Infernal Desire

She watches as her mother’s body is sunk into the earth. The tears have long since dried on her cheeks, and the heaviness in her chest is gone, leaving a numbness. Her mother had been strong. One of the strongest warriors she knew. She did not conform to gender roles or rely on men. Despite her subtle beauty and soft voice, she was often scolded and talked about for her "vulgar" ways. Nevertheless, she continued to walk the path she wanted. Now, that has led her to her grave. “I won’t forgive them.” The young girl thinks as the wind picks up, scattering the petals of the lilies around her mother’s grave. The petals fall into her mess of ebony curls and graze her moist cheeks. A deep hatred replaces the numbness. The wind picks up again, and the people surrounding the grave panic. She can feel the heat rising beneath her skin as her magic threatens to burst from her. A gentle hand on her shoulder kills the urge to release the power, and she looks up into the kind eyes of her father. “Enough, Talia.” He says softly, and the wind instantly dies down, the heat receding into the depths of her soul. ******************************************* The night is deep, and the earth smells of rain as he sits in the courtyard, watching the lanterns of mourning rise into the sky above him. They cast a golden glow as they ascend, thousands of them sending their prayers for his mother’s soul. A hell of a lot of good their prayers did! She was no less dead! The familiar heat rises inside of him, and flames engulf his body. A moment later, he is beating his majestic wings into the sky, swatting down lanterns and roaring as he goes. The lantern lights reflect along his crimson scales as he races for the mountains that border the Burning Sea. His mother had been mighty. A blur of white scales in the sky. She was a goddess when her fire scorched her enemies and their lands. She showed no mercy towards humans. They were bugs as far as she was concerned. But one woman, one human, had earned her respect. Enough to make her want peace with the vermin at his expense. “Mother, I don't understand! Why should we spare them? Look what they've done to you!" Igneous roars, clutching her hands. She smiles weakly at her son, "When I saw that woman fighting so fiercely to protect her home, I had a vision. I saw a world full of life and laughter. The world was not scorched, but green, and thriving. My cold heart was moved for the first time. I want that world for all of you." She lets out a raspy breath and Igneous clutches her hand harder. "I will not live to see that peace. And that woman, I could see the soul of a mother in her, a mother willing to die for her child’s future. Surely, a woman with that strength bore a child with the same fierceness.” She said in a whisper as her life slowly drained from her. “I will avenge you, mother! I swear a single human will not be left!” He hisses, fighting the tears welling up behind his eyes. She smiles at him and strokes his cheek. There is warmth in her cold touch. “No, my son. Humans are a lot like us. Proud, noble, and self-sacrificing for those they love. They possess greed, true. But there is no creature with a heartbeat that doesn’t. My last request of you, my son, and you, my love, is to broker peace with humans. End this war and create a better future for those who come after me.” She coughs, and the medics rush in. She waves them away. “Can you do this for me?” Her ember eyes are fierce with the weight of her wish as she moves her gaze from her husband to her son. “Igneous.” Igneous can do nothing except nod. The heaviness of her desire for peace is stronger than his thirst for vengeance. Her last breath rattles from her lips, and the candles that had illuminated the room go out. He does not stay to watch his father succumb to grief, nor does he allow his best friend Lucian to comfort him. He rushes to the tallest tower and takes heavy gulps of air. The tears fall fierce and hot down his face, the first time he's cried since birth. The memory fades from his mind. He looks over the Burning Sea at the mountains that adorn the human land. It would take nothing to burn everything to the ground. He would risk his mother’s wrath to kill just one of them. His wings spread wide, and he braces to take off, “Broker peace with humans. End this war and create a better future.” His mother’s words echo in his mind. With a heaven-shaking roar, he flies in the opposite direction of the human land and towards the hills of Lyba carrying his grief and hatred like shackles with no key.