"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx Trial's by fire were always fun... the burning intensity of everyone involved would leave blood boiling and burns for all to remember. The emotions within fire were dynamic, explosive, dangerous and volatile to many times, I have felt those emotions only to think that all that energy expelled was to waste... but that is never the case. Fire is not just a tool to destroy, my father taught me that; Fire can also give birth to power and new life, I was a perfect example of that... A being of flame I was the embodiment of what it meant to be Trail by Fire. My trails were difficult and arduous... My father took me when I was a mere spark, and ignited me into furious blaze. When I entered Assiah I became a brilliant man, I was finally free from my Demonic Father, and I learned how to live in a day to day life of freedom out of my fathers grasp, away from the Trails, I thought I was free. I worked hard to get what I had achieved, I had what everyone wanted in Assiah, I had money... and that money brought me countless things, anything I could imagine, everything I possibly could have wanted. I had friends that brought me in and showed me what it meant to be human, I met a girl named 'Amber Lovelock' and she taught me of what love was, and my best friend 'Nenever Yukata' taught me compassion for things in life. I was a happy man, and I wanted to stay that; But my past came back, and without me even knowing it, I had lost my real battle.
When I was brought back to Gehanna, they placed the shackles on my ankles once again. I was not born to become a human, I was born to be a demon. To build all you had, just to watch it all crumble before your eyes gouged out whatever humanity was left in me that day... My father possessed my body, but not my mind, he left nothing behind; my home, my wife, my friends, my things, everything... my life was gone. I felt like a hollow shell and my father only laughed at my emotions at the time... I was only Half Demon... I was not like him... but I would become better than him.
To look out at what was your life and only see ashes fly away in the wind brought me to a realization. Freedom was never a real thing, I never had it; The misery that was now upon me was nothing but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men -or demons-, who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and monsters will die, and the power they took from me, like the nature of a flame, will give birth to even greater power. From there on I would not live like a Human, nor would I live like a Demon. I would live like a Flame forever growing; I would never extinguish and I would never tire. I will grow until my fathers blaze is nothing but a mere spark to me! The day he and I would clash would be the day Assaih or Gehanna would have two Fire storms meet, and form a single storm that would be unstoppable. But of course, just like a larger flame, my fathers flame would disappear into my essence, and I would be not just be the embodiment of a Flame, I would be the God of Flame.
But that was all for later, for now, as I walked into the Warehouse in my full True Cross Teacher Uniform, I resembled a calm wave now. My eyes were half mooned, delicately scanning the pages of the book I held in my left hand. I was reading "The Art of War", written by the master Sun Tzu, the book had taught me a lot... I gave me a list of Ideals, Ideals that a Flame did not have but could have. How scary could a flame be if it was not seen? Scarier than an approaching red horizon covered in flame. I had already infiltrated the school, and was well trusted, I was in no danger of being found out. True Cross Academy was just the first domino on my crusade trail, the line that I had set up for myself; all warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
I stopped in the center of the Warehouse and slammed my book closed with my left hand that held it at the bind, making an audible slap of the pages that echoed in the building. I placed the book in the satchel on my side, and pulled out a cigarette out of the carton from my right pocket. I put the cigarette in my mouth and then out of my left pocket I revealed a zippo lighter. I brought it up to my smoke and the flame ignited as the lid opened, I visibly had not lit the flint though... I rose it up to my smoke and breathed in, inhaling of the smoke produced by the stick of tabacco. I put my lighter away non-chalantl and reach up to my smoke in my mouth; I gripped it between my index and middle finger gently and exhaled a large cloud of smoke into the air around me. I couldn't see anything, but I definitely did sense a presence, or multiple maybe so I kept my wits on me as I did always. I sighed and put the smoke at the edge of my mouth and spoke to myself silently as I pulled out a small black book."The Order said there was an Infestation... blasted idiots."
