Fear of Flames

Part 1: Chapter 5 [In the Castle]

>RONAN'S POV<

It was early morning.

Ronan sat up, his muscles flexing under his loose grey shirt. He had been woken several times in this way recently; knocking at his door and a message of bad news regarding the rising problem of the Lich. 

The Verdentian warrior knocked again. 

"Sir-"

"I said I'd be out in a minute. Knock again and I'll have you sent flying off the castle wall."

As he was the strongest magic wielder in Verdentia, capable of manifesting the powerful earth element, it was his responsibility to investigate reports of Lich attacks. 

He sighed as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair, his arm muscles flexing as he did so. The Lich attacks were becoming more and more frequent, each time slightly worse than the last. Like they were testing the waters. Every attack he investigated now had a fatality. 

Ronan's room was dimly lit at best; he found the flickering of lamp flames to be annoying because he would become distracted by it. He had turned down living in royal sleeping quarters offered to him because of his rank amongst the magic wielders as he found the extra space to be unnecessary - instead, he slept in a room close to the apprentice magic wielders' chambers. 

His room was slightly bigger than the apprentice rooms as the Verdentian royals were still adamant he deserved the space. His room was decorated neatly in simple possessions of his. Ronan had a shelf of alcohol organised by size, and expertly crafted broadswords hung on the wall above the desk on the left side of the room.

He reluctantly slid out of bed, grumbling at the cold that became immediately noticeable after leaving his bedsheets. He opened the door of his room and leaned against the frame, crossing his arms. The Verdentian warrior took a few steps back, knowing of Ronan's dislike for being woken and his short temper. 

"Well go on then, what happened this time?"

The Verdentian warrior raised the paper he was holding closer to his face so he could read. His face was pale and his breathing was uneven - Ronan held his breath. 

"The village of Jaracha, far out near the outskirts of the kingdom, was attacked yesterday afternoon by an alleged group of 15 Lich acolytes. A third of the villagers were killed before they were able to evacuate."

Ronan let his breath out.

"Does the report mention if the East Verdentian barracks squad made it back safely? They were there investigating an anomaly magic wielder."

The Verdentian warrior looked over the paper again, his eyebrows furrowed.

"No it doesn't, but they got back this morning. They left Jaracha just before this incident."

Ronan uncrossed his arms and pulled a cigar out of his pocket. He didn't fancy the idea of a long journey out to Jaracha, especially in the winter.

There wouldn't be any point. Jaracha is gone. I'd be better off finding some of the villagers who'd escaped and questioning them instead.

Ronan raised the lit cigar to his lips. The Verdentian warrior cleared his throat.

"I also came to tell you that Captain Collin has requested your audience. I believe it's regarding their investigation."

Ronan groaned. He didn't answer the warrior and instead went back into his room, slamming the door. 

He was going to sleep a little longer. 

~~~

>SERAPHINA'S POV<

The journey took almost two weeks by horse. During such time, Seraphina and Bryce became friends. Bryce taught her many things she didn't know when the squad would stop and camp for the night: how to ride a horse, how to set up a fire, how to skin an animal before cooking it and began to teach her how to throw knives. Seraphina, hopeless at first, had persisted with the task of throwing knives. She practiced from the moment they set up camp, to the moment camp was packed away. Approaching the Verdentian castle, Seraphina was capable of throwing a knife from a few metres away and hitting the target with somewhat accuracy.