The first thing I can remember is running. Running from death. Running from hunger.

And, as of that moment, running from a particularly savage pack of wolves. Well,
this snowy peak was never kind to me anyway. But it’s this very landscape that I’ve
had to learn to live off on my own. One day, while running once more, this time
from a frost troll, a group of mercenaries called the band of the phoenix saved my
life. Particularly, I was saved by the group’s leader, Neme. In return, I had to
become a soldier under Neme’s command. I owed Neme my life, and while I, as a
nomad, was against joining in fighting wars that I had no stake in, I had no other
choice. It was either fight or continue to run in this icy hellscape. For the first
time in my life, I chose to fight. Never again would I run.
Thrown into combat at such a young age (16), I had to learn to either fight
or die. And while at first, I struggled to hold my own, I quickly became a force to
fear on the battlefield. Later, I even became known as the hundred-man slayer,
after I managed to take on 100 men all at once in melee combat. After many years of
fighting with the group, we had never seen defeat in battle. Against all odds, our
small company of around 3,000 troops had always overcome impossible odds. Maybe it
was Neme’s genius battle strategies, where he left no details out and always knew
the enemies next move. Maybe it was the band’s undying adoration for their young
leader, only a year senior to me. Each soldier’s will to fight felt like a flame of
a torch to me, burning anything in their path to reach their goal. And with all
these torches tossed together, set to one idea, under one promising leader, we
became a supernova of burning ambitions and dreams. Our group rose to power, and my
friendship with Neme and the other members of the band of the pheonix only grew
with it. For once, I finally had something resembling a family. And I was happy.
One fateful day, Neme fell upon a mysterious looking merchant. The old hag
promised Neme all the power he desired, even a kingdom of his own, in exchange for
what he held dearest to his heart. Perplexed by this offer, and always hungry for
more power, Neme accepted. He was given a mysterious looking egg affixed to a
necklace. The egg was crimson red and had facial features like eyes and a mouth,
but they were all misplaced and unmoving. Confused, Neme returned to our group.
On the way back, Neme was attacked by some bandits. He was stripped of
everything. His weapon, his armor, his heavy coin purse, even his newfound
mysterious egg. He was beaten within an inch of his life. These men had been sent
by a king, jealous of Neme's rise in power and glory. Neme was left with nothing.
We found him lying by the side of the road, hardly breathing and in a condition
that will leave him unable to fight for the rest of his life. I carried Neme into a
carriage, hoping to rush to the nearest town and get him medical treatment. Unknown
to me, Neme, with what could have been some of the final ounces of strength he had
left in his body, slipped out the carriage he was in into a very shallow river. I
guess that he could not stand even the thought of giving up on his dream. He had
lost allies, comrades, and friends, all in the name of this dream. He can't give
up, not after everything he has been through. By this point, I had noticed Neme’s
disappearance and had begun to search for him. I spotted him kneeling in the river,
looking like he was seconds away from bleeding out. I shouted out to the rest of
the band, and with every ounce of strength I had in my body I sprinted for Neme,
hoping there was still a chance to save him. As I was around 300 feet away, I
noticed Neme was holding something in his outstretched hand. It was some strange
egg; of some kind I had never seen before. The band of the phoenix had never dealt
with much magic, as we only had seen combat between martial humanoids. Magic was
nothing but a myth to us, but I knew the instant I layed eyes on it that that egg
was not of this world. But I could have sworn that Neme was left with nothing when
he was attacked, especially not an expensive looking piece of jewelery. Maybe fate
does have paths that people are destined to follow, and that egg was Neme’s path. A
was close enough that I could hear Neme speaking now, but it was directed at me. He
spoke in a voice that addressed no one, and it was in a weak, mumbled voice of a
man who had lost all hope. What I could make out was “Power,” something I knew Neme
strived for at all costs. Suddenly, the sky began to turn from baby blue to scarlet
red as the moon aligned in front of the sun in an eerie manner. The second thing I
heard was “The Band of the Pheonix,” something I knew Neme had held near to his
heart. We were his ambitions put to action, after all. The sky became a deeper red,
and the moon had almost fully overtaken the sun at this point. A total solar
eclipse seemed to be in total effect. Finally, just as I reached Neme to put a hand
of his shoulder, I heard him utter the final phrase: “Sacrifice.” The last thing I
saw in my friend’s eyes was nothing but a cold, malicious hatred. Just then, I was
launched backwards. The rest of the band had caught up to me, so they caught me
before I could fall over. I found my bearing and looked around. And it looked as if
Hell had arrived on Earth.
The sky burned with a deep, crimson hue, and the marsh beneath us had been
bathed in its red light. Demons surrounded our group, and it was unlike anything
any of us had ever seen before. Horrific abominations of our darkest nightmares
stood before us, looking like they were ready to gorge on a feast. Before my very
eyes, Neme began to transform, his back growing a pair of unholy wings and his
appearance becoming something resembling a dark lord than a human. Once his rebirth
seemed to be complete, he glanced at the band of the phoenix, struck with fear and
unable to retaliate. Without warning, the demons launched themselves at the group,
and the feast began.
Blood. Blood was everywhere. Guts too. Parts of my former friends and
comrades, strewn about, tainting the ground that was once a peaceful riverbed. I
couldn’t believe it was happening at first. It took me so long to register what was
going on, that one of them had almost gotten to me. And just like that, something
snapped inside of me. I was not going to die here, whatever it took. I stopped
running a long time ago, and now was not a good time to start it again. So, I
fought. The killing seemed endless. In a lake of my dead allies, I did whatever I
could to live. I bit, clawed, hacked, slashed, and eviscerated everything that was
in my path. All I knew was how to fight, so fight I did. I did not even notice that
I lost my left arm to the maw of one of these monsters and my right eye to the
claws of another. I just pushed on and fought.
But just as suddenly as it had started, the fighting ceased momentarily. The
thing that was once Neme approached me. He leaned over to my prone body, being held
down by the talons of another demon, and I saw that same hateful look as before. I
realized that it was still Neme. He did this knowing fully the consequences of his
actions. He killed the band of the phoenix for power. We were simply pawns to him,
a means to an end. As the sun began to return, Neme whispered one last thing to me
“You shall live to suffer”
And then, everything was gone.
I was by myself, laying in a river of my former friends, with a clear blue
sky above me
That day, I swore. I swore on those whose who had died, either by my hand or
at my side, that I would avenge them. I would give their life purpose, even after
death. No one will die in vain anymore. Ill will imbue my fire with those who had
died and point it at anyone who standing in the way of my vengeance. The supernova
now burns brightly inside of me, and I march on knowing that everyone who I have
ever loved or hated is watching me, ready to unleash their flame.