Jack proceeded cautiously towards the circle of coals, stopping just at the outside of its edge. He wasn't certain if the sweltering heat in the room had added to the anxiety he's feeling, but it certainly wasn't helping. The red robed figure in front of him stood with such a poise, it's as though he was the most important figure in this room. Jack didn't know what to expect when meeting with the leader of the Crimson Flame and that sort of anticipation set on his chest like a heavy stone.

"Uhh...hey. What's up?" Jack finally spoke, trying to use the casualness of his tone to mask his nervousness. "So, you must be the head honcho of the Crimson Flame. Nice place you got here, though it is a bit too hot and stuffy for my taste. I'm practically sweating bullets here, man! You guys never heard of of an AC? Or, you know, a magical equivalent of an AC?"

"Silence!" the red robed figure snapped at him. "How dare you speak so casually amongst the almighty Fire Soul? Know your place, underling."

His deep booming voice had a sort of demonic quality to it and every movement he made was accentuated with a splash of flame rising up from the floor of coals underneath his feet. Even as he turned around, the shadow underneath the hood had kept his face perfectly obscured, though Jack was not quite eager to see the face underneath if his voice was already frightening enough.

"Woah, what's with the treatment? I've talked with Dingo about you. I thought you're a cool guy. Well, not cool as in 'cool'. You're obviously not that. In fact, you're sort of the opposite of that. You're a hot guy. Well, not hot as in 'hot', but...you get the idea. You really like fire, is what I'm trying to say. Man, my lingo doesn't really work well around here, huh."

For some reason, the vibe Jack was getting at this moment was a complete 180 from what he got from Dingo and his crew. He was expecting a motley crew of cordial and adventurous rebels, not some sort of satanic cult. Over and over in his head, he questioned himself as to what the hell he'd gotten himself into and whether or not he'd be better off back at that prison cell in Ingenwell.

The red robed figure merely stood there, regarding him with an indecipherable expression. "Just so you know, underling, that within the Crimson Flame, I am of the highest rank around here and therefore has the final say in everything. Not even the great Howling Wind, Dingo Hwyte, can disobey me. As a new recruit, you should take heed of that."

"Yeah, sure. Message received."

"Good. Now, in order for you to truly be a part of the Crimson Flame, you must undergo a trial. An initiation trial by fire, so to speak. One of which would prove your worthiness to join our cause and to fight alongside our brothers and sisters."

Jack quirked his brow. "A trial? Dingo never said anything about a trial. Seems like a hassle if you ask me. Can't I just---oh, I don't know---sign a form or something and you give me the complementary T-shirt and keychain? That's how it usually works, right? Besides, I only came here to check you guys out. I haven't decided for sure whether to join or not."

Pillars of flame bursted out from underneath the figure, swirling and dancing around him as if to magnify the intensity of his words. Likewise, the temperature of the room rose dramatically to be even hotter than before, making Jack felt as though he was being cooked alive.

"What's that?! Are you saying that the Crimson Flame is not good enough for you to join?!" the red robed figure accused with his deep demonic voice. "That it's not worthy of your commitment?! How dare you slander us so!"

"What?! No, no, no! That's not what I meant! The Crimson Flame is great! It's the new hotness, no pun intended! I'm sorry if I've somehow offended you, alright!" Jack said with trembling words as he backed away slightly. He tried being more considerate with his words as he feared even one slight mistake could be the end of him.

The pillars of flame receded back into the coals, returning the room's temperature to a manageable, albeit still very warm, level.

"Good. Glad we have an understanding. Now I will explain the steps of the initiation trial to you. First, you must run barefoot across the Scorching Path of Ignis, a blazing trail of coals stretching hundreds of miles. A regular person would take about three days of non-stop walking to finish the trail without food, water, or sleep."

"A regular person would be dead by that point!"

"Silence, underling! I'm not even done yet. Once you have reached the end of that path, you must climb atop of Mount Huoyan in order to face a dragon, of which you must obtain a torch lit by that dragon's flaming breath!"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on! Did I hear that right?! You want me to face a dragon?! An actual fricking dragon?!"

