“Ample fuel is needed, to keep the flame burning.” - Excerpts from an Ember Mage

Siwan blinked her eyes, she couldn’t believe what they were seeing. A freshly hatched dragon stood right before her, mere inches away. She reached out a hand to touch it but it was grabbed by Silvereye.

“Careful dear, if you touch it now it’ll follow you forever. Even to it's own death.”

“And if you do that, my entire business venture will be ruined.” Thorn reached for a nearby cloth and swooped the mewling creature up in it. Obscuring it from the view of the merchants. It went silent and only a single eye poked out from the folds of cloth. It’s yellow eye darted between the different merchants, looking for any sign of familiarity. Thorn patted it down with the cloth.

“How much you gonna sell it for?” Mince asked, leaning back on the couch. Siwan worried the couch would break under his weight.

“More importantly, to who?” Silvereye asked shrewdly, swishing the wine in the glass in his hand. Allsin leaned forward tenting his hands together as he spoke in a hushed tone:

“You’re not thinking of giving it to the Avarith are you?”

Thorn smiled gently and held the dragon away from him. He looked into its eye before he spoke. “Perhaps, but several Dructini Chief’s have already reached out to me regarding this one.”

“Dealing with the Dructini?” Allsin asked, leaning back in his chair. “I never took those scavengers as the type to be capable of purchasing a dragon.”

Silvereye glared at Allsin before replying.

“You’re forgetting Allsin, those ‘scavengers.” He held up his fingers to emphasize the last word. “They’re known for having deep vaults, and very very deep pockets. The only reason would be why would one of them want a dragon?”

Thorn merely shrugged and set the dragon down by Siwan. She kept her ears peeled but continued looking at the baby dragon. Everything that they said, she would have to tell her father as soon as possible. A dragon, no matter how newborn it was, was a very dangerous thing for her village.

“What use would they have for a dragon besides war?” Mince pounded his fist on the side of his couch. His face flushed red with anger. “Why else would they hire you for such a job?” He asked, pointing a finger towards Thorn.

Thorn bristled up, and Siwan watched the tendrils on his chin coil up. ‘If a beard could have feelings, it would look a lot like that.’ She thought to herself.

“Careful Thorn, remember that we are guests in this village.” Silvereye gestured to Siwan and stood up, taking several steps towards the baby dragon. He towered over Siwan and the creature, she had never actually noted how tall he was, as usually she’d seen him sitting down or riding horseback. “You said several chiefs reached out to you?” He asked, beginning to pace the floor. “And if they were to make offers I assume they’d want to be on neutral ground, if there were to be multiples that is.”

The rest of the group nodded along as Silvereye continued to talk. Mince folded his arms in a way much like a pouting child, Siwan was quick to note.

“And I also assume you would have planned this meeting rather close to the expected hatching of the dragon then, so as to let it imprint on one of them as soon as possible.”

“Why yes-“ Thorn began, but was cut off by Silvereye.

“Which if I were to guess, would mean the dear village which was gracious enough to let us in, will be expecting to lay out more plates tonight?”

Siwan clasped her hands over her mouth, a slight gasp escaping into the air. ‘A band of Dructini had crossed the mountain and was heading this way?’ She thought, racking her brain on anything she knew about them. ‘Deep pockets.’ She thought that was what Silvereye said about them, but Allsin had called them Scavengers.

“I’ve talked to their chief’s before.” Thorn assured them, as he noticed Siwan’s panicked expression. “Those coming here are very reputable men and will be respectful, I can assure you.” He added the last part hastily, as if to reassure himself as well.

“Hmph, Dructini of any kind shouldn’t be trusted.” Mince chimed in.

“They’re known for betrayal.” Allsin said, beginning to walk towards the door. “If they are to be here tonight, then my company will have no part in this event.”

“Unfortunately I concur with The Tools Master.” Mince said, the couch creaked as he stood up. “I thank you for the show, but if I had known who your buyer was I would’ve stayed on the far side of Tordos.”

“Now wait just a minute.” Thorn said, marching over towards the door to keep them from leaving.

Siwan watched, taking a look up at Silvereye, whose back was turned towards her. She looked back at the baby dragon, scooching towards it. It’s eye narrowed at her, as if warning her to stay away. She grabbed the cloth wrapped around it and looked back at the merchants. They had begun arguing now, voices raised as they stood by the door. Mince looked ready to throw fists with Thorn, while Silvereye tried his best to mediate between them all. ‘If I can meet the party on the road with the dragon, I can keep them from coming to our village.’ She thought to herself turning back to look at the dragon. It’s single eye taunted her, as if daring her to try and make a move. Stealing a glance back at the merchants, she could see they were well occupied. She looked over at the windows in the room, they were currently draped closed, but she knew them. They were no more than fifteen feet from the ground.

