[CLASS QUEST] Biroki

[Suhuba]

This Quest is for Biroki, an aspiring Mage.

OOC
||. You may not control any NPCs or other characters; Biroki must face his trials alone.
||. Respond to the prompts given as you would any other RP.
||. Your responses may be as long or short as you feel necessary.

IC
Heat.

For anybody nearby, that would certainly be the first noticeable trait.

Bright light.

For those near and far, the intensity of the warm, emanating light would undoubtedly be the second most noticeable factor. After all, the sun had fallen long before over Jauhar and regardless, it was almost always dark in the dense rainforest. So, what could this be? This strange, bright warmth permeating the area?

Fire.

The raging flames licked at the violet trees, scarring their trunks black. Somehow, it was making a path, trailing along through the darkness, brightening the world of shadows.

This was strange. Completely foreign. Fires... they were always controlled. In such a damp, rainy environment, forest fires were rarely a threat. Except, of course, when they were induced by magic.

The heat encircled the small, tent-like home of Biroki, lapping at the corners of the structure, working to burn through the single-room dwelling. What could have possibly happened? Magic... had someone's fire magic been out of control?

The forest was eerily silent. Jauhar seemed deserted. Only the roar of the heat and the crackling of burning wood and shattering, too-hot crystals, filled the unnaturally bright air.
 

[DraconicFeline]

Biroki... blinked.
What had he been thinking about? How long had he been staring at the fire in the center of the hut?
He looked around him. It was odd. He couldn't tell what time it was- the light was all wrong. He remembered that Reshel had gone out to get more components for medicines, leaving him to tend to Sen'oda. But how long had Reshel been away? He supposed he had been spacing out while staring at the fire- he hadn't been sleeping particularly regularly or well ever since they had gotten their new patient... But for how long had he been staring
?
And why was it suddenly so hot? And why did he have a headache?

He stood up, only to start coughing in thin, smokey air.
What the heck?!

As if a switch had been turned on, he was suddenly aware of the sounds of the fire. The roar of heat, the crackling of wood, the ringing shatter of crystals.
The roof was slowly becoming a mosaic of hungry fire. It was beautiful...

Wait.
Fire. Why was there fire on the roof?
Biroki's tired brain finally put the pieces together.
He let out a yelp and started scrambling towards the door.

The tent was on fire!!! How the fire had come into being was not on his mind. There was fire and he was IN THE TENT THAT WAS BURNING DOWN.

He had just gotten out of the door and emerged choking into the loud Jahuar night in his panicked scramble when he realized he had forgotten something.

His patient. Sen'oda.
He frantically turned back to the burning hut that he had only just escaped.
He had to go back in! He blanched a moment as the flames began to eat away at the doorway, and the roof sagged and crisped.
It was too dangerous! It was about to collapse!
And she would be trapped inside!
He had to go back in!
 

[Suhuba]

The fire continued to grow, eating its way upward and outward. Incredibly strange was the placement of the fire, which seemed to be spreading from the hut itself, as if the single-bedroom tent was the focal point from which the horrendous wave of heat and flame was expanding.

Stranger still was the silence in the forest, as if everyone had vanished.

Nobody screamed for help. Nobody moved to extinguish the growing flames. Nobody rushed to Biroki's side, to offer him a hand, to save Sen'oda.

This strange woman, this potential mother, would she be lost as well?

The odd, magical pattern of flames continued to grow, eating its way outward until a perfect circle had been formed, a circle which encompassed a great deal of property, but stopped just short of any other homes. It was if a magical barrier had been raised...

...but the flames did not die out. If anything, they began to burn brighter. Soon, the perfect circle would be filled in and there would be no escape into the outskirts of the forest, beyond the raging heat.  

