"Kolara..."
Where was she? The world was ablaze-- a sea of crimson whisked back and forth like a storm with a mind of it's own, blinding her vision and causing her to squint. What happened? She tried hard to remember, while attempting to fan the flames away from her with arms and wings, but they didn't seem to disperse. If anything, they got closer. Hotter. Normally they listened to her-- why weren't the flames listening to her?
And-- Arlen! What happened to Arlen? They were licking their wounds after that fight with the leviathans, and-- and what happened after that? She couldn't remember-- the flames creeping closer to her skin were too distracting, the smoke filling her lungs making it hard to focus. She needed to escape, before--
"Kolara... my love... It's okay..."
She froze in place-- in whatever place she was. Her squinting eyes widened at the haunting voice just a few meters ahead of her. She recognized that voice-- How could she not? And as she desperately looked around her, she began to recognize the surrounding as well. The seashell collection on the wall that she was so proud of-- the cerulean drapes over the windows that she'd watched knitted so many years ago. She was home-- her mother's home. The voice wasn't far off-- she dashed through the flames, disregarding the burns she took as she did so-- her mind focused on reaching that weakened, sorrowful voice.
"My little baby... Someone... my baby is in there...!"
She could hear the fear, the pain-- the fires scorching her own body reflecting the tortures that the voice had to be experiencing. She couldn't find her. The voice was getting closer and closer, but she couldn't find her. Screams began to ring in Kolara's ears-- the maddening cries of someone close to her, the flames having likely closed in and engulfed their flesh-- their wings-- their soul. She couldn't find her-- why couldn't she find her!?
"No-- Kolara, my baby!! NO!!!"
~~~
It was difficult to tell how much time had passed before it happened. The table the phoenix-kin had been laid to rest upon came alive with flames-- Kolara alongside it. Like the foulest magic, her body itself seemed to set afire without so much as a warning as she lifted up from the table, as if possessed. Her eyes opened, but so engulfed by flames was she that little more than her glowing-red irises could be seen beneath. Her wings had recovered quite a bit in the time that she rested-- yet now, even they were enveloped in a supernatural fire which only seemed to continue to grow as the woman began to wander aimlessly away from the table, seemingly searching for an exit. For a blessing, her flames were relatively contained-- violent though they seemed, the fires of the table-- and the steps that she took-- didn't spread. Yet it was clear that something was wrong-- Kolara was not herself. Perhaps, in spite of her wide-open eyes, she wasn't even awake.
Where was she? The world was ablaze-- a sea of crimson whisked back and forth like a storm with a mind of it's own, blinding her vision and causing her to squint. What happened? She tried hard to remember, while attempting to fan the flames away from her with arms and wings, but they didn't seem to disperse. If anything, they got closer. Hotter. Normally they listened to her-- why weren't the flames listening to her?
And-- Arlen! What happened to Arlen? They were licking their wounds after that fight with the leviathans, and-- and what happened after that? She couldn't remember-- the flames creeping closer to her skin were too distracting, the smoke filling her lungs making it hard to focus. She needed to escape, before--
"Kolara... my love... It's okay..."
She froze in place-- in whatever place she was. Her squinting eyes widened at the haunting voice just a few meters ahead of her. She recognized that voice-- How could she not? And as she desperately looked around her, she began to recognize the surrounding as well. The seashell collection on the wall that she was so proud of-- the cerulean drapes over the windows that she'd watched knitted so many years ago. She was home-- her mother's home. The voice wasn't far off-- she dashed through the flames, disregarding the burns she took as she did so-- her mind focused on reaching that weakened, sorrowful voice.
"My little baby... Someone... my baby is in there...!"
She could hear the fear, the pain-- the fires scorching her own body reflecting the tortures that the voice had to be experiencing. She couldn't find her. The voice was getting closer and closer, but she couldn't find her. Screams began to ring in Kolara's ears-- the maddening cries of someone close to her, the flames having likely closed in and engulfed their flesh-- their wings-- their soul. She couldn't find her-- why couldn't she find her!?
"No-- Kolara, my baby!! NO!!!"
~~~
It was difficult to tell how much time had passed before it happened. The table the phoenix-kin had been laid to rest upon came alive with flames-- Kolara alongside it. Like the foulest magic, her body itself seemed to set afire without so much as a warning as she lifted up from the table, as if possessed. Her eyes opened, but so engulfed by flames was she that little more than her glowing-red irises could be seen beneath. Her wings had recovered quite a bit in the time that she rested-- yet now, even they were enveloped in a supernatural fire which only seemed to continue to grow as the woman began to wander aimlessly away from the table, seemingly searching for an exit. For a blessing, her flames were relatively contained-- violent though they seemed, the fires of the table-- and the steps that she took-- didn't spread. Yet it was clear that something was wrong-- Kolara was not herself. Perhaps, in spite of her wide-open eyes, she wasn't even awake.