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The Man and the Pirate Captain |
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And the winds of war shall ravage the land The spirit of Hope will be rekindled When the Star of Flame turns night into day - Ligau Prophecy Manuscript
The island of Ligau was quiet that evening. Ever since the Pirates had invaded the island, a strict order of rules and regulations had been enforced, the early curfew having been one of them. This allowed the pirates free reign of the night, their every whim and fancy playing out before them. Every one of their wishes was granted, or more likely taken at the expense of the islanders. Screams were regularly heard piercing through the night as families were victimized, wives and daughters raped in front of husbands and sons. Only the lucky ones were ever taken back to their leader, his name simply being The Butcher. Kept safe and untouched, the few women that had the chance to meet The Butcher fared far better than those simply left to his men as mere playthings. The constant feelings of fear, oppression, and hopelessness running strong throughout the streets. The men of Ligau, had suffered enough. They had reached their breaking point and the wheels of change were spinning. Underneath the seams, the islanders were ready to strike, to reclaim their home by any means necessary. A secret meeting was far off on the island’s plains. A discussion to turn words into actions, when, where, and how. Unknown to them, The Butcher had gotten word of this attempted uprising and decided to use these Would-be rebels as a grand example to the rest of the Island. The meeting was raided and all in attendance were wrangled up, led back to the center of the town Jelton. The night was bright with fires, leading the poor men to their imminent deaths. Women and children, neighbors, young and old were all pulled out of their homes, made to watch as The Butcher made a spectacle of them, humiliating and dejecting them even more. Salt in the wounds.
In the center of Ligau laid Mt. Tomae. The ever active volcano lay in the center of the island, its peak towering over all the land. Flames and ash regularly spilled from Tomae, but never to any harm of the islanders. This was due to Pyrix. The God-Beast of fire resided deep within the mountain’s core. Resting. One of four creations, masters of the elements, and servants of the evil god Saruin. Once upon a time Pyrix and his brethren had refused to be only pawns to Saruin and had rebelled against him. Since then he had taken up peaceful residence on the island. But he had taken notice of the islands change. The threat upon its people. And he decided to take action. A man was created, the full embodiment of Pyrix’s power. Under the command of only his free will, this Offspring was free to do as he wished fit. To save the islanders or to let them perish. Their fate lay in his hands. But imbued throughout his body, throughout his spirit, was the burning flame of the warrior god Mirsa. Justice and the will to do what is right evident in ever fiber of the Offspring. Pyrix named his creation Pyrocanis. Fully aware of what a pure being of power would be capable of, Pyrix also created a gateway for that power. It took the form of a large rectangular sword, aptly named Fireseal. Only through the Fireseal would Pyrocanis be able to unlock his full powers. Sword in hand, Pyrocanis left the inner chamber of Mt. Tomae and headed off towards Jelton.
The Butcher had fully addressed the townspeople and was now ready to set the example for them all to see. The men were put on their knees and The Butcher’s blade at the ready. He lifted his arm, a smile spreading across his face. A horrid gasp rippled through the crowd’s silence. The thud of the man’s body collapsing on the ground being too much for some to bear. The Butcher turned and paraded around, swinging his blade and clearing it of blood against a woman’s dress. As he walked back to the men, prepared to take another life, three flames appeared around him. They hovered in the air for only a moment before glowing intensely. A beam fired from each, all hitting The Butcher at the same moment (Hellfire). He let out a cry and fell to a knee. A second passed and he was back to his feet, scanning the crowd for the person who had dared to strike him. He stopped suddenly, turning around and parting the crowd as his name was called from a distance down the street. He watched as a shadow slowly became a man, the light of the torches reaching him as he approached. He laughed at the stranger, ordering a few of his men to apprehend him. The pirates charged with their orders, quickly being cut down one after the other. This only enraged The Butcher even more, and he urged the stranger to make haste.
