Post by celt on Jan 29, 2010 23:27:22 GMT
And now the highest point of his day was trekking back to the starting point of his little journey, after he had found out that this "Temple of Gaia" was literally right next to the location he had woken in he was fuming. Well, he had managed to alleviate some of his anger by mercilessly stomping a few fiends to death, after which he had washed himself off in the nearest source of water and dressed in the new clothes he had acquired before entering that lab. However, the pleased feeling he had felt after looking at his new image had faded when he had difficulty actually making his way toward his desired destination.
"Tch, this is getting old, very quickly."
He muttered to himself. For the most part he had managed to avoid getting his new clothes dirty which kept him from stomping the living hell out of the next living thing that crossed his path. In fact now that he looked as his new clothes he could not help but feel that he had seen it somewhere before. He shrugged, more than likely an effect of the gateway and the many visions surrounding it. Once he managed to find and then reach the Temple of Gaia he had a feeling, just a feeling that a large number of things were going to fall into place, he paused, shook his head and then carried on walking. He was getting too far ahead of himself; after all he remembered what had happened the last time.
"Greatest disappointment."
He sighed, sagging his shoulders as he did so, events of his past kept flashing before his eyes, making Ruien think about the war and how hard a time that had been. Yet, looking at his current predicament he had to admit that so far this seemingly pointless little journey had been much more complicated than the war. He closed his eyes, no, it was complicated but the war had been. His head began to hurt as he began to wonder why things were becoming so difficult to recall.
"Sir? Whose side are you on?"
It was the sound of two voices screaming that single word in unison, his own. And his brothers. In fact he even had difficulty recalling what that particular little episode had been about. It was something about a weapon; yes a weapon with unrivalled destructive power. He had, had a plan after learning about it, unfortunately Celt; his brother had an identical idea. With the time they were spending together reduced they had not told each other about it until.
"General Ruien! A traitor has been reported to us, he's already slaughtered the guard patrol, hell the entire small army watching the 'path'."
"... Celt?"
He drew in a sharp breath, yes, that was it. He stopped, merely looking up into the sky, he drew in a deep breath and then it happened. He found himself enveloped with the VII Flame, his control had been lost and for the briefest moment Ruien could only look at the Black Flames in confusion. That was all it took, they had cleared only a brief moment later and he found himself stood in a grand opening, the source of the Black Fire he controlled somewhere very close by.
"Wait... Where am I?"
He looked around, the opening he was in seemed to be lined with many dilapidated buildings, and at its centre a grand looking cathedral which was made of.
"Is this... Black marble?"
He asked himself out loud, he walked up to it and knocked on one of the pillars with his knuckles, yes, it was black marble that much was clear from the texture of the pillar alone. He turned, looking around, not for anything other than to leave this place, he had no idea where he was and had no desire to stay. However, he found himself rooted to the spot as he found himself looking into the blazing orange eyes of one of the same wolf-like creatures he had fought and killed in that otherworld. He took a step back, getting ready to fight as the number of them gradually began to increase, Ruien stood tense, enveloping his hands with the VII Flame when.
"Lord Ruien."
He stood in silence, merely blinking almost stupidly as he heard the words. He knew that these things were intelligent but he had no idea that they knew who he was, or even thought of him so highly.
"Did you just call me 'Lord'?"
He asked slowly, and yet he still managed to stammer. He heard it growl in a way that almost sounded like laughter, he took a single step away from the thing and shook his head.
"You knew of the power you possessed, and knew of its origins. Yet you were ignorant into the true depth or purpose of that power."
Ruien felt his head spinning, it had spoken the truth down to a fine point suddenly making Ruien feel foolish. Every time he thought he had this power figured out, every time he felt as though he had come close to mastering it, something like this happened, something like this which completely threw his world upside down.
"Well... That's true."
He stammered his choice of words relatively poor.
"But did it really need to be said? I mean, I had no idea that I was expected to look into every little detail while you know. I was half dead for one thousand years."
He said calmly and for the briefest moment he was aware of a tension as both he and the wolf-like creature locked gazes, those fierce orange eyes boring right through Ruiens very soul. And then, quite suddenly it averted its eyes.
"My apologies Lord Ruien. I was not aware of your previous state."
Again Ruien was shocked to the point where it became impossible for him to hide his surprise, which, once again was met with another low, laugh-like growl.
"We're not foolish enough to try and provoke you."
"So, what? Were the last load of you guys I killed an exception to this rule?"
"Exiles. We don't exile our own very often. But it is normally when they start to turn on us for reasons yet to be explained to us."
Ruien stood in silence, his head once more ablaze with questions; it was at the point in which the questions began to almost double in number that something else happened. Another one of these wolf-like creatures strolled through the now large crowd gathered before Ruien. The crowd part obediently as the apparent leader made its way forward, what shocked Ruien was the size difference between that particular creature and the rest of them. The crowd gathered around Ruien were large and almost reached the height of his gut; this one was large and reached the height of his neck, for a quadruped that was massive, something which Ruien once again could not conceal his shock of.
"This is-"
"Lord Ruien. I am sorry that the first encounter with our kind was a hostile one. However, we do have issues greater than that of exiles. Please follow me and allow me to explain."
Once again he found his head swarming with questions, a creature of this size, one that probably had the edge over him in terms of physical strength was still calling him "Lord". This was all becoming too much for Ruien to take in, he did not stop to consider the possibility that they might be hostile toward him and merely followed the large wolf-like creature into the large cathedral of black marble where the two of them stood alone and in silence.
"W-where are-"
"I would have thought that much would have been obvious at this point Lord Ruien. This is the realm in which the power you know as the VII Flame originates; you can feel it can't you? That here your power is much stronger than it normally is; here you are something of a higher power."
Ruien stood in silence, reeling from the revelation up until now he had truly had no idea that the power he had so often relied on, the power that had in more than one occasion saved his life was borne from another realm entirely. And to top that off the news that there were an entire race of... Things. Living here that called him "Lord" only added to his shock. In the space of thirty seconds his perception of the VII Flame had been torn from him, his knowledge of it suddenly seemed to amount to nothing in the greater picture.
"What? Who are you?"
"That. Was the first question I expected of you Lord Ruien. In the human language you speak in so often, our kind. Our race would be called 'Anei'. As for my name, once more in the language you use often I would be called 'Atrum'."
Ruien drew in a sudden and sharp breath, they were intelligent beyond any belief that Ruien had originally had, they had names and a hierarchy. They were above Humans in such a way that Ruien found the task of describing just how that was possible to himself to be impossible.
"At least that gets the introductions out of the way."
Ruien spoke in a monotone, the shock still grasping him tightly that he did not dare speak normally for fear of his voice cracking and destroying the apparent almost god-like reputation he already had with these things.
"You need not worry about living up to a reputation Lord Ruien. We are very well aware that you can die at any given moment, we are a part of your defence force as well as your attack force, your army and your guardians."
If he had thought the previous revelations had been shocking the impact they had upon him was lost once Atrum had finished that speech. He took a step back and used one of the pillars to steady himself, he had an army, the gap in what he had previously thought of as complete knowledge was rapidly expanding, leaving him standing alone, struggling to catch his breath.
"I can't-"
"I can understand your reaction. I know how far into the history of the VII Flame you went before you decided it was a great asset to you. That along with recent developments haven't given you much time to really get to know this power and some of the greatest things it can offer you."
Ruien kept himself silent for a long while, they seemed respectful enough but he had to wonder whether that was because of the threat his power posed or for other reasons.
"I have to know. This status I have, your respect toward me, is that made of fear for what I can do, or is there something more to it?"
He asked breathlessly, holding Atrums' stare for a long while and then widening his eyes in shock as that growl-like laughter seemed to fill the large open hallway they were stood in.
"Fear? To put it as you stated. Fear is a primal reaction to that which is misunderstood. Which I must admit, is a very good statement HUMAN, however, we Anei know exactly how to overcome that power you hold so close to your heart. Yes, you may kill a few of us, but after a while you would merely fall and become another days feed for some of the young."
He almost physically recoiled at the response he had received; he felt the back of his neck burn as the sudden humiliation struck him. And to be called a human like that, it merely made his head churn further questions.
"The exiles fell-"
"As we hoped they would. When our own are first exiled the transition from one realm to another causes them to forget a great many things. These memories return over time, so the longer they live in exile the stronger they get. It's what you humans would call a 'failsafe' a curse of sorts to prevent them for coming straight back here."
That explained a lot and now Ruien could not help but feel a slight sense of unease toward these creatures, they could turn on him and take him down in a flash, but then he began to wonder why this Atrum would tell him such a thing. He shook his head sharply and for the briefest moment refused to believe him and did what he would have usually considered a foolish notion, one that he would probably never be able to explain away.
"Prove it."
"Lord Ruien?"
"You say you know ways around my power I want to see you make this a reality. Face me."
There was a moment of tension as Atrum held his glare for a long while and then a stern nod.
"Very well. Just know, it will not be a case of 'if' you fall, but 'when' I'll need you to listen to me. I've waited for you to get here long enough now."
He lowered his stance and began to grip his power; he would begin with the most complex set of attack patterns he was able to execute just to keep Atrum quiet and in his place. He began to form the VII Flame as he wanted it and then he was suddenly thrown back onto the ground, his arms pinned at the elbows, the fierce orange eyes looking into his own.
"You didn't last as long as the first person to question what I had said. In fact, this was the fastest 'proving' I've ever had to see to."
He spoke calmly as he moved away from Ruien. Struck with humiliation once again Ruien sat up silently simply staring at Atrum. Things were moving at a rate Ruien had never deemed to be possible he had not been here an hour yet and already he had found out so much about the VII Flame that it put the slow rate of knowledge he was getting about the gateway to shame, things were spinning, nothing was making much sense.
"But. How?"
"We are born in this realm. This is our home, why does it surprise so much that we know more about our place of origin than those entrusted with the power we can provide them with. We do of course have to keep some secrets."
Ruien got to his feet, remaining silent, that made sense, such an intelligent race would not give such a power to people outside their realm without keeping at least some of its secrets for themselves, that way. That was when it clicked; the answer was so simple that Ruien almost laughed out loud.
"It's not meant as a threat is it? It's meant to catch any of us 'Lords' off guard should we be a tyrant or simply wish to kill you off. Yet, how does it work as a shock when you've told me?"
