Heroes' Calling Revised Edition

By Edge Celize

"I wish there was sumtin I can do... to free us from the fear of being discovered... who woulda thought that to save the world, I’d have to be the monster to destroy it first. I didn’t know where my decisions would take me, I didn’t know who I’d meet on the way, and least of all I didn’t know what the outcome would be...

Religion, what a bunch of bullshit... the government... just another form of religion if you ask me... whatever I have to do, I’m gonna do it, I’m tired of living a life where I have to hide my powers... we’re all tired of hiding... this is our chance to do sumtin, this is gonna be our time now, and I’ll never back down.

-Edge."

A defiant story about a guy and his friends. Together they must over come the obstacle of government and religion in order to save themselves and the world... but in order to do so, they must become the monsters to destroy it first. Their destiny is more important then they could ever realize..." This story has comedy, friendship, drama, adventure, excitement, and everything else you might find in your everyday lives. Join Edge as learns to use his powers to fight those that try to oppress the weaker voices. Fight alongside his friends as they try to make the world a better place for them and their kind. A defiant and daring tale that will make you wonder who or what the real evil is in this world.

(Note - html preview does not include page breaks. Written in a Play/Script style format to help convey the highly conversational nature of the book.)

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This ambitious novel, written mostly in the form of a play, combines action, mythology, religion and anime.
Edge is an Asian-American teen from Brooklyn who, as a child, discovers he can harness heat energy and shoot fireballs. He possesses this power as the result of a war waged between Jehovah and Lucifer, in which one of Lucifer’s generals turned against his master and fought on the side of goodness. Details of this war were apparently suppressed by the Church, as was the fact that Adam was an angel and Eve a demon. These bold assertions are typical of the novel’s incredibly complex, often difficult-to-follow plot. As Edge grows up, he finds that many of his close friends have extraordinary powers, too, including the ability to teleport. This connection to friends with superpowers proves to be fortuitous, since Lucifer’s generals have returned to Earth to reclaim the scattered, mystical sources of their power. The underlying scenario has potential, but unfortunately, and for no clear reason, the novel is written like a play, with the action in brackets. With admirable consistency, this technique is sustained across hundreds of pages, although it doesn’t quite benefit the telling of the tale. The dialogue is perfunctory and trite—“Raven: I got a plan, and it’s an awesome plan!”—and the stage-direction rendering of the novel’s action tends to dampen the wonder of what could be spectacular scenes, especially Edge becoming an angel in heaven, the fights between angels and demons, and even a nuclear blast. The sketches of action struggle to leave an impression: “[The War Commandant leaves the office and gets into a helicopter that takes him to an unnamed building in a field of grass. He exits, enters the facility, and gets on an elevator that takes him a few floors down. The elevator opens into a room with a person strapped to a table with his arms and legs spread apart.]” Also, in the repetitive fight scenes, main characters call out their signature moves before executing them, as in a video game or anime—parallels young readers may or may not enjoy... - Kirkus Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edge Celize
• Release date: Dec 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465708656

Edge Celize

Being an avid fan of science fiction, fantasy and anime, I would always see the world as a giant adventure. There's always been a story I wanted to tell, something that defines my character, my beliefs . . . I wrote this story for the primary purpose of getting it out there, but hidden in its world is also a message to those out there that feel they are different or don't fit in, that they are not alone. The greatest strength that one can muster up comes from themselves first and foremost . . . find the strength in yourself to help yourself, and you can help everyone else around you. If everyone in the world looked inside themselves for strength then what a world that would be . . . I live in NYC, like they say, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere right? Right?

Book preview

Glossary

Within the story there are many words in which certain characters will say with an accent. Those words are described below:

Alrighty Alright

Ain't Colloquialism and contraction for any word that can be made when paired with not such as: Is not, Am not, Are not, Has not etc ...

Buncha Bunch of

C'mon Come on

Coulda Could have

Cuz Because

Dunno Don't know

Gettin Getting

Gonna Going to

Gotta Got to

Heh An onomatopoeia to signify acknowledgment of something with a sense of weak amusement.

Hmph An onomatopoeia for the expression of apathy or disagreement.

