Child of Power

            I know my time on this earth is drawing to a near, and I know what I hold must be told. The story that I will write here is true, even if it seems far-fetched. I write the story now, cause I’m going to die soon. My name is Volrod, and I write this cause the world should know about the real “Children of Power[i]”. The “Children of Power1” are nothing more than mans attempt to create a mortal god. Both sides spawn a child at the same time with opposite powers; the two meet and then fuse, creating a mortal god. I know this because I am that mortal god. I have also discovered that it is too much power for a mortal body to hold, which is why I’m dieing. I should start at the beginning, so you know how this whole mess started.

            It was about let me think, twenty so years ago when I was born. I used to remember that day as if it was yesterday, but now I can hardly remember how long ago it was. How sad it is that my mind can’t remember one important fact, but it can retain this story in its entirety. I was born in the small mountain school of the Psionicly gifted, above the town of Wissenburg. Terrible earthquakes and a fire that burned nearly half town marked my birth. That is how the Psionic scholars knew that I was the “Child of Power¹”. At the time of my birth, it was hailed as the great coming. I was taken from my home as my parents slept, so I could be properly trained. That was what they told me. I was to be the “Psionic Child of Power1”. I don’t have the time to write the full legend of the “Children of Power¹” here, but it can be found easily among any books containing legends. Lekannt, the headmaster of the school, knew what the child would bring to himself and the world. From my crib I held a power far greater than most students thirty years older than me. My power’s was great and I held skills that even Lekannt could not master. Lekannt oversaw my training personally. He taught me how to use and control my powers. Lekannt hoped to make it into the great book of history, being the one who taught the “Child of Power¹”, and maybe escape the fate that lay before him.

            At the age of five, I was found locked in a deep trace. The whole school came running; for fear that the “Child of power¹” would die, before he could fulfill his destiny. When Lekannt arrived he moved to my body and tried and to break the trance. When he approached me he knew something was amiss. The trance was natural; I brought it on myself. It all came to Lekannt; I brought myself into the trance under Psychic surgery. Only I could break this trance. Lekannt knew that this move was a dangerous one, my mind could be corrupted by the new power and my memory would be erased. This would kill me; I wouldn’t even remember how to breathe. On the other hand, if my mind were not corrupted, my powers would be far greater than they were before. I was in the trance for three hours, with the whole school stopped, and watching over me. Just waiting for me to awake. I awoke, and the school shuttered at my newfound power. This was just a tip of the iceberg, at this point in my life my powers were nothing compared to what they were going to be. The power he held now was the most power seen by any of the teachers in the school. My powers flowed out of my body, and the students started to avoid me. I was never told of the “Child of Power¹” legend, but the other students were. They were told never to tell me about the legend, for it could interfere with everything.

            I continued to develop greater powers. For the next nine years my training continued. My powers grew to levels that were unimaginable. I held more power in my body than was thought possible. When I turned fourteen Lekannt knew what was coming, even when I didn’t. This is when I would leave the school and set the wheels in motion for the final conflict. Lekannt called me into his private study, in witch no one in the school had even been. This room held the Altar of Tyrael, a sacred place of worship of the Psionic people. I was then showed the Great Psionic book. The book held all the secrets of the Legend, or at least it was though to hold them all. Lekannt showed the book to me and read the “Child of Power¹” legend aloud. I was in shock, “do you actually think that I’m the ‘Child of Power¹’? I do not believe it; and I never will. It is not me you, are mistaken” I spoke to Lekannt.

Lekannt “Listen to me. I know you are he, and I know you won’t let all or us down. Search your mind. You know deep inside you that this is it. You know that you are the ‘Child of Power¹’. Now close your eyes and search yourself, it will come to you.”

            I closed my eyes and when I opened them they flashed blood red. I became a different person and I attacked Lekannt. I killed him without thinking, like a reflex. I then began to draw in the Psionic part of his brain into my own, to expand my own power. Lekannt had a note on his body, “Volrod, if you are reading this then I’m dead. Please take this short sword. It was mine when I was a student here and now it is yours. Also take my ring. You will know what to do with it when the time comes. Please take my diamond as well; it does me no good. Use the sword and the diamond to help you fulfill the legend. Sincerely Lekannt” I did as the letter instructed. I gathered up the sword, ring and the diamond and left the room. I secretly left the school and made my way down to the town and used what little money I had to get a room at the inn. I finally managed to fall asleep, but I awoke during the night and my eyes were blood red again. I need more power; I needed to kill again for power.

            I crept out the window and stalked though the town for a few hours. I finally found a child with a powerful Psionic potential. I could taste his power. I easily entered the house and then made my way into the child's room. Without warning, I killed the child and began feasting on the child’s power. The father heard some commotion and made his way to the room, only to see his son dead and a dark figure eating his brain. A look of anger came across the father’s face and he lunged at me. With a slight hand gesture the man stopped in mid stride. I held him in place, with the anger growing in the father’s eyes. The look had no effect on me and I continued as if the father was not even in the room. As I finished, I slowly lowed my hand and the father came rushing toward me again. I easy stopped his attacks and then killed him as well, with out a thought or a care. I then feed on the father’s power as well. This was enough to stop the hunger for now. I gathered my belongings from the inn and left the town.

            I wandered around for the next four years killing “Masters” and innocent people for the powers that they held. My powers were growing with every kill. My powers were now far beyond the grasp of normal people, and still growing. They grew without bound, with each new victim I was stronger than before. Soon after my eighteenth birthday, a “Master” came after me. He was not there to fight, only to die. The “Master” spoke “I know you kill innocents. You are driven to kill them by a strange hunger that dwells deep inside you. I can stop the hunger if you choose. I warn you the price is high though. From this point on only ‘Masters’ will drive you to kill.” I returned these words: “This hunger can not be stopped, now lets get this over. I can sense your power and it is making me hungry.” The “Master” closed his eyes and let me kill him. As The “Master’s” powers entered my, my eyes changed back to their normal brown color. The huger inside me faded away, the “Master” did it, and he stopped the hunger. When I took in the last of his power’s I feel to the ground a reeled in horror. Images from the past spiked though my mind; mages of the faces of my victims and there families. I now knew what the “Master” meant when he said the price was steep. When I used deep powers or powers that I didn’t use often, the faces and images came to me. The faces also came to me when I slept at night. I could see anger and hatred for me in the faces.

            Now I had killed a large number of Psionic “Masters”, they feared their own deaths and me. The “Masters” refused to use their powers, for fear that if they did I would find and kill them. I now spent a large amount of my time, searching for the “Masters”; I knew that the “Magic Child of Power¹” was off killing “Masters” as well. I was at a small tavern one evening and a fight was breaking out. A man by the name of Chris was getting in over his head and things were building up quickly. I moved to break the fight up before it escalated to someone getting injured. I saved Chris's life by breaking up the fight that night. We traveled together and became friends. We soon became “blood brothers”. Chris was my only family. I had killed Lekannt, the man who I considered my father. I now played the waiting game for “Masters” to show themselves. Chris and I shared tales of our lives, but I keep all of my past a secret. I didn’t want Chris to know what I did in my youth.

            That all changed when one day a warrior came before us to gather their help; his name was Fenix Darkblade. He needed their help to stop the Burning Legions of Hell from attacking the mortal plane. The General of the Army must be killed before the army attacked any towns. Fenix returned to my cabin in the woods with mortal wounds covering his body. He had attacked the general, but he was pushed back and barely escaped with his life. I leaped to my feet and moved into heal Fenix’s wounds before he died from them. My powers were not helping; Fenix’s wounds weren’t healing. Fenix told me that he was under the curse of a “doom knight[ii]” and that his wounds won’t heal until the curse was lifted or the caster was killed. I knew that Fenix had to be saved; I could feel it in my body. Closing my eyes, I placed my hands over Fenix’s body and drew the curse into myself. I then quickly healed Fenix before the curse took a hold of my “life-force[iii]”. Fenix’s wounds closed up and I made my way back to my chair to rest from the healing and the curse.  “Fenix”, I said, “my body should destroy the curse”. I hoped the curse was weak enough to be destroyed by my body. (Magic from the king of Avalon, Gods, and the Magic Child can only hurt me).  Fenix thanked him for saving his life.

            Now we two decided that we should tell each other our stories of the past. I told Fenix about how I am the “Child of Power¹” and what it means. Fenix also held an important role in life. He was the guardian of the Fire-Heart Talismans. The army wanted the talismans to bring about the destruction of mankind. He is the last member of his family and he now held all four of the talismans. Fenix was to guard them from falling into the hands of evil. Fenix gave one to me “hold his for the time. It would be better if I didn’t carry them all around. They need all four, and they can’t get four if you have one.” I pushed Fenix’s hand back and shook his head “I’m not worthy for such a gift, and nor do I deserve it.” (I deemed unworthy of any gift, for the mistakes I made in the past. I now do well whenever possible to try and make amends for my sins, that is why I saves Chris’s life and Fenix’s life) Chris returned to the cabin later that day, with a few friends. As we discussed plans to attack the Legions of Hell, I could feel my body getting weaker by the moment. I was getting weaker as the curse attacked my “life force³”. I was so weak by this point that I could no longer stand, so I sat down. Fenix noticed that I was getting weaker, but I did not say anything to anyone about it. Fenix and I talked though a weak telepathic link, I said “the curse is stronger than I thought and it has a death grip on me. Even though I had no wounds, it went straight for my very essence.” He responded with “I have brought this on you can I will fix it.” With that Fenix rose and left the cabin quickly. I was so weak by this point; I was barely able to keep my head off the table. Chris had no idea what was going on, so he had no idea how to help. As I tried to explain to him what happened though my link with Fenix, he told me that my curse was about to be lifted. As the words were being spoken, I could feel my strength returning to me. When all my strength and powers were back, I teleported to Fenix and then brought him back to the cabin. As I brought us both back, I collapsed on the floor of the cabin. I drained all my powers in the teleport.

