When the Fire Hive released the blast that created The Burning Fields, one of the unexpected benefits for them was the creation of the bonfires. These strange bonfires dotted the land and they burned without any rhyme or reason. As they were mostly Fire spirits, the Fire Hive knew that fire usually require fuel to burn but these strange bonfires did not. They burned on their own as if all they need for fuel was the air around them. The Fire Hive did not really understand how the bonfires were created or why they were burning but it was not complaining. For some reason, the bonfires extended the Fire Hive’s zone of influence and enabled the hive to sense and manifest their Fire Eye far from their home in Mount Moringstar.
Using one of the numerous bonfires in the land, the Fire Hive created the Fire Eye and it floated high up into the air. The Fire spirit controlling the Fire Eye looked down at the approaching human army in the distance and it was impressed. Numbering well over a thousand, the human army was actually a coalition from nearby human cities and tribes who had become alarmed by the sudden appearance of The Burning Fields. Somehow they had managed to discover that Mount Morningstar was the source of the blast and were on their way to the dormant volcano. However the distance to Mount Morningstar was great and currently the human army had stopped at a bonfire for a short rest . The Fire Hive hoped the humans had enjoyed their rest because it was about to have some fun at their expense.
The humans thought they were safe but they didn’t know a secret of the bonfires. They didn’t know that the Fire Hive could use the bonfires to listen in to them. According to the few Nature spirits within the Fire Hive, it was as if the Hive was a tree and that these bonfires were their roots. The bonfires were connected to the Fire Hive and the hive found them very convenient as the Fire Hive could create the Fire Eye from the bonfires. There was no need for the Eye to travel all the way from Mount Moringstar. The bonfires were great and now it’s time for the humans to pay for destroying these accidental masterpieces.
The Fire Hive didn’t even notice it the first time it happened. There were so many bonfires in The Burning Fields, the Fire Hive never bothered to count them all. The Fire Hive actually noticed the human army first and listened in to them when the army stopped at a bonfire. Then one of the leaders of the human army stepped forward and gave a speech to his men. He called himself Luc and was a mage from a city called Rurion. He said he was happy to see delegations from so many cities and tribes in the face of a common enemy and was proud of the unity of the Lasmesh region. He then went on about ‘rising darkness’; ‘beasts of terror’; and something about ‘forming a kingdom’. Honestly, the Fire Hive did not understand half of what he said but his following action was clear. Luc led a group of mages in a magical ritual that suddenly cut off the Fire Hive from the bonfire. The Fire Hive had no idea what was going on and immediately located the next nearest bonfire. It created the Fire Eye and the Fire spirit controlling it launched up into the air. It looked in the direction of the bonfire the human army was at and noticed a shocking fact; the bonfire had disappeared!
Shock didn’t even begin to cover it. The Fire Hive had no idea how the humans did it. It didn’t know how the bonfires were created but somehow the humans had managed to destroy a bonfire. It was then that the Fire Hive discovered that this was not the first time it had happened. Checking back in the direction the human army had come from, the Fire Hive discovered that at least two other bonfires were missing. More curious than frightened, the Fire Hive resolved to find out how the humans did it. The next time, the human army was at a bonfire, the Fire Hive tried to listen in to the humans but it was to no avail. The humans never gave any indication of how they were destroying the bonfires. All the Fire Hive got were gossips that the spirits could not understand. Political marriage; an alliance of the tribes to form a southern clan; and some sort of joint army; but there was nothing useful and the fickle Fire spirits decided there was enough spying. It was time for action!
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Using the bonfires, the Fire Hive knew the general direction the humans were heading and had prepared accordingly. The spirits within the Fire Hive had gathered their energy and discussed their plan at length. Now that the humans were at the bonfire, it was time to put their plan in motion. While the rest of the human army was setting up camp, the mages involved in the ritual approached the bonfire. The spirits waited till the mages started their ritual and then the Fire Hive began their own spell. The human mages noticed that something was wrong immediately but they had no idea what was happening and continued with their ritual. They only stopped when the land beneath them began shaking. Then the bonfire they were going to destroy disappeared. The flames of the bonfire were sucked into the ground and all that reminded was a small hole in the ground. High up in the air, the Fire Eye saw that the human mages in the distance inching closer to the hole as they gestured at each other in puzzlement. The spirits within the Fire Hive laughed.
“Destroy our bonfires would you?” A Fire spirit haughtily said. “Try to destroy this then! Earth spirits, you guys are up!”
The main reason the Fire spirits spilt from the original Hive was the fact that the Fire spirits had nothing to do. In the Kar Mountains, the Fire spirits were bored and since forming their own hive the Fire spirits had resolved not to ignore the other spirits within the Fire Hive. They weren’t really successful because there was just a limit on what the other spirits could do when the Fire spirits outnumbered the other spirits put together but they did try and this was one of the rare occasions the Earth spirits within the Fire Hive could cut loose.
The small hole where the bonfire had been sucked in suddenly collapsed! For a moment, the mages hesitated. Then the hole grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and then the mages began running. The other humans saw the mages running towards them and then noticed the growing hole in the ground. They too began running! The spirits within the Fire Hive roared with laughter at the hilarious sight. The laughter only grew louder as the first of humans was swallowed by the growing sinkhole. Then the shaking stopped. The small hole has now become a big pit. The Earth spirits had done what they could. They killed a number of the humans but not nearly as many as the Fire Hive had hoped. The humans were actually faster than the hive expected but the Fire Hive wasn’t done. The Earth spirits weren’t the only spirits within the Fire Hive that had nothing to do; there were other spirits within the Fire Hive too.
“Water spirits, you guys are up!”
The Water spirits within the Fire Hive needed no further invitation. They used the energy the Fire Hive had stored and the humans could only look on in amazement as water began shooting out of the ground. The water began filling the pit and moments later, a big pond was created at the location where the bonfire was only moments ago. None of the humans could move. Their shocked face was a mixture of awe, fear, and surprise. And still the Water spirits weren’t done!
As the humans looked at the water, a few of them noticed a ripple. The ripple grew bigger but before any of them could voice a warning, a slimy tentacles shot out of the pond. It grabbed the nearest human and immediately dragged him towards the water. Screams could be heard from the humans as more tentacles shot out of the water. A few of the warriors rushed forwards and began hacking at the tentacles but the Fire Hive knew it was useless. All the tentacles seen by the humans belonged to one Boss. A creation of the Water spirits within the Fire Hive, it was a Boss whose main body was safely under the water. The Water spirits even gave it a silly name and as they were the creator of the Boss, the Fire spirits had to reluctantly agree to their choice.
“Hey! Our name isn’t silly!” One of the Water spirits complained.
“Yes, it is,” a Fire spirit solemnly replied. “The Pond Watcher? Seriously, that’s about as silly as you can get!”