[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by KaneDragon

Is there any power requirement for a Denizen to sponsor a Flame Haze?

In a word, yes. Every Denizen that has contracted with a Flame Haze is of Crimson Lord class.

Could a very weak Denizen decide to join such a partnership for the lulz and simple enjoyment of a concrete existence in this world (and in exchange, giving the human the standard magic (albeit weak) and immortality)?

Firstly, the more senior Crimson Lords would not let them, as they're too weak, and it'll be a waste of their resources in this eternal war.

In which case, these curious Denizens have two choices:

1. Behave themselves and stay in the Crimson World until they are "mature", "senior" and strong enough to make a contract with a Flame Haze.

2. Go down the path of the Dark Side and start consuming humans away.

See my "Brief History" below for more.

It'd be a (technically) Flame Haze that cared nothing for hunting rouge Denizens (too dangerous, human/Denizen halves too weak) but rather used their power for mundane, selfish reasons.

I like the idea of using FH powers to do mundane/cool things. ^^

That is a major reason why Crimson Lord only choose avengers, since avengers more willing and committed to the cause of hunting harmful Denizens, and it is also a reason why you'll never be a Flame Haze.

The way Shana was raised is unorthodox amongst Flame Hazes.

Rami is a step in the right direction, but I'm counting him as just a Denizen, since he's the one walking around, and it's not the same deal.

Spoiler for Concerning Rami - novel volume 10:

First, Rami is actually a "she", and a very cute one at that.

Like other curious Denizens, she went down the path of the "Dark Side" and consumed humans to take form.

She once fell in love with a human, but he got mad at her when he found out she consumes humans. Thinking she was rejected, she wandered aimlessly for a while, until she got captured for her abilities.

She is special in that she has the ability to cast all sorts of Unrestricted Spells, which makes her coveted by many Denizen factions. Such spells include the all important Fuuzetsu.

While being used as a tool by a certain Denizen faction, she came across Shana's predecessor Mathilda, who informed her that the human she loved still thinks about her. He has even drawn a painting of her, however, he has since passed away due to old age, and the painting has been lost.

Grieved by her procrastination, she decided to help Mathilda and Alastor defeat the Crimson Lord that held her captive, in return for sparing her life, so that she could embark on a journey to conjure a spell to retrieve the painting that her love has drawn for her.

In order to conjure such a spell, a large amount of PoE is required. Feeling indebted to Alastor for his compassion and mercy, she promises never to consume humans, and so she resides in the Torch of an old man and only collects PoE from near-extinguished Torches.

Her journey continues to this day.

Brief history of Denizens in our world

Since time immemorial, Denizens found that they share some sort of resonance with humans, who reside on the "other side" of the dimensional barrier, they were very curious and intrigued about these humans, and the emotions that they emit.

In order to experience such emotions, the Denizens eventually devised a way for them to cross the barrier. By extracting PoE from the humans themselves.

The Denizens poured in, and they enjoyed their newfound senses.

In the beginning, there was still a two-way traffic between the Crimson World and our world. This is where problems begin to surface.

Some of the Denizens noticed that this barrier that they were crossing was beginning to get more and more unstable, making the journey more and more hazardous and deadly.

Eventually, they understood that it is their unrestricted extraction of PoE in our world that is causing this barrier to become unstable, and would one day collapse and create havoc in both the Crimson World and our world.

Disturbed by what they have heard, these Denizens and those that have stayed behind in the Crimson World decide it's time to stop their brethren in our world from causing any more abuse. If they cannot be persuaded, then they must be destroyed. Though they have a few problems.

First, as the barrier is now extremely dangerous to cross, these Denizens agreed that only those with Crimson Lord-class or above who are powerful enough to survive the volatile barrier should make the journey to stop their brethren on the other side.

Though time and time again, there were some Denizens who could not resist their curiousity and temptation that our world has to offer, and took the risk to cross the barrier without aid.

Second, these Crimson Lords would need a physical form once they're on the other side. If they consumed PoE from humans, they would be defeating the whole purpose of their journey, which is to make sure the barrier does not collapse and hence maintain balance.

So they decide to "lend" their existence to certain humans who could resonate with them. They especially seek out those who have been aggrieved by Denizens. These avengers form a contract with these Crimson Lords, acting as the haze for their vigorous flames, hence the term "Flame Haze".

For those Crimson Lords whose human host has been killed, they have two choices:

1. Return to the Crimson World, this means going through the barrier in a weakened state
2. Forcefully manifest with the little PoE they carry with them and go out in a blaze of glory.

Option 1 is reserved for those who intend to return to fight another day, and though quite hazardous, is still better than option 2, which is for those who became attached to their human host and chose to avenge their deaths before dying themselves.

There is also a third option, which is the basis for volume 10. I'll leave you guys to guess what it is.