23/5/2007 - Flame
Flame is a new novella of mine, the story of a young man with extraordinary powers who wages a constant battle against the darkness of his own soul; sometimes embracing it, sometimes rejecting it.
Having finished Flame, i also wrote a short prequel, Flame Rising, and have almost finished my sequel novella, Redemption.
As a small preview, and an attempt to get more people reading, here is that shart prequel, followed by a link to the rest of the story.
Flame Rising
Ellanti was woken by yells. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and looked around himself. A scrubby little clearing. He sighed and stood up.
Tall, thin grey trees swayed in the gentle breeze. Gold leaves fell around him, fluttering like strange butterflies. It was a typical autumn day, and this forest seemed to know it particularly well.
“Please! Please don’t!”
“Don’t? Don’t? If you didn’t want me to, then why did you make that remark?”
Frowning, Ellanti walked through the trees towards the noise. A short, fat man was kneeling on the ground, blood trickling from a cut on his cheek. A young woman was standing above him, holding a sword, her long red hair flowing out behind her. She had a strong looking face, set in a sinister smile.
“Apologize” she hissed.
“I’m sorry!” The man cried desperately. She laughed.
“That’s good for you”
Almost lazily she stepped forward and slid the sword into his chest. Ellanti watched, intrigued, as the thin blade slid between his ribs.
The man fell to the side as she pulled out the blade.
“Morning” she said brightly, without even looking at Ellanti. He said nothing.
“What’s the matter?”
“Why did you do that?”
“What, kill this piece of vermin? He insulted me”
“What did he say?”
“He said I should come back to his house for some fun. Said he’d pay well”
She smiled at him.
“Some people would call that overreacting. But as far as I can tell, all rudeness should be punished the same way.”
“Death?”
“Death indeed. What’s you name?”
“Ellanti.”
“Ellanti. I’m Wave”
Wave turned away from him, wiping the sword.
“So what brings to this area, Ellanti?”
“Nothing really. Just wandering”
“You do a lot of that?”
“Wandering? Yes, I suppose so.”
She turned back to him, sheathing the sword.
“Why do you wander, Ellanti? Why aren’t you at home, with your parents?”
“I don’t have any”
“Dear dear. How old are you?”
“I’m sixteen”
Wave nodded.
“Why don’t we have parents, Ellanti?”
Ellanti frowned. He was scared of this woman, this ‘Wave’ who killed men for mild insults and asked too many questions.
“They were killed”
“And did you avenge them?”
“Avenge?”
“Did you take your revenge against the killer?”
“What is revenge?”
Wave sighed. She walked towards him, shaking her head. Unconsciously, he took a step back.
“Revenge, my dear Ellanti, is the sweetest, greatest poison in all the world. Imagine the most fantastic feeling you can think of. Imagine yourself filled with it”
Ellanti nodded, thinking hard.
“Now multiply it by ten. That is equal to the satisfaction revenge will bring you.”
Ellanti was intrigued.
“But what is it?”
Wave laughed.
“If I hit you right now, and you hit me back harder, you would be taking your revenge. Understand? If you killed the one who killed your parents, if you slaughtered him, you would be taking revenge for them.”
“So when you killed that man…”
“I was taking my revenge for the insult”
“But shouldn’t you have just insulted him back? It wasn’t even that much of an insult anyway”
Wave laughed, and Ellanti shivered.
“Never skimp on revenge. Any insult, anything done wrong to you, anyone who gets in your way, they all deserve the same fate. Death is the consequence of their misconduct.”
“I think I understand.” Ellanti murmured.
“Good. Revenge seems the right path for you, Ellanti” she said, with a slight smile.
Ellanti shook his head.
“No. The ones who killed my family; there is no way I can ever hope to defeat them. They are too strong.”
“Not true. Do not ever allow yourself to believe such nonsense.”
Wave frowned.
“What am I doing? Giving revenge lessons to a complete stranger. I’m sorry I took up your time Ellanti, but I really must be going.”
“Please stay” Ellanti said. “I want to hear more. You’re the first person I’ve met who encouraged me to actually do something about their deaths. Do you know how long I’ve waited for that?”
“I won’t stay, but if you’d like to walk with me, I’d be honored”
Ellanti followed her as she began to stride through the trees. They walked for over an hour, passing through the forest and out into the broad green fields, through tall blades of grass, colors ranging from bright green to dark brown. The sky above was heavily overcast, threatening rain. Ellanti was constantly preparing to say something, but for some reason he kept backing down.
Waves words had unlocked a long forgotten fury, a desire he couldn’t name before, but could now. A desire for vengeance. Despite his fear of her, he couldn’t help but be intrigued.
If Wave taught him more, taught him how to fight…
But no. It was impossible. There was no way he could ever defeat the killer of his family, no matter how skilled he became. The idea was utterly laughable.
“Can you smell that?”
Ellantis thoughts stopped at Waves words. He looked up. The long grass was more spread out now; the dirt mostly replaced by golden sand. A salty scent wafted over the rolling dunes.
“What is it?”
“The sea, Ellanti. The inland sea. It’s where I got my name from”
“Why from the sea?”
Wave turned to face him.
“When a warrior becomes great enough, he or she may take on the name of an elemental force, based on their fighting style. Only one who is truly powerful may do so”
“Interesting”
Wave smiled.