Pyrocanis kept his pace, walking right up to the huge muscular man in charge. He had seen this same man, only moments before, murder a person in front of this crowd. From the way it looked, Pyrocanis pinned this man to be the leader of the Pirates, and the one who had brought a cloud of despair onto the island. He lifted his arm with amazing speed. A clash of metal against metal resounding in the air as The Butcher’s blade was blocked by the Fireseal. A sudden look of surprise formed on the man’s face as Pyrocanis safely blocked his throat from being severed. He leaned forward with great force, shoving the man back hard enough to make him airborne before crashing into the dirt. Pyrocanis walked into the circle of torches, letting the crowd swallow him up. A sudden group of Pirates ran to the aid of their captain, these being dressed differently than the rest. More elite.
The Butcher snarled and rose to his feet. His personal bodyguards taking a formation around him. With a loud battle cry the crowd of people dispersed, all of the Pirates suddenly charging the man. The Butcher stood with his men at the ready, prepared to take this man’s life for the interference. He watched with narrowed eyes as one by one his men were felled. Their screams of agony adding layer upon layer of rage within The Butcher. How dare this stranger come in and kill his men like this? Didn’t he know who he was? What terrible deeds he had caused in the past. His infamy?
Pyrocanis fought the numerous attackers, striking them down quickly when the opportunity presented itself. After a few minutes, the Pirates took notice of the odds against them and turned tail, fleeing back to the ship that rock in the distance. The captain himself took a few swings at his men as they ran buy, connecting with each swing. Pyrocanis took a step towards the group standing before him. The eyes of the captain bearing down on him. He watched the man smirk, shooing one back at him, thus starting the real battle.
These bodyguards were well trained and proved to give Pyrocanis a deal of trouble. They were great fighters individually, but they also worked superbly together, shifting the weight off of any individual who might be in danger. The Butcher watched in enjoyment, every so often taking a giant swing to throw the stranger off balance, more than once actually scraping him slightly. Pyrocanis, feeling a little overwhelmed, decided to even the odds. They had numbers against him, but he had yet to use his powers against them. When he had a free moment to move, Pyrocanis slammed the Fireseal against the ground, a line of fire blasting from the tip and into the group, throwing them out of their well tuned formation (Gun flame). He followed this up by spinning the Fireseal above his head, a ball developing at the tip. The orb grew quickly into a vortex of fire, sweeping the bodyguards away from him (Whiplash). Now in a state of disarray, Pyrocanis took advantage of this, easily taking them out one on one. Soon there was no one standing but The Butcher, who took no time in charging Pyrocanis.
The clashing of metal was fast and thunderous, Pyrocanis only able to block The Butcher’s everlasting onslaught. His fury was finding an outlet and he would not let this stranger get the best of him. He was a Pirate Captain known throughout the seas and he be damned if a no-named were able to defeat him. The fight lasted a great deal of time, both fighters growing more exhausted as the minutes ticked away and blows were blocked or dodged. Pyrocanis slowly gained the advantage by striking The Butcher with bursts of fire when he could, the heat ebbing quickly at the captain’s strength. As the sun began to rise over Mt. Tomae, The Butcher fell to his knees. Pyrocanis stood, leaning hard against the Fireseal that stuck in the ground. He talked to his combatant, trying to learn more about the mind behind the skills. The Butcher indulged the stranger, talking a little between hurling insults and taunts at him. His hand reached into his pocket, taking hold of a small skull pendant. He pulled it out, wrapping it around his fingers and showing the stranger it as well. Then suddenly, he drew a knife and buried it in his chest. Pyrocanis, shocked, leapt up, only able to watch as The Butcher quickly died. Before his body even hit the ground, a storm of ghostly skulls swirled around The Butcher, enveloping him in a dark ink which pulled him into the ground itself. In a moment, every trace of his opponent had disappeared. Pyrocanis slumped down into the dirt, overcome with exhaustion. He lay still for a length of time, falling asleep at some time unknown to him.
Pyrocanis awoke to an unfamiliar face hovering above him. It was a young girl, wiping a towel across his forehead. He looked around, wondering where he was now, and how long he had been asleep. To the girl’s dismay, he hopped out of the bed and stretched, assuring the woman of his health. He thanked her for her care of him, but she tugged his arm, unwilling to let this hero escape without a form of her thanks to him. She offered a meal to him to which he accepted gratefully. A day later Pyrocanis was aboard a ship sailing away from Ligau, heading towards the port town of Melvir, capital city of the Bafal Empire.
Dramady · Tue Aug 29, 2006 @ 04:18pm · 0 Comments |
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