Storm Demon

Harnio took a step and floated above the enemy group watching in the air with his hands behind his back. He looked down at the terrified bunch and smiled as lightning and thunder stuck and roared behind him.

"Look up there... Its a demon... Did they bring a storm? How did they do it? Look he is floating in the air... He's not using a battery... He's a walking demon... A storm demon." Harnio scratched his arm and nodded silently. "We surrender, we don't want to fight anymore... I just want to go hhhhomme." He looked on in confusion as could hear heard crying as people took steps away from him. He lowered himself and looked at the group sighing and shaking his head. "You all aren't ready to be guards."

"Bzzzzzzt."

Harnio raised a hand causing the bolt of fire energy to stop in front of him. He watched it, and played with it in the wind. "Nice... He closed his hand and the bolt snuffed out. Harnio looked up at the sky and shook his head. "Tricks... That's all you can do tricks... You really aren't ready for being a guard... Give up."

"Noooo!"

"Bzzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt."

Harnio watched as more bolts of fire energy raced towards him, and once again he lifted his hand causing them to stop in front of him. He looked at the group and smiled before pushing all of them into one large pulse of fire energy. "I think this belongs to you..." He used the wind and pushed it back towards the group.

"Baaannng!"

"Sir, stop... firing. Look at him. He isn't human... Just surrender already."

"No... I won't surrender. I'm a firewarrior, not a coward. I'll fight until I die."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you... He missed you on purpose." Harnio turned and watched as the priestess landed in front of them with her bow drawn. "How did you?"

"Don't worry how I got here... Just look at your situation where you are right now? The path is broken on both sides, and the only way you have is either down a face or stay here, and be flattened by my friend there."

"You're team mates with that storm demon?" Harnio looked around in confusion. "Storm demon?" He saw them point in his direction. "Yes... You're a storm demon... You caused this... I surrender." Harnio watched as some of the group threw their weapons on the ground and nodded. "What about the others? Do you surrender?" He pulled out his pipe and started to smoke it, while looking at the group.

"Storm demon?"

"BOOM!"

"Arrrrrrhhhhhh! Just hurry up and surrender, the storm demon will cause lightning to hit us... We don't have anywhere to go, and no fire shield to protect us! Just give up firewarrior... Please? I have a wife and family to return too." Harnio looked down and breathed out smoke from his pipe through his nose. "That one knows there's no chance in victory... Are you willing to fall for no reason?" Harnio lifted his hand as the wind increased around him. He watched as the section they were on started to crumble inch by inch.

"STOP!"

Harnio lowered his hand, and let the wind lessen slightly. He looked at the priestess who stepped forward. "Drop your weapon firewarrior... If not, I'll make you drop it." He heard the firewarrior curse loudly and watched as it fell to the ground.

"Bzzzzzt."

Harnio moved forward and pushed the priestess out of the way with one hand, and the other hand stopping the blast. He turned and looked at the firewarrior shaking his head. "Just so you know... When someone tries to harm my team mates through underhanded means, I'll wipe them off the face of Athlos... You have just made this storm demon mad."

"Stop... Please calm down... It was an accident and not on purpose at all." He pushed with his hand causing the group to move away from the firewarrior and his weapon. "Priestess... Take them down from here... I'm going to do some study and research."

"Harnio... You know the rules..." He waved at her, and turned focusing on the firewarrior, smoking on his pipe. "I know... Don't worry, he won't be dead, but he'll wish he was for doing something that stupid." He stepped into the air, and pulled with his hand as the firewarrior left with him.

"Please... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to do that really... It was an accident." Harnio turned to the firewarrior while floating in the air and got almost face to face, breathing smoke over him. "I saw what you did to the trigger... It wasn't an accident at all... You planned to kill her, or at the least hurt her, so you could use her against me... That type of cowardly planning really pisses me off... That planning means you need to be punished, and I've always wanted to learn more about the people of the north... Now I get to find all the answers I want..."

"Noooooo!"

Harnio shook his head. "We'll have to stop that sound coming from your mouth... I just want to see inside you for a bit."

"I'm sorry... I just wanted to... mumhh mummh." Harnio waved his hand causing a band of wind to muffle his voice. "Its better that you don't make a sound, because this is going to be quite... painful... I'm not sure if you'll be able to keep fighting when I'm done with you."

Harnio looked at his finger as a long streak of wind cut through the firewarriors skin on their arm. He used his fingers to peel back the skin so he could see underneath. "Hmmm, Interesting. There are extra veins in your body... They don't seem to be carrying blood... What are they carrying around your body I wonder?" Harnio took a step closer looking at the strange veins.

"Harnio... Stop... You... must." Harnio looked around and closed his eyes. He looked at the floating person in his mind palace. "Aren't you the spark I saw in the scythe?" He watched as the transparent figure nodded. "I am only a part... I have... one... duty... After this... I'm gone... completely."

