A Promise of Fire

Emli walked the streets of Lionbrand alone. She couldn’t quite remember why she was alone, nor did she remember what she was doing. She’d just been walking. She looked around for someone–anyone–who could help her find her way back to the temple, but there was nothing, no one; she was completely alone. Her only company were the thousands of stars that flickered in the night sky. Not even the moon was out that night.

Walking the dark, abandoned streets, Emli knew something was wrong. Nothing felt quite right. It wasn’t hot nor cold, nor could it even be described as silent, as the sound that rang in her ears wasn’t a noise, but instead a feeling.

She stepped out from an alley, over cracked and jagged cobblestone, and into the city’s market square when a bright light suddenly beamed down upon her. No, not bright; it was a damp light, one so subtle that it would hardly be noticeable if not for how much it illuminated the entirety of the square.

Emli looked up where the light was coming from and nearly collapsed. Looming above her was a massive full moon that bored down upon the city.

And then there was nothing: not the square, not the city, just emptiness. Emli stood alone in the darkness with just the moon. Her legs trembled, and she wanted to turn back and run, but she didn’t know where she’d go.

Why was she here? What was she doing? What was going on?

Emli fell to her knees. From every angle, she could hear a strange rustling sound, but no matter where she looked, there was nothing but darkness. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run, but no matter where her legs took her, she always returned to that familiar darkness at the heart of the square with the moon glaring down at her.

Wait? She was back? Yes, somehow Emli found herself once again standing in the heart of the market square, but this time she wasn’t alone. Instead, there were dozens and dozens of faceless shadows that stood at abandoned merchant carts and street corners; some stood behind store windows, and others within Leonheart’s fountain. None of them moved, yet Emli could feel them all turn and stare at her. They weren’t people as much as they were just the shapes of people, and when they saw her, they began to slowly approach.

The figures did not speak–they didn’t even make a sound–yet somehow Emli knew that whatever these shadows were, they wanted to harm her. She could feel a malicious anger burning within them. She felt their hatred, and how they wanted to drown her in the fountain, or rip her apart limb from limb, yet none of them knew why; they just knew that they hated her, and they wanted her dead.

Emli didn’t know what to do. She tried to speak, but her words were caught in her throat; she tried to run, but her legs felt like they’d been turned to jelly. She couldn’t think, and she could hardly breathe. Unable to do anything, Emli looked to the sky and cried for help.

A great ball of light appeared before her, burning like a radiant golden fire. At first, Emli recoiled from the light. It wasn’t like the moonlight, but instead it was bright and vibrant like the sun itself, yet somehow it didn’t strain her eyes to look upon it. It was warm and comforting, and she could stare into it no easier than she could a flickering candle.

Within the heart of this light, Emli thought she saw someone. She couldn’t tell if it was human or elf, or perhaps any other mortal being, but from what she could see were its bright golden eyes. It looked at her fondly with a warm smile, and with a wave of its hands, the shadows disappeared, almost as if they were never there to begin with.

Unafraid, Emli stepped closer to the being within the light. She reached out, past the golden flames that surrounded it, and she couldn’t explain why, but something about the creature reminded her of Emecar. It felt warm and kind, and she knew she’d be safe around it.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the light was gone, and night resumed. The dark horizon became filled with raining balls of red flame that showered from the heavens; the screams of children rang in Emli’s ears. The figure in the sunlight loomed in the sky above.

Emli looked up at the chaotic skies and saw that the moon was no longer there, but instead a massive unblinking silver eye, which warped and twisted itself, revealing a second, and then twisted again to reveal the face of a colossal red Dragon.

Emli fell to her knees in awe of the beast–a God. The Dragon opened its maw and exhaled a stream of frigid silver flame. Emli closed her eyes, ready for the cold flames of death to embrace her, yet they never did, for the figure of sunlight stepped forward and raised its hands, creating a wall of its own vibrant golden fire.

As the flames collided with one another, there was a flash of white light, and then everything went dark.

Emli’s eyes shot open as she gasped for breath. She quickly sat up, back in her bed within the maidens’ quarter of the temple. The candle on her bedside had long burnt out, and the only light in their cramped little room was the moonlight that lingered in from the windows.

She rubbed her face—drenched with sweat—and stood to close the curtains. Outside, she saw the moon; only half-full as opposed to the full moon of her dream, but nonetheless it made her shiver.

A pit formed in her stomach, and Emli knelt at the base of the window, listening to the mutters and snores of the other sisters as they lay fast asleep. She offered a prayer to Sindelle the Elf-Mother: protect me, protect our temple, protect our temple; keep our loved ones safe from harm.

The prayer made her feel a little better, but she still couldn’t shake the terrible things she’d seen in her nightmare. The silver eyes of the Dragon, the faceless shadows creatures, the red sky, the heavens raining fire, and the figure wreathed in sunlight.

