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| - Born nearly two years earlier than his brother Ky, Ren was a practical jokester as a child. Ever since he could remember, he was playing pranks on people and always remaining underfoot. Even moreso, just as most boys his youthful age, he mostly played his pranks on girls. Unknown to him was that when he hid in the room of a neighbor, was that she had been having an affair on her husband. As he hid, he watched. The man who he identified was the one whom worked a stall which sold yaki manju. As he undressed, the woman did the same and after that, she knelt down and placed the man's phallus within her mouth. Ren's eyes were agape as he watched, however; the kimchi which he had eaten himself had gone foul within his stomach and the flatulence was what caught both the adult's attention. He was discovered and taken to his parents. Even though he had told her husband of what had happened, he did not believe the child. To this day the couple are still together and he has no doubt that she was still having her affairs. Yet, despite his honesty, Ren was fiercely scolded. From that point on, he would forever be entranced by the female body. He had grown to love the body of the opposing gender and truth be told, he has enjoyed women himself. It is of no surprise when intellect can woo the like-minded. As the years have gone by, he spent most of his time focusing and seducing the opposing gender yet...soon that was not enough. Ren sought knowledge of how to control the mind as well as sway any individual. Not simply for physical pleasure, no. Ren sought to master the minds of others and understand just what made people tick. This soon took a sharp turn for understanding the world itself as well as all its wonders. As such, Ren was able to get his hands on selective books which his parents and not even his brother knew about. It was within the dead of night when he read. Symbols. Blood. Experiments. Several strange and new things for him to learn and with the will itself, Ren was unstoppable in learning what he could. It would take years, but Ren would understand the Art of Alchemy. His teenage years where spent reading. Just like his younger brother, Ren also spent his time learning the trade of smithing both firearms and blades. When it came to firearms, Ky was superior in that field. Ren on the other hand surpassed even their mother when it came to the process of blade-work and even the end result trumped his mother. His parents believed that Ren and Ky would be perfect for working alongside them and possibly expand their small family business. Of course, he had other plans. At the age of sixteen, Ren had met the love of his life. Her name was Yamato Kanna. As most of his time was spent with her, he wanted to help her achieve her dreams and spend his life with her. Kanna was highly intelligent and often had several books which piqued Ren's interest. Those books themselves were based upon Alchemy. Despite her selection being kept a secret from him for a full year, she never knew he was interested in such things until she witnessed Ren light a lantern without a match. With the full year gone by, he was now seventeen and more interestingly, he had learned how to conjure Flame. The flame he could control was a small amount, yet, his talent had slowly grown. After reading and even practicing with Kanna, Ren soon crafted a Bastard Sword out of pure Flame. Kanna was beyond impressed as she could only conjure small specks of lightning. All was well and true during his seventeenth year, but that would soon change. The Summer Months had come upon the land as he continued to learn. He studied with Kanna often, helping her along the way to where she was not able to conjure a small whip made purely out of lightning. She coined it Brontide. He smirked as this was told to him yet in turn, he could produce no answer when asked what would he name his flame. All-in-all, he simply referred to his skill as Alchemy and if he had to be precise, he would simply say that he was a Pyromancer. After they studied and practiced, they oft took to bed. Kanna had a sexual drive which rivaled his own. Twice a day and three if he had done something special and she felt as if a reward was needed. Yet at heart of this, they spoke of having a child. Not just a child but starting a family. Beyond this was setting up shop here as a local smith so that he could support his family while Kanna took care of their child in the child's early years. It was a sound plan he thought, yet, when his parents found out of his plans, they both disagreed with his choice. They wanted him to reside with them as he worked (just as Ky had been doing,) yet, a young Ren refused. His mother shed tears for his choice while his father remained stern and gave him seven days to decide what to do. After that, if he continued this foolishness, he would no longer see him as a son. With that, they both left. His parents left him with Kanna and as he resided with her, three days had passed. Ultimately, Ren decided to go against what they had wanted him to do. It was his life and he should not have to sacrifice his future wife and his future family for what his parents wanted. Couldn't they see that with him working in support of them that the family business would still prosper? Though he knew this was bound to happen as his mother never took warmly to Kanna or the Yamato family itself. It did not matter, his mind was made up. It was his life and he chose to do with it what he wished. After a month, his mother returned to check on him and plea for him to reconsider his choice--however, he