Stannir stared at the pillar of lava, and looked around. "Nice place you've got here..."
"Home... Better than yours... Weakling." He ducked as the troliath threw a fireball at him. He looked at it as it sailed past him. "Not bad..." He looked at his hand, as a large fireball took shape and threw it at the trolaith. "That's what a fireball should look like..."
"Uhh... I don't think so... Looks like a torch light." Stannir frowned at the trolaith and looked at Salina. "It's toying with us... Show it what it means to be a fire eater." He nodded, looking at the troliath's hand as a massive fireball formed. He cursed as he looked at it as the troliath threw it at him. "Try, and escape from that... weakling."
Stannir smiled and looked at his chest. "Lets eat..." He watched as the mouth opened, and started to eat the energy from the large fireball, until it was nothing more. He looked at the troliath. "Do you have any more of that... I still feel hungry."
"How did you do that?" Stannir shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure... I wonder if you can you do that?"
"Throw your torchlight at me... We can see... I'm stronger than you, so I should be able to." Stannir smiled and pushed his energy into his hand creating a small fireball. "Why the small one? I see you putting a lot of energy into it... Ahh, like back at camp. Good idea... Lets see if he can handle that thing." He smiled as he looked at his hand.
"Here it is... Are you ready to try and see if you can eat it?"
"Hahahahaha... That's tiny... I don't think I'll have a problem at all eating that tiny thing... Throw it at me." Stannir nodded. "Here it comes..." He threw it at the trolaith and formed his fiery long sword and stood ready. He watched as the trolaith ate the small fireball. "See human... I can also..." Stannir smiled at him. "What seems to be the matter. You look like you're in a bit of pain... Let me help out you out of your misery." He jumped towards the trolaith and stuck with his sword.
"CLANG!"
He cursed as he looked at the empty space where the trolaith was. "Not fast enough weak human..."
"BOOMMM!"
He looked at the smoking trolaith. "It looks like you couldn't eat my tiny flame... You're not even worth me using my large flame on you... I pity you, and I'll turn you to dust." He ran at the troliath and started striking the injured beast. "Too slow human... I'm faster."
"Are you now? Pity that you tried eating my fire, and now your body is falling apart from within." He stared at the beast and ran at him again. This time he was able to wound the arm of the beast. "See... It seems to me that you're getting slower... Or is it perhaps I'm getting faster?" He touched his chest and felt his heart start to race. His smile became larger as he stared at the trolaith. "I haven't felt like this in a while... I think its time to let my blood boil." He looked up at the roof of the cavern lit up by the glow of the lava. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He formed a second long sword and jumped after the troliath as it tried to escape. "No escape when I'm in this state." Each time he jumped he slashed at the beast sending a slash of fire, causing pain to it. "Stop... You win... You're stronger." Stannir shook his head. "I can't stop now... I'm here to kill you and your master."
"You can't kill my master... HAhahahahahaha... No matter how hard you try... He won't die." Stannir looked at him as he slashed again. "The person that is going for your master will kill him and wipe him out of existence." He stood watching as the beast looked at the lava and jumped into it. "You can't jump in here can you? I can stay in here as long as I like and just throw lava at you, until you burn, and I eat your body."
Stannir ducked as a giant blob of lava flew over his head. He turned around, and looked back at the trolaith. "Come beast... Try that again."
"Here comes more... Take it all." Stannie jumped, and dodged as giant blobs of lava flew around him. He looked at the lava lake, jumping onto it.
"Hahahahaha... Human... You just killed yourself." Stannir shook his head, and landed on the lava walking towards the trolaith. Each step he took he caused the lava to shudder under him, and giant ripples washed over the beast. "Stop it... You win... I will serve you, and tell you everything you need to know about the master." Stannir stood over the cowering beast and shook his head. "No need. I know all I need to know about you foul tainted beasts."
"Don't call us beasts... We're better than you all!" He leaned back as the trolaith tried to slash him with his claws and looked at his right arm as it fell into the lava, sinking. "Hahaha... You can't do anything now without a ...." Stannir used his other arm and sliced the head off the trolaith. He looked at its body as it turned to ash, and jumped up onto the path looking around him frowning. "Don't relax yet... If you do you're going to be in a lot of pain." Stannir frowned at the loss on his right side. "No matter... I know what I should do."
"What are you going to do general?" He formed an image in his mind, and watched as it started to form on his left side. He clenched his teeth in pain, and spit out blood onto the path.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I'm not stopping... He felt his arm forming and connecting to the nerves in his shoulder. He felt the pain receding, and his heart rate become lower. His eyes closed as darkness took him.
"General... Are you awake?" He nodded and sat up, staring at all the blood on the path, and the damage caused by the lava. He looked around in confusion. "Salina, what happened?"
"In your blood lust, after killing the beast you saved your own life... Look at your arm." He looked down at his new arm in surprise. "That's not what an arm looks like." He touched the metallic arm. "It feels warm..." He than touched the lava with his new hand. "I can feel the warmth from it... Pity the joints are not perfect."