"It's not like I want you to kill it. I just need you to light a torch using its flame," the red robed figure said it as though approaching a dragon was as easy as petting a dog.

"It doesn't matter! I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be eaten if that dragon so much as get a glimpse of me!"

"Oh, it's not that bad. Most of the people I know who've encountered dragons told me that they are actually a lot less dangerous than people give them credit for..." The red robed figure then lowered to a muttering whisper. "...those who survived the encounter, that is."

Jack darted him with a suspicious look. "Huh, what was that?"

"Nothing! Anyway, once you have acquired a torch lit by the dragon's flame, you must bring it back to me without having the flame be put out."

"Is that all? You want me to go through all of that just to bring you a torch lit by a dragon's flame?"

"Of course not! There is one last crucial step before the trial is finished. After you've brought the flame to me, you must use that flame...to cook a chicken!"

Jack stared at the red robed figure as though he'd gone crazy. "...what?"

"You heard me correctly. I want you to use that dragon's flame to cook a chicken, of which I will be tasting. Just so you know, I am very picky about my taste in food. If I enjoyed the taste of that chicken, only then shall I accept you as a full-fledged member of the Crimson Flame!"

Jack facepalmed himself, an expression of his utterly annoyed disbelief. He's no longer afraid of this proclaimed leader of the Crimson Flame. In fact, he thought of him as kind of a joke now.

"So let me get this straight. You want me to go through all of that...just so you can eat some trucking chicken?! Seriously?!"

"Not just any chicken, mind you. Dragon flame chicken! They are a delicacy around these parts. An expensive one, at that. Haven't you heard? Some folks would pay several gold pieces for a plate of those."

Jack blew out an exasperated breath. "Okay, umm, I don't mean to be rude here but YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND! If you wanna eat chicken, go to a Jollibee or a Chick-fil-A something! I'm not getting myself killed just to serve you your goddamn lunch! In fact, this whole trial thing is stupid!"

The flames from the coals rose back up again, matching with the robed figure's rage. "How dare you belittle the trial of the Crimson Flame! It is a sacred tradition passed down through generations! A way to prove those who are truly worthy of being a member! It may look silly on the surface, but the act of passing it requires perseverance, courage, and ingenuity. If you can't even manage that, then it just goes to show that you are not worthy to be part of the great Crimson Flame!"

"I don't care! I'm not getting myself killed just to join your stupid club!"

"How dare you insult us! We are not a club! We are a rebellion!"

"Whatever, man. I'm outta here!" Jack began turning away from the red robed figure and heading towards the exit.

"You dare turn away help from us?! You know that without us providing you with sanctuary, you would be at the mercy of the Elrinthians."

"I'll take my chances! I'm not taking orders from someone like you! Good bye!"

"Wait-!"

The red robed figure attempted to reach his hand to halt Jack and, in the process of doing so, tripped and fell. As the figure fell, he separated from his robe, revealing his true nature underneath. Surprisingly, what's underneath that robe wasn't a man at all as Jack had presumed. It was...a girl.

The girl couldn't have been older than 12 or 13 years old. She had a fairly thin body with dark copper-brown skin and long flowing black hair. Upon closer inspection, Jack could see that the girl was wearing stilts underneath the robe the entire time, thus making her look much taller than she actually was. Aside from that, there was also some sort of glowing runestone amulet tied around her neck. But, out of all of that, perhaps the most intriguing feature of this girl was her ears---pointy, like that of an elf's.

"What the heck...you're just a little girl!" Jack pointed out in surprised shock. All this time, he assumed he was speaking to a great figure of authority when, in actuality, he was conversing with a grade-schooler! This girl essentially put on a disguise to trick him into thinking she was much more powerful and intimidating than she actually was. He was completely and utterly bamboozled!

"Hey! Who are you calling-," the girl spoke in her normal girly voice for half a sentence before placing the runestone amulet next to her mouth, magically augmenting her voice back into the deep demonic tone from before. "Who are you calling 'little', you no-good underling?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I failed to see any other person around here who fits that description," Jack sneered with a hint of sarcasm. "Drop the act, kid. You're not fooling anyone."

