Heroes' Calling

Heroes' Calling

AuthorHouse

Chapter One

I never thought my life would take the turn that it did, I never thought I'd meet these people I've come to call friends, and I never believed that I would be considered a hero by some and a villain by all. It started a few years ago when I realized that I would not live my life confined by human laws that allow the strong to govern the weak, I just wouldn't take it. This pyramid of power where everyone is forced to be a follower and if you're rich enough, you get to be a leader for however long your money allows. I once believed the saying "no fate but what we make" well I can say that this is the fate I am making for myself ...

[Flashback - Edge is being pushed around by kids all bigger than he is in a school playground]

There were always bullies, its just up to you to take it or fight it, well I took it ... I was too scared to fight it. Being the smallest kid in a school playground of Latino's and Black's where you were the only lil Asian boy meant that no one was coming to your aid, if you took their punishment than you wouldn't have to suffer too much. But I kept letting myself get pushed over and over again, and I was already so close to the edge. One day I exploded on a boy who had always found his fun in picking on me relentlessly, I felt the anger, the fire inside grow and become an inferno, the whole school yard was consumed by a flash fire. Everyone was burnt to some degree or another, and me? I was the only kid still standing, they called me the miracle child who survived the freak accident, and the bully? His ashes blew away in the wind. From that day on I knew I had to nurse this fire, I had to control it, and make it my own. This was my lil secret, this is what I would use to define my life ...

[Edge is in a confined area of Central Park hard to get to on foot, he is practicing his ability to control fire along with basic punches and kicks]

As I grew up I practice each day to draw out the fire inside. By the time I reached junior high I was able to release it in small fireballs, and by high school I was able to control and wield it as I wish, making it do whatever I want. And by the time of graduation I was even able to fly with it. I started to wonder though, was I the only one? I couldn't be ... how would it make sense that I'm the only one? Where would I even start to look? I graduated high school by myself, all my friends left a semester earlier ...

I started college only to realize it wasn't for me, and a year later I dropped out. I realized though while taking a course in college that I wanted to be a welder, I loved the feel of the fire and heat, so I made up my mind. That summer off would be the last time I'd be free. I hung out with my friend Perry and went to the beach and such. We all got together, the small handful of my friends, and we spent that summer just having fun. As the summer drew closer to an end I met a new friend from an art website I frequented, he's a friend I've come to know as Cory. When the summer was over I started my new school, it was a trade school that taught HVAC, auto mechanics, engines, and a whole buncha other stuff, I was in the welding department.

Perry never knew about my gift, in fact no one did, it was sumtin I kept to myself ... anyway, my friendship with Cory grew and he told me he and his family were coming up to New York for the holidays, I looked forward to meeting him. A few days before his departure he was starting to act strange, he kept asking me if I could change the world, what would I do, what would I want? If there was a war for the human race and freedom from God, would I be willing to fight for it? He told me he would explain in person, so I waited ...

Chapter Two

I received word from Cory that he had arrived in New York City but due to his mom planning everything out he wouldn't be able to see me until the last day. I had class even though it was the holiday vacation for everyone else, cuz my school is retarded like that. It didn't matter, this whole week the transit authority was on strike so I couldn't get to school anyway. When you think about it, I got my vacation one way or another.

Cory was a tall white dude, he comes from a rich family so he's pretty well off in life. He's pretty typical, the laid back type with short but scruffy brown hair and a goatee, all he knows is work, work, work, and the time he has off he goes and shops like a rich kid. Now Perry on the other hand was quite the opposite, he was a tall brown skinned Puerto Rican kid I met from a mutual friend. Unlike Cory, he's ... well for lack of a better term, poor, I may not have known him long but I get along with him great, he's one of my closest friends ... granted I been through a few, but you live and learn.

The days passed and the strike ended, I would go out for my nightly lil walks and of course I'd choose the worst neighborhoods to go to just so people can fuck with me. But tonight I decided to go to Battery Park in Manhattan, there was this water fountain that's on at random times and it just so happened to be on this night. It was relaxing and calming, I sat down and reflected on the events of this year. It wasn't long as I stared into the jets of water when I felt a tap on my shoulder ...

