[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/P2IyNrh.png[/img] [h3]Ayre of the Pyre[/h3][/center] [hr] She had not expected her task to be so… Lackadaisical. Ayre hurried about, packing cloth and food away into knapsacks. Her father had instructed her, in case the tree was attacked, that they should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Her father in the meantime, had gone off to help the other Firsts. A few babies were being carried off and their cries tore at her. There was so much chaos. At least she had thought so. Then the Goddess returned. She had never seen Allianthé up close and she still didn’t but when the trickle of word came that the Goddess was wounded- Ayre felt as if she herself had been physically struck. She clutched at her chest and instantly longed for Ida as her thoughts swirled into despair. It was her father who brought her back. With a firm hand, he grabbed her shoulders and held her in place. “Ayre. Ayre.” he said, “You are trembling.” He began to stroke her arms in a comforting way and she was able to focus just enough to look at him. “It will be alright.” Her father said, “She will be alright.” For once, she didn’t know whether to believe her father or if he was saying that to reassure himself. Then the tree began to shudder and spiders clambered from every nook and corner. “We must go.” her father said, taking hold of her hand. “B-But our things…!” her own voice betrayed her, breaking with fear. “What you have will do, now run!” Her father shouted and shoved her in front of himself. There came a mad dash down the woven stairs and spiders, coated every wall in an uncountable amount of legs. The black so deep she thought she was running from the abyss. Down they went, followed by panicked voices and a caravan of people to follow. Her father’s guiding hand never left her shoulder as they landed upon the great chamber that would lead them out. She could hear and see the spiders beginning to weave, the blackness now broken by a growing white. The outside was so close. So very close! Then she was pushed from behind and went through a crowd of people, promptly falling upon the bark floor of the tree and down a few steps. Ayre was instantly stampeded over and she tried her best to cover herself but felt as her back, sides and legs were run over. Each sending a bark of pain from her mouth. When it was over, having lasted only a few moments, Ayre’s head was spinning as she sat up. “Father?” She gasped, the question muffled to her ringing ears. Holding her ribs as she stood, Ayre looked around and found that despite the roaring crowds somewhere off, this little stairway that led up into the tree was silent. Now woven shut with a multitude of spiderwebs so thick, it was like looking at a white wall. She repeated her question but saw no one. Her father… He had pushed her to safety. He was still in the tree. The realization struck her more fiercely than any stampeding mob running her over. “No no no!” She yelled, a stab of pain flowing up her leg as she began to jog up to that white wall. “Father! Father please!” She screamed, touching the sticky webs, clawing at them to break back inside the tree. Spiders began to crawl forth, repairing the damage and avoiding her. “Why would you do this!” She said to no one. For there was no one. And it hit her again. If their father was stuck behind there… Where was Ida? Once more panic struck the young elf. Torn between helping the father that saved her or finding her sister. It became an easy choice as she watched the spiders weave. [hr] Arbor was in an uproar when Ayre finally got an inkling of her senses back. She had to find Ida. That was her only priority right now. Find Ida. Make sure she was safe. Then they would both figure out what to do next. What she knew as fact was that the tree was sealed shut by the spider webs and that their Goddess was inside. If the frantic rumors she heard were true. She tried to find any of the Firsts or even Aenos, but the glimpses she saw of them were quickly swallowed up just by the sheer number who had become displaced by the tree’s exodus. So Ayre began her trek to the Forge. The last place she saw Ida. Perhaps that Syllianth might know, if he wasn’t with her. Oh what she would do if she found him alone. She took a breath, or tried to, as the crowds pushed in and the heat of the place bubbled. She felt herself slipping with frustration at the slow progress she was making. People just wouldn’t move! After almost being dragged by a crowd in the opposite direction of where she needed to go, Ayre’s anger finally burst. “Move out of the way!” She shouted, shoving anyone who came too close, who stopped in front of her. As she began to shove through, the crowd reacted in the worst way possible- a panic induced stampede. It seemed someone had been shoved into another and another, and the effect was poisonous as much was lost in translation and then finally, someone just began to scream. And then others screamed and shouted and more panic