Death Touch, Chapter 11

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

Sara

Apart from a chorus of That’s Terribles and Poor Alberts, not many people had much to say about Seth Midas‘ flight from Palon, at least not to Alexis’ face. It wasn’t until the two women split up that Sara began to hear some of the disturbing rumors.

“Probably went the same way as his nutter of a mother,” one woman said unkindly.

Another had later said. “It was bound to happen. The name Midas used to mean something, but now all that follows it is tragedy.”

“I saw him dashing through the street like a madman. Seems his mother’s madness is genetic.”

“I tried to say hello, but he just ran past me so very rudely! He was like a feral dog!”

Nothing Sara had heard was even remotely helpful, but they painted a very tragic picture of the Chaotic family. Their mother, who hadn‘t been seen in the village recently, seemed to terrify her fellow villagers and none of them had anything positive to say about her children either. On top of that, he had recently experienced a trauma in which a partner had died in front of him. Sara had little trouble imagining that a life like this could plausibly lead to a deep-seated rage. Perhaps Ragos sees this as an asset. He’s going to keep me very busy.

She had returned to the Midas house in a dejected husk to find that Alexis had suffered similar results. Finding Seth was up to Clint now. Seeing nothing better to do, they had taken a seat together on the sofa in the living room and begun to wait.

“He ran out of the village in a frenzy,” Alexis grumbled. “Nobody followed him. Nobody saw which way he went.”

“Who could watch a hysterical man rush into the wild without taking any interest?” Sara said in a disgusted snarl.

“Ugh! I know, right?”

If there was an upshot to Sara’s situation, it was that she had gotten acquainted with Alexis. There was some tension at first, ever since Sara had shown up to Dr. Clark’s with Clint. But in his absence, they had begun to bond. Sara could sense an adamant spirit in Alexis that represented the best aspects of Chaotic culture. She was tenacious, as seen in their search for clues, and focused. If either of the Midas siblings had rebelled when they were younger, it most certainly hadn’t been her. She was a model of personal discipline who liked to run marathons and play Blitzroll when she wasn’t working at the clinic.

Sara had found it impossible not to like her and, eventually, she had won her over as well. Now they were already chatting like old friends; sharing the indignation of the villagers’ lack of intervention with the object of their concern. But it wasn’t long before their conversation had grown more serious.

“So, the prophecy that Clint talked about… you think it’s true?” Alexis asked after the two had stop talking for a bit.

Sara nodded awkwardly. “It’s not as clear a message as Serenity’s words to me, but it mostly fits together.”

“Wow. It’s just so hard to wrap my head around,” Alexis said, staring into the indigo plush rug that occupied the room. “First my boyfriend… now my little brother… are you sure Seth is involved with this?”

Sara shrugged. “I can’t say, as I’ve never met him. All I can be sure of is that I was meant to find my future comrades in this village. Clint seems to be certain, though.”

By late afternoon, it had become clear that Clint was unlikely to return by dusk, so Sara had said goodbye to her new friend and returned solemnly to the inn. She had intended to meditate before dinner, but as she entered her room, she found an envelope lying neatly at the center of the room’s desk. She hastily opened it to see that she had received a message from Clint:

“I followed Seth’s trail as far as it went, but he just vanished somewhere north of the village. I have reason to believe he’ll turn up later, but something else came up back at the Grand Temple in Seres. The head priest there is my uncle, so I think I should talk to him. I’m in the city now, but I don’t know what this is about yet. I do think it’s about our journey, though, so I’m hoping to learn something useful. I’ll write again in time for tomorrow’s early post. Have a good night.”

Wondering why this post had been addressed to her and not Alexis, Sara replaced the letter and began her meditation. She did not speak directly with Serenity again, but was visited with a strange notion that one of the chosen that she sought was somewhere nearby. When she emerged from her trance, she began to wonder if they had been wrong about Seth. But thinking was soon hindered by hunger and the acolyte remembered that she hadn’t eaten all day. Dinner couldn’t wait much longer.

She had just returned to the inn’s common room for her meal when she saw another lodger tucked into a table in the corner. She had vibrant purple hair that Sara had to guess was arranged in a Galean style. She had never seen such color in another human being’s hair and she instantly decided that she liked the look. Sara took a seat at the adjacent table and smiled at the younger girl, who had been attacking her meal of greasy bird meat in silence. Feeling Sara’s presence, she looked sideways at her.

