Fireborn

16 ¦ Pacifists and Patriots

"All's fair in revenge and war."
--Fireborn Proverb  

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The blaze swept through my village of Halden as though the oceans of Hades had burst forth from the center of Paxus. The stench of burning hair and flesh made my stomach retch.

Gusts of air shrieked like wild animals as the resulting windstorm sucked screaming villagers towards the epicenter. Dense clouds of black smoke billowed from the wreckage of homes and farmland.

In a tidal wave of clanging metal and inhuman roars, the Dragonborn slaughtered any Militia who stood in their way. Blood infused the slushy mud as they pressed forward. Spells ricocheted off the enemy's armor and hit our own people, slashing their bodies or freezing them in place.

"I should be down there," I cried.

"No, Liselle!" Peter hissed, pulling me back from the cliff edge.

Twice the size of a large human male, the Dragonborn General approached the village square. Wrapping his giant talons around our flagpole, he ripped it out of the ground and snapped it over his thigh. After he'd torn the flag from the mast, he set it on fire before our eyes. The troops thrust an iron flagpole into the withered earth, and the General's wizards cemented it into place.

"Behold your new flag, Halden," the General roared. "Pledge your allegiance to the Gatál Empire, or you will perish."

A small muscle in Peter's jaw spasmed as his gray eyes narrowed with rage. His anger flowed into my receptors and burned like acid in my veins.

"I told you to join the Fireborn," he hissed as he sauntered towards me with his fists clenched. "You could have stopped this, Liselle."

"Peter, don't say that!"

"Why didn't you listen to me?" He pointed to an execution platform. "Now look what you've done."

I followed his line of sight and watched as the Dragonborn dragged Bragda to the platform. She writhed and struggled in a vain attempt to escape her impending fate.

"No!" I screamed. "Take me instead!"

Peter clamped his palm over my mouth. "Quiet! You can't save her now."

"Behold, your leader!" the General shouted at the cowering civilians. He turned to Bragda and hissed, "You should not have come back."

A Shadow Rider withdrew two broadswords and chopped off her head in one deft swing. Her head fell to the wooden platform with a sickening thud.

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My eyes flew open. "Bragda!" I screamed as I knocked over my inkwell.

"Fuck!" She jumped to her feet, knocking over her chair. "You scared the Hades out of me."

My heart pounded as I struggled to catch my breath. "Sorry, sis. I had another fisca."

"Damn, that's twice today already." Bragda felt my forehead. "Are you ill?"

"No, I'm fine."

Wandering over to the window, I stared at the blanket of crisp snow on the ground. Initiates were chucking snowballs at each other on the way to Winter Solstice parties at the nearby taverns. A part of me wanted to be normal like them. No fiscas, no visions.