            As I lay on the ground, the faces came to me again and I closed my eyes and shook from the horror. Fenix and Chris had no idea what was happening to me. The faces slowly subsided and I was better now. I stood and regained my composer, I could no longer hid my past from them. They were my friends and they deserved to know the truth about me, the full truth, not what I though they needed to know. I told them everything about my past and me. All the small pieces I choose to forget. When I was done, I was on the ground in shame. Fenix spoke to me “we have all done things that we are not proud of and that we wish we could undo, but we can not. We must live with the past, but do not let it rule your life. Learn from it and do not repeat it.” Chris said similar ideas. This picked me up some. I also told them why I shook in horror. They expressed sympathy to me, but I did not want it. It was late, so we all decided to retire and meet again in the morning.

            When the sun rose the next day, they regrouped at a small tavern to further plan. Fenix did not need help, so he left for the time being. Chris was called back to his homeland later that same day. I was alone, so I returned to my small cabin. A few days past and I read a few books and trained my powers some. On the fourth day, Fenix arrived and told me that the general of the Legion was dead, and the army sent back to Hell. He was safe for the moment. With the threat of the Legion gone, I gave him back the Talisman. Fenix then used a technique I showed him and fussed all four of the talismans into one, to make one superior one. We both started to relax, and share stories of our lives. As we talked, I felt a strange force entering my mind. This force was causing me to daydream. I knew this must be the “Dream Master”. I have been hunting him for years now, because his powers are thought to be the best of all the Psionic powers. I could not allow him to attack me in my dreams for I have very little dream powers. He would be able to crush me in a dream attack. I rose from my chair and told Fenix “I must leave and face a part of my destiny”.

To which he replied, “this is not what I think it is. Is this the big fight?”

            “No, that is not for some time. This is just a ‘Master’ that I need to take care of.”

            “Farewell friend, and take care in the fight.”

            “You do the same if I don’t return.” Fenix was now destined to fight Diablo, the lord of Hell, another important destiny. As I left to fight the “Dream Master”, I showed him my short sword and the engraving of the word “DESTINY” on it. This is to always remind me of my life.

            I traced the Psionic power to its source, the way I have with all the other “Masters” I have fought. This was not what I expected. The “Dream Master” was not there; in his place, were his loyal bodyguards. I was not expecting a real fight. I drew my sword and began to fight them off. My skills with a sword are not near as good as my skill with Psionic powers. I had to try and fight them, because the “Dream Master” shielded them from my powers. After a long fight I managed to kill them both off, but I as hurt bad. I had several cuts across my body, and I was in a horrible condition. The “Dream Master” sensed this, for it was all part of his plan. He moved in for the kill on me, in my weakened state. As we clashed with our Psionic powers, he found that even with my physical body weakened, my mind was still as strong as ever. He knew he was loosing so he vanished from the battle. This worried me; for it was not the fist time he did this. Each time he came back he was stronger than before. If he were to keep this up, I may not be able to beat him in the future. I mustered up my powers and closed my eyes. I drew up my deep powers and the faces came to me. I needed to teleport back to the cabin, and this was the only way I saw that it could be done. The faces of my past etched into my very being, burned though mind now. I popped into the cabin and collapsed onto the floor. Lucky Fenix was there to help me up to the bed. I lay down and tried to focus my powers to try and heal my body, but this would not happen, all my PSP⁴ was drained, even the ones held by my sword and diamond. (All which can hold PSP⁴ to be used at a later time)

            As I lay helpless in bed, Fenix keep a silent watch over me. As I drifted off to sleep, the faces of my victims raced though my mind. I have never gotten a peaceful night sleep since my hunger was taken away. When morning came, some of my PSP⁴ had come back, but my body was still badly wounded. I told Fenix not to worry, and with that I placed myself in a complete healing trance[iv]. (After 12 hours of the trance the body is full healed, all wounds, broken bones, excreta) The trance went as it should and I awoke 12 hours later. My body was fully healed, not even scares remained. Fenix and I then exchanged our stories as if neither of us had ever died. He told me that his search for the entrance for Hell was not going well, and that he couldn’t find it. I told him how the “Dream Master” had fought dirty. Over the next few days I took the time to rest and refill my sword and my diamond. After about a week or two, I cannot remember, but I was back to myself, and up to my full power. Days had gone by and still no word from Chris. Soon after I was recovered, a “Master” showed himself to me. He was a young “Master” who was out to carve a reputation out of me. He wanted to be the “Master” who killed the “Child of Power¹”, this did not happen. I killed him easy and drew his powers into my own. He may have been young, but he had a great power. My powers grew, and they were at a new high.

            Fenix and I were sitting in my cabin one-day and out of the blue, Fenix started to have terrible daydreams, just as I had before. The “Dream Master” was attacking him this time. It turned out that Diablo and the “Dream Master” had struck a deal. The “Dream Master” would distract Fenix so that Diablo would have an easier kill.  Fenix would not allow me to travel with him, for it was his destiny to fight Diablo alone. I knew that he would not stand a chance with both the “Dream Master” and Diablo against him. So we struck out own deal. I would take out the “Dream Master” so Fenix could fight the way they were meant to. I was going to cut off his access to his powers. I called the “Dream Master” out, for him to fight me. I called him out in his world, the dream world. I called him out here, because I knew he would not pass out the challenge. As the battle started, we both chose out forms for the Psionic fight. I chose the form of a mighty lion, and he chose that of an eagle. We began the fight in fierce combat; we both went all out. We both tried desperate attacks against the other. I attacked the source of his powers. My claws hit him dead on, but not before he could drive his talons into my spine. Both out attacks were successful. I cut off the “Dream Master’s” Psionic powers. He was helpless. As for his attack, at my spine, I was left with out the use of my appendages. Some may say I was more helpless than he was, but I will never look at it that way. His powers were cut off for about two weeks, and I was only cripple for one week.

            I lay in my bed for six days unable to move my body, but I still had control of my powers. Mid-day though the seventh day, Fenix stumbled back into the cabin. His body was toughly trashed, barely clinging to life. I could feel his “life force³” fading away quickly. I tried to drag myself to him, but I could hardly move. I had to use my powers to move over and knee beside him. I summoned my deep powers so that I could heal my friend. I gave the healing all that I had, but it was still not working. His “life force³” was still fading, so I transferred some of my own “life force³” to his. My deep powers were racing the faces of the dead though my mind, but I could not give up. I had to save his life. After about an hour of healing, Fenix finally started to breathe on his own. I had given him almost all of my “life force³”, and I fell down, in shock from the horrible images that ran though my mind. Fenix then stands up and then looked down at me. He picked me up and the laid me back on my bed. The last part of the healing that I gave Fenix was to reattach his left hand to his body. I was able to heal that as well. After he laid me on the bed and walked to the chair to rest, all that was left, were some scares and a tingle in his arm, as the nerves reconnected to the body. Sometime later, I’m not sure exactly how long after I healed Fenix, cause I passed out cold, but Fenix’s love Candice (an angelic Vampire) arrived to she if he was alright. She was happy to see that he was all right, she had no idea how badly he was hurt, and he was not going to tell her. I was still out cold, but Fenix told Candice what had happened, leaving out the details of the fight. When I regained some conciseness, and she had left, he told me the full story. How he broke though the hell gates and smashed his sword over the spine of the demon, killing him. He also showed me Diablo’s “soul stone²”, which held the demon’s soul. This must be smashed in the “hell forge²” so Diablo can be banished forever. Fenix followed Candice home soon after he told me his adventure. I passed out again and had more visions of the innocent people I killed flash across my mind.

                Days later, I had finally regained the use of my body and the visions stopped for the time being. Fenix returned to my cabin and brought me a gift. Fenix told me “it was his sword, the one he broke over Diablo’s spine, rebuild for me as a short sword. You can use a short sword right?” I told him I could. He said, “It was for all the times I saved his life.” I accepted the gift from him and thanked him. I then fused it with my sword, to make a sword finer than the other two separately. The blade was a fine crystal, with the engraving still on the handle. I told him “I thank you friend, this means a great deal to me. You are my first true friend in a long time.” Fenix told me “Candice was waiting for him at her Tavern and that I was welcome to join them.” I took him up on the offer and we made out way to the New Orleans Tavern. Fenix was going to travel to the “hell forge²” the next day, but today would be a day of celebration. They were enjoying themselves up until the moment when Fenix fell off his chair and onto the “soul stone²”. Neither Candice nor I knew what this meant, but Fenix did. When he stood up, his face was white as sheet. He showed us the “soul stone²” and it did not shine as it did before. Fenix explained to us that Diablo was no longer in the stone. Candice “if he is not in the stone, where is he?” I knew the answer before he said it; Diablo was now inside him. Fenix said “Diablo is now sharing a mortal body with me.” As he spoke, he started to transform shape; this was Diablo-taking control of Fenix’s body. The two now fought for control of the body.

