The Phoenix's Legion

A year has passed since the successful rebuilding of the northern wall, Hunter and his forces where well placed for the battle to come, the southern wall was equally well fortified but an unknown disturbance had recently occurred. Legion soldiers were sent to a volcanic mountain to set mega canons at the summit of the mountains, its strategic location would give the canons a 360-degree view of the southern lands but the unit that was sent there had not returned and when a second unit was sent to find out what had become of the soldiers and the mega canons, only one soldier from the second unit returned, claiming that the men were attacked by a horned green devil with purple tattoos. Madmar who was placed at the southern wall took it upon himself to face this green devil but he had no knowledge of a green shogun with purple tattoo's, so as a precaution he sends word to the capital to send aid to the southern wall, the capital answered by sending Dante to the southern wall, a man that had fought side by side with Helios and the leader of the demon fist clan, the most powerful magi clan in Rovahn.

Soldier1: "do you lads have any idea who's coming to the southern wall?"

Soldier2: "yeah, it's that demon fist freak Dante, what the hell is lord Madmar thinking? Sending that pretty boy prick to do our jobs, we could easily kill whatever is hiding at that damn mountains."

Soldier3: "no we wouldn't."

Sodier1: "and what the hell makes you say that."

Soldier3: "because every soldier that has been sent to the mountains hasn't come back."

Soldier2: "that's not true, there was one lad that made it back."

Soldier3: "he only made it back because his commanding officer stayed behind and covered him while he made a run for it. From what I know he claimed that his team was attacked by a green devil with purple tattoos, it's said to be as fast as an actual vampire. With all the other army slayers occupied, it would only make sense for lord Madmar to ask for Dante's aid."

Soldier1: "what makes that c.u.n.t so special."

Soldier3: "well for starters his actually tied to the royal family and has a lot more experience fighting shoguns than we do."

Soldier2: "how? His never appeared in any fancy gatherings nor has he even been publicly seen with the royal family."

Soldier3: "that's because his in some way an outcast, as you know the demon fist clan and the royal family have been marry their young to one another for centuries, so as to mix the strength of the two blood lines. King Titus and his fallen brother Lazarus are the product of such marriage, the kings brother was also wedded to a member of the demon fist clan and as a result Dante was born. Unlike the king and his brother who could only gain one kind of ability, being a warrior class or magi class, Dante has genetically inherited the power of the demon fist clan who are famed for producing powerful magi as well as the power of the royal family that has produced the most powerful warriors, he is the first hybrid warrior in history. The royal family used to keep him very close so as to easily present him as a worthy successor to the king, seeing as how the king's sons are cursed with compulsion it was a good idea but from what I heard the smaller clans have branded Dante as evil, apparently he seems to draw power from actual demons."

Soldier1: "demons!!! If that's the case then why the hell are we bringing him here, and here I thought he was just a spoiled brat who was given everything he ever wanted from fame to military position. Now here you are telling me he draws power from demons, it's like anyone associated with the throne is doomed to be cursed."

Soldier2: "but why would they fear him, I mean he is from the demon fist clan isn't he."

Soldier3: "even though the clan is known as the demon fist, they aren't actually demons. They simply earned that reputation because of their great ability to use magic as well as the dark nature of their abilities but Dante seems to surpass everything the demon fist clan has accomplished."

Soldier1: "we need to get to lord Madmar before that cursed man gets here."

Soldier3: "enough of that, there isn't any proof of Dante being evil and even if he was, there is absolutely no way in hell lord Madmar would summon him if he wasn't trust worthy. Shit, time to shape up and look alive gentlemen, our honoured guest has arrived."

