Ch. 18 The Legend of the Fire Tamer
This is a continuation of the Apocalypse Saga
For the other chapters in TAS, click here
For more stories in the world of Astra outside of TAS, click here
Another bomb shook the foundation of the complex. Although the building was one of many high-rise apartments, Selina feared this was the last one left standing. Everyone – even people she’d never seen in her patrols - cowered on the first level with their heads between their knees. Soft whimpers of fear and fake reassurances seeped from the lips of petrified children and their parents.
A distant missile shook the building. Selina winced as she steadied her balance. Of course, she had no right to leave the building. She was supposed to stay - look after her people - but she stood by for so long. She was beginning to think she stood by for too long.
She steadied her hand against the wall and shimmied her feet across the glossy floor. It had a soft malleable give that showed its age. Still, it held firm as the building shook from another not as distant as she wanted explosion. She stumbled forward and her axe fell from her belt loop. She tripped and seized upon it, jamming it back in place and giving it a little jiggle as she brought herself back up to a standing crouch. She sighed and made her way to the end of the tight corridor where she threw open the door to the outside world. Selina tried to take in the air, to catch her breath, to make sense of the moment, but it was caught in her throat. She coughed up the smokey dust and soot that drifted through the air.
The city of Caaremen was ablaze – and not in the way they would typically praise.
Selina brought her ripped up cloak over her mouth and nose and looked up at the apartment she had stepped out of. She backed away, trying to get a better look in the haze of smoke that blotted out the midday sky. Her heart dropped. The top floor was on fire, and the blaze was moving downward quickly. She dropped her cloak and ran back to the building. She screamed through the dense smoke. She made it to the front door, but as she brought her hands up to throw it open, a faint whistling screamed overhead. Selina paused - if only for a moment too long - and by the time she threw the door open, there wasn’t anything left.
She was thrown back and buried in the rubble - trapped under the concrete, metal, and old copper wiring. The fire was still high above somewhere, and she felt its heat growing. Growing as hundreds of souls screamed all around her. But Selina was powerless to help. She let out her own whimper as she sat beneath the rubble. She felt the warmth of blood pooling on her hollowed cheek. She tried to adjust her head, to avoid the taste. The flavor. The fear of what it meant for her. Her hair was crammed under more rubble, and she let out an even more agonizing cry as she accidentally ripped it away. She felt her fingers tighten into a fist, and she reached for her axe, but even though she was sure she was moving it where it needed to go, she felt no axe in its place. She felt nothing at all. And in that moment of helpless entanglement, Selina wailed. Not only for her own fears - far from only herself - but she cried for her family, for her community, and for her home. The home she was certain she’d never see again.
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“What do you know about Caaremen?” Seijun asked Akashi as they traveled along the old, ruins of the railway route.
“Eh…” Akashi had become distracted kicking a single rock against his worn out wing tipped shoes, “Not much, really. It's a - uh - it was one of the first modern city states way back when – and they used to have a huge agricultural output.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Gubin nut. So spicy it could burn a hole in your cheek if you weren’t careful.”
“In my time, Caaremen was one of the few world super powers. They had control over much of the west of Astra through remote imperial control. They gave that up long ago when the west of Astra turned into a bloodbath of independence.” Vey added.
“Well,” Akashi gave up on the rock when he found a larger one, and booted it off the elevated railway track and into the forest 20 feet below, “these days it isn’t so nice. Last couple decades haven’t been kind. Back in Paradia, we had a trade deal. Really, we just asked them to import whatever they could in exchange for aid. Monroe hated it. Said it could bring Zanth’s disorder to our door. Me and uh – and uh – uh –“
“Celie?” Vey asked.
“Wait… yeah. Her. Anyway, we insisted on keeping the trade up. Best decision I could’ve made until goods stopped coming. No one knows why for sure, but – well I didn’t exactly pull enough weight to launch an investigation into that. Monroe said it wasn’t important. She said we had bigger things to worry about. I suppose we did with the Void Tyrant and all that. I think she used it as an excuse though. I don’t know.”
“This woman, Celie.” Vey began. She paused as she thought to herself inside the ribbon of the sword. “She helped with this?”
