Asper, Lord of the High Elves's Story

Lord Asper stood up on top of a tower so large it vanished through the clouds, he was in a deep trance, as he expanded his aura throughout the land to see if all was fine. This was a daily task for him, to ensure there were no threats to his realm. His aura embraced to figures, he identified them through the their energy signature as Nephilims. He did not worry, they were probably there to find their comrade, although he did wish they had attempted contact before bounding in. He descended from the tall tower and made his way through the villages, he had no need to rush. He knew where they were and was certain to to walk into them, it was only a matter of time.

Benjamin was about to ask why the elf was crying, but it was too late, she was already gone. When he heard Myra talk about sorting out emotional matters, he became even more confused. "Emotional?" Benjamin did not quite understand. Then again, it could have been something he said which upset her. Nodding, he ran in the direction the elf rode off to. Once he reached her, he noticed the other elf whose DNA strand he detected. "Oh... Uh..." Benjamin honestly did not know what to do. This male elf seemed to radiate power to where he could kill him easily. "Sorry, sir, It... It could have been something I said that upset her. I mean, this is all new to me, so I... am a little clueless as to how everything works here." The recruit placed a hand around the back of his neck. "She mentioned somthing about a surge. I don't know what that is, but I guess... well..." Sighing and turning his head to the side, Benjamin finished with, "I feel like an idiot, now. Whatever I said hurt her feelings. Sorry about that. I'm just that clueless."

Myra watched Benjamin run off and felt a shiver creep up her spine. Following him at a steady trot, she came to an abrupt stop at the sight of the lord. Bowing her head low, Myra wondered what his response would be to Benjamin. She would have tried to stop Ben but she knew he wouldn't get through his mistakes without experience. She stayed to the back of the group, debating whether or not she should step in. "Lord, please excuse Benjamin. This is one of his first missions and he has not been able to master his social talents yet."

Glancing over to Lady Ae, Myra sympathetically smiled and stepped closer to her. Bowing her head low again, she started to feel for the young girl. "I apologize for Benjamin, his skills are lacking in the emotional department." Myra kept her voice quiet and calm, hoping to soothe Ae.

((Humans?? You're half correct! XD ))

Benjamin looked back at the male elf. "Yeah, it may have been something I said that upset her."

Myra knew things were getting out of hand. Facing Lord Asper, she collected herself. "My apologies. I am Myra Faye, guardian, and this is Benjamin Legard. We came here on a matter of business. We don't mean any harm but I'm afraid we have already cause some distruction." She didn't know how to put it any better. Benjamin didn't know much about the surge, and Myra didn't feel it was her place to say anything. She was annoyed however, that he wasn't informed earlier.

Benjamin was beginning to put the pieces together, yet did not know for certain. It was something emotional, that much was clear. Wait! Before mentioning the surge, didn't she react in a... His eyes widened at the realization. She has a crush on me? How is that possible? We had only just met!

He did not listen to what Myra said. Benjamin just kept looking in the direction Ae'Naria went. Unless... the Surge is an indicator of who an elve would spend the rest of their life with. At this point, he was angry at himself. walking up to the nearest tree, he let out a roar of rage as he punched it hard enough that it fell sideways. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

"Why didn't I realize it, earlier? How could I have been so stupid?" Whenever Benjamin got angry to the point of rage or insanity, he would revert to his Leviathan Form, where his skin hardens and subtle fire comes out of his mouth with every breath. "All I seem to do is make a mess of things!" He scoffed. "Some Guardian I am!" He kept at his rants, some of them in French, for a moment before taking a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry. I had to get that off my chest." This is quite a predicament. How am I going to clean up this mess I've made?

((Asper, Benjamin is only half human, the other half being angel. (Myra is half elf, quarter human, quarter angel) ))

Benjamin nodded, not at all intimidated by the High Elf Lord's display. "I'll keep that warning about destroying trees in mind. Anyway, You know of David Gideon? Well, I volunteered for the task of protecting him. Myra was chosen for the task, as well. We were instructed to find him and be on the watch for a Remnant Rage Nephilim called Antony Pyro. The Remnant wants David dead because of the Guardians' victory in the Nephilim Civil War. As for the reason David is here, I don't know. Arch-Nephilim Isaiah won't say." Scratching his neck, he added, "You never told us your name."

Benjamin figured he had to make this conversation quick. Antony could be anywhere, and he wanted to find Ae'Naria and clean up the mess he made involving the Surge. Am I really meant to be with her?