‘The bushes will break my fall.’ She thought, a deep breath and she picked the Dragon up. Careful not to make a sound she moved her way towards the window. The voices behind her continued to raise in volume. She pushed the drapes aside just enough to sneak by and carefully unlatched the window. The fresh air felt refreshing as she took it all in and gazed down. The drop below looked a great deal higher than she had initially thought, seeming to stretch the longer she looked at it. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. This was what had to be done, if not the village, her village could be destroyed. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, threatening to leap off of the ledge first.

‘If I just, lean forward, I’ll be falling.’ She thought to herself.

And so she leaned forward and began to fall. It felt refreshing to fall against the air, for a split second she felt invincible.

Until the bushes hit her skin, and she was reminded that she was in fact rather fragile.

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Hawar watched as his teacher lifted a hand up and the tree branches seemed to move aside. They had split off from the main path and were now heading through the forest itself.

“They’ll likely be looking us to ambush as soon as we come around.” His teacher had said earlier, as they had watched the figures march along the path. So he had cast a spell and the two began walking through the forest, the forest bending to allow a path ahead of them.

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The biggest thing Hawar noticed was how warm it had become. The snow that had covered the landscape had now been replaced entirely with greenery. Grass and leaves covered every inch of what he could see. There were still very few creatures running around, the odd rabbit or an even odder Nix. As they walked it reminded him of the few times he and his older brother had snuck out of their home to chase Nix’s in the forest. His aunt had always been talking about wearing their pelts, with the feathers from their wings making very extravagant decorations. He let out a sigh, ‘I hope they’re all doing well.’ He thought to himself.

“Catching any dreams?” His teacher’s voice cut through the fog of memories. He looked back, face turned into a scowl. “It’ll do you no good to be getting distracted right now. I doubt the village we’re headed to has any idea a scavenging party is looking for them so we’ll have to warn them.” A large log blocked their path, one too big to be cast aside by the current spell his teacher had cast. He motioned for Hawar to take a step back as he began tracing his finger in the air. Green light appeared and trailed behind every movement his finger made. It was like watching a painter paint, only the painting itself was coming alive with every brush stroke. With a gentle thud, the green light all came together and emitted a single pulse. The earth cracked open in front of them and swallowed the log before coming together like nothing had happened.

“Will I be capable of doing that one day?” Hawar asked as they continued to press on.

“I’m sure of it.” His teacher said. He paused as if debating whether or not to continue, before adding: “Magic itself, again as we understand, is like making a request.”

Hawar tilted his head, about to ask what he meant before being cut off.

“For instance, when you see a Mage casting flames from their hands, they’ve requested that in that very moment it is possible they’re able to perform such a feat.”

Hawar held up a hand to his head, the pain from earlier had returned in the slightest. He closed his eyes to ease the pain and once more could see the faint flickering flame. His eyes shot open and he asked:

“Who would they be asking to?”

His teacher shrugged and let his fingers trail against some leaves.

“Many theories abound, ancient history says one thing, people today say another, some people believe you’re asking the universe itself to bend for you.”

“And which do you believe?” Hawar asked.

His teacher was silent, continuing to press on.

“You’ve got to have some idea right?” He pressed again. Still no response but before he could pester further his teacher replied:

“There’s a whole lot I still don’t understand son, belief is one of those.”

They continued the rest of the journey to the village in silence.

————————————

When they arrived at the village, his teacher began leading him straight through to the town center.

“We’ll head for the chief’s house.” He had stated simply.

Hawar noted that as they walked the town paid them no heed. Most people were busy shuttling supplies back and forth to the city center. The occasional person they passed would look up and wave to his teacher. They referred to him simply as Magic Man, nobody used his real name. His real name now that Hawar thought about it, his teacher had never told him. He also realized that he had never thought to ask of it.

As they got nearer to the town square the decorations became more lively, and the streets more crowded. Banners hung from rooftop to rooftop. Most buildings were only two floors tall at most, leaving the banners hanging close enough to be grabbed by any tall stranger walking through. In the center of the square was the largest collection of firewood that Hawar had ever seen. Right beside the firewood stood a large pillar of wood, with a circle of stones surrounding it.

“They’re going to light that tonight?” He asked incredulously. “Won’t it be too hot to stand near?”

His teacher laughed and continued to walk, refusing to deviate from their path.

