Chatterbox: Inkwell

New story I'm writing!

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The Fire Burning (Working title)

Prologue: Smoke
            Ellasia stood, eyes closed, as
the smoke curled around her. It floated around her in a mystic pattern, forming
sudden images on her skin. She had power over smoke. She could shield herself,
creating invisibility. She could control someone temporarily, by forcing her
smoke into them. She could also use it to tell possible futures. She could tell
what may happen. She could tell what to do to make something happen. As the
smoke curled around her, she opened her eyes. A dragon stood on a lonely tomb,
guarding the body. She stared for hours, watching things that may be. Suddenly,
a boy’s face appeared. He had dark hair, and light blue eyes. He was staring at
her. He grabbed out at her, making as if to strangle her. Ellasia fell back.
She was alone in her room again. A charred, burnt pile of papers was left.
Ellasia knew that at only age 13 she should not be exercising her powers. But
the time felt right.

Chapter One: Flame
            Pitter-patter.
Pitter-patter. Isshane’s feet slapped against the cold, wet stone of the
path. He had come to K’anaiton, searching for his parents. It was night.
K’anaiton was a beautiful town on a hillside. Usually, it glowed with lighs
offering places to stay, places to buy and sell. But that night, as far as
Isshane could see, there were no lights. Behind him or in front of him. He was
running from something. A fearful beast, without a form. A hideous creature
without a shape. It was coming closer. It was a freezing blast of night air.
The night seemed to close in around it. Darkness fell faster and harder as
Isshane ran. He saw a river’s ditch by the path. He jumped in. He swam now. He
began to get colder and colder. Suddenly, he saw a light near him. Swimming
toward it with the last ounce of strength he had, he flocked to the light, like
moths to a flame. It was an inn, empty of inhabitants.

            “Whatter you doin’ here lad,
at this hour of night?” Isshane was startled by the innkeeper holding a bright
lantern. He had not an ugly face, but not a pleasant one. It was a kind face,
though.

            “I’d like a place to stay. Do
you have a room? Preferably with a candle in it.”

             “Aye, I can get ye tha’. How long’ll ye be
stayin’?”

            “I… don’t know. Probably a few
days.”

            “Tha’ll be twen’y Chassevs, my
lad.” Isshane handed the money over to the innkeeper, hands shaking from his
close encounter with death. The innkeeper lead him to his room, and gave
Isshane a candle.

            “Ye’ll wan’ te pu’ tha’ ou’
before ye go to bed.”

            “I will.”

            “Ye fireplace is over here,”
the innkeeper said, gesturing to a small fireplace, “and ye bed is over here.”
pointing to a bed with wrinkled sheets.
            “Thank you.”

            “Ah, it’s nothin’. I do this
nearly every day.”

            “By the way, did you happen to
see a couple passing through? Youngish, and worried looking?”

            “Ah…, no. I’ve had only singles
now. One man did come through, but he was pre’y old, and I don’ think he’s the
one ye talkin’ abou’.”
Where could they have gone? Isshane thought as he settled comfortably into bed.
Isshane awoke in the room that he was renting. The sun was rising, with just a
small sliver of it. He stare hard at it. Isshane had always loved fire and the
sun. It was like a source of light to him in endless darkness. The sun’s light
was filling the sky. He stared harder at it. Suddenly, there was a blinding
flash from the sun. He began to drift away.

            A girl stood in her
room, in a pale white frock. She seemed to have an unearthly glow around her.
Her eyes were dark. There was a fire burning at her feet. She had blond hair
that seemed to fly up around her. She was tall, and seemed to levitate up
behind the fire. The fire’s smoke curled up around her. She closed her eyes.
After a long time, she seemed to waver. I grabbed for her, trying to stop her
fall. She resisted my grip, trying to run away. She fell over. Everything faded.

            Isshane woke up, on the
floor, in the same position that the girl had fallen. He walked down to the
main part of the inn. He saw, as he hadn’t before that the inn was called
Wanderers’ house. He sat down, asking for an egg breakfast. The innkeeper went
over to one of the back rooms. The innkeeper, whose name was Thetran, called
into it “Sheol! Breakfast!” A girl with light reddish brown hair came down. She
went drearily to the stove. She was slim. She cooked the eggs quickly, serving
them to Isshane. He then left with a thank you. He left the inn, trying to find
a clue of what was chasing him last night.

            As Isshane wandered about
the town, he mulled over the events that had happened earlier that morning. Who
had that girl been? What was she doing? Where was she? as usual, Isshane
had more questions than answers. Ever since his parents had disappeared, he had
been chasing after them, searching for clues to where they might have gone. He
didn’t mind that he had to leave everyone he knew behind. He had always been
separate from the rest of the group, because of his occasional amnesia attacks.
Often, he would forget where he was going, what he was doing, or who he was.
He’d have to wander until he found someone that made him remember.

            Last night had been a
strange night. After chatting with a few townspeople in the nearest pub,
Isshane knew that everyone else had felt the presence of something strange on
the streets. Some people called it “A darkness”. Others called it “A presence”.
And a select few called it “A demon”. Isshane called it a demon.

Chapter 2: Smoke

          I stood alone, in a far away field. The wind
brushed through my hair. The plains seemed endless. The golden sun streamed
down like water falling from a cliff. I stood up, realizing I had the same white
frock I had always used for telling, and never wore anywhere else. Then, the
entire meadow seemed to give off smoke. The smoke came from beneath my feet.
All the grasses and flowers then erupted. I ran, trying not to get burnt, but
the fire began to consume me. I had burns on my legs. They did not hurt. The
entire fire engulfed me. I felt fine. I was only surrounded by flames, playing
with me, as if trying to help me, and lead me away. I crept after them,
laughing, even though I could feel my entire body covered in flames. The, the
fire died down, and became a layer of fine, silky ash. I lay there. The sky
darkened. Rain began to pour. I felt a darkness fall down on to me. I cried in
terror as it came upon me. I tried to speak, but all I could do was garble
incoherently. I didn’t know anything. If not for that, I would have surely
screamed in terror. The layer of ash disappeared. Everything was gone.

            “Ellasia! Come down here!”
The yell woke Ellasia from her nightmare. What
was it? Did it mean anything? It had to mean something. She got dressed.
Looking out her window, she saw the house next to hers had been burned down.
There was nothing left of the house. Only a layer of ash. Ellasia had not
particularly liked the neighbors, and she knew they must be dead.  That
must have been where I got the dream. The smoke caused a future seeing in me,
putting it in dream form. But what
did it mean? Ellasia stared out the window at the ruins of the house.

            “Ellasia!” Her mother yelled again. Running downstairs, Ellasia saw
her mother making breakfast over the fireplace. The savory smell of eggs and
bacon drifted over to her. Put down on a plate, it was delectable. As she dug
in, her mother began to tell her about what happened last night.

            “You probably saw the ruins
of the house burnt by the fire outside you room. It’s a terrible tragedy. 14
people died when that house just exploded into flames. Well, anyway, you may
leave for a few hours before you must help me with lunch. Now shoo.”

Ellasia walked over to the place where the fire burnt down the house. There were other people there too, exclaiming at the wreckage. Not much happened in her small town of K'anaiton. It seemed sort of far away. Disclosed from the world. A little sanctuary. In the main town, she wandered about, looking for vendors to buy food from. Even though she had had eggs & bacon, it wasn't enough. A strange looking boy caught her eye. She wondered Where have I seem him before? Then, she remembered. It was the boy who had tried to grab her, and possibly strangle her last morning when she was fortune telling. She walked over to him, unsure of what to say.