"As you say, not meant as a threat. Should an entrusted do as you so correctly told me then the shock comes from the numbers. We Anei are not the only race here in this realm, but we are the most common. Our numbers near an endless amount and our ability to organise our attack is as you've already seen, good. Imagine how difficult it would be to keep your cool when you have numbers you are unable to keep your eye on while trying to plan your own attack."
Yes that made sense, things were beginning to add up, he would have to remember to bring his own 'ace-in-the-hole' should the need arise for it, though, right now he had no idea where he would get such an advantage from, well, not without giving up his control over the VII Flame altogether anyway, and that was not a route he wanted to travel, he knew how much difficulty Ignotus had, had adjusting to life after he had given up the VII Flame.
"I think that clears a few things up... I'm still not entirely sure how much more of this I'm going to be able to take. But you said you needed to speak with me."
Atrum turned to face Ruien once more and nodded.
"Follow me."
From there Atrum told Ruien that the walk was going to be lengthy, so he would explain a few further things to him in the meantime.
"I must admit Lord Ruien that I am happy you chose to listen to me so quickly. The last few of your kind we have had here have flat out refused to help us and then attempted to kill us. They did of course fall."
"My kind? Amuruaien?"
"That answer should have been obvious Lord Ruien. You knew that the Black Fire of Taint was entrusted to your family. The Amuruaien bloodline is the only family able to use it."
That was not the answer he had wanted to hear, but one he had expected, he knew the history of his family and the number of "Unexplained Deaths" were actually beginning to make sense, it was those of his family whom had tried to kill or otherwise cross the things that lived here.
"So, despite the number of my own that turned on you. You still call me 'Lord' as if nothing has happened?"
"We cannot judge you by the actions that your ancestors took against us."
Ruien gave a small nod, so that was how things here worked that was definitely a good thing. In the brief silence to follow Ruien began to wonder just what kind of people would be foolish enough to turn on what was so far looking to be an army of loyal creatures with enough strength to hold their own against the most battle hardened veterans.
"You have any idea why they would turn on you?"
It was a question that Ruien wanted answered, and yet had an idea that he already knew what the answer was going to be.
"Fear."
"Of course."
He sighed heavily, they had probably either not given them a chance to explain who and what they were or had still feared what these things were enough to try and eradicate them all, which, judging by what Atrum had already told Ruien was an impossible task. That was of course provided that their numbers by his count were accurate.
The rest of the journey was filled with Atrum explaining to Ruien exactly what the VII Flame was and how it worked, and while it answered a huge number of questions that had been starting to plague Ruien ever since he had arrived here it did also raise a few more, however, Ruien was not yet sure on whether or not he wanted to know the answer to them.
"The VII Flame was not a power created for use within combat, in fact it was not a power created at all, it was one side of seven identical sources of power, hence the name. This power is more like the driving force of this realm, yet, we needed to entrust it to someone, otherwise the power would have become too much and destroyed this realm and us along with it. Initially it was meant to end there; however, your kind discovered just what uses the power could be put to. Because of their initiative they were able to help our kind live fruitful lives, which is the reason you and your kind are known as 'Lords' to us."
Ruien had often find his head swimming after each revelation, there was so much he had not known about this power and he had to guess that there was still a lot he had yet to discover. After a brief rest Atrum continued leading Ruien up the staircase, continuing feeding Ruien information about the VII Flame itself and its history.
"Originally it was a race against time. A struggle up a steep hill as it were, but once we got ourselves some to entrust with the power things gradually became easier."
"So, how did you do it?"
"With difficulty. We can't just give anyone this power; we have to know that they won't go mad with the power entrusted to them or that they won't simply be destroyed by it. At the time, the seven families that we did entrust with the VII Flame were some of the most powerful and influential in Gaia, yours included. I was too young to remember the generation of your family we entrusted with the power, so I can't give you the exact date this power became a family 'heirloom' Lord Ruien."
Ruien shook his head.
"No, I don't see it that way, the power itself may have been within my bloodline for generations, yet something like that is not a family heirloom. Something like the blade I used to hold, 'The DeathWish' is an heirloom, it has been with our bloodline since the beginning, that much is clear. Our own set of fighting disciplines I would also consider a family heirloom, like the DeathWish it has been with my bloodline since the beginning."
Ruien said calmly, Atrum snorted with laughter to which Ruien could only cock an eyebrow.
"You're the first to see it for what it really is. I must admit that I am impressed Lord Ruien."
Ruien allowed a small smirk to twist its way across his lips, well, he had a difference to most others then by the looks of it, this was hardly an heirloom, just a power given to them by chance, one that judging by what he was still learning could be taken away if he was deemed to be untrustworthy, but not by Atrum or his race of Anei.
"So, from what I understand that this power can be removed from my bloodline can't it?"
"The power has been within your family for so long that I highly doubt such a thing would be possible now, though if he deemed your kind to be without use for this power I also highly doubt it would stop him from trying."
"Him?"
"In your language his name would be Mugen, his position would be called 'Guardian' in that language, not in the literal sense though Lord Ruien."
Ruien shook his head and stooped walking, holding out his hand to stop Atrum as he did so.
"I can't get used to that, especially not from someone whom can take me down without even trying, just call me Ruien, no need for the use of title, not when it’s clear to me that in terms of position we stand as equals."
Atrums muzzle became distorted as the sides of his lips twitched into the barest traces of a smirk, even if it did look more like a snarl.
"You are not like the others; I can't imagine why that would be. Apparently my judgement of you was incorrect, perhaps bias based on my judgement of your brother."
"Celt, well, he was arrogant... At least when I last saw him he was anyway. With good reason Mind you, but it could get annoying."
They continued their ascent as Ruien said that, once again hearing that strange growl-like laughter from Atrum as he finished speaking.
"He hasn't changed much over the years then, I can see why he is so arrogant but. You stand as his equal in terms of power yet you are not the same as him when it comes to personality, I must admit it is confusing, you look so alike, but act so very different."
This time Ruien let out a small laugh.
"That's a very common thought when trying to deal with twins, the main difference between me and Brother was that I was much more disciplined than he was when we were growing up, probably had something to do with how I turned out."
"There's no need for calling me by such a formal title. You lead an army of such size do you not? As far as I'm concerned we stand as equals, just call me by my name Ruien."
Ruien shook his head as the disembodied voice of his otherworldly self spoke to some unknown being, thankfully Atrum did not seem to have noticed, he did not want to have to go through everything he had been through since he had returned from that otherworld he had been residing in for roughly one thousand years.
"We are nearly there Ruien, I must ask you to listen to what I have to say very carefully as cliché as it may sound you are the only one that can help us right now, since one brother no longer has the ability to venture here and the other will more than likely laugh in our faces if we ask for his help."
Ruien listened, once more in silence, the situation here sounded bad, of course Ruien knew that his opinion of a bad situation would differ slightly to Atrum's, but that was simply down to the way he had lived and was currently almost constantly on the move throughout Gaia, so he would have to judge it using some of the explanations Atrum had given him earlier.
At the top of the winding staircase were a large pair of double doors, it was at this point that Ruien finally needed some time to regain his strength and compose himself, the trip up here had been taxing, never before had he had to climb so many stairs with only a single brief rest period before. Well, actually, he had never even had to climb any number of stairs even half this height all at once before.
"How many stairs was that?"
"You really think we have nothing better to do? We have never bothered to count them; we just know that it is a long journey here."
Came the slightly irritated response, Ruien waved a hand.
"You misunderstand me entirely, that was just out of curiosity, I was not trying to imply that."
Atrum shook his head and turned to face the large pair of doors while Ruien stood up straight and drew in a deep breath, releasing it seconds later as a heavy sigh, he stood in silence for a short while and then pushed the doors open, what he witnessed there he will never forget. There was a large black-marble platform with no balcony overlooking a huge expanse of what Ruien could only assume was once land, or bits and pieces of it anyway. There were often small patches of land and then huge parts of it covered with Black Fire.
"What-"
"We're not entirely sure how it happened. Perhaps it was a result of your incomplete death or something else, but just over one thousand years ago the VII Flame suddenly increased in power and engulfed the realm, what you see is only a part of it. The lands became separated; most of our numbers were separated along with it. The other beings here were also lost in this fragmented realm, our control over this power is nowhere near strong enough to resolve this. And we know that this is something that cannot be done in a day, there is too much of it for that, and still far too much you are ignorant to for this all to be resolved as swiftly as we would like."
Normally Ruien would have taken that as an insult, but the past few hours along with what he was now witnessing merely made him stand up straight and stare in shock. It was true; as much as he had learned here already it looked as though there was still a huge amount he had yet to come to terms with. He shook his head still too shocked to put anything into words, the long silence continued, and just as it seemed as though it could have gone on much longer Ruien finally found his voice.
"This is almost surreal. I mean, I've probably been able to use this amount of power in a single fight if I've so wished. But this amount just feels different, almost as if I've never controlled it before in my life, what exactly do I still have to know about this power?"
Atrum stood in silence for a while longer, his expression impassive, as it nearly always was from what Ruien had gathered about him so far.
"I'm not entirely sure on the exact amount; Mugen would know more about it than I would. He hasn't been heard of since the lands became fragmented, so trying to guess where he was would end up being a fruitless endeavour. The chances are that you probably could walk through the VII Flame without being harmed; it would more than likely still recognise you as its Lord and allow you to pass without incident. We do, however, need you to clear this up just so that we can get our own back together."
Well that did not help very much, while he figured that Atrum here would be able to get him started on getting this mess sorted out he had a feeling that Mugen would need to be found before he could really fix anything here, it was strange, he felt no sense of obligation to help these things, he actually wanted to. He was unsure of the reason why, maybe it had something to do with his status here, maybe it was the shock of everything he had found out so far or maybe it was just because he actually liked it here and liked these things.
"So, where do I start?"
Atrum sat in silence for a long while and then shook his head once, which did not instil confidence.
"Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start."
Ruien hung his head, here was someone asking for his help, but without the slightest idea on how that help was going to be given. Ruien sighed heavily and shook his head; standing up straight he looked out over the lands once more and shrugged, more to himself.
"Well, that isn't very helpful. Perhaps if you're able to locate those of your own race I can clear a path for them to get to you, that would probably be a good start right?"
He asked calmly.
"I don't think it is that simple."
"Only idea you've got right now though isn't it? If it doesn't work then, well. At least that way I'll be able to say that it isn't possible, I'll meet you at the entrance."
And with that he casually stepped off of the side of the platform and fell rapidly toward the ground. It was then that he had a chance to take in the distance they had travelled when they had walked up the stairs; this was probably the tallest building he had jumped from.