“That sounds right, but - damn it, I can’t remember for the life of me.”
“Someone really messed around with your brain, dead man.” Vey pondered. “We should try and get that fixed.”
“I wish.” Akashi sighed. “There’s just these moments in time that are blank, or don’t make sense or feel like things are missing. It’s really confusing… like something’s been taken from me. Weirdest thing though? It wasn’t like that ‘til I died.”
“Something awoke.” Was all Vey said in response.
“Guess so…”
“What else can you tell us?” Seijun asked, changing the topic back.
Akashi shrugged.
“Allow me.” Vey began, “Caaremen is one of the few city-states to maintain a Protector culture – different from ours nephew, but from the same traditional roots. They were known for being untouchable. They were swift servants to the Duchess – the goddess of fire and rage – and they tended to the people of Caaremen well. Historically, they used to move like shadows.”
Akashi kicked his new rock off the railway and looked up at the murky clouded skies, “Oh yeah them. Things’ve changed, V. In recent years they began flaunting themselves as protectors. They’d stand in the middle of town with a sword out and get ready to fight soldiers with energy rifles. Zanth started circulating media of them being shot down in the streets. Their own ‘don’t bother resisting’ propaganda, I guess. There aren’t many protectors of Caaremen left – least not in the hundreds like they used to be. I’d guess maybe in the dozens. And the way I hear it, the ones who are left are real religious zealots for The Duchess.”
“Sounds exactly like who we need to talk to then.” Vey replied.
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Selina screamed. She screamed for help and called for anyone to answer her pleas. She cried and begged and clawed with her free hand. She tried to kick, but she felt something broken in her leg. Moving it was impossible. She tried to pull her hair from the debris but winced and cried as she grabbed ahold of it and yanked. She reached around with her free hand and felt for her axe. She could’ve sworn her other hand was on that spot, but she felt nothing. She ripped the axe free and brought it to her own head. She hacked into her hair. She could feel the hot friction of the axe knocking against the cement as her head came free, her hair lost. She was free to move - if only a little more - and she searched for her way out. In her struggle she hadn’t noticed that the bombings were still going at first. Now, with every shake, the debris shifted on top of her and she flinched in fear. Selina looked towards what she hoped was still a sky above her head,
“Duchess of the burning plains, grant me strength. If you free me. If you save me…” She flinched and whimpered as a chunk of concrete shook itself loose and landed on her face, leaving her eye bloodied, “If you save me,” She began to plead again, crying out louder, “my role as a protector of your land - of your people – will never end. I will grow old, and I will fight on. Please, my Duchess. Put the fire in my heart. Please, my goddess of the flame, take me away from this hell and let me be reborn as your servant. As your protector. Let your rage light a fire in me. Let me become your hand upon Astra. Your loving protection.”
Selina sat trapped for hours praying. She promised her love, her devotion, and her life to the land, the people, and the goddess over and over again. She repeated the prayer until the edges of her lips were bloody. Her prayers oscillated between screams, whispers, cries, and wiles. Tears turned to words as they hydrated her drying lips, and she gasped through the dusty air.
“Duchess…” She gasped as the hours passed to days, and still she called into the concrete abyss, “... hear me…” Her breaths were labored as she felt what may be her last words, “Duchess… please… hear me… save me so that I can save your people… our people…” Selina’s eyes fluttered as she felt the heat encase her, and the world began to glow as she lost sight of the darkness.
“I hear your pleas, and I’ve listened to your calls.” A voice echoed around her. “I’ve felt your pain, your love, and your compassion. So too have I felt the fire inside you. But fire must be controlled. Receive my blessing, and control the fire inside. Only then can you turn your enemies to ash.”
“Teach me.” Selina begged as she basked in the glow of the goddess. She wasn’t sure if the wall of fire that encapsulated her was real or if it was merely a twisted image of the darkness. Two fiery massive eyes appeared before her in the blinding light. Maybe – just maybe – this could be real.
“I will teach you.” The voice beckoned to her, “I will bless you. And when the time has come, you will turn your enemies to charred remains from the inside. And you will grow the Ember of your future. Do you accept this responsibility?”
