Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend

by Dreagen

  NyRo and TyRoas ran side by side, leaping and slashing at the DraGons as they did so while trying to make it to the hot springs, which they knew was in need of all the protection it could get.

  “Any word on the CeraVora they were holding at the Spire?” NyRo asked as he leaped over a burning carriage.

  “None,” TyRoas replied, doing the same. “But this all started around the time of the last interrogation.”

  “You think they’re connected?”

  “Don’t you?”

  DiNiya could feel her strength diminishing. She did not know how much longer she could sustain herself. LyCora was drawing the majority of her energy, and DiNiya was pushing herself as hard as she could to give her as much as she could possibly muster. As impressed as she had been by how much she had been able to tap into her otherwise nonexistent flame, though, it was still incredibly weak by comparison to anyone else’s, meaning that she would burn out much faster. I have to keep pushing, she thought as the red glow continued to trickle into LyCora.

  LyCora could feel DiNiya struggling. For all the times she had fought with her over the power she wielded, she was normally glad she could no longer tap into it, not after what she had seen her do with it on that day. It was a simple truth that she had never admitted to anyone, not even herself, not until now: she was afraid of DiNiya. Still, that same terrifying power that she knew felt like a curse to her would be a gift to Rex right now if she could only awaken it, if only for a moment.

  AnaSaya, while still strenuously trying to help Rex, was allowing herself to be taken in by the power she was feeling emanating from the young man; never before had she felt so drawn to another person’s flame, nor felt so terrified by one, either. She leaned her head back as thoughts, feelings, and desires, the likes of which she had never experienced, washed over her in waves. That was until she felt something else there within him. From deep within the depths of Rex’s flame, she saw a pair of flaming red jaws come rushing towards her, startling her so badly that she broke her connection with him and fell back.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” LyCora asked, trying not to break the concentration she needed to stay connected with DiNiya.

  “I don’t know,” AnaSaya replied, not able to shake the shock of what she just experienced.

  “Well, then, get back to it! He’ll die if we stop now!”

  AnaSaya nodded and placed her hand back on Rex’s chest, who had remained unconscious the entire time. Her mind was still reeling, but she refused to let it stop her again. I won’t give up on you, Rex. I won’t let you die.

  The fight outside was still raging with yet no clear winner in sight. The DraGons were indeed powerful, but the DyVorians, CyTorians, and OroGon who had ruled these mountains for countless ages were not so easily cast aside. They, with the help of the SaVarians who shared these lands with them, fought back with tooth, claw, and flame, not one of them yielding.

  KyVina and the others had managed to reclaim the area between the tavern and docks, forcing the DraGons off the ground and back in the air, where they continued their siege.

  “NyRo,” she called out to him. “See if you can get word to the CyTorians and tell them we need to drive them south, further down the mountains!”

  “You want to force them out of the town’s main center?” he asked.

  “That’s right. If we can get them to an area that’s less populated, that’s less we have to hold back.”

  “Smart thinking,” NyRo replied and took off running towards the tavern, where he leaped up and continued running up along the wall until he disappeared above the patchy layer of smoke that hung over the entire town.

  VyKia watched until only her nose could track him before she turned back to face the enemy. She knew that despite their numbers and firepower, they were still far from unbeatable. The fact that they had not yet sacked the entire town was proof that KaNar was indeed a match for them, and one that they perhaps had underestimated. As she continued to watch the skies, something bright caught the corner of her right eye. Turning she saw, of all people, KyGahl standing in the middle of the chaos, a golden flame emanating all around him. He stood motionless except for his head, which turned slowly, scanning the scene around him. He seemed almost oblivious to what was happening all around him, as if his mind was somewhere else. She took a step towards him, and suddenly his head whipped around so fast that it looked as if his neck could have snapped. KyVina found herself frozen in place, transfixed by the man and his burning golden eyes.

  Rex continued to wander the darkness alone. There was no sign of the woman or the monster. He sighed loudly. “This is getting old. Hello!” There was no reply. “EliCia, I know you’re there! When are you not? I need to get back! I have to help them!” There was a sudden chill in the air, and he felt something behind him. He quickly spun around and was greeted by a familiar pair of pale eyes. “So you are here,” he said, crossing his arms.

  “I am never not, to answer your first question,” she said, stepping into the light.

  “Damn it, can you hear everything I think?” he groaned.

  “Technically, everything you say in here is a thought, and yes, I can.”

  Rex rolled his eyes. “Great. So why am I here now?”

  “It would seem you always find yourself here when your situation is most dire.”

  “No shit, I’m hunched over in a cave right now, dying.”

  “Yes, I know. Your friends are currently trying to save your life.”

  “Really…how?”

  “The three girls: they are using their flames to heal you,” she said, gazing up as if she could somehow see them.

  “I guess EeNox must have managed to find them and bring them back. Looks like I owe him one, but wait…you said three girls.”

  “Yes. AnaSaya, LyCora, and DiNiya.”

