Path of Fire Book one

Prologue

Willow shivered as the wind blew hard like thin shards of ice onto her face. Each step she took felt agonizing and longing to be at a warm, dry place. The cold wind howled like a monster, sweeping so violently that it took snow with it, making a terrifying blizzard that was so intense that it blocked every part of her vision. Most people would be at home at this state of weather, but unfortunately, not everybody.

Willow had never felt so cold before. She had just come home from school, and she absolutely had no chance of finding her home in a blizzard like this. She decided to look for somewhere dry and warm so she would stay sheltered during the storm. She walked and walked blindly, feeling the pain when the wind blew on her face like a thousand needles stabbing through her at once. Suddenly, amongst the heavy snow, she saw light coming from somewhere in front of her. She decided to take a closer look.

It was coming from a house, a small wooden one without a lot of windows. It looked very cozy indeed as she could already feel the warmth coming from inside already. Willow stepped up onto the porch and gently knocked the door. The door was answered by a pretty woman wearing a veil with a simple brown dress. But what was the most unusual part of her was that her eyes... they were red. Not the mean hostile kind of red, but the kind of red the gives you a warm and cozy feeling inside.

"You look very cold, have you been out in that blizzard? Come inside." The woman said as she gestured her to come in.

"Sit," the woman ordered as she sat down across her on a chair beside a raging fire. Then the weirdest thing happened, the woman made gestures using her hand in front of the fire. Suddenly, the fire went a lot calmer and more stable than it had been before. Willow gasped; she hadn't seen anyone do such thing like this.

"Who are you?" She asked, trying to sound as polite as she could.

The woman smiled "You can call me Hestia."

Hestia... this name sounded somewhat familiar. Willow wracked her brain, trying to remember where she had heard this name from.

Then, it hit her. "You are Hestia," she repeated as she stood up and bowed. "Goddess of hearth."

Hestia smiled and nodded. "My, you are a clever one."

Willow felt taken aback to receive such a compliment, especially from a goddess. At school, none of her teachers ever said that. She gets scolded by her math teacher and parents almost every exam for earning Developing's or even Support required. She tries hard, but she just doesn't get math.

"B-but Lady Hestia, I don't get it, what are you doing in the modern world? I-I mean I thought Greek mythology was just a belief to some cultures, but not real." Willow asked, surprised and confused.

"You see, all of the gods that you have learned at school are real. They are watching over you right now." Hestia answered as she explained everything to her. After she finished explaining, Willow found herself feeling a surge of anticlimax.

"Can you show me how you controlled the fire again?" She asked. Like before, Hestia put her hands in front of the fire and touched it using some kind of unusual gesture. Then, the fire suddenly rose about almost 4 meters high, almost to the ceiling (she was bad at math, so she guessed it was about 4 meters). Behind the raging fire, Willow caught a glimpse of another type of hand gesture the goddess made. Afterwards, the fire shrank back to it's normal size again.

"Wow..." Willow breathed.

"What's your name?" Hestia asked.

"I'm Willow," She answered.

"Willow," Hestia repeated as she turned and smiled at her "Would you like to become my apprentice?" Willow gasped "I'd love to, Lady Hestia."