The Phoenix's Legion

It has been six months since the trial of the hellboken crew, the legion had been informed of Kalie's plan to attack Rovahn in exactly three years. The king had ordered the legions generals to station themselves at the walls of Rovahn, the wall to the east was to be guarded by Kazuya, the wall to the west was to be guarded by Bellarabi and Sonya, the wall to the south was to be guarded by Madmar and the wall to the north was to be guarded by Hunter and Amelia who were trusted with finishing the wall and seeing to it that all shoguns hiding in the wall are slaughtered. Because Vanessa was put under Hunters supervision, she was taken with him to the northern wall. Despite being under Hunter she had never seen him neither had she been permitted to travel with him, instead she travelled with the soldiers under his command, it was a month's journey until she arrived to the northern wall, of course this was about a week after Hunter and Amelia had arrived.

It frustrated Vanessa greatly, knowing that she was under Hunters supervision and yet she has never been granted an audience with him, she only received second hand orders from his subordinates on how to teach his rider class elite's how to execute certain attack formations using the road demon models that Thomas had designed. After the trial of the hellboken crew many vehicles like the road demon had been mass-produced not to mention the information Thomas provided to aid the legion in using a stronger source of energy for their weapons.

Although Vanessa was under Hunter she still refused to use any of the copycat models the legion made of the road demon, she would only use the original, this forced Thomas to have no choice but to follow her to the northern wall, he couldn't pass the chance to re-join his friend but he also couldn't b.a.r.e the loss of all the privileges the legion had given him to design and build his inventions at the royal capital.

Thomas: "endless resources, thousands of young minds at my beck and call and enough pure solitude to actually hear myself think and yet for some reason you have managed to strip all that from me simply because you didn't like the toys the legion made."

Vanessa: "oh c'mon Thomas spare me; you know damn well that the fact that I only wanted what you built made you feel like the smartest man in Rovahn. Your just mad that the legion forced you to leave your scientist paradise."

Thomas: "do you have any idea how much time that trip wasted? I am at the brink of greatness."

Vanessa: "don't tell me you're still working on the super armour, sorry but last I checked it was a flop."

Thomas: "that was because I didn't have the necessary material to make a lighter armour but after I took a certain rare material from the capital I can…"

Vanessa: "you stole something from the capital, didn't you? Tell me what it is, tell me, tell me, tell me!!!"

Thomas: "why does crime excite you?"

Vanessa: "says the thief."

Thomas: "staying on topic, I took something called dragon iron, it said to be very rare and almost impossible to break through, it's the iron used to make the king and princes armour but do remember that this is a private project, something I would like to keep to myself."

Vanessa: "do you really want to keep doing this Thomas, I mean this super armour project of yours, you nearly died the last time you tried to use it, why would you want to continue a project that is just doomed to fail."

Thomas: "I can't play victim forever, am tired of being the weakling who couldn't avenge the death of his family, I want to do my part for Rovahn, and I have the perfect solution, something that could actually make my vision of a super armour a reality."

Vanessa: "what perfect solution?"

Thomas: "my power source, the one stuck to my c.h.e.s.t."

Vanessa: "I don't follow."

Thomas: "despite not knowing where the stone comes from its come to my knowledge that the power from the stone is in fact infinite, the power source has no limit, it's like an actual sun in my c.h.e.s.t."

Vanessa: "great so you have an immortal battery in your c.h.e.s.t that you can't give to the legion because it's the only thing keeping your humanity, forgive me if I can't see how knowing the stones endless supply of energy helps your super armour fantasy."

Thomas: "until now I only took a small portion of the stones energy to power my inventions and the legions weapons but I have never built anything that could use the stones energy directly, not even the hellboken."

Vanessa: "why?"

Thomas: "because nothing I had could handle such power but if this dragon iron is all it is said to be then I can actually do it, I could build a super armour entirely made of dragon iron, the only one of its kind, an armour that only I can use, I will build the most powerful weapon in human history, I only need the solitude and time to build the armour, cutting the dragon iron hasn't been easy."

Vanessa: "well nice to see you being patient and all, I for one can't stand it any longer. All this f.u.c.k.i.n.g Hunter character does is jerk me around until am spent."

Thomas: "ah Vanessa."

Vanessa: "and what about that bitchy dressed sister of his, doesn't she wear any other colour besides red."

Thomas: "Vanessa."

Vanessa: "I swear if that Hunter gives me one more second hand order, so help me I'll tear..."

Thomas: "Vanessa!!!!"

Vanessa: "what!!!"

Thomas: "his right behind you."

As Vanessa looked to her back she saw him, the commanding officer of the northern wall, Hunter of the stampede valley. He was younger looking than she expected him to be, his hair was red as blood and eyes as blue as the ancient skies that Kill-shot told her of, he appeared to be quite gentle and kind, too gentle to be the leader of a legion clan, his sister however did not carry such a gentle presence. Amelia had blood red hair like her brother as well as his blue eyes but she didn't appear as kind as him, her face wore no smile and her gaze showed nothing but hatred and cruelty, Vanessa has seen many dark things but there was no doubt that Amelia was the most frightening warrior she had ever seen.