  “But DiNiya can’t use her flame,” Rex replied, remembering the time he had watched her atop the mountain crying up to the sky. “How can she—”

  “DiNiya’s power, like yours, has yet to reveal itself to those you have come to care for. Do not rule her out, and do not forget that she too is a child of the red flame.”

  Rex lowered his head. He would have thought he was floating above a bottomless pit had he not felt something beneath his feet. “It’s hard to remember that, sometimes,” he said more calmly. “I’ve gotten so used to the idea of her being what I would have once called normal. Then again, in a world where everyone can shoot fire out of their hands, the one person who can’t would be the strange one.”

  “Or the one whose flame makes everyone keep them at arm’s length,” EliCia added. Rex looked up at her and furrowed his brow.

  DiNiya felt the strain of having to dig so deep for even an ounce of what LyCora needed from her, and in turn, what Rex needed from her. The little she had been able to offer up had begun to grow more and more difficult to draw out, to the point where she felt she was trying to squeeze blood from a stone. Still, Rex did not let something as frivolous as fatigue stop him from saving her life that day in the outer forest. Then again, it also probably wasn’t as hard for him, she thought to herself before feeling the pang of guilt cut right through her for even insinuating that he deserved anything less than everything she could give. You didn’t give up on me, and I won’t give up on you.

  “So what’s going to happen?” Rex demanded. “Am I going to live or die?”

  “That’s up to your friends now, Rex,” EliCia said.

  “Friends,” Rex repeated to himself. When did that happen? Rex wrestled with the concept. He somehow knew he had never really had friends. Distant memories of faces from what felt like a previous life streamed through his head and vanished just as quickly. All of which had been at best mere acquaintances at one point or another before reducing themselves into enemies. He really had been alone, or had he? Had there been someone else? Damn it, I’m tired of this!I know there was someone else!Someone important to me!Who? He turned and looked back up at EliCia, who was regarding
him with silent anticipation. “Who was it?” he demanded. “Tell me!”

  “I cannot.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because this is a memory whose significance rests entirely on your recollection of it.”

  “What does that even mean?” he demanded furiously. “You keep talking in riddles, but you’re not actually saying anything! I can’t take this anymore!” Rex dropped to his knees, holding the sides of his head. “Why can’t I remember? Why is this so damned hard?”

  “Rex, have you ever stopped to think that maybe you made yourself forget in the first place?”

  “What?” he asked with a look that said he had just been hit with a notion that never once crossed his mind. “You’re saying this is my fault?”

  “That is your problem, Rex; you only view things in terms of blame. Sometimes things that you do not like happen to you because of reasons other than being caused by an aggressor! Sometimes things that we think are bad happen because they are really meant to protect us from something even more difficult.”

  “Something? Something like what?”

  “The truth.”

  AnaSaya could feel her power working over Rex. She watched with her mind’s eye as ribs fused back together and locked back into place. The gashes in his lungs began to suture and seal as blood that had leaked throughout his chest cavity began to bubble from his mouth. He coughed and hacked as it rolled over his bottom lip and chin. Despite this, he remained unconscious. AnaSaya continued to push but found herself beginning to tire after having already used up so much energy.

  LyCora also sensed that Rex was at a point where he indeed now stood a chance of living, but he was still not out of danger. She could also feel that DiNiya was on the verge of losing consciousness. She had pushed herself to such a degree that she was now having to divert some of her energy just to keep from passing out. Once again I find myself having had to rely on her. I alone probably wouldn’t have been enough to help Rex. What would it mean if she had her full flame back?

  DiNiya could feel pain rising through her entire body, and her head felt like it was detaching from the rest of her. It was as if she was now floating off the ground. Turning, she looked down at the tiny remnant of her flame, which was now a faint red glow that faded into nothing right before she felt herself slip into the dark blur of unconsciousness. Come back, Rex…

  Rex saw torrents of red flame shooting straight into the air, causing a sudden rush within him. “These are mine, aren’t they?” he asked EliCia.

  “Yes,” she said, closing into the center next to him as more of the flaming pillars rocketed up past them. “Your strength is returning. Your friends were successful. How do you feel?”

  Rex glanced down as he tried to assess his current physical state. When he had first arrived, he had felt very little trace of his flame, almost as if it had faded to practically nothing. Now, however, he could feel it erupting inside of him just as it was doing all around. “I feel good…really good!” He clenched his hands into tight fists, and with a powerful roar, was surrounded by churning red fire. “This means I can go back and fight now!”

  “Rex, wait! Perhaps you should not be so quick to return to battle.”

  “Why not? Look at me—I’m as good as new.”

  “You were practically dead only moments ago! Just because you have been brought back from the threshold of oblivion does not mean you are in any condition to put yourself foolishly back in harm’s way. Especially when it cost DiNiya so much to get you back.”

  “DiNiya?” Rex said with a look of sudden concern. “What do you mean? Did something happen to her?”

