Alan
The fire crackled all around me in a way I did not understand. It was almost like the fire was groaning. But why had it stopped?
My eyes darted around and took in the rest of Magnes. The flames had reached the walls, but could not go past them. Aside from that, the rest of Magnes hadn't a left a single spot untouched.
Except for the hill I was on.
I looked behind me. The tree… It was the subject of many stories by our Elder. "It is the tree of Life," she would laugh. "How can it die if it repels all death?"
My eyes widened, but I knew I didn't have the time to wallow in awe of my brilliance.
I tore a piece of the bark off and tossed it into the flame. The piece was small, and so I lost sight of it right after its departure, but I saw what it had done. The flames had recoiled further, isolating it in a circle.
"Lyra!" I yelled. "Get up, now!"
She did not respond. Annoyingly, she raised her hand and pointed a finger at the city. Her face was more confused than it was distraught.
"I found the solution, so just get up! Tear the bark and stuff it in your clothes. Now!"
"But-!" she choked. "What will that even do?!"
"You're not sweating," I pointed out, "and neither am I. This is no fire," I said as I ripped some bark out.
"I-"
"Just help me!" I cut in.
She rose to her feet and weakly pulled some bark out of the tree. We stuffed our clothes with the pieces of bark and pocketed some extra.
I grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the hill. The wildflowers were crushed beneath our feet, but we did not care. The flames inched closer, since the tree had lost some of its bark to our plunderings, but immediately went back once we stepped closer.
I stepped into where the flames had once been. The ground wasn't charred, and it wasn't hot either. It was just dead. The grass withered with the wind as I took a few more steps. Yet again, I could not revel in my brilliance.
Lyra and I came closer and closer to the village, but slowly, since I had to drag Lyra. Perhaps she was better with her sword than she was with her emotions.
But I really didn't get one thing. I heard nothing. No screaming, no pleading, no crying, hell, not even the creaking of buildings being weakened. While it vexed me, I knew we had other priorities.
I led Lyra into the city, and I saw why there was no noise. There were people, and they were on fire, but they didn't seem to notice that. The white flame covered their bodies, yet their expressions were joyful, or even ecstatic, even as their skin charred.
"What… What even is this?" I heard Lyra murmur.
As we walked further into the festival, we noticed that no one was exempt from this. They made pleasant conversation, and even laughed.
My 'guardian,' the mayor, hadn't much time for me, so I spent much of my childhood with other people. And many of them were burning in front of my eyes, while I could do nothing about it.
And they didn't even know they were burning.
And I hadn't even tried to help.
I glanced back at Lyra, whose eyes were screwed shut. A tear streaked down her face, one that she hadn't wiped away yet.
We didn't have a destination to head to, but I had a theory, though this one was a stretch.
If I put the bark in someone's mouth, would they be healed? It didn't make sense, but it was all I could think of.
After leading Lyra deeper, we reached Tyler's stall.
"Tyler," I said slowly.
He turned to face me, and grinned. "You've returned! You missed the speech, though. Oh, and hello, Lyra."
Lyra stared at him, and so did I. He was normal, even after being burnt. His cheek had fallen off fully at that point.
"How do you feel, Tyler?"
He made a face. "I feel… great. No, better than that." He let out a happy sigh. "I feel like I'm on top of the world."
"I see… open your mouth."
He did so without complaining. I took a small piece of bark and pushed it into his mouth.
The flames had moved on from Tyler, since we were close to him, but I was curious to see what it'd do. Would it save him?
Nothing happened. Not until he crumbled into dust.
I stared at the cloud of dust at my feet. I heard Lyra take a step back.
We stayed like that for a minute.
But I knew we couldn't stay still. I went behind his counter and retrieved a giant teddy bear, one that was supposed to be mine.
I looked back to see the family from earlier. The parent held their child high, which had slowed the fire down. The child wasn't fully burnt.
I walked over and placed the unburnt teddy in her arms. The flames didn't seem to want the teddy bear.
But Lyra's eyes were elsewhere. Her parents were a few paces away.
"Go," I told her. "This may be your last chance."
With a small nod, she headed towards her parents.
