The Elderien Chronicles

The resurrection

Whimpers and soft cries woke him up.

He sat up slowly and looked at Cara who was crying in her sleep. Her body was smoky, and the space around her was hot, very hot.

Alastair slowly approached her.

Tears dropped from the sides of her face as she kept on dreaming. The space was becoming even hotter and he knew he needed to wake her up. But when he touched her hand, he suddenly gasped as he got sucked into her nightmare.

Fire.

A village was burning and the fire was spreading rapidly. People ran as best they could, mother's trying to keep their children safe. It was not dragon's flames, it was something else. The fire had a source and he needed to find Cara at that moment. Perhaps that was what she feared, the nightmare. Perhaps that was her village getting destroyed.

A woman bumped into him as he staggered through the crowd. It was getting more difficult to navigate through as more people kept pouring out. Something had formed an invisible barrier around the entire village, preventing people from leaving.

Alastair looked as the flames wrapped themselves around people and consumed them. It seemed very familiar. It began to remind him of that night, at Elderien's keep. He shook his head to clear his mind. He needed to leave the nightmare as soon as possible.

"Cara! Where are you?" He called out to her and barely dodged a building that fell. The screams of the people persisted but he kept on searching for her.

"Cara!"

He called out again, but then he felt something. He stopped, turned around, and saw a little child kneeling. The child was on fire, like how Cara had looked when she used her powers back at Elle's place. He slowly began to approach with caution and when he was close enough, he slowly touched her shoulder.

"Cara?"

He said, but the child suddenly looked at him and grabbed his hand. He groaned as his flesh began to sizzle, but she would not let go.

"Cara, I need you to wake up."

He said, flesh burning and Cara looking emotionless. He then cried out as the burns began to spread up his arm.

"Cara! Wake up!"

He yelled at her and suddenly, they were back in the forest, with Cara wide awake now and still holding his hand.

His flesh was burnt and when Cara saw what she did, she immediately let go of his hand and ran out of the circle, crying as she did.

"Cara, wait! It's not safe for you out there."

He called after her and followed. She dashed through the forest and her cries were the major thing leading him to her. On such an eerie and cold night, it was not safe for her to be wandering all by herself.

He followed her through the entire length she'd run through until he found her standing on a cliff, looking down to the deep beyond.

"Cara, I need you to step away from that cliff. It is not safe. You might hurt yourself." He said to her and began to slowly approach, but she did not move.

"Maybe that is the best thing for everyone. Maybe I should just die. That way, I would not have to work about hurting anyone else in my life."

She said and took a step further.

Alastair tried to use his magic on her, but somehow, she was subconsciously blocking his powers. How was she doing that?

"Cara..."

"I did it. I killed them all. Everyone in my village, my parents...I burned them all to ash. And then I did it again, at another village. Someone like me does not deserve to live. I do not belong here in this world. I need to die." She said and cried.

"You do not need to die, Cara. You are perfectly safe where you are and no one will hurt you, not even yourself. The mages in Elderien's keep will teach you how to control your powers. You will be perfectly fine."

"What if I can't?"

"What if you can? Think of the good you will do for the people. The lives you will save. Think of the wars you will end. You are a special child, Cara. You must see yourself the way I see you. And besides, I will always be watching. I won't let anything go wrong. I promise."

Alastair said to her and she turned around slowly. She nodded as she did, streams of tears still falling down her face. She seemed to believe him, and that was a good thing.

But as she attempted to step off the cliff, it suddenly divulge beneath her as she screamed as she fell.

"No!"

Alastair yelled. His magic was not fast enough to catch her. He rushed to the cliff and watched as her body hit the ground.

"N-no..." He stuttered, jumping down and guilding himself with his magic.

As he began to walk towards her lifeless body, he suddenly became overwhelmed with emotions. He cried like he had lost a child of his own. He fell to his knees, holding his Face in hand. The sounds of owls hooting could be heard from a distance and the moonlight shone on them.

However, at that very moment, something happened.

A mildly strong wind began to blow as Cara's body turned into fiery Sparks. Alastair looked in shock as the Sparks began to twirl, following the motion of the wind.

Then, then the wind became more violent and it seemed like it had become fiery. Alastair took a step back and watched what was happening. Then the fiery wind began to condense. It took another moment or so, but when the wind had stopped, Cara was standing there, perfectly healthy like nothing just happened to her, like she didn't just die.

For the millionth time, Cara had managed to surprise him again, and he wondered if he even knew what he was dealing with exactly.