“What?” She grumbled defensively in a thick western accent that stretched her vowels and rolled her consonants. “Ees my eating too loud for you?”

Sara shook her head pleasantly. “No, I was simply admiring your hair. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The foreign girl rolled her eyes and snorted. “You Restans could never make a bold choice like this. At least you can appreciate those who do, no?”

Sara could tell that the girl’s words were meant to be a haughty, disparaging remark. The people of Galeon were known to criticize Resta’s comparatively repressive culture, but she felt it hard to come down on the side of the people who happily allow anyone to forego clothing in public. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to feel insulted because the words that the girl spoke had sounded so empty.

She gave the Galean a fake smile and said, “I don’t really know if I’d call your hair bold. I think it’s really cute.”

The girl flinched at the remark, but recovered as she graciously said “Thank you. It is easy to do if you would like to try it yourself sometime.”

Sara smiled politely, trying to ignore the empty vibe that she was feeling in her voice. “I’ll keep that in mind! My name is Sara. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The foreigner bowed her head slowly. “I am Amelia Vilkoff. Charmed.”

There it was again. Even with this simple introduction, Sara could not feel any meaning in what Amelia had said. It was as if she hadn’t yet said a single word that was true, perhaps not even her name. Sara watched carefully as the girl returned to devouring her bird. She ripped the meat apart and chewed quickly, but not without some grace. Her approach was methodical and efficient; as if she wasn’t eating to taste her food, but to take in sustenance as quickly as possible. She would have thought the girl had been starving, but she ate patiently and looked altogether healthy.

When Sara had finally gotten her turn to begin eating, she had not been nearly as patient. It was a problem of hers that hunger always felt so unpleasant that she ate desperately to avoid it. Sometimes, when her robes felt tightest, it became clear that her desperation was overkill. She would then traumatize herself further with strict fasting and repeat the cycle indefinitely.

Amelia raised her eyebrows as she turned to watch Sara eat. “The bird is not going anywhere.”

After carefully swallowing, Sara scoffed. “You’re one to talk. At least I don’t treat my plate like a worktable.”

Amelia laughed. “You have a point. But I eat quickly because I cannot stay. I have been here longer than I should have already. I must be home tonight and I have still got a long way to go.”

Sara nodded in recognition. “Freedom’s Reach is two towns away from here. And assuming you live further into Galean territory, you could be traveling for much longer. Are you sure you can make it tonight? Maybe it would be best to wait until morning so you can travel by day.”

The foreigner shook her head gently. “I thank you for your concern, but I cannot wait another day.” She then stood up, her meal reduced to bones.

“I guess I understand. You have somewhere to be, don‘t you?” Sara said, patting Amelia on the hand. “I am pretty familiar with the feeling myself lately. I only hope I don’t end up spending another day here.”

“I am sure that would be hell. There is little to do here, ya?”

The acolyte nodded with a smirk. “Something like that.”

Amelia left a few minutes later with a promise to keep in touch that Sara actually thought had felt sincere. Left alone with her thoughts and her half-eaten dinner, she began to go over her impression of the girl. She had seemed nice, but that was just a façade. Try as she might to imagine what lie underneath her act, however, she was led to nothing, nothing, nothing. As far as the cleric could tell, Amelia was just an emotionless husk who was good at pretending to be otherwise.

That led Sara to a sad thought. If she was right and Amelia was unable to feel, something had to have led her to discard those feelings. She didn’t think it was simply icy logic or discipline that motivated her. If that were the case, she wouldn’t have any reason to believe that she had just made a new friend. As it was, her parting words were the only ones with any real warmth. She seemed to want to feel, but found it difficult.

Still, thinking about her wasn’t really helping her own dilemma. The Avatar of Ragos is missing. What did Clint mean “he’ll turn up later”? Speaking of Clint, he took off for Seres without a word and we don’t even have a clue who Salica chose as her champion. We’re no further along now than we were yesterday! That wasn’t necessarily true, of course. She knew who would be championing Crane and Ragos, after all. Even if they weren’t around, that was still more than she had woken up with that morning. Trying to feel better about her progress, she returned to her room and continued to meditate. This time, she felt nothing but her own steady breathing. Well, let’s just assume no news is good news. I hope this means we’re on the right track.