"Hmph, perhaps the stairs may have been a better option."
He uttered to himself. The landing was rougher than usual and the impact jarred his teeth, but he was alive and unharmed when he stood up straight.
"You took your time."
Ruien almost feel the colour drain from his face as he heard Atrum speak, he wheeled on the spot and found Atrum already lying on the ground waiting for him, Ruien stood in silence and could only blink several times.
"How?"
"I'm not giving everything away Ruien, I'm pretty sure that there are at least some things you will not tell me, so I'm merely doing the same."
Ruien once again found himself standing in silence, he had the strangest feeling that he was going to have to get used to that trick, for the time being he pushed the thought aside and cracked his neck.
"Well then, if you want me to try and help you gather your own back into one place; lead me to where you know at least some of them are."
Atrum nodded and within moments they were on their way, in the direction Atrum picked. Once again Ruien was warned that the journey there may be a long one, rolling his eyes at the news he would be wasting more energy than he needed to he merely nodded and walked, following his current guide in silence.
"So, just out of curiosity, how is it you know where others of your race are?"
"Anei share a kind of telepathy, it allows us to not only co-ordinate our attacks mentally, but keep track of each other for when we need help. It's an incredibly strong bond, we are born with it, we live with it, and we die with it. A single Anei falls the rest know about it, the only way to sever this telepathic link is through our own exile rituals. The exiles themselves will retain a telepathic link to each other, but their link to the rest of us will be lost, it is not uncommon for such a loss to drive the exiles mad, it normally drives most of them to suicide."
Ruien had to admit that he was impressed, they knew exactly what their mental link was by name, they had established a secure lifestyle and had managed to incorporate that ability into their everyday life. He nodded once and continued his silence, allowing Atrum to continue, interested now, he wanted to find out more and found himself beginning to wonder exactly what other beings called this place home.
"You say that the loss of contact normally drives exiles mad, if you don't mind my asking, why is that?"
"Imagine if you will a very close relationship, someone who is always around for you, always helps you and you always help them. They become a part of your very life and then one day, they die, either that be by foul play or by some other reason you now find yourself completely alone and isolated, the very thing you have grown up with, the very thing you have learned to love and rely on so much is suddenly torn away from you. It is a sense of almost complete loss, since they do literally lose everything."
The meaning of that suddenly hit Ruien and he cocked an eyebrow, surely that could not have been true, if they looked out for each other so much then surely, they would make sure that they were not sent through absolute agony, however, Ruien made sure that his expression was impassive and merely shrugged lightly.
"That seems a bit harsh."
Ruien said calmly, that got a reaction that Ruien remembered seeing in the eyes of the exiles he had fought, that spark of almost sadistic pleasure which soon faded, Atrum snorted once and continued walking.
"They pose a threat to the rest of us, that is their punishment, they deserve every second of that agony."
He replied in a calm and collected voice, Ruien looked at Atrum through the corner of his eye, he was still impassive, though, it would probably take Ruien some time to figure out just what each expression Atrum delivered actually meant, but for the time being he did seem impassive.
"It's not something you enjoy doing is it?"
"While those that do not get exiled will not feel a thing for those that do, it is still a sad event when one or more of our own must be permanently separated from the rest of us, even if it is for the good of the rest."
Ruien could only imagine, since he had never found himself getting that close to anyone, the closest relationship he had ever had was with his two brothers, and right now he had no idea where either of them were which meant that he was unable to tell what kind of state his current relationship with them was actually in, not that it mattered, chances were that at least one of them was dead.
"I'm not even going to begin to pretend that I know or I ever will know what that kind of loss feels like, but it sounds as though it is a loss for both parties."
"Ruien!"
"Y-you came back for me?"
"Moronic bitch! What kind of stunt was that to pull? If you wanted death I would have gladly killed you when I last saw you! He would have betrayed you, stabbed you in the back! I just did the both of you a favour."
"I... L- lo-"
"What.... No! I- YOU!"
"I suggest that you all clear out now. This is no place for the likes of weaklings such as you."
Ruien suddenly found himself stood still, his head swimming and his eyes stinging. He shook his head and stayed rooted to the spot, swaying slightly he suddenly felt light headed, surely that could not have been true, he recognised the voices of both of his brothers, his own voice but that other voice he did not know. He had wondered since he had first heard the voice whom it had belonged to, because it was definitely not a woman that he knew.
"Ruien? Are you all right?"
He moved his hand up to his forehead and stood in silence for a moment or two before answering.
"Yes, I'm fine. I don't know what happened there, I think I must have zoned out."
He replied, somehow managing to keep his voice steady, he shook his head once violently.
"My apologies, lead the way."
"Find attachment in nothing. Trust only those you know, believe in your own prowess and try your best to increase it. You are a god among men; make sure that simple fact is never forgotten."
The voice had been following him ever since his encounter with the gateway, it was not one he recognised, nor did he understand much of what it said, yet he could not help but feel as though there was a strange kind of familiarity to it. He shook his head again, no, that could not make sense, it was not a voice he recognised. Eager to push any other thoughts to one side for the time being Ruien tried to think of a new topic of discussion, however, there was nothing he was able to think of, most of his questions had been answered already.
"Here. Are you sure you want to try this?"
Ruien walked forward a step, relatively happy to have a new point of focus allowing him to give Atrum a single nod.
"Well, either we try now or we can sit around and do nothing just to see what happens."
He replied calmly, at that Atrum backed away a short distance, leaving Ruien to look up at the wall of Black Fire he was stood before. His first comment had been incorrect, he had never put this much power into the VII Flame when he had used it in battle, he could feel the power radiating from it, it was to a degree he would not have ventured, it almost felt as though it was completely beyond his control, the height and ferocity of the power alone made it feel almost completely alien to him, it was only when he raised his hands and felt his connection to it suddenly establish that he knew for definite that it was the same power he was able to use.
"This is intense."
He had the connection, now all he needed to do was clear it away, move it back to where it belonged, or simply force the power to dissipate. All of which would have normally been an easy job, but the second he tried to assert his control over the Black Fire the power lashed out at him. He felt an intense pain course through his entire body which rapidly became almost completely numb, only through sheer force of will did he manage to keep his arms in the air. His body was so numb that he could no longer feel the effects of the power trying to fight him off, but he continued his efforts, he was not going to surrender to that which he was able to control with such ease. His hearing was lost to a high-pitched ringing noise and the sudden smell of burning metal mercilessly filled his nostrils, his vision began to swim in and out of focus, his eyes rolled into his head and everything went black.
"You make it sound so easy Bro, but how? Jus' answer me that. We both know that this war ain't likely to end happily for either of us."
Celt was anxious it was clear to Ruien just by the fact that he was unable to sit still, he kept squirming in his seat, his expression one of uncertainty. Ruien shook his head and tapped the sheath of the DeathWish against the ground.
"They are nearly always watching. This is one of the very few times we are going to be able to sit down and discuss an entire plan like this."
Ruien said calmly, he did not like showing others when he was anxious, not even his own brothers, but right now he had a good reason to be anxious things had gotten so complicated over the last few hours that it had left their father on his deathbed and the three brothers contemplating their future.
"One of us is going to have to sacrifice the power of the VII Flame entirely. And then, we'll have to make it seem as though it was an enforced decision... We're going to have to hate each other."
Ruien said, his voice cracking only a single time as he said it, Ignotus shook his head, spinning the single revolver on his index finger he spoke up.
"I'll do it. I'm already looking into the 'forbidden' magick arts, so adjusting will be much easier for me than it will be for either of you."
Ruien nodded as did Celt; there was a long silence between the three of them before Ignotus spoke once more.
"So... Which of us is going to 'die'?"
"I will."
Ruien spoke up almost at once, getting a small, somewhat sorrowful nod from Ignotus and a wide-eyed expression of shock from Celt. Both reactions he had expected of course, but that did not make the burden of what he was planning to do any easier, he was going to be leaving both of his brothers for an amount of time that none of them were able to determine.
"But, there's no-"
Celt began.
"I know, but as I said we have to make sure everything falls into place. They lack the ability to examine our memories, so we're safe, our only difficulty here should be making our act look believable. Celt, this is how you're going to have to begin, so listen carefully because I will not have the time to explain this more than once."
And with that everything was put into place, they would have to pull all the stops to make sure that the plan worked, but, once the first stage or two was complete, the whole thing was going to become easier on the three of them. Or at least Ruien hoped that it would become easier on the three of them.
He suddenly came back to his senses, everything around him so clear now, so sharp, his fury reached a peak he had never felt it hit before as he finally began to push back against the raging Black Fire, feeling returned to his limbs and then to the rest of his body. There was a lull as the smell of burning metal and the ringing faded and then, with an almost primal scream at nothingness he waved both of his hands to the side, forcing the power to dissipate. A powerful rush of strangely fresh wind blew past Ruien as the VII Flame suddenly vanished, the immense amount of power gone in a matter of seconds. He stood still, his breathing heavy and laboured, his entire body was trembling and his vision still swimming violently in and out of focus, a small smile twisted its way across his lips as he finally fell to his knees, his body working its best to try and heal whatever internal injuries he had sustained.
"That was too much for you wasn't it Ruien?"
He had not noticed Atrum walk to his side; however he merely nodded and tried to talk between heavy breaths.
"Perhaps it was yes... But now at least we know I can get rid of the over-powered VII Flame that way... I have a feeling... It'll get easier the more I do it... But right now, I can hardly move."
"I'll return for you."
And with that he was off, Ruien understood why, this was probably the first time Atrum would have seen at least one major chunk of his race outside of the relatively small group he still had at the location Ruien had arrived at. He knelt, swaying, the world spinning around him, he saw blurred forms make their way through the path he had cleared before he finally lurched back and hit the floor hard, he felt the impact and that was what finally caused everything to fade and for his currently dim consciousness to withdraw.
"Sorry Celt. Looks as though you're the backstabbing scum this time around."
Ruien said calmly, at least trying to make a joke from it and lighten the situation just a little bit, he heard Ignotus chuckle but Celt still looked anxious and upset. Ruien knew that Celt was not happy with the role he was having to play but right now they had no other choice, their limited amount of time to get this plan underway was rapidly coming to an end.
"Celt. I know you hate it, I hate the part I have to do and Ruien hates the part he has to do. But you know this has to be done, this is all part of the greater plan, worst case is we won't see Ruien again for a few years."
"But we'll-"
"Only until it all comes to an end, after that we can leave Gaia and never return, I'm thinking of going back home myself. But Celt we NEED you to do this for us, our very lives could all be at risk if we don't do this..."
