Phoenix Blade - Prologue

The worst part about dying is that everyone assumes that your life is over. Nobody can help it. After all, that is true for most people. But that perception doesn’t change for you even when you wake up in the ashes of your own house with a stab to the chest as your last memory. You’re already dead, but even when you can’t see the afterlife, everyone expects you to join the lost souls anyway. The thing is, when you fail to even die properly, there is a stigma that’s hard to escape.

My name is Bolreck. That’s it. I had a last name before, but no one cares what it is now. My name may as well be Bolreck Deadmeat. But don’t actually call me that or I won’t be the only dead meat. I died in the Purge of Shaville, when the Blackstone Order swarmed through my village and killed every last fucker there. Honestly, I don’t blame them for a second. I’m not sure anyone else there was a victim by that point, at least not of the templars.

I don’t need to tell anyone what happened in Shaville because everyone should know by now. But if you really want to get down to the bottom of what I’ve been doing lately, the only place to start is from the beginning. So I guess I’m going to talk about it anyway. Honestly, I’d rather skip this part, but you have been very persuasive.

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No, it’s definitely important. Several of the major figures in my predicament were a part of my life in Shaville too. What happened to us there is relevant. Do you really think I would talk about it otherwise?

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Exactly. You don’t know me. And this conversation is going nowhere until that changes. My service record in the Royal Army can only tell you so much, can it?

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Well, forget about it. I was a much different man back then. And while you’re at it, forget about my time in the Royal Inquisition too. My faith in justice was intact back then, so none of that really has anything to do with what I’ve been doing. My work protecting the peace of Resta was my proudest achievement in life, but all it can inform you about now are my skills.

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Yes, that means that the person you see today was created in Shaville, during the final years of my natural life. No, I wasn’t corrupted by the warlocks like everyone else. I’ve never really felt the same desires that turned half the town into succubi. Hell, I only conceived my daughters through sheer willpower. Even as everyone around me drove themselves crazy with lust, I seemed to be the only one who was untainted.

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Wrathar? No, never. I’ve never been the most pious man in the world, but I used to be a man of Serenity until I died. The hatred that drove so many to become such violent demons was literally outside of my values. Even when things were at their hardest, and I was tempted to purge the damned village myself, I could never have actually brought myself to do it.

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It wasn’t easy to deal with. By the time I called in the spellwarriors, I was already convinced that I was the only sane person left in the village. Shaville proved that wrath and lust come with some of the most powerful vices and everyone was dipping into one of them or another.

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Well, sure. I’m not a perfect person. If the warlocks behind Shaville were around today, I’d probably be a complete demon by now. Luckily they’re long gone and I can focus my anger on the people who deserve it.

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Well, the person I am most angry at is probably my ex-wife. Not only did she let Shaville nearly turn her into a monster, she wasn't any better at dying than I was. And she’s been wrecking my life ever since I learned of her "survival". She’s not alone among my enemies, but none of them would be in my life if not for her. 

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You’re right. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. I’m ready to start at the beginning, but we’re going to be here a while.

First Chapter