The Infernal : The Rise Of A King (K.TH)

Ch 20: Unexpected Rage

Laguna

I had always admired Infernals, the way they possessed inhuman strength, speed, and intelligence. To think there would be someone so loyal to you, their only purpose is to protect you. They see you as a god, worship you, and obey you. The thought of having someone overly obsess about you....thrilled me.

At the orphanage, the caregivers would often tell us tales about Infernals. To spread awareness of their danger, to scare us as a tease. The kind of tales we wanted to hear on a rainy night. Yet the more tales I heard, the more I despised being a human. It only gave away that we are weak beings, afraid of change, afraid to excel and test ourselves. So I prayed to each evening star, wishing to be an Infernal. To become something powerful.....

At the age of seven, a dead flower I held in my hand regained life. The gods answered my prayers and granted me a gift. From there on out, I used each passing day to train myself. I would be cooped up in the library reading up on all books involved with magic. They would tell tales about the bloodlines of witches and mages. I don't know who my parents were, I have been passing these orphanage halls ever since I could open my eyes. My parents were no longer among the living is what I have been told. So I drew my own story and decided I was destined for greater purposes.

At the age of fourteen, I was still only a clueless child capable of bringing flowers and various plants to life. I didn't have a master to teach me things about sorcery, no books of wisdom. It was all I was capable of. One day the director her favorite flowers died, they didn't survive the heavy storm that passed. The petals chipped off and their stems broke. They were African violets and as a favor, I revived them. I still remember her face and those of the caretakers. How their eyes widened, their throats ran dry. The younger children praised me with sparkling eyes while jumping around. I was convinced that....they would fall down on their knees and worship me, but I was wrong.

Instead, I got cursed for being a witch. They have beaten me and locked me up in a disclosed room. An old, dusty reeking room that was found somewhere in the basement. I can recall the smell and the number of mice and insects that tickled my feet.

Perhaps I had spent a mere week there before being sold off. The man who bought me was an old bearded giant. The people around him referred to him as 'doctor.' Days of endless torture awaited me. I was a guinea pig to him, a tool for his experiments. He was a psychopath with an obsession with anything that was inhuman. Witches, Infernals....he loved experimenting on us. Thanks to his endless torture I started to develop as well. A surge of magical energy triggered within me over the years I spend there. I wasn't the only one, there were more of us. Infernals as well. Living as numbered test subjects it was orderly for us to become acquainted with one another. So I met a girl...a witch like me, but unlike me, she was a powerful one. During our lockups, she shared her knowledge with me. We trained in secret and slowly but surely I started to develop. The closer I got to her level, the more I started to despise her. She was capable of many things, capable of getting rid of that doctor who tortured us all. But she was too weak-minded, a coward. The power she held was a waste on her........I hated her for it.

My youthful years ended in torture and stepping into adulthood brought a different journey. The doctor died and we the subjects managed to escape. Splitting our way and descending on different paths. I became a traveler, relying on my abilities for survival. It cleared a lot of things for me, humans despised us and I started to despise them. I just wanted a place...to call home people to rely on and turn to in need. Just like in all those perfect stories that were told to me during bedtime. Yet whenever someone discovered what I truly was they cursed at me and tried to kill me. 

That was until I met Leo. He smiled...and embraced me. Called me extraordinary and gifted. He was the only one who found my existence a blessing. So upon his request, I joined his crew and strong group of raiders. My meals were delicious, my bed warm, and the place we lived was harmonious, but it didn't truly feel like I belonged there.