Upon opening her eyes, she had noticed for the first time that the innkeeper had left a copy of the Restan Star on her nightstand. Thinking that a little news might be nice after all, she glanced at the cover story and gasped at the headline. “Prince Jonathon Assassinated by Scarlet Starlings!”

She instantly regretted not having ignored the paper. She tossed it unceremoniously into the waste bin and went to bed.

Next Chapter

Death Touch Chapter 10

To be clear, I name a character after myself in almost ALL of the stories I write. This Maya is nothing like yours truly, though! This chapter took a while because I wasn't happy with the ending I'd written for it and it took me until now to work myself up to fixing. Enjoy!

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

Seth

Seth had spent the entire morning first running, then walking due north. He only had a vague idea of where to find Professor Marzett’s home. He recalled that he was retained by Hem Academy as a magical instructor, but was not actually a spellwarrior, so the knowledge of where he lived was considered privileged information. From the few personal discussions he’d had with the man, he only knew that he lived to the east of Beldor. Karatal seemed like a good option, but the professor had always seemed too sickly to tolerate the smog that filled the holy, and industrious, city.

x

So, he would have to find him magically. He could recall the feeling of his magic and it was this very same sensation that led Seth further and further, off Southerly Road and into the wild plains. He remembered with a jolt what had happened the last time he had wandered off into the wild, but he didn’t think he even had the ability to feel fear anymore since his sense of panic had worn off.

As morning turned to afternoon, the magical signature of Hector Marzett grew stronger. He could feel another presence supplementing it, but it was no one he recognized. Finally, he felt a rush of cool air which let him know that he’d just crossed a barrier. He began to scan the area; he had just wandered to the edge of a grassy valley. Wild silverthorn bushes dotted the area with their grey leaves and, at the very bottom, a young woman with hair as dark as his own waved desperately to him.

Feeling compelled to help a person in need, but also to avoid personal contact until he could have his curse broken, Seth was torn in his decision.  Therefore, it took an indecent amount of time for him rush into the valley and stop three feet away from the woman. To look at her, she appeared to be nursing a broken leg. As the spellwarrior approached, she gave him a smile of relief. “Thanks for stopping by! I was wondering if you could give me a hand.”

Seth did not move from the spot in which he had chosen to stop. “Sorry, but I can’t come any closer.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not seriously going to ignore the plight of a helpless, injured girl, are you? I bet you’re not much of a spellwarrior!”

That response startled Seth. She’s in trouble, but she’s so calm. “How do you know I’m a spellwarrior?”

This time, she rolled her eyes. “Because if you were a mundane, you wouldn’t be inside this barrier. Nonmagical folk would have passed through to the opposite side as if this place wasn’t even here. Also, I can see your seal.”

The cherry wood seal that served as a badge for the members of the Hem Order would have given any spellwarrior away, but he wasn’t wearing his. He had thought to bring it in case he needed it for some official purpose, but it was sitting in his pocket. Well, she basically admitted to having magic. I can’t pretend to be surprised.

“Listen, I really need a break here,” Seth mumbled, not necessarily to the witch. “I just woke up from a coma, I have no idea how long I’ve been out, and I’m pretty sure I’m cursed. I want to help, but I’m afraid you’ll be worse off if I even touch you.”

As Seth ranted, a frown spread across the stranger‘s face. “I’m sorry to hear that. Look, do you have any medical mysticism training?” When Seth nodded, she said. “Well, you’re not going to hurt me. Could you maybe just heal my broken leg? Then I can take you to my father and see what he can do.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Seth, brought up by memories of his discussions with the professor. “Are you Maya Marzett?”

The witch nodded as pain brought a wince to her face. “The one and only. I guess you already know my father.”

Seth tentatively knelt over the witch and proceeded to heal her leg. He nearly stopped when he accidentally bumped her shin with his palm, but she only winced yet again. Feeling reassured, he replied. “He was one of my favorite teachers.”

