A sudden harsh knock on her door jolts Amara awake. She quickly finds her orientation and runs towards the door, swinging it open she sees a naked Fildarae still covered in a mild layer of black fur, staring at her with panic in her eyes.
“I was out patrolling as normal and- Amara the forest, it’s-”
Before she finishes Amara runs past her, and looks out into the night. The dark sky slowly grows brighter from something glowing in the distance. Amara’s eyes go wide as she looks back at Fildarae with shock. She shakes it off, her expression turning serious.
“Get Virion now!”
“Right.”
Amara stares back towards the forest as Fildarae rushes away. The glowing red in the distance slowly, but steadily, grows in size. Although panic builds in her, she keeps it hidden. She needs to stay strong, stay determined. She can’t show even a shadow of doubt. She needs to stay in control. The sound of footsteps catches her attention. She turns to look towards the sound, seeing Virion running towards her. He takes a quick glance towards the distant glow before speaking, his tone resolute.
“I need to get closer.”
“Let’s go.”
They both dash towards the fire in the distance. A distant sound of fire crackling reaches them, making Virion stop in his tracks, Amara quickly stopping as well.
“This works, it’ll take a moment.”
She nods towards him. He clenches his fists as he takes a deep breath, his eyes turning to a soft orange glow. The otherwise dry air turns humid, the smell of moisture filling the space. The gentle wind almost comes to a full halt as the temperature around them drops. Amara stares intently towards the fire, it’s hard to see through the dense forest, except by the subtle glow in the distance, peering through the trunks. A few minutes pass and then she feels it. First one drop hits her face, then a second. Soon it’s like the sky is collapsing into a heavy downpour. The sound of the faint crackling of fire replaced by loud and steady drops of rain against leaves. She turns to face Virion whose eyes have returned to normal, an exhausted look on his face.
“Thank you.”
He sends her a small smile, before leaning against a tree, regaining his strength. She returns her gaze towards where the fire had come from, noticing the glow quickly fading. Her expression tightens. It was fading faster than she expected, faster than usual. Why? She takes a deep breath before speaking.
“I need to assess the damage, I will be right back.”
“Be careful.”
She starts walking with determination, quickly realising she was headed for the outer eastern watchtower. She felt irritated. Had they really managed to burn down that part of the forest afterall? She shakes off the thought and focuses on getting there. The faint glow of the moon being the only light to guide her through the once again dark night. The ground beneath her becomes more unsteady from the rain, but she keeps her pace. With the lack of light she barely registers the change in scenery at first, only noticing it when the sound of something cracking under her brings her attention to it. She lifts her foot slowly, the source being a charred branch broken in half.
She looks around at the scene, the moonlight providing more light from the opening in the canopy. The trees still stand, though charred, few naked branches still attached. Faint glows of ember visible between the crack of the barren tree trunks. She turns towards where the watchtower once nestled, now exposed from the lack of foliage to hide it. A few remnants remain, but most of it crumbled, a weak fire slowly dying at the feet of it. This shouldn’t have happened. Kiiro had informed her of his fight with the Wildfire spirit and from what he said, she hadn’t left unscathed. Being able to use her power to this capacity after such a short time was unexpected, reckless even. It shouldn’t have happened, yet there was no denying the scene before her.
A mix of anger and regret takes her. She had felt safe that they had more time before the Wildfire spirit would try again and she felt stupid for thinking that. She couldn’t have seen this coming from the information she had, but she was responsible for the safety of the town, of the forest. As she feels her emotions well up she quickly pushes them down. Knowing she is alone, she lets out a long sigh, regaining control of herself. The heavy smell of rain filling her lungs. She couldn’t take back what had happened, but she could prepare for what’s to come.
She observes the remnants of the outpost, watching the glow fade under the heavy downpour. Her clothes sticking closely to her skin, the cold making her shiver. However much the sight of the aftermath of the fire hurt her, something stood out. This fire wasn’t as strong as the other times. Not only was it a smaller area, the fire itself had died down quicker as well. The only reasonable conclusion for her was that the Wildfire spirit must have been weakened, which was good. But she wouldn’t let herself relax, not this time. Firstly, she needed to speak to their sentinel, he would need to get them more intel as soon as possible.
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Amara and Virion had walked back to the town together, there was still a while until sunrise, but she couldn’t wait until then. Virion was heading straight back to his home as he needed rest. Amara on the other hand wasn’t going to sleep any time soon. With determination, she walked through the town. It was a smaller town, most of the houses nestled against the edges of the clearing, a few larger buildings stretched out in the middle. The tavern being the most popular place for people to gather in evenings, though usually people liked spending the day outside. Part of the edge of the clearing was spent solely on their communal gardens. The land was plentiful, so this was something they all tended to.
