The Immortal Flame

Chapter 2: Dreams and Visions

The evening was cold and somewhat harsh. The bamboos and the palms swayed with the strong winds. The sandstone walls that enveloped the port city of Nalalas wasn't enough for the inside to be spared from the harsh breeze of the night.

Uwaya snoozed inside the tavern she was residing in. She dreams calmly of the day she would return back into the stronghold she calls home. It was beautiful. The halls were adorned with colorful banners celebrating her return. Her father King Koro and her mother Queen Nguma along with her other siblings all embraced her warmly with cheerfulness as the prominent ambiance of the room.

Prince Liao-Kwan was there however but she was jubilant of his presence. The foreign prince held her soft delicate hands and she blushed and giggled at how robust his arms are. Liao-Kwan was fine-looking in her trance and Uwaya wasn't so bad herself. Her dark hair flowed elegantly covering the back of her rather small stature. Her eyes were always described to have been like emerald celestial pools as all nobles in her line had bore green irises. She wasn't as tan as the rest of the Pilios as she had always stayed inside and this unique trait was favored by many even to the strangers of their home.

She still harbors revulsions of espousing a person she has not even seen or met however. A foreigner like Liao-Kwan was not acceptable for her. The Xiaolu were the beige-skinned folk of the northern land, they were a different race. They were vastly different in addition to being taller by a certain degree compared to the Pilios. Their eyes were like almonds in size and amber in color and it was odd for other races that hadn't had similar features. The image of her and the foreign prince together made her shiver in her sleep but it was actually the cold wind from the outside of the room.

The windows of Uwaya's room burst open and the curtains swayed violently. The freezing touch of the wind softly caresses the princess' cheeks. The princess mumbled and rolled and abruptly did she wake from her peaceful slumber.

"The winds." She whispered whilst uncovering herself from her blankets. "Hamahan is back!"

Out of thin air, Hamahan the noble diwata of air solidified. Visible gushes of wind appeared as he did and the room went from being immaculate to chaotic. The windows and the curtains closed, the door locked, and the lamp went unlit. It was pitch black in Uwaya's chambers.

Uwaya reacted, "What is this Hamahan, my friend?" The princess waited for a response but the diwata was silent. "Speak. How can I see you with all this darkness?"

Hamahan opened his palm. It glowed gloriously and azure flames danced around the room. The fires touched the curtain and the bed sheets and even around the glass of water next to Uwaya's end table.

"I am sorry for this sudden intrusion, my friend," Hamahan reached out for the princess' hands, "but Pilicas is in grave danger."

The sapphire flames grew in size and burned all the contents of the room along with Uwaya and Hamahan. For a moment, Uwaya saw what seemed like oblivion until a flash of bright light blinded her eyes. The noble diwata and the rebellious princess found themselves drifting in the sky above the greatness which was the Pilicas archipelago. The princess gazed upon the immense mighty mountains of the northern regions, the white sandy coasts of the Middle Islands, and the vast forests of every island that belongs to the beautiful collection of isles.

The two of them flew with the great Haribons that were immense birds that aided the gods. Their wings were spread out in all it majesty. Now, Uwaya sees the cocoa hills of the south and the great river Ligo-ilog both of which she only heard of in stories from her father whom she now despised of deeply. Quickly did she forget of the thought as another wonder catches her attention; the great volcano Laat which was inside an island inside a lake. She smiled at the quirkiness of the site.