Maya chuckled. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear anyone say that about him. All I ever heard about his students was how much they hated him.”

Seth shook his head as the bones in her leg cracked back into place. The patient gave a little yelp, but the pain seemed to have subsided quickly as Seth stood up.

“He must not have talked about me much, then,” he said with perhaps a touch of hurt in his voice, “He’s pretty much the biggest reason I managed to graduate.”

Maya stood up gingerly and sighed with relief when she realized that she could once again put her weight on the freshly-healed leg. “Then I bet he’ll be happy to see you again. Come with me.”

***

Seth should have been surprised to learn that Hector Marzett lived in a cave, but he couldn’t manage to summon that feeling. Maya had pulled aside a trapdoor located under a silverthorn bush and dropped into the hole. When he followed her, he found himself in a tunnel in which the stone itself glowed with ethereal light formed into runic patterns. As awed as he was to discover this tunnel, the home itself was another story. They had proceeded through an ordinary-looking wooden door--itself an oddity in this subterranean haunt-- and into what looked like the entry hall of a lavish mansion.

Seth looked around bemusedly. Finally, Maya clarified, “It’s an illusion. We’re still in a cave. But that would be boring to look at every day, don’t you think?”

“Most people would get around that by not living in a cave,” Seth said.

Maya laughed. “Of course, but it’s not so bad here. Father says it’s better to be isolated from ordinary people. A lot of people tend to misunderstand people like us.”

Seth looked at Maya in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

Maya looked startled as she answered, “Well, you know. Us. Magic users. The mundane masses are afraid of us.”

“That… hasn’t been the case in years. Have you ever even seen a non-magic user?”

Maya shook her head. “No, my father wouldn’t allow it. If we didn’t need to rely on the mundane for sustenance, he wouldn’t venture out into their world either.”

Seth couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. To her, the world was a much smaller place than it actually was. To be isolated from the majority of the world seemed cruel, and if what Maya had been telling him actually made any sense, it might have been necessary. But in this day and age, magic was just as much a part of the collective consciousness as the gods who produced it. Why was she so ignorant of this basic fact?

“Well, it’s not all bad,” he said replied feebly. “The thing you need to understand is that magic is easy to hide from… the mundane. Once you get the hang of that, life is actually pretty simple.”

“I wish my father was as certain of that as you are,” Maya said wryly. “Hold on, and I’ll go get him.

Maya never returned, but the tall, wizened form of Hector Marzett swept into the room, looking grumpy. When he saw Seth’s face, however, his expression lit up. He nearly clapped Seth on the shoulder, but the spellwarrior recoiled. This brought a grave expression to the old wizard’s face.

“Mr. Midas. I’m impressed that you managed to find this place. I don’t believe I’ve ever told anyone at the Academy how to find it.”

“I didn’t need to find this place. I just needed to find you,” Seth replied softly. Only now did he realize how exhausted he was. “I’m cursed.”

“Oh? Let’s take a look, then. Esia.”

The incantation for magical sight caused Hector’s eyes to glow with a dim blue light. He mumbled incomprehensibly as he looked the spellwarrior over thoroughly. Finally, he asked, “Do you know how it happened?”

When Seth had finished relaying his story, the old man frowned. “Interesting. Well, I can’t speak with any authority as to the origin of this curse, but it seems to be a powerful one. The slightest touch could be fatal for the poor soul who makes contact with you.”

This was just as Seth had suspected, but something didn’t add up. “Um… your daughter. When I met her, she was injured. But I accidentally grazed her while I was healing her wound. So, maybe there’s some delay to the reaction?”

Hector shook his head. “Make no mistake. Contact with your skin would be instantly fatal. Maya would only have survived because she is a master of the Death Ward.”

Hector had once mentioned this spell, but refused to teach it to the young spellwarrior. As he recalled, the Death Ward is a spell that keeps the user alive indefinitely. While it wouldn’t prevent or heal any injury, it would allow a magic user to survive one until a healer or medic could intervene. This effectively made whoever used the spell impossible to kill through any means besides decapitation.

“Oh, good. So, can you break my curse?”

Hector shook his head. “I’m sorry. The power in this one’s too strong even for me.”