“It will be,” he answered. “But that’s where they find their challenge, they’ll try their best to stand near it as long as they can.”

“Oh, I think I’ve read about this before.” Hawar clasped his hands together and hastened his pace so he was right next to his teacher. “It’s their coming of age ceremony isn’t it?” His teacher nodded in response, pointing to several figures standing at the edge of the square. They wore yellow robes and were hooded. Each person was surrounded by a group Hawar only assumed consisted of family.

“The few of them over there will be recognized as adults in the village after tonight.” He paused, looking reminiscent as he watched them. Hawar continued to watch them, they still looked rather fresh faced, if he had to guess they were only sixteen rotations old, only a rotation younger than him.

“Why so young?” He asked, his teacher’s pace quickened and he hastened to keep up.

“Different country from yours, they’ve got different customs. Most of them will be going on trading caravans in a few weeks, might as well treat them like adults if they work the part.” He gestured for Hawar to halt as they arrived at a pair of large oak doors. They were connected to a building that stood a floor taller than the rest of the town. It was made with old cobblestone but the higher floors appeared to be primarily wood.

His teacher held up the bronze knockers on the doors and slammed them against the large doors. There was the sound of shuffling feet before the doors were opened by a young maid. Hawar took a quick breath. ‘She’s beautiful.’ He thought. Her scarlet hair came down in waves well past her shoulders. Her yellow eyes illuminated and sparkled like the sun on a summer day. If he had to guess, she looked to be slightly older than him by a couple rotations.

The maid bowed to the two of them before she spoke: “Greetings Gentlemen, my name is Nerri. How may I assist you today?”

His teacher returned the bow and Hawar was quick to follow suit. “We are here for the Flame Lighting, and also to bring news for the Chief of this village.”

Nerri looked at Hawar, who quickly turned towards the crowd in the town square, his cheeks flushed red. She held a hand over her mouth to mask her smile.

“Of course, follow me and I will lead you to him.” She opened the door wide and motioned for them to follow. However as soon as they stepped through the doors there was a loud shout upstairs and the sounds of a heavy object hitting the floor. A door then slammed open and Hawar could hear multiple voices shouting at each other. He looked over at Nerri as she made her way down the halls. His teacher continued to follow after her, ignoring the commotion that was happening up the stairs. Hawar followed them, straining his ears to hear what the people upstairs were saying but could only catch the words ‘thief’ and ‘egg’.

As they walked through the hallway, a man marched towards them. He had a short beard that looked fairly trimmed. His blue eyes looked as though they carried the world with them.

“Mokk!” He called out, pointing a finger in their direction. Hawar looked behind them but none of the servants seemed to be walking toward him.

“Solle!” His teacher replied, brushing past Nerri and walking straight towards the man.

“I should’ve known a conman like you would’ve shown up tonight.” The man said, extending his hand to Mokk, Hawar’s teacher.

“I wouldn’t miss your shoddy display of fire for the world.” His teacher replied, pulling the man closer into a hug.

Hawar smirked, ‘So that’s his name.’ He thought, it was rather rare to know of a Mage’s name, as they believed it helped to protect them when fighting other Mage’s. If the man before him knew the name of his teacher then he was indeed a man to be trusted.

The two men pulled apart from their embrace and the man called Solle let out a laugh. “Still living up in that shambling tower of yours?” He asked. “Or did it finally fall down the hill?”

Mokk recoiled in a faux display of hurt. “I’ll built that tower with my bare hands.”

“You built it with your bare hands alright, and plenty of magic to help.” Solle replied, waving a hand in the air to dispel the argument. “I assume there’s something else though you wished to discuss, or else you wouldn’t have come up to me before the ceremonies.”

Mokk nodded his head. “Let us discuss more in private, I don’t want to worry anyone if I can help it.”

Solle’s face set into a grim line as he nodded and gestured to a nearby oak door. “Of course, right this way.” He looked at Hawar and back to Mokk, who merely shook his head. As Hawar started to follow the two, Mokk held up a hand and motioned him to stay.

“Enjoy the festivities for a bit, I won’t be long.” He said, cracking a slight smile. Hawar simply nodded and took a step back as the two men disappeared behind the oak door. He looked around the room, the rest of the servants seemed too busy to pay him any notice.

“Come on then.” Nerri called out, and Hawar whirled around to find her right next to his face. His heart thumped and she cocked her head to the side as if analyzing him. Her lips curled into a smile that he couldn’t help but replicate. “You’ll only get in the way, it’ll be my job to keep you out of here.” She said, before he could say anything he found he was already being pulled towards the door.