Isyd pushed through the crowd that had gathered. People ran around, shouting for help and water and trying to organize a kind of rescue. However, the fire that now consumed the house was too intense and the heat and smoke forced people back. Wood cracked and burned under the blazing flames and the upper floors threatened to collapse.

Wrapped in his darkveil, Isyd did his best to ignore the scorching heat that burned his exposed face and his eyes. The smoke made it harder to see and he couldn’t use his extra senses to guide himself as they have gone haywire due to the Resonance. Still, he stumbled inside until he found Julya. She knelt at her husband’s side, trying to free him from the rubbles that crushed him from the waist down.

In the centre of what used to be the living stood the source of the inferno. The fire had coalesced into a human shape towering over the inert body of Kewin. From the shifting red and yellow flames, it was possible to distinguish the beginning of a torso, of two arms and of a head with two white flames for eyes.

Isyd’s breath caught in his chest as he finally understood what had happened. The Resonance had given spawned an Elemental!

Jadwia was crawling on the ground, face covered in soot, trying to approach Kewin, but she was pushed back by the flames that surrounded his body, rolling and roaring on the ground. Tekla was alone facing the Fire Elemental. Her hands extended, she bent hundreds of [Spells] to her will as she tried to contain the fire. At first, Isyd thought that her [Spells] were collapsing as the light kept on shifting, but he quickly realized he was wrong.

She’s using a Fluid Hex!

Tekla glanced in his direction. Her eyes were wide in terror, her teeth were gritted in concentration.

“Leave! Take them with you and go!” she shouted.

The fire roar turned almost animalistic as the Elemental struggled against Tekla’ [Spells]. Isyd grabbed Jadwia and pushed her back on her feet and toward the exit. All around them, plaster and burning chips of wood were falling. The roof would collapse in its entirety at any moment.

Isyd hunched down and put his gloved hand on the floor and let his Idpulse take over his mind. Earth Essence STORED tenfold, impurities SUBSTRACTED, and the whole SHAPED before being RELEASED.

“[Rise and Support]!” Isyd said. His [Hex] flashed upon the floor before sinking in. The earth shook under them and suddenly several pillars of rocks burst out at different angles and interlocked with the crumbling roof to provide additional support. It was only a temporary solution because the soil that had been summoned was friable and already yielding against the weight. Isyd was however not done:

“[Stand your Ground!]”

The [Hex] flew at the pillars and infused them with a metallic shine, making them stronger and firmer. This only prevented the roof from collapsing but did nothing to stop the fire from spreading. It was as if it air itself had turned into oil with how the flames jumped and danced and rolled with ease and no constraints.

“Julya! Go! You must go!” Norran was shouting.

“No! I won’t… leave you!” Julya said.

“The fire! Damn you, Julya, go!”

“No!”

Tears were running down her face as she struggled helplessly to make the rubbles budge. Isyd ran to her and kneeled.

“Together!” he called to her and they heaved on the stones. “Come on!”

A sweet taste burst in his mouth and his muscles burned under the effort. He pushed and pushed until finally he felt it yield.

“Go! Pulling him back and go!” Isyd said through gritted teeth.

Julya dragged Norran out from the stones. Jadwia came to help and together, they managed to lift the man and rest him on their shoulders. Isyd let his burden fall in a groan and hurried them toward the exit.

“Ke … cough … Kewin…” Jadwia tried to say.

“I’ll get to him! Go! Now!” Isyd said.

When he turned, it was to take the full measure of the Elemental. His body was made of fire turned solid, his eyes burned with an intense white flame. Here was a being created and animated by pure Holy Grace.

“Isyd, w…what do we do?” Naeht said to him in his ear. “It’s a Fire Elemental!”

“Naeht, you must go!”

“No, I don’t want to leave you!”

“Go! I’ll join you later! Whatever happens, don’t approach!”

Tekla had collapsed on her knees as if she was supporting an unbearable weight. She was deathly pale, her whole body was quivering. Still, she kept her hands up trying to maintain her [Spell]. Her [Hex] had however lost its shine and was starting to crumble apart.

“I… I can’t…” she muttered.

I am FIRE!

The voice exploded in their ears, in their minds. It had an echo that wasn’t of this world. This mental attack was the last straw for Tekla; her [Spell] collapsed suddenly and she fell. The Elemental shone brighter, the flames of his body roared.

I am Fire.

They heard it speak and heard it all.