Seth began to hold his head in his hands. “Well, you’re probably the strongest curse breaker there is, so if you can’t, I may just be screwed.”

The wizard succeeded in patting Seth’s shoulder this time and gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s a terrible thing, but this curse doesn’t mean your life is over. You can still protect the people around you by wearing gloves and…” he trailed off, realizing how feeble that sounded.

“It doesn’t matter,” Seth said in a disheartened mumble. “Not if I can never touch anyone I care about again. I’d rather be dead.”

As he said these words, he felt a heavy force on his back, as if someone had punched him. He looked around in a bewildered frenzy. “What the hell, Professor?”

“What?” Hector said, his eyes arranged in a look of genuine shock.

Whatever had happened, Hector did not seem to be the cause.

“I feel like I just got punched in the back!”

“Maya!” Hector roared.

The young witch returned in a hurry. “What?”

“Did you do something to our guest?”

When Maya shook her head in disbelief, asking why she would want to do that, Seth had no trouble believing her. Do not be afraid of your power. Those words did not seem to have come from anywhere in particular, but he was sure they were his own. And as he reflected on them, he remembered the teachings of Ragos.

“Power is a burden. Power is a blessing.”

The two Marzetts raised their eyebrows at Seth, but he was ignoring them now.

“The scope of blessings and burdens are ours to determine.”

“Seth, m’boy. Are you feeling alright?”

Seth nodded and smiled. “These are the fundamental truths of Ragos. If I can’t break this curse, I’m just going to have to use it. Giving up isn’t what Ragos would want me to do.”

Maya raised her eyebrows in bemusement, but Hector laughed. “You Chaotics can turn any problem into a simple one, can’t you?”

Seth chuckled in agreement. “Maybe. But am I wrong?”

Hector nodded as he fixed him with appraising look. “Well, even if you frame your curse as an ability to kill by touch, I still wouldn’t want it. But as you really have no choice in the matter, I suppose it’s fine to try to make something positive of it. So what are you going to do now?”

Seth let out a slow sigh and shrugged noncommittally. “Well, I’m stuck with this curse for now, so I’m going to go home and start working on protecting other people from it.”

Hector clapped his hand to his mouth and began to cough. This fit persisted for a few seconds before he managed to reply, “If I…” He began to cough once more.

Seth furrowed his eyebrows as he looked on. “Are you going to be alright?”

Hector ceased his coughing and cleared his throat. “Quite ill, in fact. But you’ve more important things to concern yourself with at present time. As I was saying, I would suggest you return to the Academy instead and seek the elders’ counsel.”

“Why? What can the elders do that you can’t?”

The former teacher chuckled briefly before a single cough punctuated him. “You give me far too much credit, m’boy! I will gladly claim to have the best cursebreaking skill in the order, but the Elders can assist you in other ways. Besides, don’t you think they ought to know what has happened to you, one of their own?”

Seth nodded reluctantly. “I guess it’s still hard to think of them that way. This all happened so soon after my graduation that it’s still hard to process that I’m one of you guys now.”

Hector extended his arm, then quickly retracted it. “You have worked hard for your seal, Mr. Midas. The elders will help you if they can.”

Seth had heard enough of his mother’s drunken rants about Hem Academy’s elders to be skeptical of this claim, but it wasn’t as if he had an alternative. In fact, it didn’t hurt to have one more hope of wiping away the curse quickly. “Alright, I’ll see what they have to say. Thanks for the advice as always, professor.”

Hector let out another another hacking fit that lasted longer than the previous two. When he finally relented, he murmured. “You are quite welcome. But now I hope you would consider returning the favor for a change.”

He’s never asked me for anything! “Anything, professor!”

“I know that I have always appeared to be the wisest person you know, but the time has come for you to understand that I have been quite the fool for such a long time.”

At this, Maya began to laugh. “That’s not true! You may as well have just told him the sky is purple!”

The professor shook his head sadly and replied. “I’m afraid it is, my dear. The fact that you haven’t set foot beyond the bounds of my warding is evidence of that.”

The witch looked confused as she said, “You said that I can never go outside because mundanes are afraid of us!”

“Actually, we just call them people,” Seth interjected.

