Erum --The Fire, It Cleanses--'s page

About Erum --The Fire, It Cleanses--

Erum couldn't help it when, as a child, he looked a little like the stereotypical pictures of The Fallen. The other children weren't particularly nice about it either, throwing stones at Erum on his way home from school. When his mother died, and his father remarried, it simply got worse. His new step-siblings would torment him - poke him with sharp sticks, pull his hair when he was sleeping, and would always whisper behind his back. Eventually, when even his father was starting to look at him askance, Erum decided enough was enough. He fled into the hills, where he could look after himself.

Erum had no idea he was descended from a line of Efreets, from long ago. He couldn't help how he looked. What business was it of anyone else's what he did? But, in living on his own, he discovered powers within himself. The first time he hunted, and killed another life, was a sense of power. Then, that night, as he cooked his kill, he couldn't look away from the flames.

Flame is pure. Flame is good. Flame doesn't mock. Flame does exactly what it says - it will burn you, and it will burn anything you give it.

Erum started small, with making a bigger fire than necessary for cooking. It was so peaceful, and he slept better that night. Over time, he worked up to bigger and bigger fires, until one night, after nightmares about the children who had tormented him, he decided to burn down his old house, and as much of the town as he could.

Seven homes burned that night. Eight adults and five children will be permantly scarred as a result of the fires Erum set. But it was so peaceful. Erum couldn't help but fall asleep there - it was his best night's sleep in years and years, filled with dreams of the whole world burning.