A Fable of Flame

by Jeremy Fabiano

  It is. I think it’s perfect for you.

  “In that case,” he whispered, “I am Ember. And I swear allegiance to you, Ash. May our powers grow exponentially henceforth. Hold out the staff before you.”

  Pebbles began to quiver all around me, and a warm breeze began to circle the training pit. I focused my thoughts and willed Flame Infusion. The explosion of fire turned the training walls to ash and scorched buildings fifty feet back from them. Thankfully, this was the part of the town that would be destroyed by the spiders, so I didn’t feel so bad.

  This feels like it’s taking no effort

  “That’s because it’s not,” said Ember. “I’m removing some of those burdens from your shoulders. You have but to will it, and the power will course through your veins.”

  Firelance, I thought, holding out my left palm toward the twenty targets. Twenty spheres of brilliant red energy formed in front of me and streaked after the targets. All twenty were instantly turned to ash, and the dirt below them melted to glass. I checked my mana; I’d barely touched it.

  “Unreal,” I said aloud. I pulled the heat energy from all around me and shot a torrent of fire into the air. It seemed like winter had set in. Ice formed on every surface as far as I could see. The difference in temperatures caused it to start to rain, and as the droplets got low and cold enough, it turned to snow.

  “By the Caretaker,” said Luther. “That’s just ridiculous. You made it snow…”

  I smiled. “I had no idea.”

  Gramms walked up behind Luther. “You still don’t, dear. You’ve not even witnessed the extent of your power. In ten years, you’ll look back at this day and laugh.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “It’s hard to fathom,” I said. “Thank you.”

  “Come,” said Gramms. “Sergeant Williams is waiting for us.”

  13

  Sergeant Williams went over battle plans with Lord Macgregor, and I was invited to sit in. They even asked for my opinions several times. I was weary at first, but, they seemed like they really wanted to know what I thought.

  The outer buildings of the city would be lost, no question about it. Everything within the walls, however, stood a chance. “This still seems wasteful,” said Luther. “There’s nothing else we can do?”

  Sergeant Williams shook his head. “Afraid not. We’d never planned on having the town grow so much. The outer buildings just popped up over time. The citizens knew the risks when they built them. The only thing we can do now is offer them refuge behind the protection of our walls.”

  Lord Macgregor nodded. “It’s quite unfortunate,” he said. “But it’s the hand we’ve been dealt. We’ll survive this fight. One way or another.”

  “Have you heard from Aba?” I asked.

  He scowled. “Unfortunately, not yet. We sent our fastest runners out as soon as your grandmother warned us about the imminent incursion,” he said. “With any luck, they’ll reach them in time.”

  Gramms smiled and rested her hand on my shoulder. “You’ll play a large part of the defense as well, Ashley.”

  “I will?” I asked. “How?”

  “You’ll stand atop the wall with the rest of the defense,” she said. “From there, you can rain fire and ice down upon the battlefield.”

  “Aren’t you worried for her safety?” asked Sergeant Williams.

  “Nonsense,” said Gramms. “She’s probably the most powerful in this room at the moment. Next to Lord Macgregor, that is.” Mouths dropped open around the whole room.

  “Surely you jest,” said Lord Macgregor.

  Gramms shook her head. “She’s more powerful than I ever was, Mac,” she said, smiling. “Just look at your training area. Or rather, what’s left of it. That was just practice.”

  He looked out his window, and a small smile touched his lips. “I see…” He turned toward me. “Ashley, erm, Ash, is it?” I nodded. “I would be honored if you would join the militia in defense of our fair town.”

  I curtsied. “The honor would be mine, my lord.”

  “Ash,” he said, smiling. “Call me Mac.”

  We spent the rest of the week preparing the town for the invasion. Barrels of oil were taken to the top of the walls. Trees were cut down and processed into arrows and other weapons. Every able-bodied man, woman, and child of working age was given a weapon of some kind.

  I’d heard stories of the old and of children being forced to fight wars. But as I looked around at the eyes of these kids, none of them were being forced. They were proud to stand watch with the city militia.

  This is unreal, Ember.

  “Indeed. You must focus on the task at hand. There are matters that require your attention,” he said. I realized he was no longer whispering to me but speaking with the actual voice I’d heard in Otherworld.

  Like what?

  “Look to the horizon,” he said. “Past the tree line, where the sky meets the ground. Tell me what you see…”

  I looked off as far as I could. The sun was just starting to set, and the horizon was starting to darken. And then it moved.

  14

  I turned from the horizon and fired a blast of fire at the bonfire not far from me. Its oil-soaked tinder exploded into flame. The town bell began to toll frantically. I saw Sergeant Williams look up from below.

  “It’s time!” I shouted. “I see them on the horizon!”

  All matter of chaos erupted from the town below me.

  “I see them,” said Mac. “On the horizon, just as she said.” He turned to Sergeant Williams. “Deploy the guard. They’ll attack at nightfall. I want the town lit up from wall to wall. Leave no shadows, and seal the sewers.”

