Flamespitter takes place in a setting that is based in America circa the 1880s, on the heels of the civil war, with the American Indian Wars boiling towards their conclusion over the gold found in the Black Hills and so forth. The world of the Elemental Gunslinger is one in which humans have cores within them that allow them to harness mana of one of four affinities, fire, wind, water, or earth. The Americans, and as such the main character, who uses the alias Mr. Jones, use their mana predominately to create bullets for their guns. Each mana type can create different types of bullets, which have different traits to them.
Within the world, people are generally born with an affinity for a single mana type. Very rarely, they can awaken to a second mana type. Mr. Jones, when his core came into being at the age of eight, found himself able to utilize all four types of mana. What many would consider a blessing though, turned immediately into a curse for him. His parents were murdered by government officials intent on stealing him away to turn him into a weapon of the nation, and he barely survived the burning wreckage of his household thanks to his family's butler, Randal. For the next six years of his life, Randal and Mr. Jones are on the run, with Randal, who was secretly a retired US Marshal, teaching Mr. Jones the basics of how to use his mana. During that time, he grows to become extremely efficient in crafting mana bullets of all types, and considers himself to be an extremely powerful and deadly gunslinger.
Shortly after his fourteenth birthday, disaster once again strikes, as while Randal is incapacitated due to a rattlesnake bite, they are ambushed by a group of Outlaws. Randal uses the last of his strength to buy enough time for Mr. Jones to flee, before he ultimately dies. From that moment on, Mr. Jones puts himself on the path of vengeance, seeking the time, and opportunity, to track down those who'd robbed his mentor from him. Flamespitter begins with him finally getting the chance to begin that hunt. Word has reached him of the first Outlaw on his list for vengeance, and he quickly leaves St. Louis via train westward, to begin the hunt.
On the train, he meets an individual named Thomas Cane, who offers Mr. Jones a 'beneficial deal.' The man, taking note of Mr. Jones's dual, pearl handled Peacekeepers, seeks to hire him to help track down various outlaws and bandits, in order to collect their bounties. At the same time, their travel by train sees a brief interruption, as an unlucky gang takes a shot at robbing the very traing Mr. Jones is riding up. He dispatches the entire gang, in the span of a handful of breaths, and leaves no doubt in Mr. Cane's mind that he's a force to be reckoned with. At the same time, becuase of the speed with which he needed to dispatch the bandits, to ensure the safety of the passengers, he relied on two of his four affinities. Mr. Cane takes note of that, and his interest in Mr. Jones becomes even more intense.
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Upon arrival at their destination, word spreads quickly about his efforts on the train, and while he attempts to hide the truth of his powers, the owner of the town, one Miss Emma Watts, takes special note. She approaches Mr. Jones with her trusted bodyguard, none other than Civil War hero Clint Westbrook, known by many as the Whisper of Death, for his notorious skills with a rifle, and the piles of bodies he left during the war. Around this time, Mr. Jones learns a rather disturbing fact. Miss Emma Watts is the niece of a man known as Bloody Bill Watts, a Rail Baron with an extremely bloody and violent past. Even worse, Thomas Cane is employed by Bloody Bill. All of this leaves a sour taste in Mr. Jones's mouth, yet he can do nothing about it. He's caught between a rock and a hard place, as it's known by Thomas, and Emma, that he can use at least two affinities. Something that he really doesn't want spreading, as it will make his efforts at keeping a low profile, and avoiding the government, even more difficult.
Through some... forceful negotiations, he works to build a posse with Thomas Cane, at the behest of Emma, in order to take out an outlaw who has begun amassing a small army outside of her town. This outlaw's identity being the only lucky break for Mr. Jones in this situation, as it is a man by the name of Black Jack Pickam. The first man on his list of those who killed Randal four years ago.
His fortune is short lived however, as Thomas Cane turns on him during their attack on Black Jack's fort, and it's revealed Bloody Bill has actually struck a deal with the Outlaw, in an effort to kill his niece, and steal from her the town. Mr. Jones barely escapes the treachery with his life, and he limps back to town, bruised, bloodied, and barely concious. When he next wakes, he finds himself in the care of Emma and Clint. His bad luck comes into play once more though, as a US Marshal appears at the town, the very sort of government official Mr. Jones has been attempting to hide from for his entire life. What's worse, the Marshal, Mr. James Holiday, can see the mana of people, and therefore, immediately discovers Mr. Jones's secret.
His past, and his secret aside, Mr. Jones begrudgingly joins forces with Holiday, Clint, and Emma, to take on the immediate threat to the town that is Black Jack Pickam and his gang. Following an extremely bloody battle, the outlaw is finally brought to justice, and Mr. Jones gets a lead on his next target. At the same time, Thomas Cane is taken into custody by Holiday, who is working on a case to bring down Bloody Bill Watts, who he lets slip, is a part of a larger conspiracy involving a group known as the Golden Circle, who are working in the shadows to overthrow the US Government.
Holiday promises to keep Jones's identity a secret, in exchange for Jones aiding him in another matter regarding the outlaws he's seeking vengeance on, and the Golden Circle. As they part ways, Mr. Jones also learns that Emma has the knowledge he needs to take his core to the next level, and that she, and Clint, will be accompanying him northward, where his next quarry, awaits.