2022-09-12 10:10:40
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World Fire The Passion
Locke caught the syringe and held it flat on the palm of his hand.Don’t worry, I’m not going to make any more mistakes.The syringe wobbled and spun around.Then the syringe spun around once more.Flames coated Locke’s fist and he punched with all his might to the right, crashing against Belvon Laire’s ruined face.‘You will pay for this, boy. I underestimated you, but you seem to continuously grow the more you fight. No more games.’ Belvon Laire held his hand up to the roof and an orb of blood swirled around the space above his hand, slowly growing bigger. ‘This ends now. Call of the Bloody Night!’ Spikes erupted from the orb of blood, reaching forward and skewering everything.Locke gasped, shocked at the bloody death that waited for him. He shut his eyes, braced for the worst, but the death never came.A figure stood in front of him, dried and grey, electricity shroud
World Fire Erased Years
The slab read:The city of Justisar is Eternal.The Spirit of Justisar eats at the truth.Sparrow let out a shout of laughter. ‘So here is the proof. Listen well, all of you, Justisar is a city that has existed for centuries upon centuries, millennia upon millennia. It is a perennial city that never falls, and it persists by repeatedly shutting down the truth of its continuous existence. Read any history book that you can, and it will only date back a hundred years or so. The royals of Justisar know the danger of the truth of their eternity ever leaking out, so they destroy and erase all that knows the truth. I, myself, have had to claim an entirely new identity, and now I live a false life hidden far, far away from society, and yet they still try and hunt me down.‘A month ago, the city of Arindel saw its last breath, but what if I said that this was not the first time that the city of Arindel has fallen, and it will not be the last.’‘What?’ Locke shouted. ‘My city, Arindel, has exi
World Fire Reaffirming Desires
When they returned to the Amber Hall, Stag was very, very disappointed. They had not noticed how much time had passed. It was the next morning already, and Stag had been expecting them for a game of poker. Not only that, but they were also in too weak a state for their training.‘Very well, training will be postponed for today, but you will suffer accordingly.’ Stag eyed all of them. ‘Now, tell me. Something is amiss.’Arla looked from side to side of the training hall, noting how Stocke, Rickter and Kets were practicing hand to hand combat. ‘There is a secret that you must know, but I am not sure if, well, everyone else should hear it. It concerns the very history of Justisar itself.’Stag furrowed his brows. ‘Do Locke and Trys know?’ He looked to them, and they nodded. ‘Then everyone should know. I trust everyone here. Stocke! Rickter! Kets! Get over here. Miles, make sure no one can overhear us.’Miles reached into his pocket and threw down an odd, shell-shaped token. It gave off a
World Fire Royal City, Justisar
‘Where on earth is that Stocke lad?’ Stag kicked up his feet onto the table and looked over his cards. He peered over at Locke, who had quickly taken to the rules of the game and saw that uncertainty in his eyes. He does not have a good hand at all. He turned to Kets, who always wore her heart upon her sleeve. Nor her.Arla, Miles and Rickter were in a game of darts. Rickter had shown considerable growth with his aim, and Miles stressed his pride in Rickter’s developing skill to Stag just last night. As always, Trys was shovelling down bowls of rice.Wait a minute, something was wrong …‘Ahh!’ Stag let out a scream and jumped to hit feet, pointing at the headless figure of Trys. He dropped his cards, pocket aces, goddamn it, and ran to Trys. ‘Oi, girl! Where’s your head?’Trys’ laughter sounded out from the other side of the room. Her head was smiling from ear to ear on the couch, cackling to herself. Locke smirked and noticed that Kets was pale in shock.‘Come on Kets, you know that
World Fire Manipulative City, Justisar
‘Well, while you deal with the Royal Army Office, I’ll be off by myself,’ Kets said. ‘I want to do some shopping.’‘Are you sure you’ll be safe by yourself?’ Stag asked, looking uncertainly to Locke, as if to see what he thought.‘Of course I will. I know how to keep myself out of trouble.’Locke cracked a smile. ‘Oh, I don’t think that’s very true.’Kets gasped. ‘Locke, come on man, help me out here. I don’t want to go to the Royal Army Office. Do you know how dreadfully boring that place is? I don’t want to go there!’‘Go on, then, leave us to suffer by ourselves.’ Stag gave her a small, playful push. ‘Ugh, I hate having to go to this place. Follow me, Locke, it will be easier and faster if you’re with me. Hopefully they don’t try and trip me up on any baseless claims or anything.’They split up and went their separate ways. Locke and Stag went into the Noble District where the Royal Army Office was while Kets stepped through the streets. She wandered through the Military District o
World Fire Classist City, Justisar
