam blinks a couple of times.

"You've seen my promo?"

"Of course. You don't honestly expect my son to join a world famous fighting organisation and me not to take an interest, do you? I saw Cyrus' standard on your shirt, by the way. So I know you believe a lot more of this than you're letting on. And you certainly showed the kind of courage and defiance that your lineage befits. Although..." Seren sighs and a disapproving look crosses her face, "I wish you wouldn't use language like that. I know I sound it's fashioned but.. it's not how a gentleman behaves. Not how someone of your character should behave either."

A flush crosses Cambyses' face and he almost seems embarrassed as he laughs sheepishly.

"Heh. You heard that, huh? Sorry Ma. It's... well kind of how this kind of wrestling works. People talk trash. Sometimes that trash gets a bit... spicy. Just do me a favour and don't watch a Noah Jackson promo, you might go into shock."

"The Australian man? For some reason they bleep out a lot of his words on the channel I watched."

"I can't imagine why."

Some time passes, with the two enjoying sips of the tea, before Seren looks up.

"While this has been a nice catch-up, I need to get going. Mrs. Gladwell has invited me to a garden party this evening and I need to whip up some of my famous baklava."

"I should probably get back to shredding it, myself..."

Seren's eyebrow raises in confusion.

"...working out. Working out is what I meant to say." Cam rises to his feet.

"Good luck this week, Cambyses." Seren rises alongside Cam and holds her arms out to hug him tightly, "I have no doubt you will show everybody out there what you're capable of."

"Don't worry, Ma..." Cam replies as Seren releases the hug and begins to walk away, resolve crossing him as she looks over her shoulder, one last sentence passing before the scene fades.

"...they will most definitely know."

PROMO #2 - "IS THAT YOUR BEST?"

We fade in on a scene atop a rocky overlook of the San Francisco Bay. The red steel outline of the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen in the background. Standing in the foreground of the shot is Cambyses, still clad in the gray cutoff and black basketball shorts from earlier in the day. He levels a look at the camera, then spreads his hands as if to say 'what the' - a motion echoed by his words.

What the hell, guys? I asked you not to disappoint me.

It's a simple enough request really, and yet somehow, you blew it. I went into this thing all guns blazing straight out the gate, and what follows me? Silence and inelegant blubbering. At least I predicted Kieran would do a bunch of idiotic shrieking so that's at least met my expectations, but Michelle? Fuzz? Unimpressed.

Michelle, I was kind of counting on you to make this entertaining in terms of a battle of wits on the leadup. Instead even fricking Kieran has contributed more of interest to this sparring match than you. Is this what the famed Queen of the Three-Way does? Talks a big game against a bunch of lemmings, but when someone who's actually a threat shows up, falls dead quiet and hopes she goes un-noticed while the other three of us duke it out? I told you - it's not going to happen. Rest assured, I won't be forgetting about you. Your victory over Finn Kuhn and Steve Justice ensured that. Be quiet, be loud, I really don't care- I'm going to assume you're bringing the fire. But I do hope your ring game is going to be better than your mic one so far, or you might just find yourself as the easy target here.

I mean really, it's a sad state of affairs when Kieran Overton looks like the only person in the room who actually seems to get it. And that's not really saying very much given his fairly limited capacities. But at least he surprised me a little bit.

Not enough, though. Michelle's silence looks like genius in comparison to the idiocy coming out of Kieran's mouth. I mean really. "Cambyses shouldn't be in this match. He's just a rookie. He hasn't done anything to deserve it. It's not fair" Uh, dude, you've had one more match than I have. Doesn't exactly make you that much more deserving now, does it? The difference between us is that I know I don't deserve this right out the gate. I will, however, make the best of the opportunity that I have. What can I say, I can be pragmatic and I can acknowledge reality where it counts. Whereas you, my friend, have even more inadequacy issues than Peter Gilmour - and word on the street is that people need an electron microscope to even see his ding-dong.

Bleat all you want, Kieran, but the fact of the matter is I AM in this match, I WILL be showing up on Saturday, and I WILL be going into this with the intent to bring you down. Nobody's going to change the card, so how about you stop blubbering and deal with it? At the moment, the only real reaction you've even brought on is practically pleading Michelle and I to not interfere with your desire to rough up Fuzz.

Oh. Well why didn't you say so, Kieran? I wasn't aware this was the Kieran Overton Kindergarten where we basically cater to your every whim because you bellow in an angry voice every so often. I guess Michelle and I will just stay home and watch some Wu Assassins. God I love that show.

No, wait. I'd much rather flip you off, boot you in the gut and go to town on you, big guy.

So I wouldn't bother sticking to the 'oh I'm going to focus on Fuzz' plan, because I'll swarm all over you and there will be little if anything you can do about it. Have you even developed any contingency plans? I get that concentrating on more than one thing at a time is challenging for you, but what exactly do you think is going to happen to me if you focus on Fuzz? I won't disappear. And if you try to bat me away, I'll kick your head off. You might be a brick wall of a guy, but skulls and noses get rocked everywhere. But please. Stick to the 'Fuzz is the target' plan. Make my job that much easier, buddy.

Speaking of - Jesus, Fuzz, are you still whining?

You're the only person I've ever seen who's managed to get inducted into the Hall of Fame - by Jem freakin' Williams of all people - and still complain about how badly you're done to less than a week in. That's the end goal for ninety nine percent of the federation, and you're still stomping around like you're in a Simple Plan concert. Exactly what is it gonna take to make you happy? You say you don't want titles handed to you, but let's be real here, it seems like that's exactly what you're asking for, given the amount of blubbering you do. I'm sure you've got a needle somewhere with some serotonin or dopamine in it, do us all a favour, stick it and lighten the hell up, dude. Even Kieran bitches less than you do, and that's a pretty big achievement.

I was hoping maybe when you'd come to me, it would be a bit different, but to be honest, the most exciting thing you did say you'll call me Cam. You can, by the way. Most people do, and I understand three syllables can be a bit challenging for some. Instead I get the tired old 'why are you here, Cam' line. Virtually the same tired garbage Kieran trotted out. At least he has the excuse of having one match in this joint. But you, man? You're one of the people who was actually around when this place was forged, and if there's one thing about the XWF everybody knows, it's that there's nobody you can safely dismiss as no real threat. As an XWF Legend, you've got no excuse for either not knowing or ignoring this. Yes, we get it. I'm new here.

But with all due respect - you don’t have a very good track record when it comes to predicting when people won’t amount to much. You’ve done this several times before, and quite a few of my predecessors proceeded to kick your ass. Wouldn’t you have learned by now? I suppose not. I guess Sarah and Kenzi didn’t impress that upon you so I guess I will need to finish what they started. No hard feelings, Shawn. My need is just greater than yours.

You have one chance to correct your errors, guys. We're already more than halfway into the prep period, and I can assure you, I haven't been spending that time sitting on my ass, feeling sorry for myself, or just making blunder after blunder.

Can any of you recover? I don't know. But continue like this, and I can assure you, I'm going to fight for that title. Fact.


Cam smirks at the camera briefly, offering no further followup as the feed cuts.

[FADE OUT]