Hunter: "I beg you to forgive my rudeness, many of my forces have been spread quite far and wide, making it difficult to co-ordinate my forces, after all we are attempting to defend an entire continent, not to mention build a wall 7 miles wide and tall enough to nearly touch the dark cloud. I would love for you and your friend to join us for diner, I am eager to learn more from the members of the hellboken crew as well as make amends for my rudeness."

Amelia: "don't be so dishonest brother, you just want to see if she was worth the trouble of giving her the original road demon, frankly I don't consider this worthless woman worthy of the air she breathes, the head strong Vanessa who watched the vampire Acheron kill her brother before her eyes. The inventor however has been of great aid to the legions cause, I am eager to learn more about your brilliance as well as all that you have been hiding from the legion."

Hunter: "enough Amelia, would you do me the honour of joining me and my sister for diner."

Vanessa: "well since your sister chose to be such a bitc...…"

Thomas: "we would love to!!!! Sorry, we would love to join you for diner, frankly we are tired of eating the military food."

Hunter: "excellent!!!"

And so Vanessa and Thomas made their way to Hunter and Amelia's courters, it was far much bigger than any of the rooms the soldiers owned and a lot more refined. The meal prepared was beyond what any humble soul would call diner, it was a vast feast full of various dishes and drinks, Thomas felt a great deal of pride to be treated in such a way but Vanessa only saw it as a method to butter them up. Amelia's comment had stained itself in her mind, not about her brother's death but about Amelia wanting to find out more about Thomas's work, she feared that Amelia would discover the dragon iron that Thomas stole from the capital and have him killed on the spot. She knew that despite their hospitality, Hunter and Amelia would stop at nothing to squeeze as much information from her and Thomas, they had to remain cautious.

Thomas: "well I must say that this is by far the best meal I have had in years."

Hunter: "that reminds me, you have lived for over a century, how exactly did you accomplish that?"

Vanessa: "wouldn't you like to know."

Amelia: "you just can't help but give me reasons to kill you."

Thomas: "why is it so hard to keep women nice to each other."

Hunter: "don't bother asking me, I have tried to make her more friendly but she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with people. Well shifting from the topic, I suppose it wouldn't be proper for me to ask about your personal lives without me sharing mine so let me start. From what I have gathered you're probably wondering why am leading a legion clan at such a young age, you probably expect someone at my age to be under Helios or Drago."

Vanessa: "well kind of, how are you not under their command?"

Hunter: "well to put it plain and simple, my sister and I are of noble birth, in fact at one point in history it was our family that ruled the phoenix's legion, although am not too sure how our forefathers lost that right."

Vanessa: "so your just another rich boy."

Amelia: "my, my, my, how disrespectful this generation has become."

Thomas: "this generation? No offence Amelia but you're not exactly an old hag."

Amelia: "oh how wrong you are for saying that."

Thomas: "how so?"

Hunter: "don't tell me a man of your intelligence doesn't believe the old tales, when a warrior of the legion kills an immortal being, in this case a vampire, he or she absorbs their immortality, this gives the warrior a longer life span and slows their aging like the gifted silver hunters of the silver caves, although it doesn't protect the warrior from death."

Vanessa: "so how old are you?"

Hunter: "well let's just say I have lived long enough to have fought in the battle of the Rovahn wall."

Thomas: "you defended the wall, I was but a child when that happened."

Hunter: "really, I was just an army slayer fighting in our brother's army."

Vanessa: "you actually have a brother, where is he? Don't tell me his more anti-social than your prick sister over here."

Amelia: "how dare you, a bitch of your class has no right!!!"

Hunter: "calm down sister, the girl has no knowledge of our brother and your attitude towards her hasn't exactly been something to be praised. You see Vanessa back in the battle of the Rovahn wall it was my brother who led our clan, his name was Beowulf and he was by far the strongest fighter the legion has ever known. In that era the royal family had issued a plan to build a wall that completely shielded Rovahn from the outside world, this of course provoked the vampires to retaliate and put man in his place. My brother fought the vampire army with unstoppable power, using the greatest weapon of our clan, the shield of Bane, the founding father of my clan. For centuries the shield has been used against vampires and all sorts of beasts but not one those cursed creatures had ever broken through it, not even Razeal could break the shield."

Thomas: "what is the shield made of?"

Hunter: "no one knows; at one point it was believed that the shield belonged to the immortals but when my brother faced Razeal he didn't appear to have any knowledge of its existence so its origins remain unknown."

Vanessa: "if the shield is so powerful how come it didn't protect your brother?"

Amelia: "what did you..."

Vanessa: "I figured the only reason you're so touchy about the subject is because your brother died protecting the walls of Rovahn, I kind of know a little something about losing the closest person to you."

