Dragonworld: The Will For Power

Part 20: The Fire Sisters

Dream of fire

She woke up screaming. A vision had penetrated her dreams. That of a wild fire spreading, engulfing everything in its path. It felt as if the inside of her mind were burning.

As she raised the top part of her body from the bed, she began gasping. The lungs were struggling to get air. She opened her mouth wide to breathe in. This helped stabilize her body. The gasping and shaking stopped.

Her eyes wide open, she scanned the room. There was nothing there. No signs of fire, nor of anything burnt.

Instinctively, she got out of bed, and went outside. It was apparent the sun had already begun to rise, but still hadn't made it over the horizon. The world was caught between night and day, as twilight began its reign.

The first rays of light were starting to make their appearance. It was only her, a tiny woman dressed in all white, who was out that early in the morning. All the others were still asleep.

She watched as one particular ray hit the glass in front of her, and then was reflected into the small pond below. In her mind, it was no ordinary piece of light. She had seen similar before. It carried a message.

A message from the gods.

In front of her, a tiny light appeared. It floated around, making zigzag patterns. Then, suddenly, it burst into flames. A giant fire rose up, which slowly turned into the shape of a man. A man made of fire, with flames flaring out of his arms, and a giant flame being there where hair on the head usually is.

Its mouth started saying words, first incomprehensible, but slowly turning into human language.

"Naleen," it started. The man of fire knew her name. Her ears perked up. Usually, she would have been scared, but she had seen him before. It was not the first time he made an appearance.

"Naleen," it repeated her name.

She moved in closer. The fire was burning, but it gave off no warmth.

"Naleen," it said her name for the third time. "Let the fire guide you."

"Guide me where?" She asked.

"You will know in time. The fire will guide where you need to be. In time," said the flaming fire in front of her.

"I don't understand," Naleen said.

"There is nothing to understand. Trust the fire. It will guide you," said the flaming fire as it started to fade away.

For a while longer, she stood there watching the fire disappear into nothing.

When she turned around, she saw a group of people watching her from a distance. She hadn't realized it, but the sun above was shining bright. It was plain day.

What to her seemed like mere minutes must have been hours in reality. 

Only then did she notice how heavy her legs, arms, and the entire body felt. Her head started to spin. Rather than stay outside, she decided to retire back to her bed. 

As she left, the whispers began.

"Who was she talking to?"

"There was nothing there!"

--

The fire temple

She kept on seeing visions. Of fire. Sometimes, they spoke to her. Sometimes, they didn't. At times, the fire took the form of a man. Often, it was just a flame.

After a while, the voices started coming even without the visions. Inside her head, they kept telling her things. Then, miniature fires appeared above her shoulders. Blue above the right. And Red above the left.