The Phoenix's Legion

The hellboken crew have been travelling for five months now heading to the silver caves, on their journey they had faced all sort of shoguns, the countless battles may have been harsh but it gave the hellboken crew time to introduce Ragna to their battle tactics. Kill-shots formation was almost impossible to stop, Kill-shot would use the disc glider to control the skies, killing all the shoguns below him. Thomas Noble would drive the hellboken around the swarm of shoguns, trapping them with the fire power of the hellbokens canons whilst Johnathan, Vanessa, kiva and Ragna would attack them from the centre of the shogun swarm. Johnathan using his bow and arrows, struck all who was in his range, Vanessa, using one of Thomas's new inventions, a small vehicle with powerful machine guns and tremendous speed, would shoot and run over countless shoguns, Vanessa called it the road demon. Kiva and Ragna, being knights who use short range weapons, would cut down the shoguns with their sword and spear. Kill-shot called this the tornado formation, trapping the enemy by attacking in the centre and sky and circling them at the same time, forcing them to confusion, then simply striking them down one by one.

The hellboken crew grew very close, understanding one another and learning to look after one another, they become more than a group of warriors, they became a family. The hellboken crew had set camp, a time to rest before they reach the silver caves, Kill-shot hoped that Ragna would be willing to tell him about his father and his origins, considering how he has bonded with the crew.

Ragna: "wait, so you were born in the silver caves."

Kiva: "yes, me and my siblings."

Johnathan: "that's our kiva, our crews very own silver princess."

Ragna: "you left your siblings behind? Sorry, I guess you wanted to make the world a better place for them."

Johnathan: "there you go Ragna, asking s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e questions."

Kiva: "it's all right Johnathan, it's not like that Ragna, you see I am the youngest of my siblings. When I was a little girl my brother and sister left the silver caves to join the legion, I was too young to follow them at the time, so I trained for years until I was strong enough to follow them and join the legion. A year after I left the cave I stumbled upon the hellboken, it was then that I had met Kill-shot and joined the crew, it is my hope that one day all the good I have done with the hellboken crew will reunite me with my brother and sister."

Ragna: "but didn't it break your parents heart to see you leave? the last of their children."

Johnathan: "dude!!! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Vanessa: "wow, and they call me blunt and cruel."

Kiva: "it did, but living in a silver cave for the rest of my abnormally long life, waiting to hear some old silver flower sing whilst the world fell into ruin just didn't seem right, me and my siblings knew we could make a difference."

Ragna: "what do you mean your abnormally long life?"

Kill-shot: "well I guess this is when I get to start story time, you see Ragna a long time ago, before the immortal family came to earth, the world was once ruled by beasts. It was in that time that warriors who wore armour and used weapons completely made of silver, in fact, they say that their eyes were also silver. They killed all the beasts and freed the earth, after that their powers disappeared and the silver of their eyes vanished, but because of their great service, they were blessed with long life. They believe that when the silver flower shades its tears and sings its sad song, the silver hunters will regain their youth and power, or so they say but frankly I think it's a load of rubbish, no one has even seen this silver flower."

Johnathan: "am with the old man on this one, man has been at war with immortals for centuries, if these warriors were so great, why haven't they done anything?"

Ragna: "silver armour, silver weapons, silver eyes, silver flower, sounds to me like a bunch of old dudes obsessed with treasure, no offense kiva."

Johnathan: "wow Ragna, you're a lot meaner that I thought you were. To think that before you, Vanessa was the meanest member of the crew."

Ragna: "wait it's not like that!!!!"

Thomas: "am heartbroken just hearing you say these things."

Kiva: "I know it sounds strange but there really isn't anyone in Rovahn who can explain our long life span. Although I do admit that after a few years, I did lose faith in my people's belief, I just had to make a difference on my own."

Ragna: "wait a minute? Kiva how old are you exactly?"

Kill-shot: "don't bother boy she won't tell you."

Ragna: "well seeing how you're in the mood and all, tell me about Drago and Helios."

Kiva: "please just tell him, he hasn't stopped talking about army slayers since you returned from his initiation and you haven't told me about them either, so let's hear it."

Johnathan: "now were talking!!! Sis would love to hear this one but she kind of has a deep hatred for you Ragna, I don't think she'll let herself get giddy in front of him."

Vanessa: "keep pushing me baby brother, keep pushing me."

