My mentor, Wizard Palman, once told me that fire was the element of hunger. I never understood him before--if fire was the element of hunger, then why was it that only people without fire went hungry? After all, fire makes it possible for people to cook their food before they eat it. My lack of understanding of this concept was the main reason I never mastered fire, according to Palman.
Perhaps it simply wasn't the right time to master fire. As I stand here now, overlooking the city as it burns, I feel a pain deep in my chest. This is all my fault, after all. If I hadn't allowed Hareth to steal my heart, hadn't allowed him into my home, he never would have stolen my water magic from me. And now that I, the last Wizard left after the Purge, have been stripped of my connection with water, there is nothing to keep the Yelraks from ravaging Gwynvale. Because of my foolishness, my home is being consumed by fire.
Consumed. I stop and think about my choice of words. Fire consumes. I think once more about Palman's words. Fire is the element of hunger. I had always thought that meant it caused hunger. But maybe that wasn't what Palman was saying at all. Maybe fire is the element of hunger because it needs to eat to survive--it needs fuel!
As the realization hits me, I am overcome by a raging heat that begins in my chest and spreads outward to my fingertips and toes. I recognize it as a connection to an element, but the ravishing hunger that comes with it almost overcomes me with its intensity. I fight the hunger until the raging fire dies down into flickering embers--still there, but no longer overwhelming.Â
I take a deep breath and look out at my beloved Gwynvale, wearing a mourning veil of thick, black smoke. I straighten my back as I am filled with resolve. If fire needs to eat to survive, then a starved fire will die. It's time to fight fire with fire.