Selina didn’t hesitate, “Yes, my goddess.”
“This may tickle at first… but know when you return to your land, your body will never be the same. Look upon yourself now and know this is the last of the woman that once was.”
A refracting light twisted about and created an image of Selina before her eyes. Her left arm was gone. Her scalp was bloody, and her hair was short and sharpened from the hacking of her axe. Her legs were cut, bloodied and bruised. One leg had been twisted and broken. Bent like an old bone soaked in vinegar. There was a hole in her cheek, and her eye socket was empty and blackened. Her body was covered in blood, soot, and burns.
“You will be reborn. With my love. With my blessing. With my little flame. My fighter. Do you accept my blessing? Do you accept my Ember?”
“Yes, my goddess.”
“Then let it begin.”
A light welled up in her toes. She felt her body warm as a golden light extended from her feet and reached across her body. It spread like ecstasy dancing across her body. She felt safer with each moment. As each touch produced a new life inside her, a new fire came to life within her. Her body twisted and contorted, and though she couldn’t think, she felt more eyes on her. They were watching the creation of a new champion. A new line of infused blood. The future of a people.
“I ordain you, the Protector of the Spark of Caaremen. The last of the Embers that burned out under the bombs of your attackers. You are my pet just as much as you are my partner. You are protector, caretaker, and love to me and my people. And now you go. Back to the world left behind in ruin.”
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“I thought we were almost to Caaremen.” Seijun stared at the sign. It was fresh. Fresher than most signs in the wasteland
“We are - I could’ve sworn we were. We followed Brahman’s instructions” Akashi said.
“I’ve never heard of a place just called ‘Barrens,’” Vey mused, “this looks to be a new settlement maybe?”
“Maybe,” Seijun responded. “Regardless, we need to push forward.”
“I don’t know, Seij. Something’s not sitting right with me.”
“I agree,” Seijun squinted and looked in the distance, “but this infernal land of fog, death, and decay… the future and its holdings are often clouded.”
Akashi nodded, “I’m getting this weird feeling. Something is itching at me, but I can’t place it. Like we’re surrounded by a magnetic field or something.”
“It could be anything. Just be ready.” Vey warned.
As they came closer to the settlement known only as ‘Barrens’, they began to make out a massive complex of campsites. Old, weathered lean-to shacks made up of rusted metal dotted the landscape. The homes were interconnected by barely held together roads made up of gray sludge and mud.
They disembarked at the now destroyed and abandoned railway station and walked through the mud. The sounds of quiet conversation in the lean-tos carried across the foul-smelling wind.
“Hey. Look at this.” Akashi announced. Seijun joined him and looked at the roadside, “Some sort of old rubble.” He bent down, his feet sinking into the mud as he picked up a piece of the old concrete, “looks like something from a building. Nothing that old though… but definitely old.” He dropped the cement and swung around on his sinking heels to inspect the lean-tos, “These old shacks, and this old rubble used to be part of the same building. Whatever Barrens is, it’s not much more than a refugee camp now.”
“Boys,” Veyeni whispered, “look up.” The two shot to attention.
“Oh, hell…” Akashi gasped out. Sprawled out behind the scene, framing the entire barren space, was a lingering fortress. With walls of black and shimmering electric red lights leaping from pointed prongs, it couldn’t blend into the fog anymore. Guards were like insects patrolling the top. Searchlights fought to pierce the fog but only made it worse. “That’s Zanth architecture.” Akashi gasped out. “This is a prison complex.”
“It is.” A voice said from behind them. The two jumped as they turned around. By the time they faced the figure, Seijun already had his blade drawn, and landed in a ready position to fight. It was a small woman staring back. She jumped with surprise, scrambling to reach for a sword on her waist, she immediately hesitated and began to reach under her flared out, oversized workers tunic for something else,
“Don’t move.” Seijun threatened as he took a step forward and pointed the sword to her chest.
“Nephew!” Vey snapped, “This is a child! What do you think you’re doing?”