[Edge is sitting on a bench staring into the water jets, he feels a tap on his shoulder, slowly turning to see who it is and in shock he falls off the bench]

Edge: (rubbing his tail bone) damn that hurt

Cory: Oh, I'm sorry did I startle you?

Edge: Is that ... you?

Cory: In the flesh

Edge: I'm impressed how did you know I was here?

Cory: (winks) I know everything

Edge: Yeah sure, so how are you, how's the city life

Cory: Could be better, then again it could be worse, I'm with my mom, always complaining, anyway, what's up, how are you?

Edge: I'm fine, just thinking about some stuff, that's all. Hey, a few weeks ago you said you wanted to tell me sumtin, all this changing the world and crap. What were you talking about?

Cory: Oh yeah, that ... well I'll cut to the point, I need your help

Edge: With ...?

Cory: Judgment

Edge: Judgment of what?

Cory: No, his NAME is Judgment

Edge: Come again?

Cory: I know about you Edge, your fire ...

Edge: (backs away quickly) what ...?

Cory: Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you

Edge: (with a stern look on his face) assuming you can ...

Cory: Technically... yes and no, look all I'm asking is for you to just hear me out?

Edge: Sure ... why not

Cory: Hahahaha alright here we go!

[Before Edge can react Cory grabs his hand and pulls him into a bubble like object, and they disappear into a tunnel of light]

Now, I seen some crazy shit before but this can't be happening, was he like me? Was he one of those "special" people out there in the world that I've been looking for? I looked at him while he gazed ahead into the tunnel, I stayed as calm as I could.

Cory: I'm going to show you something that will help you understand

Edge: Where we going?

Cory: Not where, but when, this world you see before you is the outcome of a massive war

[They come to a stop at the end of the tunnel, Cory taps on the bubble gently and they push back into reality, Edge looks through the bubble and he sees a world that is barren with little life, small fires everywhere, but yet buildings that looked as if they were from a sci-fi movie]

Cory: Edge ... this is the truth

Chapter Three

Edge: What ... what is this?

Cory: This is the world as it was before The Great War

Edge: The Great War?

Cory: Yes, it was a war between Lucifer and Jehovah that changed the world into what you know now

Edge: Wait ... wait wait wait wait wait ... you JUST said Jehovah and Lucifer?

Cory: Um yeah ... something wrong?

Edge: (mumbles) oh my fucking god religion is right, I can't believe This ...

Cory: Actually no it's not. Religion as it is now is just a facade to cover up the truth

Edge: So then religion is wrong?

Cory: Well ... it's been rewritten to conceal the truth if that's what you mean

Edge: WOO HOO! Hhahahaha in your face churches

Cory: Okay ... anyway, this was right before The Great War, Lucifer banished the demons who deviated from the darkness and Jehovah banished the angels who rebelled against the holy

Edge: Wait what exactly happened?

Cory: You remember the bible saying that Adam and Eve were the first people that god created?

Edge: Yeah

Cory: Well, it's quite the opposite, they weren't humans at all, Adam was an Angel, and Eve was a demon

Edge: WHOA ... that's completely outta this world

Cory: Oh it gets better, they created the first union and had the first child, that child was a human

Edge: Oh ... you're shitting me, keep going this is way too interesting ...

[As Cory tells Edge about the past they move around the terrain and see the sights of the great towers in the small cities, Edge is in awe of what he sees and is completely taken in by the sights and sounds]

Cory: The world was barren and life was hard, but shit happens right?

Edge: Was it always this way?

Cory: Not even I or my mom knows that, but what I do know is that Lucifer and Jehovah have always hated each other, and everything is because of them, the war, the lies ... religion ... sadness ...

Edge: Wow, this is all too much for me to take in, and who's your mom what does she have to do with this?

Cory: To understand that you need to know about me, my real name is Saivent ("say-vint") I was ... created by the survivors of The Great War ... and Tempis watched over me when I was young

Edge: The survivors?

Saivent: This world is inhabited by a few races or variations, Elemental Spirits, Elemental Users, Power Users, Chimeras and Avatars to name a few

Edge: (sigh) now I'm gonna have to learn all of this

Saivent: Well, here this will make things easier, you can interpret it as you want

[Saivent puts his index finger to Edge's temple and floods his mind with information about the past and all that he would need to know, Edge blacks out ... when he comes around they are back on the bench watching the fountain]

Saivent: This is pretty nice I must admit

Edge: Oh man, I have such a fucking headache

Saivent: Hahahhaaha sorry about that, but hey, I have to go now before my human mom starts to complain, see ya buddy, it was nice to finally meet you

[Saivent disappears in a gust of wind but thinks to himself ...]