Kinda Kind of

Lemme Let me

Lil Little

Musta Must have

Nah No

Nuttin Nothing

Outta Out of

Pfft An onomatopoeia for the expression of dismissal

Probs Problem

Shoulda Should have

Sorta Sort of

Sumtin Something

Sup What's up?

Tryna Trying to

Wanna Want to

Whatcha What are you (Perry)

What'd What do...

What ya What are you (Edge)

Why'd Why did

Woulda Would have...

Ya You or you all

Yeah Yes

Yo An interjection for 'Hi' and 'Hey' also used to express an exclamation and emphasize sentences when applicable.

Yup Yes

-Z Sometimes used in replacement of an s in order to give a word a more slang like sound.

Intentionally left blank

Prologue:

Long ago, before time existed, this world was a wasteland. The two entities of light and darkness fought for what would be the most prized possession in the known universe, life.

Earth would become the center point of all existence. Jehovah and Lucifer fought a never ending battle to create life as they saw fit. The kingdom of heaven, the location of the Angel Sanctuary, was home to Jehovah's Army of Light, and the empire of hell was the stronghold of the dark army, Lucifer's Grand Force. The fight was for the creation of existence, for what is power with no subjects to rule?

But nothing went as planned. Rebel angels and deviant demons broke all laws of good and evil, and created the first union. The joining of light and darkness, unified and within itself, neutralized... To the demon mother Eve and the angel father Adam, the first true life was born, the first human. The being was both genders, yet neither, with no power, magic, or anything special except its purity of innocence.

The child matured, but never knew anything beyond what it saw with its own eyes. Every day was like every other, nothing was different, and everything was the same and never changed. The child had no perception of time or history and so felt its existence was meaningless. Its parents, seeing their child alone and dissatisfied with life, gave up their immortality to create Tempis, an entity of time. Without her, life would have no history, no past or possible future. Her existence was the gift of time to humans.

The child grew up and became old, and in time, more rebels and deviants followed Adam and Eve's footsteps and had children of their own. The human species had just begun. Though life had spawned, Earth was still barren, it bore no fauna or flora, and existence was harsh. With the help of their parents, humans were able to learn and understand the most basic of magic, and they used this knowledge to develop science and technology. Life seemed to slowly get better, but to Jehovah and Lucifer this union of light and darkness was blasphemy. The creation of life was stolen from them, and the possibility of a perfect world fit for either's rule was gone. Furious over the events that had transpired, the two entities stripped the deviants and rebels of their immortality and destined them to die along with the children they created. Even then, Lucifer, was still not satisfied. The Grand Force was unleashed and set the planet ablaze. However, Jehovah, in all his wisdom and patience, saw that the cause was not lost, that there was still a chance. Jehovah ordered the gates of the Angel Sanctuary to open so the Army of Light could be sent to defend the humans and the banished rebels and deviants, and thus, the Great War began. By the trumpet of Gabriel and sword of Michael, the archangels led the Army of Light to war. The demon generals, Testament and Judgment led the Grand Force, setting the world ablaze...

The end of the war was far, but in sight. Tempis recorded all the events in the Book of Time. The war's end came with the fall of Testament and Judgment, both whose powers were to be sealed, never again to be released.

Finally, the war was over. Jehovah had won, and he now had his followers. But Lucifer's voice and power would not be forgotten, for within every human, a dark side was present, and in time, the darkness would grow, and Lucifer knew he would have his revenge. Earth was ravaged with the scars of the war, life as it had been was no longer possible. Select individuals who survived the war pulled what strength they had left and offered themselves as a sacrifice to create me, Saivent. My birth was the final chapter of the Great War. Upon its impact, the meteor that held me cleansed the planet and all its inhabitants. All traces of the war were gone. Jehovah lent his strength and dimmed the fires that consumed the world. With what strength he had left, he took the surviving humans and tore them into two halves as best he could, creating the genders of man and woman so they could procreate, thus eliminating the need for darkness and light to join in order to create humans. In seven days, the world cooled and life slowly started to develop. Tempis protected me, keeping me away from the reach of any mortal and away from Lucifer who was sure to kill me if he had the chance, and finally, away from even Jehovah himself, who would have used me for his own benefit. As I grew up so did the planet, life developed everywhere, there was finally peace...

