What will happen to the Guardians when an intruder appears at the Pole wielding a strange new fire power and bringing dire news? Will they unite to defeat evil, or will they succumb to their petty squabbling and lead to their own inevitable demise?
...
The fiery tendrils of low-lying leaves brushed my face as I exited the forest with arms full of white flowers, the edges of their petals alight with pure white silken flames.
Gliding over the smooth stepping stones in the creek fed by the hot springs higher in the mountains, I slowed on the far bank as birds began chirping. Looking up into the thinning canopy, I glimpsed a flash of the summer tanager's red and black plumage above my head as hatchlings chased each other through the trees.
Reaching my home, a large stone building vaguely resembling an ancient British manor, I entered through the wide double doors, and began putting the fire flowers in vases, scattering them throughout the house.
Ten minutes later I put the last vase; a small obsidian tube with birds carved into the surface; on a table in a far corner of my library before folding myself into my favourite red upholstered chair in front of the window.
The spicy tang of the trees floated through the open frame, and mingled with the sweet perfume of the flowers on the table. A woodsy green scent pervaded the atmosphere in the room, overwhelming the others.
I sat up straight in surprise, craning my neck to look around the room as I remembered the Mother's last words to me.
"When the time comes for you to act, I will not be able to tell you myself, for my power will have weakened even further than it already has. I will give you a sign, nothing more, and then you must leave."
I had opened my mouth to protest, but she had prevented me, with a finger on my lips and a soft smile.
"I know you don't want to leave here, but to save everything, you must. Travel to the North Pole and enlist the help of the Guardians. You will need their strength if you are to defeat him."
"I don't need their help."
"Even now, his power is stronger than you know. You have no hope of stopping them, even if you trained your power for millennia. As it is, he grows stronger by the second."
"Then I will kill him now." The fire in my veins had burned, and I had almost teleported away right then, but she stopped me by laying a cool hand on my arm.
"No." her steely glare reminded me of my mother's; the same stubborn determination. She had made up her mind, and no amount of arguing was going to change her decision.
"Fine." I relented.
"Look for the sign," She had said as she began to become one with the green. "It will come with the smell of nature."
It took less than a nano-second to draw my gaze towards the flowers, sitting on the table an arm's length behind me.
A lone, ice blue rose was sitting in the centre of the arrangement. Its petals were edged in a fine layer of unmelting frost like a dusting of icing sugar, despite the tropical weather outside and the lukewarm flickers from the other flowers.
I reached over and plucked it from the vase, twirling it around my fingers. It wasn't the source of the lingering green smell, instead it smelled cold and fresh.
I recognised the symbol that the Mother had sent me, knew why she couldn't come herself, but I couldn't keep myself from staring at the perfect flower in trepidation and sadness.
Shaking myself out of my shock-induced stupor, I left the library and padded down the thickly carpeted hallway to my bedroom.
Stripping off my denim shorts and burnt orange top, I pulled on black skinny jeans, a red top and my favourite black leather jacket, then black, heeled ankle boots. Adding some thick black eyeliner, I wove my dark hair into a complex plait, trying to make the red streaks prominent. Satisfied, I left the room and went outside, bracing myself for the numbing cold of my destination.
Summoning up my element, I felt my entire body swell with heat and power, and I pictured in my head the cold arctic hills above the North Pole.
Fire consumed me.
(A/N) For anyone who doesn't know what it is, the Summer Tanager bird is shown below:
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I hope you all enjoyed my first chapter! I promise there will be more excitement next chapter, and you will meet the Guardians! Sorry, I know this chapter was a little slow, but it was the first one and I needed to set the scene.