In those words was the soft flame of a candlestick, the blazing heat of the sun, the loving passion of a mother, the smouldering of embers, the destruction of a wildfire, the sparks of a campfire. The Elemental wanted to do what fire did: to burn everything, to consume everyone, to turn all into this ephemeral but beautiful phenomenon that was a fire.

The Elemental spoke of what was true: he was the Fire Essence.

Isyd stepped in front of Tekla and opened himself to the Holy Grace and began casting. The Elemental saw him do and crept closer, interested in what he felt in Isyd’s mind.

Fire…?

Isyd heard the question, and felt it in his mind the same way he felt the presence of others by listening to the Song of the Grace. The question demanded an answer, a submission of his part.

“ No, I am no Fire! ” Isyd responded in kind.

The flames roared and burned hotter in irritation at the rebuttal. Isyd didn’t even flinch at the heat, though he could feel his body burning from the inside out. It was as if the very Grace he had accepted inside him was turning into liquid fire in his veins. The Fire Essence was trying to overwhelm him. Isyd steeled himself against the onslaught.

“ Thy kind hast no power here! ”

I am FIRE!

Deep inside, Isyd felt something stir against the burning of the Fire Essence. The skin under his bandages twitched furiously like a rabid animal that demanded to be fed. No! Isyd kept it bound. He would not resort to this. Instead, he faced the Fire Essence head-on and used the Elemental’s own attack against it.

“I know thy True Name! Hear mine: I am He Who Quenches!”

Isyd was of the Waters; his words carried a Truth of their own.

In those words was the swiftness of a river, the coldness of a snowflake, the vastness of an ocean, the rhythm of a pouring rain, the sadness of a tear, the dance of a wave, the strength of a waterfall, the serenity of a lake, the suddenness of a flood, the safety of a spring.

With his [Hex], Isyd built a connection between the Grace of the Fire Elemental and his. In the same way the Elemental had tried to turn his Grace into a Fire Essence, Isyd was now slowly imposing his own will and turning it into Water Essence.

The Elemental tried to retreat but it was already too late; it was first bound by him who had summoned it and now by him whom he had attacked. Methodically, Isyd was breaking the Elemental’s Grace apart; he opposed the Fire Essence with a Water Essence of his own before [VOIDING] it. The Elemental struggled but it was in vain; it grew smaller, the flames subsided, and the fire grew weaker as if it was rapidly running out of fuel.

I… am… FIRE… I… Fire… Fi… F…

“ Thy strength burns true ,” Isyd said softly. “ Let it rest now, O True One! ”

In a feeble struggle, the Elemental let out a final burst of heat before vanishing like a snuffed flame. All the fire had suddenly disappeared, there was not even an ember left burning in the entire building. The room was now filled with the chilling cold of the winter. If it wasn’t for the soot and burned wood, it wouldn’t have been difficult that a wildfire had been raging mere seconds ago.

Isyd fell to his knees, gasping for air. His throat was dry, burning even and his brow was covered in sweat. It was as if all his strength had just burned out. Still, he managed to drag himself to where Kewin laid. He put his hand against his throat and felt for a pulse. Positive. He checked for a breath. Positive again. But the boy didn’t respond when Isyd shook him; he looked even paler than normal. Isyd tried to strain his senses to learn more about his state but he quickly gave up. He was just so tired; his mind and body were railing against the effort. He approached Tekla who had also collapsed unconscious. She was cold to the touch, but similarly to Kewin, she was living and breathing. Her shaking was proof enough of that.

Hypothermia most likely… She had the heat sucked out of her by the Elemental… Even in the state he was in, he still tried to diagnose and provide first aid. He was now acting only from automatisms learned at the warfront. With difficulty, Isyd rose to his feet and, threw Kewin and Tekla over his shoulders, and stumbled outside one step after another. Rain was pouring. Isyd heard a part of the façade collapse behind him but he didn’t pay any mind. He was in a daze; he barely noticed when people rushed to him to relieve him of Kewin and Tekla. The coldness of the rain on his skin felt nice, but also made him realize that his skin was burning hot. People were talking to him, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He felt feverish and weak.

Consequences of absorbing the Fire Essence at first… he thought. I just need… to lie down… just for a second…

Isyd leaned back against a wall and let himself fall to the ground. There it was. Now he just had to rest for a bit. He almost didn’t notice he was slipping out of consciousness. His last words were for her, as they always were:

“Naeht…”