Myra let Benjamin take the reins on this one. She didn't think hearing the situation from a guardian would really be saying anything. Leaning against a tree and patiently listening to the converstaion, she realized how much the realm had changed since the war. A numbing feeling washed over her body as she pushed most memories farther away. As the lord turned to lead them into the city, Myra felt a kind of nervousness. She was returning to a place she hadn't seen for too long.

Benjamin nodded and followed. "I just hope we are able to defeat Antony before he causes too much of a disturbance." He began to wonder why Asper would call the Guardians self-righteous. We're only doing what is requested of us, and we are taught not to be conceited, to begin with. Pride weakens us, while humility strengthens us. We are nothing without God. Either way, what mattered, for now, was his mission to protect his cousin.

---

Just beyond the outskirts of the Capital, David sensed Benjamin and Myra coming closer. I figured Joseph would send bodyguards my way. One of the strands, though, seems to be of a relative of mine. He appears to be of a latter generation. A grin on his face, the former Arch-Nephilim began his flight into town. Once he spotted the location he knew he would meet his fellow guardians and his friend, he landed there and waited.

---

Unfortunately, Lord Asper, Benjamin, and Myra were stealthily followed. Antony Pyro was a skilled assassin who could avoid notice from many of the the most powerful of supernatural beings (other than God, of course). At last, I will confront David Gideon! Once he is dead and no longer a thorn in the Remnant's side, nothing can stand in our way! He was not aware of David's current condition, however, this much was clear: defeating him would deal a major blow to the Guardians' morale.

((Presents??? XD No offense, but don't you mean "presence"? lol))

Benjamin could sense Ae'Naria and her lion coming closer. Oh, great... what's she going to do? He noticed the huntress' glum demeanor, which placed him in a state of remorse, revealed in a sublte way. "Hi..." There was not much that could be said. She was emotionally wounded, and any further conversation would have to wait until the group met with David, who by now was only about a mile or so away.

Myra kept behind the group, watching the world around her. She wondered if the people knew of their arrival, and if so, were they aware of their purpose? She knew David couldn't have made it into the kingdom alone. Someone had to help him, and word would travel. She didn't believe in a stealthy fleeing, someone always found out. That someone, would be after them now. With the lord accompanying them, they seemed to be in even more danger. Keeping her weapons close, Myra made sure to keep her senses awake.

Benjamin shrugged. "It's okay." he looked into Ae's eyes for the first time. She was beautiful, he had to admit. "I honestly don't know what to make of this. I mean, what if my duties in service of God end up making it difficult for the two of us?"

"Benjamin, I felt the same way when I fell in love with a human mind worker named Lanuya. In the end, she and I were able to be together in spite of it all."

Hearing the voice startled the recruit. When he looked in the general direction it came from, the person the voice belonged to became clear. Benjamin could tell by the two scars and the man's brown wings. "David, right?"

The older Nephilim nodded. "I knew Joseph would send bodyguards my way, sooner or later. While I appreciate it, I'm afraid it only attracted a certain Remnant Rage Nephilim's attention. This is precisely why Tamar Hagar, the Archangel of Secrets, only teleported me to this Realm. Any additional Guardians would create an aura the Remnant would not long ignore. It is risky for you, the other Guardian present, and the entire Elven Realm."

Benjamin could not believe what he just heard. "Then, what do we do?"

"If we defeat Antony Pyro, the Rage Nephilim Remnant will be in disarray, thus enabling the elves of this realm to effectively defend themselves from that organization."

((Hope you like the plot twist! :3 ))

Myra had been calmly trying to stay out of the conversation and let the men argue, but as soon as the lord adressed her, she felt her blood boil. No pride for her homeland? What she had done wrong? Myra merely nodded her head and stepped back. "We will fulfill our duties Lord. You can be sure of that."

Nodding her head to the lady, Myra sternly help contact with Benjamin. "You will meet me at the hotel near the waterfall in precisely half an hour. We will regroup there." Striding from the presence of the royals, she remained unemotional until she reached the hotel.

After paying for a room, Myra went up the steps to examine it. She knew getting a room with a single bed was provacative, but two beds would bring controversy. She had to do what she could to keep them under the radar.

((I'm beginning to hate Lord Asper. I don't see anywhere in the roleplay, so far -other than when he talked to Ae'Naria- that indicates compassion.))