Saivent: I hope he can help ...

[Edge is left alone starring at the spot Saivent was just at]

Edge: Yeah ... nice meeting you too ...

Wow ... I have such a massive amount of information to sort though ... but first things first ... Judgment ...

Chapter Four

Saivent filled my head with a lot of stuff from The Great War, half of it I didn't understand, the other half made me feel lied too. Who woulda thought that this was the truth. So where do I begin ...

The Great War led to life being the way it is, God ruling all humans and Lucifer being feared by all. Judgment, he was one of the Generals of Lucifer's army, The Grand Force. He was known as The First Dragon of The Dark Flame. Known to all, enemies and allies alike, though short in visible stature his lil body was only a shell for his true dragon form but even though as powerful as he was, he just wasn't strong enough to take on the Army of Light alone, he was soon worn out and defeated. His capture led to the weakening of The Grand Force. The angels and Avatars sealed his powers, separating his dragon form and banishing it to the Black Universe with no hope of return, and his physical form to the Reality Planes. His dragon form was the pinnacle of his true powers. He swore revenge on the human race for taking what was his, and now the present. It seems that Judgment broke free thanks to the help of an unknown power, and Saivent needs my help to destroy him, but Judgment wasn't the only one there was another General, Testament.

After Judgment's capture the second General of Lucifer's army, Testament, began his assault unleashing his power at full force. Testament was in and of himself a god in his own rights, a demon of insane power and strength. Angels upon angels all tried to rush him only to die at the jaws of Leviathan, his personal bodyguard. At the turning point of The Great War Testament unleashed his ultimate attack, The Sky Flood. It wiped out more than half of the world's population putting an end to the fires that consumed the planet and littering the land with drowned bodies. The Sky Flood exhausted his strength allowing the angels and Avatars to come in for the final attack, but he still fought back. Testament was eventually captured and thus, the end of The Great War was at hand. Unlike Judgment who had two forms Testament's power was whole and could not be separated so a young child untainted by darkness was used as a vessel to seal him, the child Kae. And that was the end of The Great War but the beginning of the lie. Everything in the Bible was falsified, though the events were real, how they happened were not, but there's one thing that confused me ...

[Flashback - Testament is standing on the highest mountain there was, he holds his right hand towards the sky and a whirlwind of clouds develop, soon the clouds start to spin out of control and water comes crashing down from the sky. Like a broken faucet the sky just fills with water ... once the sky was clear and Testament left exhausted, the clouds split open and a ray of light crashes through to the weakened demon. Angels by the hundreds came pouring down towards him with raised weapons, but before they got close, and even though being as tired as he was, Testament raised his hand and from the flood waters Leviathan rose and consumed as many angels as its jaws allowed. Leviathan defended Testament from the Angels ... but then a fire bird came, sacrificing itself, it vaporized Leviathan]

That's all that I could see in the memories that Saivent showed me, but who controlled the fire bird is what I wanna know. Anyway, back to Judgment, I'd figure he'd wanna destroy the world for what happened, but the humans, do they know about people like me? I know I'm not alone, but now I need to find them, but at the same time I don't wanna risk being caught. I know what the scientist would do and I know well enough that I'd be a guinea pig for their experiments ... and the military, they'd seek me out and try to use me as a weapon. This is so much more complicated than it should be, and where is he? where is Judgment ... is he gonna attack outta nowhere, is he gonna destroy the world city by city ... what, what is gonna happen, argh! This is so stressful, I dunno why Saivent thinks I can do it, I've never had to use my fire before in this manner, but I gotta admit, the thought of it was exciting, I could feel sumtin inside of me wanting it, I can feel it burn with a desire to fight ... wow, I never felt like this before, but it feels good. Lemme go to sleep now, I have school early in the morning, and I don't look forward to waking up tired and sleepy ...

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Heroes' Calling by Edge Celize Copyright © 2011 by Edge Celize. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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