"I'll do it, but know that I'm not happy about it."
Ruien let out a small almost involuntary laugh
"If you are thinking anything along the same lines as I am you absolutely despise it don't you?"
There was a small nod from Celt and then a small nod from Ignotus, the three of them shared one last brotherly embrace and then parted for what would be the final time.
"Celt, when you next see Ignotus, you have to 'manipulate' him into sacrificing the VII Flame, we'll play ignorance until our required time, since Ignotus will be leaving after losing the VII Flame, so they will no longer deem him worth watching. As for my part, leave my 'death' until the very last possible moment. We need to go, now."
They gave each other one final nod and then all left the room through different windows, Celt dropping down onto the roof of another building and then down to the ground and out of sight. Ignotus jumped straight down to the streets below and rapidly made his way out of the city. While Ruien flipped himself upwards and travelled the short distance to the roof where he could overlook the entire city, this was his usual spot, his roof, it was for this reason alone that it was still one of the only completely unaffected buildings left standing.
He opened his eyes slowly, his concept of time lost, he had no idea how long he had been out nor did he have any idea of how long ago he had removed that wall of Black Fire that had been far too much for him to handle, he was lying on his back in the entrance hall of the cathedral he and Atrum had walked through not too long ago, well, not too long ago from Ruiens' current skewered perception of time anyway.
"You're up sooner than expected."
Ruien looked over in the direction Atrums' voice had come from; he was just entering the cathedral, Ruien stayed exactly where he was, not trusting himself to even sit up since he was still trembling slightly.
"How long was I out for?"
He asked.
"Only a few hours, injuries suffered from the VII Flame to its Lord are usually minor but incredibly draining. If you're going to get up I'd do so slowly."
Ruien did not try to get up even after Atrum gave him that advice; in fact he was quite content to simply stay where he was and rest a little while longer. From that an awkward silence followed when Ruien did not move, drawing in a deep breath Ruien laced his fingers together and stretched his arms out in front of him, his fingers all cracked at once, the sound echoing in the empty hall.
"So, what's next Atrum?"
He asked calmly, finally pushing himself into a sitting position, smirking to himself when he saw Atrums eyes widen with shock merely because Ruien had ignored his advice and sat up relatively quickly, although he did kind of wish he had not done that since the only thing it managed to accomplish was making his head spin once more.
"I would advise against trying to clear up any more here for the time being. That would be advice you might want to listen to, since ignoring the small piece of previous advice I gave you just made you feel worse didn't it?"
Ruien smiled slightly to himself and raised one of his hands to his forehead.
"Yeah it did."
He replied calmly, choosing to ignore the small look of humour that quickly made its way across Atrums' features, Ruien shook his head gently and laughed quietly to himself.
"So it's been a while since you've seen them right? Were they OK?"
"The time of separation has been hard for the lot of us, but they are all otherwise fine. It seems as though there is one more part of these fragmented lands that still hold a number of our own, but for the time being living has just become easier, so we owe you at least some thanks for that. When you next return-"
Ruien held up a hand to stop Atrum from going any further, for the time being yes, removing another wall of the VII Flame like the last one was beyond his limits but Atrum did not need to state the obvious.
"You know, you don't have to insult my intelligence like that. I'm very well aware that trying that again is far beyond my limits at this precise moment in time. But I tell you now that I will do it again to bring you all back together when I next come back here, I'm planning on getting more than a single fragment of these lands open again when I do come back."
Ruien said calmly, too tired to say much more on the matter, Atrum took a step back and averted his eyes for a brief moment his expression impassive, or in this case impossible to read.
"My apologies, sometimes it is easy to forget that I am not dealing with an arrogant child or a persistent old man, both of which tend to go out of their depth too quickly and get themselves killed."
Ruien cocked an eyebrow, wondering why exactly that sounded as though he was making some kind of confession. Ruien blinked, taking longer than usual to think in his current state it had not clicked straight away, but now that he thought about it.
"Persistent old man?"
The words echoed throughout his mind for a long while as yet another awkward silence put distance between both Ruien and Atrum.
"My father, Riuu Amuruaien was dealt a blow here that put him into a coma wasn't he?"
Atrum stayed silent and nodded slowly, Ruien stood up suddenly, his previous condition almost forgotten, he looked into Atrums' eyes, standing in silence for a long while. For years, they had thought the cause of death had been down to another set of events entirely and now, he was going to find out the truth, even if he had to threaten Atrum to get it.
"I've believed that was down to the Zanarkand war for years now, I want to know how it happened exactly."
Atrum stood in silence and then nodded swiftly.
"Yes, you've been kept in the dark about those circumstances for years haven't you? Unintentionally of course, but it is an unforgivable lapse of judgement on my part not to have told you the second I saw you. It happened a short while before the end of that war, Riuu was here, it was about the time that the VII Flame started somehow managing to overpower itself, originally your father was here to try and put it right. It proved to be too great a task for him to manage but, he was ambushed as he tried to flee, normally those of us that call this realm home would not dare attack a VII Flame Lord. But the creature that attacked him was a new breed, intelligent, but did not know how things worked.
That's where it went wrong.
Despite his age your father insisted that he try to resolve the situation as soon as it started, the creature got the better of him, dealing the blow that eventually ended his life. We managed to get his body and return it to Zanarkand during a lull in the war, yet your father insisted that you and your brothers were to know nothing of his place or of us. So we did the only thing we could do, and lay his body down by the entrance of the city, making it look like the war was the cause of his comatose state. Of course there were a few that suspected there was another cause, but they were unable to prove it, so it was ultimately blamed on the war."
Ruien had little to say after that, his question had been answered down to a fine point; he just had one final question to ask. The final question he wanted an answer for, the final question he would force the answer out of Atrum if he did not give it to him.
"What creature was responsible for the act?"
"I can understand such a question but rev-"
"Revenge? You knew of me and my brothers, but did not know of the relationship we had with our father? We hated him, there was a reason we tried to spend as much time as possible away from him at the time. We had to tolerate him on a professional level when the war started and throughout, and admittedly we were upset at first. But I want to congratulate the thing that finally ended him... Well, and know exactly who to look out for should the need to do so arise, if he put my father down the chances are that I'll have some difficulty against him should he decide to attack me... Well, that is of course provided that he hasn't learned how things around here work yet."
Ruien replied calmly, smirking slightly as he took note of the obvious shock in Atrums' eyes. A further silence and then he nodded slowly,
"Very well, since you put it that way. In terms of appearance it looks similar to what your kind would call 'Dragons', only this one has no wings, and he has black scales. You'll know exactly who he is when you see him, since he is the only one of his kind. Besides, those were the only real details I was able to get from him as we ran, so if he has yet to learn how things work here, by the time you meet him. Because, it will happen at some point. Then either run or 'educate' him."
Ruien allowed a small smirk to twist its way across his face once more and began to make his way to the entrance of the cathedral, stopping and drawing in a deep breath suddenly.
"In that case, when I do meet him. I plan on giving that lesson; if he was able to take down my father, then maybe he will become a valuable ally at some point in the future."
Ruien said calmly, as he had expected that drew a look of both shock and from what Ruien could tell, admiration from Atrum, yes, if he was able to get them a powerful ally like that then in the long run it would be beneficial, no matter what the potential damage inflicted to Ruien could be.
"Ruien, I told you earlier that you were ignorant to many of the things that the VII Flame was able to do. And if I let you leave here without telling you at least one of the potential powers you can get yourself then even with part of the fragmented land restored your coming here would have been a waste of time."
Ruien stood in silence for a short while, his mind racing, he could have sworn that Atrum said earlier he had no idea where to start, he opened his mouth to speak but was instantly cut off by Atrum.
"I said I had no idea where to start in answer to restoring the fragmented land. Teaching you at least some of things that the VII Flame can do is something I know I can tell you, all you need to do is listen to what I have to say."
Ruien allowed another small silence to pass as he considered the offer, well, at this point he had nothing to lose, and if this would gain him better understanding of the power he once again barely knew then it was probably best for him to accept.
"Very well then."
He said calmly, Atrum gave a small nod and walked toward Ruien, stopping when there was only a small distance between the two of them, there he stood in silence for a few seconds.
"The power of the VII Flame is more than just a power to inflict pain. It can be used to call those residing here; creatures like us to your aid, the Anei will promise their loyalty to you of their own free will, other creatures you might have to get back under your command."
He said calmly, Ruien found himself engulfed by a bright flash of orange light that seemed to come from Atrums' eyes. There was a moment of silence and then multiple images of his ancestors using such an ability flashed before his eyes, battles won by the ability to summon the Anei into battle at any point. The major tactical advantage offered to the users of such an ability, his desire for the knowledge of how to use such an ability and then, he was surrounded by a bright white light.
"That was... intense, you can just give me the knowledge of how to do such things?"
Ruien asked, for the umpteenth time today he had been shocked, this time not by the revelation of something he did not know he was able to do, but by how quickly he had learned to use an ability he had only been told about seconds ago.
"Yes, but only when you are able to understand it properly, otherwise I'll have to teach it to you the difficult way, which only really ends up wasting time since once you understand how the power works it takes only a matter of seconds for you to learn how to use it."
Ruien blinked and then nodded slowly, in truth he had no idea that such a thing was possible he had half expected to be sat around for hours first learning how such a thing was possible and then trying to use it himself until he had perfected it. But there was no need for it apparently, he knew how it worked, he knew how to summon them to his side and more importantly it set the stage for bringing other creatures to his aid once they had once again pledged their loyalty to him and the power of the VII Flame, in thirty seconds he had just gained what could potentially be an infinite number of new abilities with his power, but for the time being, he would make do with the one, he needed to know what his limits were first after all.
"Well then, I'm done here for the time being aren't I? Atrum, I will return in due time."
He said calmly, Atrum gave a small nod and turned to walk away from Ruien and deeper into the cathedral.
"Yes, I look forward to it. In the mean time I'll be getting us back to our true work, now that we have more land to occupy, once that last part of our group is freed and our part of the fragmented land returned to normal, the Anei will be back in full force. Once that is true then we can think about getting the lands returned to the way they once were, we can only do this one step at a time."
Atrum stated in what Ruien knew to be a monotone, with a small nod the two went their separate ways, they both had things to be doing and could not really wait around too much longer, once he was back outside the cathedral he used his newfound knowledge to envelope himself with the VII Flame. The trip was brief but once the VII Flame had cleared Ruien was back on the last small road leading down to the Zanarkand Ruins.