ensued. Ayre cursed under her breath and began to shove people even more and the crowd began to move. Bodies collided with one another and the very walls of the tree felt as if they began to close in. Someone was shouting that they were all going to die. Sweat and fear became palpable in the clogged air. Not clogged air but with so many bodies beginning to press into each other, Ayre realized it was just becoming harder to breath. Her small frame couldn’t work properly if she didn’t have enough room to even gulp air. True panic set in then. Somehow that corridor had become a death trap as people became animals that were too stupid to run, to get somewhere open. Around her people began to drop only for their spots to be filled. She couldn’t even look away as she found herself slammed into a wall. A goblin man and another elfling, one she didn’t know, pressed into her so tight she felt she would be smothered. She was burning so hot now. So so hot. It was so hard to breathe too. No space, just, no space. She shut her eyes, for it was the only way she could claim anywhere to herself. This was it. This would be how she died. In the one place where life was supposed to be eternal. The worst part was, she had done this. Darkness began to creep into her vision as someone began to shout some sort of words. She began to slump, as if a weight had been thrown off her but her vision darkened further and her last thought was of her white haired sister. [hr] The fading essence of a phoenix, a creature so touched by fire, was no simple thing. In these last moments, whether Ayre knew it or not, her very essence resounded like a prayer to a far distant ear. So it was that in the darkness another took notice, turning a burning gaze to look upon the soul in this final moment. Through the gloom of the end it drifted like a gentle stream of embers dancing in the air. It swirled around Ayre before settling directly in her vision collecting into the form of a burning fox. Its searing eyes simply watched in the space between moments before the sound of a laugh that crackled like a well fed fire resounded in the emptiness. After which a voice, not dissimilar to the timbre of the laugh, roared into Ayre’s ears “Oh little phoenix, such a predicament you have found here. I should not be surprised you mortals have such a clumsiness about you. I wonder what caused it, we were so graceful in that dance, but look at all of you now! Stacked up like this! So sweet little flame, what should I call this dear soul before me?” Perhaps it was a dream. Perhaps that dream kept the darkness at bay or perhaps her mind had already drifted far far away. It was just a final moment before she was completely lost in the flow of life itself. Ayre felt herself smile at the strangeness of it, of the small burning fox and the dancing embers. It was so profoundly beautiful. She found her voice in answer, or she thought she spoke it, like the small kindling before a fire took root, “Ayre. That is my name.” “Ayre… Ayre…” The fox’s voice rolled the name around its vulpine mouth as if it was tasting each letter. As it did it began to walk around the crush, inspecting the mass of tangled bodies like one would a fallen bird's nest. It huffed in disappointment more than anything and returned to Ayre, this time bending its head so its snout was only inches from her face. The flickering colors that constituted its being flaring as it gazed into her eyes, its toothy smile only broadening. “I like that name. It's a very good name, Ayre.” This time when it spoke the voice of the fox brought with it a comforting warmth, like that of a hearth on a cold winter's day or an oven baking well loved bread. “So tell me little Ayre, how did you come to be stuck like this? Hardly seems a good place for you.” “The Goddess…” Ayre began, taking in the lovely warmth with a crinkling smile, “Or the tree… She’s hurt and spiders…” She murmured, the thoughts hazy in her mind. “Had to run outside. Father is trapped. But Ida…” She blinked a bit, the ever present smile faltering on her lips. “Could you help her?” Ayre asked, “I can’t… My eyes are so heavy and you are so warm.” The fox’s head rolled sideways as it listened to Ayre, its gaze never leaving her. Only after Ayre’s own smile faltered did its own seem to crack with the plea for her sister. The vibrant colors dimmed as it answered “I could, in truth it would be a simple thing. But little ember that would mean letting your fire go out, smothered here and cold. And I hate the cold. So Tell me sweet Ayre, if I leave where would you find warmth?” Time seemed to dull and all thoughts escaped her own mind, except for one. She focused on it and followed where it led. She knew she had felt such warmth once before. A long time ago. When the world in her eyes was but something she could not fully comprehend. There had been a steady beat. A loving voice within her ear, despite all the pain, and that warmth. It banished the cold air on her skin. Oh, how she missed it, even if it