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx I felt the presence grow closer and closer, it was feeding the flames in my chest and it drove me to lower my hands to my sides as I listened to my surroundings. I closed my eyes for a second as I focused and fastened my composure, for what I sensed was not a single demon. I opened my eyes and glanced at the Demons that were now coming out of every crevice in the Warehouse! They came out of the shadows and were popping out of the ground. I stood in the middle completely surrounded and I wasn't bothered. A Flame could not be contained, and if the Ghouls tried to bite me or fight close up, they would be within range my Demonic Energy would just mold with theirs; I could guarantee my bite would be a lot worse then theirs. I puffed on my smoke one last time and looked around, there was a chain dangling from the rafters above, if I could get to those rafters up there, or the catwalks the Ghouls would take much longer to get to me, than my friends would be able to take care of all the Ghouls. Maybe, just maybe, I could get this mission done with the minimal amount of danger to myself, and my true identity. I sighed in exhaustion to the demons, and brought my hand up to my head, slapping my forehead. "My, my, It looks like the Order was right, there sure are a lot of you." I could hear all their moans, groans, and barks of pain and agony, they were tortured souls; human and animal alike. I smiled and brought my smoke out of my mouth as it was only left as a butt after the few puffs I took, I couldn't help it.. They burnt to quick when I as getting excited! "Stop your whining you pathetic demons... There will be nothing left other than ash when I'm done with you."
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx I burst into action as a few of the Ghoul dogs dashed at my direction, the battle had begun and now the flames had been ignited. My hand reached out to the chain and I grabbed it tightly, I looked up at the latch that held the chain, on the other end was a spring loaded coil that if the latch was removed would cause the chain to ravel up and pull me up. I looked up at it and the latch began to glow red as the my Flame Manipulation mended the latch until the metal it was made of melted and the chain yanked.
I was pulled up with the chain up to the rafters and stepped onto them with little to no effort. The chain kept going up and was sucked into the coil and I looked down at the Ghouls below, they indeed did know I was their foe. I grabbed my lighter again and looked down to the pool of ghouls below, I pointed the lighter at them and then striked the flint six times. The first flint ignited and created a mass of flame that congregated up onto the rafter I was standing on, the other torrents, created bursts of fire and slammed into the ground below with a thud! The flames were bright and orange, and the being inside the balls of flame began to stand up and the flames began to disappear around them revealing what they were. There was a pack of Salamander's now in the Warehouse. The flames began to disperse and the horned spines along their back was now visible, their black horns on their heads and their Orange and red scaled skin made them seem... exotic almost.
The Salamander's diversified in shape and size however they all entered in the same manner and all reacted the same to seeing the Ghouls ahead. They were rotting yes, however they had instinct on their sides, they would not pass up a good meal! I smiled and pointed at the group of Ghouls and the Slamanders like curious reptiles -hard to understand- tilted their heads with quick jolts and stared ahead. They showed off their sharp teeth and talons, then out of thin air burst into action, all five of them. The sixth however was standing on the rafter beside myself, he was the largest of the pack and his name was Awryn, you could also distinguish him with his special feature. The large Salamander had a huge gash over his left eye down his face and along his neck all the way to his shoulder. The gash was over his eye, and the eye itself was grey and dead, however he kept it closed most of the time. "If you're hungry too, you may feed.. I summoned you all for a reason." The man pulled out a smoke, not really showing interest in the mission at hand. He already knew how this battle would end; there would only be one victor, and that victor in the words of Sun Tzu, is the one who wins without fighting. "No young master, your life is my own priority."
I smiled at my friend "I'm glad to hear that, but you should know better that I don't need protection" I looked down at the pack, they were ferocious and attacking the Ghouls, I had already counted thirty of them that had just been torn apart. Those ghouls were not just fighting me now, they were fight a bloodthirsty group of Salamanders that could breath fire and radiate heat. As the fight continued below, I looked around for more way and strategies to kill the Ghouls with. Awyrn looked at me with his one good eye and spoke, his voice was deep and strong "Young master, I'm sorry to work against you needs, but your safety is my only need." I pulled out another cigarette and lit it was a snap of my fingers, I inhaled the smoke and looked to the reptile, my eyes locked into his."As long as you only answer to me..." and not my father...