"That was some clever thinking boy. He looked up and saw the old monster staring at him with the black cane. He saluted as they jumped down and tapped his metallic arm. "Put your energy into it..." He nodded and circulated his energy.
"RRROARRRR!"
He looked at his arm as it engulfed into flames and he punched a few times in the air.
"BOOMM!"
He looked at the hole he had made in the distance, and removed the energy from the arm, causing the flames to die down returning it to its metallic state. "Not bad... In your blood lust, you were able to create something like this... Its permanent, and when you put your energy into it, it becomes a deadly arm of fire... Yet it's missing one thing." Stannir looked at the old monster. "What is it missing sir?"
"BANG!"
"Its now complete." He looked at his arm where the old monster hit him, and saw a brand of his tattoo growing along it. "Now its complete... It needed your tattoo... You're really becoming more of a fire eater day by day Stannir." He smiled and saluted the old monster. "I wouldn't be able to be like this, if it wasn't for you." He looked around. "How did you get in here?"
"Once the ones outside died, I got bored, and thought I might see how my student was doing... I found a source of fire, and happened to see you here fighting that beast... Walking on lava, while in blood lust... Very impressive." Stannir looked at the river of lava, and at his feet. "I'm sorry, I don't remember that..."
"That's not good to hear... You need to control yourself when you are in your blood lust state..." He nodded at Salina. "Just like that camp attack... You also don't remember the fighting, nor how far you traveled."
He looked at the next doors. "Mouse... The others... I should go and help them." He took a step and felt his body fall to the ground weakened. "It seems you were in your state for too long, and now your body needs to feed... Go ahead... There's so much energy around here... Also, don't worry about your friends... We can talk in here... The others are fine." Stannir nodded and pulled himself up feeling the energy in the air. "Feeding time." He felt the tingles on his chest as the mouth opened and started to feed on the energy around them."
Once he felt his strength return to him he looked at the mouth. "That's enough..." He felt traces of energy trying to keep it open, and he pushed it away from the mouth causing it to close reluctantly. "That's strange... That hasn't happened before."
"He looked at Salina with a worried expression. "I felt it too... It tried to use your energy to stay open." He looked at the old monster. "Sir... Something happened, when I tried to close the mouth."
"It tried to fight back didn't it?" Stannir nodded. "That's correct."
"That's a good thing... It means your trial is coming soon... The moment when you battle against your mouth..." Stannir looked at him in confusion. "Your scar is over your heart, a fire eater... Your trial is going to be different to mine, but for you the old shadow told me, you'll be fighting against yourself... When you feel that you're about to lose control, you need to find a place where you can complete your trial."
"I found a place in the swamplands... Would that be suitable?"
"What did the place look like?" Stannir shrugged. "Ruins, but inside there were statues with different weapons, and something that spoke in the old language... Telling me to come back once I'm stronger."
"Ahh... I know that place... Yes that is suitable... For your trial of heart... The tree shadow also said, that if you can pass that trial, you'll become a real fire eater, but if you loose, you'll be the one eaten, no longer in control, and I will have to act..." Stannir nodded. "I'm not going to be eaten, I'm the fire eater... The one who eats."
"Good lad... Now, lets enjoy the environment here for a bit more... I want to hear about your travels, and the people you're travelling with, especially the monk... Is he strong?" Stannir sat on a rock, nodding. "He's strong."
"Who's stronger between the two of you?" Stannir shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, since we haven't had a battle of strength... I did throw him into the ground with his brother."
"Hahahaha... Did you do that to draw in the enemy forces?" Stannir nodded. "That's good to hear... I won't have a student of mine, being beaten by a sand dragon... Bunch of weaklings, but they're very loyal and trustworthy people." Stannir smiled. "Yes... He's lazy, and a little reckless, but he's a very good person. I can see it in his heart."
"Where is his scar?" Stannir pointed to his feet. "On his feet it seems... Its why he doesn't wear shoes, and hates being on water, where he can't touch the earth."
"Hahahaha... Good, good. They're both the same... His father in law... He also has the scars on his feet... Remember that he will be very useful as a defensive unit..." Stannir nodded. "At the moment, he's been more offensive instead of defensive, Harnio the armsguard, has been the defensive one."
"No... The one who should be offensive is Harnio... If he's like the professor, the stubborn bag, he should be offensive... They can wipe an entire battlefield with a snap of their fingers." Stannir looked at the old monster shudder. "The professor is that strong?" He saw him shake his head. "He's strong, but the true strong one is the old shadow... Be careful of his apprentice... He may look very innocent, but when it comes to a fight, he's deadly."
Stannir nodded. "Each time I see Mouse, I want to fight him... But I can't feel any killing intent from any attack he does, and he seems to get into everywhere."
"Hahaha... Just like the old shadow... Come, the others are finished, we should join up with them on the top floor... I bet you the old shadow is drinking tea with his apprentice." Stannir smiled and followed the old monster, forming wings and flying up out of the cavern."