Fireborne: Rashen Rising

CHAPTER 7: THE AFTER PARTY

The graduation ceremony for the 27th graduating set of the Nottenam Imperial Academy had finally concluded and for Rashen,it was the most memorable experience. He was announced as a 14th of the top 15 which was an exciting development because the top 15 had always had the privilege of picking any region of their choice to serve instead of the Force picking for them,he had the opportunity of going to regions like Owellis or Lambrid to serve. Going to either of those regions to serve would give him the perfect opportunity to get even stronger than he was now, it was also an opportunity to find Argins if he could.

Not only did Rashen earn a spot at the top 15,he was also presented an award,an old award that was once delisted but brought back because the H.A.O believed Rashen had earned it. He was already contempt with the top 15 but winning an award would put him on another level in the Force. For Rashen it was truly a memorable night,one he would never forget,but of course what came after that night was something he wished to forget. He still had toilet duty that night to serve as his punishment for the Cindrus Macallin incident.

Officer Gillurt laughed to the point of tears as Rashen put on the janitorial wear that at least he was thankful covered his hair,he wore this along with boots,gloves, goggles and a face mask,he had on one hand a plunger and on the other a bucket filled with cleaning agents.

It was dirty work, literally,so dirty that he actually threw up while cleaning. For an event that had mostly nobles he thought there was definitely no prestige in what they left behind . If the nobles of Ephyre believed themselves to be above humans then what he saw in the toilets definitely proves them wrong. Rashen was at the last stall for that night when he thought he heard people talking from outside the bathroom especially at the hour it was.

Finally done with his punishment he was exhausted, mentally at least,it was time to head home.

While taking a bath Rashen made sure to scrub every inch of himself,it was a long one but he came out feeling fresh and refreshed. He went back to his dorm room to get his clothes, casual clothes he bought recently,a long sleeved shirt he buttoned bottom to top but leaving the one at the very top,black trousers that stopped just slightly above his ankles, black socks and plain white shoes,it wasn't much but it was a step up from wearing rags. His luggage was already arranged and he was ready to go,he was ready to say goodbye to the academy,the only time he would come back was to get his letter of deployment.

He locked the door leaving the key in the keyhole and left the building. At the gates he took one last look at the building that had been his home for the last four years before walking away.

He thought about flying home but he wasn't just about ready to ruin his clothes so he decided to catch a carriage home. The modern carriages were a step up from horse carriages,they had wheels made of rubber held together by strong metallic structure,the person driving the carriage is usually a metal tamer who moves controls the direction of the carriage by changing the direction of the metal.

He dropped off at Piglin Avenue which had a road leading to the local market, the same market where he almost let himself get killed 11 years ago. The market was still very much active at night,he stopped by a late night barbeque shop to get a wrap of roasted beef, something he could eat before going to sleep. It seemed like no one had noticed who he was yet,all for the better he thought to himself.

After walking through the market,he walked for about another 15 minutes before he spotted the gate,the gate he hadn't seen for 4 years, the gate to the Goldenfire Estate.

It was a large gate that had the symbol of the Goldenfire Family,a beautiful and highly stylized golden sun. It was a beautiful gate, but it was never the gate Rashen would be using,he had never used that gate before and he probably never will because that gate was reserved for the members of the family,nobles and guests that had been invited by the family themselves. The only time it ever does open wide for the common folks is during the baby naming ceremony.

Rashen walked by to the side of the estate, there he saw the smaller gate used by workers to go in and out of the estate. There was a security post at the gate there to stop just about anyone from entering. He walked up the moment he saw a figure at the gate,

"Who's there!!!" He demanded walking closer to the gate.

He held his lantern up to see the face of the man at the gate. He didn't know what expression to make when he saw the tan skin,the messy hair and the red eyes,it had been four years since he saw someone with those features. He opened the gate for him,it was an old gate that was beginning to rust at the hinges so it was loud, loud enough to let people know someone had just came it. The part of the estate Rashen was at currently was the worker's residential area. The cooks,the cleaners, the security guards and the rest were all there and this was where Rashen was allowed to stay within the estate.

