Young Flame

Tore watched as artillery laid waste to the city that had been his home for over a century, completely unable to do anything, despite having the power to do everything. The snivelling, cowardly, rat of a chairman had him sit at his side as he hid within his lavish manor.

Only when the sound of explosions through the city ceased did tore know that they had finally lost. A lone soldier ran through the damaged streets to the Chairman’s manor. The man barging to let Tore and the chairman know that the Continae had been lost and that the enemy demanded the Chairman’s presence for an official declaration of surrender.

The Chairman was not happy to hear such words. He pulled his own sword and clumsily swung his blade at the messenger. It was fortunate that the messenger was quick and dodged the unskilled swing. The man backed up before making a bolt for the exit.

“Bastard. Kill him, Hund.” His anger leaked through his words.

Tore winced at the order. The poor man likely never wanted to be the messenger in the first place. Unfortunately, orders were absolute. As he was accustomed, he made the man’s death quick and painless, though it may not look that way with how much blood covered the manor path.

“Hund, we are leaving.”

The last thing Tore wanted right now was for the Chairman before him to surrender. If the man did that, then there would be no future for his country, unless the Henosis Empire was stupid enough to remove power from the Chairman completely, but even by the time that happened, he didn’t believe he wouldn’t be dealt with. As long as the Chairman didn’t become subservient to the Empire, there was still a chance for Hund to be unleashed.

So when the Chairman had Tore push through the escaping ursu to the exit to the city, his anticipation grew. As much as he hated having to toss his people out of the path of himself and the Chairman, it would be the tiniest of sacrifices for what might happen.

The Chairman wasn’t the only one trying to escape the city, there were thousands of people flooding the western exit. The enemy seemingly allowing the citizens to emigrate.

The moment Tore reached the border of the city, he announced his stipulation.

“The moment you take another step out of Flehullen, you will have surrendered your rights as chairman to the next most applicable commissar.”

Tore’s sudden halt of motion and words had the Chairman spinning on the spot. The man looked flabbergasted that Tore spoke to him as he had, the man unused to tore making any more input than necessary.

Of course, when the words finally registered in the Chairman’s brain, he was outraged.

“What nonsense! I am the Chairman and you will do as I protect me regardless of where I decide to go.”

He spun on his heel and took another step.

Vernados never saw the blade coming. The man, now paste, unfortunately splattered over much of the escaping ursu. Tore felt slightly bad for the mess, but the euphoria of freedom was overwhelming. He took a moment just to breathe in the air that now tasted so much better for no other reason than it wasn’t stained by the breath of these inferior chairmen.

He would be locked down soon enough, once they decided the next chairman, but until then he had free rein to wipe out this invasion.

It wouldn’t be the fastest way there, but he didn’t want to destroy what remained after the bombing of his city. He crouched before rocketing through the air, toward the Continae.

He crashed down on one of their armoured cars, crumpling the scrap of metal under his weight. Tore rose, lugging his sword in one hand as he stared down at the army. Albanics, hardly a fifth his height, swarm and pillage the citadel he and his old friend built a century ago.

He moved, the common soldiers unable to keep up with his speed, nor could they defend against his attacks. Whether it be his sword, foot or fist, the Henosis soldiers died in droves. Their bodies bursting from such overwhelming force.

Hund tried to minimise the strength he used, not wanting to damage the roads while removing these nuisances. He could kill thousands in minutes, but that was not his objective. Or, at least, not a primary one.

He wanted to terrify these men. Scare them out of the city to where he could take care of them easier and with less mess. He also wanted to bait out any of their stronger warriors. Taking out the elite would be important if he wanted to have free rein on their troops without worrying about his own people in the back.

The best way to do this was to create a spectacle. He walked through the enemy troops, splattering as much gore over himself as he reasonably could. Many bodies were tossed in the air to both show off the difference in strength and attract attention from any that had, until now, failed to notice him. Really, it was all just a messy job, but it worked. Soldiers were running petrified at the sight of him and Tore could see a single soldier with a confidant gait strolling against the crowd of panicked men.

“I’m happy to see you ursu finally have someone worth taking on, but you took a bit long, don’t you think? The war is already over.”

Tore glared down at the skinny man. “You are right. This war is now over.”