Kets, eyes to the ground, the heavy weight of the hammer weighing her down, crashed headfirst into someone. She almost dropped the hammer, and as she regained her balance, she glanced behind her, gave a short wave and muttered an apology under her breath.She took another step forward, but that same person grabbed the cuff of her uniform to prevent her from taking another step.‘Sorry, girl, but a sorry is far, far from enough.’ It was a man’s voice, edged with the signs of grand nobility. He let go of her cuff, grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around to face him. His eyes were cold and cruel, and Kets bit at her tongue as he inspected every corner of her body. The man was unnaturally tall, almost twice as tall as Kets, with vibrant orange hair and a face contorted like a vicious tiger. His eyes lingered on the badge of the Amber Army.‘Amber Army, eh? A vicious smile crept over his mouth, demented, and far different from Cracker’s. ‘What’s a rat like you doing here? Has Stag made h
World Fire Passion Defines All
Ya …Ha …Ha …Pain. Every punch that hit her filled her with nothing but pain. Every second was spent suffering in it or fearing the next crash of it. But still, she refused to cry. She refused to do anything but stare Lion down. She could not let him have the upper hand. She could not forfeit her soul. She refused to give him any pleasure or catharsis. She refused to let Stag, the person who had given her a home, and sheltered her from all woes, down.‘All you can do is stare at me, but you can’t do anything else. Is this the best that Stag has to offer me?’She said nothing and glowered at him.‘What can I expect from such a hopeless and fickle man. He leads the worst unit in the Royal Army. He is a continuous embarrassment to us all. Anyone with half a brain wants to see him chased out from the army. What a pathetic excuse for a captain … no, what a pathetic excuse for a human.’Kets jammed her fist into his wrist and wriggled herself free in the moment of shock. Lion’s insults to
World Fire Wicked City, Justisar
There was an air of silence that passed between them. Kets kept her lips shut and her eyes intent, staring at her legs. Every now and then, her legs would wobble, and she would give a brief smile, but it seemed as if there was a barrier that prevented her from gaining her full control back. Locke kept by her side as Stag paced the alleyway.‘Well, at least we won’t have to return to Justisar for a while. That’s a positive,’ Stag said.‘Did you sort out everything in the Royal Army Office?’ Kets asked.‘Sort of,’ Locke said. ‘They could not entirely verify my identity, because, well, I’m from city in the middle of nowhere, which is now destroyed. Stag made a good case to them, but I think they were quite reluctant to have me officially join.’‘That’s because you’re joining my squad,’ Stag said. ‘If you were to join anyone else’s team, everything would be over in an instant. Oh well, at least this is one less thing on my mind. I’m eager to get back to the Amber Hall as soon as possible,
Latest Chapter
What am I to do?
Stocke, who healed unnaturally fast, regained consciousness the next day. Despite Belvon’s protests, he clawed his way up to his feet despite his dizziness and made to leave the room.‘Stocke, my boy,’ Belvon Laire said with his usual dramatic voice. ‘Lay down, rest, there is no good to come from rushing oneself.’‘Thank you, Belvon, but no. I’m in quite a bad mood, need some time to myself.’Stocke returned to his room, shut the door behind him, and stared out at the field outside. Flowers were blooming, the wind brushed at the grass, and the sun gleamed from the east. The weather mocked his foul mood.From the events surrounding the Laire mansion, he felt so utterly useless – and betrayed! He noticed the indecision in Locke’s posture and face. He saw how he had edged closer to hand Caria Laire over to Straza. But … was it really his right to be mad? Caria Laire had treated him so poorly back at the containment camp. She had aided Kelnaxx Laire in the cutting off his ears and tails.
The Fire that Burned the World
Aftermath of Scars
When Locke came to, he found that he was in his dimly lit bedroom back at the Amber Hall. Bandages ran up and down his body, and there was woollen padding around his shoulder where he had been stabbed. It was night, but a candle burned softly on his desk, illuminating Kets in an orange light.She sat there, her head lolled off to one side, her eyes ever so slightly parted. Noticing movement, her eyes sprang to life, and focused on Locke.‘Locke, your awake, ya ha,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell Belvon Laire when I get the chance – he’s busy attending to Stocke.’‘No, wait,’ Locke said. It was difficult to talk, and a nauseating pain pulsed through his body. ‘Can you catch me up to speed? What happened? Why weren’t you, Trys and Arla with us in the Laire estate?’‘We were attacked enroute. One of the Coordinator’s actors blew up our mode of travel, and we were stranded.’ Kets reached forward, grabbed Locke’s hand and held it up to her. ‘The Laires, now without their mansion, and their daughter
Sun, Moon, Stars
Fahrla took a step forward, tearing off her veil and revealing that same hair and face that he had loved and cared for all these years. Bandages wrapped around her eyes, obscuring her vision entirely, and she had grown a little taller, too. But aside from that, there was no difference. She stretched out her hand.‘Locke, hand her over.’Locke took a step back. Caria Laire, barely conscious, stared at Fahrla and Straza with terror.‘I can’t, Fahrla. I can’t hand her over.’‘But he is just saying that.’ Straza let out a powerful laugh. ‘You want to save Fahrla, don’t you? You want to live a life of peace with Fahrla, right? Yes, he thinks. Yes, to both. Yet he wants to stop us from acquiring this girl, which is a key to our success, which would grant you that peaceful life.’‘What do you want her for?’ Locke shouted, taking another step back. I feel weak, Elandra, I can’t hold the fire anymore.