“That was a lie, my sweet lily,” Hector mumbled as his hand floated to his mouth again in anticipation. Having apparently managed to suppress the coughs this time, he continued, “The truth is that magic has been accepted by the kingdom for years.”

Seth could tell that Maya looked hurt as she asked, “Why, then? And why wouldn’t you tell me the truth?”

“The truth is that I’m a coward,” he replied.

“Stupid and a coward? Are we both learning something new about you or have you gone temporarily insane?” Seth quipped.

The mask of guilt in Hector’s face twitched slightly at Seth’s remark, but he chose not to acknowledge it. “I have kept you in this place because your mother was killed by someone with no understanding of magic. Even then, anti-magic sentiment had fallen into the fringes of our society, but we were unlucky to have met some bad people. I have kept you here because I thought I could protect you from all of the random violence of this world and used the dying bigotry of your mother’s killer as an excuse. I lied to you because I didn’t want you to romanticize the outside world and make it harder for me to keep you here.”

He sounds like the opposite of my mom.

“But that ends now,” the professor continued. “I know that you are not happy with this life, and it is time for that to change.”

“I’m personally relieved to hear that,” Seth said awkwardly, “But… didn’t you want something from me?”

Hector nodded to Seth and said, “This is relevant to my request. You see, as I have mentored you when you were struggling with your magic at the Academy, I must ask you to pass this favor on to my daughter.” He turned to Maya and added. “Maya, it is time for you to learn the truth about the outside world, and if you both agree to the idea, I would like for Seth to be your teacher.”

“What changed?” Maya snapped, somewhat testily. “You’ve been so eager to hide me from everything and everyone until now, and I’ve been able to make a Death Ward for years!”

Hector looked almost beaten as he said, “It was a mistake for me to believe that I could keep you happy by shielding you from the world. I am truly sorry for that, not only because your desire to leave has been apparent since you were a child, but because I won’t be around forever.”

“Is this about your illness?” Seth asked with his eyes widened with surprised. No way! It’s just a cough!

Hector nodded gravely. “I have less than a year left to live and, to be frank, I have no interest in discussing that hollow subject.”

Maya nodded understandingly. “You don’t want me to worry anymore.”

“Precisely! The time is rapidly approaching when you will have to go on in this world without me. But you can’t wait that long to learn how to do so. You have so much to learn!”

For several tense seconds, the father and daughter looked into each other’s eyes. All was quiet until Maya sighed and said, “Damn you. I want to hate you for lying to me for so long, but in your own way, I know you were only doing what you thought was best.”

Hector slumped a little as he said,  “But I was still wrong. So go. Whether you find satisfaction out there or decide to come home, I will only be able to pass into Fadal without regrets if I can leave you with your mother’s smile.”

“You will father,” Maya mumbled. Seth thought she looked close to tears.

Hector looked over to Seth once more and said, “I know that it is a lot to ask Mr. Midas, but can I trust you to guide her as I’ve guided you?”

Seth nodded resolutely. “I’m not going to lie. This is a weird time to be taking on such a responsibility, but I owe you everything, sir. If Maya wants to come along with me, she can.”

“Thank you, Mr. Midas. And Maya, I am sorry once again. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Maya said while giving her father a deep hug. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. You taught me more than you’ve given yourself credit for. If my magic is really okay out in the world now, I have nothing to fear, right?”

And so, after retiring shortly to her room to both make and pack a travel bag, Maya clambered out of the cave that she had called home her entire life behind Seth, whose mind now raced with nerves. He didn’t fully understand what he’d just agreed to, and was soon overwhelmed with thoughts of his next move. Did she plan to follow him? Was he expected to give her lessons like the professor had done for him? The only thing that was sure to him at this point was Hector Marzett’s last piece of advice for him. So, he turned north and began to walk in earnest.

As they wandered along in silence, Maya grabbed his hand. Seth jumped at this sensation, not least of all because of his curse. He relaxed upon recalling the spell she had to protect herself from him, but was still confused.

“What are you doing?”

“When my father first started taking me outdoors, he would hold onto my hand so that I wouldn’t get lost. This will be my first time leaving my father’s wards, so I just thought… is that weird?”

It’s warm. “No, it’s fine. This is all new to you right? I can understand you being a little nervous.”