As the gates of the southern wall opened a small convoy had entered the southern wall, from the convey came out five magi all of whom were being led by Dante. He appeared to look like an ordinary man, short brown hair and green eyes but as the soldiers looked closer they had finally noticed it, Dante's right arm which was entirely made of steel, the legendary demon fist, a weapon that Dante was clearly trying to hide behind a cloak. Dante and his five magi were sent to lord Madmar who like always welcomed his honoured guest like blood brothers, lord Madmar told Dante all that he knew about the green devil in the volcanic mountain and had briefed Dante on how he planned to approach the situation. The plan was simple and straight forward, a small team of nine with Madmar and Dante being obvious members would go to the mountain and kill the beast, Dante had heard of Madmar and his reckless approach with battle and as Dante looked at him he clearly saw why people considered him a mad man. He had long black hair that touched the back of his knees, scars all around his body and face, he possessed the most vicious body Dante had ever seen, he had the body of the ancient Viking warriors his clan originated from minus the beard and for some reason he always had a crazy smile on his face, the man looked like a nutcase.

Madmar: "so what do you think?"

Dante: "well adding me, you and the five magi with me that makes seven of us, who are the other two who will be joining us?"

Madmar: "two of my best tanker squads."

Dante: "and where will they be stationed, I heard the mountains terrain is unstable."

Madmar: "don't be ridiculous boy, they will be using our new mega tankers, should we fail in our attempt to kill this green devil, they will have no choice but to blast away at the mountains and hope they...…"

Dante: "have you gone mad, when the hellboken crew blasted away at a mountain it brought unspeakable destruction, do you honestly want to blow up volcanic mountains that is so close to the southern wall and if these men are using tankers then they could easily kill us by mistake, don't you know that? Bringing such weapons which the king clearly said should be placed at the front lines shouldn't be used for such a task."

Madmar: "fine then, we shall turn our nine-man team into a seven-man team, satisfied?"

Dante: "did you put any thought into this plan of yours?"

Madmar: "well then let's see, you have never failed a mission and I have never been killed by a shogun, hence the reason am able to speak to you now."

Dante: "are you insane?"

Madmar: "well that depends, if you consider yourself sane then that would make me insane but if I am sane then wouldn't that make you insane?"

Dante: "what?"

Madmar: "you are clearly tired from your travel, eat, sleep and be ready to face the unknown."

Dante: "lord Madmar why would you want to place canons on top of a volcanic mountains, even with its strategic location it would still pose a threat of irrupting the volcanoes."

Madmar: "they will be time for explanations but now you rest and believe me my boy, that mountain will prove to be useful to us."

Dante knew that there would be no reasoning with the legendary warmonger, so Dante prepared his own approach with the five magi on how to deal with this unknown beast. With his plan made and his magi well rested, Dante set off to the volcanic mountain with lord Madmar who apparently decided to travel alone. Dante couldn't believe his eyes, not only was the southern wall left without a proper leader, lord Madmar had also chosen to face this green devil without his own forces, how could he do such a thing knowing all too well that all who faced the green devil died. Dante couldn't help himself but shout at lord Madmar, he simply needed to understand what kind of man he was going to be fighting alongside with because from his perspective lord Madmar appeared to be a crazy.

Dante: "lord Madmar how could you possibly come without any of your soldiers? Why didn't you even consider using the army slayers at your disposal to aid us with this mission? Who the hell is leading the forces at the southern wall? Why have you chosen to put yourself in harm's way? A man of your class shouldn't be dealing with such dangers, at one point you challenged king Titus for the throne, the legion considered you to be a better leader, lord Madmar what on earth happened to you?"

Madmar: "wow!!! And here I thought that Ragna was the only one who asked too many questions but I suppose seeing as how we are all going to face such mortal peril I suppose it's only fitting that I tell my story to someone, that is if I don't make it back."

Magi1: "he seems almost sure that his going to die."

Madmar: "because whether you are great or average, death will still float over you magi, now you see Dante it was a long time ago, you were just a baby when tragedy chose to finally strike me. I was at the summit of noble society, I was the peoples most praised hero, I shadowed Drago, Helios and even the king at one point although to be fair the warrior princes were quite young back then."

Dante: "so is that why you challenged the king, because you were popular?"

