A starved flame feeds upon weakness (Exam: Lance)

Only a little while after performing Rita Stebern's exam, Chikane once again was prepared for another one of her little guildies to try and move up a rank. Lance Knighthuner, one of her more headache inducing guild members, was also on the job in which Chikane made her critical assumptions on. Sure it would be a bit harsh what she was doing to both of them, but it would be necessary to showcase how much they still needed to work on before they could even hope to become anything further than a B-rank mage. This was why she was standing only a little ways away from the gate of the camp that some nice archaeologists set up. In her demon form, eyes closed with a small scowl on her face.

And awaiting Lance to arrive was not helping, only darkening the scowl she had.

Lance awoke the morning with Lea standing at the side of his bed "Hey Chikane wants you down in the forgotten dessert right now!" she said with discipline in her voice. Lance looked outside and saw that it was still early morning "Lea its still very early in the morning why the hell would she want me at this hour?" he muttered tiredly as Lea threw some clothes at him "Hmm I dont know~" Lea lied as she skipped out of his room. She had a feeling about what was happening. Lance got out of bed, got dressed and headed out the front door of his house with a sigh.

The Forgotten dessert was right near his home town, the desert village, a place that caused him pain and suffering every time he crossed through. He would take a train over there and once it arrived he got off with a serious look on his face.

It was still early in the morning and as he headed through the Desert town he had shadows trailing behind him as he walked. He wanted to make it out of this town fast. His hair flew in the breeze as the trail of shadows became of thick.

Although he was in the desert he didn't care as he wore his usual black coat with fur in it, Black shirt and some jeans. His silky raven hair went all the way down to his waist. He had not cared to get a hair cut since Era happened.

He exited the town quietly and made his way to the site were the event would take place. The dry breeze that blew in the area made his mouth a little dry "Looks like I forgot water... Oh well.." he muttered as the shadows were forming a trail and a bit of shadows flew over his head at times. He eventually reached the site and saw Chikane "Hey..." he muttered as the shadows still didn't dissapear from his side. His face was stone cold and he looked kind of pissed actually "Why did you call for me to come here from Magnolia..." he muttered to her quietly. This wasn't the reason he was pissed however and he wasn't going to blame her for making him pass through that town.

Some plot stuff:

A white room with 4 people standing in it. In the middle was a crystal ball of some sort. Only one of the people had there hoods off and was staring at the ball with a small evil smirk "Hmm this should be interesting~" he hummed as he laughed.

Chikane turned around and spotted Lance, obviously not too thrilled at his tone or his late arrival. When she ordered someone there she expected them to be somewhat punctual, and this was definitely not the time to be arriving late. Especially Lance, as he was already on thin ice with her and she could barely stand his presence before wanting to rip him apart. Of course her softer side would have tried t talk to him about it, but this demon did not play any games. She would make him pay specially with her own unique brand of twisted justice, which was why she was pulling out a medium sized red lacrima that had flames swirling around it. Her scowl left her face as she simply put on a dead neutral look, before grabbing Lance by his collar and stepping on his foot hard. It would force him to scream, which led to Chikane emotionlessly shoving the lacrima down his throat without remorse. It would make him gag for a bit, but eventually the lacrima would go down his throat and begin its work.

“I’m not one for being near you at this moment, as your very presence makes my blood want to burn with the intensity of a thousand suns. So Lance we will just get to the point.” Chikane’s voice dipped of venom and harshness as she stared at the shadow mage in front of her. He would feel his magic slowly draining from him, as Chikane picked him up and attached a few water bottles to his clothing in random areas. The demon’s flames seemed to have brightened a bit, the purple flames dancing over Lance’s skin as well, signaling her lacrima doing its work properly. “That was a lacrima designed to completely seal all of your magic away from you. It will keep you from dying too, unless you suffer your head being removed, your heart being destroyed or your entire body being vaporized. You need the water though, so don’t lose it.” Coldly she threw Lance back into the desert, her eyes showing she was not caring for how she was handling him. In truth it would make him tougher, but also showcase the level of fear he needed when knowing demon Chikane was out instead of the regular one.

“Are you following me clearly Lance? Because this is your exam. I will not tolerate you failing, as you have shown skill beyond what one of your normal age is capable of. Do you understand so far or do I have to repeat myself. Keep in mind you don’t want me to repeat myself.” Coldly Chikane stared at him without any love in her eyes, she wanted him to grow stronger but he wouldn’t by having his hand held. This was the one way, and he would have to accept it.