knew that this would happen as well. Naturally, he ignored the woman and resumed going about his business. She had the choice to stand against "That Man's" choice but instead, she chose to side with him. Now...a year later, Ren was eighteen years old. Kanna had suffered three miscarriages. Each day seemed to slowly effect her deeper and deeper to where her very will to start a family dwindled with each passing day. Ren continued to work. Using his talent--his Alchemy-- to forge blades as well as other materials that people had requested. He had been doing well for them both. He stocked and saved his hard-earned money for his future child for he would not allow her to be without anything. He had always thought "her" simply because he wanted a daughter. One day, as he finished running errands for the day, he was making his way back to Kanna when he returned to a village of flames. Rushing to his home, he arrived just in time to find Kanna and an older man defending themselves against bandits. As he entered the fight, he had only his bare hands and as such he was easily wounded. As blood poured from his torso, he continued to fight and he was not fighting for himself, he fought to protect her but most of all, he fought to protect the future which he wanted for not only him, but for Kanna and their child as well. Despite Kanna ordering him to run, he ignored her and fought. He was able to get his hands upon a weapon--a common sickle and with it, he killed two men, yet he was easily overpowered by the remaining number. It was in desperation that he quickly drew a small seal of his own blood upon his arm... "... de sanguine ejus, ac ferro ... ipsi adolendum incensum coram illo divino ensis!" (...of blood and steel...let them burn before this divine blade!) Spoken in the Latin tongue, his transmutation yielded frightening results. His entire right arm had transformed into a metallic limb with a long curved sickle-esque appendage protruded from his forearm. Cracks lined this bladed-appendage until the immense heat cooled. These cracks soon became symbols. He looked not to them but was more focused on the entire transmutation. Blade itself had taken form and without cost, he was able to use this appendage to his own will's extent! As the flames about him brought him from his mind, he looked to the men whom stood before them. The bandits were terrified as was he--at first. Yet, when one of them tried to attack him, Ren reacted and slew the man. Then the rest quickly fell as torn bodies strewn throughout his home. As the bloodshed had bled dry, he looked to his arm and saw how it had changed him. Not only that, Kanna had also saw his arm. As he approached her, she backed away and clung to another. The one who she clung to was also held her, but his words were what truly struck him: "Stay behind me! I'll protect you and our child!" The man proceeded to draw a sword. Ren thought it odd that he now chose to draw his weapon when at first, he allowed the Bandits this far. However, his words were enough to force Ren's resolve to crumble. He knew what had happened and he knew where it would lead. That said, he turned away. He dared not to look back nor did he look to Kanna before he departed. He turned away from those he knew. He turned from the one he loved. It was a lie and it took him risking his life in order to see that... ...Ren left the village with nothing but the clothes on his back and it was within the darkness of night that he studied his arm. As he studied it, thoughts of Kanna continually flooded his mind. In the end, his arm began to burn yet it caused no pain. The blade itself heated and gave off spark of flame. As a child watching fireworks, he stared in amazement. It burned a bright red before slowly simmering to a blackish reddish orange. He recalled black or deep silver being that of Bismuth, yet, as he looked to the cooling symbols, one was in fact Bismuth, a small circle with two horn-like markings rising skyward. This reminded Ren of a Demon. Another was of a Triangle which pointed skyward. He saw this as the classic Alchemical symbol Fire. The next was an odd pattern. As he stared at it for what seemed an hour, he recalled it to be Arsenic. The last symbol slowly cooled. From this, cracks festered which caused slight pain throughout his body. These cracks soon separated and what was left was a cooling symbol near his shoulder and long spiraling lines and symbols along the bladed-appendage itself. It took an additional day for the symbols to cool and once they did, he knew right off what the one near his shoulder was. It was in Latin which he clearly read as Void, but what he read this as was its base meaning: Separation. The last cooling lines and symbols were evident to him in meaning. The words he spoke to summon the blade itself were writ true upon the blade itself. Serrated and light-weight, he swung the appendage at a tree he was leaning against for a few moments and stared as the blade slid through it in its entirety. Of course, the tree slowly tilted and fell...however, he stared at the blade. "How am I going to hide this?" was a question he now asked himself. Yet as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the blade was consumed by a black flame which made him jump as it appared from the blade itself. After seconds of watching the black flame reduce to smoke, he watched ash fall to the earth below as his human arm re-formed from the flame itself. "Astounding!" Was the only word he could utter. From this point, Ren devoted his time to learning what he could about his new ability.
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