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Well... This took me a rather long time to write up. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter of "Between Heaven and Hell".Auren looked around, observing the

environment around him. He stood in the middle of a park with lush

green laws, decorated by shade-casting oaks, maples, and yews. The

expanses of manicured turf were only separated by three marble

sidewalks that led from the outer rim of the park to a large fountain

in the center. Each sidewalk had several benches placed along their

lengths with beds of various wild-flowers permeating the air with a

pleasing aroma. Auren continued to look around, his sensitive pointed

ears swiveling to pick up the faintest of sounds. The young wolf pup

was currently locked in a game of Hide-and-Seek with his human

friend, Amelia, who, much to his dismay, was incredibly skilled at

hiding. Hearing nothing but the gentle breeze he decided to head

towards one of the old oak trees that crowned a small hill in the

park.Sitting beneath the tree was Auren's

close friend Nate, another wolf pup who had solid silver fur, save

for the single black stripe that ran from head to tail. Auren himself

had darker gray fur with smooth cream colored fur across his chest

and belly, and one ear covered in black fur. Nate looked up from the

picture book he was reading, and smiled at his friend before silently

pointing to the leafy canopy overhead. Auren tilted his head, an ear

flopping to the side in inquiry. He looked up, and saw a girl's face

looking down at him from one of the many tree branches."Hey, that's cheating," Auren

yelled, scowling. Amelia merely giggled and stuck her tongue out at

the young wolf. Auren rolled his eyes, and turned to walk away while

Amelia climbed down. However, the little girl stumbled as she dropped

from the branch, earning a surprised yelp as she crashed into her

friend, sending them both sprawling over Nate, earning yet another

yelp. Amelia giggled as she lied atop her two lupine companions. It

wasn't long before all three of them were laughing, easily amused by

their situation as all small children are."Auren," called a voice,

interrupting the childrens' merriment. "It's time to go to the

ceremony! Bring your friends!" That would be Auren's uncle calling

from across the park. All three of them fell quiet as they stood,

suddenly sobered by the mention of the ceremony. The ceremony was

probably most nerve-racking part of any Venatorian child's life. All

that was known about the ceremony by the three children was that the

ceremony was meant to determine whether or not a child possessed the

gift of magic. It could also determine their future. Those who could

use magic would be trained as warriors while those who couldn't would

lead a more tame lifestyle as a scribe or civilian. In the mortal

world this would seem to be a cruel thing to force upon

eight-year-olds. However, Venatorians were made of sterner stuff, and

were accustomed to their harsh traditions that set them apart from

mortal society.The three of them fell in line behind

Auren's uncle as he led them towards the heart of the city. They had

all been worrying about the upcoming ceremony, despite being told

that it was, to quote one of the council members, "really quite

safe". None of them were assured by that, especially since they

were told right before that only a few

people have died during the ceremony. Auren couldn't help but wonder

what the ceremony would entail, or what would have caused anyone to

expire during its proceedings.Auren looked

around, starting to notice groups of people treading in the same

direction as they were. They were all headed towards the center of

the city where a large crystalline spire rose above all other

structures. The Spire, as it was simply known, extended several dozen

meters straight up, and was about fifteen meters across at its base

where a two-foot high platform wrapped around its perimeter.

Presently, The Spire glowed with a gentle sapphire color, but it

would change later in the day as its color depended on the time of

day and weather.Auren

turned his attention to Amelia as she ran off to join a group of

people who he recognized as her family. Amelia was born into a

wealthy family that was part of the higher echelons of the Venatorian

upper-class. Amelia's father was Reginald Brenigan, an expert

apothecary who was renowned throughout Venatorian society. Her mother

was Lucietta Brenigan, one of the fourteen members of the Venatorian

Gifted Council; VGC for short. Amelia also had an older brother, whom

she idolized, named Freddrik.