Ragna: "you really never get tired of pissing her off, do you?"

Johnathan: "nope, so old man let's hear it."

Kill-shot: "has I expected."

Ragna: "what?"

Kill-shot: "nothing boy, anyway, we all know the warrior king of Rovahn Titus, he has always been known as one of the greatest army slayers and his two sons were the living embodiment of their father. The world believed that things were going to get better, that an age of heroes had begun, it would have been so if they had not intervened."

Ragna: "whose they?"

Kill-shot: "Ragna, since the very first time Rovahn was attacked by shoguns, only two vampires have been seen, they have made sure to keep us weak and insure that their fellow vampires get their sustenance, kali, the dark goddess and Acheron, the river of sorrow. Kali, who just so happens to be Raziel's wife, created the shoguns and gave them one purpose, to dominate us so that the vampire race wouldn't be troubled by their cattle being us of course. She returned to Raziel and hasn't been seen ever since, Acheron on the other hand, become the shoguns general and he has been a permanent resident of Rovahn, in case you were wondering, he is the vampire we have been tracking. Drago and Helios wanted to save Rovahn by killing these vampires, Drago went after Acheron and Helios went on a shogun rampage, hoping that it would provoke kali, considering that each of them took off with their own armies, it looked possible. Both sons of Titus found exactly what they were looking for and both got more than what they had bargained for. Both princes lost their armies and were confronted by the vampires, Acheron had confronted Drago and Kali had confronted Helios. The sons were victims to one of the vampire's oldest trick, an ability that forces a vampire's will upon a human's mind, compulsion."

Ragna: "compulsion? You mean mind control?"

Johnathan: "that stuff scares the shit out of me."

Kiva: "it's bad enough that they are immortal and wield unimaginable power but to think that they can actually control our minds"

Thomas: "it almost makes you believe that they were meant to rule us."

Kill-shot: "yeah, both were forced to kill their armies but unlike the order to kill their armies, they both resisted the order to kill themselves. The vampires found their resistance to compulsion amusing, and so they thought to leave them something that would torment them forever. Acheron compelled Drago to envy vampires and make it his greatest d.e.s.i.r.e to become one of them and Kali compelled Helios to fall in love with her and obey any command she would give him, the two vampires then left them after that. The results were horrific, both princes went mad, countless magi did all they could to save them but only their mother was able to weaken their compulsion, unfortunately the experience killed her, the king lost his beautiful queen. The death of their mother motivated both sons to fight what was left of their compulsion, Drago had ordered a thousand magi to infuse Drago's power into a set of vampire eyes that his grandfather had pulled from a vampire lord and ordered the legion to replace his eyes for them. Drago's original theory was to obtain eyes that could resist compulsion for it was known that vampires could not compel each other, the procedure was a success, when they tested Drago's new eyes using captured vampire underlings from the battle of the Rovahn walls they discovered that he had become not only immune to compulsion but he had also gained the ability to compel vampires, shoguns and humans making him one of the most feared men in Rovahn."

Ragna: "is that even possible?"

Kill-shot: "oh but it is, Drago's bold experiment has taught us a great deal about compulsion and believe me boy its some scary shit. Helios on the other hand, chose to wonder Rovahn alone, hoping to find and kill Acheron as well as wait for the day that Kali would return to Rovahn, he supresses his compulsion by wearing a mask that suffocates him."

Ragna: "why?"

Helios: "he spends every minute of his life focusing on his breathing even when he sleeps, that leaves very little time to think about your compulsion."

Ragna: "have you ever seen Helios? You know him being a wanderer and all."

Kill-shot: "no, although few have spotted him here and there, they say he wears a copper brown armour and dark blue cloak with feathers, wearing his mask that covers his mouth and nose but of course that leaves his eyes and hair exposed, from what I know he has three scratch scars on his left eye and has grey hair, despite his young age. Drago on the other hand I have heard nothing of, I guess they're still hero's in a way considering that most times the cure to compulsion is death."

Ragna: "that and killing the vampire that compelled you."

Kiva and Johnathan: "what!!!"

Kill-shot: "no Ragna it doesn't, once compelled there is no way of freeing yourself from it, you must fight it for the rest of your life, it is because of that reason why Drago and Helios have refused to claim their fathers throne and seeing as how the king has no interest in remarrying, the throne of Rovahn has no successor. Drago tried to release his brother from the compulsion but it was impossible, Drago suggested compelling Helios to ignore Kali's compulsion but Helios insisted that he learns to fight the compulsion on his own."

