Bursting through

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Rhysis

Rhysis

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The game had been going on for hours now. It was the final day of the Knighthood Trials. It was an event held once every decade by the king of DarkRaven. Anyone was invited. Nobles and peasants alike were allowed to take part in the events. This year, they'd even opened it up to anyone from any kingdom within Ayenee to take part. Participants would be put through trials of intelligence, strength, endurance, problem solving and critical thinking, chivalry, and teamwork. Every time they held the event, the top five performers were celebrated with high honors at the closing ceremony, which was a two day festival. Those being honored didn't necessarially become knights of the DarkRaven kingdom, but they were always given a great deal of respect by everyone living in the kingdom. This last game was the one meant for the finalists. Nobody was ever told what they would encounter, or even a general idea of what to expect.

Most competed for one of three reasons. They had something to prove, they were fulfilling a childhood dream, or they were hoping to gain something. Inferno didn't fit into any of those categories. He was the youngest of the Burster family. All three of his sisters, Flame, Blaze, and Scorch, had been killed one way or another. True, there were other bursters, but they were burster by trade, not birth. Inferno and his family were the royal line of all bursters, and he was the last one. Inferno was competing because he was running.

Currently, Inferno sat in a tree right next to the entrance to a tavern. So far he'd helped a blacksmith carry a load of wagon wheels, knocked out a small group of bandits, and figured out a painfully complex set of riddles. Now, he was doing little more than waiting. Something told him he didn't want to be in that tavern, but he needed to be nearby. Now, he'd been waiting for over an hour. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He kept an eye out on what was happening, or rather what wasn't happening...and he waited.
 
Not to far off from the games a old and cruel nomad set forth to sell his wares. Trolling along behind this wagon of goods a young woman was shackled and towed along by a heavy chain. Her feet bleed from the rugged path she was forced to walk along. ALl one had to do is look at her and they could see she was not use to this kind of abuse. Barely able to walk any further she begged the old man to please take pity upon her and to stop just long enough to allow her to regain some of her strength but the cruel and sadistic man just kept pulling her along.

"Stop you whining woman if you know whats good for you!" His tone was harsh and uncaring and almost seemed to enjoy the fact that she could hardly go on any further.
The woman tried the best she could to continue to walk but the pain was now unbearable and she collapsed thus being dragged now behind the wagon.
 
The waiting was tiresome, at best. None of his family had ever been all that great with patience. They were a family of action. When problems needed to be solved, they got solved in as quickly and efficiently of a manner as those dealing with it were able. If they couldn't come up with a solution themselves, they sought out someone who could. Eventually, though, the waiting did pay off. Inferno could feel the buildup of energy inside the tavern. Within a matter of seconds of the buildup starting, a man, covered in frost, was thrown through the tavern door. He recovered quickly and tossed a ball of air back inside. Inferno rolled his eyes. "Well I was right. I don't want to be in there. Minor elemental weavers battling...waste of time."

Inferno jumped down from the tree, drawing the attention of both the air-weaver and the frost-weaver. They both tossed blasts of their chosen element at him. It was easy enough to counteract. Simply by being born into his family, his command of fire was far beyond their skill levels. Add to it the fact that he was well practiced in his innate command of flames and heat, and the sorry attempt by the two elemental weavers was about as effective as a dart against a stone. The two combatants looked shocked, and seeing as Inferno chose to walk away, they both went back into the tavern.

The burster's attention was caught by the sound of a man's voice. "Stop you whining woman if you know whats good for you!" It was close. He could understand the words quite clearly. Tired of waiting, he called up a wave of fire and, leaving a scorched spot on the ground as he rose, he rode it above the trees the short distance it took to make it to the nomad and his wagon. He was forced to bend his knees as he landed hard, then slowly stood to look at the salesman.

Inferno was an imposing figure for a human...or rather humanoid. Literally flame red hair and eyes to match would be seen on his 6'3" frame. He wasn't the most muscular person in Ayenee, but he was far from skinny. He looked over at the woman, then at the peddler. The burster had no patience for men like this, and less so in his current state. "You have ten seconds to release her if you wish to keep the rest of your possessions in tact."
 
Although he may have been unnoticed, Maziar had been trailing the nomad for longer than one might imagine. He had kept back a great distance from the man and his caravan, slave in tow; in fact, he had been following this nomad since the moment he had acquired his female property. Maziar, by nature, is a curious beast. Never had he seen such behavior in any species, though it turns out is pretty commonplace. BUT, this was Maziar's first expedition on a mainland, after all. Once fixated he had a mind to study his fascinations to the end..