Madmar: "yes, and no, you see Dante I was considered a great leader but I had no hatred towards the king, the king saw a way he could save humanity by preserving the legions warriors whilst I saw the legion as a tool that could be used to wipe out the shoguns that began to invade Rovahn. Keep in mind that this was a few years after the battle of the Rovahn walls, the legion lost many heroes and it needed to rebuild, I believed the legion was capable of dealing with the shogun whilst the king believed the legion was to week to go through another harsh battle and so he decided to station the legion at the walls of Rovahn and the royal capital. This decision left the people at the mercy of the shogun, the king tried to send as many warriors as possible but with the fear of another vampire attack clouding the kings mind he simply couldn't risk stretching the legion."

Dante: "so both your reasons were justified but I guess the king won that debate."

Madmar: "no he didn't."

Dante: "what?"

Madmar: "no one was ready to abandon the people we swore to protect, I was raiding many shogun hives but as soon as I conquered the last hive to the south, I was to take my place as king and lead the legion and the people of Rovahn into a new era that I had envisioned."

Dante: "but how are you not on the throne? How did you end up like... well like...? You."

Madmar: "you mean mad, powerful and ageless."

Dante: "ageless?"

Madmar: "will get to that, you see Dante my boy the last shogun hive was by far the largest in recorded history, my forces were over powered and slaughtered to the last man, I was the only one that survived, I had been captured by the shoguns but rather than kill me the shoguns chose to torture me for as long as I lived, my life would only be darkness and pain. The hive was growing and eventually it began to move kind of like a giant slug. The hive killed so many innocent people as it travelled and I was the poor tortured soul that was cursed to hear every single one of their screams and cries and with my ageless body which I inherited from my mother who was a member of the silver hunters, it appeared that my torture would know no end. The giant hive eventually made its way to the capital and in all that time not one warrior from the legion attempted to stop the shogun hive, I had become so accustomed to pain that I no longer reacted to pain, I become lost in my dreams for that was the only place I had peace, the only place the pain could not reach me, I had travelled to my dreams for so long that I eventually didn't need to sleep to get there."

For the first time since he arrived to the southern wall Dante actually saw the smile drop from Madmar's face, he become still and silent and begun to look to the sky, he just stood and watched the dark cloud above, as Madmar continued to look to the sky he asked Dante a strange question.

Madmar: "tell me Dante, do you believe in demons?"

Dante: "well my clan is called the demon fist clan."

Madmar: "but have you ever actually seen a demon?"

Dante: "I have never seen a demon but I have heard voices whispering in the darkness, stalking me, almost as if they were waiting to spot a flaw in me, a weakness before they strike, why on earth would you ask me such a question?"

Madmar: "do you remember the report from the silver caves that said that their oracle was taken by a shadow?"

Dante: "yes, to be honest I think the report was exaggerated, why do you ask?"

Madmar: "one of my dreams outside of sleep showed me a shadow that appeared to be a woman with serpent eyes, she was trying to offer something to me but I was unable to hear her."

Dante: "how come?"

Madmar: "I had started to hear an even louder voice at the back of my head, the voice was so loud that it woke me from my sleep, it turned my fire to molten lava, it fuelled my heart with hatred and rage, a rage so violent that it pushed me to burn the entire shogun hive and its children. Imagine how shocked I was when I had realized that in a split second, without any warning, I had gain a unique power that would lead to me destroying the largest shogun hive ever seen. I returned to the legion with pride in my heart and surely enough I was received as a war hero but when I tried to tell them of the voice in my head they looked at me as though I was the local fool but as I looked to Threant and saw the sadness in his eyes it led me to a conclusion that I prayed was false."

Dante: "what conclusion?"

Madmar: "my time in captivity had driven me to madness, it was that madness that twisted my powers and gave me the ability to unleash molten lava from my bear hands, if I where an ordinary man the madness would have completely destroyed my mind, I begged the legion to kill me for the voice in my head grew louder and louder but they simply couldn't afford to lose me, not when I had such a unique power that could benefit the legion. In time I had learned to slightly ignore the voice and I had equally earned back my title has commander but there was no way I would ever become king, the dream and vision I had for Rovahn and her people had died in that shogun hive."