Rashen moved deeper into the residential area till he reached a small shack that looked like it had seen better days. On opening the shark he saw everything was still how he left it four years ago,his mattress was still there and so was his stove and pots,at the side he could still see his box where he kept his clothes separated into clean and dirty and the bucket he used to wash them. There was only one window right above the mattress where sun and moon light would pass through to his room. This shack was Rashen's home in the estate.

After the death of his mother Emile, the Head Mother wanted nothing to do with the baby so he was handed over to the chief maid who did the barest minimum to keep him alive. She fed him,clothed him and gave him a place to sleep,but eventually she got married and had children of her own so she couldn't keep taking care of him. She found a small shack that was once a storage room, cleaned it and had Rashen sleep there on a pile of rags,he was 4 years old at this time. He was given food and water to bathe but that was just about it. It wasn't until he started working at Mr Cobbs' bar and earning money that he could afford a mattress and a stove and a bucket of his own,books and more clothes.

As Rashen sat on the bed all the dust that accumulated scattered around the room. It was about 9:45pm,he took out the beef he bought and it was a bit cold now. He looked at the stove but he wasn't actually going to use it, and he wasn't going to use his flames either,he remembered all too well what happens if he's caught using his red fire. He was once caught using his fire by another worker,he was all out of match sticks and wanted to light up his stove to heat up water but the other workers wouldn't take any excuse. As punishment for using his fire he would be chained up and put in an ice cold bath for 10 minutes,a brutal punishment that reminded him never to use his cursed flames ever again. When Lumins found out about this punishment he made it his mission to force Rashen to use his red flames,which at that age only responded to moments where he was extremely angry or under too much stress, just so he could get punished. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

He was bigger and and lot stronger than he was back then so he wondered how they would react if he used it now. He was tempted to but pushed the idea out of his mind.

Rashen slowly dozed off into the night as the cool breeze circulated his little shack. He laid down on the mattress finally giving into the sleep when he heard a loud bang bang on his door. He immediately got up, confused at who it might be knocking on his shack this later. Maybe it was a maid there to direct him into the main house to join the family in their banquet celebrating Lumins for graduating from the academy,or maybe it was pest control at the door someone called as a prank, wouldn't be the first time. As the banging got louder he discarded every theory he had and went over to the door,on opening and to his surprise, standing outside his old shack were Ngoko and Raspin in their casual clothes.

"Can we come in?" Raspin asked as he walked in anyways,Ngoko followed.

"Whoa man,is this were you live? Really? I thought that guard was pulling one over us" Raspin commented taking a look around the room,

"Well...it's definitely one of the cleanest shacks I've been in" Ngoko added before turning back to look at a confused Rashen.

"Well get dressed man we're already late" Raspin said,

"How do you know he's not already dressed!!? He looks fine as is" Ngoko replied poking at his friend,

"Alright then whatever, let's get going" Raspin gave up and pushed Ngoko towards the door.

"Um....go where exactly?" Rashen finally asked. Both Ngoko and Raspin stopped and turned back to look at Rashen.

"Where exactly? Well to the after party of course" Ngoko answered,

"Af- After party? I didn't think I was invited" said Rashen

"Invited? Dude as long as you're a cadet in our set you have to be there" Raspin said

"Besides, you're one of the best graduating cadets of our set,you definitely have to be there,we knew you wouldn't go so that's why we came here to get you" Ngoko added

"Yeah. So let's go already, we're already late" Raspin said pushing Ngoko out and pulling Rashen towards the door.

"B- But what about-? But what about Lumins" Rashen finally asked.

He was wondering why the top two at the academy would be here at the Goldenfire Estate and instead of Lumins, they'd be there to see him.

"Lumins has dinner with his family so obviously he's not going to make it. Now no more questions let's get going" Raspin replied with a tone that hinted impatience.

"It's best if I don't,no one would want me there" Rashen said looking down and stepping back the door.

