I See Fire

Briar wasn’t sure what had drawn her north after she fled Faline, but it seemed Destiny had had plans in store for her. 

In all honesty, she’d picked a direction and had started walking, taking the scenic, less-traveled route just to make life difficult for anyone who might be attempting to follow her (because by “scenic,” she meant, “difficult to traverse”). She didn’t get the feeling she was being trailed, but one could never be too careful when you were on the run after an attempt at murder. 

As the sun set on her second day of travel, Briar paced into the quaint village of Sommerang and booked a room at their little inn with a window overlooking the miles of orchard it was apparently known for. 

During the rest of the year, Briar was sure this was a sight to behold, and this room probably would’ve offered an absolutely breathtaking view. This time of year, in the middle of a particularly chilly winter, it sucked. While she hadn’t asked if the fare for the rooms was all the same, she’d thought the total given to her by the innkeeper had seemed kind of high for a backwater town. She certainly hoped she hadn’t been charged extra for this.  

Not that it really mattered, she just liked to nitpick. At least she had a roof over her head and a comfortable bed beneath her back and wouldn’t have to camp out in the cold. She didn’t plan on spending much time in her room while she was here, anyway. 

She didn’t have any real plans at the moment. She was here to kill time, to lay low for a little while. Eventually, she planned on returning to the only place she really called home, her little hut in the woods south of Namarast, but just in case there was anyone trailing her, she didn’t want to lead them back to her only place of true safety. 

For the next week or so, Briar spent her free time around Sommerang hunting, selling any meat or furs she didn’t need, and offering occasional favors to some of the villagers (perhaps a shallow attempt at building her good karma back up). So far, Briar felt it safe to assume that she wasn’t actually being followed, but she was enjoying her downtime. Considering this a vacation was probably irresponsible, and bound to lead to careless decision-making, but Briar didn’t particularly care. This place was so much quieter than Faline, and no one recognized her. The villagers actually seemed a little excited to have an outsider around. It was a welcome reprieve. 

Until the fire started.

She was on her way back to the village after another successful early morning hunt, three rabbits slung proudly over her shoulder, when the acrid stench of smoke struck the back of her throat. She was all-too-familiar with the smell of fire on the wind, even after so many years. The vivid memories it brought back were enough to make her drop her rabbits, just as the first cries of panic reached her ears. Before she even knew what was happening, her feet were carrying her into the village. I refuse to run away again, she told herself with the conviction of someone proving a point. (In retrospect, this conviction would later surprise her, but she’d tell herself that panic had been instinctual, that she didn’t actually care about what happened to this village.)

In the distance, a black pillar of smoke reached into the sky. The fire had clearly already burned beyond mundane control, and there were shouts of saving “the barn.” As she drew closer to the commotion, the barn in question came into view, and Briar really hoped there weren’t any animals in there. It looked as though the roof had been obliterated by a flaming meteor, flames climbing out of the gaping wound as if eager to spread to the world around it. 

She ducked out of the way just in time to avoid being trampled by a tall farmer hauling two hefty buckets of water. Briar couldn’t help but smirk at the sight; it would take a lot more than that to douse this inferno. 

She was about to charge into the fray and see where she could help when another smell attacked her nostrils, nearly activating her gag reflex. She drew her arm up to her face, covering her nose with her sleeve, and turned her attention to the fields beyond the barns. Everyone was so preoccupied with the blaze before them that no one seemed aware of the additional fire rising in the orchards. Was the barn fire just a ploy, perhaps? To what, she hadn’t figured out yet, but since it didn’t seem like anyone else was going to do anything, Briar decided to do some investigating. Partially so that nothing or no one snuck up on them when they weren’t expecting it, too distracted by the barn fire, but mostly because she was curious and apparently an adrenaline junkie. 

---

The closer she drew to the second pyre, the stronger that smell became. It burned her throat and her eyes, and seemed to linger on the back of her tongue, leaving a foul taste in her mouth. It was enough to make her nauseous. Something wasn’t right; this definitely wasn’t some kind of premediated arson. This was more than that. The hair on her arms and down the back of her neck stood on end, and she felt like there were tiny bolts of electricity arcing across her skin. Whatever this was, it had to be magical.

That was confirmed as a massive ball of fire was launched in her direction, sailing through the air with a violent hissing sound. She jumped out of the way of its shadow and dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding a spicy, premature end to her investigation. She was quick to scurry to her feet, though, the wilted brush igniting quickly around the fireball. That’d be what punched a nice hole in the roof of the barn, then. Briar made a mental note to keep her eyes trained on the sky. 

She kept running.

By the time her lungs were screaming for a break, her chest heaving with the exertion, the true source of the blaze came into view. 

“Destiny’s balls…” she breathed as she came to a halt.

Emerging from the wall of scarlet flames before her was a massive skeleton, its bones the color of ash. A pair of scythe-like tusks jutted from its lower jaw, and thick, inky smoke curled from its dark, soulless eye sockets. Briar watched in awe as it slowly lifted its head and let loose a grating cry. A column of fire burst from its throat and shot into the sky, sending ashes raining down around the inferno like dark, suffocating snow.

The static dancing across her skin intensified, and she ran her hands up and down her arms, suddenly feeling like she was on fire. Instinctively, she reached for her collarbone, where a pendant rested against the hollow of her throat, concealed by the thick fabric of her undershirt. The necklace practically vibrated beneath her touch, sending tiny jolts through her fingers and up her forearm. Yup, she thought, this is magic, alright. 

Before her stood a corrupted mage.