I was on my knees, sobbing, when the mountain erupted, an explosion of massive magnitude.

Huge amounts of earth were displaced and flew high into the air before falling back down and crashing into the side of mountain with the force of a meteor. Then they started to roll, destroying all in their way, trees that had stood for centuries were demolished and the ground was ripped apart.

Lava flowed close behind, disintegrating what was left of the savaged landscape, leaving behind nothing except for a dull barren wasteland.

Ash flew overhead glowing red from the heat of the volcano, blotting out the sun before descending on anything and everything burning it scorching it and leaving behind tortured cusps of what was once and animal or a plant.

Yet still more ash flew farther, going to settle upon more populated places.

I flew, the force of the explosion sending me high and far, it sent me flying. I couldn’t bring my self to care though.

I landed on the hard unforgiving ground.

My bones shattered.

I spat blood.

I didn’t care. I was numb, broken.

It was then that I saw Varics corpse, limp, and lifeless go flying over me, blood still pouring out of the neck wound that I had made.

It was then that I remembered.

The Madman.

I needed to redeem myself, to find forgiveness for what I had done.

I needed to avenge Varic.

I needed The Madman to feel the pain that I had.

The Madman.

It was he that had orchestrated this all, he that had me kill my friend.

I would kill him.

I would torture him.

I would feast upon his flesh.

I let loose a scream, a scream of rage, a scream of hate, a scream of insanity.

My eyes widened, my teeth clenched, I clutched my dagger so hard that my hand started to bleed, then I started to salivate, I would rip out The Madmans heart. Rip it out and consume it, I would torture him, then I would piss upon his body.

Something broke, and I was flooded with power, The Madmans power.

My bones slowly began to knit back together, flesh scabbed over and was healed, I screamed into the air, blood sprang and fountained from my mouth but just as quickly anything that was wrong healed. My bones came together with a crack, my flesh was pink and new.

Ash fell from the sky and burned me, melting my new skin, but just as quickly it was healed.

I would survive.

I would redeem myself.

I leapt up to my feet, turned and started to sprint, faster than I had any right to be, faster than the fastest runner in the slave camp.

Such were the gifts of The Madman.

I was not fast enough, ash still fell upon me and my regenerative skills could not keep up, I felt rocks start to pelt me, the landslides catching up.

Once again I went flying, I knew that I was about to die, despite all that I had done, I was still going to die.

That was when I felt the air warp around my feet and send me flying away from the approaching landslide, and the falling ash.

…

-The Company-

He felt the rock moving under his feet, and saw an entire mountain explode. Aegus cursed the gods for his luck. It was just one catastrophe after another, he thought he was safe! Him and his company had been pursued by the army for weeks now! He had just lost them, and then an entire mountain exploded.

“HOLD!” He held up a clenched fist, his company stopping at the gesture.

“Run as far as you can, wait for my orders!”

The company turned and started to run, trying to run away from the quickly falling ash and the soon to be coming landslides and lava.

They went out a hundred meters before Aegus judged that it was time to stop.

“Halt! MAGES! Come forward and create the barricades! Essence strengthen them! We cannot fail here!” He could do nothing at this point being an attuned of Air, except keep the ash off the mages as they did their work.

“Mages creating barriers!”

“Prepare for impact!” That was when he saw the kid, flying through the air.

A kid. Out here in the middle of nowhere. He could hardly believe his eyes, but what he did know was that he wasn’t going to leave a kid alone to face a landslide. Just because he was an outcast didn’t mean that he had left his honor behind with the army he abandoned.

He knew that it was very possible that it was some type of demon or hellspawn but his company was able to take on any of those.

He remembered the screams of the children he had ordered burned, remembered their corpses.

He remembered dashing infants on stones.

He remembered killing the captain.

He ran out to save the child, using air he pulled the kid from the sky and down onto the company. A rough fall but one that the child would survive especially with the healers that they had.

Leaving him to face the landslides, and the ash

Luckily he was one of the empowered.

He faced the landslide jumped straight up in an propelled jump, landed on one the flying rocks and started to run on top of the landslide, ash burning his skin, it took intense concentration and a skilled application of his gift but he managed it.

He flew forward, his men were well trained and had done things like this before, though perhaps never for so odd a reason. He saw a hole open in the dome that was the barrier, the used the rest of his energy to shoot towards the hole, trusting the mages to cushion him.

He landed a moment later and looked down at his new charge.

“Your safe here boy, your safe.”

…

I woke up, in a strange tent, surrounded by strange people, and strange voices.

“I think he’s up.” A grizzled voice, belonging to scarred man.

“Huh, that’s the fastest recovery I’ve seen in a long time, only you and the other attuned have recovery like that and he doesn’t look attuned.” A slim women, with a slim sword strapped to her back.

The women pushed my chin up and poured something cool and refreshing down my throat, water I think.

I started to relax, then I remembered the Madman.

I sat up, rage boiling and flowing throughout my entire being, I released a manacial scream of anger, I lashed out and my fist connected with flesh.

The women fell backwards with a yelp.

The man tried to grab me, only to be uppercutted.

I jumped from the bed and started to sprint away, screaming in rage.

“MADMAN?! WHERE ARE YOU!” I roared.

That was when I felt the air tighten around my legs, and my face connected solidly with the floor, I saw stars, then I saw black.

Aegus looked at the prone kid with sympathy, rubbing his jaw, he had seen it in soldiers, criminals, and people subjected to traumatising experiences, though the boy seemed to be taking it harder than most.

“Did you have to be so rough?” His wife Sonya came up behind him and reprimanded him.

Aegus walked up to the prone form laying on the ground and tenderly picked him up, “There was no time for that degree of finesse, and I had to calm him down quickly.”

“Poor soul.”

“Indeed.”

“Mmmm.” Juice was running down my hands and was smudged across my mouth.

“Told you they were good didn’t I?” Varic said laughing, juice was smeared across his hands and mouth as well.

I looked up, and saw blood gushing from a gash in his neck.

He looked up and met my gaze he looked confused, and his eyes were swelling with tears.

“Why, Ajax?”

“No, I didn’t.” I stumbled back,

“LOOK, AT YOUR HANDS!” I looked and they were covered in blood, in my right hand a knife was clutched tight.

“You did this Ajax! YOU! YOU WERE THE ONE TO KILL ME.”

I stumbled back, hands out.

“Nonononononono.”

“Ajax” His voice echoed out again,

“Friend.”

I woke up screaming, tears streaming down my face.

I sat up, put my face in my hands and cried.

“Varic forgive me!” I howled and started to tear at my face drawing blood, ripping deep furrows in my face. Blood started to spill.

Varic with his throat slit.

I screamed louder and louder, and ripped into my face carving jagged lines into it.

It was then that I felt my hands get restrained and felt someone wrap their arms around me.

“Your safe here, your safe.”

“VARIC, FORGIVE ME!” I let loose another scream, then fell back and let the blackness of sleep overtake me.

Aegus had seen it before, the madness that overtakes men when they do or see something so horrible that it traps them. Making them relive the moment in different scenarios.

His wife came up beside him, releasing the lad from her embrace.

She sighed, “All we can do is nurse him back to sanity and hope he isn’t to scarred from whatever ordeal he went through.”

“We can only hope.”

…

Nightmares haunted me, I saw Varic dying over and over and over again each death caused by me.

Each time I would wake up, sometimes in a rage, and other times in tears.

One thing held firm, I would make the Madman pay.

I woke up, I did not scream or cry or rage.

The Madman would pay.