  “Yes, my lord,” said Sergeant Williams. He snapped off a salute, spun on his heel, and ran from the wall toward the staircases.

  Mac turned to me. “How do you feel about some target practice?” he asked with a huge grin. “I had hoped to see your long-range skills that Luther was bragging about.”

  I felt my face flush. “If my lord wishes it,” I said. He nodded, and I climbed to the top of the lookout tower. The view of the town below me was overwhelming. I never knew how big it really was. The people looked tiny from up here, and the air was frigid.

  I looked to the horizon. The sun was not entirely set, and I could see the horde. They were much closer now, blanketing the land in a shifting black mass.

  Ember, are you ready?

  “Always ready, Ash,” he said.

  I raised my hand toward the oncoming horde and let the flames dance all around me. The entire town lit up with my light. I could feel the queen looking at me, even from this far away. Judging my power. Looking into my soul.

  “Judge this, queen,” I said. Flame Infusion, maximum power.

  “As you wish,” said Ember.

  The countryside lit up like a bright summer day. Hundreds of pinprick-sized Firelances appeared before me, blocking my sight of the spiders. I sent them forward to claim whatever targets they wished.

  Streaks shot across the sky and faded from view. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, in the distance, I could see them hitting random targets. They bloomed like torches in the darkening skies. A few moments later, low-sounding booms came back to me. They sounded like drum beats, beating a frantic rhythm.

  Cheers rose from the walls below me. I drank a rejuvenation potion to restore my health and mana and began to charge once more. I kept that up for about fifteen minutes. I was beginning to dislike the fruity and bitter taste of the dual-purpose rejuvenation potions, and I started to lose my breath. Shaking, I collapsed to my knees. Luther was at my side in an instant.

  “Holy shit,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, weakly. “Still takes a lot out of me.”

  “You’ve killed thousands of them,” he said. “You deserve to sit the rest of the battle on the sidelines, but we both know that isn’t in the cards.”

  I smiled. “Just help me down the ladder,” I said. “I’m not out of this yet
.

  Once I was back on the solid stone wall, my shaking legs relented a little. We could see the horde of spiders aflame in the distance. Large sections of the horde moved around the flaming corpses of their brothers and sisters without a care. In the distance, several large black shapes began charging forward.

  “Here they come,” said Luther.

  I stood and gathered the fire from the bonfire into myself, channeling it into a massive blast, and hurled it toward the larger shapes. It streaked across the sky like a comet, and the impact left a massive crater in the countryside. I felt the vibrations through the stone beneath my feet. More cheers met my ears.

  I readied another volley of Firelances and picked several more targets at random. I unleashed the volley and killed several thousand more spiders, but their numbers seemed endless. Then I heard the queen shriek. The cheers quieted down to a stunned silence. They finally realized what they were up against.

  “Archers!” shouted Sergeant Williams as the spiders overwhelmed my ability to keep up with them. Spiders fell by the thousand as flaming arrows hammered into their waves like water unto a stone cliffside. I focused my fire onto their arrows and magnified their effect immeasurably.

  “The countryside burns, and yet they do not relent,” said Mac. “I feared the day in which I would have to use my power again, but alas,” he said, “today is that day.” He stepped up to the edge of the wall and raised his arms toward the moat which surrounded the city.

  Gramms walked up beside me. “Watch Mac,” she said. “I doubt you’ll see anything like this again anytime soon…”

  The water began to rise into pillars three times taller than the massive wall which we stood on. The columns changed into massive horses, manes spraying water in every direction. They surged forward and plowed into the spiders, smashing them to bits. The water would then flow back into the moat to rise again as another horse.

  “Elemental magic,” said Mac. “I reckon you could do the same with your fire.”

  How do I do that?

  “Will it to be so,” said Ember.

  I focused my fire into the shape of a large horse, just like Mac’s. Then I cast it forward, and a massive flaming horse with wings soared out of the bonfire. It screeched like an eagle. The sound was so loud soldiers covered their ears. It didn’t bother me.

  It soared around and then flew at the waves of spiders. It would dive down, and its wings set half the oncoming wave aflame. And yet, more spiders crested the horizon. “There’s too many,” I said.

  “Ash,” called Mac. “Send your horse at the queen. I’ll use one of mine at the same time.”

  I nodded and willed the elemental horse at the queen. It streaked across the sky, lighting the ground and showing us their true numbers. I felt my stomach drop out from below me.

  The horse met with one of Mac’s, and the two smashed into the queen of spiders. The water and fire mixed together and exploded. Steam violently covered a massive area around the queen, killing most of the minions within a few hundred feet of her. She howled in pain and anger and then charged. Her horde doubled their speed in order to keep up with her.

  I fell to my knees, drained. Mac handed me a mana potion. “Bottoms up,” he said, taking the vial in one gulp. I followed suit. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Just never thrown around this much magic in such a short time.” I took a deep breath. “I’m ready, I think.”

  He grinned. “That’a girl!” he shouted. “Let’s try ice next.” I nodded.

  The columns of water rose up and overflowed, drowning the countryside. The spiders began swimming like eight-legged dogs. Then I remembered my own dog. Then my thoughts turned to my father. To my home. I pulled from that pain. From the rage. I drew in the heat from everywhere the water touched.

