The origins of The Hell Flame

Badurad woke up covered in cloth and next to Koto. Hiro and Remy were huddled over a fire and holding a pot. John was standing at the edge of the makeshift camp staring off into the white blanketed ground. Badurad sat up feeling a rush of fatigue. Hiro rushed to his side pushing him back down. "You need to rest, you defeated a Demi giant for god's sake." Badurad fell back down and gave in to sleep but as usual he ended up in Zel's domain standing in the sky staring at his mysterious voice in his head. "Wow great job you finally figured out just how powerful you are and figured out how to use my flames for things other than fireballs." Zel talked to Badurad as if he was boasting, smiling like a proud father. Badurad looked at Zel with steadfast determination. "Zel Who are you? How can your flames sever a Demi Giants arm? How are you here? Why are you in my head? How do I have your power? Why are you so familiar to me? Who are you? What are you?" Zel sighed and looked slightly disappointed and sad even. "Well I suppose I probably should have told you sooner and I guess there's no running from it, not anymore. You see it all started about one thousand years ago now."

See back in those days we had no countries, no churches, no knights. All we had were our villages. In those days we all had to be much stronger than you do now. Dragons were normal and would attack villages every day. However the one ruling force throughout the entire world was the demon king, Sutael. His armies would swarm villages stealing food and children to be a part of their armies. I still remember the day they came to our village. Once upon a time I lived in a peaceful village. My father was one of the guards and was the most powerful warrior around. I was so proud of him and his accomplishments. I was a normal child. I had friends although sadly it's been so long i've forgotten their names i still remember the day. It was a normal day. It was spring and slightly chilly. I remember getting up when my mother had prepared a meal for me and my brother as always and traveled off to the orchard to collect apples. Me and my brother walked up to the central yard of the grounds to meet our friends. My brother was very much like me back then. I had black hair and red eyes but he had white hair. We were inseparable and did everything together. We were joined by our friends. There was a larger kid who was excitable; he always came up with the craziest of plans. There was a quieter girl who kept to herself in the big group but when we were alone she would smile. Her smile was the kindest I had ever seen and it always filled my heart with joy. Lastly there was the chief's daughter. She claimed to be the most beautiful girl in the world and loved to show it but the pressures of her duties crushed her. She often cried alone and was always sad. Apart from when she was with my brother, that was the only time we saw her really smile. It was the last day until we had to start training to become defenders. The larger boy wanted to have a grand adventure before they would have no time for each other. My brother was an avid reader and loved all the myths and legends my father had told him growing up. He suggested the well of the dragon's heart. It was a well that was fueled by the still beating heart of a royal dragon, a dragon of the highest order and said to be the most powerful. It is said that any who drink from the fountain will gain eternal life. That morning we set off. The quiet girl made us all lunch for the road and we set off for the mountains to the east. We walked through meadows and valleys walking for hours, talking about meaningless things about our futures about how we would be when we were older. I'd give anything to go back to those days, to the days when I could play with my brother when I could walk with the one I loved. Those days were so simple and so fun. We walked until we reached the foot of the mountain. It was a huge mountain range although now I'm fairly sure it's flat. We all climbed up the mountain supporting each other and catching each other when we fell. It's been so long it's been too long i've even forgotten their names. How could I? I'm sorry for what it's worth, but that's very little.we all climbed up to a cave. It was the kind of thing described inj tales of old where the hero pulled a sword from a stone and lived happily ever after, sadly this is no such tale. When we got to the cave it was filled with stalactites the only noises we heard was the dripping of water from the ceiling and gasps of wonderment. Their eyes fixed on the inside searching for their prize. I found a table with a few books and grimoires tucked neatly into a shelf and a dried out fountain. And as we ventured deeper into the cave we found the wall and in front of it was a wooden chair, a throne even with a skeleton slumped back into it there was a book it's hand that the chief's daughter picked up and read from. I don't remember the words, only that it recounted the life of a mage. One powerful and great that had disappeared in his twenties to pursue immortality and ironically he had waisted what little of his life he actually had he was said to have perfected fire magic and was recognised as one of the greats in his time and he even fashioned defences for the demon king that could defend against even the strongest of beasts except from royal dragons and mountain giants. We all traveled back to the village slightly disappointed but also happy that we had such an adventure on our final day but we had no idea how final it would be as we approached the village smoke drifted gently from the village gently from the houses as we ran up the hill that sheltered the village from sight we saw a horrendous sight. The village was burning.