[DraconicFeline]

Biroki tried to call for help, but smoke caught in his throat and he coughed.
The flames were behaving strangely, the world was behaving strangely, but he was too busy screaming inside. The flames were rising higher and higher. Why wouldn't they stop?!
He felt frozen between escape and return.
He thought of those flames lapping at his bag. At the shelves. At the herb collections.
At Sen'oda.
He had to go back in.
He felt too thick, too slow, like he was moving through molassas, but he turned all the same- back into the heat at his back.
The door was on fire, but once he had turned around, he had some momentum.
But he was going so slow! Finally, he was through. The whole place was bathed in a golden orange glow. It breahthed heat and smoke. Already, in the time it had been between his escape and his return -it had to only have been a few seconds- his bed and Reshel's bed had been crisped. He panned around for Sen'oda, choking in the hot, dry, smokey air. It tasted of carbon and herbs, of oils and heat.
She was there, still unburned, still alive, he hoped. He crouched down.
She was still breathing... but her breathing was heavy, labored. Sweat glistened on her forehead.
This sort of heat with her fever? He needed to get her out and get her to water.
He looked up, panicking as the roaring inferno felt ever closer. The top of the clothen tent was no longer a mosaic of fire. It was crisping away. He could see the sky above, and the smoke, and the flames. He could also see the parts supporting the rest of the hut were... burnt mostly through.
If it collapsed on top of him, he was done for. Sen'oda would be done for. They would be pinned and cooked.
He would have whimpered, but his lungs were hurting too much even for that. He had to get out.
He turned back to Sen'oda. He was afraid to move her, but it would be worse if he didn't! He couldn't carry the bed out- he'd have to carry just her, somehow... and he wasn't the strongest shifter in the settlement. Not by a long shot.
Still, he had to try. He tried to, gently, lift her like he would a log of wood. She was still surprisingly light from her fever, but he wasn't sure if he could get her out...
But he had to try. His instincts were screaming that the place was about to come down and they had to get out now.
He stumbled towards the door, choking on the air... and then the door filled with fire.
The heat scalded his arms and he drew back. He looked back and up. Was he trapped?!
 

[Suhuba]

Although the fire had stopped expanding beyond the unnatural borders of its perfect circle, it continued to burn. The small tent-like structure that Biroki had once called home continued to singe and flake away. The structures creaked, threatening to collapse at any moment. It was either dive through, take the plunge and the risk, or face certain death within a collapsed hut. If he didn't move quickly, no doubt he would be forced to leave Sen'oda behind, to face, once again, a major loss, without ever really knowing... was this woman his mother?

Surely, it was only a matter of time.

If only he were big and strong... more than a Prentice, then maybe he would be able to do something about these magical flames. But alas, powerless as he was, he would have to rely on his mind, whatever intelligence and brute force he could muster. Perhaps, just perhaps, were he to succeed in this task, to... not die... the Elders would think him worthy, deserving of some higher level of training.

Just as it looked as if the circle of flames surrounding the hut were about to seal completely, they stopped. A perfect doorway, cut into the flames, revealed a way through the woods, out of the fire, if only he could reach the exit.

In the distance, a pool of water glistened, beckoning, a reprieve from the heat and the thirst.  

[DraconicFeline]

It was either try or die.
Or leave her behind. Leaving her behind was not an option he even wanted to consider.
He just... couldn't do that.
He'd have to go through. Now. He could hear ominous crumblings and creakings above him.
Try or die. Now or never.

He charged forward, crying out as the flames scalded him. He was afraid, so afraid.
Maybe someday he would be able to control fire. But for now all he had was suppressed pyrokinesis. Soon someone would train him more than Reshel had been able to.
Maybe.
If he survived.
Of course he wasn't thinking that when he was running through fire with his mother in his arms. He was in such panic that he wasn't sure quite what he was thinking.
Only that heHADTOGETOUT.
Finally, he broke through the fire. It was only a brief second of pain, but the burn on his shoulder, where the first of the firefall had licked it, felt like it hurt for an eternity.
The hut began to creak behind him and cave in. Small explosions boomed as the flames found the healing oils Reshel kept. Biroki's bag lay, abandoned, on the floor, weakly sputtering before joining the rest of the hut in hellish flame.

Biroki gasped for air in the dry, hot, suffocating circle. A way out? a way out! Without thinking, he raced through

Cooler, wetter air, drawn in by the action of the fire, assailed him and he stumbled, choking as his lungs reacted by contracting. He looked back at the hut, engulfed by the perfect circle of flames.

He was still running on adrenaline, still in the 'now'. He did not register anything strange about the fire just yet.
No. He was too busy breathing air into his sooty, unhappy lungs... and checking on his patient.

Sen'oda... was she still breathing? She was so light, he couldnt tell just by feel, and it was so faint that he couldn't tell just by sight.

Another round of choking interrupted his examination, and the pool of water caught his eye.