  I willed the heat to come to me. Forming it into a ball, I gathered all of it in. The ground at my feet began to glow and then turn to liquid from the heat emanating off the huge Firelance I was forming. Guards began to scream, and even Lord Macgregor gasped and took several wary steps away from me.

  The countryside froze. I’d never seen a blizzard before, but this was what I imagined it would be like. And the heat just kept pouring into my spell. I stared at the queen and she at me. “For my family,” I said. I was sure she heard me. She crossed her arms in front of her in an “X” motion and planted her feet in, welcoming the challenge.

  “She thinks to take on a spell of that magnitude?” asked Mac in sheer surprise.

  “This is everything I have,” I said. “She can’t lay a claw on Bridgeport.”

  I screamed at the top of my lungs and thrust the Firelance forward. The queen shrieked in defiance. We all watched as the comet cleared the moat and then obliterated everything within six hundred feet around it on its way to the queen. The ball hit her like a shooting star, and the sky turned bright white.

  When the light dimmed, a large mushroom cloud was visible on the horizon. Ice and smoke and steam and rocks were sucked up into the sky, following the heat currents. And the queen stood at the center of it. Arms crossed in defiance. Then I heard her cackling.

  “By the gods,” said Mac. “How did she survive that?”

  “That’s all I had in me,” I said as I fell to my hands and knees. Luther and Mac were at my side in a heartbeat, helping me to my feet.

  “Get her a health potion, now!” screamed Luther.

  “Healer!” bellowed Mac.

  “What now?” asked Ember.

  We rise from the ashes.

  My vision was clouding to nothing. I looked out over the horizon. The queen had begun to advance once again. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I did what I could.” My vision faded out as my health and mana bars both ran out. My eyes closed, and I could hear the fading sounds of Ms. Wellington and the militia healers rushing to my side. The last sound I heard was someone far away bellowing my name, followed by a huge crash on top of the wall. Then nothing.

  The End

  The adventures continue in Book 3 - Legend of The Dwarven King!

  A note from the author…

  Thank you for reading my novel. This project came about after the massively positive response regarding Ashley. She was never intended to be much more than a side-quest to move the story along.

  With that, I do apologize that this book is a bit on the shorter side, however, Ashley will become one of the central characters along with the rest of the party from this point forward.

  Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Looking forward to writing the third installment, Legend of the Dwarven King.

  If you would be so kind as to take a moment and leave a review, I would be extremely grateful. Reviews are the only real way for new, self-published authors to be seen on Amazon, so your positive comments will help immensely.

  Feel free to visit my website to sign up for the mailing list to receive updates on upcoming releases, as well as receiving our “starter library”, a collection of prequel novellas for each series, when they become available.

  Jeremy Fabiano

  About the Author

  I.T. hero by day, father, husband, and godling by night.

  Jeremy Fabiano is an emerging author of several exciting genres which include: LitRPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Medieval Post Apocalyptic and Non-Fiction.

  Join him as he descends into the depths of his imagination, bringing you the exciting adventures he discovers along the way.

  Jeremy Fabiano read his first fantasy book at fourteen years old. An old ratty copy of “The Hobbit.” Tolkien forever dominated his imagination as he fell prey to every RPG game out there.

  At sixteen, a friend from school introduced him to his first multiplayer RPG: A M.U.D. or multi-user dungeon. This ancient construct required the player to use a terminal program to connect to a remote text-based system. No pictures. No animations. It paved the way to being enthralled by World of Warcraft, where he saved the world countles
s times over the span of half of a decade.

  In mid-2018, he reached out to several authors seeking advice. Shayne Silvers was among the first to respond. He encouraged and inspired Jeremy to work harder than he ever had before. Shortly after, M. D. Massey also gave some much-needed advice, eliciting even more changes in the aspiring author.

  By the end of 2018, he had teamed up with T.M. Edwards and co-authored “Roger” - a book in Edwards’ “Tales From Beyond The Apocalypse” series. This would be the first of many books published by Jeremy Fabiano.

  He plans fifteen books in the 2019 year, and fifty+ over the next three years.

  Keep reading. Keep learning.

  Never be afraid to reach for your dreams

  To get in touch:

  www.jeremyfabianoauthor.com

  www.amazon.com/author/jeremyfabiano

  Acknowledgments

  Words cannot express my gratitude. But, I’ll attempt it anyway…

  There’s an old saying which I’m going to carelessly steal half of: It takes a village.

  Writing a book does indeed take a village. And I’d like to thank some of those wonderful people who made my dream a reality. The people below have supported in one way or another throughout the entire project. From writing advice to marketing theory, from reality-checks to late-night conversations that last until sunup, you are the reason this book is possible.

  Shayne Silvers. I’ve loved your stories from the get-go and can’t wait to catch up on the latest. Thank you for always pushing me to do better. For never letting me be mediocre and complacent. I might not have had the balls to go forward with this project if you hadn’t believed in me and encouraged me to do better.