“She’s right.” Akashi reached his hand out and pushed the sword away from the girl. “She’s just a kid.” The girl visibly relaxed. Seijun was flushed under his mask and quickly sheathed his sword.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay!” She said, her voice shaken. She was clearly very young, but a fieldworker’s straw hat covered her features entirely until she stepped back, her hands raised.
“You look a little young to be patrolling the streets with a sword like that.” Akashi said. He leaned forward and inspected the girl.
She raised her head and stared back with fiery eyes. He couldn’t tell if he was seeing anger or fear deep down. Maybe both. “I’m performing my duty as a protector.” She replied.
They saw her face for the first time. Her eyes looked brown, but they had this strange way of oscillating as thought they were a flickering flame. Her skin was a deep olive brown with brown hair in a long braid that went down her back. Her features were sharp and thin, her chin jutting out from under her hat. Her nose was sharp. Her face was caked in dirt and mud. If Akashi had to guess, he thought she might be about 12 or so – though a very tall 12-year-old as she was easily five and a half feet tall.
“You’re a protector?” Seijun asked.
“Yes! Is that hard to believe?” She looked so small as her face flushed with embarrassment, but it was quickly followed by a grimace of indignation.
“No, not at all!” Akashi tried to reassure her, “Uh…” He looked at Seijun, pleading with his eyes for him to say something. He was never especially good with children.
“How old are you?” Seijun asked her.
“10… but I'm almost 11!”
Akashi held back making any comments about her height, deferring to Seijun.
“Where are the other protectors?” Seijun’s mood shifted from on edge to calm and patient.
The little girl shifted her feet, then looked down, “I’m not very intimidating, am I?” She let out a quiet sniffle.
“No, that’s not at all what I meant. I was intimidated enough to draw my blade on you, and for that I’m sorry. You’re a very strong warrior. A very quiet one. A very sneaky one. I bet you’re the most clever young warrior to ever grace these longing fields.”
Her face lit up, “Wow, thank you.” Her eyes danced like a flame. “My mom said one day all this land will be my responsibility to protect. I didn’t think it’d happen so soon…” She lowered her head.
He smiled under his mask, his eyes glimmering with reassurance, “Do you know where the other protectors are?”
“There… aren’t any other protectors…” As the words seeped from her mouth, she hiccupped, and held in her feelings as her eyes began to tear up.
At this, Lady Vey appeared. In a flicker of recognition, the little girl looked at Vey, but quickly looked down without a second thought. Akashi put his hands on the back of his head and they both stepped away from the conversation.
“You can’t be serious,” Akashi whispered to Vey, “What was she thinking telling us to come here? What are we supposed to do.”
“Your goddess’ game isn’t one of giving us solutions. She often likes to give us problems.” Vey responded.
“A goddess sent you here?” The child perked up, “Was it my mom?”
“Mom?” Veyeni’s attention faltered. She appeared before the little girl and took a knee in the mud next to Seijun, “What do you mean by your mom, child?”
“You!” The little girl pointed at Lady Vey, “Your magical, aren’t you? My mom had to have sent you! I knew she wouldn’t abandon us!” Before Vey could answer, the girl grabbed Seijun by the hand and began pulling, “Come on, I’ll take you to my house and tell you everything. And you can tell me if my mom sent you – I bet she did – I know she did!”
“What is this about your mother?” Seijun asked as he allowed her to drag him through the streets.
“Sh.” She whispered, “If they hear us talking about her, we’ll be sent to the prison like the others.”
“Wait, the other protectors are in prison?” Akashi asked.
“Sh!” She demanded.
It didn’t take long to find her home. It was one of countless other metal lean-tos scattered throughout the lands. Seijun and Akashi were bent over at the waist trying to fit into the little shack. As they entered, the young girl scooted across on her bottom to the other side, then turned around and crossed her legs. She set a candle up in front of her and pinched her fingers on the wick. She held her fingers there for a moment. She strained and her features contorted. She moved her finger away and a little spark popped to life, lighting the candle.
“Close the tarp behind you.” She said to Akashi. “If they see the fire, we might get in trouble.” He did as he was instructed and then squatted down.
“I haven’t seen anyone other than you since we got here.” He replied.
“They sneak up.” Was all she said in reply.