All members of the human race are descendants of their ancient angel and demon parents, but as long as their blood remains balanced, there will be no hint of the past. Though Jehovah and Lucifer both agreed that this was the way it is to remain, Lucifer knew that one day revenge would be his. And so, it came to be that certain individuals whose blood had become unbalanced would bring forth the truth of the past. Small numbers of these individuals existed as human history progressed, but as time advanced, more and more started to show themselves in the world. One individual's story and that of his group of friends is about to be told. He and his friends will change the face of this world once again. Their destiny is more important than they realize...

Chapter 1

My name is Edge

I never thought my life would take the turn it did. I never thought I'd meet these people I've come to call friends. And I never believed that I would be considered a hero by a handful of people and a villain by a buncha assholes...

I realized a few years ago that I would not live my life confined by human laws that allow the strong to govern the weak, I just wouldn't take it. This pyramid of power that forced everyone to be a follower, unless rich enough to get to be a leader for however long the money allowed, was just bullshit. I once believed the saying No fate but what we make. Well, I could say this was the fate I was making for myself.

[Flashback - A bell rings. The doors to a school playground are opened. Countless children rush out to enjoy their playtime. In a corner of the playground, Edge is being pushed around by kids all bigger than he is. Present day...]

There were always bullies. I had to decide whether I was gonna take their shit or fight back. Well I took it. I was too scared to fight. Being the smallest kid in a school playground of Latinos and Blacks where I was the only lil Asian boy meant that no one would be coming to help me. If I took their punishment, I wouldn't have to suffer too much. I let myself get pushed over and over again, and I was already so close to the edge. One day, I exploded on a kid who had always found his fun in picking on me relentlessly. I felt the anger, the fire inside grow and become an inferno. The whole schoolyard was consumed by a flash fire. Everyone was burnt to some degree or another. And me? I was the only kid still standing. They called me the miracle child who survived the freak accident. And the bully? His ashes blew away in the wind. From that day on, I knew I had to nurse this fire. I had to control the flame and make it my own. This was my lil secret. This is what I would use to define my life.

[Edge is in a confined area in Central Park that is hard to get to on foot due to the nature of the surrounding rocks and trees. He is practicing his ability to control fire along with basic punches and kicks.]

As I grew up, I practiced each day to draw out the fire inside. By the time I reached junior high, I was able to release small fireballs, and by high school, I was able to control and wield as much fire as I wished, making the flames do whatever the hell I wanted. And by graduation, I was able to wrap myself in flames and fly. I started to wonder, though, was I the only one? I couldn't be. How would it make sense for me to be the only one? But where would I even start to look for others? I graduated high school by myself, all my friends having graduated a semester earlier.

I started college only to realize it wasn't for me, and a year later, I dropped out. I realized, though, while taking a course in college, that I wanted to be a welder. I loved the feel of the fire and heat, so I made up my mind. That summer off would be the last time I'd be free. I hung out with my friend Perry and went to the beach and such. We all got together, my small handful of friends. We spent that summer just having fun. As the summer drew close to the end, I met a new friend on an art website I visited a buncha times. I came to know him as Cory. We were both photographers. His field was more directed to self portraits and landscapes. Mine was photoshop.

When the summer was over, I started my new school, a trade school that taught HVAC, auto mechanics, engines, and a whole buncha other stuff. I was in the welding department.

Perry never knew about my gift—in fact, no one did. It was sumtin I kept to myself. Anyway, my friendship with Cory grew, and he told me that he and his family were coming up to New York for the holidays. I looked forward to meeting him. A few days before he was supposed to come, he started to act strange, though. He kept asking me if I could change the world, what would I do, what would I want. If there was a war for the human race and freedom from God, would I be willing to fight in it? He told me he would explain in person, so I waited...

Chapter 2

Cory?

I received word from Cory that he had arrived in New York City, but due to all his mom's plans, he wouldn't be able to hangout until the last day. I had class, even though it was the holiday vacation for everyone else, cuz my school is retarded like that. It didn't matter, since this whole week the public transit authority was on strike, so I couldn't get to school anyway. I was getting my vacation one way or another.

Cory was a tall white dude, and he came from a rich family, so he was pretty well off in life. He was pretty typical, the laid back type, with short but scruffy brown hair and a goatee. All he knew was work, work, and work, and the time he had off, he'd go and shop like a rich kid.

