Fire and Fear

A prayer, a quiet murmur of words ran over the chapped lips of the man kneeling before a tower made of black stones. There were strange markings engraved deep into the walls. Rumours whispered that it was infused with powerful magic. Skeptical said that it was only science tricks created by those on the payroll of the king. No one dared to test their theories.

The man's hands trembled as he squeezed his eyes shut, his lips quivering as he pleaded for his life silently.

The loose dirt continued to swim around him soiling his dark trousers. The metal strapped tightly to his chest gleamed in the dim sunlight that shines through the thick dust, blown in by the sea breeze. The insignia of a world made if fire engraved within it. The hallowed shadows from within the cave taunted him. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Carver," a soft voice whispered out from within the darkness.

The young soldier's eyes snapped open. His heart pounding within his chest, he slowly turned. He gulped as he stared into the darkness. He was hesitant. His head quickly turned away from the cave and his eyes dell to the ground.

Inside that cave like tower was an evil that inspired children's nightmares. The creature that murder, so many of Carver's brothers and sisters. A monster that killed many children, feeding their bodies to the dragons for their obedience. Carver was afraid, disgusted, angry...he wanted revenge but he wasn't sure how to get it. The runes on the walls of the tower would weaken the creature yet still Carver wasn't strong enough to end its torment forever.

This was the reason for his enlistment into the army. He wanted to get stronger, become someone who was capable of taking care of his village.

"Carver," the voice called again.

He released a sigh of relief. He was about to stand when suddenly a deafening explosion echoed through the air. Carver through his hands above his head as boulders and rubble rained down on him. A large enough rock grazed his shoulder, ripping through his skin. The man screamed and instinctually shifted from that area. Lucky seemed to smile at him as a large boulder fell to the spot where he once was. It was glowing red with a sweltering heat.

Carver's head raised to the sky and he flinched onto the rock as a silhouette of a large winged creature flew above masked by the clouds. Could that be the mysterious creature that killed his family or was it just seeking revenge as he had intended.

The creature circled the tower, flying lower and lower, flapping its large wings coincidentally clearing the fog which hid Carver but also itself. Carver's mind struggled to find an escape route or a hiding place. The creature was only 3 floors away from it. As its wings batted against the air. Carver saw a something gleaming a majestic red. Its slick, shining surface could have only been one thing.

He scrambled up immediately, crawling over the pieces of rock that had fallen and that continued to fall. He ignored the burning of his wound as he struggled to successfully weave through the falling rubble. His blue eyes caught another sparkly object and he stumbled to stop as he watched for any signs of movement. He glanced behind him, the other creature had only one storey left to destroy. He turned back towards the other shiny surface. His mother would have hit him over the head for not realising that it was only the water of the sea.

He glanced down at the black sand and nodded to himself. He didn't wait a second later, to take off running in the direction of the sea. As his body was submerged by the cold seawater. He realised that he needed to warn his kingdom. He swam as far and fast as he could but with the salt water stinging his wounds, his lack of muscles to withstand the current of the sea.

He didn't reach far, before he lost consciousness. He unwittingly would die and fail his kingdom, his family and his village. As he laid floating on the water surface. He questioned why he hadn't lit the ring of fire.

Unfortunately for him he would have the chance to explain the answer to that question when he brought the knees to the King.

Carver jolted awake, breathing heavily. He rolled over onto his side, his body but a mere few inches away from the flowing water of a river. He wrinkled his brows but didn't have time to think, when he suddenly vomited a large amount of seawater. He coughed heavily, feeling a slight ache in his chest with every breath. He had a moment of relief to which he took his time to observe his surroundings. That was when his watery eyes caught sight of it.

A dark figure laying on moving just a few feet away from him. He shifted hurriedly to his feet, ignoring the sting of his shoulders. He rushed towards the figure, stumbling on the rocks that lined the riverside. He was unsure of his location but he figured that he could survive by the trees and vegetation running along the length of the river.

He dropped to his knees and gently touched the figure. It was a person, he could tell by the warmth and shape of their body. They were curled up on their side. He shifted them onto their backs. He felt his heart skip a beat as he observed her.

She had long flowing black hair that would surely fall down the length of her back, her face was perfectly symmetrical. She had a small nose and round lips that were parted slightly. Her skin was flawless, and a light shade of brown. He suspected that she was of mixed heritage because of the sharpness of her ears. It was strange, he thought. To be born of warring factions.

He gulped as he slowly reached his hand towards her, to check if she was breathing. He paused halfway there. He needed to think this through unlike what he had done at the prison.

How did he get to dryland? He was in the middle of the sea. There were no inhabited islands for miles in any direction from the prison. He glanced down at the girl. Did she bring him there? Was she a form of sea creature? He glanced around, searching for any signs of transportation but found none.

He released an exasperated sigh. Why didn't he light the ring? If he had many soldiers would have sailed to his rescue? He wouldn't have the risk of losing his head for not warning the capital weighing on his shoulders. He glanced down at the metal, shining in the fading sunlight. He hurriedly began to remove it. His fingers fumbling with the straps.

"Should have listened," he rambled quietly to himself.

He should have listened to his brother when he told him that he was too weak. He should have listened to his mother when she told him that he would die. He should have never listened to his father who told him that he could do anything he wanted to.

Carver angrily grabbed his knife from his pocket and in a few furious slashes freed himself of his armour. He pulled it over his head and threw it as far away from himself as he could muster with a frustrated groan.

He breathed, shifting his position until he was sitting on the uncomfortable rocks. He didn't mind, he felt lighter with the weight of the kingdom on him. Without his armour he was back to being a nobody. He ran his fingers through his brown short hair, helping the cool breeze dry it.

A gurgling sound brought his attention back to the girl. His light brown eyes met dark maroon ones.