Two people walked in silence, towards a new dawn. Their silence wasn't of the uncomfortable or awkward kind- just self-acknowledged silence. Those two knew better than to speak which will end up in a fight. There were so many questions to be answered and so many answers which were oblivious to them. Had they looked in the right places in the right manner, they would not have been in such a situation. But that wasn't the case.
"What if we couldn't find him?" asked the girl, looking straight ahead into the dark forest.
"Trust me; I'll make sure we do. I can feel that he is nearby"
The girl was about to make a remark about his last statement but refrained for the better. Suddenly, she could smell smoke in the air, like someone was burning wood.
"Haytham, do you-"
"Smoke, over those mountains. That place is burning"
"You mean, like a wildfire?"
He nodded, looking grave.
"The city of Arcanecia is nearby. If the fire spreads to the fields of Arcanecia, the Capital will be on short supply for food throughout the year. We should stop it, or warn the people at least."
The girl looked perplexed at his caring behavior.
"Don't you want the Capital to suffer?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, is it not what the Rebels want?"
"Please don't assume we are heartless sadists. We want the Queen to suffer, but that does not mean we want the people to suffer as well"
"I see, about me being prejudiced about this- I just had some ill-conceived notions about the Rebels from others who talk about it"
"I wouldn't blame you. It is indeed true that the reputation of the Rebels is very low"
"But is it true?"
"That is up to you to find out. Now let us go there, do what we can"
"Okay, lead the way!"
After an hour of running and another half walking briskly, they reached the spot only to find- Alastair fighting people who conjure fire! He was evading their attacks using his agility and wit, and even deflecting some attacks away from him using wind. What he didn't notice was that he was setting the forest on fire, the trees- burning embers. About four people remained, and they stood in a square formation, with Alastair forming the centre. All of them raised up their hands, making a flaming circle around Alastair. Soon, the flaming circle became a tornado of fire, with him being right in the eye!
"Alastair!" Jane cried out, hoping that he wasn't burned to crisp.
"Haytham, help him!" she begged, tugging on his shoulder. Haytham then closed his eyes and extended his arms. Then, with brute force he retracted his arms, making four life-sized boulders rise from the ground below. Then he proceeded to throw one at each fire conjurer simultaneously, breaking their bones and the circuit which was keeping the fire tornado alive. Soon, Alastair emerged from the flames, inside a double layered air bubble.
"What kind of a trick is that?" asked Haytham, curious to a large extent.
"The first layer is Carbon di-oxide which makes it fire-resistant. The second layer is oxygen, to keep me alive. And I didn't need your help; I could have handled it on my own!" He bellowed from a distance.
"Look out!" Jane cried, noticing another flame conjurer lurking towards Alastair through the flames. He spewed out fire without notice and Alastair, without thinking, deflected it- towards Haytham and Jane! Haytham immediately knelt to the ground and raised a huge wall at a distance, hoping to stop the raging flames, now propelling at an insane speed because of Alastair's air supply. It hit the blockade raised by him, but it didn't stop- it was just too fast! Overflowing the wall through the sides and the top, it came towards the duo in three different directions. Alastair's silver eyes reflected the impending doom, so was Haytham's and Jane's.
Seconds slowly ticked by as Haytham clutched Jane, trying to protect her from the flaming death, but it was futile; she knew that. She also knew that Alastair can't help her this time. So, who would?
"You yourself, Jane" a voice resonated in her head.
Her eyes turned color, from that of emerald to black; pitch black. A dark cocoon formed over Haytham and Jane, shielding them from the fire as it engulfed the black orb and then got deflected to a few more trees on the side.
'What just happened?' was Haytham's And Al's thoughts.
When the fire ceased, because Alastair sent the conjurer to hell by cutting off his air supply, he slowly approached the sheen black orb which reflected the embers.
"J-Jane?" he called out.
"She is not breathing, Reed!" came a muffled voice from inside the orb, though unmistakably Haytham's panicked voice.
"What is this?" asked Alastair, as he cautiously touched the black orb. Suddenly, he could see nothing; just vast emptiness! Like a different dimension with nothing but void inhibiting it.
"Jane?" he called out.
"Alastair?" came a voice from the void. It was Jane's.
"What are you doing here? You don't belong here, go back"
"Where are you Jane? I am not going back without you!"
"I don't know where I am; it doesn't matter. You should go back"
"Like I said, I am not leaving without you! Now come with me."
"Though I am nothing but a burden to you?"
Alastair couldn't believe how much his words have affected Jane. The reasons why she didn't trust him are so obvious and yet he chose to yell at her to make things worse. And now, because of his stupidity, she was going to die.
No more lies if I want her to trust me!
"Yes, you were a burden. That was what I thought. But not any more Jane. Besides, what are you going to do here?"
"I- I don't know"
"Don't you have something to do?"
"I do!"
"Then stop hiding here! Go and do it!"
A bright light shone through in the ceiling as Alastair's vision was restored. He was staring at Haytham's confused face and at a few embers, floating. He noticed that the black orb was gone, and that he had passed out when he touched it. Jane was still passed out, but thankfully breathing.
"Reed, we have to stop the flames before it reaches Arcanecia"
"Y-you're right" He answered, still a bit fuzzy on what just happened.
After keeping Jane in a relatively safe distance from the fire, those two began their work. Alastair helped dousing the flames by cutting off the air supply around chunks of burning trees for limited time and Haytham was doing the same by spraying sand like rain. When the fire was almost gone, Alastair left Haytham to do the remaining work as he retreated. He was still not clear about what happened. Where was he? Sitting beside Jane, he wondered what that black orb was about. Slowly, Jane stirred from her slumber and opened her eyes to look at Alastair. Her eyes were back to normal, that beautiful emerald colour dazzled.
"Wha-What just happened?"
Alastair looked at her puzzled.
"You don't remember anything?"
BINABASA MO ANG
Mage of Eden
Fantasy"There's a power in this world that no one has seen before. It is gentle and sweet; but brutal and devastating. Maybe, if it could be seen, everyone would fight over it. That's why no one has ever seen it. The universe hid it so that no one could ge...
