The Celestial Forge
By: Schin Ka'Tharos
CHAPTER 23
(Part 2)
“The aspect of the eternal flame affects the essence when it is Forged. Essence, be it celestial or arcane, or…I guess even cinder for that matter,” Disgust flashed over her face at the mention of cinder, but she continued. “Anyways, all types of essence are essentially neutral and raw potential. But when a forger molds the essence the aspects of the flame bleeds into it. Like mixing color into white paint-”
She stopped speaking and got lost in thought for a second. She set her tea down and held out both palms face up. A small flame appeared in one hand and in the other a small swirling ball of celestial essence.
“That paint analogy isn't quite right.” Ciara said. “Look, when I forge, my Flame of Webs naturally influences the essence to embody the concept of webs. The essence forged in its flame wants to be shaped and used in those ways. Since I’ve harnessed the Flame of Webs, specific techniques are a natural fit and come easier to me that align with the influence. Meanwhile other techniques are incompatible. However, if I really desire, I can fight against the influence and expend an incredible amount of will to suppress the flames aspect and stop the influence on the essence. The alignment of a technique is on a spectrum, but the closer the fit to the aspect of the flame the easier it is to use.”
At first, the essence ball churned and expanded showing off thin strands that formed an intricate web. She controlled it for a few seconds shifting the essence in intricate lacework patterns. Then the ball stilled and she grew very focused. Sweat began to bead on her forehead and the lacework of thin strands of essence began to melt and reform into a solid cube. The cube of solid essence held for only a second or two before snapping back into a circulating ball of thin strands. Ciara let out a deep breath she had been holding and gave me a slanted smile.
“Thus, any Forger can theoretically learn or use any technique, but practically speaking the eternal flame that you harness leads you down a specific path as a Forger. Eternal flames are all different though and it depends on the forgers’ relationship with the flame.“
“So the Flowing Flame you mentioned. How would that work?” I said.
“There are a lot of factors, but in general the essence forged through the flowing flame will gain the aspect of water and the attributes of water will more or less apply to their techniques. It behaves similar to water and adopts its attributes, but the essence does not itself become water. That's important to distinguish. The Flowing Flame is quite popular though due to it being a perpetual with an aspect that is rather accommodating to a lot of techniques. Also, the Forger usually gains some type of passive ability linked to their flame’s aspect. For instance, practically all of the members of the Seekers Guild southgate branch of Stone Crown City that we have been running from have harnessed the Shadows Flame and one of their passive gifts is the ability to see better at night or in darkness.”
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“Speaking of the Stone Crown City, they have a good example of a perpetual flame.” She said as she resumed her tea. “The three major ancient clans there established the main sect of the city, The Three Grand Pillar Sect, which is formed around the Worldstone Flame that resides somewhere on the sect's controlled land. Like all known perpetual eternal flames a sect or clan forms around it and establishes controlling access over the flame.”
“Interesting.” I said. “And what about the gates?”
She peered over her cup at me briefly before responding. “Gates are a less understood aspect of the eternal flames. The very nature of them in conjunction with the secrecy surrounding them lend to it. In general, they are stages of a relationship with an eternal flame and there are rumored to be three, maybe four gates that can be opened. Opening the first gate is what most people are referencing when they speak about “harnessing a flame”.
“And what do you mean by a relationship with the flame?” I said.
Again she paused for a drawn out moment before replying. “That part is fairly unsettled in modern society, even among the writings of Supaldra. Two things are widely accepted as irrefutable though. Eternal flames have being and a connection with them grants access to their power. They are entities with some type of consciousness. Some, like in the cult sects, believe the eternal flames are gods themselves. Others like in Krevat believe they are emissaries of Onak. Yet, many others believe they are merely tools akin to slaves, or see them more like a tamed animal of the wild, like cultivating a relationship with a pet dog.
“Like a pet? Or a slave” I said incredulously. My voice seemed even more hollow than usual, the tower almost drowning my words in silence. “Are you serious?”
“No. Those are actually somewhat common views.” She said, “I agree with your sentiment, though I think it absurd. Part of the dispute is due to every eternal flame itself being unique and every single Forger's relationship also seems different. There are countless reports of Forgers of the same clan harnessing the same eternal flame at the same time with vastly opposing explanations to the relationship. I’m curious though, I'm surprised to hear you mention the gates. Is this something they taught you here in the tower?”
“I’ve heard the term thrown out before,” I said dismissively. “ I don't plan on using my natural flame forever and I’ve spent some effort trying to learn about the eternal flames. Which makes your explanations all the more helpful. Thank you. The wide ranging beliefs on flames is fascinating. Also, I had never heard them framed into those categories before, singular and perpetual. Or the passive aspects. It’s incredibly interesting. Let me ask you this, what are your passive benefits from your flame?”
“This tea is fantastic,” she said and looked into her cup, closed her eyes and took a long drink. When she looked back at me there was an edge to stare as she answered. “It helps me identify patterns. For example, I’ve noticed your deflective responses whenever you speak about the tower. What is making you so vague and obfuscatory about this place?”
Next Chapter...
Chapter 23 (Part 3)