She sat with her legs crossed and lay the sword she carried with her at her side. It was far too big of a sword for her to use effectively, but she clung to it anyways. Seijun crossed his legs across from her at the candle, “Would you call that magic?” He asked, gesturing to the candle.
The little girl shrugged, “Don’t know. It’s not like the flying machines, the bombs, or the guns though if that’s what you’re asking. The soldiers have that stuff.”
“Really?” Akashi interjected from the corner. “What happened in Barrens that there’s no tech at all?”
“The occupiers came. Mother told me they took our pride, our identity, our name, and our land.”
“Your name?” Seijun asked, “What name did they take?”
“Our home name. We’re not Barrens. We weren’t always barren. And that awful general, Zurel, wasn’t always here. But he called us Barren to mock our defeat and gave us his own name to make us sick every morning.” The little girl was performative in her movements as she said that,
“Did someone teach you these words?” Seijun asked.
“My mother.” The little girl responded quickly. “She says it’s important to remember who took everything from us.”
“The very same mother who is a goddess?” Vey asked.
“No, I never met my mom before. Just my birth mother.”
Akashi and Seijun shared a look.
“Okay…” Akashi said. “Let me ask a dumb question. Feel free to laugh, but… are we in Caaremen?”
“Yes.” She replied without missing a beat.
“Gods above, how long has it been like this?” Akashi asked as he dropped his head.
“A while… mother used to tell me that we had big, tall buildings all around. Beautiful farms and delicious food. Enough for everyone. She said we didn’t have to fight to live. But not anymore.”
“Lots changed since the supply line to Paradia.” Akashi mumbled out.
“It appears they need that life line now more than ever. And where is Providence Monroe to assist these people in need?” Vey asked.
“One day, I hope I can ask her.” Akashi replied.
“Are you from a big city?” The little girl asked.
“I am.”
“What’s it like? I always wanted to see one.” She said, excitement in her eyes.
“Oh, the city is a wild place, kid. I’ll tell you that much.” Akashi said with a performative chuckle.
“More wild than the forest? My mother used to tell me stories about beautiful forests! She even told me about one that was alive, have you ever heard of that?” She asked. Seijun glanced back at Akashi and saw he was becoming lost for words.
“Well, I guess that depends on the forest – though can’t say I’ve ever heard of a living forest before.” Akashi said with a playful smile.
“Are you from a city too?” She asked Seijun, not giving anyone a chance to speak.
“No, I’m from the Valley.”
“What’s the Valley like?” She asked
Seijun laughed, “You have many questions, and too few answers, don’t you, young one?”
“Mother used to say something like that too.” She said as she lowered her head again.
“I’m sorry for your mother. I’m sure she was a powerful protector.”
“Oh yeah! The most powerful!” The girl beamed with pride, but it slowly faded to darkness, “That’s why they took her in the night - when they took all the other protectors.”
“They took them? So, they’re not dead?” Akashi asked.
“I don’t know.” The little girl shrugged and fell backwards, laying in the hard, dried mud. She seemed to spread out like a starfish as she sighed and let out a soft whimper. Akashi looked to the side of the little lean-to. He hadn’t realized that the corner housed a small space for two to sleep in. The girl shared this space with her mother before she left.
“Where did they take your mother?” Seijun asked.
“Where else would they take a protector?”
“That fortress?”
“It’s not a fortress. It’s a prison. Since that day it was complete. We thought it was going to be a fortress, but the occupiers immediately brought in big vehicles full of prisoners from… wherever and loaded them in there. Then, they came for us. It took them years to finish the prison, but once it was all done, everything got worse.”
Akashi and Seijun shared another look.
“I’ve never done a prison beak before. You?” Akashi asked.
“Not until now.” Seijun replied. “This must be why we’re here.”
“Do you think you can save my mother? Can I help?” The girl asked.
Akashi laughed, “The best you can do is keep your people safe - whatever people are left.”
The little girl nodded.
They filed out of her home. Akashi stretched his back and looked to the prison on the horizon. Seijun put his hand on the shoulder of the young girl, “Rally your people. Get them somewhere safe, and we’ll meet you there when it’s all over.”