Now Perry, who was one of my closest friends, was quite the opposite of cory. He was a tall, brown skinned Puerto Rican kid I met from a mutual friend. Unlike Cory, he was, well, for lack of a better term, poor. I may not have known him long, but I got along with him great.

The days passed, and the strike ended. I would go out for my lil walks at night, and, of course I'd choose the worst neighborhoods to go to, just so people can fuck with me. But tonight, I decided to go to Battery Park in Manhattan. There was this water fountain that's on at random times, and it just so happened to be on this night. It was relaxing and calming. I sat down and reflected on the events of this year.

[Edge is sitting on a bench, staring into the water jets. He feels a tap on his shoulder. Slowly turning to see who it is, he falls off the bench due to his shock.]

Edge: (rubbing his tail bone) Damn that hurt.

Cory: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I startle you?

Edge: Is that... is that you?

Cory: In the flesh.

Edge: I'm impressed. How you knew I was here?

Cory: (winks) I know everything.

Edge: Yeah sure, so how are you? How's the city life?

Cory: Could be better. Then again, it could be worse. I'm with my mom, and she's always complaining. Anyway, what's up? How are you?

Edge: I'm fine, just thinking about some stuff, that's all. Hey, a few weeks ago you said you wanted to tell me sumtin, all this changing the world and crap. What were you talking about?

Cory: Oh yeah, that... Well I'll cut to the point. I need your help.

Edge: With...?

Cory: Judgment.

Edge: Judgment of what?

Cory: No, his NAME is Judgment.

Edge: Come again?

Cory: I know about you, Edge, your fire...

Edge: (backs away quickly) What?

Cory: Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you.

Edge: (with a stern look on his face) Assuming you can...

Cory: Technically... yes and no. Look all I'm asking is for you to just hear me out.

Edge: Sure, why not.

Cory: Hahahaha. Alright here we go!

[Before Edge can react, Cory grabs his hand and pulls him into a bubble-like object. They disappear into a tunnel of light...]

Now, I seen some crazy shit before, but this can't be happening. Was he like me? Was he one of those special people out there in the world I've been looking for? I looked at him while he gazed ahead into the tunnel. I stayed as calm as I could.

Cory: I'm going to show you something that will help you understand.

Edge: Where we going?

Cory: Not where, but when. This world you see before you is the outcome of a massive war...

[They come to a stop at the end of the tunnel. Cory taps on the bubble gently, and they push back into reality. Edge looks through the bubble, and he sees a world that is barren with little life. There are small fires everywhere, yet there are buildings that look as if they're from a sci-fi movie, so tall they scraped the sky.]

Cory: Edge... this is the truth.

Chapter 3

Saivent

[Cory and Edge are in a bubble that traverses this strange and yet familiar world.]

Edge: What... what is this?

Cory: This is the world as it was before the Great War

Edge: The Great War?

Cory: Yes, it was a war between Lucifer and Jehovah that changed the world into what you know now.

Edge: Wait... wait, wait, wait, wait, wait... You JUST said Jehovah and Lucifer?

Cory: Um yeah... Something wrong?

Edge: (mumbles) Oh my fucking god, religion is right. I can't believe this...

Cory: Actually, no, it's not. Religion as it is now is just a facade to cover up the truth.

Edge: So then, religion is wrong?

Cory: Well... it's been rewritten to conceal the truth, if that's what you mean.

Edge: (with elation) Ha! In your face churches.

Cory: Okay... anyway, this right here, what you're seeing, was right before the Great War. Lucifer banished the demons who deviated from the darkness, and Jehovah banished the angels who rebelled against the light.

Edge: Wait, what exactly happened?

Cory: You remember the bible saying that Adam and Eve were the first people that God created?

Edge: Yeah.

Cory: Well, it's quite the opposite. They weren't humans at all. Adam was an Angel, and Eve was a demon.

Edge: WHOA... That's completely outta this world.

Cory: Oh, it gets better. They formed the first union and had the first child, that child was a human.

Edge: Oh you're shitting me... Keep going. This is way too interesting...

[As Cory tells Edge about the past, they move around the terrain and see the sights of the great towers in the small cities. Edge is in awe of what he sees and is completely taken in by the sights and sounds.]

