Ananiel

Sunlight shimmered its radiance above the thin layer of snow that lay on the hardened dirt. Letting out a yawn and stretching, I awake to a rather still winter morning. Looking around, I noticed the Coachman was asleep, and the horses were still resting. Letting out another yawn, I felt my body shiver,

“It seems I didn’t get a good rest”

I raised my pale hand and felt its warmth quickly leaking away. Feeling uneasy, I pull my hand back and glance up. The sky was a beautiful blue with a few sprinkles of clouds. Soon, I hear stirring within the carriage as Lily makes her way out.

“Good morning”

I greet her as she nods and replies,

“Good morning to you! Ready for breakfast?”

I feel my stomach grumble as she heads off to the back of the carriage. In the distance, I hear her shout,

“Clover, can you get some kindling?”

I sigh and get up off the ground,

“What are kindlings?”

“They are small, dry sticks and twigs. Dried pine needles and pine cones can work too.”

“Alright, I will be back.”

I head into the forest and look for some dry sticks and twigs. Luckily, the snow hadn’t started melting yet, so there was an abundance of usable kindling. Making my way back, I see Lily waiting by the campfire with leftover stew and bread. Handing her the kindling, she builds a small pyramid and starts striking the flint. Moments later, the tiny flame became larger and larger, growing up to become a campfire once more. The air wafted with a savoury smell of stew toward the sleeping Coachman. Starting to stir, he rises awake and lets out a yawn,

“Ah… So, it’s morning already”

Wiping off the trail of drool, the Coachman shakes the horses awake. Afterward, he heads over and sits down beside the campfire.

“Good morning, y’all! It’s a rather fine day for travel. Don’t ya agree?”

He rubs his shoulders and starts stretching his upper body.

“Indeed, it’s a good day to start training.”

Lily looks towards me and pats my back

“Don’t you agree?”

“Haha, don’t be too rough today”

I smile and lean back, almost falling to the ground. Pushing my way forward, Lily giggles and opens the pot.

“Today, we will be casting spells.”

A soft smile dimples Lily’s face as she fetches a bowl of stew and hands it over.

“Focus on breakfast first and worry about it later”

I nod and start scarfing away at the food. Each bite was wondrous leaving behind its savory flavor while I was nibbling on bread. Putting the bowl down, I drank some water and felt satiated.

“Thanks for breakfast”

Propping my arms back, I stretch and look at Lily and the Coachman finishing his meal.

“Alright, thanks for the meal!”

The Coachman slams the bowl on his thigh and stands up.

“I’m going to feed the horses, so you guys wait in the carriage. We will depart soon”

“ok”

I reply and look over to Lily. She sat there quietly and starts whispering something. Suddenly, water starts flowing into the pot. Giving it a quick scrub, the bowls and pots become clean.

“Was that a spell just now?”

Nodding, Lily closes her eyes as faint steam rises from her hands.

“Let’s get going now”

She wipes her forearms and starts walking to the carriage. Following suit, my eyes filled with curiosity. We both enter the carriage and make ourselves comfortable. Thinking of an opportunity, I pull out the pyromancy book and start asking questions,

“I tried manifesting a soul flame last night, but it failed. Can you teach me how to do it, Master?”

“Sure! It’s pretty simple”

Lily points her finger towards me and draws a circle. After finishing the circle, a small flame emerges in the center.

"This way was passed down by my mentor. Draw a circle and imagine a fire in the middle. Simple as that.”

I close my eyes and start focusing on my breath. Entering a trance, I feel the tip of my finger flare up as it traces out a circle. Steam rises as a tiny flame sprouts in the air and quickly vanishes. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washes over me.

“It worked!”

Lily looked at me, astonishment glimmering in her eyes,

“In one try?”

I slump to the side as I start feeling feverish and cold. Lily quickly catches me as a weight descends over my eyelids.

“Are you alright?”

Shaking my head, I clutter my teeth and start shivering.

“Hmm, this is new…”

Lily rests her hand on my solar plexus. A wave of heat emulates from her palm as I feel mana pouring into my veins. Slowing my breathing, I comfortably drift off to sleep.

“Come on, I have something to show you!”

A young boy waved his arms and started running forward. Letting out a sigh, I grip the cane tightly and start giving chase.

“Isn't that a fairy?”