“Well, if you’ve come to battle until death, I’ll be glad to have this duel.” The soldier straitens his pose and draws his sword, pointing it at Tore. “I am Lieutenant von Bernhardi. May I know the name of the only warrior that seems of worth amongst the ursu?”

Tore considers the man before him. He recalled many warriors in the past with attitudes identical to this man. They never live up to their own confidence. In fact, they usually never accept the loss when it cuts their legs off. Tore couldn’t imagine this man would be any different.

“Hund.” He did still respect those who attempted to retain their honour in battle. Even if he considered it a naïve way to treat war.

An explosion rained debris from the Continae above, followed a few seconds later by a bang in the distance.

Tore never looked away from the man before him as chunks of stone slammed down on his head. Likely trying to use the sound and falling rock as a distraction, the lieutenant dashed to Hund’s side, trying to get his rapier in the back of the giant ursu’s knee.

Hund brought his own sword down to knock it away. He barely felt the contact between his heavy one and the lieutenant’s thin poker.

Von Bernhardi jumped back after his failed attack.

“I see you have more speed than your body would indicate.”

The lieutenant readies his stance again for another attack, but stops at the sight of his sword. What he’d thought was a deflection left his rapier completely out of shape. The sword was bent a good sixty degrees in the middle.

Lieutenant von Bernhardi looked up from his weapon in shock, barely quick enough to save himself. He threw himself backwards. Hund’s sword tore through the arm he’d been slow to pull back. The lieutenant stumbled and fell to the ground, hardly able to comprehend his missing limb.

As always, Hund thought, it’s the arrogant ones that have the most to learn. Unfortunately for this one, he wouldn’t get the chance to learn from this fight.

Hund approached the downed lieutenant. The man’s eyes widened as he tried to back away with his sole remaining arm. Hund’s sword came down, ending the brief battle and von Bernhardi’s life.

Tore stood around for near a minute, waiting to see if any other would challenge him before the slaughter began. He looked up to the damaged Continae, just in time to watch another projectile crash into the dome roof. The top half of the Continae crumbled from the explosion that shook the building, yet Tore could do little but watch. For all his strength, he lacked the talent to keep the building from collapsing.

With one last glance at the damaged Continae, Tore sent himself hurtling through the air once again.

He landed with a cratering impact near a train holding one of the largest cannons he’d ever seen. The albanics operating it ran terrified upon his arrival, each scattering in random directions.

Hund crushed the cannon before chasing down the fleeing soldiers. He returned to the train to investigate the strange secondary rail-car attached to the cannon. As he approached, he felt his fur standing on end. It was strange, not a feeling he’d felt in over a century. Whatever was causing it, he’d need to deal with immediately.

The rail-car with a strange sphere integrated amongst a mesh of steel piping was lying on its side, knocked over from when he destroyed the cannon.

The fur over his body continued to stand on end as he got closer. Digging his meaty fingers into the sphere, he pried the sphere open. Tore didn’t know what he was expecting, but seeing a terrified young áed staring back at him was at the bottom of any list he might have made.

The girl’s eyes emit a heavy, dense, black smoke. It was something he knew almost intimately, being as much a part of him as it would be for her. Soon too, of that he had no doubt.

It was only because of Tore’s enhanced reaction speed that he could even comprehend the events that followed. An orb the áed seemed to push all her fire into suddenly exploded into a blinding white light. His feeling of wariness surged alongside the light.

Something blinding expanded at a rate he could never escape from. The energy multiplied at an exponential rate, ready to consume him and everything else in the surroundings.

Tore, for an instant, thought this was going to be the end. Death had finally grasped him.

But the blackness erupted from the girl. It consumed the glowing white substance still expanding, before accelerating further, encasing everything in its impossibly dark embrace.

Tore felt the touch of the Void Fog once again. It calmed him and soothed his old body, but the mixed emotions he held towards the chaotic mist refused to allow him to relax.

The girl sat before him, looking lost and petrified. Her body flickered with orange flame, reflecting her thoughts and emotions.

Tore didn’t want the girl to make the same mistakes he made all those years ago. If she didn’t set her mind straight for the challenges ahead, she would become trapped within her own mind.

It was time he gave his wisdom.