The Dark Flame was not always as
he is now. He was born a prince, the crown prince of his people, but he was
also born a sickly child. Each day was a battle for survival, each day he lived
a victory. As he entered his teens he grew close to his nurse, a young lady who
felt sorry for him, this did not suit his parents as they had already chosen a
wife for him. It was to be a political marriage to benefit the kingdom. He was
to marry the sole heir to a neighbouring crown. His mother framed his nurse and
she was put to death for witchcraft, an easy charge to raise against any one of
medicine.
The effect of his parent’s
ruthlessness was to bring a hollow meaning to the young princes life and when he
assumed the thrown, his parents meeting suspicious ends, he ruled with an iron
hand. He married the neighbouring queen on ascension to the thrown, his 17th
birthday. But irony can be so bitter for the sickness that his nurse was
fighting had been allowed to run its course and he was rendered impotent.
With the thought of his kingdom
being laid to waste after his death by opportunists, and the fear of revolution
the young king promptly prepared his kingdom for war. He declared war on all
other monarchs in turn, the merging of two kingdoms through his wedding
creating a large population and the merging of two large armies. His
"black" knights led the charge reigning terror and destruction to all
who did not surrender.
With this accomplished during a
shorter period than he planned the King grew nervous and this stress further
worsened his condition, his sickness became more pronounced his health failing.
His wife became more and more unfaithful, and through the course of events that
followed she was also proven to be barren. Years of royal inbreeding had taken
it toll on the Royal Couple.
One night the king’s sickness
seemed more acute than ever, he fled the castle, in an attempt to die in peace.
Instead however he saw a light in the sky and was drawn to a hill. When he
crested the summit of the hill, his strength nearly all gone, he saw a
beautiful lady bathed in white light. She beckoned him closer and he obeyed.
She promised him power, promised him health. All she asked was for him to leave
the land. He knew no way of doing this but she assured him he would soon have
the power. His lust for power being all that had driven him for many years he
accepted her offer, and thus was cursed.
The Curse
The Dark Flame is an eternal being, never allowed to rest never allowed to return to his homeland. He can be killed but he will return. He will watch all he cares for fade and die. He will commit his heart to many and will feel the pain of loss often. He has no full control over his emotions and this is his weakness as it causes him to grow attached to people whom he will out live. Many have died that he has loved and many more will. This is his curse. He has no true form, though he can craft one given time, and he never truly leaves his domain. His image can often be seen, and through the powers of his mind, touched. All these creations are not actually him.
And so the curse was placed upon
him and he was forced from his world. He created a plane of fire, based around
the eternal flame that feeds him and took up residence. But he was soon
overcome by both loneliness and the lust to demonstrate his power. He formed
himself upon a new plane and vented his wrath upon the inhabitants. The death
count was atrocious and the atrocities many. He proclaimed himself overlord and
ruled the people, as one would own a pet. They were all toys to him. After a
couple of hundred years he found this very unsatisfying and moved on, leaving
chaos behind him.
He moved onto another world and
repeated his actions. This continued for almost a million years until he fell
in love. She was the queen of a nation to be crushed, though he knew this not.
He watched her though the fire in her room and found her all he dreamed of. For
nights he thought of nothing else. He decided to go to her. His delay was very
costly though for one of his own agents had assassinated her. His rage and loss
was beyond anything he'd ever felt, and the power it produced inside him
extraordinary. He took his frustrations out on the world, drawing all heat from
neighbouring suns and he vented his rage on the very core of the planet. The
resulting heat melted all the layers of the planet, effectively killing all who
lived there and changing the ecology of the whole solar system, ending and
forever changing billions of lives. He retired in his grief to his domain and
it was over a million years before he re-emerged, more determined and focused.
He went to the elemental plane of
fire and consorted with elementals and their lords, he searched the heavens and
hells for one who sparked any emotion within him, but he found none. For his
emotions were still that of a human, merely intensified. He needed a human to
love.
He turned to a planet, it people
primitive, and resumed his search. After centuries he was rewarded. He had
found one he could love. He revealed his nature to her and took her to his
domain. They we wed, falsely as an illusion he created preformed the ceremony.
Three years later she bore him his first child. He treasured it but saw how
quickly it was aging, and its mother also. In truth time was passing quicker
for him as he had lived so long minutes had lost their meaning. He buried his
wife 30 years later and 20 years after that he buried his son. Once more he was
alone, once more in grief. This time there was no one around for him to harm so
the period passed unnoticed.
After this he decided he must stay
detached and decided all he should do is study the race generically called
human. He learned of their languages and he learned of their arts. Sorcery
became a passion for him and he did put aside his study of humans, once more in
the search for power. He learned from many races and mastered many languages.
He learnt from demons, he learnt from angels. He study many paths, although his
main focus was that of fire. He mastered his own form more fully than before,
he learnt to change the source of life in the projections he created. Using the
brand of fire that best suited the situation. To observes it seems he controls
his own source, but the dark fire burns ever within. He learnt of psionics, the
control of the mind. He spent 3 million years studying these crafts and grew
more than proficient in each. Then he fell in love with a student. He had long
since started teaching the use of the elements to the aristocracy of the Human
and Elven races and had built up a large school on the border of their
kingdoms. Even when wars raged his school was spared. He had little contact
with the students except those who truly excelled. This particular student had
learnt the basics and even excelled her teacher in the period of a year. Truth
was she was not fully Human, though she knew this not. Her father was an
elemental kin, linked to the plain of fire, and her mother was seduced by his
power. They kept her fathers true nature a secret from her.
Upon seeing The Dark Flame, in his
human form, she fell immediately in love and his emotions once more started to
control him. They were never wed but they lived together for many years, both
on his plane and within the school. She became a truly powerful enchantress and
in time a mother. Due to her bloodline being true this child was like none
other that The Dark Flame had sired. She was partly human partly a being of
flame and was born full-grown, killing her mother during the labour. The first
emotion she ever experienced was drawn from her father and was hatred and loss.
She lashed out at her father, but could not physically harm him. He in turn
sort to kill his child, in his mind the slayer of his wife. But it seemed his
powers had no effect on her either.
She ran rampant within the realm
and he spent the next 2000 years trying to control her. In the end he decided
his presence was provoking her and left the realm, never to return. During the
next couple of millennium he attempted many times to end his life. He succeeded
twice, only to be reborn. Shortly after this he discovered the realm of beware,
far from his daughter and far from his past. He noted many new races there he
could study and took an interest at the interaction between Humans there and
the other races. He once more tried to avoid involvement but, as his curse
dictates, he fell in love once more, this time with another’s slave. He
released her, with the help of a Vampire. He now rides his emotions trying to
deny the inevitable from his thoughts. He has also befriended several others,
Pheonix, Jilly and an Esper named Zaraxanarius.
Powers
♠Control of all known fire, magical or
otherwise.
♠Immunity to physical attacks
♠Immortality
♠No
physical form
♠Pscionically
gifted, immense mind, barriers, telepathy
♠Understanding
of most known languages