            The fights between the two grew fiercer, and Fenix did not stand a chance against Diablo. Diablo finally forced Fenix out of the body and into the “soul stone²” and trapped him inside of it. Diablo took control of Fenix that day in the tavern, and as part of the deal with the “Dream Master” he tired to kill me. Now fighting a massive demon is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you cannot hurt it because it is your friend’s body that you would harm. When Diablo came at me, I tried my hardest to fight him off, but Diablo just bashed me around the tavern like a rag doll. He and I smashed all the walls over the tavern and completely destroyed it. Candice escaped while I distracted Diablo. He bashed me around, and I could feel my “life force³” fading from me. I fell to the ground and as Diablo raised a might foot to crush and kill me, I pulled my diamond from under my cloak and drew power from it and vanished, teleporting back to my cabin, where Candice was. She was eager to fine out what happened during the fight. Before I vanished, I got the “soul stone²” away from Diablo and it was in my possession now. We thought we were safe for the moment, but just as I stood up from the ground to take a seat, a small figure entered my cabin, and a dark force could be felt from him. As he walked further in, he started to change; this was Diablo in his mortal form. He rose to his full height and I told Candice to leave now. She ran from the cabin after I gave her the “soul stone²”. Diablo came at me again, but just as I was going to fight back, he stopped in mid attack. He looked down at me and spoke in a harsh, demonic voice “I want the ‘soul stone²’ if you don’t get it to me in one weeks time, I will strike down all those that matter to you. You will regret crossing me, you lowly mortal.” After speaking those words, before I had a chance to reply he changed back and started to walk out, “one week, remember that” were his final words to me.

            Candice did not return that day, but she showed up later in the evening on the next day. She came wondering what was going on and what had happened to Fenix. I told her all I knew and what I thought of the situation. We both agreed that he should never get the “soul stone²” for he could destroy it with Fenix in it and Fenix would be gone forever. As we talked, I hear a slight voice in my head; it was Fenix try to contact me though our telepathic link. He spoke weakly into my mind “ . . . friend I am still . . . Diablo must not get the stone. I can . . . the same way he entered me . . . the stone in his . . .” and the voice faded. I dared not tell Candice, for she would over react. Instead I took the stone from her and told her to go home. She left for her home and I told her “I would hide the stone in a safe place.” Once she was out of sight, I call to Diablo “Diablo, come before me. I have what you want, come and get it you demon spawn.”            As I called to him, he walked though my front door again, just as he did before. He stood in the doorway and demanded the stone “the stone, give it to me now. Give me it so I can kill Fenix forever.” I then withdrew the stone from my pocket and said “is this what you are looking for? I can’t let you get this; you will have to come get it from me.” Diablo saw the perfect chance to attack me; he changed into his true form and stood before me. “This is your last chance mortal, give me the stone now.” As he spoke, I started to gather my powers and made the stone float a few inches above the palm of my hand on where is used to be resting. “This what you want I said?” Then I shot the stone deep into Diablo’s flesh. Diablo lurched in pain, as Fenix retook control of the body and forced him back into the stone. This problem was taken care of for now. Candice was called back and she was so happy to see Fenix alive and well.

            I stayed at my home for the next few days, trying to regain my PSP⁴ once again. All my powers, and I was still draining them to fast. I needed to train myself to use my less PSP⁴. This was my new goal. Fenix came to my cabin and told me that he was off to the “hell forge²”. I bid him farewell, and I also left my home, to try and find a place to train my powers. As I searched I came across a small dojo, ran by a girl name Teama Saotome. She was a little girl, but she seemed like she could help me train, and my powers amused her. I set to work on training my powers. I found new ways to use the powers that I currently held. I found new ways to combined powers, which made me stronger, but they still drained my PSP⁴ to fast. The powers that I used, made me bigger, stronger, and also turned my skin to steal. This was a powerful combination, but it my PSP⁴ flowed quickly from my body. I could only stay in the form for a short amount of time. All my powers grew with my training. I trained for hours at a time, until I was exhausted. Each day my training sessions lasted longer and longer, proving that they were paying off. I would soon be ready for my next great challenge. That challenge came about a week later. Fenix stumbled back to my cabin after getting Candice, he was unharmed and he seemed depressed. He told us what had happened; “when I arrived at the ‘hell forge²’ it was not what I expected. It was an ambush; they got the ‘soul stone²’ away from me and used it to free Diablo from it. A link still exists between us, and they tried to remove it, but it was useless. I escaped barely from the grasp of the demon hordes.” I knew what this meant, while Candice had no idea what a grave situation this was. The link allowed Diablo to still take control of Fenix’s body, and if one dies then so does the other. She did not ask, we did not tell her. I took her mind off the subject by showing her the New Orleans tavern, rebuilt as a gift from me to her. She was so ecstatic that she forgot all about the link her Fenix.

            About three days after Fenix returned from the “hell forge²” I felt the “Dream Master” coming at me again, but something was wrong. His attacks were not to kill me, but to provoke me. I could not let this keep attacking me in my dreams, so I went to fight him. Finding him was easy; he was not hiding. When I approached him, demon spawn jumped me. They wanted me alive for some reason. I knew something was wrong, because why would Diablo let him fight me. I knew why now. They wanted me alive so that I can cut the link. The link between Diablo and Fenix was far to powerful for the “Dream Master” to cut, so they needed me. They were going to force me to cut the link. It is hard to keep someone in who can teleport prisoner. So at the first chance I got, I teleported back to my cabin. I told Fenix what the planed for me “they now want me alive also, they tried to cut the link and failed. I am now hunted as you are.”

“We need to stop this before it gets out of hand,” Fenix said.

As he spoke, an idea came into my head. “I will move the link into my body and make myself, mentally, appear to be you. Then I will make it so that you appear as I do. This will allow you to fight Diablo without fear of what will happen. Then when you are about to strike the deathblow, I will sever the link.”

Fenix replied “this is a dangerous plan, so you know. I am against it, but it is the only choice that we have.” As we continued to discus the plan, I sensed something was wrong with Fenix. He started to repeat himself, as if he was forgetting what he just said. Soon Fenix started acting weird, that is when I new something was wrong, but what? The link, it came to me, Diablo was erasing his memories. I could not allow this to happen. I would not see my friend reduced to this. Diablo could kill him this way, and Fenix would have no control over it. I stood and started questioning Fenix about what he could and could not remember. I can repair some memories, and I hoped I would be able to repair his.

            Diablo was not erasing memories he was just altering them. Diablo had changed Fenix memories of his past. The real memory was that Fenix’s brothers saved him from Diablo, but in Diablo’s version it was the other way around. Fenix’s bothers turned on him and Diablo saved his life. I could not stand by and let that happen. I rose from my chair and called to Diablo “come out you demon spawn. Fight me come into my body. I can put up a better fight than he can. FIGHT ME.” As I yelled at him, Diablo took form in my cabin.

He looked down at me and said “we meet again Volrod, now I will kill you.”

 I responded, “I have a better idea, you enter my mind and fight me. I can put up a better fight than he can.”

            “NO, I have one for you puny human, take your own life and I will spare your friends, Candice, and Fenix.”

            “Never, fight me now,” with that anger streaked over my face, this had no effect on Diablo. He vanished from the room, but he left a small demon in his place. I was ready for a fight. The demon charged at me, with a thought I blasted him across the room. The demon was no match for me. I closed in for the kill after several smaller “Psionic Blasts⁴” I decided to finish the demon off. I closed my eyes, just as it came at me again, and a “Mind Thrust⁴” appeared over my head and impaled the demon. I screamed to Diablo, hoping her could hear me “is that all you have?” Diablo again came before me. I knew I could not kill Diablo, he was too strong for me, and so I went for the metal link. I used my powers and stop Diablo from coming though the link for now. Fenix regained his memories and all was peaceful for the moment.

            Candice returned to my cabin looking for Fenix, as she arrived, a big smile grew on her face as she gazed upon Fenix. They embraced and then they sat in the cabin. Fenix and I had decided to move the link later that day, after Fenix took care of some business. We all moved to the rebuilt New Orleans tavern, so Candice could see how it was rebuilt. When we arrived, Fenix kneed down and took Candice’s hand, he proposed to her. She was ecstatic. After he proposed to her, she told him that they would be having a child in the near future. “Wow,” Candice said, “can this day get any better? First my tavern is rebuilt, next a child, and then my boyfriend proposes to me.”

I then spoke “I have more good news for you, Diablo will be out of Fenix soon, and you will both have normal lives once again.” Candice took a look around the tavern and saw it back in perfect order. The time was set to move the link from Fenix to myself. We moved back to my cabin, so that the tavern would be spared, should something happen. Before we started to process, Fenix told me “it will be at least twelve days before the gates of hell will reopen and I can journey to them. I want you to know that you will have the demon for that long.”

 I nodded, “let us begin.” I changed my mental pattern to match Fenix’s, and his to match mine, that was the easy part. After that was accomplished, I then took the link into my body. As the link entered my body, I shook violently; Diablo was trying to take me over. As he tried to take me over, a white light came over my body, which fought a dark light. “The dark light is he trying to take me over, if the dark beats the white, Diablo will take control of me. I ask you if I change into Diablo, please kill me. If you do kill me, please take my ring and sword back to my school and give them to the new head master.” Fenix agreed and the lights disappeared from my body. I was nervous, I feared what Diablo might do to me, I knew I could fight him off better than Fenix, but my deep powers, they would be my weakness. Fenix and Candice went home together and they said they would return in the morning. They left me alone for the night. I tossed and turned all night before I finally got to sleep.