"As time consuming as that was I don't think I possibly could be any happier than I am right now, it started off as a bad day, but things are looking up. Well for the time being anyway."
-[Word Count: 10,524]-
-[Thread Over]-
"Tch, this is getting old, very quickly."
He muttered to himself. For the most part he had managed to avoid getting his new clothes dirty which kept him from stomping the living hell out of the next living thing that crossed his path. In fact now that he looked as his new clothes he could not help but feel that he had seen it somewhere before. He shrugged, more than likely an effect of the gateway and the many visions surrounding it. Once he managed to find and then reach the Temple of Gaia he had a feeling, just a feeling that a large number of things were going to fall into place, he paused, shook his head and then carried on walking. He was getting too far ahead of himself; after all he remembered what had happened the last time.
"Greatest disappointment."
He sighed, sagging his shoulders as he did so, events of his past kept flashing before his eyes, making Ruien think about the war and how hard a time that had been. Yet, looking at his current predicament he had to admit that so far this seemingly pointless little journey had been much more complicated than the war. He closed his eyes, no, it was complicated but the war had been. His head began to hurt as he began to wonder why things were becoming so difficult to recall.
"Sir? Whose side are you on?"
"MINE!"
It was the sound of two voices screaming that single word in unison, his own. And his brothers. In fact he even had difficulty recalling what that particular little episode had been about. It was something about a weapon; yes a weapon with unrivalled destructive power. He had, had a plan after learning about it, unfortunately Celt; his brother had an identical idea. With the time they were spending together reduced they had not told each other about it until.
"General Ruien! A traitor has been reported to us, he's already slaughtered the guard patrol, hell the entire small army watching the 'path'."
"... Celt?"
He drew in a sharp breath, yes, that was it. He stopped, merely looking up into the sky, he drew in a deep breath and then it happened. He found himself enveloped with the VII Flame, his control had been lost and for the briefest moment Ruien could only look at the Black Flames in confusion. That was all it took, they had cleared only a brief moment later and he found himself stood in a grand opening, the source of the Black Fire he controlled somewhere very close by.
"Wait... Where am I?"
He looked around, the opening he was in seemed to be lined with many dilapidated buildings, and at its centre a grand looking cathedral which was made of.
"Is this... Black marble?"
He asked himself out loud, he walked up to it and knocked on one of the pillars with his knuckles, yes, it was black marble that much was clear from the texture of the pillar alone. He turned, looking around, not for anything other than to leave this place, he had no idea where he was and had no desire to stay. However, he found himself rooted to the spot as he found himself looking into the blazing orange eyes of one of the same wolf-like creatures he had fought and killed in that otherworld. He took a step back, getting ready to fight as the number of them gradually began to increase, Ruien stood tense, enveloping his hands with the VII Flame when.
"Lord Ruien."
He stood in silence, merely blinking almost stupidly as he heard the words. He knew that these things were intelligent but he had no idea that they knew who he was, or even thought of him so highly.
"Did you just call me 'Lord'?"
He asked slowly, and yet he still managed to stammer. He heard it growl in a way that almost sounded like laughter, he took a single step away from the thing and shook his head.
"You knew of the power you possessed, and knew of its origins. Yet you were ignorant into the true depth or purpose of that power."
Ruien felt his head spinning, it had spoken the truth down to a fine point suddenly making Ruien feel foolish. Every time he thought he had this power figured out, every time he felt as though he had come close to mastering it, something like this happened, something like this which completely threw his world upside down.
"Well... That's true."
He stammered his choice of words relatively poor.
"But did it really need to be said? I mean, I had no idea that I was expected to look into every little detail while you know. I was half dead for one thousand years."
He said calmly and for the briefest moment he was aware of a tension as both he and the wolf-like creature locked gazes, those fierce orange eyes boring right through Ruiens very soul. And then, quite suddenly it averted its eyes.
"My apologies Lord Ruien. I was not aware of your previous state."
Again Ruien was shocked to the point where it became impossible for him to hide his surprise, which, once again was met with another low, laugh-like growl.
"We're not foolish enough to try and provoke you."
"So, what? Were the last load of you guys I killed an exception to this rule?"
"Exiles. We don't exile our own very often. But it is normally when they start to turn on us for reasons yet to be explained to us."
Ruien stood in silence, his head once more ablaze with questions; it was at the point in which the questions began to almost double in number that something else happened. Another one of these wolf-like creatures strolled through the now large crowd gathered before Ruien. The crowd part obediently as the apparent leader made its way forward, what shocked Ruien was the size difference between that particular creature and the rest of them. The crowd gathered around Ruien were large and almost reached the height of his gut; this one was large and reached the height of his neck, for a quadruped that was massive, something which Ruien once again could not conceal his shock of.
"This is-"
"Lord Ruien. I am sorry that the first encounter with our kind was a hostile one. However, we do have issues greater than that of exiles. Please follow me and allow me to explain."
Once again he found his head swarming with questions, a creature of this size, one that probably had the edge over him in terms of physical strength was still calling him "Lord". This was all becoming too much for Ruien to take in, he did not stop to consider the possibility that they might be hostile toward him and merely followed the large wolf-like creature into the large cathedral of black marble where the two of them stood alone and in silence.
"W-where are-"
"I would have thought that much would have been obvious at this point Lord Ruien. This is the realm in which the power you know as the VII Flame originates; you can feel it can't you? That here your power is much stronger than it normally is; here you are something of a higher power."
Ruien stood in silence, reeling from the revelation up until now he had truly had no idea that the power he had so often relied on, the power that had in more than one occasion saved his life was borne from another realm entirely. And to top that off the news that there were an entire race of... Things. Living here that called him "Lord" only added to his shock. In the space of thirty seconds his perception of the VII Flame had been torn from him, his knowledge of it suddenly seemed to amount to nothing in the greater picture.
"What? Who are you?"
"That. Was the first question I expected of you Lord Ruien. In the human language you speak in so often, our kind. Our race would be called 'Anei'. As for my name, once more in the language you use often I would be called 'Atrum'."
Ruien drew in a sudden and sharp breath, they were intelligent beyond any belief that Ruien had originally had, they had names and a hierarchy. They were above Humans in such a way that Ruien found the task of describing just how that was possible to himself to be impossible.
"At least that gets the introductions out of the way."
Ruien spoke in a monotone, the shock still grasping him tightly that he did not dare speak normally for fear of his voice cracking and destroying the apparent almost god-like reputation he already had with these things.
"You need not worry about living up to a reputation Lord Ruien. We are very well aware that you can die at any given moment, we are a part of your defence force as well as your attack force, your army and your guardians."
If he had thought the previous revelations had been shocking the impact they had upon him was lost once Atrum had finished that speech. He took a step back and used one of the pillars to steady himself, he had an army, the gap in what he had previously thought of as complete knowledge was rapidly expanding, leaving him standing alone, struggling to catch his breath.
"I can't-"
"I can understand your reaction. I know how far into the history of the VII Flame you went before you decided it was a great asset to you. That along with recent developments haven't given you much time to really get to know this power and some of the greatest things it can offer you."
Ruien kept himself silent for a long while, they seemed respectful enough but he had to wonder whether that was because of the threat his power posed or for other reasons.
"I have to know. This status I have, your respect toward me, is that made of fear for what I can do, or is there something more to it?"
He asked breathlessly, holding Atrums' stare for a long while and then widening his eyes in shock as that growl-like laughter seemed to fill the large open hallway they were stood in.
"Fear? To put it as you stated. Fear is a primal reaction to that which is misunderstood. Which I must admit, is a very good statement HUMAN, however, we Anei know exactly how to overcome that power you hold so close to your heart. Yes, you may kill a few of us, but after a while you would merely fall and become another days feed for some of the young."
He almost physically recoiled at the response he had received; he felt the back of his neck burn as the sudden humiliation struck him. And to be called a human like that, it merely made his head churn further questions.
"The exiles fell-"
"As we hoped they would. When our own are first exiled the transition from one realm to another causes them to forget a great many things. These memories return over time, so the longer they live in exile the stronger they get. It's what you humans would call a 'failsafe' a curse of sorts to prevent them for coming straight back here."
That explained a lot and now Ruien could not help but feel a slight sense of unease toward these creatures, they could turn on him and take him down in a flash, but then he began to wonder why this Atrum would tell him such a thing. He shook his head sharply and for the briefest moment refused to believe him and did what he would have usually considered a foolish notion, one that he would probably never be able to explain away.
"Prove it."
"Lord Ruien?"
"You say you know ways around my power I want to see you make this a reality. Face me."
There was a moment of tension as Atrum held his glare for a long while and then a stern nod.
"Very well. Just know, it will not be a case of 'if' you fall, but 'when' I'll need you to listen to me. I've waited for you to get here long enough now."
He lowered his stance and began to grip his power; he would begin with the most complex set of attack patterns he was able to execute just to keep Atrum quiet and in his place. He began to form the VII Flame as he wanted it and then he was suddenly thrown back onto the ground, his arms pinned at the elbows, the fierce orange eyes looking into his own.
"You didn't last as long as the first person to question what I had said. In fact, this was the fastest 'proving' I've ever had to see to."
He spoke calmly as he moved away from Ruien. Struck with humiliation once again Ruien sat up silently simply staring at Atrum. Things were moving at a rate Ruien had never deemed to be possible he had not been here an hour yet and already he had found out so much about the VII Flame that it put the slow rate of knowledge he was getting about the gateway to shame, things were spinning, nothing was making much sense.
"But. How?"
"We are born in this realm. This is our home, why does it surprise so much that we know more about our place of origin than those entrusted with the power we can provide them with. We do of course have to keep some secrets."
Ruien got to his feet, remaining silent, that made sense, such an intelligent race would not give such a power to people outside their realm without keeping at least some of its secrets for themselves, that way. That was when it clicked; the answer was so simple that Ruien almost laughed out loud.
"It's not meant as a threat is it? It's meant to catch any of us 'Lords' off guard should we be a tyrant or simply wish to kill you off. Yet, how does it work as a shock when you've told me?"
"As you say, not meant as a threat. Should an entrusted do as you so correctly told me then the shock comes from the numbers. We Anei are not the only race here in this realm, but we are the most common. Our numbers near an endless amount and our ability to organise our attack is as you've already seen, good. Imagine how difficult it would be to keep your cool when you have numbers you are unable to keep your eye on while trying to plan your own attack."
