Flame and Fortune
41st of spring, 519 AV
Lheili was exhausted. The season had been rough so far, particularly for her and the other reimancers of the city; the constant rain had resulted in flooding and landslides that required all of her attention and energy in order to keep the city and its citizens safe.
Still, it was rewarding work. Walking back from the Amaranthine River along the streets of the Shinyama Peak, she didn't bother trying to keep herself dry from the light drizzle of rain; she was wet from sweat and water from the river already, so it was pointless. While magic was useful, there were still things best done with physical labour, and her muscles were slightly sore, unused to it.
Deciding she would make a stop at the Zintia Rest on her way over the peak, and already dreaming of warm water and gentle scented soap, she almost failed to notice the danger; almost, but not quite. The heavy smell of smoke taunted her, and Lheili glanced around with a furrowed brow, wondering what was smoking in such damp weather.
Her answer came to her quickly enough. She was walking down a quiet street with a few houses scattered between businesses, and while it took her a moment of glancing around, she could see smoke billowing from the open window of a nearby house, quickly thickening and becoming darker.
"What's going on?" She muttered, breaking into a run towards the house. There weren't many other people on the street, but the few that were present were also beginning to take note of the situation. As Lheili approached the house, she heard the high-pitched sobbing of a child from within, interrupted occasionally with coughing.
"Shyke," she swore, spinning around on her heel, beginning to snap out orders. "Someone go get the Shinya, tell them to bring a doctor. Start bringing water!" With the rain, she doubted the blaze would get very large, and she was more than capable of putting out flames; but already she could feel the heat from the open window, and she was already tired from the past few days of work. Besides, it didn't hurt to be prepared.
A man in the small crowd, which was already dispersing, caught her attention; he was dark-skinned, with shining silver hair. While that served to catch Lheili's eye, what made her fixate on him was his build. He towered over everyone else around, and looked to be decently strong.
Saga, who had just happened to be in right place at the right time (or perhaps the wrong place at the wrong time), had suddenly found himself recruited for a rescue mission.
"You," She pointed a finger at him, speaking briskly as the crying of the child increased in volume. "Come with me." If any part of the building had collapsed, she could redirect the flames, but lifting furniture and wooden beams was beyond her. She needed someone with strength for that.
Not waiting for a response, she whirled around; focusing for a moment, she drew up a small ball of res, tossing it onto the handle of the front door as she turned it to water. Steam hissed off the metal, and she quickly opened the door; the handle was hot, but not enough to hurt her thanks to the quick splash of water.
"Come on," she said, impatiently to the man, before she bounded into the building. Inside was hot, and thick smoke clouded the air; Lheili coughed as she willed up more res between her palms. She spun her hands around her head, guiding the transparent, thin liquid and turning it to air, creating a small wind that whipped around her head, keeping the immediate area clear of smoke.
Feeding a thin stream of res into the wind to keep it going, Lheili plunged ahead into the smoke. Some of it still slipped past the makeshift barrier of wind, causing her to cough and blink her stinging eyes. She could hear the crying of the child upstairs.
"She's upstairs," she called back to the man who she had so suddenly recruited to help her; she was assuming he had followed her, but if had decided not to and she received no response, she would forget about him and forge on alone.
Flames crackled around her, making the air grow steadily hotter as they greedily licked at scraps of clothing and furniture, climbing the walls and growing larger. Making her way to the steps, Lheili tested her weight on one; but just as she began her climb, a section of ceiling came crashing down in front of her, causing her to stumble back with a swear. Upstairs, the little girl screamed.
"Petch it all, can't get by without moving that," she snarled. She was sweating, and ash was clinging to her damp skin, smearing dark marks across it. Dropping the wind from her face to focus on the task in front of her, she grit her teeth and drew res up out of her palms, turning it to liquid and shooting jets of water at the smoldering debris on the staircase.
She could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her; alarm bells went off in her head, the lessons on overgiving that had been drilled into her coming to mind. It had been some time since she'd needed to use her djed so intensely and so frequently, and she was unused to the exertion. The water jets flickered, and then Lheili stopped the res, cutting them off completely; the debris was still smoldering slightly, but was no longer on fire.