            When I awoke the next morning, it was to a pile of rubble. My cabin was in ruins. As I walked among the rubble, I noticed some clothing that was not mine. Upon further investigation I found two bodies among the ruins of my cabin. “Please tell me that I did not kill more innocent people. I am to weak to fight Diablo.” I feel to my knees, just as Fenix and Candice arrived. I felt remorse for the people, I had no idea who they are, they must have just been people passing by that saw the commotion. As I sat in the rubble, Fenix and Candice tried to consol me, but I was fed up with Diablo. So I tried to get back at him, I tried to take him over. I closed my eyes and started to concentrate. As I did, the dark light came over my body and the white light started to fight it, I thought I was going to win, but with one surge the dark light pushed the white back. He was strong both ways. “I can not believe that I allowed this to happen. If only I was stronger, I could have kept him from taking me over. Those people would still be alive, none of this would have happened,” I said. Fenix “not so friend, if I killed him when I had the chance, this all would have been over.” I felt compelled to bury the two bodies that were among the rubble. I had Fenix, who was trained as a paladin, pray for their lost souls. I had him pray so the souls might be free to go where they were meant to go. I wanted to be alone, but Fenix would not leave me in my time of need. They wanted to get me out of my dismal rubble pile. Fenix took us to a small tavern that I never knew existed. His family owned it, but since he was the last member of his family, it rarely got open any more. Candice need to return home and Fenix was not going to leave me. I think that he sent her away so that no harm would come to her incase I lost control. As people started to come and go from the tavern, I sat alone in a far corner. I fought the dark light with all my powers. When the fights got bad, I would shake violently. A blind girl name Delila entered the tavern. She did not know anyone and was scared to sit alone. I felt sorry for her so I sat down next to her. I made small talk with her and not more than a few minutes into the conversation, Diablo tried to take control of my body again. I feel to the ground shaking worse than before and the lights came over my body. The white light fought valiantly against the dark light, and as I shook I made a loud noise that drew the attention of all those in the tavern. Fenix jumped over the bar counter and was bathed in a green light. As the light faded, he was in his armor with sword drawn. He moved in and pulled Delila away from me. Delila had no idea what was going on, she could not see the light or me shaking. Fenix told her what was contained within me, and what was happening. She was too afraid to move. I closed my eyes and with one jerk of my head back I stopped the dark light. I used my deep powers and fought him off for the time being.

            “I thank you friend, you were going to keep your promise,” I spoke to Fenix. After it passed, Fenix went back to tending the tavern and Delila and I continued our talking. She seemed extremely worried for someone she had never met before. She told Fenix and I that she was a healer and that she would travel with us to the gates of hell. She did not want to see me die, because I was so kind to her. I sat on the floor to ashamed to take a seat again. More a people came and went after the little Diablo stunt. I was starting to wear down and Diablo could tell. I had no way to regain my PSP⁴, the only way is though sleep and it was obvious I could not do that again. Delila and I continued to talk and then out of the blue, I started to shake again. I had no way of letting Fenix know what was going on. I tried to call to my friend, but my voice never left my mouth. Delila had no idea anything was wrong. The white light was no match for the dark. The dark light was nowhere to be found it was all darkness. Diablo rose from my shell. Diablo stood fifteen feet tall. His dark red skin was covered in razor sharp black spikes. Fenix now saw that Diablo had won the fight. He came at the demon with all his might, sword drawn. Diablo looked at him and screamed “YOU, how is that possible?” As he said that he raised a massive fist to crush Fenix in one blow. A weak voice could be heard from inside Diablo, it was my voice “I . . . can stop him . . . keep attack going . . .” Diablo’s fist stopped above Fenix’s head, I was able to control it. Fenix went though with his attack and slashed Diablo’s midsection. Diablo screamed out in pain and a dark light moved over him fought by a white light. I was trying to regain control. The dark light was pushed back and faded out of sight. Diablo’s form melted into mine. I lay on the ground with a cut on my chest. I tried to hold the wound closed with my power, but I was not able to heal myself. “You did well, thank you for keeping your promise.” I tried to stand, but it was no use, my wound would need to be healed now. It could not wait for my body to heal it naturally. Fenix knelt down and placed his hands over my wound “its my turn to heal you friend.” After a few moments, the cut was a scar that would be gone in days, due to my bodies’ rapid cell repair rate. I normally would have been able to heal the wound, but with Diablo, summoning my powers was harder. I refused to move I was too depressed.

            I stood up after a few minutes of ground time, and I took Delila to the bar, so if that happened again, Fenix would be quicker to interfere. I set my head down on the counter, but I lifted it quickly, realizing what rest would bring. I had Fenix get me a glass of cold water, and I drank it down fast. It perked me up some. My fights with Diablo were draining my PSP⁴ fast. I drew my crystal sword, and placed it on the bar. I was going to draw PSP⁴ from the sword to my body, to recharge myself. From my hand and the sword, a soft blue light started to glow. The light carried PSP⁴ into my body, which perked me up even more. “I hope this will be enough to fight him off until Fenix can kill Diablo,” this thought started racing though my mind. Candice arrived soon after the second attempt by Diablo. She arrived and Fenix aloud her to stay. They were married the night before, and they were a happy couple. All was calm at the moment. I was no match for Diablo when he came at me this time; I was not expecting his attack. The lights burst forth from my body as all looked on in awe. The white light stood no chance against the dark light this time I was unprepared to fight it. Diablo stood in the tavern once again. Fenix saw him take shape and he rushed at the demon, but Diablo saw him coming. Diablo raised a mighty claw and connected with Fenix. Fenix crashed though the west wall of his tavern. As he lay there, Diablo laughed at the puny mortal. Fenix stood and limped out of the rubble and got Diablo’s attention once again, so that I could try and regain control of my body. As Diablo turned to look at Fenix, I saw my chance to make my bid to regain control. My white light easily pushed the dark light away. Fenix made his way back into the tavern though the hole as Diablo’s form melted into mine.

            I feel to the ground, not shaking this time but crying, “I almost killed my friend, look at what I have become. Damn you Diablo, I will find away to stop you. Mark my word on that.” As I spoke, a dark light took shape on the ground. The light was in the shape of Diablo and it spoke; “no mortal has been able to stop me. I always win. If I die, I will be brought back, just as it was done in the past. It will go on like this forever, that is the way it is.” Before anyone could respond the image was gone. I recovered my senses and made my way to a seat again. Fenix and Candice both followed behind me. “This is enough;” Fenix said and started to walk towards the door. Candice intercepted him, “think about our child. I do not want him growing up without a father.” Those words stopped Fenix in his tracks. It was getting late once again so we all headed for our homes. I returned to my pile of rubble and sat in the middle of it. I did not sleep that night. I choose not to sleep; I spent the whole night fighting Diablo off. At first light of the next day I was almost to the point of exhaustion. This was my third day with Diablo inside me, and I have not slept the two days. My body was starting to fall apart. I saw two figures approach though the path to my former cabin. As they came nearer, I saw it was Fenix and Candice. They stopped in front of me, and I noticed that Candice held a small child in her arms. The child had eyes and fangs from Candice, but he had a human form as Fenix did. “I see you had the child,” I spoke “I also see that you are both well. Congratulations. What did you decide on as a name for the child?”

They both looked at each other, the child and then me. “Adraena,” Candice said “that will be his name.” As we talked, Diablo tried to take control of me once again. As Diablo attacked, Fenix drew his sword, ready to defend his family. I was getting so weak, and Diablo was moving in for the kill. I drew more energy in from the sword, and I just barely stopped the change. The days passed and it was getting harder and harder for me to fight Diablo off. I also started to nod off whenever I was not active. The situation was getting worse by the hour, and it nine days still remained before the gate would open again. As the struggles for control of my body became more intense, so did the light show that my body emitted. The lights started off as a soft glow, but now they were a bright blinding light.
            Finally, the day Fenix could travel to the gate of hell arrived. He showed up at my pile of rubble a few hours after sunrise. Fenix came to tell me “I’m leaving now my friend. I do not know if I will return.” The plan was that I would cut the link when Diablo was about to die, this would stop him from taking over Fenix and hindering the fight between the two. Fenix told me more of his destiny “I was told that I am 80% likely to beat Diablo, but he will become part of me and I will fight his soul for all eternity. Please do not tell Candice what I have just told you. If I do not return from Hell, please tell her that I love her, and give her the ring back.”

I took the ring from Fenix “I will only take the ring so it does not get damaged during the fight. Have you told her you are leavening?”

            “No, I do not want her to be afraid.”

            I will tell her, after you leave. Also when you return, we shall never speak of this conversation.” We both started to cry now. Fenix “you have been like a son to me Volrod, and I do not know how I can ever thank you for what you have done for me. You have saved my life so many times.”
            “I only helped you because you are my friend. You and Candice have been my only true friends. I owe you everything. Also I looked into your son’s future. You will be happy to know that he grows up to be a man of honor and strength. He will make you proud, but I cannot see his destiny. He out lives me. I would like a father like you. I never had a father.”

