Inner Dragon

Before that fateful night, there was a young, innocent boy by the name of Airen Auditoren. He was well-liked among the people who knew him because of his calmness and good nature. While he could be a bit quiet, he would always listen to your problems and help if he could. He was shy, and it wasn't often that you would see him approach new faces.

His name, however, was known by everybody. His parents were the leaders of the Swordmage Order. His mother covered inner order management while his father would lead their warriors on missions. That was over nine years ago. His parents had disappeared one day when he was seven months old. Their only instructions were to have Airen's uncle, Eric Auditoren, be the leader until they returned.

He had done a good job. The young ones were being better trained and better educated. The warriors had become more organized and even began starting families. The order grew exponentially over the nine year period. Things were going good for the order. Airen had risen through the ranks, albeit reluctantly, to become the Chief Captain of the Blades, the division of warriors where the gifted young ones would go. They were the crack stealth team in the order, often completing missions with flawless efficiency.

That all changed on September 11th, 2011. You see, the Swordmage Order had divisions all over the world. America was second only to Italy. When 9/11 happened the whole order the world over grieved for the losses suffered by their American comrades. Thankfully, the actual American branch had survived mostly intact. This event, however, began a steady chain of attacks on different branches. Each one was easily dealt with, but it still had a sense of foreboding.

That night, Airen was on patrol in the western battlement. His group was often stationed here due to their renowned eyesight that each one was rumored to have. Soon, the alarm sounded, and it was reported that the eastern front was being attacked. Airen's division rushed to aid their friends, but the numbers were too big. They were pushed back.

One by one, Airen witnessed his friends and mentors fall. Anger would swell inside him, but he would contain it for the sake of the others. However, everyone has a limit. His was reached when his best mentor was slain. The anger coursed through Airen like lava. His sword began to glow a bright white. His eyes leaked white flames.

In a strong voice that boomed throughout to fortress, Airen bellowed, "L'ira del drago (Rage of the dragon)" He became a fast-moving blur of white fire. His blade pierced and cut down his foes. As each one fell, the fire began to dim. When he arrived at the leader, the flames and calmed to where they were merely flowing off the diamond blade of his sword.

The leader rushed forward with his sword pointed forward. Airen raised his own, intercepted the blade, and twisted it out of the man's hands. It spun in the air and landed with a clatter that was followed by a thud of a body. Airen closed his eyes. His heartbeat slowed. It slowed to the point were it seemed to be dying. that was the last thing aired heard before the darkness over took him.

When he came to. The fortress had been left in ruins. There were few people left. His uncle and the Blades were among them. It wasn't enough to rebuild. After a short meeting, it was decided that, for the sake of the whole order, that they would split up and move to different branches. Eric would go to America and command the order from there. The Blades would be split into groups of one to three and begin recruiting more members to try to rebuild. Airen went solo, as he needed to find out more about himself without the way of the Swordmage in his life.

This was his beginning, and this is his story...