Tightening her jaw, she moved closer and began to pull at a smoking wooden beam blocking the path up the stairs. She could feel the fire inching closer, and the child upstairs had gone worryingly quiet; it was clear, however, that she was not going to be able to move the beam alone.
Still, it was rewarding work. Walking back from the Amaranthine River along the streets of the Shinyama Peak, she didn't bother trying to keep herself dry from the light drizzle of rain; she was wet from sweat and water from the river already, so it was pointless. While magic was useful, there were still things best done with physical labour, and her muscles were slightly sore, unused to it.
Deciding she would make a stop at the Zintia Rest on her way over the peak, and already dreaming of warm water and gentle scented soap, she almost failed to notice the danger; almost, but not quite. The heavy smell of smoke taunted her, and Lheili glanced around with a furrowed brow, wondering what was smoking in such damp weather.
Her answer came to her quickly enough. She was walking down a quiet street with a few houses scattered between businesses, and while it took her a moment of glancing around, she could see smoke billowing from the open window of a nearby house, quickly thickening and becoming darker.
"What's going on?" She muttered, breaking into a run towards the house. There weren't many other people on the street, but the few that were present were also beginning to take note of the situation. As Lheili approached the house, she heard the high-pitched sobbing of a child from within, interrupted occasionally with coughing.
"Shyke," she swore, spinning around on her heel, beginning to snap out orders. "Someone go get the Shinya, tell them to bring a doctor. Start bringing water!" With the rain, she doubted the blaze would get very large, and she was more than capable of putting out flames; but already she could feel the heat from the open window, and she was already tired from the past few days of work. Besides, it didn't hurt to be prepared.
A man in the small crowd, which was already dispersing, caught her attention; he was dark-skinned, with shining silver hair. While that served to catch Lheili's eye, what made her fixate on him was his build. He towered over everyone else around, and looked to be decently strong.
Saga, who had just happened to be in right place at the right time (or perhaps the wrong place at the wrong time), had suddenly found himself recruited for a rescue mission.
"You," She pointed a finger at him, speaking briskly as the crying of the child increased in volume. "Come with me." If any part of the building had collapsed, she could redirect the flames, but lifting furniture and wooden beams was beyond her. She needed someone with strength for that.
Not waiting for a response, she whirled around; focusing for a moment, she drew up a small ball of res, tossing it onto the handle of the front door as she turned it to water. Steam hissed off the metal, and she quickly opened the door; the handle was hot, but not enough to hurt her thanks to the quick splash of water.
"Come on," she said, impatiently to the man, before she bounded into the building. Inside was hot, and thick smoke clouded the air; Lheili coughed as she willed up more res between her palms. She spun her hands around her head, guiding the transparent, thin liquid and turning it to air, creating a small wind that whipped around her head, keeping the immediate area clear of smoke.
Feeding a thin stream of res into the wind to keep it going, Lheili plunged ahead into the smoke. Some of it still slipped past the makeshift barrier of wind, causing her to cough and blink her stinging eyes. She could hear the crying of the child upstairs.
"She's upstairs," she called back to the man who she had so suddenly recruited to help her; she was assuming he had followed her, but if had decided not to and she received no response, she would forget about him and forge on alone.
Flames crackled around her, making the air grow steadily hotter as they greedily licked at scraps of clothing and furniture, climbing the walls and growing larger. Making her way to the steps, Lheili tested her weight on one; but just as she began her climb, a section of ceiling came crashing down in front of her, causing her to stumble back with a swear. Upstairs, the little girl screamed.
"Petch it all, can't get by without moving that," she snarled. She was sweating, and ash was clinging to her damp skin, smearing dark marks across it. Dropping the wind from her face to focus on the task in front of her, she grit her teeth and drew res up out of her palms, turning it to liquid and shooting jets of water at the smoldering debris on the staircase.
She could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her; alarm bells went off in her head, the lessons on overgiving that had been drilled into her coming to mind. It had been some time since she'd needed to use her djed so intensely and so frequently, and she was unused to the exertion. The water jets flickered, and then Lheili stopped the res, cutting them off completely; the debris was still smoldering slightly, but was no longer on fire.
Tightening her jaw, she moved closer and began to pull at a smoking wooden beam blocking the path up the stairs. She could feel the fire inching closer, and the child upstairs had gone worryingly quiet; it was clear, however, that she was not going to be able to move the beam alone.
