Aiden Kearney

Aiden was born on single handedly the hottest day of the year, August 12th, to two loving parents, a strong intelligent Father, and a stern loving Mother. At that moment it seemed as if Aiden would have had a near perfect life, but misfortune strikes anyone, even newborns. Aiden's mother, Catherine, died shortly after giving birth, due to cardiac arrest. This devastated his father, James. But he had to be strong, for his son. No, for his and Catherine's son.

Life was hard for James. He had to juggle between being a single father and a Magic Council Paladin. This put a strain on his and Aiden's relationship. Living Era, he would have to stay longer nights at the council HQ to finish up paperwork. And if he wasn't at the HQ he was on some far away mission, giving him barely any time to spend with Aiden. However, when he was home he spent all of his time with Aiden. Playing with him, buying him gifts, and teaching him. There was one thing that he made sure that Aiden always remembered: "Be a man that follows his convictions, never follow anything dogmatically." This was pounded into Aiden's head so much it is one of the only things that he remembers about his father. This teaching led to Aidens original resentment towards the Magic Council, they forced his father to work all day and to stay away from him, his son. The way that his father also said it, the look in his eyes, made it seem as if he hated himself for not being around him. He hated his job, but he couldn't quit. Regardless, Aiden stood by this tenet for the rest of his life, making it his creed.

Around the time Aiden turned eight his father had to leave on an S-class mission given to him by the council. It was projected that the mission would take no less than three months to complete. Regardless of how James felt he had to take the job, if he succeeded he would be able to get a promotion allowing him to spend more time at home. So he left, not before comforting his son telling him to not worry. But Aiden didn't care about the future he only cared about now.

Aiden was filled with rage, hate and contempt. He hated the council, it took his father away from him, it destroyed his home. He had no power to do anything though, so he just stayed home, and wallowed in his hate letting it build. Aiden let his negative emotions build for over a month. The negativity attracted countless demons who fed off the emotions. They were all small weak demons. There was one demon of immense strength that found it's way into the Kearney household: the Efreeti.

At first Aiden was frightened by the huge flaming demon, but he made it known that he wasn't there to harm Aiden. Only there to feed and leave. After hearing this Aiden went back into his cradled position on the floor. Seeing this the demon took pity on him. How can a human so young be filled with so much hate and anger at the world. The efreeti left, but came back the next day. He repeated this for about a week before he attempted to have a conversation with Aiden. He wondered why the boy was so filled with hate. They began to talk giving information about both of their lives. This is when the demon started to like Aiden, the young boy was already a follower of free will, and hated oppression (Magic Council). At that moment the efreeti said he would raise the boy.

The two didn't leave the house for the entire five months. The two became close, closer than Aiden had been with anyone else in his whole eight years. The efreeti had been his only friend, and father figure. In those five months Aiden had also learned how to fight and defend himself,  read, write,  control fire, and even philosophy. His philosophy being the same as James, but with a more culturally different approach. (1)Fight oppression, do only what you want to do. (2)Always payback everything in double, acts of kindness, or hostility. (3)And give honor and respect to those who deserve it. Aiden kept these teachings in his head for years. The demon tried to teach the boy centuries worth of knowledge in a few months. He did not succeed, but what Aiden did learn he retained.

Life was finally getting better for Aiden he was happy instead of angry, he had a friend instead of being lonely. Everything was great, until the sixth month was finally over. James had successfully finished the mission, and was delighted to finally go home to see his son. The whole six months that was all that drove James to finish the mission. He had expected to come home to a crying son ecstatic to see his father. What he did not expect to see was his son sitting next to a demon. James's first instinct was to attack the demon before he hurt Aiden. Aiden noticed his father and tried to plead to him, but before his words could leave his lungs he had already hit the efreeti. At that point nothing seemed real. Everything seemed as if he was watching the scenes on a lacrima screen. He knew efreeti was going to retaliate, it was part of the creed, pay everything back in double. Aiden watched as his father was burned in a black and red flame, burning everything, leaving nothing.

Aiden sat speechless. He couldn't process what had just happened. He was angry, confused, happy, empathetic all at the same time. He didn't know how to react, so he just sat there. Wide eyed and speechless. He was angry that his father was dead, but at the same time he was happy. His father was finally free from the shackles of the council and life. He hated the efreeti, but at the same time empathetic. He knew the tenets and followed them so he couldn't just hate him, yet he couldn't just feel indifferent towards him. The efreeti read the mood and made a deal with Aiden. They both knew what the next step was to their relationship: revenge. Twas the creed. But Aiden was far too weak compared to the demon. So he wagered that for the next year and a half he would finish training and teaching Aiden, and when that time was up he'd let Aiden kill him. Aiden agreed to the terms.