Closing my eyes, I suddenly feel a strong tug forcing me forward. My legs were moving on their own. Each step felt lighter and lighter as the fairy got ever closer. Hearing laughter around me, I shuttered and looked off as the fairy ran further away. My steps got heavier as the sand creped up my legs.

“Hehehe, why are you so slow?”

I hear the fairy say as the light starts surrounding me. The sounds of laughter grew louder as the lights became blinding. My knuckles became white as I slammed the cane on the ground. Strange letters flew up into the air and immediately glowed dark red.

Cease

The desert wind froze still as everything halted. The lights around come to a stop and vanish away. The fairy shakily turned around and looked at me with horror. Marching forward, I look down at the fairy,

“Guide me properly.”

A hint of irritation echoed in my tone as the fairy nodded compliantly.

“...Just this way…”

He mumbled very softly, and we both walked forward. Soon, we arrive in front of an abandoned ruin of metal. Awkwardly looking around, the fairy heads toward a metal box-like shed and looks back at me. Sadness filled his face as he vanished from sight.

“That’s odd”

I open the creaky shed door and walk in. A lonesome, rotten skeleton rested against the wall, and a diary lay on the ground.

Day 1

Dear diary, Can you believe it? Stars are falling from the sky! But scary noises keep shaking the walls. Mom told me to stay inside, but I wanted to watch the stars fall. I hope the city is ok.

Day 4

The scent of smoke has been bothering me. I want to look outside, but the door has been weirdly hot. We're running out of my favorite food, canned peaches. Worry has been getting to all of us.

Day 6

Mom has been screaming non-stop about going outside. “I can handle it!”. Dad has been keeping his head down, and our food is running out.

Day 10

I want to leave. I’m sick of canned food. I want to see my friends. Mom has already left and has not come back. Maybe she found some food to bring back.

Day -

Dad told me to stay put, and he went out to look for mom. I should have gone with him. I’m tired, and there's no food. I should stay put

Day I don’t know anymore

You should stay put…You should stay put…Shut up. Where did everyone go? Why is Dad not coming back? I’m tired and hungry. The scent of smoke is overwhelming. Am I in hell?

I closed the book as tears welled up in my eyes. Tracing a circle into the air, a small flame sparks alive and floats down on the diary, engulfing it in flames. Letters float into the air, becoming trails of smoke that waft out the door. The faintest of laughter whisps into my ear,

…hehe…

I wipe my watery eyes and step out the door. A massive pillar stood in the distance, surrounded by metal ruins that once resembled a city.

“Guess that’s next”

I point the cane toward the pillar and I awake inside the carriage.

Warmth enveloped me as I wiggled in a tightly wrapped blanket. Silence hung around as I felt hunger set in.

“I should get up”

I told myself, unwrapped from the blanket and fell onto the carriage floor.

“Tch, ouch”

Feeling fully awake, I went out the carriage doors and found Lily and the Coachman inspecting a familiar, overturned carriage.

“...Maybe a bear attacked this carriage?”

“Looks like all the supplies have been taken. Oh well, we should get going. Who knows if that bear is still around?”

Walking towards them, I greet myself

“Hello! I feel a lot better now”

Lily turns over to me,

“Ah, that’s good then, let’s hurry along now.”

Glancing towards the Coachman, he gives a nod and we both return to the carriage. Getting properly seated, the carriage starts moving once more.

“I’m I alright?”

I asked Lily who was staring off the carriage window. Seeing her furrow her brow, I tighten my grip on my knees.

“Your body is odd. The essence of winter sapped into your mana veins.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Kinda. You just have to allocate some mana into maintaining your body temperature. Or exercise intensely and frequently to slowly balance cold and hot.”

Tapping my finger anxiously, I inhale a deep breath and ask,

“So, how should I get started?”

Lily taps her cheek and straightens her posture.

“Draw the Soul Flame circle onto your core. This will activate the furnace. To circulate this soul flame, exhaust yourself”

She gives me a sly smirk as I trace the soul flame circle on my solar plexus. Suddenly, a wave of warmth emulated from within. But my mana was sapping quickly.

“Good luck!”

Lily pushed me out of the carriage and I desperately started running again. The Coachman lets out a sigh,

“Will this be a common thing? With you pushing out your pupil like that?”

Lily lets out a laugh,

“I know Clover can handle it”