Yes that made sense, things were beginning to add up, he would have to remember to bring his own 'ace-in-the-hole' should the need arise for it, though, right now he had no idea where he would get such an advantage from, well, not without giving up his control over the VII Flame altogether anyway, and that was not a route he wanted to travel, he knew how much difficulty Ignotus had, had adjusting to life after he had given up the VII Flame.
"I think that clears a few things up... I'm still not entirely sure how much more of this I'm going to be able to take. But you said you needed to speak with me."
Atrum turned to face Ruien once more and nodded.
"Follow me."
From there Atrum told Ruien that the walk was going to be lengthy, so he would explain a few further things to him in the meantime.
"I must admit Lord Ruien that I am happy you chose to listen to me so quickly. The last few of your kind we have had here have flat out refused to help us and then attempted to kill us. They did of course fall."
"My kind? Amuruaien?"
"That answer should have been obvious Lord Ruien. You knew that the Black Fire of Taint was entrusted to your family. The Amuruaien bloodline is the only family able to use it."
That was not the answer he had wanted to hear, but one he had expected, he knew the history of his family and the number of "Unexplained Deaths" were actually beginning to make sense, it was those of his family whom had tried to kill or otherwise cross the things that lived here.
"So, despite the number of my own that turned on you. You still call me 'Lord' as if nothing has happened?"
"We cannot judge you by the actions that your ancestors took against us."
Ruien gave a small nod, so that was how things here worked that was definitely a good thing. In the brief silence to follow Ruien began to wonder just what kind of people would be foolish enough to turn on what was so far looking to be an army of loyal creatures with enough strength to hold their own against the most battle hardened veterans.
"You have any idea why they would turn on you?"
It was a question that Ruien wanted answered, and yet had an idea that he already knew what the answer was going to be.
"Fear."
"Of course."
He sighed heavily, they had probably either not given them a chance to explain who and what they were or had still feared what these things were enough to try and eradicate them all, which, judging by what Atrum had already told Ruien was an impossible task. That was of course provided that their numbers by his count were accurate.
The rest of the journey was filled with Atrum explaining to Ruien exactly what the VII Flame was and how it worked, and while it answered a huge number of questions that had been starting to plague Ruien ever since he had arrived here it did also raise a few more, however, Ruien was not yet sure on whether or not he wanted to know the answer to them.
"The VII Flame was not a power created for use within combat, in fact it was not a power created at all, it was one side of seven identical sources of power, hence the name. This power is more like the driving force of this realm, yet, we needed to entrust it to someone, otherwise the power would have become too much and destroyed this realm and us along with it. Initially it was meant to end there; however, your kind discovered just what uses the power could be put to. Because of their initiative they were able to help our kind live fruitful lives, which is the reason you and your kind are known as 'Lords' to us."
Ruien had often find his head swimming after each revelation, there was so much he had not known about this power and he had to guess that there was still a lot he had yet to discover. After a brief rest Atrum continued leading Ruien up the staircase, continuing feeding Ruien information about the VII Flame itself and its history.
"Originally it was a race against time. A struggle up a steep hill as it were, but once we got ourselves some to entrust with the power things gradually became easier."
"So, how did you do it?"
"With difficulty. We can't just give anyone this power; we have to know that they won't go mad with the power entrusted to them or that they won't simply be destroyed by it. At the time, the seven families that we did entrust with the VII Flame were some of the most powerful and influential in Gaia, yours included. I was too young to remember the generation of your family we entrusted with the power, so I can't give you the exact date this power became a family 'heirloom' Lord Ruien."
Ruien shook his head.
"No, I don't see it that way, the power itself may have been within my bloodline for generations, yet something like that is not a family heirloom. Something like the blade I used to hold, 'The DeathWish' is an heirloom, it has been with our bloodline since the beginning, that much is clear. Our own set of fighting disciplines I would also consider a family heirloom, like the DeathWish it has been with my bloodline since the beginning."
Ruien said calmly, Atrum snorted with laughter to which Ruien could only cock an eyebrow.
"You're the first to see it for what it really is. I must admit that I am impressed Lord Ruien."
Ruien allowed a small smirk to twist its way across his lips, well, he had a difference to most others then by the looks of it, this was hardly an heirloom, just a power given to them by chance, one that judging by what he was still learning could be taken away if he was deemed to be untrustworthy, but not by Atrum or his race of Anei.
"So, from what I understand that this power can be removed from my bloodline can't it?"
"The power has been within your family for so long that I highly doubt such a thing would be possible now, though if he deemed your kind to be without use for this power I also highly doubt it would stop him from trying."
"Him?"
"In your language his name would be Mugen, his position would be called 'Guardian' in that language, not in the literal sense though Lord Ruien."
Ruien shook his head and stooped walking, holding out his hand to stop Atrum as he did so.
"I can't get used to that, especially not from someone whom can take me down without even trying, just call me Ruien, no need for the use of title, not when it’s clear to me that in terms of position we stand as equals."
Atrums muzzle became distorted as the sides of his lips twitched into the barest traces of a smirk, even if it did look more like a snarl.
"You are not like the others; I can't imagine why that would be. Apparently my judgement of you was incorrect, perhaps bias based on my judgement of your brother."
"Celt, well, he was arrogant... At least when I last saw him he was anyway. With good reason Mind you, but it could get annoying."
They continued their ascent as Ruien said that, once again hearing that strange growl-like laughter from Atrum as he finished speaking.
"He hasn't changed much over the years then, I can see why he is so arrogant but. You stand as his equal in terms of power yet you are not the same as him when it comes to personality, I must admit it is confusing, you look so alike, but act so very different."
This time Ruien let out a small laugh.
"That's a very common thought when trying to deal with twins, the main difference between me and Brother was that I was much more disciplined than he was when we were growing up, probably had something to do with how I turned out."
"There's no need for calling me by such a formal title. You lead an army of such size do you not? As far as I'm concerned we stand as equals, just call me by my name Ruien."
Ruien shook his head as the disembodied voice of his otherworldly self spoke to some unknown being, thankfully Atrum did not seem to have noticed, he did not want to have to go through everything he had been through since he had returned from that otherworld he had been residing in for roughly one thousand years.
"We are nearly there Ruien, I must ask you to listen to what I have to say very carefully as cliché as it may sound you are the only one that can help us right now, since one brother no longer has the ability to venture here and the other will more than likely laugh in our faces if we ask for his help."
Ruien listened, once more in silence, the situation here sounded bad, of course Ruien knew that his opinion of a bad situation would differ slightly to Atrum's, but that was simply down to the way he had lived and was currently almost constantly on the move throughout Gaia, so he would have to judge it using some of the explanations Atrum had given him earlier.
At the top of the winding staircase were a large pair of double doors, it was at this point that Ruien finally needed some time to regain his strength and compose himself, the trip up here had been taxing, never before had he had to climb so many stairs with only a single brief rest period before. Well, actually, he had never even had to climb any number of stairs even half this height all at once before.
"How many stairs was that?"
"You really think we have nothing better to do? We have never bothered to count them; we just know that it is a long journey here."
Came the slightly irritated response, Ruien waved a hand.
"You misunderstand me entirely, that was just out of curiosity, I was not trying to imply that."
Atrum shook his head and turned to face the large pair of doors while Ruien stood up straight and drew in a deep breath, releasing it seconds later as a heavy sigh, he stood in silence for a short while and then pushed the doors open, what he witnessed there he will never forget. There was a large black-marble platform with no balcony overlooking a huge expanse of what Ruien could only assume was once land, or bits and pieces of it anyway. There were often small patches of land and then huge parts of it covered with Black Fire.
"What-"
"We're not entirely sure how it happened. Perhaps it was a result of your incomplete death or something else, but just over one thousand years ago the VII Flame suddenly increased in power and engulfed the realm, what you see is only a part of it. The lands became separated; most of our numbers were separated along with it. The other beings here were also lost in this fragmented realm, our control over this power is nowhere near strong enough to resolve this. And we know that this is something that cannot be done in a day, there is too much of it for that, and still far too much you are ignorant to for this all to be resolved as swiftly as we would like."
Normally Ruien would have taken that as an insult, but the past few hours along with what he was now witnessing merely made him stand up straight and stare in shock. It was true; as much as he had learned here already it looked as though there was still a huge amount he had yet to come to terms with. He shook his head still too shocked to put anything into words, the long silence continued, and just as it seemed as though it could have gone on much longer Ruien finally found his voice.
"This is almost surreal. I mean, I've probably been able to use this amount of power in a single fight if I've so wished. But this amount just feels different, almost as if I've never controlled it before in my life, what exactly do I still have to know about this power?"
Atrum stood in silence for a while longer, his expression impassive, as it nearly always was from what Ruien had gathered about him so far.
"I'm not entirely sure on the exact amount; Mugen would know more about it than I would. He hasn't been heard of since the lands became fragmented, so trying to guess where he was would end up being a fruitless endeavour. The chances are that you probably could walk through the VII Flame without being harmed; it would more than likely still recognise you as its Lord and allow you to pass without incident. We do, however, need you to clear this up just so that we can get our own back together."
Well that did not help very much, while he figured that Atrum here would be able to get him started on getting this mess sorted out he had a feeling that Mugen would need to be found before he could really fix anything here, it was strange, he felt no sense of obligation to help these things, he actually wanted to. He was unsure of the reason why, maybe it had something to do with his status here, maybe it was the shock of everything he had found out so far or maybe it was just because he actually liked it here and liked these things.
"So, where do I start?"
Atrum sat in silence for a long while and then shook his head once, which did not instil confidence.
"Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start."
Ruien hung his head, here was someone asking for his help, but without the slightest idea on how that help was going to be given. Ruien sighed heavily and shook his head; standing up straight he looked out over the lands once more and shrugged, more to himself.
"Well, that isn't very helpful. Perhaps if you're able to locate those of your own race I can clear a path for them to get to you, that would probably be a good start right?"
He asked calmly.
"I don't think it is that simple."
"Only idea you've got right now though isn't it? If it doesn't work then, well. At least that way I'll be able to say that it isn't possible, I'll meet you at the entrance."
And with that he casually stepped off of the side of the platform and fell rapidly toward the ground. It was then that he had a chance to take in the distance they had travelled when they had walked up the stairs; this was probably the tallest building he had jumped from.
"Hmph, perhaps the stairs may have been a better option."
He uttered to himself. The landing was rougher than usual and the impact jarred his teeth, but he was alive and unharmed when he stood up straight.
"You took your time."