So for the next eighteen months Aiden trained and got stronger. He bore no hate towards the efreeti, he was still his friend and father. It was just their way. The day finally came where Aiden had to kill the efreeti. Aiden was a little nervous, but they were both prepared. Aiden used what he had learned to control the fire in the efreeti to weaken him. The demon let out a loud wail as he was harmed. Aiden grabbed his sword and finished off the demon. As he thrust the blade through the demon they said their final goodbyes to each other. Aiden with tears in his eyes, and the Efreeti with a smile on his face. The flames on his body slowly burned out as he died. Aiden sat silent in the house. He was alone, again. At that time Aiden noticed that he hated that house. He was filled with hate again. He doesn't remember much of what happened after that. All he remembers is standing outside of his house as he watched it burn down. As he watched the fire burn everything, the wood, the pain and hatred he felt, he felt relieved. He learned that fire cleanses things. The only way for things to be clean is to be reborn from ashes like a phoenix. And the only way for there to be happiness is for there to be freedom.

But, Aiden didn't act on these thoughts not yet at least. He just held his feelings in. As he was sent to an orphanage, he noticed how no one in the entire town noticed that he was alone for two whole years. No one came to check up on him or his father. Not even the council who were his own employers. The council. They were the reason for everything. If they didn't treat his father like a mule none of this would have happened. Aiden was enraged again. But he stayed in Era. He had no where to go and he didn't want to risk his life yet. He would get his chance to free the world and get revenge on the council.

For the next five years Aiden complied with rules he felt liked. He made everyone's life hard at the orphanage. Only with chores and such. Other than that he was a good kid. He was a kind and caring person despite his circumstances, and everyone seemed to love him. His time spent in the orphanage was a short one, but is considered his better years.

By the time Aiden turned fourteen war had broken out. Living in Era, Aiden was in the middle of the war. He saw horrors no one should ever see. Bodies cluttering  the streets, houses burned and destroyed, the face of dying mothers and children. Aiden was disgusted at how useless the Council was to protect their own people. Aiden stood up for his own and protected the few people still alive in Era. Using his Efreeti takeover and fire magic to kill any people deemed as threats. In one such conflict Aiden lost his right eye. By the time the war was over Era was destroyed, and so was the orphanage he called home.

Aiden's hate for the Council grew more, how could they fight a war and let so many people die. Argon's new laws regarding mages didn't make things any better either. This put Aiden over the edge. They were restricting the freedom of a minority of people. Aiden had enough, it was time for him to act. But, he couldn't do it alone. He needed allies and a following. Since the council's hold in Era was lifted, Aiden had a way to preach to the masses about the tyrannical Magic Council. He told them all that they had the right to be free and do what they feel like.

During one of Aidan's soapbox speeches he was approached by a masked man. The man offered him a new home, a way to free all, and a way to destroy the Magic Council. In exchange he would become a loyal member to his organization. Aiden told the man that "Loyalty and honor is given to those who deserve it. I'll join your group, and if you deserve my loyalty you'll get it. But you'll never have my freedom as long as I live." The two then came to an agreement. Aiden was finally getting his chance to free Fiore.

Aiden grinned ear to ear as he talked with the man sitting next to him at the bar. "Wow, you're really a high ranking paladin? That's awesome." Aiden chuckled.  The paladin smiled and took a sip of his drink. "Yeah it's a hard job but someones gotta protect the world right." Aiden nodded in astonishment. "So you fight dark guilds and arrest freelance mages right?" The man nodded as he took another sip of his drink.

Aiden's smiled never wavered, but inside he was filled with disgust. Another paladin mule who took pride in enslaving mages. Aiden was filled with rage, but he would wait to make a move. For now he will patronize the man. "So should you really be drinking, i mean what if something were to happen right now," Aiden asked sounding sincere and condescending at the same time. "Ahhh. I fight better drunk anyway." Typical mule. Aiden had to rid the world of his kind.

Aiden sat and talked with the man for about an hour before they both left. "Hey excuse, it's pretty dark out here, and I've heard about some dark guild activities around here. So could you walk with me, just till i get home." The paladin threw his arm around Aiden's shoulder. "S-sure buddy ol pal of *hic* min." The man reeked of booze, and oppression. Aiden would have to burn these clothes, they were his favorite. The pair walked down the street until they came to an alley. Aiden stopped and threw the man's arm off of him. Aiden stared at the paladin with fiery hate. "Your reign of oppression is over mule. May your soul be free in the afterlife." The drunken man just stared at Aiden in confusion. Aiden clenched his fist, and became covered in black and orange flames giving off a bright flash. When the flames died down in Aiden's place stood a being made of fire and magma. Aiden pointed his open palm at the drunken paladin. The paladin stumbled trying to run away from the demon, but to no avail. "Burn." Aiden shot a bright ball of flame at the man burning him. It burned everything, but his soul leaving nothing behind.

Aiden reverted back to his regular self. He wiped the hair out of his eyes and smiled. He finally got to kill something, it had been a while since he last killed a mule. Aiden let loose a loud sigh. He wanted people to see the damage that the council causes, but they still see them  as the hero. Aiden started to walk out of the alley. He' have to work a lot harder to finally free everyone. But he was willing. He'd kill however many paladins, and preach to however many people to get them to fight for freedom.