Auren couldn't help

but notice that the two eldest Brenigans were casting disdainful

scowls in his direction. It was common knowledge that Reginald and

Lucietta detested anthros of any kind, and that they didn't approve

of their only daughter being friends anthros. They even went as far

as wearing attire consisting of genuine furs, which only served to

offend those around them. Auren sighed, knowing that Amelia would get

a scolding later on."How can she even

stand her parents," Auren asked, muttering the question. He

couldn't understand how Mia could tolerate her parents blatant hatred

against anthros. As a rule, Amelia loved everyone, which was such a

sharp contrast to her parents that some people thought she was

adopted."Well... At least

she has parents." Auren flattened his ears against his head,

feeling guilty upon hearing Nate's dour tone. Nate was an orphan, and

had no family what-so-ever. Nobody knew who his parents were,

although it could be assumed that they were alive. After all, he had

been left on the city orphanage's doorstep as a month-old pup with a

note labeling when he was born. As such, he was a bit touchy whenever

it came to the topic of parents. Auren knew that Nate was extremely

envious of Amelia and himself, even though the silver furred wolf

would never admit it. Auren didn't have parents either, both of them

believed to have fallen in battle when Auren was young. However, he

did have an uncle that took him in and raised him as his own. Nate,

on the other paw, lived in a run down orphanage, and had no one. And

everybody knows there's no such thing as a happy tale at an

orphanage.Auren cast those

thoughts from his mind as they walked into the heart of the city.

What must have been thousands of people were gathered in the city's

core. Venatorian citizens were crowding the roads surrounding the

spire, creating a sea of furs and humans that Nate, Auren, and his

uncle had to wade through. Once they got to the front of the crowd

the two young pups got their first look at where the ceremony would

take place. Seven large braziers sat atop a slab of stone that

encircled The Spire, each brazier burning with a different colored

fire representing each element.Auren looked up at

his uncle as a paw came to rest on his shoulder. The elder wolf

lifted his other paw to point at a set of stairs where children

Auren's age were lining up for the ceremony, and with a gentle push,

sent his nephew on his way to join them. Nate followed after his

friend, falling into line with the other 40-something eight-year-olds

that would be taking part in this year's ceremony. Nate and Auren

waited, watching as one of the ceremony coordinators read over a

list, starting to line the younglings up in a specific order."Hey look, guys,"

called a voice that grated on Auren's nerves. "It's the orphan!"

Auren turned around to see exactly who he expected. Walking towards

him were Ricky, Eric, and Alan; a young bull, and two humans

respectively. Auren had to hold back an irritated groan, already

knowing what was going to happen. The trio had been picking on Nate

for almost a year now, and were probably going to use this public

gathering to keep Nate from retaliating... Not that he ever did. Nate

was small for his age, being almost a full head shorter than the

three bullies. Nate may have hated putting up with their shit, but he

wasn't by any means stupid. Nate knew that he wouldn't stand a chance

in a fight against them, especially since he was small and lean

compared to the larger, bulkier brutes."By the creator,"

Auren muttered under his breath. "Can't you guys leave him alone

for one day?" Auren glared at the trio, suppressing a growl that

had begun to rise in his throat. Auren hated them, not just for

picking on his friend, but for being bullies in general. He knew they

only targeted Nate because he couldn't do anything about it. There

had been times when Auren was the only thing that stood between Nate

and a physical beating. Auren was only a tad shorter than them, but

he was big enough that he would pose a significant obstacle if they

were to go after the smaller wolf. Ricky, the bull, had opened his

mouth to say something callous, but another voice interrupted him."Hey!"

Auren turned to find the source of the voice, and saw Mia striding

towards them looking pissed. "What do you think you're doing!?"

Amelia had fixed the three bullies with a death glare that no little

girl should be able to possess. Auren shivered, knowing from

experience what being on the receiving end of that glare. A few

months before, the wolf had accidentally bumped into his human

friend, causing her to drop the ice cream she had just bought from a

vendor. The stare she fixed him with made him feel like she was about

to rip him in half, and he quickly handed his own ice cream over to

placate her. What Auren was witnessing now was the same sort of

stare, only worse. After all, if anything vexed Mia more than dropped

ice cream, it was when someone picked on her friends.Ricky,

Eric, and Alan started backing away, looking nervous as they held up

their hands as if they could ward away the furious female. Amelia

quickly closed the remaining distance between them, and started

hitting them. The three brutes backpedaled, stuttering as they tried

to come up with excuses. Mia's smaller fists kept hammering away at

their chests until the three of them ran off, leaving a huffing

Amelia glaring after them. Mia puffed out a heavy sigh, and turned

towards Nate. "You okay," she asked, her voice heavy with evident

concern.Nate

nodded, his face set in a mask of practiced stoicism. Mia pursed her

lips, unconvinced. She pulled her smaller lupine friend into a hug,

and held him for a few seconds before returning to her place in line.