Without letting go of her hand, Seth continued his long walk to Hem Academy in silence. Eventually he would have to think of something to talk about, but his curse and the fate of his greatest mentor left him with too much to think about.

Next Chapter

The Pyromancers

From the left: Pyromancers Sarnai Kayonyn, Katja Arud, and notable prodigy Laila Arud.

Heron's rich history of Chaos worship has produced an uncommon breed of warrior that strike fear into their enemies. These people are known as pyromancers, fighters who are granted power over fire by Chaos himself. With these abilities, the people of Heron and their ancestors honor Chaos by exerting power against their most dangerous threats. Historically, pyromancers exist in two breeds. Ancient pyromancers from the time when Heron was known as Pyris were often arrogant and bloodthirsty, owing to their imperialistic culture of the First Age.

These warriors often enjoyed status that was subordinate only to their clan chieftains. Because of this disproportionate amount of power, the strength of each clan was partially measured in the number of pyromancers who chose to follow them. Wars were fought both with and for their power and still, they would fight with ferocious zeal for their clan. But this explosion of power had the unfortunate, but not entirely unanticipated, downside of bringing countless lives to an end. Where the ground wasn't stained with blood, it was blackened by scorch marks and soot. Following the War of the Gods near the end of the First Age, Chaos agreed with the other deities that his power was too dangerous to share with mortals. Thus, for the entirety of the Second Age, there hadn't been a single new pyromancer, although many of their techniques have long since been appropriated by the arcanists of Resta.

Pyromancy returned at the beginning of the Third Age when the Avatar of Chaos trekked through Heron to dispense Chaos' power once more in the face of an enemy that threatened even the gods. He first bestowed the gift upon Sun Jun, a driver working for the  noble Crowmont family. Together, the Avatar and the first of the new generation of flame-wielding warriors blazed a trail through Heron to build a new army of flame-wielding northern warriors. This journey ended with the assassination of Lord Colin Piers and the ascension of the Avatar's second apprentice, Aden Piers.

Pyromancers of the Third Age are more disciplined than their First Age counterparts, often conforming to the culture and training style of modern Heronite soldiers. Despite this, modern practitioners of pure fire magic often have a slight air of informality in which they admire each other's use of it. This is because pyromancy is unlike most magical disciplines, which rely on prayers or incantations to produce specific effects. Instead, the fire one wields moves according to either the caster's imagination or instinct.

As a result of this freeform approach to magic, each pyromancer is encouraged to develop an individual style that they are personally comfortable with. Some can form living shapes with their fire, like former mountain bandit Jack Saikarn, who uses his skill to form a flying horse that can be ridden only by himself. Others can manipulate heat so finely as to produce high energy effects in the air, such as Laila Arud, a famous prodigy who can use her power to create electricity or powerful airborne explosions. These limitless possibilities make it necessary for the leaders who induct new pyromancers to be selective with their candidates, but hopeful members of the lower class look to Chaos' power as a great equalizer for all.

To this point, one notable development in the pyromancer leadership in the recent years was the ascension of Lord Karn's daughter, Umi Karn, who famously eloped with Sun Jun soon after he was bestowed with the gift, and who rose through the ranks quickly, soon surpassing her husband. Her natural charisma, as well as her penchant for traveling Heron and recruiting young women of all classes and situations, has earned her the steadfast loyalty of the many young pyromancers who she has taken under her wing. There are rumblings of disapproval among some of Heron's more traditional elements, but this has done nothing to deter her. 

The Five Races of Comalan

Following is a partial list of information about the five principle races of Comalan. Referred to collectively as mortalkind, each of these races resemble something different to the gods, but all of them symbolize the lost potential of their ancient civilization.

Human 

Those created by Crane for the purpose of improving on the biological design of the kilgor. All humans are directly descended from the first living person, a champion known as Morta. They innately possess the ability to use Blood Magic and can do so with more efficiency than any other person. The Doctrines of both Power and Knowledge converge only on the point that humanity is meant to carry on with the lessons of the Gods’ mistakes.

