“Only one will be able to save the kingdom of fire from its own flames.”
I have heard this line at the Kingdom’s council meetings for as long as I can remember. The Kingdom has been greatly diminishing over the years. Each year someone comes forward to try to restore it, yet all of their attempts have been botches. The all-around goal for all four Kingdoms is to save themselves from internal destruction. It seems like we’ve been getting somewhat closer, but to actually get there is still beyond our reach.
My grandfather is the head of the clan and has been serving for sixty years. I always look up to him and at times wonder where we would be if he wasn’t here. I don’t know any of the others before him, but from what I’ve been told by the older clan members, they weren’t considerably better.
My grandmother passed away earlier on. When I was born, I inherited her name, which was Ember. My full name is Ember Rouge, receiving Rouge due to the firebrick red color of my hair. I’m not so favorable of the name Ember, but since my grandmother was well known and loved, and did so much for the Kingdom alongside my grandfather, I’m learning to accept it.
My parents are part of the council as well. My mother assists my grandfather with his health. Since he’s up in age, he needs a lot of physical attention. Aside from physical ailments, his mind is perfectly intact, and he’s rarely mentally absent. My father has been helping him with the council for the past twelve years. He and his younger brother have publically debated on whom should take the lead after their father. Personally, I would rather have grandfather maintain his role. I love my father and uncle just the same, and I don’t want either one of them to feel unworthy or cheated if one of them doesn’t claim the throne. When one of them does get it, I hope the other maintains his decorum.
Later that day…
As of now, it’s the middle of autumn. I was wearing a black leather jacket, with a red scarf and gloves to keep warm. Autumn would have to be my favorite season. When the season comes I look forward to the leaves turning shades of red, orange, yellow, and the occasional brown.
Today I was walking down the path by the village to see my friend Ash Stone. He’s the same age as me which is sixteen, and taller, with somewhat of a muscular built. He has short brown hair that’s usually hidden under a cap he wears at most times. He spends a majority of his time working with his father in the laboratory. It’s not a chemist’s lab; it’s more of a father-son garage-type lab. Ash and his father build all sorts of equipment such as weapons, and armor for people to use when going into battle, and they also do custom repairs. As far as weapon-making goes, this only occurred during the war against the prevalent or “normal” ones, a few years back.
When I arrived, Ash was in the back room working on some sort of contrivance.
“What are you working on?” I asked, as I walked over to his right.
He stopped what he was doing, and looked up at me. “It’s a fire pack.” He answered.
“A what?” I furrowed my brows.
“A fire pack. I’ve been working on this for a few months now.” He looked back at his project. “You see this cylinder right?”
“Yeah,” I knelt down beside him.
He used his wrench to point to the different parts to show me what they were and what they’re used for. “Well, it goes on your back. The tubes on the sides here connect the gloves with the cylinder. In the palm of the gloves, there’s a screen.”
“Is that where the fire would come out?”
He waved his wrench. “Exactly.”
“So what are you building this for?” I asked, raising a brow to make sense of this.