He had never made himself known, and had not planned to. As they crested the slight hill towards the tavern, the primate-like being sighed, stopping at a nearby tree to the road. He reached down and searched his satchel for a moment, withdrawing -- oh yes -- a banana. He began peeling back the skin in his paws as he heard the female cry out in protest to her torturous tagging-along. The monkey's nearest ear would erk up, but he was much too fixated on his handfruit to pay it much mind; it's not like she hadn't been protesting since she was shackled, anyhow.

"Stop you whining woman, if you know what's good for you!"

The primate's fanged maw opened up wide and consumed a third of the hand-fruit. A content smirk covered his lips as he relished in the mushy, sweet flavoring. A few innate grunts and vocalizations followed as he swallowed. Just as he was to take another monstrous bite, somethign in his peripheral vision caught his eye; a flash. Like a flame, or a flash from a boomstick.

"You have ten seconds to release her if you wish to keep the rest of your possessions in-tact."

The monkey froze for a moment, and turned his gaze up the road. Hunching down some, he sniffed the air. New smell. New man. The monkey uttered to himself for a moment, and a slight hum would come from under his left foot. He's draw forward his right, tightening his calf and thigh muscles, and release a mighty kick. SWOOSH. The monkey would blast forward in an almost unreal movement, where his left leg led him forward, kicking up a trail of dust behind him that stood ten feet tall, coming up the road. He himself wore a full dirt-colored robe to hide his hairy and menacing form so as not to scare the inhabitants, so from the distance between himself and the caravan, one would only see a wall of dust, and a distorted figure approaching. He grinned to himself as he saw the silhouettes getting closer and closer, standing firm on his left leg, right poised up. His foot rested on the inside of his left knee, his right elbow rested on his knee and body crouched over, in a bizarre stance.. he would hold this stance until his slide came to rest, about twenty-five feet from the back of the caravan, nearest the captive.

"...Ook." He'd grunt sarcastically, and release a mad cackle of a laugh. He lowered his pawed right foot - seemingly the only part of him not covered by the hooded robe - to the ground, crossed his arms, and watched on. Standing roughly an inch shorter than the Burster, with wide shoulders and strong facial features, his blue-painted beard hung from the shadow to add to the oddity that was his presence.

Curiosity kill cat. Curiosity is Monkey's game.
 
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Now being dragged along the rugged ground she swore death upon the Satyr that sold her to this ugly troll out of pure spite. Her body now cut and bruised but yet she was to proud to cry out in pain.

"I swear to the Gods I will get my revenge"
 
Inferno turned his head as the ape-like creature approached, and with an impressive amount of speed. Still, he didn't lose count of the seconds. He nodded to Maziar and finished the count in his head. "Nice to meet you, Monkey. Pardon me for a moment."

He turned his attention back to the merchant and said the last number out loud. "Ten. Time's up." At that moment, he made good on his threat. He thrust his hand forward and a small burst of intense flame shot forward to the chain that held her to the cart, melting it almost instantly. Inferno ignored the protests of the man, and once the girl had the chance to get a little distance between herself and the cart, he the waved his hand, and the entire cart was instantly engulfed in flame.

At that point, he glared right at the nomad and held his hand out, palm facing the man. "Even slaves are to be treated with love and honor. Let's see if you live long enough to apply that lesson." He looked over at the woman. "Your call, beautiful. Does he live or die?"
 
Maziar had seen flame before. Who hadn't? But to come from the palm of a man's hand.. it was something otherworldly. Attention to detail would dictate that this man was flame incarnate, he would study the Burster as he freed the slavewoman. Noticing that soon, the nomad's cart would be scorched, he'd sprint two steps and slide again, past the slave girl and caddy-corner past the cart, swiping at it just in time; as he slid away from the back right corner of the cart, the Burster had engulfed it. Slipping the item he grasped at into his satchel, the monkey quickly scaled a tree on the opposite side of the road the Nomad, Burster, and slave were on; sitting comfortably atop the highest branch, an unrealistically small branch at that.

Maziar stood on the slim top branch and swayed in the wind, peering over the top of the blaze at the fire-wielding man. It seemed he was about to execute the nomad, leaving the decision to the woman. This, the monkey could NOT allow; death is always avoidable, and the respect Maziar taught himself for living things charged his drive to Champion for the nomad. Taking in a deep breath through his nose, he closed his eyes. In a moment of pure ferocity, the primate's eyes shot open, mouth gaping at the same time. Intensity filled the ape's face, wrinkles and sharp edges prominent over the blaze. The primate's scream would be almost deafening, but the breath was what to watch out for.