Auren watched Mia walk away before turning back to look at Nate only

discover that Nate was headed towards the back of the line. Nate knew

that's where he would be placed. The line order was alphabetical by

last name, and Nate, being the only person present without a last

name, would automatically be put at the end. Auren sighed, seeing his

friend go off alone, and stepped into line as his name was called.It

wasn't long before all the children were in their places. The city

circle went quiet as High Chancellor Burnholdt, the head of the

Venatorian government, stepped onto the stage encircling The Spire.

Andrei Burnholdt was a human in his late fifties with stern features,

and dressed in a royal blue suit. Andrei had been elected to the

position of High Chancellor thirteen years ago, and Venetorian

society had entered a sort of golden age under his administration.

Overall, Burnholdt was a level-headed and charismatic governor who

was loved by almost everyone."Good

Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen," Burnholdt opened, his deep baritone

voice modified with arcane magic to reach the furthest reaches of the

city circle. "Today we are gathered here today witness and

ascertain who, out of these numerous children gathered, will be

eligible to undergo the training necessary to be a member of the

Venatorian warrior class." Burnholdt paused, his eyes scanning over

his audience. "In order to qualify for this training, a child must

possess a gift; the gift to manipulate one, or more, of the

fundamental forces of nature. This is the same gift utilized by our

warrior class: the gift of magic."Auren

couldn't help but smile, his tail starting to sway behind him as he

knew that Burnholdt was about to get into the history of how the

Venatorian race came to be. It was a story that most Venatorian

children knew, as it was commonly told as a bedtime story. It could

be compared to a mortal fairytale that caused children to aspire to

be heroic knights, or princes and princess. However, the Venatorian

origin story contained more blood and violence than the average

mortal would ever see in their lifetime, and caused Venatorian youth

to aspire to a matching profession... At times it made people wonder

how they were comparable in the first place."Our

race came into existence nearly seven thousand years ago when the

angel Xytherian appeared before our progenitors." The Head

Chancellor cleared his throat before going on to explain further.

"Xytherian told them that they were chosen by the Creator to

receive great power, and that they, and their descendants, were to

use this power to banish evil from the world. The chosen seven then

drank of the angel's blood, and were granted the power of magic. With

this new-found power, they went on to become the first Demon Slayers,

and founded the seven disciplines of magic.""Today,

these children will undergo a test to see if they possess the gift of

magic. If they do not, they will return to a normal civilian life.

However, if they do possess the gift they will be thrust into a life

of studying. In their studies, the gifted will learn more about our

history, our purpose, the nature of magic, and how to kill demons."The

speaker paused once more before continuing. "The younglings will be

tested in a way similar to how the original seven were granted their

powers; by consuming angel's blood. Each child will be given a large

dose of the otherwise elicit drug we all know as Mind-Fire, which is

made from diluted angel blood. The children who don't have the gift

will simply pass out. However, when administered to a gifted child,

the drug will force their powers to manifest, indicating which type

of elemental magic they possess.""There

are seven disciplines of elemental magic, one for each element. The

discipline of Fire is Pyromancy, The discipline of Water and Ice is

Hydromancy, The discipline for Earth is Geomancy, Lightning follows

the discipline of Fulmemancy, The Wind discipline is Aeromancy, The

Light discipline is Auramancy, and the Darkness discipline is

Umbramancy. Each child with the gift will possess one of these,

perhaps two, and maybe even three of these types of magic."Burnholdt

cleared his throat as he extracted what appeared to be a list of

names from his coat. "First up is Amelia Brenigan." A few seconds

later Mia stepped onto the stage, and was approached by a stage-hand

who handed her a vial containing a shimmering gold liquid. Without a

word, Amelia uncapped the vial, and swallowed its contents. It wasn't

long before Amelia visibly started shiver, wrapping her arms around

herself. She slowly sank to her knees, a pool of ice and water

forming around her from out of nowhere. Wind started to whip her hair

around as large icicles started sprouting from the ice around Amelia.

