Chronicles of a So-called Fire God (Abridged)

1. Running away and making new friends

So I've had to run away. Again. The elves didn't seem to understand that I didn't know the pale skinned elf was not a member of the Grey Wood's elves and therefore an enemy who should be executed on sight. Because I didn't draw my bow and kill her, I'm apparently an enemy of them too now.

My poor Eria. I wonder how she is feeling now. I know that she is the twin sister of Prince Erian, and that Erian leads the elves living in the southern forests known as the Grey Wood, and I probably should not have stayed with them as long as I did, I just couldn't leave her. I hope they are not treating her badly. I mean, I know I'm human and that Eria and I are in love but I hope the elves, and especially Erian, forgive Eria of her apparent lack of good judgement in falling in love with me.

In my flight I bumped into a caravan of travellers. One of the oddest of people travelling with them is Sister Ava. It's like she has never seen trees before. Where has she been all her life? Even dwellers of the underground realms know what a tree is. Sister Ava is certainly one to keep wary of and possibly away from.

On the other hand though, Sister Ava is such a slight, little thing. Quite beautiful too. Her long, blonde hair frames her face in such a captivating way, I can barely take my eyes from her. I'm not staring at her as such, I'm trying to figure out what she is. She looks human, but the magical energies I can feel coming from her frighten me a little too.

It turns out that Ava is being escorted by her companions, some dour looking men in head-to-toe brown robes, to some obscure temple in a city called Grennis. This is a major city to the north of where I found the caravan.

With the caravan is also a sadly confused dwarf. He was raised by elves, which has messed with his head so much that he has even shaved his beard. Torq the elf-dwarf is apparently going home, to Grennis, to inherit his long-lost family fortune. His friend, Lestergrad, is a scruffy sort. I can feel magical power within him, not nearly the same level as that from Sister Ava; still strong though.

The caravan leader, a man by the name of Fonner, allowed me to join his happy band. I told them my name was Warryn Brex. I know it's yet another new name, but I can't risk them finding out who I am, or rather who the elves think I am, and letting those elves know where I am before I can clear up the misunderstanding.

On our travels, the second night of travelling with these nice people, a gang of mangy groaans, a humanoid form of canine standing above six feet tall on average, attacked the caravan. Lestergrad, Torq and myself, I felt I needed to prove myself, drove them away. With a little help from Scary Ava.

Lestergrad used his significant magical abilities to call forth the powers of his animal god. Looking at him in action it is clear he has an affinity with the world and nature in general. Just as a druid would. The groaan he attacked was reduced to a smouldering pile of ash by the force of a column of flame he cast onto the tallest of them.

Torq appeared to be playing with two groaans. His great axe swishing from side to side cutting each one down to a size more suited to his dwarven stature.

The fourth groaan, seeing the tide of the battle turn against him and his brothers, turned tail and headed for the cover of the trees. Not wanting to be seen as a burden to the others in the caravan, I followed. Sister Ava was just ahead of me. I was quicker. I am also stealthier as I managed to sneak nearly right up on the groaan until Sister Ava stood on a twig.

The groaan turned at me and charged, teeth gnashing and growling, in my direction. He was a clear two feet taller than me, but as I said I had something to prove. Immediately I raised my hands in the direction of the groaan, made a small gesture and incanted my power phrase. Two gouts of brilliant orange flame shot from my hands lighting the scraggly brown fur of the groaan's upper body.

The groaan howled in pain but didn't slow down. He barrelled forward knocking me off my feet. The flames I'd hit him with were still burning bright when Ava cast another spell at the rampaging beast.

Seeing the groaan fall flat on his face confirmed to me that Ava was indeed powerful. Not wanting to see exactly how powerful I pretended to be unconscious while I watched Ava drag the now dead groaan to a hollow a few feet away. Ava paid me no attention, or at least appeared to.

When she was out of sight I snuck up to the edge of the hollow and peered over the edge. Looking down on Ava and her prey, I could see she was incanting another spell. I nearly jumped when I heard the dead groaan speak.

"Who sent you after me?", Ava asked.

"After ... elf," was the wheezy reply. The strained air in the groaan's lungs was making its chest rattle with each syllable.

"Elf? What elf? There is no elf in this party, " said Ava.

"After ... elf," was all the groaan repeated.

Each time the groaan corpse spoke its body shrivelled ever so slightly. After it repeated the phrase a second time it shrivelled so much that it looked like a bag of bones.

Ava, seemingly unsatisfied, kicked the groaan. Its very last breath seemed to take whatever vitality left within the corpse and the flesh shrivelled to a point where I could make out individual bones and joints. I may need to keep an eye on Ava so I can better understand her powers.

Seeing that she was done and the corpse would not provide anymore information, Ava started to move out of the hollow. Quickly I snuck back to where I was knocked down and feigned waking. Ava saw me rubbing my head and then turned to walk in the other direction; back to the caravan.

I hurried after her and walked alongside her. I was about to ask about the groaan when Ava asked me a question.

"What did you hear?" she said.

"The sea?" I tried to joke. When she didn't laugh I said, "Don't think I heard anything after that mutt knocked me out."

The conversation died there. Ava is apparently not one for many words.