Amplifying the vibrations through his chi-flow, his scream became a force producing pressure. This pressure was aimed down at the whole scene beneath him, giving the waves time to grow in the space between his mouth and the lot beneath him. Being that these waves rode with sound, the speed they approached would be in excess of 230mph. They were light and not absolute, and would therefore flow over the burning caravan, without crushing it underneath the force's weight. The pressure applied to the humanoids would not be physically harmful, but the force would be enough to push a grown man to his shoulderblades were he standing square and ready for such an oddity; let alone, force an extended arm downwards. The wave would last for his whole lung capacity, pushing the ashes of the burnt caravan forwards and over the Burster, in a side-attempt of blinding the man through ashes entering his eyes, soot covering his form. Nothing he wouldn't be used to as a flamewielder, thoguh the Ape would not know any the better.

As he released his forceful chi-flow, he'd straighten up, still standing on the twig of a limb. His right paw would reach down to his left hip and grip tightly his garments, ripping them away out to his right side. Revealed was his traditional garb, armored shorts with decorative braided leathers. Body paint covered his chest and face forward of his cheek bones; The high cyan accented in a beautiful contrast to his dark maple fur. His chest and abs were the only parts no covered in a dense fur, chest being met with his left fist, and then his right.

Another screech would be let out, this one not enforced with his chi, thoguh he was sure ready to release it at this moment. For such a patient, loving, and peaceful creature, the sight of sure death was one of his pet peeves which sent him off the uncivilized deep end.

"YOU NOT BURN MAN. HIM CART ENOUGH."
 
The sound was, to say the least, unexpected. He'd dealt with more than his fair share of creatures. It was, after all, Ayenee. Normal didn't exist. Still, to say he was anticipating a primate with skills of that nature would have been a tremendous lie.

The blast of force extinguised a few of the flames prematurely, but the heat with which they'd been burning meant there was very little ash to be spread around. Still, what little bits of carbon there were didn't affect him enough to be noticed.

Inferno glared up at Maziar. He wasn't one to be ordered around, least of all by someone who, in his mind, didn't even have a place in the events. His voice was flat and even, but determined. "Either you didn't see what was going on beforehand, or you didn't care enough to take any action. Don't presume to tell me how to execute my own judgment."

Inferno looked back over to the woman, though his hand didn't move. "Still your call."
 
Startled by both man and creature she was thankful to be set free and to see that miserable wagon set ablaze. Turning to the creature and then back to the man she had no problem making a decision.

"I would appreciate that foul ogre be taught a permanent lesson.....Set him a fire."

Pleased with her decision she thanked them both for saving her and proceeded to walk away from the entire scene. All she cared about was to get back into the woods which she called home.
 
Inferno turned his head back up to stare directly at Maizer. He chuckled in his own mind. "He thinks I need to move my hands to manipulate flames. Better keep a few cards hidden. He's quick."

The burster smiled knowingly, and blew a breath of air toward the merchant. Insantly, the man was engulfed in flames. Inferno watched Maizer for a moment longer, then jogged over to catch up with the newly freed slave, though the jog was hardly necessary.

He watched briefly as she limped and hobbled along on woefully painful feed. He looked down at the trail of blood she left behind, and sighed. He spoke over the gut wrenching screams that wouldn't last more than a few seconds longer. "How far do you plan on getting with feet that are in that condition? And then, how long do you expect them to last before infection sets in?" He stopped at a betel tree and pulled off a few of the leaves and handed them to her. "There's plenty of long leaf plants around. You can tie this to the bottom of your foot with them. It should help heal the cuts and kill a little pain until you can get it properly treated."

Seeing that she was more of a loner, he chose not to bother her any more, and turned to get back to the tournament area. The boundaries of the competition were clearly marked. He knew what he'd been doing wasn't part of that tournament, and he still wanted to finish it. Maybe he could find those two elemental weavers and let them do what they'd intended on doing the first time around.
 
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The ape was watching on with the same intensity he had shown in defense of the nomad; it was much to his surprise to see the man engulfed in flame without a body movement made. The Burster had caught the primate off guard, and he could only catch the last seconds of the man ablaze. Maziar seemed to relax and let out a sigh, shaking his head. Whilst the Burster ran off to tend to the woman, the ape floated down and softly landed on the ground, next to the ashpile that was left of the man.

"Peace finds you in your next life. Anli-dharma nomad."

Maziar's eyes shut and his hands met at the center of his chest. He'd bow once, and once more. He would stand there silently until the pyromancer began to pass back by him, where the statue-like ape's eyes would open slowly.

"I will champion this fallen stranger. You had no right."