It didn’t take long until she reached the house she was looking for. She was sure he was still asleep and probably wouldn’t appreciate the interruption, but this couldn’t wait. She needed him to be ready to gather information by dawn. She knocks on the door in front of her. Nothing. She knocks again, this time louder. Silence. Just as she raises her hand to knock again, she hears the sound of footsteps on the other side, followed by the door opening. A man stands in the doorway with a confused expression.
“Amara? What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Aenwyn, I do apologise for the sudden visit, but this is urgent.”
A figure slowly rises from the bed behind Aenwyn, stretching for a moment before he groggily speaks up.
“This seriously couldn’t wait til morning?”
Aenwyn turns around and shoots him an apologetic look, his voice soft.
“Theo, not now.”
Amara looks over Aenwyn’s shoulder.
“Theoden, it’s nice to see you, but sadly I have business with Aenwyn.”
Theoden lets out a small groan and walks up to Aenwyn, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. Aenwyn turns back to Amara, rubbing his arm awkwardly.
“So, what is it?”
“The Wildfire spirit succeeded in burning down the outer eastern watchtower, I need you to try and figure out their next step. We need to be ahead this time.”
Aenwyn stares at her for a moment in shock. This truly wasn’t something he’d expected to hear. He takes a moment to let the information settle before he answers.
“Right. I’ll get ready and be out by dawn, I’ll see what I can find out.”
As Aenwyn turns around and heads back inside, Theoden holds a hand on the door while looking at Amara. He lets out a sigh as he speaks to her in a hushed tone.
“I get that it’s called for right now, but next time do let him rest fully first. He isn’t great at saying no, especially to you.”
“It’s a good thing he has you then.”
He smiles as he glances back at Aenwyn.
“Someone’s got to look out for him.”
As he turns back towards her, his grip on the door tightens slightly.
“I, however, definitely need more sleep, so if you’ll excuse me.”
She gives him a small nod and starts walking off, the door closing behind her. That was one thing done, now onto the next. She needed to talk to Kiiro.
She knocks on the door, harder than she intends. Only seconds later it opens with Kiiro standing on the other side. She walks past him into the room and he closes the door behind her. She wastes no time before getting to the point of her late night visit.
“Kiiro, are you sure the Wildfire spirit was hurt as much as you said she was?”
He faces her, visibly confused by her question and sudden visit.
“Yes.”
“The outer eastern watchtower and surrounding forest started burning tonight.”
“What?!”
His expression grows shocked. This made no sense to him, there was no way she should have been able to exert that much energy right now, it had only been a few days. Amara stares at him intently as she speaks.
“If what you described is correct, then she shouldn’t have been able to start a fire, not in her current condition yet… She did.”
“That doesn’t make sense, she was definitely hurt, I-”
“I believe you.”
Her expression softens slightly, making Kiiro visibly relax. She takes a deep breath before continuing.
“The fire was weaker than the others, she definitely wasn’t at full strength. Virion has taken care of it.”
Kiiro glances towards the window for a moment. The heavy downpour from earlier had slightly settled, but drops still fell at a rapid pace.
“That explains the rain.”
Amara walks over to the chair by the table, sitting down for a moment. She had ignored it until now, but she felt exhausted. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, making her aware of just how tired she was. She hadn’t exactly gotten a full night either. Her tone softens, becoming more calm.
“It looks like we will have minimal damage to the forest compared to normal, but that doesn’t mean they won’t suddenly try again.”
“This is why we need to kill her.”
Kiiro’s tone, on the other hand, has only gotten more serious. He was still steadfast in his opinion of the situation, not that she had expected anything differently. She let out a long sigh, letting her body fully lean into the chair.
“We can’t do that until we have a decision from the Elders. We just need to contain her as soon as possible.”
“And if she burns down the town in the meantime?”
“We won’t let that happen. Aenwyn is heading out at dawn. We will work out their next move so we can catch her next time.”
Kiiro scoffs, making Amara grow more frustrated. He was stubborn and although she was normally prepared for that, she didn’t quite have the energy at this moment for it.
“Kiiro.”
Her voice was stern, making it clear she wasn’t here to discuss the options as much as she was here to convey what had happened. He seemed to pick up on it though, cause he didn’t say another word. Realising he understood, she slumped over the table, letting herself finally rest for a moment.