The good thing about a lantern is that the flame inside it is concealed. The amount of light can be controlled and with the right material such an object can appear mesmerizing. But fire is a dangerous tool. A tool where even the smallest flame can grow into something more vicious. A consuming force that’ll devour everything in its path, no matter the pain or disaster it causes.
[[pg 2]]Imagine it now a mountain caked with snow. Nothing that seems out of the ordinary, except if you take a closer look at the substance. With flakes of gray and black, it’s in fact not snow but ash. The sight before you was a village. Cloud Lotus Mountain was its name. Depending on who you asked, this quaint little village was primitive, a stain on maps, offering nothing in the advancement or progression of human kind. So why is this story focused on such a place? Well dear reader, for better or for worse this location would set forth a series of events that our character will never forget.
[[pg 1]]
[[pg 3]]Our story begins with a young woman named Amaya. By all means there’s nothing extraordinary about her. She isn’t some chosen one, a descendant of a hero or part of some almighty prophecy. The only thing Amaya has going for her is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
[[pg 2]]
[[pg 4]]It’s an event, a memory that could be played down to last miniscule detail. From the way the hungry flames chipped away at wood, to the smell of burning flesh that could never quite leave her nose. How does one overcome such memories? The nightmares, the guilt. Their the questions that buzz in her head and the flashes occur.
[[pg 3]]
[[pg 5]]She wasn’t there when the first boulder struck. Tucked away in the safety of a building. The village temple to be exact, For one minute to sweep away at creaky wooden boards to then hear a booming crash. Quickly followed by screams. Now rock falls were common in this village, but a wave of heat that followed after was not.
[[pg 4]]
[[pg 6]].The boulder struck a nearby store, whose flames latched onto other buildings. The girl could only freeze at the scene-never before seeing such a sight. Boulders falling-yes, boulders coated with a black substance fueling hungry flames-no.
[[pg 5]]
[[pg 7]]Some ran from the wreckage while others tried to sooth the hungry beast with pails of water. The only thing that made Amaya move was hearing another booming thud and seeing a part of the Temple engulfed in flames. The fire chipped away at the place of worship, statues and carvings towards deities reduced to nothing more than blackened charcoal. Gone was the village’s history and stories. The beauty, time and art that went into every building soon met the same fate as the temple.
[[pg 6]]
[[pg 8]]Amaya soon had no choice but to escape down the mountain. It didn’t matter how her heel’s ached from rushing down the rocky terrain; or how the palms of her hands and arms were scraped from the jagged rocks; the beating in her chest fueled her escape. She tumbled her way down the mountain as the screams slowly faded. As far as Amaya knew, she had to run; run while the fire’s bright.
[[pg 7]]