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx The Ghouls were in a state of disarray still, the possessed animals and humans fighting to understand what was happening to them, but now they were coming too. The Salamanders arrival had killed more than 18 percent of them already; but that was only 18 percent. There were well over 200 of the blasted things, it was definitely a force that was to be reckoned with, but nothing compared to a Trail by Fire. I analyzed the battlefield, the inside of the warehouse was almost entirely bare excluding the few chains that dangled from above. The rafters and metal girders were large, and able to the climbed on for sure, I would not stoop to the level of climbing like a damn monkey. However, it was a predicament for me; the ghouls were slow, but they would adapt. Soon they would begin to grab and hold onto the girders and began to climb up to me, I was on a horizontal girder above, but they would now have a way to get to me.
I looked down to the Ghouls and I saw the clump that was forming above was now beginning to act like water. As the mass touched one of the metal girders reaching up to my location, they latched onto it. Arms reached up and fastened a hold onto the now 'stepping stone esque' metal bars, my time was now ticking.
Awyrn glanced down and felt the scales on his back tingle with excitement as the battle was now getting closer and closer to us. I sighed and pivoted on one foot on the metal girder, beginning to slowly walk over to the far side of the girder, away from the now ever approaching hoard of Ghouls. "Don't let them get to close Awyrn, I don't want to have to go through our training courses again." I gripped my smoke gently again and puffed on it, Awyrn nodded and looked to the opposite direction I was walking and looked down to the ghouls, he had that look in his eye again. I saw it just as I glanced behind me once more. I looked down to the pack below and saw the other Salamanders circling the pack. "Pack formation, Torchstar. Execute." I spoke with malice and order, I held my smoke with my left and flicked my right hand in the packs direction saying "you're free to go."
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx The five reptilian dragon spawn encircled the mass of Ghouls and ran around the group at a fixed pace. Their skin began to radiate heat and some ghouls reached out, they met a swift fate. Upon the command of their master, the pack and Awyrn had permission to bathe the ghouls in fire. Awyrn looked down and snapped his jaws in a chatter to the rest of the group, it was a form of communication. The others below responded with the same, and their backs began to have a red and yellowish orange colored outlines along their spines, their flames were being gathered. The air around the mouths of the Salamanders began to bend and wave as heat vented through the gaps of the velociraptor like demons teeth and mouth. Awyrns was a tad different, his spine was lined with jagged lines much like the others; but the dye that seemed to run through the outlines were a deep red on the back of Awyrn. As the ghouls got into reaching distance of the reptiles, the stopped and pivoted to face the group. One was unfortunate enough to reach the top of the girder to get to Awyrn, staring the reptile head on. The moaning sac of flesh reached up and groaned loudly as Awyrns mouth slowly began to open and he pulled back slightly for a moment, tipping his head.
Awryns head lashed forward at the Ghoul and a jet stream of flame shot out of the mouth of the Salamander. The bright flames bathed down the girder along the mass of ghouls, they screamed as the flames grazed their flesh and burned their hair off. The Salamanders lower on the ground released flames as they completely surrounded the enemy, equally from each side in a perfect hexagon. The group of Ghouls were bathed in a torrent of flame and the smell of burning flesh filled the air as the Salamanders sought no rest as their unrelenting flames bellowed forth, without mercy. The TorchStar Formation was one of the formations that I had mastered in my practices as an Exorcist, they were formations that the Order thought would do the most damage, and most of it was correct. However, they did not understand the art of war like I did. I had taught my Salamanders otherwise to not fully surround an enemy, ever. Once an enemy was completely surrounded, they would grow desperate and would become unpredictable. Oh well, Awyrn must have noticed it as well, since he was the pinhead of the entire formation, he could not speak up just yet.