Benjamin gave an angry glare at Asper, reverting back to his Leviathan Form in a contained rage. "Like there's any other option? You honestly think the Guardians are cowards?" And this pure elf called us self-righteous! He is unjustly blaming one of his own kind! Nodding towards Myra, he waited for further details.

David cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you being a little too harsh on those two, Asper?" Shrugging it off, he continued after nodding to Ae's question. "The Guardians have protected mankind from demonic threats for 105 years, now. The Remnant Rage Nephilim were once part of a larger group, simply known as Rage Nephilim, their goal being the destruction of both the Guardians and the humans. They were Azazel's response to the Modern Nephilim Guardians' growing prowess and reputation as Nephilim who could defeat entire armies from Hell. I was the oringal leader of the Guardians. When we defeated the Rage Nephilim, they reorganized themselves into the Nephilim Blades. Some did not want to back down, however. These individuals broke off from the Blades to form the Remnant. They want revenge for their defeat in the Nephilim Civil War. Once word spreads that I am here, the Remnant will see your race as an enemy due to my presence in this realm. Their mindset is that anyone who assists or harbors a Guardian deserves no mercy.

The day the Guardians are eliminated is the day mankind will die, which I doubt will happen, but one cannot be too cautious. The reason for their hatred lies in the corrupted nature of mankind in general. When Jesus Christ gave the humans a chance at salvation, Azazel was furious. Every Remnant Rage Nephilim echoes that fury, despite Azazel himself having given up that mindset to be accepted back into Heaven."

As Benjamin listened, his skin hardened further. He knew this part of the history of the Guardians well. He decided to fly over to the hotel, but not before saying to Ae, "I'll be back to talk to you, soon." Once at the hotel, Benjamin followed Myra's strand, stopping in front of the door.

David completely understood Lord Asper's situation. When he had the opportunity to speak, he raised a hand. "While most Nephilim will die, there are a select few who are immortal, to some extent or another. It depends on how long God wills each of us to live." He turned to look at Ae'Naria. "The reason I came to this realm is because it was relatively untouched by the conflict between the heavenly and the demonic. Here, I can wait a century for my death to the energy poisoning I received from baring the Guardians' burden for 105 years. Were it not for that, I would have lived forever. However, it had to be done, and I regret none of it. Every Arch-Nephilim, every leader of the Guardians in the years to come, will experience this. When Armageddon comes, the last Arch-Nephilim will bare the Guardians' burden one final time in combat, ensuring that some of them will live through the end times to tend to the saved when the thousand year sleep following the battle ends. It has all been decided before the beginning of the Earth arrived." Placing a hand on Ae'Naria's shoulder, David added, "Maybe one of those who survive Armageddon will be Benjamin."

---

Benjamin did not expect Myra to behave the way she was behaving. However, if it was to avoid suspicsion, he figured it was proably for the best. Still, it sort of made him angrier, considering the Surge Ae'Naria felt. He whispered, "Alright, here's the plan: The camp we set up has a cloaking device and a device that creates what would pass for an illusion. David can move his stuff over there and activate either one of those devices for maximum stealth. I designed them to mask the strands, auras, and scents of any Guardian within the perimeter radius. In the meantime, We better be extra careful. Antony could be anywhere. You and I both know he was personally trained by Calcifer, which means he can use Rage Fire for deadly results. Should you see anything that would ressemble the effects of Rage Fire just recently used, less than a day old, activate this energy absorber immediately." He handed the gadget he mentioned to the half-elf. "Keep it attatched to your belt at all times. I will wear the other. If either one is damaged, I will personally repair it. I learned from Arch-Nephilim Isaiah how to handle angelic technology."

---

Antony overheard the entire conversation with Asper from a distance, knowing his cloaking powers with Rage Fire have their limitations on from how far away they can work. To completely avoid detection, he had to take to the air, using a sound amplifying earpiece to listen. Lord Asper seemed a powerful man, but that was not what peeked his attention. When he heard of energy poisoning, the Remnant leader grinned. This seemed excellent news for him, because it could mean the kill would be that much easier, given the opportune moment.

David grinned. "I think I know the place."

Snapping his fingers, an orb of light surrounded Ae'Naria and Lord Asper. When it faded, the interior of a massive tent appeared. To the left of him was a desk with some photos of himself and Lanuya when she was still alive, from their time on a French island called "Fantasy" (the beginning setting for "Mental Implosion") to a family reunion where their relatives, including their offspring and grandchildren, grouped together for a family photo. To his right, there was a bed and storage area, along with some futuristic-looking devices.