Dante was no fool, he clearly saw the mental instability in Madmar but he had no idea of the sorrow in his heart, Madmar for a long time looked to the ground in complete silence, he stayed that way until they had finally reached the volcanic mountain. When Dante finally gained the courage to call out his name he looked at Dante with his c.h.e.s.t out, his head held high and with his sinister smile on his face.

Madmar: "when did we get here, damn that was fast, c'mon boy, it is time to put an end to this green devil."

Madmar had completely forgotten all that he had told Dante and his five magi, just as Dante tried to remind him of what he had told him, a violent roar had come from the mountain, they may not be sure what kind of creature dwells in the mountain but one thing was certain, something very powerful and dangerous was in that mountain. With the great vampire army fast approaching the legion simply couldn't afford to have an enemy within the walls of Rovahn. Dante was unclear what kind of man he would be fighting beside but the legion wouldn't have given him the title of commander without reason, whatever was waiting for them in the mountain one thing was certain, Dante and his five magi where going to have the opportunity to see the full strength and might of the berserker, lord Madmar of stone bear.

Madmar: "ok gentlemen, here is what where going to do, we walk through the passage the soldiers had made, follow the blood and kill the damn thing, so who the hell is with me!!!?"

Dante: "are you insane!!! First of all, that's a volcanic mountain, we can't possibly handle that kind of radiation without shielding!!!"

Madmar: "where immune to fire boy now c'mon let's go!!!"

Dante: "that only applies to the night class army slayers, magi and soldiers don't have such perks, not to mention that the nights can only handle a certain level of radiation. That volcanic mountain is too much even for you."

Madmar: "horse shit!! I'll let you know boy that I have a unique immunity to high levels of radiation, Threant believes I could possibly walk on the sun."

Dante: "well that doesn't help the rest of us so here is what we're going to do, me and the magi are going to have to cast a spell to shield us from the radiation but it will take a great deal of power from our sun stones so that will leave you with attacking the creature head on while the rest of us will attack from a distance. This creature was reported to be fast, despite this coming from a soldier it would still be wise to take a great deal of caution when facing the beast so let's...."

Madmar: "yes, yes, take care of each other, do you know the hellboken crew didn't even use sun stones, hell that Ragna was able to beat a vampire without it."

Dante: "yes, and it nearly got him killed, not to mention he still hasn't told us where he got that power, now if your done praising him, it's time to put an end to this green devil."

Dante, lord Madmar and the five magi began to move deeper and deeper into the volcanic caves, the radiation was beyond unbearable even with their shielding the magi had casted. The tunnels in the mountain where littered with corpses, some human, others where simply impossible to describe but one thing was certain, whatever was in this mountain it has been killing for a very long time without ever being noticed, the volcanic mountain must have kept it hidden from the legion, it wouldn't be the first time a mountain was used for such a purpose. As the group progressed deeper into the mountain they began to hear what sounded like a wild animal screaming in pain, as the group followed the sorrowful cry a long chain with a strange black mist covering it was hurled at them. The destructive force from the chain began to tremble the mighty volcanic mountain as the chain collided with its walls, as lord Madmar starred at the direction the chain had come from he had seen it, the green devil. It had the body of a man but its skin was green, they were horns coming out of its head, a long tale that was covered with purple markings that stretched all the way to the creatures back, shoulders and arms and black soulless eyes that instilled fear into the hearts of the five magi. There was no question about it, this was the green tattooed devil the soldier spoke of.

Madmar: "demon in the mountain, I am lord Madmar of the phoenix's legion, who are you!!!"

Green devil: "traitor!! Bastard!!!"

Madmar: "have we met?"

Green devil: "did you take p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in killing your own family? Grey haired bastard!!!"

Madmar: "are we related? Am pretty sure I would have remembered a green skinned relative and are you colour blind or something because my hair is black just in case you are incapable of knowing that."

Dante: "lord Madmar."

Madmar: "what is it boy?"

Dante: "there is something influencing that devils mind, I single minded entity, violence, vengeance, hatred, its coming from that strange chain his holding."