Harnio looked around the mind palace and stared at the figure floating in the air with the exposed skin. "His body is interesting, and he made the move first... He was planning to kill or at least serverly wound her."

"If you do this... you're fall for knowledge will... begin... Knowledge... can be good and also bad... Its a curse... The desire to know all... things... and how all things... work... I ask... why are you... doing this?" Harnio turned and looked at the fading spark. He went to open his mouth, but he couldn't think of words to say. "Is it because of your desire to learn... the body of a firewarrior... Or is it... because he threatened... someone... you know and care for?" Harnio looked at the ground of the mind palace. "I'm doing this because of what he tried to do?"

"Not... because you can learn more?" Harnio shook his head. "I desire to learn everything, but to murder and kill for that knowledge, I wouldn't do that..." Harnio watched as the fading spark looked at him. "You're very different from the previous armsguard... They killed many for knowledge... They fell the the curse of knowledge... Yet ... You don't... Why not? Why aren't you killing him for knowledge, and... to learn?"

Harnio sighed and sat on a chair. "There's no fun... No enjoyment... No surprise or testing of my ideas... If I just killed and got the knowledge... Than what do I do with it? My searching would be over, and I would have to find something else to learn."

He watched as the spark landed on the floor, looking at him. "You enjoy the path of knowledge, and not the desire to reach the final goal?" Harnio shook his head. "I want to know all things, and how it all works, but I want to get there without shortcuts I want to get their my way... Cutting him up will be a shortcut. I don't have to make any predictions or hypothesis." He pointed at the firewarrior now unconscious. "All the answers are there, and they call to me... I know if I go further I will get all the answers, but I know that if I do this, than I won't be curious about the people of the north anymore, and need to look for something else."

"I... see... So, this... spark... wasn't needed at all... Farewell... Storm demon..." Harnio watched as the spark faded into nothingness in front of him. He looked at where the spark was sitting in thought. "Sparks... Now they're interesting... I must look into them further..." He sighed and left his mind palace staring at the unconscious firewarrior in front of him. He shook his head and let the skin cover the wound he had made, and got a bandage from his pack, wrapping it around his arm. "He'll be fine when he wakes up, but he'll be traumatized by this event for the rest of his life." He smiled. "That's why you don't pick on my teammates... Than I become the storm demon... The thing you now fear the most." He closed his eyes and let the winds, rain and storm die down around him. He looked up as the clouds started to disperse. "Batterys, they're incredible... With them, anything is possible... Even a powerful storm... I'm surprised Athlos is still in one piece today."

He put his hands behind his back, and started to walk through the air with the firewarrior's unconscious body following him. "He turned and looked at the body. "I should give you back to your men... Let's go back... I'm also sure the priestess is also wondering what has happened and if I did anything stupid with you." He looked at the ground and smiled when he found the small group sitting on the ground with the priestess standing over them. "As normal..."

He landed on the ground, and walked up to the small group before handing the unconscious body to them. "He's only unconscious..."

"Thank you storm demon... We all surrender. You can go and take the flag if you want... We no longer want to fight."

Harnio looked in the direction of the priestess and nodded. "We have already taken your flag... We're just here to stop you... That's all. However, I don't think there will be much of a keep left when you return to it."

"What do you mean?" Harnio looked at the priestess's feathers on her clothing. "Ask her... She knows more than I do."

"What is he talking about warrior?"

"The people that went to your keep... Lets just say they have a big personality, and can be animals when they need to be... Our leader, told them to be their normal selves when they got to the keep." Harnio nodded. "There will be nothing left..."

"There is a defense unit there led by two of the chosen of the firewarrior... They are quite large and strong... No one can get past them."

"Hahahaha.... They're going to enjoy that challenge then..."

"Warrior what is the storm demon talking about? Is he insane?"

"No... Out of everyone in our team... He is the most sane and level headed, out of all of us... Unfortunately, the two at your keep... They are the least, but they're very strong, and they really like to fight."

Harnio could feel their tears and saw their bodies shaking. "No one will die, I'm sure the brothers will just put them in their place, as they do with everything around them."

"Ahhhhhh... Storm demon No!" Harnio looked up and saw the firewarrior had woken up. "Hello... Next time I see you try and hurt someone... I'll be digging deeper... Never again..."

He watched as the firewarrior looked at their arm and nodded. "Never again... No more fighting for me... I surrender." Harnio stepped back and continued to smoke on his pipe. "I'm sorry warrior for what I did... Harnio turned and watched as the firewarrior spoke with the priestess.

"Don't worry about it, but if you did that during a time of war, you would be dead, and not still alive with just a small cut on your arm... I would remember that, and every time you look at that scar, you need to remember what you did, almost cost the lives of this unit."

"BANNNG!"

She looked up at the keep in the distance, as something was shot into the air. Harnio looked at the enemy keep. "See what she means... Your keep is finished..."