Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Chapter 14: Battling the Blaze

Back on Earth, a lone park ranger stood atop a watchtower in the midst of the Red Salmon Complex wildfire, urgently trying to get word to the nearby town so they could evacuate. A pair of lightning strikes had initially started the fire mere days ago, and emergency personnel had been unable to control it since. 

The ranger ran over to the terminal, hastily swiped the speaker off of it, and delivered a grim message to the rest of his unit. 

"It's.....too late for me....." he sputtered, with ragged coughs in between phrases. "Get the responder vehicles and.....drive to the Forks of Salmon....make sure everyone gets to safety...." 

Much to his relief, he soon heard a voice on the other end. 

"Copy that, watchman. We're heading out." The person on the other end paused briefly. "But.....what about you.....?" 

"Don't worry....." he assured, trying his best to keep a neutral tone despite being certain that he would die. "I'll find another way out...." 

"Understood. Godspeed." 

With that, the park ranger inserted the speaker back into the terminal, then turned around to try and make his way down the stairwell. However, the intense smoke had already begun to permeate the room, and he soon fell to the floor, experiencing a fit of frequent coughing and heavy, labored breathing. 

Just when he was about to pass out, however, he saw something quite unusual. A squad of five individuals in black robes with orange lining and bright, burning red-orange eyes with dark pupils walked up the stairwell and ominously advanced towards him. They all wielded swords with flaming blades and were accompanied by two fire elementals wearing a full set of blackened armor. 

Seared Hand mages. 

At first, the ranger believed that they were nothing more than a simple group of kids who didn't know any better, thinking the fire elementals to be mere hallucinations. Using what remained of his strength, he tried to convince them to get to safety. 

"It's.....not safe here....." he warned. "Go away......" 

He waved a shaking hand towards the exit, but the group of seven continued moving towards him. 

The one in the middle---who appeared to be in charge---forcibly grabbed the park ranger by the throat and lifted him off the ground. One of the two elementals aiding the team approached the leader's side and began readying a fireball. 

"Do you know who we are?" the boss asked. "We're the Seared Hand.....and we're on a mission to rid this planet of scum like you." 

The park ranger's eyes widened in disbelief. "What.....? What do you mean?" 

His attacker laughed heartlessly. "The people of this world take everything they have been given for granted; they deserve to be punished. Your efforts to vacate the Forks of Salmon are in vain; they too will be consumed eventually. This is the goal of the Seared Hand; to exterminate this world of its pests.....in Flamestar's name." 

Flamestar.....? the park ranger thought to himself. Never heard of him before.....

The Seared Hand leader and his band, immune to the flames due to their status as Mage Aspects, leisurely made their way towards the window while still grasping the guard by the neck, and held him outside, dangling precariously over the edge and facing a drop several feet down. 

"The people in the nearby town will pay the price soon enough," he continued. "This place is just a start. Soon.....this Earth will be nothing but one charred husk. Unfortunately....." 

He looked at the ranger dead-on. 

"You won't be alive to see it." 

With that, he dropped the guard off the watchtower and sent him plummeting to his doom.