Hunter: "yes, he did die protecting the wall but it wasn't the shields failure, it was mine. You see I had attempted to kill Razeal but as you can imagine, I was no match for the king of vampires."

Amelia: "Beowulf saw hunter on his knees as the king of the damned lifted his sword and readied to strike down Hunter and so to save him our brother threw the shield of Bane to Hunter and as he blocked Razeal's strike the ground shook and the vampire was blasted to the sky, I will never forget the look of disbelief on his face, neither will I forget the cruel smile that followed as he flew into the sky and summoned a ferocious fire upon our family's army. I was closest to Hunter so it was easy for him to shield me from the fire but Beowulf... he couldn't reach.... He couldn't reach us, we watched as Razeal's flames consumed the flesh of our brother and destroyed the northern wall."

Hunter: "and so standing as the second son I took control of the army, my first order was to unleash an all-out attack on Razeal but when we looked to the sky, he was gone."

Thomas: "burnt? but I thought members of the legion were immune to fire."

Hunter: "that is the usual case but Razeal didn't summon any ordinary fire, what he summoned was dragon fire."

Thomas: "dragon fire? But dragons don't exist, there just an urban legend."

Amelia: "many think that but believe me Thomas, that is the only kind of fire that could harm us as the legion warriors of old had written."

Thomas: "but that doesn't make any sense, Razeal may be the original vampire but how could he possibly be able to summon dragon fire?"

Amelia: "only the dragon creed can tell you that, now do you see Vanessa, your little hellboken crew may have saved many lives but thanks to Ragna, we are now forced to defend the walls yet again and revisit the nightmares that we prayed to never visit again but I guess it doesn't matter, am sure the vampires will be itching to take on the red rider."

Thomas: "the red rider? The warrior that soaked the ground with the immortal's blood."

Amelia: "I think that's enough stories for one day, don't bother coming to my room hunter, I'll be too occupied with one of the soldiers to talk with you. Vanessa, I know everyone values you because of the vehicle you drive but believe me little girl, the warriors of the stampede valley only need their horses to paint the battlefield red with vampire blood. You would do well to remember that, sleep well brother and try not to stay up to long telling stories."

Amelia left the room to find another way to pass the time, leaving hunter alone to entertain Vanessa and Thomas who judging from their facial expressions, had finally started to get comfortable with talking to hunter.

Vanessa: "I you trying to tell me that your little sister is the legendary red rider."

Hunter: "that she is, hair, armour, shield and horse all red as blood. The legendary legion warrior that is known for drinking the blood of the vampires that she kills. The battle for the wall turned all who fought in it into many horrible things but I believe that this battle will be different."

Thomas: "what makes you say that?"

Hunter: "you."

Thomas: "me?"

Hunter: "come now, stolen dragon iron, abnormal intelligence and an unknown source of immortality, there is a lot you have to offer and clearly there is something that you are working on."

Thomas: "what makes you..."

Hunter: "Thomas I know you don't know me but believe me when I tell you that whatever you need to finish your work, know that I will provide."

Thomas: "what happened to keeping me on a leash."

Hunter: "words meant to calm the lower clans, do you honestly think that Ragna will be put in chains or maybe you believe that Kill-shot is behind bars."

Vanessa: "are you saying that our friends..."

Hunter: "are all in strategic places to aid the legion in this war, you may have provoked this attack but it was an attack that was bound to happen. We have but one duty, to defend the northern wall with our lives and you two shall help us accomplish this and so I ask you Thomas and Vanessa, are you with me?"

Thomas and Vanessa: "were with you."

And so what appeared to be a dinner turned out to be a private war meeting, Hunter, Vanessa and Thomas spent the whole knight planning on the northern walls defences, as Hunter promised he provided Ted with all the resources he needed and as a sign of good faith Thomas provided various ideas to all the legion clans in Rovahn, excluding his secret project of course and the stone within his c.h.e.s.t. The legion worked tirelessly to produce and distribute as many of the new weapons and armours that Thomas had designed, the legion had the greatest mind in Rovahn at their side but it still wasn't enough, the legion needed more than just new weapons and armour, the legion needs warriors, the legion needs heroes.

Kalie's log: "as I breath in the clear air I can hear all that man plots against me, I can see all the hope that floods their minds and I can smell the raging hot blood that flows under their skin. I shall allow them to hope, to prepare and dream, it would be such a boring a battle if man was not given a chance to survive but do not let my generosity fool you, worthless blood bags. I give you dreams only so that I may wake you from it and throw you into an endless nightmare, I only give you hope so that I may take it from you and drown you in despair. So plot and make your brave soldiers strong, thicken the metal of your armour, sharpen the steel of your swords and master your new fancy toys, it will only sweeten your blood and perfect the music of their screams as your frail bodies are torn apart and burned by my might, so plot and skim my prey, plot and skim."