Emli sat back down on her musty, old bed and reached into the drawer of her nightstand. Before her journey as a maiden began, her family had gifted her a delicate leather bracelet, embedded with an Aether infused amethyst. It gave off a soft violet glow, and though she couldn’t control Aether, she could feel the gemstone pulse in her palm.

She dared not wear the bracelet under normal circumstances so as not to allude to her being an unsanctioned adept in the temple, but in that moment–under darkness of night–she thought it’d be acceptable. As she tied the bracelet to her wrist, she felt oddly reassured as the continuous hum of the Aether pulsed within. It was comforting to know that the life force within the bracelet was the same life force shared with her; shared with everyone.

Emli took a deep breath and realized just how dry her throat was. Had she been panting in her sleep? She tended to do that when she had nightmares. Quietly, she slipped out of the maidens’ quarters and made her way to the kitchen to brew herself some tea. As her footsteps fell upon the creaky wooden floors of the temple, Emli’s mind drifted back to her dream, particularly the figure in the golden flames and the red Dragon with silver eyes.

She wanted to believe that figure was supposed to be Emecar come to save her, but the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. For one, Emecar’s eyes weren’t golden, nor could he conjure great flames of sunlight; no, the more she thought about it, the more Emli believed that the figure was Azuhiel, the Father of Sunshine, Gold Dragon of Life and Creation, but that just raised the question of who the red Dragon was.

Emli’s first assumption would be Angelus, the Goddess of Chaos, but all depictions of her said that she had red eyes that matched her scales, not silver. No, silver eyes would make the dragon resemble Velhien, the Mother of Moonlight, Silver Dragon of Death and Destruction.

The longer she thought about it, the less either of those options made sense. From all the tales and legends she’d been told, though Azuhiel and Velhien were opposites, they shared an unwavering love for one another; for without one, the other would cease to be, and thus the world itself would end. They were the mother and father of all things, the creator and destroyer, life and death, sun and moon, light and dark.

Once she arrived in the kitchen, Emli began to brew some lemongrass and chamomile tea. She lit the stove and sat at the long, rickety table, waiting for the water to boil, all the while more thoughts of the Dragon-Gods flooded into her head. Apart from Azuhiel and Velhien, there were the five children: Angelus, Red Dragon-Goddess of Chaos and Saiqa, Blue Dragon-God of Law were said to be in constant competition with one another; while Lechelle, White Dragon-Goddess of Love and Megidos, Black Dragon-God of Malice were said to utterly oppose each other. Zarael, Green Dragon-Watcher of Destiny was the mediator who brought them all together in unity.

Lost in thought, she nearly forgot to take the kettle from the stove as it started to whistle. Startled, she hopped from her seat and poured herself a small cup. As the steam filled her nostrils and she took her first sip, she heard a creak from behind.

“Sister, are you alright?”

Emli dropped her cup, shattering it on the ground. She spun to see Sister Claire standing in the doorway, looking just as frightful as Emli.

“I-I’m sorry, sister. Y-Yes, I’m…” Emli quickly grabbed a wash towel and knelt, frantically wiping up the hot tea. Claire knelt beside her, holding Emli’s hands.

“I heard you stirring in your sleep,” said Sister Claire. “You can tell me what’s wrong.”

Emli didn’t necessarily want to tell Claire about her nightmare—it felt too persona; too embarrassing—but thought if she couldn’t trust her fellow sisters, who could she trust. “I-I had a dream. I saw Azuhiel, and-and he…I-I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be,” said Claire helping her to her feet. “You say you saw Azuhiel in your dream, did you? Well, what did he say?”

“Well, I should say I think it was him, and he didn’t say anything.” Emli paced around the kitchen, scouring for a broom to sweep up the shards of her teacup. As she got to the window, she looked outside and up to the moon. “I saw this man with bright golden eyes covered in golden flame. He saved me from this…this red Dragon with silver eyes. It was almost as if this Dragon and he…I’m sorry, it sounds foolish. It was just a dream.”

Claire nodded. “Reading into dreams can be foolish, I agree. There are times it can be, well, dangerous.” She stepped up beside Emli and the two stared at the moon together.

Emli’s heart sank. She knew dreams weren’t always just dreams, and maybe this dream wasn’t; perhaps it meant something more. There was an Arte, long forbidden by the people of Singard, in which one could venture into the dreams of others; to peer into one’s deepest thoughts and alter them from within: Lunamancy.

“You don’t think this dream could be anything, do you sister,” asked Emli.

Claire let out a deep breath, and her hands gripped tightly to the windowsill. “I don’t know. I just pray that it doesn’t mean something terrible is coming.”