The pool of wind continued to pick up as the pool of water and ice

spread, growing stronger and larger. Amelia eventually collapsed with

a groan, the ice and water evaporating instantly as the wind

dissipated."Hydromancy

and Aeromancy," Burnholdt nodded, scribbling it down next to

Amelia's name. A stagehand strode over, and help Amelia from the

stage. From the look of exhaustion on her face, Auren had to assume

that going through this ceremony would be a tiring ordeal. Two more

children were called up before Auren was called; a Geomancer, and a

powerless child doomed to be an ordinary citizen."Auren

Drakeson," called Burnholdt's voice. Auren sighed, trying to

relieve some of his nervousness as he obediently stepped onto the

stage. One of the stagehands handed him a vial identical to the ones

handed to the participants before him. Ignoring everyone's stares, he

pulled the cork from the vial, and with only a little hesitation,

downed its contents. The fluid itself tasted sweet, like melted

chocolate, but Auren's enjoyment of it was cut short as the mixture

hit his stomach. A sudden surge of energy welled up inside him; an

energy that felt, for a lack of a better word, magical in its nature.

Auren couldn't help but shift in discomfort, the energy building up

until it felt like he might explode. Suddenly it felt like the energy

was starting to drain away. For a moment, Auren was afraid that he

might be powerless, but that fear was wiped away as Auren felt as if

he was suddenly thrown into a sauna set for its highest setting.Flames

had sprung up around his feet, blazing in the rosy hues of elemental

fire. The flames danced around him, growing brighter and hotter. Soon

the fires began to die away, allowing shadows that had been hidden by

their light to appear. The shadows formed themselves into exact

copies of Auren, standing around him in a circle. Auren was amazed as

he was surrounded by four shadow wolves. The feeling of awe was

short-lived as the young wolf was overcome with a sudden wave of

exhaustion. The shadow creatures began to boil away in wisps of

insubstantial smoke as Auren realized he had burned completely

through the energy that had filled him only moments before. A

stagehand ran up, and grasped Auren by the arm to steady him as he

was led from the stage.Auren

had never experienced such a profound form of tiredness. It felt like

he had been up for weeks without anything to eat or drink. It was

such a complete form of fatigue that he didn't even notice Burnholdt

calling out that he was a Pyromancer and Umbramancer. He hardly

noticed the bottle of water being pushed into his paws. The young

wolf quickly uncapped the bottle, and started draining its contents.

He quickly emptied it, and dropped it with a gasp. The wolf was

grateful that the stagehand was waiting with another bottle of water,

which Auren also drained rather quickly. Auren tried to turn his

attention back to the ceremony, but ended up slumping over onto his

side as exhaustion finally overcame him.He

faded in and out of consciousness again and again as the ceremony

went by. He caught bits and pieces of it when he was 'awake'. It

wasn't until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder that he really

regained awareness of his surroundings."Auren,"

called Mia's familiar voice. "Auren, wake up."

The

young lupine groaned, but obeyed his friend's commands. "Ugh...

What's going on?" Auren sat up, rubbing the sleepiness from his

eyes."It's

Nate's turn," Mia replied, shaking her friend to get him to pay

attention. Auren huffed in playful irritation, and shook his head,

causing his ears to flop against his head. Mia giggled, and stroked

her bigger friend's ears, petting him. The young wolf let out a

pleased murr, and finally turned his attention to the stage to see

his smaller lupine companion. Nate stood on the stage with the last

of the gold vials in his paws, looking just as nervous as any of the

other children who underwent the ceremony. The young wolf carefully

removed the stopper on the vial, and knocked back its contents. Auren

leaned forwards, curious as to what powers his friend will have, if

any.Suddenly

Nate pitched forwards, covering his muzzle with a paw as he started

to gag and cough. The young pup sank down to his knees, his other arm

wrapping around his torso. It didn't take a genius to know that

something was wrong, especially when blood started to seep out from

between Nate's fingers. Ignoring his own fatigue, Auren jumped to his

feet, and started running towards his clearly agonized friend. Nate

fell forwards, his bloodstained paw dropping from his muzzle to

support him as more blood flowed from his mouth.Auren

and Amelia had nearly reached the fallen wolf when a pair of

stagehands grabbed them, pulling them away from their bleeding and

pained companion. Nate fell into another coughing fit, causing more

blood to spatter against the ground. Auren tried to struggle against

the hands holding him only to have his arms wrenched behind him.