The moment the green devil heard Dante mention its chain the creature attacked him, one of the magi attempted to block the attack but the green devils attack broke through the magi's defence and killed her on the spot. The other four magi acted quickly and attempted to bind the creature, they almost succeeded but the green devil was able to keep its right arm holding the chain from being sealed. It swung its chain around them all, slowly collapsing the volcanic mountain around them. Lorde Madmar charged at the creature in an attempt to stay its hands from causing any more destruction but the moment Madmar had touched the green devils chains it sent a violent surge of energy around Madmar, the pain was so intense that it temporarily crippled Madmar to the ground.

The fight only took a turn for the worst when the green devil struck the ground with its chain and freed itself, the strike had completely made the mountain unstable and its lava began to rise. The green devil grabbed something very large from underground, it appeared to look like a massive black well with red markings around it with a strange ink like water that emitted the same type of mist the green devils chain had. It began to jump from one wall to another, the creature was trying to escape the mountain with the strange well, Dante and the remaining four magi made their way out of the caves but before one of them could try to get Madmar he had regained the ability to move and he immediately chased after the green skinned devil. The demon was locked in an intense battle with lord Madmar who appeared to get even happier as the battle raged on with the entire mountain flowing with lava and collapsing all around them, the two were evenly matched, neither one showing signs of surrendering the fight. Raged on they did, unleashing great destruction on the mountain, Dante barely made it out of the mountain.

He watched as the mountain began to erupt and helplessly watched as it filled the sky with ash and toxic fumes. It was in that moment he saw it, lord Madmar locked in battle with this creature in mid-air. The creature sprouted out wings but lord Madmar had no means of flying, no jet pack or flight incantations yet their he was, flying face to face with the winged creature. The creature was powerful but it stood no chance against lord Madmar in the sky, Madmar overwhelmed the demon with an endless barrage of attacks that slowly forced the creature to the ground.

Dante was unable to understand where this creature was getting its power but he knew he had to separate it from the black well it was trying so hard to escape with, as it neared the ground the remaining four magi cast a spell that began to force it to the earth and bind it on yet another casted prison. When the creature realized this it dropped the black well to the ground and yet again swung its chain at the magi, killing one of them in the process. Dante could no longer tolerate the creature's madness, it needed to be stopped, he exposed his right arm that was completely made of steel.

The green devil began to feel this tremendous force squeezing it as though it had been grabbed by a giant and launched to the ground so hard that the impact shattered its bones and made a giant hole in the ground. To add the finishing touches Madmar had heated his hands until they appeared as though they were made of lava, dived from the skies and punctured through the green devil's flesh and grabbed its spine with his b.a.r.e hands, he lifted the creature with a single hand and roared to the heavens so loud that it erupted the volcanic mountain again. the creature was too wounded to continue fighting but it was still mumbling words of vengeance and betrayal, Dante thought it wise to finally separate it from its strange chain so he levitated the weapon away from the creature. As soon as the creature was separated from its weapon it slowly calmed its breathing and appeared to fall asleep with a sigh of relief.

Madmar: "well that wasn't so bad."

Dante: "we nearly died facing this thing and two of the magi that had accompanied me are dead."

Madmar: "and thanks to them we have finally stopped this thing. So the stories were true, you seem to have the ability to levitate objects."

Dante: "I can do a lot more than that, there has been rumours of you flying but I didn't think it possible."

Madmar: "well I suppose we all carry our own dirty secrets, now then, what exactly do we do with this green devil of ours."

Dante: "we should take him for questioning, if it can speak then it can give some information."

Madmar: "and what do you make of this black well?"

Dante: "there seems to be an ancient writing on it, something about a contract between weapon and warrior."

Madmar: "what do you mean a contract?"

Dante: "this well seems to infuse a powerful entity into the warrior's weapon, it is a contract that the warrior can only make once in his lifetime and it is a contract that binds the weapon and the user for life, by simply marking the weapon with your own blood and submerging it into the well, the unlimited power of hatred and vengeance shall be granted to the warrior, the weapon shall smite all his enemies whether they be mortal, or immortal!!!"