These words would reach the pyromancer's ears. Whether he would react to them or not, the ape would stand firm with his hands met and the ashes sifting at his feet. Once the pyromancer would pass and continue on his way towards the tournament, the ape would follow him at a distance of twenty feet. His eyes shut, hands still together, his steps would land in each of Burster's footprints. Why the curious mammal would do such a thing is beyond most's comprehension; but Maziar was not from this land. He wasn't a part of any known communities. One thing was certain; his respect for life would shine through in any situation.
 
Inferno chuckled at the ape-man's statements. "You can champion that wretched monster who would view a life form as disposable all you like, Monkey." The burster still called Maizer by the name he thought he'd called himself. "But my right is not for you to decide."

Inferno walked back into the tournament area, knowing full well Maizer was following him. After a short distance, he halted suddenly and whipped around. "Okay then, 'champion of the fallen.' Let me ask you something." The mocking tone was obvious. "If he was treating her so poorly now, what do you think he would have done to that girl if he'd kept her? She would have ultimately died at his hand. And what if I simply let him go? You believe he would have turned away from his despicable ways and given up such practices? No! He would have found another slave trader to sell him someone who should never have been considered property in the first place!"

The fiery rage of the Burster family was legendary...or at least it had been at one point in time. It matched their lifestyle of living amongst the flames perfectly. Inferno was no different, and it was beginning to come out. "You can feel free to act like you care about life all you want; but if you dare to question MY respect for it because the way I go about preserving it differs from yours, you will find yourself painfully mistaken!"
 
Aleita paid no attention to the fire wielding man, all she wanted was to get back into the forest and plant herself into the ground and recover from her injuries. Shuffling off the dirt path one would use to travel over she stepped into the cool refreshing grass and quickly headed into the trees. The soft moist earth felt refreshing under her feet and once deep enough in the woods she found herself a nice little clearing where she allowed herself to transform into a lush weeping willow. Her feet turned into long burrowing roots which pushed their way into the earth and her body and limbs become a strong and sturdy part of mother nature. Her body was almost unrecognizable and unless you knew what she was it would be nearly impossible to see her.

Hopefully the man nor the ape creature would give a rats ass about looking for her and she would be able to soak in the suns rays and regain her strength.
 
Maziar would listen to the howling flames which spat from the inferno-dweller's maw. His ears would twitch at times, but other than this, the monkey's eyes remained closed, waiting patiently for the man to finish before replying.

"You never gave him the courtesy of inquiring.. Nor the respect to offer a chance to repent. You have tarnished your own Karma, through a seemingly righteous act."

The ape stopped twenty five feet short of the Burster, still in his original stance with hands met. He would nod his head to the flamewielder, his senses tingling. He felt his surroundings better than if his eyes were open; the auras of those around him. The pyro represented himself as a pillar of fire, and this showed through in the life force he exerted.

"Who are you to take life? You do not respect it or pity it; you are a burglar who intrudes and takes what he likes. I will show you the true righteous way."

With this, the monkey's left foot slid forward, his body slipped to point this same hip towards the man. His hands parted, left showing it's palm to the pyro; his right forming a fist and hovering inches from his collar bone. Tail swished and curled, his eyes remaining closed. Slow, calm breaths could be felt in surrounding beings' receptors. The breaths were almost like a breeze on the skin of the surrounding living. The intensity he once showed before was gone, it was as if he was completely peaceful as he squatted slightly, adjusting his toes into the geound and solidifying his stance. His concentration of the area had been in tune since they had entered the arena, drawing in the smells, sounds, movements; and now, it would seem he was an extension of the atmosphere.
 
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"Karma?" Inferno laughed. "I'm all for the thought of 'What goes around comes around.' or 'You reap what you sew.' but Karma? You've encountered a few too many cross-world travelers to be talking like that."

Inferno shook his head and chuckled some more."Your challenge is...cute. But I have better thing to do than waste my time toying with you." To say Inferno was cocky was an understatement. He'd never encountered a challenge he hadn't managed to overcome somehow. Plus, he had genuinely been treated like royalty since birth. The Bursters weren't like those who became bursters by trade. They lived, on average, 150 years. By some tremendous cosmic joke, their genetics only allowed for one male to be born in their family every century. The males became the family rulers, regardless of birth order. Everyone around them treated any male born into the family as if they were king, because ultimately, they would be. Inferno was no exception to this rule of the bloodline. Only his sisters treated him as an equal, because they were all older, and had taught him most of what he learned growing up. Each of them was equally as self-assured and hot-tempered as their brother...and now he was the only one left.