Ruien almost feel the colour drain from his face as he heard Atrum speak, he wheeled on the spot and found Atrum already lying on the ground waiting for him, Ruien stood in silence and could only blink several times.
"How?"
"I'm not giving everything away Ruien, I'm pretty sure that there are at least some things you will not tell me, so I'm merely doing the same."
Ruien once again found himself standing in silence, he had the strangest feeling that he was going to have to get used to that trick, for the time being he pushed the thought aside and cracked his neck.
"Well then, if you want me to try and help you gather your own back into one place; lead me to where you know at least some of them are."
Atrum nodded and within moments they were on their way, in the direction Atrum picked. Once again Ruien was warned that the journey there may be a long one, rolling his eyes at the news he would be wasting more energy than he needed to he merely nodded and walked, following his current guide in silence.
"So, just out of curiosity, how is it you know where others of your race are?"
"Anei share a kind of telepathy, it allows us to not only co-ordinate our attacks mentally, but keep track of each other for when we need help. It's an incredibly strong bond, we are born with it, we live with it, and we die with it. A single Anei falls the rest know about it, the only way to sever this telepathic link is through our own exile rituals. The exiles themselves will retain a telepathic link to each other, but their link to the rest of us will be lost, it is not uncommon for such a loss to drive the exiles mad, it normally drives most of them to suicide."
Ruien had to admit that he was impressed, they knew exactly what their mental link was by name, they had established a secure lifestyle and had managed to incorporate that ability into their everyday life. He nodded once and continued his silence, allowing Atrum to continue, interested now, he wanted to find out more and found himself beginning to wonder exactly what other beings called this place home.
"You say that the loss of contact normally drives exiles mad, if you don't mind my asking, why is that?"
"Imagine if you will a very close relationship, someone who is always around for you, always helps you and you always help them. They become a part of your very life and then one day, they die, either that be by foul play or by some other reason you now find yourself completely alone and isolated, the very thing you have grown up with, the very thing you have learned to love and rely on so much is suddenly torn away from you. It is a sense of almost complete loss, since they do literally lose everything."
The meaning of that suddenly hit Ruien and he cocked an eyebrow, surely that could not have been true, if they looked out for each other so much then surely, they would make sure that they were not sent through absolute agony, however, Ruien made sure that his expression was impassive and merely shrugged lightly.
"That seems a bit harsh."
Ruien said calmly, that got a reaction that Ruien remembered seeing in the eyes of the exiles he had fought, that spark of almost sadistic pleasure which soon faded, Atrum snorted once and continued walking.
"They pose a threat to the rest of us, that is their punishment, they deserve every second of that agony."
He replied in a calm and collected voice, Ruien looked at Atrum through the corner of his eye, he was still impassive, though, it would probably take Ruien some time to figure out just what each expression Atrum delivered actually meant, but for the time being he did seem impassive.
"It's not something you enjoy doing is it?"
"While those that do not get exiled will not feel a thing for those that do, it is still a sad event when one or more of our own must be permanently separated from the rest of us, even if it is for the good of the rest."
Ruien could only imagine, since he had never found himself getting that close to anyone, the closest relationship he had ever had was with his two brothers, and right now he had no idea where either of them were which meant that he was unable to tell what kind of state his current relationship with them was actually in, not that it mattered, chances were that at least one of them was dead.
"I'm not even going to begin to pretend that I know or I ever will know what that kind of loss feels like, but it sounds as though it is a loss for both parties."
"Ruien!"
"Y-you came back for me?"
"Moronic bitch! What kind of stunt was that to pull? If you wanted death I would have gladly killed you when I last saw you! He would have betrayed you, stabbed you in the back! I just did the both of you a favour."
"I... L- lo-"
"What.... No! I- YOU!"
"I suggest that you all clear out now. This is no place for the likes of weaklings such as you."
Ruien suddenly found himself stood still, his head swimming and his eyes stinging. He shook his head and stayed rooted to the spot, swaying slightly he suddenly felt light headed, surely that could not have been true, he recognised the voices of both of his brothers, his own voice but that other voice he did not know. He had wondered since he had first heard the voice whom it had belonged to, because it was definitely not a woman that he knew.
"Ruien? Are you all right?"
He moved his hand up to his forehead and stood in silence for a moment or two before answering.
"Yes, I'm fine. I don't know what happened there, I think I must have zoned out."
He replied, somehow managing to keep his voice steady, he shook his head once violently.
"My apologies, lead the way."
"Find attachment in nothing. Trust only those you know, believe in your own prowess and try your best to increase it. You are a god among men; make sure that simple fact is never forgotten."
The voice had been following him ever since his encounter with the gateway, it was not one he recognised, nor did he understand much of what it said, yet he could not help but feel as though there was a strange kind of familiarity to it. He shook his head again, no, that could not make sense, it was not a voice he recognised. Eager to push any other thoughts to one side for the time being Ruien tried to think of a new topic of discussion, however, there was nothing he was able to think of, most of his questions had been answered already.
"Here. Are you sure you want to try this?"
Ruien walked forward a step, relatively happy to have a new point of focus allowing him to give Atrum a single nod.
"Well, either we try now or we can sit around and do nothing just to see what happens."
He replied calmly, at that Atrum backed away a short distance, leaving Ruien to look up at the wall of Black Fire he was stood before. His first comment had been incorrect, he had never put this much power into the VII Flame when he had used it in battle, he could feel the power radiating from it, it was to a degree he would not have ventured, it almost felt as though it was completely beyond his control, the height and ferocity of the power alone made it feel almost completely alien to him, it was only when he raised his hands and felt his connection to it suddenly establish that he knew for definite that it was the same power he was able to use.
"This is intense."
He had the connection, now all he needed to do was clear it away, move it back to where it belonged, or simply force the power to dissipate. All of which would have normally been an easy job, but the second he tried to assert his control over the Black Fire the power lashed out at him. He felt an intense pain course through his entire body which rapidly became almost completely numb, only through sheer force of will did he manage to keep his arms in the air. His body was so numb that he could no longer feel the effects of the power trying to fight him off, but he continued his efforts, he was not going to surrender to that which he was able to control with such ease. His hearing was lost to a high-pitched ringing noise and the sudden smell of burning metal mercilessly filled his nostrils, his vision began to swim in and out of focus, his eyes rolled into his head and everything went black.
"You make it sound so easy Bro, but how? Jus' answer me that. We both know that this war ain't likely to end happily for either of us."
Celt was anxious it was clear to Ruien just by the fact that he was unable to sit still, he kept squirming in his seat, his expression one of uncertainty. Ruien shook his head and tapped the sheath of the DeathWish against the ground.
"They are nearly always watching. This is one of the very few times we are going to be able to sit down and discuss an entire plan like this."
Ruien said calmly, he did not like showing others when he was anxious, not even his own brothers, but right now he had a good reason to be anxious things had gotten so complicated over the last few hours that it had left their father on his deathbed and the three brothers contemplating their future.
"One of us is going to have to sacrifice the power of the VII Flame entirely. And then, we'll have to make it seem as though it was an enforced decision... We're going to have to hate each other."
Ruien said, his voice cracking only a single time as he said it, Ignotus shook his head, spinning the single revolver on his index finger he spoke up.
"I'll do it. I'm already looking into the 'forbidden' magick arts, so adjusting will be much easier for me than it will be for either of you."
Ruien nodded as did Celt; there was a long silence between the three of them before Ignotus spoke once more.
"So... Which of us is going to 'die'?"
"I will."
Ruien spoke up almost at once, getting a small, somewhat sorrowful nod from Ignotus and a wide-eyed expression of shock from Celt. Both reactions he had expected of course, but that did not make the burden of what he was planning to do any easier, he was going to be leaving both of his brothers for an amount of time that none of them were able to determine.
"But, there's no-"
Celt began.
"I know, but as I said we have to make sure everything falls into place. They lack the ability to examine our memories, so we're safe, our only difficulty here should be making our act look believable. Celt, this is how you're going to have to begin, so listen carefully because I will not have the time to explain this more than once."
And with that everything was put into place, they would have to pull all the stops to make sure that the plan worked, but, once the first stage or two was complete, the whole thing was going to become easier on the three of them. Or at least Ruien hoped that it would become easier on the three of them.
He suddenly came back to his senses, everything around him so clear now, so sharp, his fury reached a peak he had never felt it hit before as he finally began to push back against the raging Black Fire, feeling returned to his limbs and then to the rest of his body. There was a lull as the smell of burning metal and the ringing faded and then, with an almost primal scream at nothingness he waved both of his hands to the side, forcing the power to dissipate. A powerful rush of strangely fresh wind blew past Ruien as the VII Flame suddenly vanished, the immense amount of power gone in a matter of seconds. He stood still, his breathing heavy and laboured, his entire body was trembling and his vision still swimming violently in and out of focus, a small smile twisted its way across his lips as he finally fell to his knees, his body working its best to try and heal whatever internal injuries he had sustained.
"That was too much for you wasn't it Ruien?"
He had not noticed Atrum walk to his side; however he merely nodded and tried to talk between heavy breaths.
"Perhaps it was yes... But now at least we know I can get rid of the over-powered VII Flame that way... I have a feeling... It'll get easier the more I do it... But right now, I can hardly move."
"I'll return for you."
And with that he was off, Ruien understood why, this was probably the first time Atrum would have seen at least one major chunk of his race outside of the relatively small group he still had at the location Ruien had arrived at. He knelt, swaying, the world spinning around him, he saw blurred forms make their way through the path he had cleared before he finally lurched back and hit the floor hard, he felt the impact and that was what finally caused everything to fade and for his currently dim consciousness to withdraw.
"Sorry Celt. Looks as though you're the backstabbing scum this time around."
Ruien said calmly, at least trying to make a joke from it and lighten the situation just a little bit, he heard Ignotus chuckle but Celt still looked anxious and upset. Ruien knew that Celt was not happy with the role he was having to play but right now they had no other choice, their limited amount of time to get this plan underway was rapidly coming to an end.
"Celt. I know you hate it, I hate the part I have to do and Ruien hates the part he has to do. But you know this has to be done, this is all part of the greater plan, worst case is we won't see Ruien again for a few years."
"But we'll-"
"Only until it all comes to an end, after that we can leave Gaia and never return, I'm thinking of going back home myself. But Celt we NEED you to do this for us, our very lives could all be at risk if we don't do this..."
"I'll do it, but know that I'm not happy about it."
Ruien let out a small almost involuntary laugh
"If you are thinking anything along the same lines as I am you absolutely despise it don't you?"