We shook hands now, and Fenix turned to leave. I stopped him, “would you like to know the outcome?” I closed my eyes to look, but Fenix stopped me “I would rather not know.” I opened my eyes, “then I do not want to know either. Take care friend. I will make sure people know of your deeds. One more thing, do you want me to try and take over his body? It will help you out.”

            “I will see you again, I will make sure of it. No, I do this on my own. Would you expect help fighting the ’Magic Child¹’?” With that Fenix started to walk off to enter Hell. I stood there looking at my friend walking off to face his destiny. A new thought came into my mind, because I saw a glimpse of the fight. I saw Fenix hurt badly and I had no idea when it takes place in the fight. “If I keep the link, Diablo will not be able to enter Fenix, and I will fight Diablo for all eternity. This will be the ultimate gift to my friends,” I thought. I knew this meant sacrificing my own life, but it would prevent Diablo from ever coming back. I was torn; I wanted to help my friends, and what about my destiny. I went to Candice to tell her about Fenix. I came before her and the child. I had a hard time holding back the tears as I started to tell her about Fenix. She was speechless, and a look of concern came over her face. Now that I look back on it, I let her know more than I should have. I accidentally told her what I saw, and this made her more upset. Her fear was her that she did not want to see her child grow up without a father. I saw the pain and I could not longer bear it “I guarantee that Fenix will make it back to you alive. I stake my life on it.”

            “What does that mean? What are you planning?”

            “I will not cut the link, so Diablo will be trapped in me. This will stop him from entering Fenix. I have thought long and hard about this. It will be my final gift to you both. Your child will know his father.” I started to cry again and so did she. She moved to comfort me, but she was glad that Fenix was going to make it back to her and their child safe. She was upset that she would loose a friend in the process though. I made my choice with a heavy heart. I did not want to die, but I knew this had to be done. I keep speaking “I do this to ensure the future. I have doubts about myself being the ‘Child of Power¹’, and I have never had then until now. I have a feeling that his is my destiny, to save Fenix. I think that it is my destiny to fight Diablo’s soul for all time. This will also be away for me to make amends for my past sins. A chance to make up for all the innocent live I have taken.” Candice nodded, and tried to stop herself from crying.

            I now wondered how I should spend my remaining time. I wanted to help more people, for I realized that my life would be over soon. Keeping Diablo inside myself was a great sacrifice, but I wondered if it would be enough to make amends for my past. I wanted to help people with what money I had left. It would do me no good when I died. I traveled across the land. In my travels I found a small weapon shop that specialized in rare metal weapons. I decided that I was going to purchase and fuse another sword. This would increase the energy in my sword. The more swords I fused, the greater the reserve energy I possessed. As I entered the shop, I started to shake. I did not fall to the ground, but it was noticeable, and a nun that was in the store looked at me. I stopped my shaking. I cursed under my breath and started to look around the shop. I saw a nice crystal sword and I brought it up to the counter. The nun was trying to buy a jade cross, but she did not have enough money. I placed enough money on the counter and said, “It was on me.” Before she had a chance to respond, I was out of the shop and down the road. I did not buy my sword; I left it at the counter. I never even got her name, and she never got mine. It was getting dark again so I set off back to my pile of rubble. It is where I spent most of my nights. I spent them thinking about my future, my past and all in between. My future, once so clear was now clouded. I could not even see what lay before me tomorrow. At daybreak, Chris made his way back too what he thought was going to be my cabin. He was surprised to see it in ruins, and me sitting in the middle of it. He was off fighting in his homeland; he had no idea of what had gone down. I told him of what I planed to do, how I was not going to cut the link. How I was going to save Fenix’s soul so he can return to him family. I told him “this is my way of making amends to the people I have hurt in my past. I will keep Diablo from coming back. This will be my gift to the world. Besides, I have had doubts of myself being the ‘Child of Power¹’. I think this is my destiny. It would explain so much.”

            “You fool, you are the ‘Child of Power¹’ and if you can not see it, I have failed. I’m leaving now. I thought you were a different person, one who would not take the easy way out of life.” He walked away from me and left me speechless. He vanished into the dawning sun. I never saw him again.

            I also walked away from the ruins; I did no stay at them during the day. I wanted to help more people. I came upon a small tavern and I entered it. I saw a girl sitting alone in the far corner, so I walked over to her. I introduced myself and so did she. Her name was Naomi. She seemed sad and I wanted her to cheer up some. She told me why she was sad. Her father was insane and tried to rob her of her humanity by running pure energy, which she called electricity, though her body. We talked for along time, about her past and what I had within my body. She wanted to help me, but she had no idea what she could do. She wanted to make my last few days peaceful. She took me to her private garden, and made me a fantastic meal. It was the best meal I had eaten in years. I thanked her for her kindness. “I don’t know how to repay you for your kindness you have been a great help in making this fight easier,” I told her. Diablo felt that I was distracted, so he moved into attack me. I summoned all my power and drained the last of my energy to fight off his attack. I tried to draw energy from my sword, but it was depleted as well. “No, this can not be. I am doomed; I can not fight him if he attacks me now,” I told Naomi. Naomi knew that she could not allow this, so she went and got a small vial for him. Naomi told me “this potion would recharge you for ten days to your max energy. Drink it, and your energy will come back.”

            “No, Diablo will get the energy as well. You cannot give that to me. I would rather die than give him energy.” Diablo saw how weak I was and moved in for the kill. He came at me with full force and I was no match for him without any PSP⁴.

            Diablo rose from my form and release a mighty growl. He looked down and the table and smashed it. He laughed and then saw Naomi, in shock of what just happened to me. She took to the sky and started to fly around him. She was faster than Diablo, so he could not catch her. Diablo was angry, and his mind was no longer focused. I took back control and feel from Diablo’s form. I slammed into the ground from fifteen feet, and I screamed in pain as I landed. Naomi was fast, but she was not able to save me from the fall. I was out cold by the time she reached me. She rolled me over to see if I had any spinal damage. It was to late, my spine was broken and my heart had already stopped. She rolled me back over and poured the potion down my throat. She did not want to see such a kind man die. As the potion took its effect, I instantly woke. The energy flowed though my body. I said, “You should not have done that. Diablo got the energy as well. I do thank you for saving my life. I owe you big time now.” I closed my eyes and rested for a moment.

Naomi said, “I don’t care as long as you are alive. You do not owe me anything. You living are enough reward to me.” I continued to rest for the time being, and Naomi watched over me. Diablo was now infused with a massive amount of energy. Diablo used this to his advantage and came at me again. I was helpless to stop him with the new energy he possessed. Diablo once again rose from my tiny body, and growled. I may not have had total control, but I was able to blind him. It was my way of making it so he could not kill Naomi. Diablo growled “Volrod, if I only had the ‘soul stone²’, I would trap you in it for all eternity. Only if I had it.”

            “What are you are taking about ugly?” Diablo raised his foot to crush where he heard the voice. It was too late; Naomi was no longer there. Diablo laughed, because he thought he killed her. “Nice try, but you missed me,” Diablo became enraged. “You are fast; I will give you credit.” Diablo screamed. I again capitalized on his anger and took control once again. Again I fell, but Naomi was there to catch me this time. As I regained my bearing and my sight, I started to cry. I was so shamed that I almost killed a friend, and that I destroyed her beautiful garden.

            We decided to move this some place else. We went to a small tavern and sat around talking once again. As I talked, I suddenly stood and held my head, as if racked with a horrible pain. My eyes closed quickly. When I reopened them, they had a red tint to them. The red tint was my hunger returning. Diablo no longer wanted my body; he wanted my mind back to the dark side, where he thought it belonged. He wanted to torture me. The hunger was something that I never wanted back. I started to scan around the room, looking at people’s Psionic power. I was lucky; the Psionic potential of the room was low, so I could control my hunger for the time being. As I scanned the room, I felt a holy energy approaching the tavern. A mane entered the room and holy energy flowed from his body. “Was he sent here to kill me?” I thought. He turned his gaze to me. The man walked over to me and introduced himself as Sir Nicholas Demasey, of the Zakarum². He told me that he came searching for me, and the wife of Fenix Darkblade. A look of terror swept across my face “what has happened to my friend?”

            “Let us go to your cabin, or should I saw your rubble pile. I will tell you more when we arrive.”

            He and I traveled to my pile of rubble; Naomi did not come with. She felt that it was not her place to interfere. Candice arrived shortly after. She left Adraena at his grandfather’s house. Candice started to cry as Nicholas told us what had happened to Fenix. Nicholas spoke to us “Fenix was destined to fight Diablo. He died on his journey to fight him, and that should not have happened. A “doom knight²” placed a death curse on him and stopped his heart. Be happy, both of you. The gods have given me permission to bring him back to life. I will fulfill my destiny. I was meant to help the chosen one to fight Diablo. First I have gifts for both of you.” He handed me a small blue stone. “This is a Psionic stone. When you collect all four of them, your powers will be unstoppable. The “Magic Child¹” is looking for the Magic stones. Only one of you will get all four.” He then drew a fine crystal sword and gave it to Candice. “Give this to your son at the age of four. He has an important destiny to fulfill.”

            “This is a brave destiny. I know what this means for you. You will give your life to bring his back.” Nicholas needed an item of Fenix’s so he could perform the ritual, so he turned to me. I knew what he wanted, and I gave him the ring from under my cloak.