Madmar: "so at one point this creatures weapon was but a simple chain before it had been submerged in the well. This creature attacked recklessly and looking at it without the chain, it appears that this creature isn't even that powerful, that damn chain however is still flowing with a ridiculous amount of power."

Dante: "what exactly happened when you touched the chain."

Madmar: "it attacked me, it was as if it sensed an intruder trying to access its power, it rejected me and unleashed hell upon my soul, the weapon is not only loyal to its master, from what I have seen I do believe that this type of weapon seems to attack both the body and soul of its master's enemies. The physical weapon attacks the flesh while the strange entity within the weapon smites the enemy's soul."

Dante: "that explains how the creature could break through the shielding incantations my magi had attempted to use, she must have lacked the strength to overcome its soul attacking power."

Madmar: "do you have any idea what this well can do for the legion? If it can do all this for a simple creature, imagine what it could do for an army slayer, for years we have evolved in technology but never with magic, we could have an army of Ragna's."

Dante: "I think I have heard just about enough of Ragna!!"

Madmar: "jealousy is an ugly colour to wear boy."

Dante: "ignoring that last comment and sticking to the matter at hand, there seems to be a warning on the well."

Madmar: "of course there is, here I am flowing with hope and some bastard had to wright a warning on the well."

Dante: "with good reason, the weapon may be true to its user but the owner is at risk of being completely overwhelmed by the entities violent nature, only he who is able to control the hatred within himself and the entity can truly be free from its mighty power for the weapon has the ability to possess its master and send his soul into a prison made from his own vengeance."

Madmar: "how much water is in that well?"

Dante: "that's what's strange about the well, it may not appear to be much, I mean the thing can be moved but looking into the well, it appears to be, infinite."

Madmar: "unlimited power, combatting insanity, sounds like a damn good deal to me, we'll send the creature and the well to the capital and if you wish it, I would be honoured to have you stay at the southern wall. You can finally lift yourself from Helios and Drago's shadow and finally start a legacy of your own."

Dante: "where the hell did that come from?"

Madmar: "don't tell me that Ragna's accomplishments as well as the accomplishments of Drago and Helios haven't boiled your blood, c'mon boy, you and me are a lethal pair."

Dante: "my heart is telling me to leave but my mind tells me that you would destroy the south without proper supervision, I would be more than happy to stay, all the capital ever does is compare me to Ragna. Besides, looking at the southern wall has given me a few ideas on how we can strengthen the walls defence, an idea I would like the entire legion to consider."

Madmar: "ha, then its settled, Madmar and Dante shall stand as one!!!"

Dante: "something tells me am going to regret this, anyway, we shall make our way back to the southern wall, from there we shall send this creature to Threant as well as the dark well, we may not trust this weapon to our subordinates but in the hands of the legion's commanders, this may be the edge that humanity has prayed for, the ultimate weapon which has but one purpose, to slay all those who would stand against its master."

Madmar's log: "Lazarus my old friend if only you had lived to see the man your son has become, strong, determined and unbelievably focused, all the traits your carried, including your jealousy. I pray that the boy forgives me for removing him from the capital for the voice has told me of the impending doom that is fast approaching, had you stayed at the capital the king would have undoubtedly sent you to face the greatest threat head on, a threat that I fear the eastern wall will face the harshest brunt of. I cannot fail to protect Dante as I had failed to protect Lazarus, evil is at our door step, I see a great deal of souls being thrown to the abyss but that is the price that all who swore the oath must pay so that we may preserve this world we have created. Rise, the heroes that lay dormant, charge forward, all those who are forced to stand fast for what comes for us is not a glorious battle, it is the end of humanity, an end that will not spare us nor allow any to flee it, an end that we must all face. The loss will be great, the battle will tear through our very souls but we shall prevail, we shall not be slaughtered to extinction, we shall fight until every single vampire that knocks at our door is sent back into darkness, we are humanities hope, we are Rovahns defenders, we are, the phoenix's legion, lord Madmar of stone bear signing out."