Fire Breathers
Cho remembered the day he had first visited the Temple of Fire. One had to show an affinity for magic, in the first place, in order to be allowed an audience at a Temple. Cho had: just a tiny spark, but a spark nonetheless. And so he had got his first tattoo of power, in order to secure his magic. The priest had taken him from his family, and together they had walked for days until they had reached the Temple.
Cho had never seen a building as large as the Temple. He had felt tiny, just a child standing before the huge stairs that led up to the column-laden portico. He had stood, fascinated by the engraved gates, among the other candidates who had gathered for the Audience.
A small side door had opened, and an acolyte had ushered them in, leaving the accompanying priests and relatives outside. There had been a long table, with chairs on one side. The acolyte had signalled them to sit. Cho had sat, not really knowing what to expect.
And then she had entered. Cho had stared at her. Not that he had had much experience, since after all he was barely a teenager yet, but he had thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes upon. Clad in black, long blond hair flowing, she had walked from one of the seats to the next, watching the applicants in turn. She had spoken a few words to each of them, words that Cho, who had always had a keen ear, had strived to hear, to no avail.
And so she had finally reached Cho's seat. He had almost choked as he had felt himself drowning in her deep blue eyes, but he had recovered and had put on a show for her.
Cho would never forget her words.
"You show promise... but it's not enough."
And she had walked on.
***
Cho remembered, as the Inkmaster tattooed yet another rune of power into his skin. That was the way of magic: every wizard had at least one tattoo, the one who secured their power. After that, depending on the individual's own level of mastery, one could acquire more tattoos in order to increase their power. It was risky, as the increasing number of tattoos could make them unstable, but many thought it worthwhile. Cho did.
Cho remembered. How he had felt when he had found himself on the street outside the Temple. The look in the priest's eyes, the disgust in his visage. His offhand comment that he could always make a living off as a fair attraction. As if it was Cho's fault. Cho hadn't asked for the power.
Cho remembered. How he had run away. How the priest had never followed him. How he had lived his next years, fighting his way up in the magic ranks. Finding clandestine Inkmasters in order to increase his power. The ordeals he had undergone, the tests he had failed once and again.
But every time Cho had failed, he had stood again.
Until today.
***
Cho stood at the foot of the Temple of Fire. He looked up. It didn't look so tall or so imposing. Perhaps it was because he was a man now, or because he had seen many more temples in his lifetime.
He dropped his cloak and walked slowly towards the stairs. He noticed people scurrying off, abandoning tents and stalls. His tattooed torso told them enough.
"Lareena, I summon you!" Cho bellowed. "Come and face me!" He pitched a fireball into the gates; it crashed against them, and in turn the gates flashed blue for an instant and stayed intact. A calling card.
This time there was no side door. A creak of light appeared between the gates and grew larger as they slid open. Cho couldn't make out anything in the glare, until something moved from within. A shape formed, revealing that something or someone was definitely coming out. The shape coalesced into a human body.
A woman's body.
Cho was awestruck by her beauty just as he felt a chill. He could see no tattoo on her. Even her first must be hidden. And she looked exactly like he remembered her. Cho had expected her to look much older, but he realized that she must have been very young back then; perhaps only a few years older than he had been. The kid Cho had been wouldn't have known it.
The man Cho was now didn't mind.
But she surprised him once again.
"Ah, it's Cho, the Akashian applicant," Lareena said. She walked down one step and stopped, her black robes flowing in the wind.
"You remember me?" Cho stammered.
"I remember each one of you," she said. "It's my curse. But enough of that. You summoned me, didn't you? Here I am. Show me what you can do, Cho of Akashia."
Cho felt a hot rage building up, and channeled it, the ink boiling underneath his skin. With a roar of fury, he conjured a flaming sword and a shield, and took a fighting stance.
Lareena just smiled, and effortlessly invoked a pair of wings made of flame, each one easily twice as wide as she was tall. She took flight, her arms ablaze with power.
Cho paled.
~~~~
This is my accompanying entry for the Weekly Writing Exercise: July 18–24, 2016 on the Writer’s Discussion Group in Google+. I am responsible for creating the prompts for the Exercise, so I don’t take part, but I still like to write a story each week.
I’ve been following the photographer Benjamin Von Wong for quite some time at 500px.com. His gallery has amazing photographs, many of which are just crying “writing prompt”. He has several where fire features prominently, so this week I decided to pick up two together and challenge my fellow writers from the Writers Discussion Group to come up with a story for them.
This is my own story. As usual, I cheated, since I’m not respecting the 600-word limit the WDG challenge has.
