The Warmth of the Hearth

Claire Blaise stands upon the unconscious body of another student, her eyes glowing a bright blue. The announcement of her victory follows, projecting the statement over the battlefield. “Thirty-four Pixies remaining.” She draws back her blue flames, pulling all of it in. She dusts her trousers off and prepares to move when a dark ominous feeling takes over her. A mist suddenly appears, hindering her vision. She feels the air go cold and prepares her flames for battle. The bright blue flames swirl elegantly around her, waiting for her signal to strike. A chill runs down her spine, as she senses a vast amount of manna somewhere in the arena. She faces and heads towards the direction of the anomaly, her flames flowing behind her.

She nimbly jumps from tree to tree. As she lands on a branch, she hears rustling in the ground in front of her. She sees a familiar figure, leaning on a tree a few feet away. She prepares to proceed but is stopped by an unusual sight. A dark figure has appeared in front of the first, dark smoke swirling around its arm. She then realizes who the first figure was, it was Luke Laisren. Her eyes grow wide when she sees Laisren collapse on the ground, lying in an expanding puddle of red. An announcement is then heard over the arena, “Thirty-three Pixies remaining.” The dark figure then laughs manically, a sound that shakes Claire from the inside. For the first time, she has come to know the feeling of fear and the thought terrifies her. Her breathing goes heavy, as she stares at the lifeless body of Luke, the lifeless body of someone she admired.

Principal Loft appears from the tree line, her eyes glowing a bright white. The dark figure stops his manic dancing and proceeds to meet her. Claire finds hope in the sight of Ms. Loft, that maybe she might somehow be able to save Luke. As she prepares to aid the principal, her heart drops to her stomach. The principal extends an arm towards the dark figure, which the latter vigorously shakes. Dark mist surrounds him, swirling around his body and in an instant, he disappears. The mist that covered the forest slowly dissipates as well, along with the disappearance of the dark figure. The principal removes herself from the scene, leaving Claire dumbfounded.

Claire immediately dashes to Luke, her flame gone as she runs to his limp body. She checks his pulse, looking for some sort of sign that he was still alive. “Laisren, don’t give up on me now.” She finds none, her eyes brimming with tears. Her eyes then focus on the wound on his stomach, blood still relentlessly gushing out.

A familiar voice is then heard all over the arena. “My dear students, due to unprecedented events, we have decided that the examinations will be postponed until further notice.” It was Ms. Loft, her voice as commanding as ever. “The deliberation of the results up to this point will be discussed by the headmasters to assure fairness to those who have done well so far. We apologize for the sudden inconvenience. You will now be teleported to your quarters.”

A bright white light suddenly engulfs Luke’s body, which Claire holds tightly. His body dissolves into particles, followed by a bright flash. It can’t be. Claire’s body glows similarly to Luke’s and in a moment, darkness fills her vision. CRACK! She tumbles on the hardwood floor of her room. Her eyes brim with tears as all of her emotions clump into confusion. Luke was dead, and she couldn’t do anything. She screams, no longer caring about what happens. Blue flames violently pour out from every direction, engulfing everything around her. Her door opens with a loud thud, with Carson standing on the doorway. She looks at him, tears in her eyes. He rushes to embrace her, and in Carson’s arms, she whispers to him. “Luke... he’s gone.”