This is Not Fire?

Surathi Village - Sentinel Island

JP Omni and Lorem

Gonyaul watched in wonderment as Heegen began preparing to bend the elements to his will. When the flames erupted in glorious blaze, Gonyaul like the others flinched; however, it was not from the heat, but from the sudden appearance of the shocking spectacle in conjunction with everyone else cowering.

A second later a strange sense of cognitive dissonance occurred inside his mind. It was intense fire, verified by the reactions of everyone else. Gonyaul’s instincts were signaling that fire is hot and potentially dangerous. What was strange, was it wasn’t hot. Not even a little. It was like the fire wasn’t even there; instead just an illusion.

This time Gonyaul hesitantly moved forward, but not with a sense of fear. Instead he looked confused and curious, like a babe walking towards something unknown and interesting. He slowly moved closer and held out his left hand as if exploring.

The crowd watched in silence, their collective breath held as Gonyaul’s hand moved closer to the flame, while Draza stood by, her eyes never leaving Gonyaul.

Gonyaul’s fingers finally brushed against the flames, no… to his astonishment, the blaze was repelled to the side and around his hand about six inches. It was a strange sensation, like a gentle breeze, but no burning pain. Cool again, like when he was hit by the Kidata’s fireball. This time, he didn’t get that sickening feeling in his gut, but one of slight discomfort and anxiety. It was… unnatural, but not necessarily… malevolent?

Some Surathi in the crowd gasped, others murmured in amazement. Draza nodded, the hint of a smile growing on her lips. Heegen watched as his wizardry simply avoided the Vaux as if it was alive and trying to evade his touch. Myth and legend manifest itself before their eyes.

Gonyaul was just as amazed as those spectating and he had the best view of them all. In the past he had some strange occurrences that now seemed to resurface in his mind. One was dealing with an Odsier man that could move earth. The other was a woman of frost that attacked them in the desert city. In both intenses there was so much turmoil and survival instincts involved that most of it was a blur. This feeling right now though, felt familiar to both those two instances.

Gonyaul continued forward cautiously, as if any second this fantastical experience would turn horribly wrong. As he drew near, he also worried his clothes would catch fire; however, no matter how close he pressed himself the flames retreated.

He looked like he was testing the flames, slowly pushing the limits. His face contorted with glimpses of epiphanies and befuddlement. All his senses were taking in new information and trying to make sense of it.

He spoke to the flames, “You are not fire?” He got closer, moving his hands in a deliberate vauxian patterns and watched how they behaved. “You are disorder yearning to be set right.” His expression turned more to empathy for the plight of the flames.

Then Gonyaul did the normally unthinkable. He moved in to climb the wooden pyre. The wood itself was likewise not hot when he went to touch it, even though the wood was charred tremendously. He climbed up into the structure and carefully took a meditative seat. From here Gonyaul closed his eyes and tried to imagine what he was feeling in abstraction. He found even the smoke avoided his nostrils. And from this position he just breathed deeply in and out. In and out. In and out.

Draza and Heegen exchanged knowing glances as the gathering watched in stunned silence, their awe of the Vaux deepening.