Lyra Ferris
My parents had always been the same. Happy-go-lucky, one might say. But I loved it. Their positivity brought me hope, even after grueling drills with my mother. But now…
I hated it.
I saw them grinning widely as they greeted me. The flames had moved away from them, but the damage was done. Yet, my mother's golden hair remained untouched.
"Mom, Dad," I started. "Do you… Do you really not feel anything?"
They were silent for a moment.
"Yes, we do feel something," my mother said finally. "We feel proud. Proud to have had you."
A tear ran down my face. "No!" I said hoarsely. "I meant-"
"The fire?" my mother cut in. "Yes, I feel it. Your father does not, though."
My mouth hung open. "Mom!" I screeched. "You're awake?!"
"Of course. But…" her smile dimmed. "I can feel myself fading."
"Why didn't you say anything?!"
"And what would you do, Lyra?" she waved at Alan with a grin. "I don't know how you found a way to repel the flames, but… Congrats. You haven't been infected."
"Infected with what?!"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I'm only lucid now because I'm a flux user."
I glanced back at Alan. "We can save you, Mom! I promise I-"
"Don't make promises like that, Lyra," she said with a soft smile. "I am already dead. I am in pain, though it is numbed by the ecstasy the flames have given me. Go, Lyra."
Even more tears streamed down my face, which my mother reached up to wipe away. Her hand was grotesque, but I couldn't care.
"Don't cry, Lyra. I don't want to be remembered by your tears."
Her smile widened. "Your father would have said something like that," she continued as she looked at Dad. "I wish he were lucid as well."
"Mom, I-"
"Lyra," Alan said behind me. "I… I think we should go. The perimeter of isolation is getting smaller."
I glanced down to see that the fire had indeed gotten a bit closer. I looked back at my mother.
"Thank you," I said. I wiped another tear away from my face. "Thank you so much, Mom!"
I threw myself into a hug with both of my parents. Mom returned it, but Dad did not. His smile was frozen in place.
I knew Alan wouldn't feel great about this display, but I couldn't stop myself.
Once we pulled back, I felt Alan grab my wrist. He slowly dragged me away. As much as I'd like to say that I didn't need him, I knew that he was right. If I had my way, I wouldn't have stopped hugging my parents.
We made our way up the main road and up to the walls of Magnes. Our country, the Democratic Republic of Aurevia, mandated that the walls be resistant to all forms of magic. That was why the flames had stopped there.
The entrance to Magnes had an isolation chamber. It was an emergency provision that had two doors, one leading into Magnes and the other leading out. Only one door could open at a time.
We pushed the heavy doors of the chamber open, and since the bark prevented any of the flames from coming close, none of them entered the chamber. Still, it had a system to dissolve anything that used flux, which likely included the soul flame.
Once we were allowed to go, we opened the second door and left Magnes. Once the heavy door had closed, we stared at it.
"So…" Alan trailed off. "What now?"
"How would I know?" I said softly.
"We need a plan," he said as we started moving away from the walls.
"My father…" I paused. Taking a deep breath, I continued, "he had a shed somewhere around here. We can find a map and a couple of sleeping bags there, probably."
"Right… He took you camping," he muttered.
We walked to the shed in silence, and when we reached it, I undid the latch and entered it. It was the same as the last time I saw it. Perhaps it was a bit dusty, but everything was in the same place.
I picked up two travelling backpacks and sleeping bags, while Alan retrieved a map. But a frame hung on the wall caught my eye. I gently picked it up and wiped the dust off it.
It was a picture of me, Mom, and Dad on our first camping trip. I felt moisture collect in my eyes, but I did not let it fall.
Tears were not how I would remember my parents.
"Where do we go now?" Alan asked once we left the shed. I had put the picture in my bag.
"Alan, didn't you think that it was strange?" I asked in a voice I didn't recognise. "The flames were not natural. I am sure of it."
"Meaning that someone did it?"
"I… I think so. A flux user, likely."
"You haven't answered my question," he said carefully.
"We," I took a deep breath. "We are going to Auren."
He scrunched his brows. "Why go to the capital?"
My eyes went up to the sky. If a person did this to us, then there was only one way to remember the people of Magnes. And that was revenge. "To become Conduits," I said. Because I could only get revenge if I had power."