Inheritor of Strength (Book one of Alfireán age)

First Contact

Alf bounded down the road, running for all he was worth. As he ran forward, the wind whipped at his face, and the forest melted into one continuous tunnel of greens, browns, and blues. His long legs ate up the miles faster than any blue-blooded steed or mount. His chest rose and fell, his lungs expanding and contracting as he pushed himself to his limit.

At long last, he reached the intersection where the Belkin forest road met one of the Empire's main thoroughfares, and in one long stride, Alf shifted his passengers' weight, turned south onto the main road, and activated the quick travel spells embedded within it. Pouring his energy into them, he boosted their power far beyond what their creators had ever intended.

Instantly, the world blurred around him, and like an arrow sucked into a vacuum, they shot down the road. In what seemed like mere seconds, the town of Carlos appeared over the horizon, and the anti-collision spells embedded in the highway activated, bringing them to an abrupt halt several hundred feet from the town.

Crimson flames towered into the sky on either of Alf as the golden wheat fields surrounding Carlos burned. Heat singed the hair on his arms, and a wave of putrid stench slammed into him.

Alf's' stomach turned, and he struggled to swallow down the bile rising in his throat as he stared in stunned horror at the canvas of death laid out before him.

Buildings burned. Bodies laid strewn along the streets as if they were so much fodder. Black smoke poured into the sky, blotting out the sun, and the terrifying screams of survivors pierced the air.

Alf's heart clenched, and he found himself unable to move; he had never before seen such wanton destruction.

"Alf."

"Alf!"

"ALF!"

The prince raised his leg and kicked it into Alf's chest.

"I understand your distress," Drake shouted, drawing his attention, "But we don't have time for it right now. If we stand out in the open like this, not only will more people die, so will we. We must move. NOW!"

Blood and sweat ran down the left side of the prince's face as he vehemently waived around the ice crystal he had formed using Alf's energy.

Broken from his stupor at last, Alf nodded and took the ice crystal from him. Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard then raised his right hand. A mixture of ice and water shot down his arm and plowed into the flames, carving out a path off to the right of the road.

Channeling a thick shield to protect them from the heat, Alf dove into the flames and out of sight.

As he continued to use the ice crystal to carve out a path in the wildfire, he raised his voice above the roaring flames and shouted, "See if you can find the strongest source of energy. That should be the blood oaths."

Olivia's weight shifted as she leaned down and yelled, "If there are any, I doubt I can see their magic signatures."

"Alright. Drake, you look for them using your Dragon Ra'avah, and Olivia, you look for anyone that we might be able to save."

"Let's hope I don't find anything," Alf heard the boy mumble; then the air around his ears popped and the sound of the flames faded away to a gentle crackle.

"Bring us out over there," Drake said, pointing to a small, stone storage shed.

Alf nodded, thankful for the prince's sound spell, a spell he definitely intended to learn, and started to carve out a pathway to the indicated building.