The Warmth of the Hearth
One Last Order

Carson wakes up to the sound of his father’s voice, his entire body in immense pain. He opens his eyes, looking to see what all the fuss was. Beside him, Claire lies still, unconscious. A female Terra mage was tending to her, various plants surrounding Claire’s sleeping body. Her entire left shoulder was wrapped in bandages and bruises were evident on her skin.

Kayden Blaise notices Carson stir and he approaches the young Blaise. “Carson, what were you thinking?!” His voice raises as he scolds his son. “You know better than to go meddling in matters that you have no knowledge of! Do you know how close I was to losing you?!” He pauses, taking a deep breath. The lord approaches Carson and embraces him, tears stream down his face. “Do not do that to me again...”

Carson is taken aback by his father’s sudden emotional state, a sense of guilt floods him. He answers his father’s embrace with one of his own as he answers. “I apologize father.” His father pulls away, wiping the tears off of his cheeks. Carson takes a glance at the room and he realizes they were in the infirmary, its white walls and glass windows give the room a soothing vibrance. “How long was I out?”

“Roughly a few hours, dawn’s just about to break.” Kayden answers, his gruff voice echoing throughout the room. The nurse tending to Claire stands up and faces the lord with sadness in her eyes. She speaks, her voice mellow which makes Kayden worry. “I’m afraid I have done all that I can M’lord, which isn’t much. All that I can tell you is that the rest is up to her.” The nurse faces Claire, before continuing. “I suggest you give her time, she’s a strong gal.” Kayden nods, his heart sinking to the floor as he looks at the battered body of his daughter. The nurse excuses herself, leaving Kayden and Carson alone in the infirmary.

Carson speaks, his voice still hoarse. “The upper houses are involved father, and it seems that they plan to act soon.”

Kayden does not react, knowing full well what was about to happen today. “That is true.” He sighs, his broad shoulders dropping as if a heavy weight was cast upon him. His eyes meet Carson’s, and he musters whatever determination he has left. “There is news that an attack will be launched soon. Our mole has done his fair share of investigation, which also allowed us to get to you before it was too late.” The thought of war frightens Kayden, the sense of fear stemming from the possibility of losing everything he has cherished. “There are countermeasures set to retaliate against the plan. All we can do now is to wait.”

The young Blaise attempts to get out of his bed, and is instead met with enormous pain. He fumbles back into the bunk, his head throbbing. “Let me help father, I can fight as well.” He sees his father shake his head in disagreement. “You stay put. If all goes well, there will be limited casualties, if not none at all.” His father turns around to leave the room, giving one last order. “Rest, you have put yourselves in enough unnecessary danger and I won’t have that happen again. I will return soon.” He walks away, leaving Carson staring at the ceiling as the thought of being powerless infuriates him. Damn it!

Luke pants in the field as he dodges Olin’s onslaught of attacks. Numerous walls of flame swirl themselves around the two, leaving Luke limited space to move. His uncle speaks, giving him points to remember. “Remember young Lord, there is always a way out. No opponent is perfect, thus there is bound to be lapses in his capabilities.” As he finishes, Luke is greeted with hundreds of flaming spikes launching themselves at him. He jumps and dodges his way through, his body getting heavier by the second.

A bright white glow engulfs Luke as he calls his flame, a magnificent flow of pure heat, flooding him with warmth. He launches his own attacks, testing to see what the limits of Olin’s defenses are. As expected, Olin is swift at casting defensive spells, conjuring numerous flame walls in one fell swoop. Range battles were not Luke’s forte, so he had to get creative. He focuses his flames into a dozen different figures around Olin, each one a condensation of pure manna. A surge of pride overwhelms Luke, as he could not do more than one image in the past. He materializes each, and a dozen copies of him emerged.

Olin is impressed at the talent Luke was showing. This was something nobody has ever done before, further proving Luke’s knack at playing with the flow of manna. “I am impressed young master, but tell me...” The walls he had set up completely disperse, now returning to him. The flames now blanket his entire body, providing an armor that swayed violently in the air. “Do you think a few mirrors of you will be enough to get through me?”

Luke smiles, amused by his uncle’s taunts. His images scatter, running in circles around Olin as Luke joins in. He sends flames in Olin’s direction, and his clones follow. The flames engulfing his uncle immediately extend to catch Luke’s flames, responding without fail. All of his images stop in their tracks and extend their arms, forming a dozen flame walls that emerge from the ground. His copies disappear into embers, and Luke rushes in, using his ability as a Seer to locate his uncle. He finds him and engulfs his arms in flames as he strikes.

Olin is caught off guard by Luke’s sudden appearance, but he knows this was no clone. He blocks Luke’s strikes, being trained in CQC as well as his deceased brother. Their brawl lasts for a couple of minutes, with his nephew dashing in and out of sight with the use of the walls he had set up. Olin strikes behind him, which proved to be a fatal mistake.

Luke kicks his uncle’s legs, rendering him suspended in the air for a split second. This leaves a gap in the flames of his uncle and Luke condenses his flames into his arms, smashing with all that he had. A loud boom ensues, and his uncle lies on the ground, smiling. “Well played, young Luke. Well played.”

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