Thank Serin!

He went over, moving with the speed of a desperate animal to the water. He lay Sen'oda down before gulping at it thirstily and gasping as the cool, refreshing liquid hit his throat.

Then he went to check on her, his mouth still dripping. Was she alive?  

[Suhuba]

Sen'oda was no doubt struggling. Already ill, on top of the amount of soot and smoke that had undoubtedly found its way into her lungs. Surely, she could use some help, the assistance of a healer, some way to purge her body of the smoke.

Unconscious as she was, it wasn't even possible for her to drink the cool water, as Biroki could, finally managing to drench his throat in the cool liquid.

Yet, what was he to do? The forest seemed just as empty as before. There didn't seem to be anybody nearby. Nothing stirred in the windless world. Except... except...

A sound. Beautiful and light, like a windchime mixed with sweet honey. There, off on the other side of the lake, stood a woman. She was beautiful, graceful, with long hair, as silver as the moon itself, that ran down the length of her back. She seemed to be bathing, unaware of the catastrophe that had just occured at Biroki's home.  

[DraconicFeline]

Breathing. Oh thank Serin, she was breathing...
But barely. He could hear it catch and rattle, could hear the roots of a cough begin in her lungs. She was too weak even for that to escape...

He had to do something. He was the only one around. He tried to call for help- maybe someone was nearby... but he only coughed as his own lungs flung out the soot they had held.

Water. Water helped his parched throat, maybe it would help hers?
No. She was unconscious and too weak to take water. If he gave it to her, she would choke and die... and it would be his fault.

What would he do? What could he do? He didn't know how to clear her lungs of soot, and he didn't have any healing magic to help him. Sparks and flame had caused it, and wouldn't cure it.

Was there really, truly, nobody here?
What could he do?! He was about to cry.
He couldn't do anything for her himself, and he didn't... He couldn't leave her here to find anybody.
Would she die?
Would she die because he wasn't a healer?

A sound, a sweet clarion sound touched his ears. It was striking because of the silence around him, silence he only noticed when the chime faded away.
It was such a beautiful sound on its own that for a moment he was only aware of it. In its absence, he missed it, and raised his head, trying to find it again even as his quieted heart remembered it's peril and quickened.

On any other day at any other time, Biroki would have found himself blushing as red as a sunset and stammering at the vision of a woman before him.

But, as the urgency of the situation returned to his perception, the fact that it was a woman bathing wasn't of relevance.

It was someone.
Maybe she could help!

He tried to call out to her, then coughed as soot clogged his throat. He tried again.
"Help! Please help!" he managed to call before succumbing to a coughing fit again, trying to cough away from Sen'oda. His wrists and arms began to feel an odd combination of pain and numbness as the skin succumbed to it's damage and died as a burn.
"Please..." he looked at the woman, eyes desperate.
He hoped she heard him. He hoped she would help him. He had no other way to help his mother.
 

[Suhuba]

The woman slowly turned, glancing over her shoulder. It seemed surreal, the way she moved, so gracefully, so nonchalantly, when Biroki's life was literally crumbling around him.

She drifted towards the shore, ethereal, still humming that tune, her voice like a windchime.

The woman leaned out of the pool of water as she reached the duo. Her hands cupped water, glowing a gentle, silver hue, which she poured onto Sen'oda's chest. The unconscious woman exhaled sharply, and a puff of dark smoke exuded from her chest. She coughed a number of times, releasing small puffs of smoke on each exhale. After a moment, she began to breathe normally, still unconscious.

The woman smiled, her long hair shielding her body. "She's safe..." She extended her hands towards Biroki. "But you're hurt..." Her voice was no less beautiful spoken than sung. "Come... into the water..." Her fingertips brushed over the surface of the otherwise still pond. "I can help you..."  

[DraconicFeline]

It was surreal how calm she was, how calm everything was while the roar of the fire still echoed in Biroki's ears and the smell of smoke still filled his nose.
He hovered anxiously over his mother, like some kind of bird, as the woman poured her healing water.

He relaxed when Sen'oda breahted normally, a great weight off of his shoulders. He looked at the woman with a look of pure, sincere, and troubled gratitude.
"T-thank you. Thank you so much" He was too shaken to cry, though the melodic sound of her voice made him want to. He'd probably be bawling later.