I was not a mentor or family to these demons, I was their teacher and their master. I could not protect them forever, or they could never come out of the darkness of Gehanna to my side like Awyrn had. He had proven himself worthy, but the rest would learn from the mistake of trusting the Order’s formations. The Order murdered demons, and the Salamanders did know of my Heraldry, so why did they ignore my teachings? They were lost causes at that moment to me… just pawn used for sacrifice, so a rook may take the fall. As the flames grew and through the silhouette of flames, the dead were breaking and falling apart in the heat, however there were a few that seemed to have resistance; or were just lucky. From the flames burst out a human ghoul, his body caught on fire and his skin peeling off like a wrapper from a chocolate bar. He grabbed the neck of one of the Salamander’s and dug his nail into the scales. The reptile hissed and grabbed him with his stubby hand ripping him off and throwing him into the flame, however two more came out and grabbed him again. They bit into the Salamanders neck and tipped out chunks and the ither Salamanders from the two closest corners knew what to do. They released more flames out of their mouths onto the attacked Salamander bathing him in flame, and incinerating the ghouls.
I watched from above and unsummoned the wounded Salamander, that wund would only slow him down, and at a time like this, when only 33% was gone, there was plenty still to work towards. I would have to come into play a bit more than I was usually comfortable maybe?
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx The flames were growing hot and the heat was radiating inside the tin can that this warehouse was. Demonic Magic was coating the area almost completely, and the temperature slowly rose around the burning mass, however, the only part I cared for, was that now I could manipulate the flames without being noticed. The pack widened their circle as the Ghouls began to grow in desperation and broke out in smaller, faster groups instead of one giant mass. "Take that as a lesson Pack Hydra... You should stop listening to what the Order taught you, Awyrn and I are your leader and master's. Follow my specifications, Fahrenheit's specifications." I had reached the other side of the girder now, and as I on-looked the battlefield, I noticed two of the masses of ghoul's that had broken off and were headed to the metal pillar that he was closest too again. I puffed the rest of my smoke and felt a slight burst of my Qi infuse into the smoke butt. "Awyrn, I hope you uphold your word, I don't want to be involved with simple ******** Ghouls."
"Yes Mi'lord!"Awyrn burst into action and roared down at what was left of the large mass caught in the Torchstar formation that was slumped over at the girder. His roar was prehistoric and was quite audible inside the echoing Warehouse, it overpowered the snaps and crackles of fire and the moans of the ghouls. The Pack leader hopped down off the girder and landed on the ground and dashed for the group, he was much faster and stronger than the rest, his size was not larger, but rougher and more war-torn. He awaited order's from his master before commencing an attack.
I looked onto the battle field and saw the pack of Salamanders -that was one less short, leaving four left.- stalking the groups, I knew what had to be done; what can be done. I flicked the smoke but that was infused with my Qi and dropped it down onto the ground close to Awryn, my hand returning to my side. I pointed out too the rest of the pack and gave my Order. "Hydra Pack, Two-Third Protocol, Asphyxiation Detainment, Slow and steady!" I then looked down to Awryn as he awaited his charge. The mass slammed into the girder I was close too and I felt it shift on impact. I had to raise my hand and regain balance as I stabilized. The Pack obeyed the order and picked up speed, radiating more heat they began to make quick passes perpendicular to the ghoul groups paths, to cut them off, or meet a three horned fate as the Salamanders passed by, hitting like a freight train to any that would get in their way.
I scowled down at the ghouls and felt a sense of my flame explode outwards, the rage was hard to hold in as I snapped my finger's and ordered Awyrn. "Awyrn, Dragon Storm Stanza, First Chorus, Execute."I was pissed off, the Ghouls were getting closer to my Observatory standpoint. The Pack needed to work harder.
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx The Ghoul's were dwindling still in numbers, however there was one problem, with the death of Ghoul's, the others learnt from the mistakes of the last and I watched then in the Detainment formation, they paused and reverted directions, some even went the same way the Salamanders were to grab onto them, and they were disarmed or hurt. They were slowly being closed in, but now was my next job. I was to watch Awyrn, as I snapped my fingers and gave the order of the Dragon Storm Stanza, Awyrn lowered his head down and the cigarette butt I had flicked down there had burst into flames, the flames were formed as a ball or a vortex, spinning. Awyrn looked to it and I looked down to him, I used the flames and they circled around and branched off, reaching out to Awyrn and coating his sides in flames; giving him a set of armor made of Flames. It was made of my Qi, however was matched as his to anyone who sensed it, it was only Flame Manipulation. All it did was catch fire to any who would grab onto Awyrn.
