Chapter 07

Arthur looked like he was remembering a nightmare. "I used to serve in the palace with your father. After Ferdinand froze the king, many of us escaped. Unfortunately the knights either vowed to serve the tyrant king, or all became immortal undead slaves, the drezir as you know them today. They were all turned into Drezir eventually as the villages tried fighting back. They were once good people but they were tempted by greed and desire instead of servitude and good will. Some obeyed to survive. Those knights who tried to stop the others from committing evil deeds were cut down and rizen as Drezir."

Arthur looked somber as he remembered the events from 10 years ago.

"So what did Declan have to do that made him run away?" Claire asked with eager eyes. She almost seemed unphased by the death and bloodshed in the story.

Arthur continued, "well it's actually got to do with the dawn brigade. Our mission, to find the heir to the throne and take back the kingdom from the tyrant king."

The heir to the throne? "The king had a son?" I couldn't hold back my curiosity.

"Well, we know Declan retrieved the child and hid them away in the kingdom, but we don't know where. The Drezir have been gathering up youth who have magic powers because they believe the heir will inherit the same power as the king."

So that's why Dad hid us in the bunker. That's why they found me... "What was the kings power?"

Arthur smirked, and continued treating me. "The King's Flame."

Byron sat up quickly, "That's just a legend! The King's Flame doesn't exist, how could it? Powers are equal, to claim that there is one only that can outclass the others would be an imbalance to the world!" This was the most Byron had ever spoken, probably in his lifetime.

Arthur raised a finger in protest, "ah, then what about the tyrant king's ice? Would his ability to seal the kings Flame not bring back that balance?"

Byron stopped and closed his eyes, "so your saying Ferdinand's ice was at least equal to the kings Flame in power?" Arthur nodded, "probably, otherwise the kings Flame would have overcome the curse."

I was completely confused. Magic powers? Kings flame? No one in our village had any powers except me.

"Why is the kings Flame so special?" I raised the question like it wasn't a big deal. To me it just felt like a title but it probably wasn't much more powerful than any other power, right?

Arthur looked at me puzzled, "have you been living under a rock? Ah, I guess Declan didn't even show you his swordsmanship... He likely didn't teach you about powers either"

I nodded, and looked down in disappointment. Did Dad know I had powers? Is that why we hid in the bunker? What about the heir? Did he know where they were? I couldn't ask him these questions anymore, I couldn't get to know him better. I wish I had paid more attention to what he did every day. I wish I had spent more time learning from him...

Arthur stopped healing me and put his hand on my shoulder, "losing a loved one is extremely difficult. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. But if you want to remember your father's legacy then you should live to give his work meaning. Help us find the heir that Declan hid away. Help us take back the kingdom and the throne." He smiled warmly then let me go. "That's all the healing your body can take for today, look, you're already much better looking now" he held up a mirror and showed me that my skin was now only partially burned. I had a few scars left over but they weren't too big.

Claire's eyes widened, "oh wow! You're kinda cute!" I blushed awkwardly. The only girl my age in the village was bertha. She wasn't very nice to me so we didn't really get along.

"Oh, uh, thanks... I guess. Um Arthur, could you tell me more about the king's flame?"

Arthur sighed and looked a bit tired. "it’s a lot for one night. But you will be here for a while so lets talk about it some more tomorrow. I need to go rest." Arthur got up and walked to the door. "Get some rest, tomorrow you'll all be ready for training" he left out the door.

I watched as he left then turned to the other two. When I turned around, Claire's face was right next to mine, "whoa!!" I jumped, startled.

"So you have fire right? Could it be the king's flame?" She looked extremely interested in my power, it was a little too much to be honest.

"Ah, look, I don't even know what that is, but is it really any different from normal fire?"

She got even closer, "yes, it’s the most powerful magic that we know that exists in this world. To wield power like that would be like having the power to rule the world! I guess that's why the previous king was a king in the first place." She finally backed off and looked at her hands, imagining what it would be like to have powerful magic in her own hands.

Byron scoffed, "yeah, sure. The problem is that a power like that would be fundamentally impossible. The truth is that magic is equal and power is solely determined by how the wielder uses it."

Claire turned to him with a sneaky smile on her face, "so you like to talk after all?"

Byron laid back down and rolled away from us. I got the feeling that he was passionate about certain things but maybe didn't know how to talk to others in a social way.

"I heard that the king turned his flames into the King's flame by training with a powerful master!" Claire exclaimed. Claire and Byron were both knowledgeable about magic but they seemed to be interested in different aspects. Byron seemed to look at magic as a tool that anyone could access and use with wisdom. To him, It almost didn't matter what magic you had as long as you used it right. Claire on the other hand seemed to be interested in the idea of magic, the raw feelings and power that was associated with the power.

"How do you both know so much about magic?" I couldn't hide my disappointment that I was being left behind in the conversation.

"we grew up with magic in my village." Claire replied with a cute smile.

Byron grunted, "my master took me in when my powers manifested"
I was insanely jealous. "So you both are really good at using your powers then? That’s so cool!"
Claire giggled like I was a little child praising a master, Byron just laid there uninterested.

"So why didn't the drezir catch you sooner? The Drezir could see my magic like it was a beacon" I gave a confused look.

Claire pointed at my chest, "Flame users are rare. Do you want to know why?" She had a very serious look on her face. "because the Drezir can see the flame even when you don't use it. Our powers are not as easy for the Drezir to detect."

I nodded in realization. They could find me even in that bush because of the flame?

Claire kept going, "The Drezir take children who show potential magic power, but ultimately they are looking for flame users because the king was a flame user. They often take you people away before the dawn brigade even has time to catch up."

I thought about what might have happened if Thena hadn't found me in time, or if my magic didn't manifest while I was being carried away.

Claire stretched and yawned, her figure was lean and developed. The stretch only helped to accentuate her body. "Ah man, I'm tired. I'm gonna get some rest, night!" She laid down and pulled the covers over her head.

Byron and Claire fell asleep quickly, but I couldn't stop thinking about my father laying on his knees motionless with ice sticking out of his body. I tossed and turned trying to get the images out of my head.

"Torin... Oh Torin! I'm glad you're safe! I couldn't check on you until now. I only just woke up." The female voice rang out in my head. The same voice from earlier when my flames manifested.

"Who are you? How are you in my head?" I whispered extra quiet.

"oh sorry I couldn't introduce myself earlier, my name is Agnir! Nice to meet you"

I laid there is utter shock and confusion. "What did you say your name was again?"