Endless adventure

chapter 36

Drops of sweat fell from her face and onto the dirt darkening the sand even more. She panted with eyes shut tightly as the fire burned in her chest. It spread across her entire form, control not known to her. She struggled terribly to keep the form she had been working towards for so many months. She finally achieved it and now it was crumbling away. Embers sparked all around her, ignighting the air and burning everything in its path. Fire was friend to no one and certainly not her. Not until she learned at least the slightest bit of control. A weak whimper left her as she almost crumbled. Flames framed her body, burning in the shape of wings. She was quickly losing the battle of control. It only made the fire burn hotter. It hurt the hotter it got. The more her control slipped the more harm she was doing to herself.

"Focus"

The familiar voice brought a feeling of calm for a moment. It helped little for the flames still flared angrily. She opened her eyes, meeting the black shoes of the person standing over her. She looked up, meeting eyes that match the flames staring down on her. Emotions were not present. None could be seen nor felt. Silver hair was carried with the wind, barely contained in the long pony tail it was in.

She tried to do as he told her. She tried to focus. But on what? On the flames? The pain? The heat? What was she to focus on?  What would help her reign in the flames. The longer this went on the harder it got until her chest clenched with something she never felt before.

"What are you feeling, fledgling?"

"I don't know"

She could feel him scrutinizing her entire being for a long minute. His gaze was heavy on her back as she broke even more.

"I see" he was calm. Forever calm. A calmness she now wanted to return to her. "Ignore it. Bury it and do not dare approach it. Your focus should not be on whatever emotion seems to be rising"

Yes, she knew that. She knew she had to ignore it. She should not acknowledge whatever it was she was feeling. Not yet. It was causing her to slip up even more for it increased the intensity of the flames.

"Emotion fuels magic. The stronger the emotions the stronger the fire. This is beneficial for many who use magic, but for us phoenix it is our downfall" he began to explain something she already knew. This knowledge was burned into her since a very young age. She knew it by heart. "Your magic is too much for you to handle. It burns your very being and will forever burn unless you learn control. Until then you must stray away from human emotions or risk increasing the flames"

"I know"

"Then why are you giving in, my child?"

"It hurts"

"I know it does" He symphatized. "Are you going to let it stop you? If you don't learn control now you will forever be in pain"

She knew that, but it was hard to fight for so long. It had almost been a full day. She was struggling to hold her newly acquired form for almost a day now. With each passing minute she would crumble some more. With each passing minute the pain would increase.

"Who are you?" He questioned above her, his voice carrying an intensity.

"Archer" her name slipped from her lips weakly.

"Who are you?" He asked again, the intensity in his voice increasing.

"Archer. Archer Phoenix" that was her name. She was Archer Phoenix. It took her a long while to accept that.

"Yes, you are. And you will overcome this for the flames can never conquer you"

~~~~~~~

The sudden appearance of the memory had Archer intently focused on the ever changing flames that danced on her fingertips. She wasn't sure why she suddenly remembered that. Maybe it was the current situation. Maybe it was caused by what Mira had brought to her attention. She was taught to stay away from human emotions at a very young age. It was something her parents heavily advised her against. For emotions fuel magic. And magic was something she had an abundance of. And everyone knows that too much of something is never good. And sure enough it was not very good for her. She had to learn control very quickly before the flames fully consumed. Her parents protected her until they deemed her old enough to fight for herself.