World Fire
Flames licked at the branch that Locke stood on. The fire gnawed through the wood, turning the rich brown to a crisp black, and it crumbled to charcoal just as Locke leapt from the branch and reached for another in the distant darkness. What is this power? Elandra – I don’t want this! I don’t want to burn everything! The throbbing pain of a stab wound pulsed in his shoulder.The fire blanketed the ground, growing more vicious and turmoil with each passing second. The smoke from earlier had collected into thick columns of grey that forced itself into his lungs, and Caria Laire was whimpering in pain in the darkness.He gripped at the new branch, but a single lick of flame connected to the tree and now stretched through from that spot.Elandra, I can’t hold the fire around me anymore.For the first time, Elandra’s voice was cruel and demented.
Great Actor
Salocer gripped Stocke’s head and slammed it into an invisible wall. Salocer’s face was contorted in fury, and one of his eyes twitched in madness.‘I have tried to be fair with you. I have! Even the Coordinator can attest to it. Can’t you? Can’t you Coordinator? You can see my fairness. You can see everything! But you … you.’ He pulled Stocke closer to him, stretching out his tongue and licking the line of blood that dripped from his forehead. ‘You are intent on playing tricks with me.’ Salocer breathed in, and then sighed.‘I am the Coordinator’s best actor. It is the reason that I have lived so long and performed in so many of his plays. I do my best. He can see it. I give no information and I perform my heart out. I show genuine expression, and I show genuine rage at your disobedience. You see, when you’re performing for the Coordinator, you have to perform well, lest your family suffer for it. When you get into a tangle with the Coordinator, the best scenario is one where only yo
Empty Space and Men in the Walls
The sound of Miles’ sniper resounded through the room, and Locke was confused as to where it had come from, and where it had hit. His eyes darted around and found no signs of the bullet. He stepped back, his body came in contact with the door, and rather than it giving him that support that it always did, it swung open under his weight, and he stumbled into a room of darkness.Right away. But, I’ve done it so much lately, I’m starting to tire.Locke willed his fire to cover every inch of his body, but it did little to push through the thick veil of darkness. Thump. A pair of feet landed beside him. It was Stocke.‘Locke, they’ve got Caria. They’re hiding somewhere in this room.’‘And they’ve got a hostage outside that I don’t know how to deal with.’‘How did the door open? The door should have remained locked.’Locke’s eye
That Which is Unseen
Stocke held Caria Laire close to him and gripped his knife close to his leg. The darkness pounded at them, and all details of the room were lost. A white fear had swept over Caria Laire, and Stocke, despite his own fear, knew that he could not falter.There was a scraping sound on the tree branch behind them, and when he turned, he saw a haunting figure drag itself towards them. It was the pale faced man with the knife, pulling himself with his stomach flat against the branch. His eyes were wide open, and his pupils horrifically small, and age-old cuts ravaged his face.‘There are wicked men …’ his voice sent chills through their body. It was like a ghoulish husk, whispering words not from his mouth, but through the wind that blew in from the window. The words stabbed at them and clutched to their minds, digging their icy claws into them. ‘… Hiding in the walls. Scratching from below the floorboards. Up, in the crawlspace above the roof. They come for you! They come for you!’The man
Burning Down the House
Rickter was faced with three problems. The first was the fire that had caught onto his head and had consumed the bookshelf behind him. The flames licked at the open air, searching for flesh to gnaw at. The second was Calindar, who, despite her wound, looked wild with rage. Her dark blue hair stretched across her torso and sweat dripped down her pale face. The third was the glowing orb over Calindar’s shoulder. The orb that played Simons Says.Tick, tock, tick, tock.Bzzz Simon Says … punch a window with your bare fist!The excited tone that the orb spoke to Rickter frustrated him. It suggested such maniacal things with no shame or hesitance. Rickter climbed to his feet and Calindar followed sluggishly. Caw dived down and slashed its talons once more across her eyes. She gasped and stumbled, still clutching at the bleeding wound in her gut.He ran to the far window, cocked his fist, and punched through the glass, adrenaline fuelling him. The shards of glass cracked free and dug into hi