            Nicholas put the ring on his finger and began chanting the sacred words of resurrection. “When Fenix returns to this world, he will not be able to breathe. He will need some energy to restart his heart.” I nodded to Nicholas’ words. A white light burst forth from his body, and when it faded, Fenix’s took shape from Nicholas’s body. I moved in quickly to transfer some of my energy to Fenix. I started to give him energy not caring. I gave him all the energy I could. Fenix’s heart started as mine started to slow down. I was giving him all the energy I had. “I only hope this potion works,” I thought. Candice watched in awe. Fenix began to move as he was back to normal, but a little disoriented. Candice told him what had transpired.  She ran to her husband and helped him to a chair. I lay on the ground and let the potion run its course. “Is he breathing?” I asked. Candice nodded, “yes he is.” Fenix weakly spoke “I owe you again friend. You saved my life again.” I just lay on the floor. Candice helped Fenix up and took him back to their home. I sat up when I was back to my full power. The potion was working wonderfully.

            The next day we all meet at the Darkblade tavern. I introduced Fenix and Candice to Naomi. Fenix did not remember anything about the “doom knight²” or his curse. I threw my head back again and my eyes closed hard. Diablo was trying to awaken my hunger once again. When my eyes opened, they were redder than before. I quickly looked around the room, I sense Psionic power near by and I wanted it. I craved it, but I maintained control. Fenix said, “Cut the link. We need a new plan. You cannot fight him much longer. Please cut the link.” I did as he told me. I closed my eyes and summoned up all my powers. With a burst of soft blue light, the redness in my eyes vanished. Diablo was out of my mind. I was now free, free to look for the stones. I sensed the “Dream Master” close by now. He was coming for me; it was obvious he wanted the stones. I stood and everyone tried to stop me. “This is something that I need to do. This man has haunted me for the last time. I will end it with him now. I will prove I am the ‘Psionic Child of Power¹’. He will die once and for all.” Fenix nodded to me, he knew that I must do what I am destined to do. I left and hunted the “Dream Master” out. We both wanted what the other had.

            We meet in a small forest clearing. This was going to be a great battle. Our powers clashed against one another. We throw powerful attacks back and forth at one another to try and weaken each other’s physical body, before we took the battle within. Our attacks destroyed the landscape. It was a mighty battle before we went to our metal attacking. When we took the attack internal, we had to choose our metal forms. He choose a griffon, with great talons. My powers were greater, so I choose that of an Ancient dragon. We started our attacks, my flames, teeth, and claws versus his beak and talons. The battle raged, each of us striking blows against the other. I blasted my flames and he flew around. My claws found home on hi head. I had landed the deathblow. His form faded away, and we both returned to the physical landscape. As he looked up at me, starting to twitch, I stood over him and said “you have been a great adversary, so I will enjoy killing you. Your powers will ensure that I will win the fight. Take care in knowing that.” I took the stone from around his neck and raised my sword to finish him off. I struck my sword with all my force onto the back of his neck and decapitated him. I then absorbed his powers into my body. I felt his powers flow into my body. I had never felt this powerful in my whole life. I gathered up the stones and my sword. I then journeyed back to meet the others. They were amazed by my newfound powers.

            Now I needed to find the other two stones as quickly as I could. I traveled far and wide searching for the stones. The first stone was in a shop of magical artifacts. I bought it from the store. It was more than I expected. I also found a better crystal sword. I purchased that as well and fused it with mine. I should have asked the storeowner what the sword’s origin was. For when I fused it with my sword, it came to life. It had a personality all of its own. It was able to talk and communicate with me; this was a gift and a curse. The second stone I found on my walking path. As almost if it had fallen from the sky. The funny thing about it was that it was right next to a red stone. This must have been one of the Magic stones. I now had my four stones, and when I picked up the red stone, it fell apart in my hand. “I guess this is why only one of us can posses all four stones,” I thought. I fashioned the stones into a necklace and wore it around my neck. As the last stone touched my skin, my body became racked with new and unimaginable power. I had never imagined that I would hold so much power. I walked back to my house and called all my friends to meet me.

            When the all arrived, Fenix shuttered at my powers. Candice was frightened by my powers. She did not believe that a mortal person could hold such power. I could not believe my powers either. While this was going on, the “Magic Child¹” was enraged that he was not able to collect all the stones. He could no longer wait till the age of twenty-eight, he wanted blood now. His name was Gerrod and now he was looking for me. Gerrod used all his powers and resources to locate me. It took him about three weeks from the time I found the last stone till the time he found Fenix. He busted into the tavern where Fenix was sitting having a drink. When he entered, the whole tavern shuttered at his dark magic power. Three red stones hung around his neck, and a dark hood masked his face. Nothing could be seen from under it, except his blood red eyes. He walked quickly to Fenix and placed a twisted hand on Fenix’s shoulder. “You are Fenix Darkblade, am I correct?” Fenix was in shock, and he could hardly speak. “ANSWER me, are you or are you not Fenix Darkblade?”

Fenix finally was able to mutter, “Yes I am he.”

Gerrod laughed evilly, “Well, then you know Volrod. Give him a message for me, will you. Tell him ‘that he may have gotten the stones, but he will never beat me. I am eternal.” With that he turned and walked straight out the door. Before leaving, he paused at the tavern entrance, and with the blink of an eye, he destroyed four tables. The tables bust into flames as if they were paper. Fenix muttered as Gerrod left “it is . . . him . . .” Fenix was still in shock when I entered the tavern about an hour later. The four stones hung around my neck and pulsed in unison. I walked up to him “friend, what is wrong? You look as if you saw a ghost,” saying that I started to laugh. My laughter was cut short when Fenix told me what he saw “he was here, the ‘Magic Child¹’. He was looking for you. He told me that you may have gotten the stones, but you will never beat him.” I turned pale. “Why was the ‘Magic Child¹’ coming for me?” That was all I could think about. “It was not written this way.” All of these thoughts ran though my mind. I did not have time to ponder it now. I needed to study more of the legend. I needed to know what it was that I was missing.

            I informed all of my friends what was going on. They all shared their concerns, but none of that mattered. I had to figure this out, no matter what. So I left to return to the school at which I was trained. The journey was long and boring, I could not keep my mind on the trip. Twice roving bands attacked me; I presume that Gerrod or Diablo sent them. I arrived at my school, about a week after I left my friends. When I got the school, it was leveled. The school and the surrounding town were in ashes. Someone had destroyed it all. I knew that this must have been the work of Gerrod. I searched though the rubble and ash for any clues that I may find. I was happy to see that the Alter of Tyrael was not part of what got destroyed. This is when I found out more than I was ever told. This is not where I found out what I truly was. That was to come later. I found out that I was not the first “Child of Power¹” and neither was Gerrod. We are the first pair that has made it to fight each other. The “Children of Power¹” are born every generation, and those that die become part of the stones. This is why the stones hold so much power. They have the souls of thousands of other “Children of Power¹” and their power, gives me power. I was never told this part of the legend. I tried to find more, but nothing else was to be found. I took what I could salvage from the school in the ways of books. I also buried each of the bodies that I found. Some of them were former students that I recognized. Others must have been new students. None of the pupils had the Psionic portion of their brain left. It was as if Gerrod removed it so I could not feast on it. It did not matter to me; I would not have feasted anyway. I finished my work and left for my home.

            The trip back was quicker; it only took about four days. When I set foot on my land, something did not seem right. I closed my eyes and scanned all around me. I found our what was wrong. I small demon was nearing me. I closed in and killed it before it knew what happened. After I killed the demon I came back to my rubble pile. “This is not fitting of the ‘Psionic Child of Power¹,’ I thought. With that I started to call forth my powers and I reconstructed my cabin, log by log. The process only took about an hour. When I was done, it was better than before. I was tired from my voyage, so I rested for the rest of the day. I spent a long time filling my sword back up with PSP⁴. This took me over a week to do, since I drained it fully before. My powers were now at their peak and I had all my PSP⁴ back. This was the best I had ever felt in my entire existence. I was still not ready to fight Gerrod yet. I decided to pay another visit to Teama. I had not seen her in a long time. So that day I made the trip to her dojo. She was happy to see me, and to watch me train again. She was even more amused by my talking sword. He got on my nerves at times, but he was a good companion. I resumed my training that day. Teama loved watching me use my powers to grow in size and make my skin harder than steal. This was the highlight of her day usually.

            I continued training, and I discovered something dark late one day. I got a chill, and somehow I knew what it was. Gerrod struck a deal with Diablo just as the “Dream Master” did. This put me in a dire situation. Gerrod now had demonic powers on his side. So I increased my training. Fenix also felt something amiss. He came to me and I informed him of what had happened. We both knew something had to be done. He traveled to the city of Zakarum² and I to Teama’s dojo. As I was training one day, I felt a holy energy surround me. I did not know it, but I was no longer on the mortal plane. Tyrael brought me to the plane of Heaven. He fused with me though the stones. This was his gift to me, so I would have the power to fight Gerrod. He entered the stones and all the stones merged into one bigger blue stone. He took the form of a powdered whit stone. He infused me with new holy energy. My body shook and a purple light came over my body. The light came over me and purple busts of lightning hit my body. They came from the powder white stone, which now pulsed purple. As it hit me I shook and started to change form. When the lightning stopped I was now eight feet tall. The mist around me dissipated and a holy energy could be felt from me. My body was covered in white armor and two silver wings jetted out my back. My eyes were pure white now.  I now was able to transform like this at will. I closed my eyes and started to transform back. The lightning shot out of my body and went back into the stone. I shrank back to my normal size and my eyes change color from white to brown. I now had away to fight Gerrod in his demonic form.