It hurt like hell, It felt uncomfortable but he finally swallowed the Lacrima that was shoved down his throat. He made a gave Chikane a determined smirk "That hurt like hell ya know and I feel weaker." he said with a determined gleam in his eye.

When Chikane mentioned his exam he wore an even more determined look "If you dont tolerate failure from me then dont expect it." he said with a bit of rasp to his voice "I have a promise to get back on and this is the only thing in my way of fulfilling that promise!" he said as he clenched his fists.

His shadows had dissipated due to the magic and his hair flew in the dry breeze. Sand was kicking up behind him "It sure is a windy day today." he said with a small sigh. It was a horrible idea to do this in the desert but hey he wouldn't argue about it.

“Keep up your macho hero act, and you will be wishing my other side came out instead.” Chikane pointed towards the west, in the direction she would make him go for this exam. It would be harsh and brutal, but the path for his own enlightenment would definitely have to be in order for him to survive. Sniffing a bit to see if anything was amiss, she kept her eyes trained on the shadow mage and spoke with authority. “You will walk westward, towards a special temple that resides in this desert. Yes its old and dusty, but your exam relies on getting a key artifact from said temple.” Chikane lowered her arm and scratched her hair a bit with her free hand. “I will be at the temple to assure that you don’t die, but between now and then you are on your own. No one will assist you in getting there, its all about your own willpower. Oh and word from the wise, do NOT drink the water until it is necessary.” Chikane warned before she vanished in a swirl of flames.

Leaving Lance all alone to get to the temple.


((OOC: You have 5 posts to get to the temple. No less than 200 words, but make it a bit more wordy for me than just that. You have to at least one part where Lance drinks the water, as it will begin an important part of the temple scene.))

Lance nodded as Chikane went away all of a sudden, leaving him alone in a hot and dry desert. He stared westwards and sighed. How was he going to make it to the temple in the hot desert? How was he ever going to be able to pass this exam? He closed his eyes and felt like giving up but instead shook his head and made his hair wave in the dry breeze as he took one step and began his journey to the temple.

The sand blew past him as he walked. He was sweating like hell as the sun was beating down on him brightly and he was starting to breath heavily. He didn't like how this felt at all. He looked around to see if he could see the temple anywhere but all he saw was just a bare and dead desert. The yellow sand and some dunes were all he could see for miles so he closed his eyes and kept walking west. Nothing would stop him from getting B-rank.

After a while of walking Lance felt like he was going to pass out but when he looked around he saw a body laying on the ground. He ran over to it to see if he could help the person but alas they were already dead. He sighed heavily "This really boosts my confidence..." he said with a sigh as he moved some hair out of his eyes and searched the body for anything he could use to survive.

The mans water container was empty, His wallet was gone and sand almost covered every inch of his body. Lance felt a bit sad for the guy as he took off the guys clothes switched into the mans clothes. The new outfit would keep the sun out of his face and would cool off his body a little. When he was ready to go he bent down and rested his hand over the mans eyes "Rest Easily..." he muttered as he got up and walked away.

Lances New outfit :

Lance walked westward now that he had some clothes. He had left his black clothes behind him with the dead body. He walked silently as the breeze still blew dry and the golden sand still swirled around him. He sniffed the air "Sand storm is coming..." he said with a sigh as he walked through the desert towards the temple "I guess I will just have to reach the temple before it." he said as he heard a rumbling behind him.

He turned around, startled, and saw a brown worm shoot out of the ground. Lance took a few steps back and clenched his fist "I am not afraid to fight you!" he yelled as the worm looked at him. White slime dripped from its mouth. It looked at Lance and made a loud roar, Covering Lance in slime and while it was roaring Lance saw that its mouth had 50 lines of Razor sharp teeth covering the whole inside of its mouth.

He took a few steps back and made a nervous laugh "I gotta go!" he said as he turned and ran towards the way the temple was. The worm let out another loud roar and slithered after Lance quickly.

Lance ran as fast as he could, he was actually frightened by this thing but he had no time to think about fear. He would run until he fell or lost the worm. He eventually reached a small cave and hid in there until the worm had lost scent in him. Lance let out a sigh, thankful that the worm was gone and walked out of the cave and continued westward.

Lance walked slowly through the blazing desert. The bright golden sun beat down on his with a burning intensity. Sweat rolled down his face as he walked slowly. He licked his lips as the wind started to pick up and the bright golden sand started to swirl around.