Johnathan: "seriously, that shit can mess you up."

Kiva: "after being compelled a person can never be the same again."

Kill-shot: "in the end we can only hope that we never fall victim to compulsion, now how's about you tell me a story."

Ragna: "ok, what do you want to know."

Kill-shot: "where did your father get that sword."

Ragna: "I don't know Kill-shot, before the shogun attack I didn't know he even had something like that."

Kill-shot: "what?"

Johnathan: "seriously Ragna, I don't even know just one thing about that weapon."

Ragna: "well my father told me a lot about the war between man and vampires but he never really told me anything about himself really. In fact, now that you ask, the strangest thing he has given me was this compass, which I swear led me…."

Kill-shot: "Ragna I told you it's just a compass, Ted had analysed it and found nothing out of the ordinary, boy do you honestly know nothing?"

Ragna: "am sorry Kill-shot I don't."

Kill-shot: "no am sorry, am just a little stressed that's all, I need to get some sleep, we have got a big day tomorrow."

Ragna: "wait, before you go, could you tell me how you met Vanessa and Johnathan, I know how you met everyone else besides them."

Johnathan: "oh boy, Vanessa isn't going to like this."

Kill-shot: "well for starters, I raised them."

Ragna: "what?"

Johnathan: "don't look so surprised, a man his age has probably raised thirty kids."

Kill-shot: "am not that old boy, I was still with the legions army when I found them, they were hiding in a pit of corpses, there home was burnt to the ground by shoguns. Vanessa was holding Johnathan tightly on one arm and a knife on the other, she was twelve at the time and Johnathan was ten. The army wanted to dump them at some random village so, I took them in and started to raise and train them, we have never been separated since. Even when I chose to live the legion and became a mercenary, they of course followed me without question."

Ragna: "why did you leave the legion?"

Kill-shot: "the legion believes that the capital and the walls of Rovahn should be man's greatest priority, leaving the rest of Rovahn to fend for themselves against the shogun, I simply couldn't abandon the people of Rovahn like that, so I left, many mercenaries left the legion for the same reason. Now get to bed, from what my source tells me, this job could be a big one."

Ragna: "what do you mean?"

Kill-shot: "well apparently a shogun hive has been spotted near the silver caves and were there's a hive there's a breeder, we bring that down, we could get the legions attention or die, hahaha!!!"

Ragna: "wait, do you know anything about Thomas Noble?"

Kill-shot: "trust me Ragna, some stories are just too dark to tell, so dark that he has never been able to bring himself to tell me. Well I think that's enough for one night now get to bed, we got a long day ahead of us."

The hellboken crew rest up before they get set for the silver caves, Kill-shot may not have got the answers he was looking for from Ragna but at least in some way he had managed to bond with Ragna and he had begun to trust him for when he looked into Ragna's eyes when he said he knew nothing about the sword he saw no lie. Vanessa on the other hand seemed distant towards Ragna, she hasn't always been the most social of the group but she has never shut somebody out this much, knowing her she probably blames Ragna for Nobles death. At least kiva, Johnathan and Ragna are getting along and I guess Thomas does talk with the boy when he puts him through battle simulations, Vanessa on the other hand seems to constantly hold a deep hatred for Ragna, which forces Johnathan to stay close to her so as to keep her from doing something crazy like killing Ragna in his sleep.

The hellboken expect to face another horde of shoguns but what awaits them at the silver caves may push them to the limit of their abilities, in fact it may just kill them all in the process, for what awaits them are not shogun beasts, instead what awaits them is the beast that has been a curse to man since the beginning of Rovahn.

Kivas log: "it has been fun having Ragna around and he has been improving on the battlefield, he has also seemed to find ways of distracting himself from his recent loss. I do however feel a little concerned about returning home, it has been such a long time since I have seen my family but work is work. I have also wandered about this big mission that Kill-shot has in store for us, we have been through so much but we have never attracted the legion, I personally think we should stop trying to show off teds inventions to the legion, they don't seem to care what we do or how many lives we save. We should just stick together and keep doing what we have been doing for so long now, whatever we find at the silver caves may be big, or fast, or strong but we will find a way, we have always found a way, Kiva of the hellboken crew signing out."