Blood shed carrys a price.

Ruins

The giant wooden doors opened as soon as the elder stepped in front of them. i followed close behind in awe. The room beyond the doors was ginormous. A purple lighy lit up the room with a dreary glow. The four walls were decorated with pictures of the ionians history. From the floors to the ceiling not one inch of the wall was left bare. i spotted some pictures of men with spears, bows and arrows, knives and other weapons painted. with gold emblems on their chest like mine. i traced the picture of the emblems with my finger tips. i couldn't help but wonder what happened to all these men. some returned to the village some just disappeared.

" My son." i turned to see the village elder stating at me with his wrinkly hands linked together. i glanced at the wall once more and then walked to my elder. His pale face smiled gently towards me and i tilted my head in confusion. whats he smiling about? "

You are the first to go to the walls and not the fire" he chuckled " i am amazed and intrigued." i furrowed my brow in confusion. what is he talking about?

He lifted his bony finger and pointed to the left. following his arm i fixed my eyes on the purple flame blasting through the floor. like a wild fire in a forest the flames went everywhere not caring for what it burned. a string of flame charged at me and i stood there in shock. i cant shoot my arrow at it, it wouldnt do anything. Frozen stiff i watched the flame charge at me but stood my ground. Something told me not to run. The flames stopped an inch away from my face and hovered for a while. My heart beat rapidly but i tried to look as calm as possible.

" remarkable." i heard my elder say.

The flame suddenly moved and formed a silhouette around me. it was weird to have a fire be so close and not feel anything no heat. no pain. For what it seemed like hours the fire finally moved and went back to the larger flame burning uncontrollably from the ground. i let out a sigh of relief and turned to my elder who was staring at me wide-eyed. had i done something wrong? before i could say anything he grabbed my hand and stared my palms.

" Your father,had experienced the same treatment. but he complained of pain. Did you feel anything? anything at all?" i shook my head and i could feel his hands trembling. i tightened my grip and stared at him in concern. " is there something wrong elder?" He was silent for a moment but finally spoke. " no. you should be fine guarding the flames if they decided not to attack you now then you should be fine." he patted my hand gently and smiled. He turned to leave the room and stopped short. i looked back at the flames curiously. why didnt they attack..?

I heard the large doors slam shut tightly and stood in front of the flames resting my bow by my side. sense i was alone i might as well start looking around without being disturbed. i looked around the walls once more and noticed other pictures that could scare anyone away with just one glance. The fire itself was rapped around hundreds of men burning them to the ground in a single blow. i couldnt help but think of what would happen if i allowed the flames to escape out into the village.

I shook the thought and continued down the wall. more guardians that guarded the temple before were plastered and colored with the same emblem as mine. i wondered if my father was plastered up there. I stopped at the last wall witch was in front of a stain glass window with the picture of flames on it. the wall showed the legend of the flames.i traced the first picture of a man standing in front of the flames and followed to the next where it looked as if the fire was caressing him... same as it did me.. i continued to the next picture and swallowed hard at the image.

the man was burning to death in the flames his skin peeling off of his bones until it was just his skeleton burning in the fire. i turned away from the wall and stared at the flames. i gritted my teeth in anger. Was this what happened to my father? was it the flames that killed him? i lifted my bow and shot an arrow through the flame. i watched the arrow burn through the air before it could hit the wall and turned to dust.