At her words, he was suddenly very aware of the burns on his arms and the thickness in his lungs. It was as if a switch had been turned on. He just, suddenly, hurt. His nose hurt. His throat hurt. His lungs hurt.
His arms felt like they were still on fire, and his eyes felt dry even as he rubbed them.

He was used to obeying healers, and she was so beautiful, with such a lovely voice... and she had just helped Sen'oda...

But...

"No... I'm... I'm fine..." His injuries weren't that bad, right?
He couldn't treat them now!
"I... I need to find my teacher. I need to tell him his hut burned down..." His panic had died down a little, but there was still a note of it in his voice.
"Have you... Have you seen him?" he asked.  

[Suhuba]

A flash of fury shivered through the woman's body, but dissipated as quickly as it had come, like a dream, the blink of an eye... had it even actually happened?

The woman smiled at Biroki, arms extended towards him. "The forest is empty... you'll need your strength to find them." The woman leaned on the bank, pulling herself partially out of the waer. "See how quickly I healed that woman? It won't take long..."

The forest seemed to be humming with her voice, singing, sweet, coaxing him towards her. "Trust me."  

[DraconicFeline]

Biroki swayed, suddenly knowing how tired he was. It felt heavy in his very bones, sinking into his very being with all his other hurts.
She was so convincing, this woman. He looked around. The forest was empty. Where was everybody?
He had to find Reshel. He had to warn someone at least, make sure that fire wasn't going to spread. Had it already spread.

So tempting. Just a dip in the water to cool off his pain. A splash, maybe. She had healed Sen'oda, hadn't she? She was pretty, with such a nice voice... He could trust her, right?
He was so shaken. She could help, right?
"It won't... t-take long?" he hesitated, swallowing against a still dry throat.
Something niggled at him, something that made him uncertain and confused. He couldn't figure out what it was, but it was amplified in his anxious state and battled with the temptation to just dip into the pool.

Just a little bit, right? He only needed a little bit of help, right?
He did need strength to find Reshel. He felt weak. So weak and tired. Her voice felt lulling, reassuring. She would help him.
".. Okay..." he said, his eyes still wide and anxious as he held out a burnt arm to her.
"I... I don't need much. I have to... I have to..." it was hard through the confusing haze to get the words out.

He had to find Reshel.  

[Suhuba]

"Shhh...." She quieted Biroki's last words. The strange woman's hand reached out to encircle Biroki's wrist. The smile on her face spread, then just as suddenly changed.

Her eyes grew dark and her smile vicious, her grip on Biroki's arm grew strong. She tugged violently, forcing Biroki to join her in the waters.

Her body shifted slightly in the waters, revealing what lay beneath.

Her body didn't seem human. What could this woman who was so lovely a minute ago be? Her legs were blacky and sickly, as if a fire had engulfed them. The skin, when stretched too far, broke and pussed, revealing deep red beneath.

The woman would have her way. Biroki would surely meet his demise in these waters.  

[DraconicFeline]

Biroki's eyes widened with horror and, when he realized he was being pulled under the water, he yelped in an undignified way and struggled against the woman's grasp.
She was strong, though, so strong. He didn't wonder how he had trusted her. He just knew he needed to get away! Now! Becaus,e although he liked water very much and it was certainly cool and probably refreshing, he really didn't want to die.
Sen'oda needed his help. He needed to find Reshel. He needed to live!
But she was too strong! He couldn't get free! He curled in upon himself as she was pulled under the water, then kicked out at her with as much force as he could muster. He used his legs and his back to try to push away, hoping the force would be enough to make her let go, to make those horrible legs go away. He tried to get back towards the shore where Sen'oda lay, still unconcious. He tried to push back and up, to air and life...  

[Suhuba]

The woman-creature screeched in agony as Biroki's legs kicked at her. Her grip loosened and let go and her face distorted into an agonizing shriek. She wouldn't give up so easily.

There was nothing left of the beautiful woman in the water, just a tortured soul with a woman's body and a charred lower half.

As Biroki returned to the surface of the water and took in his first real lungful of air, the woman returned to the surface and dragged at Biroki's legs, trying to gain a hold of him once again.

She was powerful in water and would soon grasp what she needed to drag Biroki down into the depths once again. Only the power of fire, the thing that had originally put an end to this life could possibly have an effect on the shrieking beast before him.