"What are you talking about you idiot!!?" Raspin blurted,

"If we didn't want to to come we wouldn't have come here in the first place" Ngoko said firmly. A little touched, Rashen admitted defeat and agreed to go with them.

From outside the club building Rashen could already tell it was a pretty big party going on in there. He could see the lights flashing from every opening in the building and he could hear the loud music. He had reservations but he wasn't about to turn back now, Ngoko and Raspin wouldn't let him.

Raspin flung the entrance door wide open drawing the attention of everyone in the room, just the way he wanted to,

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!" He screamed running straight towards the dance floor with the other cadets. He looked like he was having a good time and he was, Rashen on the other hand looked and felt out of place,he felt like he didn't belong. Ngoko gave him a little nudge,

"Instead of looking down why don't you try to enjoy yourself" he said walking in. 'Easy for you to say' Rashen thought to himself,but he concluded that he would indeed at least give it a try.

Just as he had predicted,he wouldn't have a great time, other than a few 'Hi's and 'Hey's he had no interaction with his peers. He wouldn't sing,he wouldn't dance,it was as though he was a ghost. He just sat down looking on as Ngoko sent some of the girls flying above the dance floor with his wind taming,he also sent Raspin up there and he was not looking pleased about it. It wasn't until the servers dropped off the food at the self serving table did Rashen stand up,he was still hungry so he decided he would at least eat.

He saw all sorts of food and drinks on the table,some he had seen but never had to chance to have eaten and some he didn't even know existed. Some of them were banned as food to be taken by cadets in the academy. But for one night,this night, Rashen would let loose and have a taste, what's the worst that could happen.

"So you're here devil" Rashen heard from behind him and he already knew who it was. He turned back to face him,to face Ballious Balder and his goons Dorkins and Skimings. Balder had a bitter look on his face and in his hand a glass of wine of the alcoholic type and it by the looks of it ,it definitely wasn't his first for the night.

"What are you even doing here? No one invited you and obviously no one wants you here" he said bitterly,

"Hello Ballio-" before Rashen could even complete his sentence Ballious slapped him hard across the face.

"Don't you dare say my name. Don't speak to me like we're equals because you are filthy trash and below me".

They were drawing the attention of the other cadets at the party. Rashen didn't move,he didn't speak,he just stood there looking at the floor trying to avoid as much eye contact as possible.

"You must think you're better than me just because you ranked higher than me and your stupid little pity award but the truth is you are still nothing but a freak,a demon and a murderer. Always have been. Always will be" he said as he slowly drained the contents of his drink on Rashen's body before proceeding to smash the glass on his head breaking it to pieces.

The music was still blasting loudly from the speakers and the party lights lit up the room,but nobody was dancing,no one was singing and people weren't mingling, Ballious and Rashen seemed to have caught their attention. Ballious stared Rashen down and this time it wasn't a look bitterness or amusement,it was hatred. Ballious hated that Rashen had upstaged and surpassed him,he hated that Rashen was presented an award for the night and he wasn't and most of all he hated the slight feeling of inferiority he felt whenever he looked at him.

Rashen was quiet,face still looking down at the floor,not moving a single muscle. He could feel everyone's stares but that wasn't the only thing he was feeling at that moment,he was filled pure unadulterated rage. The room was getting hotter and hotter and everyone could feel it especially Ballious,he was sweating the most. Rashen's body began smoking as though he was on fire, the smoke had a fine scent of wine. His body was growing hotter and hotter by the second he actually evaporated the drink Ballious poured on him.

The onlooking cadets to slight steps backwards but still watching the scene with anticipation and horror. Ballious tried putting up a brave face but even he was feeling the intense heat. He watched as Rashen slowly raised his head up to look at him directly in the face, Ballious instinctively took steps back as he saw Rashen's eyes glowing bright red,it was like looking directly into the eyes of a beast. The outgrowths on his back burnt red, burning a hole through his shirt.

It got hotter and hotter, the heat rising with Rashen's anger but before anyone could even do anything there was a powerful gust of wind,it was Ngoko. The gust wasn't powerful enough to knock Rashen down but it did bring him back to his senses and put his flames out.