Cory: The world was barren, and life was hard, but shit happens right?

Edge: Was it always this way?

Cory: Not even I or my mom knows that, but what I do know is that Lucifer and Jehovah have always hated each other, and everything is because of them—the war, the lies... religion... sadness...

Edge: Wow, this is all too much for me to take in. And who's your mom? What does she have to do with this?

Cory: To understand that, you need to know about me. My real name is Saivent (say-vint). I was... created by the survivors of the Great War. Tempis watched over me when I was young.

Edge: The survivors? Tempis?

Saivent: This world is, was, inhabited by a few races or variations—Elemental Spirits, Elemental Users, Power Users, chimeras, and Avatars to name a few. Tempis is my mom. Well the person who took care of me when I was younger.

Edge: (sigh) Now, I'm gonna have to learn about all of this stuff.

Saivent: Well, here. This will make things easier. You can interpret it as you want.

[Saivent puts his index finger to Edge's temple and floods his mind with information about the past and all that he would need to know. Edge blacks out... When he comes around, they are back on the bench, watching the fountain.]

Saivent: This fountain is pretty nice I must admit.

Edge: Oh man, I have such a fucking headache.

Saivent: Hahahhaaha. Sorry about that, but hey, I have to go now, before my human mom starts to complain. See ya, buddy. It was nice to finally meet you

[Saivent disappears in a gust of wind, preoccupied with his thought...]

Saivent: I hope he can help...

[Edge is left alone staring at the spot Saivent was just at.]

Edge: Yeah... nice meeting you too...

Wow... I have such a massive amount of information to sort through, but first things first—Judgment.

Chapter 4

The Great War

Saivent had filled my head with a lot of stuff from the Great War. Half of it I didn't understand, and the other half made me feel lied to. Who woulda thought that this was the truth?

The Great War led to life being the way it is, God ruling all humans and Lucifer being feared by all. Judgment, he was one of the Generals of Lucifer's army, the Grand Force. He was known as the Dragon of the Dark Flame. Known to all, enemies and allies alike, though short in visible stature, his lil body was only a shell for his true dragon form. But as powerful as he was, he just wasn't strong enough to take on the Army of Light alone. He was soon worn out and defeated. His capture led to the weakening of the Grand Force. The angels and Avatars sealed his powers away, separating him from his dragon form and banishing it to the Black Universe with no hope of return, and sending his physical form to the Reality Planes. His dragon form was the pinnacle of his true powers. He swore revenge for what was taken. And now, in the present, it seemed that Judgment had broken free thanks to the help of an unknown power. Saivent needed my help to destroy him. Judgment, however, wasn't the only general. Testament was another.

After Judgment's capture, the Second General of Lucifer's army, Testament, began his assault by unleashing his power in full force. Testament was a god in his own right, a demon of insane power and strength. Angels upon angels all tried to rush at him, only to die at the jaws of Leviathan, his personal bodyguard. At the turning point of the Great War, Testament unleashed his ultimate attack, the Sky Flood. It wiped out more than half of the world's population, puting an end to the fires that consumed the planet and littering the lands with drowned bodies. The Sky Flood drained Testament of his strength, allowing the angels and Avatars to come in for a final attack. Though Testament fought back, he was eventually captured. The end of the Great War was now at hand.

Unlike Judgment who had two forms, Testament's power was whole and could not be separated. So, a young child untainted by darkness, the child Kae, was used as a vessel to seal him away. That was the end of the Great War, but the beginning of the lie. Everything in the Bible was falsified. Though most of the events were real, the way everyone believes they happened were not... One thing particularily confused me...

[Flashback - Testament is standing on the highest mountain. He holds his right hand towards the sky, and a whirlwind of clouds develops. The clouds start to spin out of control, and water comes crashing down from the heavens as if escaping from a broken faucet. The sky soon clears, and Testament is left exhausted. The clouds split open, and a ray of light crashes through to the weakened demon. Angels by the hundreds come flowing down towards him with raised weapons. Before they get close, Testament, even as tired as he is, raises his hand and summons Leviathan from the flood waters. The beast consumes as many angels as its jaws allow. Leviathan defends Testament from his enemies with valor until a fire bird comes. Sacrificing itself, the fire bird vaporizes Leviathan. Present day...]