"The technology you see in here cloaks the entire tent and camp grounds. All any hostile being will see is a non-existent crater." At his desk, David pulled out an old photo from the Nephilim Civil War, along with a profile. The individual whose photo and profile it belonged to was Antony Pyro. "This is Antony Pyro. Red hair, red eyes from demonic energy, adorned in black, grey, and red clothing. He was personally trained by Calcifer to be an assassin. When the Rage Nephilim were defeated, it was Antony who formed the Remnant. In the war, the one energy which made it diffcult for the Guardians to defeat the Rage Nephilim was Rage Fire, a pyrokenetic energy fueled by anger. Calcifer and his trainees were masters of it, finding more uses for it than could have been imagined, including the ability to cloak their presence or make a hasty retreat. Untrained, the wielders of Rage Fire would only end up hurting themselves due to how chaotic it is, by nature. There are two forms of Rage Fire, heavenly and demonic. Heavenly Rage Fire, the trademark of a Nephilim Blade, is more contained and controllable. Demonic Rage Fire, which Antony and other Rage Nephilim in the war used, is more destructive and requires much more discipline and time to master. Many Guardians fell to Rage Fire projectiles in each battle we fought."

Giving the profile and photo to Ae'Naria and Lord Asper, he continued. "Antony uses Demonic Rage Fire and concealable weapons to silently kill his enemies. If he cannot achieve stealth, his Rage Fire can reach the magnitude where someone untrained in the art of resisting it will be utterly destroyed, the ashes of the corpse spreading to a radius of kilometers." He pressed a button, making a training arena come out of the ground outside. "I can teach the two of you how to resist it, but you will have to learn quickly, considering Antony could be anywhere, at this point."

Benjamin felt the strands of David, Lord Asper, and Ae'Naria instantly further away. David must've taken those two to his tent. "I'll be back." Once out the door, he told the bystanders who watched there was nothing to see. The elves shrugged and went about their business. The recruit extended his blue wings once we was outside the hotel and flew in the general direction of the strands.

David knew there was an Elven Spell for that, but he interceded by saying, "Even with a spell, those unfamilar with Rage Fire will have much difficulty spotting someone cloaked in it."

Before anything else could be said, Benjamin arrived at the tent and went inside. "Did I miss something?"

Benjamin now felt worse for what happened earlier. Still, it was all so sudden, and his human side was telling him it was too early to fall in love, just yet. Then again, there was this feeling inside him which was trying to tell him something. What was it, though? "I'm aware that he is a threat to both worlds. Demonic individuals usually are a threat to any place they are at."

David smirked. "We Guardians faced Rage Fire all the time in the Nephilim Civil War. Knowledge of it is commonplace among us, these days. We developed techniques for detecting people cloaked in that energy to compliment our ability to sense the an individual's genetic makeup for maximum awareness." His face became serious, again. "Those techniques involve the use of Serenity Light, which is also the backbone to effective resistance to demonic Rage Fire. Normally, the creation of Serentiy Light is restricted to heavenly beings, like Angels and the Guardians. However, if blessed by one of the two, an individual can generate Serenity Light on their own. The other way a non-heavenly person can harness Serenity Light is through a link with someone who can generate that energy. It is created through remaining calm. Every moment that you do not feel anger or fear, more Serenity Light is generated."

The former Arch-Nephilim knew how tough the current Surge situation was for Ae'Naria and enjamin, so he said to the female elf. "As for the whole relationship scenario, patience may be the only thing that may help, Ae'Naria. Nephilim are half human, and it is in human nature for someone to not realize their romantic feelings for another until after they spent some time with him or her for a while. The amount of time varies." David pressed more buttons. "Now, to get back on topic..." Holograms of Rage Nephilim from the Nephilim Civil War apeared in the training arena. "The holograms you see in there are of Rage Nephilim we faced in the war. Some are now Nephilim Blades who work cooperatively with the Guardians. Others either died in the war or joined the Remnant. It is now the preparation stage of a standard training program on how to resist Rage Fire. I will now bless you and Asper with the ability to generate Serenity Light. Once the blessing is complete, you may step in the arena and I shall instruct you on how to harness that light for your defenses and detection skills."

David's eyes glowed silver as he lifted his hand, a holy orb of light forming above it. It then glowed light blue, the color of Serenity Light, before it hovered over to Ae'Naria and entered her body. The female elf was covered in light for five seconds before it disappeared. Ae'Naria now had the ability to generate Serenity Light on her own. The same process was used for Lord Asper.