“I’ll take them to the old fields!” She turned and began to run through the town. As she went, she tapped the sheath of her sword against the outside of the lean-tos. People poked their heads out - dirty tired faces, broken souls and exhausted minds looked with curious eyes. She said no words, but the people began to step out and follow her as she hopped from house to house.
“That girl may be a great leader one day.” Seijun said. “Look how effortlessly they follow her.”
“Think she’s really a demi?” Akashi asked.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if she was. She’s destined for greatness. Can’t you feel it?” Vey asked.
“Feel what, V?”
“You’ll see.”
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Selina blinked, and in a moment, she was standing atop the burning remains of the apartment complex. She looked about the world and let out a deep sigh. As she breathed out, she felt the heat in her throat. It tasted like metal. An oily stench in her nostrils burned down to her vocal cords. The buildings were turned to rubble, and the sky was a haze of plasma. She missed the soft glow of the blues and greens and pink hues of light that were the night skies of Caaremen in her childhood. But those days were long gone. The beauty of the town was replaced with hatred, fire and death. They worshiped the burning plains, but now it was the fire that consumed her home. Something deep inside Selina whispered,
Lift your hand to the heat. Control the fire.
Selina brought her hand to the flames, and felt the energy consume her. The fire dissipated before her eyes. There was no heat burning or consuming her. No fire eating her. No destruction before her, but it filled her instead. And with every burning defiance of hatred, she felt her own pain growing. The death and grief of her people consumed her. The fire became a part of her, and something deep inside hardened with every inhale of energy. Her old apartment building’s flames dissipated and became her.
Love comes with a price. Fire comes with burns. Take these lessons. Control the fire.
“I will.” Selina’s voice was like a flickering flame as it caressed the sky and hissed like a flame crackling, then losing oxygen. But with every inhale, she came to life. The flames she took in was a part of her, and she felt herself burning. She felt herself ablaze.
On the ground in front of her, she found her cloak. It was charred. Glowing ember ends caressed the fabric of the cloak. As she bent down and felt her fingers wrap around it. Her old destroyed arm was gone, and in its place was an arm of glowing charcoal. As she breathed in the fire, it began to glow. She tightened this burning fist around the cloak. As she picked it up, it twisted in the wind. Another breath seeped from her nostrils, and the holes of the cloak filled with the soot of her body, patching every hole. The ends of the cloak began to blaze as she wrapped it around her body.
Selina brought her newfound fist to the air and held it high. She took in a deep breath, and the fire rose in her throat as she called out to her people. As she took a deep breath in, the fires of the bombings seemed to all coalesce around her. It all became part of her.
The fires were gone, leaving only the aftermath to tend to.
Protectors took form from the shadows and came to her side. “Sister Selina!” A man said as he joined her atop the rubble, “What has happened to you?”
“The Duchess. She has gifted me with life. She has gifted me a blessing.” She said looking to the sky, “I’ve been granted the gift of fire.”
Hey everyone, thanks so much for reading!
This chapter was a bit heavier, I’ll admit, but in regards to the inspiration on this one… I’ll be honest, this was written nearly six years ago, and while there’s definitely parallels to a lot of modern day stuff in here, that wasn’t by any means intentional BUT I’m also not shying away from it either and in some ways (in the broader universe of Astra), I’ve doubled down on it. As wild as it is, this chapter and the next chapter were actually based on dreams I had about a ‘prison break’ and then I built the story around that idea from there!
Anyway, I recently said we have about 6 chapters left in TAS. What’s that mean? Well, for one, I am unbelievably excited! We’re so close, and I’m so excited. Stick with me a little longer, and I estimate before the end of June, we’ll have a completed serial novel!
I don’t think I’ll be taking anymore breaks to work on other projects. I’m full steam ahead on finishing TAS, so get ready for the wild ride that is the rest of this novel. I’ve got one chapter that isn’t ‘complete’ and another chapter that needs heavy editing, but we’re really in the home stretch now.
Thanks for sticking with me. This has been a genuine labor of love, and I hope that has shone through. Catch you next week for chapter 19, Prisoners.
Destined for greatness 😭💛🔥
LIL BERRRRRR I love her so much