The memory that Saivent showed me ended there. Who controlled the fire bird is what I wanna know... Anyway, back to Judgment. I figured he'd wanna destroy the world for what happened. But as for the humans I wondered if they even know about people like me. I knew I'm alone, but now I need to find the others. At the same time I don't wanna risk being caught. I know what the scientists would do, and I know well enough that I'd be a guinea pig for their experiments. The military, they'd seek me out and try to use me as a weapon. This is so much more complicated than it should be. You'd think it'd be as easy as finding Judgment and beating him somehow. But now that I know there are others out there, I wanna look for them. And where is Judgment? Is he gonna attack outta nowhere? Is he gonna destroy the world city by city? What is gonna happen? Argh! This is so stressful. I dunno why Saivent thinks I can help. I never had to use my fire before in this manner, but I gotta admit, the thought of this task at hand was exciting. I can feel sumtin inside of me wanting to fight him. Wow, I never felt like this before, and it feels good. Lemme go to sleep now, I have school early in the morning, and I don't look forward to waking up tired and sleepy...

Chapter 5

The first strike

I went to school, and the day was just like any other. I changed and got right into welding. It was a cold December morning, so the heat kept me warm. I was in the MIG class at this point, MIG meaning Metal Inert Gas. Basically you'd aim the gun with a solid wire coming out at what you wanna weld and then squeeze the trigger. This type of welding is boring, but at the same time the light from the arc behind the welding shield is slightly hypnotic. I was staring into the arc and started to get entranced or sumtin. As I stared deeper into the arc, I heard someone calling me, a voice I've never heard before, but yet sounded so familiar. Then, a face appeared in the arc, and I jumped back. I saw... I saw a dragon... Could it be Judgment? All of a sudden, I felt sumtin very hot and I noticed the leg of my pants was on fire. Since no one was around, I just simply patted the flames out. Sigh... I need new pants.

School ended early for me cuz there was a fire drill, and well, everyone just sorta left after that. I went home, and on the train ride, all I could think about was that dragon in the fire... When I got home I went to bed and slept till about 7PM. I woke up to Perry's annoying blings on my cell phone's instant messenger.

[Edge wakes up and has an annoyed look on his face. He crawls to the edge of his bed, and when he puts his foot down, stumbles on a skateboard that sends him crashing to the floor.]

Ah fucking shit, again my ass! It's amazing how much pain one lil bone can cause.

[Edge gets up and goes to look for his cell phone. He begins a texting conversation with Perry.]

Perry: YOOOOOOO dude where you is at?

Edge: I WAS sleeping, then u woke me up

Perry: lol tomorrows new years eve whatcha gonna do?

Edge: I dunno I'll probably stay home or sumtin, go for a walk

Perry: u wanna go to time sq? Mimi said she wants 2 see the ball drop

Edge: hellz nah I can't stand being around all those ppl it's mad annoying having them push you n shit

Perry: u sureeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?

Edge: yes, I'm sure

Perry: ok then dont say I never asked u

Edge: dont worry, it be nice to rest

Perry: what the whole day? dude you iz need to get out more

Edge: lol quit being brown

Perry: BROOKLYN! anyway I'll see ya, I got work now

Edge: coolio see ya later dude

I logged off the messenger, went downstairs to eat dinner, and afterwards, got dressed and left the house. I headed towards the highway, feeling a need to go into the industrial zone, not far from where I live. I heard a bit of a ruckus going on, but I ignored it. City rats are everywhere and I didn't doubt it was them. I followed my gut instinct to go to the loading dock. Everything was quiet. I sat myself down on the pier and just looked towards Manhattan.

[Edge closes his eyes and sees a world lit up in fire. He opens them quickly.]

Whoa.

[Edge stands up and takes a right-handed leather weightlifting glove out of his pocket. The glove is black, and the fingers are cut off.]

Edge: It's you.

[A young man is standing behind Edge. He has long black hair that's tied back, and his eyes are black with purple pupils. He has a devious smile that reveals his fangs. He is slightly shorter than Edge and has a nerdy yet vicious appearance, like some sort of psychopath. His voice is sort of high-pitched and young sounding.]

Judgment: I see I couldn't sneak up on you.

Edge: No, you