Inferno looked on at Maizer in complete disinterest. "I'll tell ya what. Since you're itching to show someone the 'righteous way' so badly, feel free to give it a shot. Hope you enjoy heat."

Inferno turned and began to walk away. His body, however, began to radiate heat to the point where the water in the air around him evaporated. He continued on only a few short steps before stopping at a fallen tree. Seemingly to make a point, he touched his foot to the felled forest giant. It lit up in flames immediately, and was soon completely engulfed in the fire. Inferno crossed over the burning log by walking directly through the flames. Oddly, the outlined shape of his body would remain visible in the flames after Inferno passed through. When Maizer would move, the outline would, as well. It would be quite obvious that there was life in that shape amongst the flames, and even more obvious that it was following the ape-man's movements.
 
The primate would stand firm, studying the movements of the flames, and the one who had conjured them. As the outline Mimicked his every move, it seemed the flame was controlled by him now. A devious smirk slid across the monk's face. The Monkey would stand straight up, place his heels together as well as his hands; as he did this, the flame would, as well. He would look its movements over; indeed it mimicked him to a tee.

With this, he would spin on heel and slide forward as he had done before; the opposite way they had came. If he had control, this would cause the outline to do the same. His awareness piqued, he would stop his slide when the outline was level with its originator. Knowing that flames would not hurt one born of them. The monkey would howl as the outline had returned, even if momentarily, to it's owner.

"THIS. Is the righteous way; I will not pursuit you further if you yield!"

The monk would cackle, his heart content with the chance for harmless mischief. His ears were on end, and his awareness was more alert than ever-- he expected the highborn might be angered, or that the outline might chase him instead of mirroring him as it was intended to do; he would be ready for this, as he always was.
 
Inferno laughed, yet again. , as the living flames surrounded his body. This time, the laughter was out of genuine amusement. The combination of devout beliefs and simple mindedness that the monk seemed to possess were entertaining. It was more than apparent that the ape-man believed the flames were somehow programmed to mimic his moves, and nothing else. "Yield? To what am I to yield? You have been playing a game with a flame elemental. Shall I yield to something the bows to my whim? Or perhaps to the one who believes it to be a toy? I think not." Inferno took a step to the side and moved his mouth. A sound of crackling and swishing flames came out. The creature nodded and moved between Inferno and Maizer, taking a neutral stance and holding position until more movement was necessary. "Enjoy your toy."

Inferno continued on to the tavern he'd been at before, hoping, just maybe, something else worthwhile would be happening.
 
The monkey smirked as he turned around to face the pyromancer's lesser. He observed the two from his distance, double the paces they had been originally. While Burster may have left the scene, the monkey approached a couple steps towards the flame elemental. He yawned, looking it up and down with a greeting smile replacing a gaping maw of fangs.

"Do you talk, fire-born?"

The primate placed his hands together once more, and bowed in respect to the flaming figure.

"If so... do you breathe, fire-born?"
 
The elemental stood and observed Maizer silently for a few moments. It could understand the common tongue, but it was incapale of recreating the sounds. It made a sound very similar to what had come out of Inferno's mouth earlier.

Inferno made it to the tavern and began waiting, again. This time, however, his eyes were closed. The ape-man was annoying, but intriguing, as well. Still, there was another player in this part of the game of life who also intrigued the burster. He used the fire inside the tavern and called another minor flame elemental. It inquired of Inferno for the purpose of summoning two different minor elementals rather than one major elemental. Inferno explained himself in common. "There was a young woman nearby who was injured. Please speak with the earth elementals and find her. She can not have gone far." The elemental bowed and went to do as it had been asked.
 
The elemental soon returned with a report on the young woman's whereabouts, and the fact that she'd transformed into a tree in order to heal. "Interesting." Inferno spoke to himself.

The elemental was dismissed, and Inferno began to move back toward the direction the woman had gone, though he stopped at the scene of the ape-man and the other elemental. He was surprised to find that neither of them had actually started any sort of combat. They both simply stood there, staring at one another. Inferno was surprised by Maizer's patience, for the elemental was only partially alive, and had endless patience. Inferno approached, though he remained somewhat farther away from Maizer than the elemental was. "I'll make you a deal, Monkey. You chill out about the death of someone who causes death, and I'll give the next violent psychopath I come across the chance to repent before I decide to toast him."

Inferno only let the silence rest for a moment before he went on. "I'm gonna go look for the woman who was being pulled along by that black market merchant. She was hurt. You wanna come, that's fine with me. Or you can sit here and have a staring contest with a half living flame creature. Doesn't matter one bit either way to me."
 
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