There was a small nod from Celt and then a small nod from Ignotus, the three of them shared one last brotherly embrace and then parted for what would be the final time.
"Celt, when you next see Ignotus, you have to 'manipulate' him into sacrificing the VII Flame, we'll play ignorance until our required time, since Ignotus will be leaving after losing the VII Flame, so they will no longer deem him worth watching. As for my part, leave my 'death' until the very last possible moment. We need to go, now."
They gave each other one final nod and then all left the room through different windows, Celt dropping down onto the roof of another building and then down to the ground and out of sight. Ignotus jumped straight down to the streets below and rapidly made his way out of the city. While Ruien flipped himself upwards and travelled the short distance to the roof where he could overlook the entire city, this was his usual spot, his roof, it was for this reason alone that it was still one of the only completely unaffected buildings left standing.
He opened his eyes slowly, his concept of time lost, he had no idea how long he had been out nor did he have any idea of how long ago he had removed that wall of Black Fire that had been far too much for him to handle, he was lying on his back in the entrance hall of the cathedral he and Atrum had walked through not too long ago, well, not too long ago from Ruiens' current skewered perception of time anyway.
"You're up sooner than expected."
Ruien looked over in the direction Atrums' voice had come from; he was just entering the cathedral, Ruien stayed exactly where he was, not trusting himself to even sit up since he was still trembling slightly.
"How long was I out for?"
He asked.
"Only a few hours, injuries suffered from the VII Flame to its Lord are usually minor but incredibly draining. If you're going to get up I'd do so slowly."
Ruien did not try to get up even after Atrum gave him that advice; in fact he was quite content to simply stay where he was and rest a little while longer. From that an awkward silence followed when Ruien did not move, drawing in a deep breath Ruien laced his fingers together and stretched his arms out in front of him, his fingers all cracked at once, the sound echoing in the empty hall.
"So, what's next Atrum?"
He asked calmly, finally pushing himself into a sitting position, smirking to himself when he saw Atrums eyes widen with shock merely because Ruien had ignored his advice and sat up relatively quickly, although he did kind of wish he had not done that since the only thing it managed to accomplish was making his head spin once more.
"I would advise against trying to clear up any more here for the time being. That would be advice you might want to listen to, since ignoring the small piece of previous advice I gave you just made you feel worse didn't it?"
Ruien smiled slightly to himself and raised one of his hands to his forehead.
"Yeah it did."
He replied calmly, choosing to ignore the small look of humour that quickly made its way across Atrums' features, Ruien shook his head gently and laughed quietly to himself.
"So it's been a while since you've seen them right? Were they OK?"
"The time of separation has been hard for the lot of us, but they are all otherwise fine. It seems as though there is one more part of these fragmented lands that still hold a number of our own, but for the time being living has just become easier, so we owe you at least some thanks for that. When you next return-"
Ruien held up a hand to stop Atrum from going any further, for the time being yes, removing another wall of the VII Flame like the last one was beyond his limits but Atrum did not need to state the obvious.
"You know, you don't have to insult my intelligence like that. I'm very well aware that trying that again is far beyond my limits at this precise moment in time. But I tell you now that I will do it again to bring you all back together when I next come back here, I'm planning on getting more than a single fragment of these lands open again when I do come back."
Ruien said calmly, too tired to say much more on the matter, Atrum took a step back and averted his eyes for a brief moment his expression impassive, or in this case impossible to read.
"My apologies, sometimes it is easy to forget that I am not dealing with an arrogant child or a persistent old man, both of which tend to go out of their depth too quickly and get themselves killed."
Ruien cocked an eyebrow, wondering why exactly that sounded as though he was making some kind of confession. Ruien blinked, taking longer than usual to think in his current state it had not clicked straight away, but now that he thought about it.
"Persistent old man?"
The words echoed throughout his mind for a long while as yet another awkward silence put distance between both Ruien and Atrum.
"My father, Riuu Amuruaien was dealt a blow here that put him into a coma wasn't he?"
Atrum stayed silent and nodded slowly, Ruien stood up suddenly, his previous condition almost forgotten, he looked into Atrums' eyes, standing in silence for a long while. For years, they had thought the cause of death had been down to another set of events entirely and now, he was going to find out the truth, even if he had to threaten Atrum to get it.
"I've believed that was down to the Zanarkand war for years now, I want to know how it happened exactly."
Atrum stood in silence and then nodded swiftly.
"Yes, you've been kept in the dark about those circumstances for years haven't you? Unintentionally of course, but it is an unforgivable lapse of judgement on my part not to have told you the second I saw you. It happened a short while before the end of that war, Riuu was here, it was about the time that the VII Flame started somehow managing to overpower itself, originally your father was here to try and put it right. It proved to be too great a task for him to manage but, he was ambushed as he tried to flee, normally those of us that call this realm home would not dare attack a VII Flame Lord. But the creature that attacked him was a new breed, intelligent, but did not know how things worked.
That's where it went wrong.
Despite his age your father insisted that he try to resolve the situation as soon as it started, the creature got the better of him, dealing the blow that eventually ended his life. We managed to get his body and return it to Zanarkand during a lull in the war, yet your father insisted that you and your brothers were to know nothing of his place or of us. So we did the only thing we could do, and lay his body down by the entrance of the city, making it look like the war was the cause of his comatose state. Of course there were a few that suspected there was another cause, but they were unable to prove it, so it was ultimately blamed on the war."
Ruien had little to say after that, his question had been answered down to a fine point; he just had one final question to ask. The final question he wanted an answer for, the final question he would force the answer out of Atrum if he did not give it to him.
"What creature was responsible for the act?"
"I can understand such a question but rev-"
"Revenge? You knew of me and my brothers, but did not know of the relationship we had with our father? We hated him, there was a reason we tried to spend as much time as possible away from him at the time. We had to tolerate him on a professional level when the war started and throughout, and admittedly we were upset at first. But I want to congratulate the thing that finally ended him... Well, and know exactly who to look out for should the need to do so arise, if he put my father down the chances are that I'll have some difficulty against him should he decide to attack me... Well, that is of course provided that he hasn't learned how things around here work yet."
Ruien replied calmly, smirking slightly as he took note of the obvious shock in Atrums' eyes. A further silence and then he nodded slowly,
"Very well, since you put it that way. In terms of appearance it looks similar to what your kind would call 'Dragons', only this one has no wings, and he has black scales. You'll know exactly who he is when you see him, since he is the only one of his kind. Besides, those were the only real details I was able to get from him as we ran, so if he has yet to learn how things work here, by the time you meet him. Because, it will happen at some point. Then either run or 'educate' him."
Ruien allowed a small smirk to twist its way across his face once more and began to make his way to the entrance of the cathedral, stopping and drawing in a deep breath suddenly.
"In that case, when I do meet him. I plan on giving that lesson; if he was able to take down my father, then maybe he will become a valuable ally at some point in the future."
Ruien said calmly, as he had expected that drew a look of both shock and from what Ruien could tell, admiration from Atrum, yes, if he was able to get them a powerful ally like that then in the long run it would be beneficial, no matter what the potential damage inflicted to Ruien could be.
"Ruien, I told you earlier that you were ignorant to many of the things that the VII Flame was able to do. And if I let you leave here without telling you at least one of the potential powers you can get yourself then even with part of the fragmented land restored your coming here would have been a waste of time."
Ruien stood in silence for a short while, his mind racing, he could have sworn that Atrum said earlier he had no idea where to start, he opened his mouth to speak but was instantly cut off by Atrum.
"I said I had no idea where to start in answer to restoring the fragmented land. Teaching you at least some of things that the VII Flame can do is something I know I can tell you, all you need to do is listen to what I have to say."
Ruien allowed another small silence to pass as he considered the offer, well, at this point he had nothing to lose, and if this would gain him better understanding of the power he once again barely knew then it was probably best for him to accept.
"Very well then."
He said calmly, Atrum gave a small nod and walked toward Ruien, stopping when there was only a small distance between the two of them, there he stood in silence for a few seconds.
"The power of the VII Flame is more than just a power to inflict pain. It can be used to call those residing here; creatures like us to your aid, the Anei will promise their loyalty to you of their own free will, other creatures you might have to get back under your command."
He said calmly, Ruien found himself engulfed by a bright flash of orange light that seemed to come from Atrums' eyes. There was a moment of silence and then multiple images of his ancestors using such an ability flashed before his eyes, battles won by the ability to summon the Anei into battle at any point. The major tactical advantage offered to the users of such an ability, his desire for the knowledge of how to use such an ability and then, he was surrounded by a bright white light.
"That was... intense, you can just give me the knowledge of how to do such things?"
Ruien asked, for the umpteenth time today he had been shocked, this time not by the revelation of something he did not know he was able to do, but by how quickly he had learned to use an ability he had only been told about seconds ago.
"Yes, but only when you are able to understand it properly, otherwise I'll have to teach it to you the difficult way, which only really ends up wasting time since once you understand how the power works it takes only a matter of seconds for you to learn how to use it."
Ruien blinked and then nodded slowly, in truth he had no idea that such a thing was possible he had half expected to be sat around for hours first learning how such a thing was possible and then trying to use it himself until he had perfected it. But there was no need for it apparently, he knew how it worked, he knew how to summon them to his side and more importantly it set the stage for bringing other creatures to his aid once they had once again pledged their loyalty to him and the power of the VII Flame, in thirty seconds he had just gained what could potentially be an infinite number of new abilities with his power, but for the time being, he would make do with the one, he needed to know what his limits were first after all.
"Well then, I'm done here for the time being aren't I? Atrum, I will return in due time."
He said calmly, Atrum gave a small nod and turned to walk away from Ruien and deeper into the cathedral.
"Yes, I look forward to it. In the mean time I'll be getting us back to our true work, now that we have more land to occupy, once that last part of our group is freed and our part of the fragmented land returned to normal, the Anei will be back in full force. Once that is true then we can think about getting the lands returned to the way they once were, we can only do this one step at a time."
Atrum stated in what Ruien knew to be a monotone, with a small nod the two went their separate ways, they both had things to be doing and could not really wait around too much longer, once he was back outside the cathedral he used his newfound knowledge to envelope himself with the VII Flame. The trip was brief but once the VII Flame had cleared Ruien was back on the last small road leading down to the Zanarkand Ruins.
"As time consuming as that was I don't think I possibly could be any happier than I am right now, it started off as a bad day, but things are looking up. Well for the time being anyway."
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