Elf

Elves are the longest lived race with the ability to reach nearly a thousand years of age. The early lenof tribes from which elves are descended were spawned by the God of Knowledge midway into the First Age as subjects in unknown biological experiments. They squabbled with the dwarof clans for decades before finally driving their enemies into hiding. It is said that witnessing this carnage inspired Serenity to intervene in their culture, causing them to feel a deep reverence for life that has persisted through the ages. It is also said that the lenof were reshaped in the Gods’ image, making elves the closest to the divine in appearance.

Sai'mul

Deceased Mortalkind who were, for some reason or another, unable to pass into the afterlife. They can't use any divine magic and no longer possess the ability to naturally heal, but can only be killed once their brain is destroyed.

Oni

Anyone who is determined to be equally of human and elven blood. Their elven blood allows them to age at half the rate of a human while their human heritage gives them the ability to use most forms of blood magic. The mating of humans and elves is generally discouraged due to the cultural hatred between Tanis and Heron. The word oni is assigned because neither race considers a half-breed to be one of them-- a statement which is meant as either a compliment or insult depending on who you ask.

Dwarf

Primal men who resided in Terris, but were driven deep underground before the coming of Serenity by the progenitors of the elven race. Forced to live in a harsh environment, they have evolved to be tough and can draw sustenance from geothermal energy. 

Talib's Arrow

Talib’s Arrow refers to a saga of tales about a legendary figure in Galean lore named Talib, who is said to have circumnavigated the world several times. The tales say that the man looked at the stars and pledged to follow a constellation (now also called Talib’s Arrow) to see where it would take him. Because of the tilt and rotation of the planet, Talib’s path was never exactly the same no matter how many times he followed the arrow. Modern scholars claim that the true saga includes over a thousand tales of Talib on his travels. Several regions of Galeon have their own tales about Talib, and the things that happened when he visited them. Many attempts have been made to compile all the tales into a single source, but none have been absolutely complete. 

One well-known tale in Talib's saga tells of an instance in which Talib and a traveling companion of his, a shaman from the isles across the southern ocean, were able to charm and outsmart a power-hungry Rasharan sorcerer who had the ability to bend others to his will. The sorcerer attempted to use his power to turn the people of Rashara into his adoring subjects with him as their King. Talib acts as the intellectual, rational influence in the story, while his companion acts as a moral and emotional foil to him as they combine their strengths to defeat the sorcerer. The story appeals to the egalitarian, anti-monarchic principles of many Galeans, and is often cited as a good example of how Cranite and Salican principles can compliment one another. 

Continental Map of Comalan

A Restan Cartographer's Conception of Mortanis

Map of Mortanis

The geography of Comalan consists of an innumerable assortment of islands, some inhabited, and a single continent which takes up the northern part of the Western hemisphere. Since the waters around Comalan are difficult to sail, most of the islands remain uncharted and standard maps only depict this single continent. The above example would be of Restan print, and is drawn as always, by the talented Volt. We've decided to make this map the background of the site, but here is the map in its unobstructed glory.

What's Here?

This map depicts the general landscape of four of the world's five great nations.

Heron - To the north, Heronite lands sit at the highest elevation and has the coldest temperatures. Mountain passes frequently are generally covered in snow in the cold seasons, making travel through the region difficult.

Tanis - To the west, the woodlands of Tanis are covered in overgrown trees which make the full scope of land between its borders difficult to chart. This makes roads and beacons necessary to navigate between cities.

Resta - To the west, the kingdom of Resta consists of rolling prairies pocketed between hilly regions bordering the northern and southern tips of the country.

Galeon - To the south, Galeon enjoys a diverse climate with a lot of arable land and a long coastline that stretches along the entire southern shore. The land gets drier the further west you go

Not Pictured

Midania - Midania's incorporated islands are scattered through the world's entire northern hemisphere save those within 100 miles of the continent with the capitol appearing close to the equator in the east.

Hydrospace - The stormstruck southern half of the western hemisphere. The harsh weather makes it impossible for most sailors to navigate the region, though occasional immigrants from the area confirm that there is land there that can sustain mortal life.

The Sunken Lands - Located in the planet's southeast quadrant, the Sunken Lands are two ancient landmasses that disappeared from the face of the planet at a point before recorded history in Mortanis. Its lost cities can still be found on the ocean floor offering countless mysteries about the lands' mysterious past.