            Gerrod always seemed to know where I was, and how to avoid me. Every time I sensed his approach, by the time I was ready to fight he was gone. He always managed to dodge me and make it to where I was. He repeatedly threatened Fenix and my other friends. I sensed his approach one time, but I stayed where I was. I wised up, and waited for him. Sure enough, he came for me. He barged into the tavern I was in and walked up behind me. I shuttered as he entered the room. This was the first time I ever saw him. The only real detail that I can remember is his eyes. Those blood red eyes, the embraced hunger that drove his madness. Fenix and I both stood and faced him. Fenix went to draw his sword, but Gerrod saw his action and cupped his hands. A small fireball took shape in his hands and he launched it towards Fenix. The fireball landed right in the middle of Fenix’s chest and sent him flying across the room. Gerrod wanted to fight me alone. With Fenix down, but not out, it was time for us to fight. We both started our transformations. The room was covered in mist, and both white and dark light filled the room. Nothing could be seen though the mist, but our powers could be felt. The mist faded away and we both faced each other in our new forms. I stood as Tyrael the Angel. Gerrod was something different. He was over fifteen feet all. He had long razor sharp claws on his hands. He had wings as well, but they were large and had a span of over eight feet. I could still see his eyes though. They were still deep red, but now they had small bolts of dark lightning streaking across them.

            We both readied for a mighty battle. We moved to attack each other, but Gerrod took to the sky with his might wings. He charged up another mighty fireball, this one meant for me. I braced myself as he threw it towards me. I closed my eyes and was able to deflect the fireball out into a near by lake. The fireball fizzled out as it hit the water. Now it was time to get serious. Gerrod came back to the ground “if I can not kill you with magic; I will tear your body apart. Limb from limb.” He came at we with a dark fury, his claws against my sword. We both slashed each other with our weapons. My armor was no match for his claws, but his demon skin was not able to stand against my sword. We fought for thirty minutes, until we both started to feel the effects of the battle. We were both running out of energy. Gerrod was not ready for the fight to be over as we both fell out of our new forms. We both hit the ground hard and lay, looking at each other. Anger burned in his face. We both managed to stagger to our feet; we never stopped looking at each other. He spoke “this is going nowhere. We will fight again Volrod, oh yes we will.” With those words, he vanished in a dark mist. He did not leave without a trace, where he stood, a dark pentagram was now in place and a demon came though the markings. I was in no condition to handle the demon. Lucky Fenix was still around. He intercepted the demon before it could attack me. Fenix killed the demon and rushed to my side, “are you ok friend?” He asked.

            “Yes, I am all right. He was just stronger than I ever expected.” I looked around at the tavern. Gerrod and I pretty much destroyed it all. Out battle was mighty, but we were far from though. As I surveyed what was left of the tavern I realized why our fight would take place in a far plane, which can only be reached by us. Even the ancients knew that the land around us would be ruined in the fight.

            “Fenix” I said, “I need to train more. I was no match for him. I must become more powerful. I can not let all of my people down.”

            “I agree friend. The fight did not seem to be in your favor. You are only still alive, because he was hurt as well. You both went all out and it was a stalemate. I cannot believe that with are your strength and power, he was your equal. You both hold more power than I ever thought was possible in a mortal body. You are a truly powerful man Volrod.” I nodded to him, “but now I bid you farewell. I need to become stronger.” I started to walk back to my home.

            Gerrod limped back to Diablo, and Diablo looked at him in shame. “I have given you all these powers and you still can not beat a mere mortal?” Diablo hissed.

            “He has Tyrael on his side, and even you will not fight Tyrael. Do not give me lip demon. I could kill you without a thought, just remember that.” Diablo growled and raised his fist to Gerrod, but he lowed it. Diablo knew who his master was. Gerrod was stronger and Diablo knew it. Diablo bowed to his master. Gerrod told him to rise. “How can we beat this mortal,” Gerrod snapped. Diablo rose with a diabolic idea “when he trains I can still feel part of him inside my head my master. I have a slight hold on him.”

            “Then use it to our advantage fool.” Diablo growled in compliance with his master.

            I had no idea that all this was going on. As I trained one day with Teama watching, I feel to the ground holding my head. Diablo had a piece of my mind. I held my head and then all of a sudden I feel into a coma. Teama ran to me and started to shake me. My sword spoke to her “he has fallen into a deep coma young one. We need to get him to Fenix. He will better know how to help. He could wake up in a minute, or he may never awaken. We must hurry.” Teama ran off to find Fenix. When she found him, she brought him to my sword and me told Fenix what happened. Fenix put me on his horse and took my back to my cabin; He laid me on the bed and stood over me. My sword then spoke again “thank you both of you. You have helped more than you know. Now place the diamond on his chest, it will help him fight off the coma.” They did as they were instructed. They watched as my body started to glow a soft blue, as the gem hovered over my body. From Hell, Gerrod and Diablo laughed at me. I was at the mercy of those around me. Fenix and Teama kept a close eye on me, Candice stopped by occasionally. They were all curious as to what was happening to me. My sword decided to show them. “Place your hands on me and I will show you what is happening in his mind. We will not be able to directly help him, but we can try and serve as a guide to bring him back to us.” They all did as they were told; Fenix and Teama placed their hands on my sword. As they did, they were transported into my mind. What they saw was a brutal landscape, being torn apart. I was loosing my mind in this coma, and I was powerless to stop it. In the landscape I was flying around in my mental dragon form, trying to stop my mind from being destroyed. I tried my hardest to keep it from fading away. Fenix and Teama watched me fight for my mind. My sword told them what was going on “The dragon is Volrod’s mental form. He is fighting for his every mind. It is falling apart as you can see. He must stop it and repair what damage has been done to it before he can awaken.

            They watched me fight and then all of a sudden, they were out of my mind. My sword ran out of energy to keep them in my mind. It spoke again “I can no longer show you what he is fighting. Let us hope he can stop it soon. The sun in the sky is his “life force³”. Volrod was defending it with all his fury. If that breaks down, he will die. I hope he can pull this off. I have seen him get out of many tight spots, but I do not know if he can beat this . . . ” My sword’s voice trailed off, as it ran out of energy. I fought the coma for over twenty days. With all my force I kept my “life force³” intact. About midway though the twentieth day, I sprung awake from my coma. Teama ran to me with open arms “welcome back friend. Are you ok?” I nodded and she ran to get Fenix. Fenix was overjoyed to see me moving and not unconscious body. I was stronger; their plan backfired. Gerrod screamed, “Diablo you fool it did not work.”

            “You had time to kill him, but what did you do in that time? Nothing. You did nothing at all. He lay helpless and you did nothing.”  Gerrod’s eyes grew dark red. “Never speak out of turn again. If you do I will kill you, and you know I can do it. So watch your tongue, you insolent demon.” They continued to argue, as I regained by bearings. Fenix and Teama told me of what had transpired while I was unconscious. I thanked them for watching over me and keeping me safe in my time of need. I recharged my sword with energy and it sprung back to life. I needed to resume my training, incase Gerrod came for me again. I was surprised that he did not attack while I was unconscious. Even though he is ruthless, I do not think he would have killed me like that. He would have taken no pride in it. I traveled with Teama to her dojo to continue to train my mind.

            We returned to her dojo to find it ablaze. I could sense Gerrod still around. I drew my sword and told Teama to run. She took off back the way we came, but it was to late. Gerrod picked her up with his clawed handed. “One of yours’ Volrod? I think I will kill her now.”

            “Never! She is not part of this.” I closed my eyes and transformed into Tyrael once again. “We will fight again.” I drew my blade and took a fighting stance. Gerrod pitched Teama at me, and I dropped my blade to save her. I caught her and set her safely on the ground and she ran from the battle. As I set her down, Gerrod charged a fireball in his hands. He blasted in right into my chest. It caught me off guard and I feel to the ground as it impacted. He moved over to me and stared down at me, “pathetic, I knew your friends would be your weakness.” I swept his feet out from under him and stood. I picked up my blade and put it to his throat. “Only you Gerrod would see friends as a weakness.” Gerrod rose to face me. We started at each other; it was time to fight again. We were both ready for this. We faced off, both waiting to make a move. We circled for a few moments and then it happened. He rushed at me with a claw drawn back. I anticipated his attack and raised my blade to stop it. I drew my blade back and went to strike him back. He took to the sky to avoid by blow. I looked up at him, and placed my finger on my forehead. I charged a blast and released it towards Gerrod. Gerrod saw me and charged up another fireball for me. Our mighty powers collided and canceled each other out. We were at another stalemate. Our powers were equal. Gerrod came back to the ground and stared down at me. “I see your powers have grown with the coma. You can thank me for that. It was my attempt to kill you, but I see it did not work.”

            “You tried to kill me? I should have known only you would be that cowardice.”

            “Be happy, I did not strike you down while you were unconscious. You should consider yourself lucky that I did not kill you where you lay. I gave you a fighting chance.”

            “You will regret not killing me when you had the chance.” We started attacking each other again. The fight went the same as the first fight. Both our powers were equal. Gerrod became enraged that he could not over come my powers. He became reckless in his attacks. Still he was not able to over come me, or I him. We both fell to the ground. After a few moments we made our ways to our knees. Gerrod screamed, “I could not believe that I can not over come your power. You weakling. I despise you.” He vanished again from the battlefield. Nothing remained where we fought. The rubble of Teama’s dojo was even wasted away.