“I like you Ellanti, and I think you deserve your revenge. If you like, I’ll teach you to fight. I will teach you to become an elemental force, like me”
“On what do you base your decision to grant yourself that title?” Ellanti asked. Seeing her look, he hurriedly added; “Just out of interest”
“The only one who can grant you that title is someone who already has one. Only an elemental can create another”
“So if you deem me good enough, you could…”
“Exactly.”
Ellanti knelt down and picked up a long sick from the sandy ground.
“Teach me”
Wave smiled coldly, revealing her pointed teeth.
“So I shall. But don’t say I didn’t warn you”
She looked down, and, finding her own stick, picked it up and pointed it at Ellanti.
“Then let us begin”
She ran at him, moving swiftly. Ellanti stepped out of her way, swinging his stick wildly. She whacked him on the throat.
“Bad move” She said, as he stumbled back, coughing.
“Let me show you how to parry attacks like that.”
And suddenly, Ellanti and Wave were spending their days sparring. They stayed near the sea, making a small camp. Every day was another few lessons for him. Wave was a skilled fighter, and she made sure he went to bed battered and bruised each night, only to do it all again the next day.
Late at night, while Wave slept, Ellanti would sit on the beach, looking out to sea, deep in thought.
To think that less than a week ago he had not understood vengeance…
It all made sense now. His innocence, his childhood was long gone now. Wave had taught him that.
At this thought, he glanced over at his sleeping mentor, smiling slightly. Waves eyelids fluttered and she murmured something, before rolling over.
She only ever looked peaceful when she slept.
“You know better than that”
Wave observed coldly as Ellanti pulled himself to his feet. She ignored the fact that he was coughing up blood and continued.
“Your fighting is useless. Really”
“Useless?” Ellanti growled.
“That’s what I said. Sure, you can fight to save yourself from minor foes, but real fighting?”
He stepped towards her, but she swung her stick and snapped him hard on the cheek. He fell again.
“This has been going on for nearly a week now Ellanti, and the only thing that has changed is your attitude”
“Maybe you’re just rubbing off on me” He said, with a forced grin.
“Maybe. Lets start again.”
He jumped up and ran at her. This time she hit him hard in the stomach, and as he doubled over, on the head. She kicked him as he fell.
And then, something happened. Ellanti felt something through all his pain and anger. Something that seemed to be calling for him to let it in, to embrace it. This new sensation scared him, but he let it take control, let it feed off him.
A strength such as he had never known filled him. For the first time, all his anger, fear, pain and confusion seemed resolvable.
Everything turned a bright shade of fiery red. His world had been engulfed in flames. All around him seemed different, inferior.
He stood up and faced Wave.
“Yes. Let’s start again”
They moved towards each other. She lunged at him, but he parried the blow, forcing her stick out of his way. He swung and hit her in the cheek. She remained upright and moved at him again, but he ducked down and brought his stick into her shins. This time she fell. A look of pure surprise was plastered across her face. Ellanti grinned.
“Your fighting is useless”
And now the tables had turned. Wave continuously came back at him, but it was no longer apparent who was teaching who. It was no longer apparent if any teaching was going on at all. Somehow, their fights had escalated into a duel of the wills, rather than lessons. Ellanti was faster, stronger and far more agile than her. All this became apparent throughout the remainder of the day, and night. Their fighting continued with no visible end, until finally Wave could take it no more.
“Freak!”
Ellanti froze in his spot, staring at her.
“What did you call me?”
“A freak! That’s all you are!”
“And why would that be?” Ellanti asked, his voice dangerously soft.
“No one can change heir fighting so suddenly, go from novice to expert in the space of seconds. It’s impossible!”
“And that makes me a freak?”
“Yes! It does!”
Ellanti walked towards her.
“All insults must be punished the same way”
A look of horrified understanding came over Waves face. She had just made the worst mistake of her life.
Smiling, Ellanti dropped the stick.
“Before I kill you, I need to ask. I am obviously beyond your skill. What elemental name will you give me?”
“Nothing” she snarled. “Only humans can achieve that”
Ellanti sighed.
“Really? Do I not look human to you?”
“No. You look like a monster.”
“Fine”
Wave drew her sword as Ellanti walked towards her. She swung it at him, but he dodged. They circled each other, their eyes locked in a furious inner struggle.
She attacked first, attempting to stab him, but he ducked and punched her in the stomach. She fell back as Ellanti straightened.
“What a fair fight. You realize that even with that sword, you don’t stand a chance.”
He dived at her, attempting to wrestle the blade out of her grasp. Their struggle lasted only a moment, before Ellanti twisted her arm and took the sword. Her eyes widened as he plunged it into her stomach.
Ellanti stood up and observed her, his eyes unpitying.
“I am an elemental, Wave, as much as you or anyone. What is my name?”
Wave laughed. A trickle of blood escaped her mouth.
“Get your revenge, Flame. I expect it of you”
“Thank you”
Flame pulled out the sword and turned away from her. The first rays of dawn were just starting to come over the horizon, lighting up the golden dunes in a glowing red. He could see the vast stretch of water beyond, the bright beams seeming to bounce as they reflected off the smooth blue surface.
There was a long path ahead of him, and he knew that better than anyone. The rays of the morning sun reached out to him, grasping like the hands of destiny.
He knew he was ready now.
Flame
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