The Voidbreak Crisis

6. Voidbreak

It was a cold, early spring morning as he walked through the village, he could see his breath on the wind, and the chilly air stung his nostrils when he breathed in. He could feel the cold nipping at his ears, even through the hood he kept wrapped tightly around his head. But he didn't feel cold. On the contrary, he felt a strange warmth emenating from deep within him. And it had only intensified in recent days. He'd become stronger, faster, and more resilient as the days went by. But he was also afraid. He felt the fire within him, growing stronger. He felt furious, indignant, but for no good reason. When he was out hunting, he could focus, he could control it. But not here. Here he saw the beggars sitting against the stone walls of the tavern, and smelled the alcohol and rot on their breath. And he felt furious. Here he saw the woman walking by with a wry smile, with her cloak held tight against herself, her cheeks blushed ever so slightly as she headed back home, sure that no one would know where she'd been the previous night. And he felt a powerful rage. He heard the legion's messenger from the town square, calling everyone together. How dare they send an envoy here. This town, these mountains, they had retained their independence for years now, removed from the worries of the world, tucked away in this high valley. Yet the Legion felt they had to control the whole world, that all of Theresia had to be under their banner. How dare they.
"How dare you." He muttered, sending plumes of hot steam out of his mouth as he blended in with the croud, listening to the legion courier.

"Is this everyone?" The courier asked, looking over the croud.
"Everyone that could be bothered to listen to us, yes." Said the man in black and red armor standing next to him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am not here to conscript any of you, I am not here to annex your kingdom into the republic of Theresia, I am simply here," He paused to look out over the croud, making sure they were listening.
"To warn you." He said.
"About what? Good question." He said, beginning to walk back and forth across the makeshift stage.
"No matter how removed from the world this town may be, you've no doubt heard of the Elemental war. You heard how the Immortals took down the element of light, and how they conquered his tyrranical empire. But what you did not hear of, was the corruption of Fire." He said. The croud muttered amongst themselves for a few seconds.
"I thought as much. You see, when the Legion faced the element of fire in Caerin, they destroyed his physical body, leaving the element itself to find a new host. And that it did. It found the Voidbreaker. A ferocious being possessing incredible, world-ending power, had the element of fire bound to it. The Voidbreaker was temporarily defeated, and hidden away in the far reaches of the world. But the Dragon Flame Templars, during the Elemental war, were forced to release the Voidbreaker once more, and it wreaked havoc on the far side of the oceans, decimating the land, reducing it to a charred shell of crumbled kingdoms and ruined cities. The Voidbreaker was never seen again, but his influence lingers, a furious, burning rage that has surfaced in a most unfortunate manner. Now the fury and rage of the Voidbreaker has manifested in the souls of any mage who dares to tap into the power of Pyromancy." The courier stopped for a moment as the croud muttered among themselves once more, unsure of what he was saying.
"And that is what we came here to warn you about. Previously, pyromancy was about unleashing your inner rage, releasing the power within you, and letting go of your fury and hate in a blinding show of power and fury. But that has changed, drastically. Now, deep in the core of every pyromancer, there is a power. An overwhelming, rage-inducing power, that is pressing out against the confines of their minds, waiting for an outlet. And it doesn't take much, believe me." The courier said, taking a step back. The man in black and red armor stepped forward, and removed his helm, revealing a feline wilderfolk, with half of his face horribly scarred, covered in deep burns, and with a metal plate seemingly welded in place of his left eye. The croud gasped collectively and took a step back.

"I know. It's horrible." The wilderfolk said, grinning lospidedly. He was completely missing his left cheek, and several teeth. In their place were metal spikes.
"I was a Marauder for the Legion, assigned to a rescue mission near the borders of Ak-Dovurak. A team of researchers hadn't reported in weeks, so my detatchment was sent to bring them home. My wife was a Pyromancer, a damn good one. But as time progressed, she became angry, furious at every little thing. She had been placed on forced leave multiple times for burning down buildings out of fury. But she insisted on traveling with me. And no-one would tell her no. So she went with me." The Marauder said, sitting down on the edge of the stage and removing the armor on his left arm piece by piece as he continued.
"We arrived at their campsite, to find it wrecked and abandoned. So we tracked them into the borders of Ak-Dovurak, and as we went further in, we found more and more of the research team, all dead. Torn to pieces. This infuriated my wife, and, try as I might to calm her, it was no good. I would look into her eyes, and I saw..." He paused. His good ear twitched as he took a deep breath.
"I saw madness. She wasn't just angry, she was lost to her fury. I tried to get her to go back with me, to inform the Legion, but as she and I argued, the Hordes of Ak-Dovurak found us. And they attacked from all sides at once." The Marauder stopped as a tear slid down the right side of his face.
"And she lost control." He said, choking as he took the last piece of armor off his left arm. The croud gasped in horror as they saw it. A massive, mechanical limb, seared into his flesh at his shoulder. They saw his chest was covered in horrible burns, scarred wounds, and deep gouges that made it seem as if someone had cut valleys into his flesh.
"My wife did this. But the rest of my detachment suffered worse. She tore them all to pieces, the wilderfolk of the horde, as mad as they are, were nothing compared to her. She lost control completely. When she came to her senses, and saw what she had done, she took my blade, and drove it through her own heart." The marauder said, his ear laying flat against his head, and the end of his tail twitching subtly.
"I wish I had died with her there. But instead, I travel from village to village, warning you all of what may happen. Within the borders of Theresia, all pyromancy is hereby banned. Since you are not part of our collective, we cannot tell you it is forbidden. We can only warn you." He said, clicking as his armor snapped back onto his arm with a sudden clang. He stood up and placed his helmet back on as he walked away.
"This is what we're trying to prevent in Theresia, but outside of the collective, we can only warn you. Call on the Legion and we will answer." The courier said, setting a small scroll down on the stage as they walked away.