Esveldza: 'The Lonely Child of Fire'

Chapter V- Heating a Stone

Chapter V

Heating a Stone

The voice had not spoken since that time; I yearned for it at the back of my mind. I knew that it wasn’t a memory talking to me like I sometimes got, it was someone or something presently inside me. I used to think it was me but after it had said a full sentence I believed it was another being. I distracted my mind that wished for the voice to return and concentrated on my training. Samre was a light in the darkness that Johnro and Jemro had cast over me. No matter how much I wished it, Johnro and Jemro had not become better people. I wondered how anyone could become as foul as them. I could handle them with the help of Samre; he was always cheerful and supportive to me. After we had fought that day, the twins didn’t even try to hide their hatred for me anymore. I remembered what Staarla said and I was almost tempted to follow the twins one day just to see what had pushed them to be the way they were, perhaps to understand them.

At first Samre could keep them from touching me but they found other ways. Samre constantly became frustrated with them, I felt guilty because I was the reason they were being like that. We couldn’t go on a field trip because of our lack of team work.

Winter rolled in and cut some of our training sessions short. It was a gloomy, rainy day where we practiced trying to light a fire in the rain, a difficult and infuriating task but essential for survival.

 Johnro and Jemro sat a few metres away from me under a tree. Samre sat in one of the tree’s branches in between us.

After what felt like half an hour I had become very agitated. Just light! I thought to myself, staring at the sticks in front of me, the fire making stones next to me where wet from the rain.

I imagined the sticks catching fire, burning strongly and brightly through the rain. An unknown strength poured into my body, it made it’s way down to my hands.

“Fire!” I yelled in the dragon’s tongue, slamming my palm down into the sticks like it was instinct.

It ignited immediately; the flames rose a metre into the air and didn’t seem to be affected by the pouring rain at all. “Fire!” I yelled again excitedly, this time in regular Esveldzan, jumping up from my kneeling position.

Samre jumped out of the tree and walked over to my tree, he looked at the fire and then back at me and back again.

“Akaiya, did you use magic?” He whispered, his eyes fixed on the blazing fire.

Johnro and Jemro stood up and looked at my fire. I nodded excitedly. Samre stepped toward me, smiling. He put his gloved hand on my head and ruffled my hair around.

“I’m very proud of you, unless you’re learning magic most people can’t connect to magic until they’re at least two years older than your age now.” Samre said.

“But we’re that age!” Jemro shouted.

“Everyone is different Jemro; Akaiya might just have a better connection with the land than you do.” Samre said patiently.

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” Jemro spat, stamping his foot. Johnro was staring at me grudgingly.

Samre sighed, “Look, I think you two should have the rest of the day off. I want to train alone with Akaiya for the rest of the afternoon.”

Jemro looked like he was about to protest but Johnro pulled him away before he could say or do anything. They walked off together; I watched them leave before looking at Samre.

“Now Akaiya, I do not want you getting arrogant from this but I have a feeling you will not anyway,” I shook my head to affirm that I wouldn’t, “Good. You are talented Akaiya and I will not let that go to waste.”