The Pack leader roared and darted into the two groups of Ghouls, slamming into the group, unlike the Detainment Formation that grazed them. The Dragon Storm Stanza was to recite what happened when a Dragon would attack. First Flames would bathe the lands, leaving nothing but smoke and ashes behind. Those who are lucky to survive have nowhere to hide, no number to be invisible in, no home to go to. All the enemy had was themselves, and not for long. Caught in a storm stronger than nature itself, there is no escape. And then on the Third Chorus, the land is left bare; hopefully Awyrn had practiced it hard enough to show prowess now.
He dashed in and punctured the group like a knife through butter. Ghoul unfortunate enough to be caught or stuck in his path were tackled and trampled, or thrown like a rag-doll out of his path. Any Ghoul who reached out to the lizard were scorned and burnt by the Flames that he was coated in and were immediately burnt. As he exited the other side of the group, he pivoted and on pinpoint turns was already back to deliver another attack, slicing into the group he would gouge the groups until nothing was left. Awyrn himself could handle 40 Ghouls or so... The rest of the pack could hold the rest until these were dealt with. The One-eyed Salamander Snapped his jaws at ghouls hands that reached out in front of him, the rest of the pack had done the same. They were smart, I had taught them that. In a battle field like this, the first level of the ground was the fighting level, I resided above, so to disarm the enemy would never allow them to reach the 'heavens' or second level, where I would reside. They would not be able to climb to get to me, and if they did, they would not have any weapon other than their bite.
I was disappointed as to how fast the group was dwindling though, it was slow and steady, but tedious. I pulled out another smoke and placed it on my bottom lip, closing my mouth around it, I breathed out and the smoke lit itself. I breathed in the smokes and chemicals of the tar and flame, and exhaled with a sigh of relief as my addiction was quenched. I looked over across and saw a catwalk that was about 20m away from me. From ground level, it had stairs that fed up to it, the Ghouls had not realized this and it was a good thing as well. If they had found it or used their never present minds, they would have had more than just two paths to me.
Glancing over to the rest of the Pack, they had almost gotten all the rest of the small groups wrangled up again, with a few contestants that were short-lived. After some time the Asphyxiation Formation would stabilize and hold them in place and with the return of Awyrn, they would be able to form the Blaze Elegy.
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience,
than have been committed in the name of rebellion."
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xxxxxxx My hazel eyes looked through my deep sun blocker glasses at Awyrn with a intense glare... Emotions flooded out as he watched his leader of the pack only kill such a minuscule amount of Ghouls, he had killed 30 at best and the others had picked off few. This was all a sad excuse for an offering to a Trail by Fire, and I was going to tell them that. I snapped my fingers and the flares of flames on the side of Awryns back disappeared into thin air. Awryn glanced up to me and knew he was in trouble, I had expected better... The temperature in the room began to gradually rise and the Ghouls felt the metal of the girders slowly begin to heat up at the touch. What was going on? "Poor display!"I yelled out at the top of my lungs, the rest of the pack breaking off from the rest of the ghouls and headed towards Awyrn. The pack was going to become one again, and their strength would become unimaginable. I jumped off the girder, landing solidly on the ground below, glancing to a lone Ghoul of whom I made eye contact with.
The Ghouls cold eyes couldn't not look at me almost as I felt a burst of Qi rise from the ground from when I landed. I still needed to practice my Qi Control. Even as a Teacher now, I had much to learn."Hydra Pack! Dragon Storm, First Chorus...Rising Talons." My words meshed into the Salamanders minds and they took the formation order, they began to encircle the ghouls again. The ghouls were clustered and began to look around for an exit, they had them, however to get to them was an entire other story. The First Chorus was when the dragon came down from the sky to attack the people, lets see how the Ghouls would favor?
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xxxxxxxxxxx - - - - "When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move." - - - -
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