  “I thought you would have at least sensed it,” EliCia replied, cocking her head.

  “Sensed what?”

  “Have you not felt a red flame here that was not your own?”

  Rex thought for a moment then realized that she was right. “That red mist that I saw when I first arrived. I could sense it was a weak flame, but I could feel it inside me like I always did my own. DiNiya…it was her all along.”

  “She pulled from what little power she had to help save your life, Rex. Do you really want to make her efforts all for nothing by actually getting killed this time?”

  “Wait a minute—shouldn’t it be AnaSaya or even LyCora that’s doing most of the healing?”

  “Yes, if it was not for them, DiNiya’s efforts would have been in vain.”

  “So why am I not seeing any sign of them or even feeling them? Why only DiNiya?”

  “I cannot answer that question, Rex.”

  “That’s a first. Usually you’re full of cryptic reasons why I can or can’t do something.”

  “And that has not changed, but the reason resides with her not you. Somehow she has created a direct link with you on a wavelength that only you two can connect to.”

  “So besides that strange mist, why couldn’t I see any other sign of her?”

  “I cannot be certain, but I imagine it is because of her inability to tap into the full power of her flame. It’s incredible that she was even able to do this much. Either way, she has reached out and made a connection with you, and that is indeed significant.”

  Rex was straining to find the meaning in all of this. If DiNiya really had somehow managed to tap into her flame, even a little bit, and somehow made her presence felt here in the darkened expanse of his mind, then could she come here, too?

  He shook his head and decided to focus all his energy on his own flame. Pulse after pulse it grew until it lit up the void forty meters in all directions. He turned to get what he hoped would finally be his first clear look at the monster, only to find himself alone with EliCia. The two looked at each other for a moment in silence, when suddenly they both felt an impact tremor rattle beneath them. Rex was surprised to feel a jolt in power with each massive footfall, his flame growing in size and power each time it hit. Rex could feel fear rising inside, but also something else…power.

  Closer and closer the monstrous beast came until at last the two giant glowing red orbs appeared out of the dark just at the edge of the light.

  “You weren’t there for me before,” he called up to the now faint outline of the immense creature. “Why help me now? Why help me at all? Who are you?”

  The beast remained silent, barely even moving. It just stood there, looking down at Rex with eyes he could not read.

  Rex was feeling more frustrated than ever. He knew that somehow he had derived a power from this unseen monster before that had indeed saved his life, but why? “Are you the reason why I can’t remember everything about my life before I came to EeNara? Please, you have to tell me!” The beast tilted its huge head down, which was still concealed in darkness, and the ball of red flame appeared in front of Rex just as before. “You want me to fight? But how is this going to help me remember? I need answers, please!”

  The ball of flame suddenly pulsed and grew twice its size. Rex felt anger rising within him as he watched the orb burn more furiously. He was growing tired of this place being simply a call to arms. He wanted to know the truth of what happened to him back on Earth and what his connection was to EliCia. Somehow he believed this thing, whoever or whatever it was, had to be at the center of all of it. He has to be because if he’s not, and I don’t get some answers soon, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle much more of this.

  Rex looked around for EliCia and saw that she was now far off in the distance, her cold pale eyes fading into the shadows. “Wait,” he cried out, but she was already gone, leaving him with the last thing he wanted to be alone with.

  Slowly he turned to face the ball of burning red fire, which despite seeming to grow more had stabilized for the moment. He stared deep within it, as if trying to find some hidden answer inside. Just as before, he could feel a natural pull towards it, as if his mind was slipping away, and his body began moving closer without even being aware. This time, however, he made himself very much aware of this sensation and focused on the pull itself. Stron
g was its power, but there was something familiar once he acknowledged it. It was as if staring into it, even just being near it, drew out memories he had long since forgotten. He remembered an afternoon in a park in a stroller, where he was frightened of a large machine, while another was of a toy sword colliding with another, being wielded by a boy his age. Other memories were filled with anger, as he saw children lashing out violently towards him. He cringed as he could almost feel the bony knuckles colliding with the side of his head and face, while others struck him in the ribs and stomach.

  He could see and almost feel every detail of those moments: the sounds around him, the clouds in the sky, even the heat coming off those who had been his attackers. He also remembered the devastating fury he felt early on, when people he had thought he could trust turned against him, and the punishment they received for it. It was a bittersweet emotion, for no sooner did the pain of betrayal set in than did the deep and visceral satisfaction of feeling their bones crack and break under the unrelenting force of his fists as he would hammer them down hard and fast.

  Still, this had always been the start of more problems, and soon all he was seeing were the battles he waged day in and day out with what seemed like everyone around him. However, not all were physical. Indeed, many, if not the worst, were those where he was screaming madly at people who he could remember feeling like they were closing in on him, suffocating him, trying to infiltrate his mind and change who he was fundamentally inside. Nothing scared him more than the idea of not being himself anymore, but who was he to begin with? Was that really what scared him most, or was there something else? Something he was not admitting to himself?