had been so brief, like trying to catch an ember. Fleeting through her grasp. Yet, she wanted it still and a smile crossed Ayre’s lips again. Her eyes were glossy as she looked at the fox and saw- A soft whisper escaped her lips. “Momma…” The fox smiled as its form flickered, becoming the smiling form of Anat’aa. Reaching her hands out she gently touched the sides of Ayre’s face. As she did the Goddess’ own smile broadened as Ayre’s returned. She stayed like this for a while, letting the memory wash over Ayre. Soon Anat’aa spoke, “That is a good warmth sweet Ayre. It will keep you warm when all else has fled, there is strength in that warmth. Hold it, cradle it, nurture it. It is a good spark and good fuel. Remember it is all you need and answer me this one last thing.” Moving her hands under Ayre’s chin to support her head, the warmth of her hands grew steadily. Yet no pain would come to Ayre, only the sensation like she had stepped too close to an open flame, “Would you use this warmth to save your sister and keep others from the hated cold?” Ayre’s gaze held with her mother. For who else could it be? Such warm and tender hands, a mother’s hands. She sighed with contentness and when silence fell between them- the question in the air, she murmured, “Yes, mother. I would do,” She couldn’t help but give a weak smile at the thought of her sister, “Anything, for Ida and father and the others…” She said, her voice growing sleepy. “For Ida…” She yawned. A crackling chuckle escaped Anat’aa as Ayre gave her answer. “Then before you sleep, oh sweet child, I must ask two favors of you. First, I must ask that you hold that warmth and give it your breath, so it may grow, so it may burn. Know that it will not leave you, fire only changes it does not take.” Moving her hands once more to either side of Ayres face, Anat’aa leaned in to gently kiss her forehead. As she pulled back a smoldering mark was left where her lips had touched, a sign of the connection Anat’aa felt forming between her and Ayre’s fire. She let her power flow through it towards the nascent pyromancer. Yet her smile fell slightly as she continued, “The second- I feel like I should ask more from those of you I touch. But it is simply this, forgive me if you can. Now sweet Ayre, burn. Burn so bright that you light the dark and banish the cold. Know I will not leave you all the while.” That warmth enveloped the entirety of Ayre’s being. Beginning in her face and swirling down into her core, wherein, it at last blossomed. Her eyes snapped open and she opened her mouth as if to speak but only a trickle of flame escaped it. She drew breath and found that it scorched her throat and lungs. How quickly the dream had become a nightmare. She wanted to scream as that warmth became a blaze of fire, as it burned her insides, as people all around began to scream and shout for aid. She thrashed on the ground, pleading for it to stop. For her mother’s aid. For Ida’s coolness, and then- and then she understood. She stopped her thrashing and sat up as her flesh crackled and flaked. As her fiery heart beat until it was ash. As she herself did indeed burn so bright she became a pyre- Fire was change and she would not be afraid of it. In one flash to the rest of the world, Ayre was immolated from within and reduced to naught but ash and embers. Women and children screamed within that small crook of the great tree, thinned as it was. Many stood dumbstruck at what occurred and many others still helped those who had trouble breathing. And to any who still looked at that pile of Ayre, they would see another flash and then- as if the Great Mother herself had brought life to her- Ayre was there. Naked as the day she was born, hair like embers banishing the shadows of the tree with warm light. Upon her forehead, black upon her skin, were two lips ringed with flame. Ayre’s eyes snapped open to reveal orange blazes, fierce and determined. Before any could even speak she was moving, running from the tree, flames dancing at her feet. For she had a sister to find. [hider=Summary] Kellam (who is Ayre and Ida’s dad) and Ayre are busy moving stuff up in the tree in case they are attacked. Low and behold, Alli comes back wounded and then shuts the tree down. So they all have to flee their perfectly fine stronghold >.>, and so anyways, Ayre’s pa gets trapped inside after pushing her to safety and then Ayre realizes she needs to go find Ida. She tries to at least but there is a lot of traffic in the tree and she ends up making a panic and gets the air knocked from her lungs long enough in a ‘crowd crush’ and ends up basically dying. Where in Anat’aa finds her and they have a chat, where in Ayre thinks she’s talking with her mom. Ana then gives Ayre the gift of pyromancy and asks two things of her. Ayre then self immolates because that’s what Phoenix's do bb and then comes back, changed, and on a mission to find Ida. [/hider] [hider=MP] Anat’aa Starting MP - 24 Creation of hero, Ayre - 1MP MP spend - 1MP Ending MP - 23MP [/hider]