Lance snapped his head to each side as the sand swirled around him "Crap didn't make it in time..." he muttered as he started to walk faster. It was to late to return to the cave as he had traveled to far away from it so he just pressed onward and hoped he was close to the temple.

He breathed heavily as the storm intensified and he could tell that life was slipping away from him as he started to become a bit dizzy. The sand swirled around him making it hard for him to see which way he was going as the sand blocked his vision in all direction. He hoped he was still going the right way.

His mouth was dry and the winds were to as it seemed that no longer how long he walked that the storm was never going to end. Lance walked for a while with the non-stop storm raging fierce as ever until he fell to his knees.

He stared up at the sky... at least he thought it was the sky "I am not strong enough for this..." he muttered as he placed his hands on the ground "Many people have died because of me..." he closed his eyes and started to cry "I shouldn't be in this desert... I am not worthy..." he lay on the ground now with his eyes closed.

After a few moments the wind picked up and made the storm even tougher. Lance clenched his fists "No..." he muttered as he slowly stood up "I have promises to keep... people to fight... I will become B-rank!" he yelled as he walked against the wind.

Lance walked for what seemed to be an hour, fighting the winds and almost giving up a few times but always pulling himself back up. Finally the winds died down and the sand stopped rolling. He fell to his knees and laughed "I- I did it..." he said as everything went black.

He awoke in the middle of the same desert and saw a rack next to him. He limped over to it and sat down against it. "So... Thirsty..." he muttered as he remembered the bottles Chikane gave him. He grabbed one of them and closed his eyes "I know you told me not to drink it but I have no choice..." he said as he drank a sip of the water. It was so refreshing that his eyes shot open and he smiled. Something had come over him. He felt... alive. He finished off the bottle and placed in back with the other bottles before standing up and continuing onward.

He drank another bottle or two before finishing up his little drinking fest. This desert had done a number on him both mentally and physically. He no longer seemed tired and had a bit of pep in his step as he marched across the lonely desert.

He had been excited to near the temple for a while now and it seemed that he would never near it but he now had new hope.

Lance walked through the golden desert with a sigh "So hungry..." he muttered as he looked at the ground. He had been sent on a journey through the desert to find a temple were his guild master would be waiting for him. He had set off in the morning and it was now afternoon.

The pink sky told him the it was going to be night time before he finished this exam. He closed his eyes at this. He appreciated Chikane for having him do this as it had helped him grow both mentally and physically.

The voices in his head would pipe up at this time "You are never going to make it Lance... just give up... kill your guild master and she will see the strength you have..." it told him. Lance closed his eyes and opened his mouth with a sigh "No... No more killing for me..." he muttered as he walked through the desert.

He looked up and spied a temple in the distance then smiled. He ran over to it and stopped in front of it. He was happy to have gotten here when all seemed lost. "Hey I'm here!" he called out as he leaned outside of the temple on the wall.

"Good. You aren't a complete failure like many would tell me." The voice of the half demon would reply as she appeared in a swirl of flames in front of Lance. She looked him up and down, and smirked as she noted he probably had done the exact opposite of what she had told him. Chikane would clap her hands, as a door would appear directly behind Lance and he would most likely fall backwards in, but either way she would waltz in and then clap her hands again, lighting torches around the entire area and causing the room to brighten significantly. In the middle of the room sat a coffin, and on that coffin was the name "Lance Knighthunter." Chikane smirked as she opened her arms out, and turned to face Lance directly in front of the coffin.

"This is your burial ground Lance. If you have any questions, let them be known now."

Lance fell through the doorway and saw a tomb with his name on it. He kept a straight and calm face when Chikane asked him if he had any questions. He shook his head with a calm expression and walked past Chikane with a slow pace. Once he was next to the coffin he balled up his fist and gently lay it on the coffin with a sigh

He turned to Chikane "I have no questions but... I am afraid that I cant let you do this..." he said as he stared at Chikane with a cold expression "I have been avoiding my fate... no... my death longer than you could imagine..." he told her as he closed his eyes to hold back tears.

His statement was true in the fact that he had avoided his death since he was 5 years old, the day he got kidnapped by his uncle.

Lance turned away from Chikane and waved the subject of his kidnapping off "Lets just say I simply cant die here." he said in a calm but happy tone. He turned to Chikane now with the same cold stare as before as his eyes flickered red for a second then turned back to gold.

He stepped forward calmly "Now I believe if you wanted to kill me you would have already done it already..." he said as he looked her in the eye "What do you really want?" he said quietly.