Fire Breather – Part 2

Read Part 1 HERE

All the sound has drained from her surroundings and the only thing she could hear was her own labored breathing. Slowly, she pulled herself up to sitting and opened her eyes. Surrounding her was complete darkness. A cave of some kind? There was a light flickering in the distance and she could hear voices.

Slowly standing up and brushing off her tattered dress, she tried to look around. Did the transition not go through? Am I in a dream walking state? Unsure of where she was or why, she determined that her only option was to follow the voices and the flickering light she could make out.

When she came to the end of the long hall, there was a hooded figure sitting in the middle of a cavernous room. Torches were lighting a few areas of the wall around him and he seemed to be chanting something. A steaming metal pot was laid out in front of him surrounded by various plants. Walking carefully closer to him, she sat cross legged on his opposite side and watched as he continued chanting. She barely recognized the latin he was speaking because it was such an old version, but his voice was getting heavier and angrier as he went on.

He must be one of the ancient Fire Breather mages. I remember my mother telling me about them and how their whole life is devoted to serving the next generation of Breathers through their transitions. But why am I here now?

At that moment, his eyes opened. Glazed over and staring into the distance. HIs voice had changed and he was now speaking to her. “The fire burns inside you, yet you fear to wield it. This will be the destruction of us all.”

Fire Breather

The ancient magic was coursing through her veins even now and every inch of her felt like it was on fire. From the tips of her hair to the ends of her toes. Guttural sounds escaped her as she tried to catch her breath in between the waves of pain and dizziness. Crowds of people were surrounding her now at the base of the mountain ledge where she had lodged herself; making their way up the small recess in the side of the mountain to get a glimpse at the girl they all knew.

But they didn’t know her anymore did they? Her head snapped back and her eyes closed of their own accord as she grit her teeth to keep another scream from escaping. She never expected the transition to feel this way. But she wasn’t given a whole lot to go off of either. The fading memories of her mother before she died, when Elena was still too young to really understand, had her grasping for a small piece of something her mother had said before she suddenly died.

ab intus illustrant

Within the Verullus family this was an eternal greeting between those that carried the fire within them. It meant ‘illuminate from within’ and reminded all of their ancestors about the deadly power they all carried within them and that every few centuries one of them activated.

Elena was that one.

More people were filing in to watch the transition and Elena realized how afraid she now was. For all the childhood memories had not prepared her for this experience and she wasn’t sure if she would survive it or not. The last few fire breathers didn’t make it as their transition came on late in life and their bodies crumpled under the torturous transition.

Her golden brown hair started to fill in with blondes and reds of every shade and her eyes turned to a golden red. The final transition was approaching and she would have to breathe her first fire or perish under its weight. Every citizen of Veril was now there awaiting the final stage. Tears streamed down her face when she realized he was out there somewhere. His face was somewhere in that crowd and she couldn’t bear to see the torment he was sure to be showcasing at this moment. It had been centuries since the last fire breather arrived and no one really knew what to expect after everything was said and done.

The earthquakes started and a low rumbling seeped through the cracks around the village creating an eerie display of power. Smoke was billowing through the mountainside where Elena was touching it and she felt the flame building within her. She dug her hands into the hard rocks beneath her and held on as hard as she could until at last the flame was ready to emerge.