Young Writers Society

A flame cannot stay still. It will flicker as it wishes, and burns what it wants. Beauty and brilliance, enticing and mesmerizing, destructive and relentless, the light pierces the eyes of those that witness its birth. A flame cannot be controlled, only guided or snuffed out.

-------

The sky was lit by the bright moon. The glow shined through the trees and lit the mountains on the horizon. Nights cool colors only made the orange lights in the mountain forest burn like a devils omen. Flames crept up the mountain were concentrated on a single town.

The mercenaries had their way with the people and the animals, slaughtering them in the night. Screams of the murdered echoed through the alleys. Houses and bodies were burned. Necks slit, bones broken, and blades were covered in shimmering blood. This was a massacre. The streets were red with blood and orange from the flames. The wretched men that laid waste to the town were in the same black cloaks with a red x on their hoods and masks to hide their expressions.

On the top of the hill, a two story house was burning like the rest. A child ran out of her room that was filled with smoke. Her white gown was too long for her to be running in. She tripped to the banisters and looked to see her two parents on the ground covered in blood. Their arms stretched for one another, but only inches from contact. There in the door way stood a dark shadow of a man. The girl screamed and ran to her parents. She got to the bottom of the stairs when the roof fell. The Beams had fallen all around her trapping her in, blocking her view of her parents and the shadow man’s gaze.

She coughed and chocked as the smoke filled her lungs. She tried to climb, but the burning wood singed her hands and feet. She fell to the ground and held her stinging hands. She choked and her eyes were burning from the heat and tears that fell and disappeared in the heat. Her eyes began to do dark. She fell to the floor.

Just then fire began to dance in front of her. With each flicker the flame turned into different creatures. Birds, dragons, most she had never seen before, but it finally stopped on the form of a lion. A dragon floated above. It watched from the circle it had tangled itself in. The lion walked up to her as she chocked. Flames formed and swiveled into a flaming man with no face or features then turned back to the lion. He sat in front of her and stared at her. His form fluctuated between the two. He put out his hand. Her tears overflowed she reached to the flame, but her hand fell through the man’s hand bounced onto the wooden floor. She was silent and motionless. The man turned into full lion, and then he erupted and lunged for the girl. Its fangs laid gashes into her cheeks. The body of flame swirled and sucked into the gashes.

The girl’s corpse pulsed as the flames energy flowed through her. She dug her nails into the wood in front of her. She looked up with a furious and untamed gaze. The flames around her burnt everything at ashes around her in seconds. She stood up and passed her parents husks without giving them a single glance. Their bodies turned to cinders and she walked past them. She crawled up the burning wood that hid the entrance of the house. When she reached the top she looked down to see the village was glowing bright orange in the darkness. She let out a monstrous yell as the back draft of the flames whipped up her hair.

The mercenaries heard the echoing yell and turned to see the child walking down the town street. Her Hair waving unnaturally and her body immersed in flames. The men yelled and fired arrows at her. The arrows stopped and turned to ash as they got close. Each person she passed lit on fire and quickly died as their flesh burnt from their bodies within seconds. The buildings flames crept around her creating a spiral of fire. Not even the villagers or the animals were spared. They would look to her for help and fear. She answered by turning them to ash with the killers. Each step she took burnt an imprint into the ground.

When she got to the end of town there was a horde of mercenaries waiting for her. Her gaze held front and her expression was still that of extreme hatred. As they charged she lashed back and let out a massive pulse of flame that circled her and vaporized every one of them around her. She stood in a creator that was empty that had eaten away at half the town. The ground had burnt away around her and was smoking from the onslaught.

The mercenary leader walked to face her. She looked to him about to kill him. He raised his hands in surrender and stopped walking. She appeared in front of him flames circled her feet. She let out another monstrous yell and flames erupted around her and moved over him like a wave. The flames circled the girl and the man. He was shivering in fear, but held his hands up.

“it’s-it’s alright, be calm, settle your fury and rest spirit. We will take good care of your vassal. Please be still.”

She stared at him with such empty eyes he didn’t even think that she could hear let alone understand him. “Very well human.” She spoke a voice that was not her own, not even remotely human. It was a combination of voices all ages and both male and female tones along with some animal growls. “Be sure to entertain me.” all of the flames in the area were sucked into the girl’s body. The fire from the town settled and wet out. Her hair floated back to normal position, resting on her back. Her body weaved, she fell to the ground and she was motionless once again.