Seeing no reason to disguise her voice anymore, the girl detached the voice-altering runestone amulet from her neck and shoved it in her pocket. "Hmph! At least I had you fooled for a while there, didn't I?"

Jack could see the smug smirk on that girl's face and it pissed him off to no end. He crossed his arms and put on a confident smirk of his own. "Oh, I was only pretending to fall for it to make you reveal yourself. I knew all along."

"Liar!"

"It's true!"

"Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!"

"Whatever, man. I'm done playing games! Who the hell are you and where is the real leader of the Crimson Flame?"

"How do you know I'm not the real leader of the Crimson Flame?" The girl twirled her body around in a graceful spin as if presenting herself in a grander light. "Looks can be deceiving, after all. Maybe you are actually speaking to the leader of the Crimson Flame and that person is yours truly."

Jack scanned her from top to bottom with his scrutinizing eyes. After a long pause, he bursted out laughing.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!" the girl snapped, her face red with anger and embarrassment. Seeing how flustered this little girl had become only made Jack laugh even harder. "Stop laughing! I order you to stop! This is an order!"

It took every bit of willpower for Jack to calm his laughter down. "Hahaha...no, seriously. Where's the real leader of the Crimson Flame?"

"I am the real leader of the Crimson Flame!"

"Yeah, and I'm a 500-foot purple unicorn who can turn rocks into cheese. There's no trucking way you'll have me believe that Dingo and the others are under the leadership of a pip-squeak like you."

"Hey! Who are you calling pip-squeak?!"

"Like I said, I couldn't see anyone else around here who fits that description, so-"

"Why you-!"

"Mitra, that is quite enough." A man's voice was heard from behind Jack. He turned to see the door to the room opening, allowing two people to enter inside---one man and one woman.

The man had a lean build, a bald head, and a shade of dark-brown skin similar to the girl's. He wore a crimson red sash that wrapped around his shoulders while leaving his lean sculpted abdomen exposed. Going with his red sash were a pair of khaki pants and sandals, the clothes of a humble and frugal man. Last but not least, the man had a warm and gentle smile, one that made Jack felt oddly at peace just by staring at it long enough.

The woman was considerably more interesting in terms of looks, given that the first thing Jack had immediately noticed were her pointy elf ears. Her other features include dark forest-green hair, bright orange eyes, and tan-yellow skin. Her hair was intricately braided and decorated with small leaves and tree branches, giving her a nature-loving aesthetic similar to that of a typical fantasy druid. She wore a plain pale-green robe of which the level of modesty matched with that of the man's clothes. She also had a gentle smile, though hers seemed to be more on the bashful side.

"Papa! Mama!" The girl bolted towards the two of them with a wide smile as soon as she saw them. She first gave the man a firm embrace before doing the same with the woman.

While the woman returned the embrace, the man did not, though it wasn't due of the lack of affection. It was a small detail but, after some careful observation, Jack had finally noticed it.

That man doesn't have arms. He was an amputee that's missing both of his arms, leaving only heavy scorch marks around his shoulder area. Jack didn't notice that detail at first due to the red sash covering it. Perhaps it was placed there specifically to cover that particular detail.

"Mitra, what did I tell you about playing pranks on our new recruits?" the man said to the girl.

"But Papa, they wouldn't make good recruits if they could be easily tricked by my pranks, now would they?" the girl replied.

The man sighed and shook his head in defeat, which prompted the girl to giggle. "You and your twists in logic." The man then turned to face Jack. "I apologize for my daughter's behavior. She may be a mischievous and playful child but is also a kind child at heart. I hope you don't take offense to her misdemeanor."

Jack was slightly taken aback by the man's politeness, a complete antithesis to that brat's brazen attitude. "Uhh...no worries. I'm fine with it. No harm no foul, right?"

"Thank you very much for your understanding." The man gave Jack a low respectful bow. "I am Suraj Gadhavi, the real leader of the Crimson Flame. I believe I am the one you truly seek."