However, Auren's struggles ceased once he saw his friend's powers

begin to manifest. Spires of ice began to shoot up out of the stage

around Nate, only this wasn't normal ice. Each frosty rod wasn't a

clear, or even bluish color, they were instead tinted a deep red, a

hue similar to the blood pouring from Nate's maw. Bolts of black

lightning started to arc through the air around the wolf, leaving

scorches where they struck the stage. Nate didn't seem to take notice

of what was going on around him, continuing to hack and cough as more

of his blood flowed onto the stage, making a small puddle beneath

him.Auren

stood there, awestruck by the sight before him. He had heard of the

various things that Demon Slayers could do with their powers, but

he'd never heard of something like this. Something like this, the

black lightning and red ice, was completely unheard of. Auren looked

around to see others wearing the same mystified look that he had

plastered to his face. No one seemed to know what to think of this.

However, the air seemed to suddenly take on a vile feel, something

that caused Auren's hackles to stand on end. It was hard to describe

the essence that seemed to permeate the atmosphere. The only way to

describe it was... That it was evil. It made Auren feel like he was

going to panic, like something was chasing after him. The evil aura

only continued to grow in intensity... Until Nate appeared to pass

out, the lightning vanishing as the ice around him shattered into

nothingness.A

pall of silence had come to blanket the crowd as if everyone had been

taken by the angel of death. Auren turned to look at the crowd behind

him, only to see the faces of the adults molded into masks of shock

and horror. The young wolf barely had time to process this when a

woman, probably an elderly one by the sound of her voice, screamed

out from deep in the crowd."Demon," the old lady

shrieked. "The boy's a demon!" The crowd instantly broke out in a

cacophony of shouts, yells, and jeers. It was mere moments before a

sort of mob mentality formed, and members of the crowd started to

surge forwards towards the stage, trying to get at Nate. Auren

considered himself lucky that he was already on the stage, or else

he'd have been trampled. The stagehands holding Auren and Amelia let

go of them to join the dozens of others in barely managing to hold

back the suddenly-angry mob. The two children immediately ran over to

their vulnerable friend, wanting to make sure he was okay. Nate was

lying on his back with his eyes barely open, laying only a couple of

feet from the considerably large pool of his blood. Auren and Amelia

kneeled down at Nate's side, and paused, not sure what they could do.

Auren looked over his smaller friend, and quickly noticed that the

young pup's eyes weren't their normal shade of chocolate brown.

Instead, they had turned to a dark, bloody red color that unsettled

him. Thankfully, that feeling didn't last long as the red shade

almost immediately started to fade back to the usual brown. In the

background the noise caused by the crowd continued to grow to an

ear-piercing intensity as people called for the "death of the

demon.""Silence,"

shouted Burnholdt's voice, seeming very similar to a certain

grey-bearded wizard. The crowd quickly fell to a hush, barely a

whisper being heard as the respected politician placed himself

between Nate, and the gathered crowd. "Why is it that you wish for

this child's demise? Has he ever done anything to wrong you?"

Burnholdt waited for an answer, but none came. "I will not allow

this child to be put to death for something that he never had a

choice in." Burnholdt cleared his throat before going any further.

"The child has manifested a twin set of powers, and will be taught

to use them-" Burnholdt was immediately cut off by a voice from the

crowd."You

can't possibly be serious," shrieked Amelia's mother as she marched

towards the stage, the crowd parting ahead of her. "You can't allow

that demon mutt to live! He's a danger to everyone around him!"Burnholdt

immediately fixed the outspoken woman with a furious glare. "And

who are you to decide who should live and who should die, Lucietta?"

The female politician immediately froze in place as her first name

was uttered, as such a thing was a direct challenge among

politicians, and from her political superior no-less. "As the High

Chancellor it is by my order, and my order alone, for someone to be

put to death. With your purist, elitist views, it is a miracle that

you have no say in such matters, else you'd put most of those

gathered here to death. Be sure to learn your place." Auren could

see the older woman hold back a physical flinch from the political

bitch-slap. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that Amelia's bitch

of a mother was being put in her place.Lucietta

nearly shrieked in frustration, but ultimately remained quiet as she

returned to her husband's side, barely holding back a queen-sized

tantrum. "Now," continued Burnholdt, "It is my decision that

this young wolf be educated in the arts of magic, just as all the

other gifted children will be. Anyone who tries to harm him will be

met with a dire punishment." With that being said, Burnholdt

departed, bringing an official end to the ceremony. However, despite

the strained resolution, Auren couldn't help but feel that this was

just the beginning of a long line of problems for Nate.