Saving Sancreith

II | Among the Ashes

Black plumes of smoke rose swiftly into the atmosphere and formed a sinister cloud above the small town below it, filling the air thick with fumes. The townspeople gathered around the lit houses like moths to a flame, eyes wide and glowing red. Mothers were crying and holding the people dear to them in their protective arms, giving thousands of kisses to those they were thankful not to lose. Fathers were carrying as many buckets of water as they could to help calm the raging inferno. Young men were breaking into each of the houses to save any of the people and children stuck inside.

In the first house to go ablaze, harsh cries were heard from one of the back rooms. A woman was dragged from her house, her arms outstretched, screaming. "My children! Please save my children!" Tears stained her face as she fought to head back inside to save her kids. One man reassured her that someone would find them while other men kicked the door down to begin the search.

In the din, no one quite knew why or how the fire had started in the first house—many presumed it could have been from a log that had strayed from the hearth without anyone noticing, or from the woodfire stove that had just since been lit to prepare for dinner. Nonetheless, the fire had spread to their neighbor's thatch roof due to the houses' proximity to one another, and this spread to the next house and the next, until five abodes were aflame.

Amidst the crowd, a young man with curly, golden hair and sun-kissed skin hurriedly pushed his way through the packs of people gathering around his home. He was taller than most, so he scanned every face and every back of a person's head, searching and calling out while doing so. As he made his way to the front of the crowd, the bodies grew dense. He pushed people out of his way, frantically trying to make his way forward. People yelled at him and pushed him back, but he was intent on getting to his home.
When the man broke away from all the people surrounding him, he finally got a good glance at his dwelling. Flames were completely swallowing his small house, and they were bright and ferocious. He was a good distance away, but the heat still burnt his cheeks. The air within his lungs caught in his throat as he looked at his home. With all the hope left in him, he moved forward, knowing his sister was most likely inside.

The door came crashing down after a good, hard kick. The young man with the golden hair hovered in his doorway. All the furniture his father, now in the Light, had carved and put together was being eaten away by the greedy flames. Beams fell from the ceiling and landed on the very floors he had learned how to walk on. Tiny glowing flicks of embers whirled in the air as the smoke began to thicken, filling his desecrated home. He covered his mouth and nose with his sweat-soaked shirt and searched around him, his bronze eyes darting back and forth.

That's when he saw her.

A beautiful young woman with long black hair lay motionless on the charred floor, her once rosy cheeks were now pale and covered in a thin film of soot. A cloth was in her hand, as if she were trying to cover her mouth as he did, but she had not been as quick. Ashes collected on her brow and in her eyelashes, as if like soft flakes of snow in winter. In that moment, he froze, so shocked, wondering if his sister was alive or dead, hoping and praying to the Gods in the Light that she was the former.

A beam from the ceiling creaked slowly and came crashing down upon him, sending him sprawling to the floor. It trapped his leg, scorching his clothing and his skin with a sickening sizzle. He screamed in pain and kicked it away with his other foot, gripping his leg tightly.

Despite the searing pain shooting up his leg, the young man stood and limped over to his sister, using all the strength left in his body. He could feel the energy pump through him, and with utmost care, he gently picked her up and held her body close to his chest.