A Throne of Flames || COMPLETED

Chapter 23

We had traversed the desert for days. My thighs and back ached from hours spent riding, but we were nearly there. The endless expanse of the sandy plane stretched out before me, a vast yellow sea. The sand lay in waves and ripples sculpted by the wind, untouched by anything except nature's boundless power for decades. Looking closer, I saw a barely visible shimmering wall, lights of blue, white and gold merging and weaving throughout. It towered high above me, lost in the light of the sun. I took a step forward, and shielded my eyes as the wall flared white.

"Approach, seeker. What affair do you have behind this wall, at the edge of your world?" The harsh voice broke the silence, commanding.

"I am here to find the temple. You know what I seek."

"Very well. Behind this wall lies dangers you cannot begin to imagine." I drummed my fingers on my thigh, impatience rising. "You—"

"Can we just quit the ethereal bullshit and just continue through?"

The voice hissed, then said in a seething voice, "You will regret this, dragonblood."

The white light faded and the barrier vanished all together. My horse took one step forwards, then another. One step over that barrier. Then the world changed. Lush green moss cushioned the floor beneath my feet, trees stretched to the sky, not that I could see it. The leaves spread above me, sunlight winding through the branches as it set, the golden light creating shifting patterns on the floor. The beauty took my breath away. It was like the temple, but so much vaster, so boundless and timeless I couldn't even comprehend how it had survived. My companions joined me, stepping towards me at my sides.

So this is what the whole world had looked like when I was young. Once it had been so clear, the light of my hope illuminating it, but now it was a murky smoke-filled haze.

It was so eerily quiet. No birds, no mice, no frogs or fish. Only rustling leaves casting unearthly whispers around us.

I looked back, and began to walk, ignoring the wonders around us. We walked, trekking through the floors littered with vines and rocks until the sun sank fully below the ground. Lifting my hand, I sent three balls of soft light hovering into the air. Two in front and one behind lighting our way. Slowly the twisting trees gave way to a shaded clearing. It was pitch black now, apart from the lights of the orbs hovering above us, flickering slightly. Tying the horses to a tree, we lay down for the night to rest.

I couldn't sleep. The dim lights slowly revolved around me, and I stared at them, too scared to close my eyes. The memories— I could feel them, bearing down on me, all around. I pulled my knees into my chest, curling my arms around them and closing my eyes. The memories rose in a wave, cresting. Then it came crashing down.

The girl stood in the waist-high grass blowing in the wind. The mourning, beautiful song of the wind echoed in her ears, the dry grass sounding like waters falling. Wildlife was all around her; mice, birds, hamsters. Crickets sang, hidden, beneath her feet. Her long auburn hair billowed in the wind, blending in with the oranges and golds of the leaves on the trees around her.

My eyes opened, and I felt tears fall down my cheeks, my vision blurring. A small choked came out from my throat and I tried to block the memories flowing back. I did not want to remember, but could not help wishing for a world that had been long since burned to ash. Slowly strains of an old song came floating into my mind. The haunting phrases echoed as I stared into the memories once more.

The girl standing near her parents, smiling at her as she tried to catch a small shimmering dragon flying lazily through her grasp. Skipping through a field, weaving white and yellow flowers into a crown atop her head.