            I gathered back my power and energy. I traveled back to my home and collapsed on my bed. I slept for two days. On the third day I awoke and felt renewed. I found Teama crying over her ruined dojo. It was her home as well. Fenix was also doing well. Diablo had not attacked him or his family since Gerrod showed up. I told Fenix “this is getting out of hand. I need to kill him soon. He grows more powerful with every fight.”

            “Friend, you grow stronger as well.”

            “I do not know how much longer I can hold out though. This last fight he nearly won. It was only because he became enraged at me. I capitalized on his mistakes to stay alive.” We continued to speak for a few hours. Gerrod also exchanged words with Diablo. They were both angered over my matching Gerrod’s powers. To them me being this powerful was unacceptable. They wanted to find another way to try and weaken me. They tried to come up with another plan, but they could not think of anything at all. They had no idea how to beat me. Fenix and I trained more and I become stronger. I felt I was ready for the final showdown, me versus Gerrod. The “Psionic Child¹” versus the “Magic Child¹” once and for all. I sent him a telepathic message that we would meet and end this once and for all. He agreed and we made our final preparations. I told him to meet me in the isolated woods, I found that there was the plane only we could enter, and only one of us could return. I left and made by way to the isolated woods. I meet Gerrod there, and we were ready to begin.

            We both focused our transportation powers onto a small tree, as we did a doorway opened. We stepped though to the final plane. This was it, time to face my destiny. We both knew what was ridding on this fight. The final plane was not what we expected at all. It was vast nothingness. It was a completely empty void of space, nothing for us to use against each other and nothing to worry about destroying. After we stepped though the door it closed behind us. I drew my sword and he drew his, the fight was about to begin. We were both at our finest during the fight. We saved our transformations for later. I called forth my first transformation. I started to glow bright yellow and I released a might yell. My muscles then bulged, and my skin turned to steal. Gerrod called forth a mighty lightning bolt that crashed down upon me. I barely avoided the bolt. He was impressed by my transformation, so he decided to show me one of his. With a blast of dark energy, he was clouded in a dark mist. When the mist cleared, he was as tall as I was, but his skin was back as sat cloth and was covered in spikes. “Now, let us fight for real Volrod.” He came at me with all his force. I took a side step and then I slashed at his open backside. My blade made contact, but it did not break his skin. He turned to face me and swiped at me with a long claw. His claw broke on my skin. Gerrod said “this is taking us nowhere. I shall take it up a notch.” With that he summoned his powers and embraced his demon form. His wings shot out his back and then he took to the sky. I called forth my deep powers and called forth a might Psionic blast. Gerrod was not able to stop this one. It caught him in mid flight and he came crashing to the ground. When he impacted he made a gigantic creator. As the dust started to settle, he blasted me with the biggest fireball I have ever seen. It stuck me blind side and threw me half way across the final plane. The fight continued back and forth, before I transformed into Tyrael. The aurora around me started to flicker, I was losing energy fast in this form. I feel to my knees, breathing hard but I pressed on. I did not want to call Tyrael yet. I again focused my powers for another blast, but Gerrod saw it coming. With a slap of his hand, he deflected it as if it was a child throwing a small rock at him. “Is that the best you can do Volrod?” Gerrod asked. “If it is you are in deep trouble.” He took to the sky again and flew so high that I could no longer see him. I knew he was up to something. As I looked up, thunder started to race over the sky. He was calling forth a dimensional storm to attack me. Bolts of lightning rained down all around me. I was no match for his powers as they struck me down. I feel to my knees and I lost control of my form. The yellow aurora faded and I looked up at him. He gazed down and me and laughed. “Pitiful” he said to me. I looked up and him and grasped my hand together and bashed him hard. He fell backwards. This gave me enough time to transform into Tyrael. I called Tyrael forth and I became him just as I have done before. Gerrod looked at me shocked, because he knew the fight just turned into my favor. I rose from my knees and I drew my holy blade. With a quick slash, I cut his left arm off. It fell to the ground and bust into flames. When the flames burned out, a small red crystal was left in its spot. Neither of us had time to thin about it. I moved at him again, but once more he took to the air. This time I followed. He was charging up his lighting attack again, but in the middle of his summon I struck him again, this time right in his midsection. He was mortally wounded. He knew he was done for, but he hoped he could take me out with him. I kicked him hard and he fell back to the ground. I swooped down fast and drove my sword deep inside his skull. As my blade made contact, the final realm started to rip itself apart at the seams. Gerrod turned into a red stone, the size of my Psionic stone. I could feel the magic energy inside it. I retrieved the stone and vanished from the final plane, just as it destroyed itself.

            I had won the fight. I fulfilled my destiny. I walked to my cabin, too weak to teleport and I passed out. The next day when I awoke, my sword spoke to me “Very good Volrod. Do you know what to do with the Magic stone?”

            “I have no idea.”

            “You need to place in around your neck and allow it to make contact with your skin, just like the Psionic stone. Beware, great power will come with both stones.”

            “Yes, more power. I need more power.” For some reason after I killed Gerrod I thirsted for more power, but not from people. I thirsted for power from the stones. I had brought peace to the land and I proved that Psionic’s were better than Magic. As the stone touched my skin I was dropped to the ground as new powers surged though my body. My sword was right; the powers from both stones were incredible. I shook terribly as the new power swept over my body. My head ached from all the knowledge I got at once. Not only did both stones confer power, but knowledge as well. This was more than I ever dreamed of. “Lekannt, if only you could see me now. I would have made you so proud. I wish you could have lived to see this day. Now I must fulfill the rest of the legend. For I now know what it is. I must destroy Avoulon. Yes I will crush it beneath my boots. The King of Avoulon will shutter at my powers.” As I spoke, I felt different. I felt someone else inside me. It was Gerrod; he was responsible for saying that. He then informed me “that we are one in the same, and that the winner of the fight is the dominant power of the body.” He still had partial control. He was the one that wanted to burn down Avoulon. I contained him inside the Magic stone and left him there to rot. He had caused enough problems with his powers; I did not want him to have access to mine as well.

            Diablo was in Hell laughing at Gerrod. Diablo was now his own master again and he answered to no one. He was pissed off by Gerrod controlling him the way he did and he thought that Gerrod got what he deserved. Diablo now wanted to exact revenge on Fenix and his family for the past. Fenix was up for the fight with Diablo. Diablo had grown soft Fenix said. Fenix killed Diablo with relative ease, but Fenix said that when Diablo died, he had a message. The message was to you Volrod. “He wants you to return to your homeland and look for the Alter of Tyrael. You will find that it is a fake.” That was the message Fenix told me.

            With out delay I set out for my homeland. I moved as fast as I could, but somehow I wanted to move faster. When I reached my homeland it was still in ruins, which had not changed. “The Alter of Tyrael was destroyed I thought. It was in Lekannt’s private study, and when I came here last time it was not there” I thought. I explored the remains of my school harder. I did find that the Alter of Tyrael was where it should have been; it was that Lekannt’s study was moved. I opened the door to the Alter and I moved in to investigate. The Alter was just as I remembered it, the first time I set my eyes upon it. I searched hard and I found on Lekannt’s side that there was a small button. I pressed the button and the Alter changed. Diablo was right, it was all fake. I was now in a room filled with books and strange machines all over it. I open one of the books and I started to read from it. “This is our latest try at our mortal god plan. Volrod is the name of the Psionic half, and Gerrod the Magic half. We have great faith in this set of twins. We feel that they will fuse and form the mortal god that this project has tried for generations to make.”

            “My whole life a lie? Was a project of Psionicists to make a mortal god?” All these thoughts and more ran though my mind. As I read more of the books and studied the machines, I fell to the ground in pain. My body shook from pain as my powers flowed though my body. I picked myself up and started to read more. I found a book with an entry of over thirty years ago and I read it to myself. “The most recent attempts have failed. We need to find away to increase the power and energy the mortal body can hold. The last set of twins both decayed from a result of too much power in the mortal body. We need to find away around this if we are to move forward in the experiments. On a persona note, I can not wait to create the mortal god so it can crush all the gods and rival their power.” I could not believe what I was reading. My whole life was just an experiment, Gerrod must have known this and that is why he destroyed the school. That must also be why he wanted to burn down Avoulon; it must have similar machines. My body now started to feel like it was going to explode. I was having a hard time controlling some of my powers; this must have been what the others went though. How horrible it must have been.

            I gathered as much of the books I could and took them from the lab. I closed my eyes and with a thought the whole lab shattered as if it was glass. I took the books at a small cave system that I hid in for a few years when I first left my school. I knew the system well and figured it would be a nice place to rest for a few days and read the books. As each second passed my body felt more and more out of my control. I could feel my raw power and energy surge though my blood vessels. After a few days all I could do was read, for I had lost total control of all my body functions. A man named Jared Flamestrikes wandered near the cave and I called him into it where I was. I told him that he must deliver this to Fenix Darkblade and that he must give my sword to Teama. He was happy to help me with it.

            This part was added later, written in by Fenix Darkblade

            I traveled to the cave complex where Volrod was said to have been. I found that cave easily, because I could feel his power still. I climbed to the cave and I stood and looked in terror. Volrod was dead. He must have killed himself, by terminating his own “life force³”, the very “life force³” that he fought to defend so valiantly last time.