Chapter 1: Making New Friends
"No . . ." Chandra coughed, and there was blood in that cough, red drops that sprayed onto the broken rubble below. She tried to steady herself, resisting the urge to vomit. Where is Gideon? She swiveled around to look for him and realized she was seconds away from passing out.
Nissa yelled at her again. "Go! I will be fine! You'll die! Go!"
Chandra couldn't find Gideon. She couldn't save Nissa. She couldn't beat the dragon. She couldn't even stay conscious.
If I stay here, I will die. She didn't want to die. She planeswalked away in a fiery blaze, the only trace left of her presence the blood that stained the broken rocks as it, too, evaporated under the fiery heat.
Chandra tumbled through the Blind Eternities, landing on a random world. The first thing she noticed was the cold, followed swiftly by the pain. She regretted leaving Nissa and Gideon alone to face Nicol Bolas, but what choice had she had? If she hadn't left, they would have been fighting him alone all the same. At least she had given herself a chance to recover and train, hone her skills so that the next time she faced the elder dragon, she'd be ready.
Attempting to stand, the pyromancer was given a sharp reminder of her broken ribs. She dared to take a step forward, and only accomplished filling her vision with black spots. Seeking help here was near impossible, and planeswalking somewhere where people would be able to help her was out of the question. Chandra collapsed, discovering the primary reason for the cold. She was surrounded by snow. She shivered and started to curl up into a ball, but the pain in her chest quickly stopped that action. Perhaps staying behind on Amonkhet would have been better. At least death at Bolas's hand would have been quicker than the agonizing cold of whatever this place was.
As Chandra's body began to grow numb, her mind also began slipping in and out of consciousness. She attempted to stand up once more, and that was the final straw, sending her unconscious body to the ground.
When Chandra woke up, she was laying in bed. Looking around, the environment was unfamiliar. There wasn't much in the small room, only the bed she was laying in, a few oil lamps, and a chair that was occupied by a man. He looked roughly her age, maybe a few years older, with chestnut hair draping over his shoulders and the faint wisps of a beard on his jaw. He wore black boots, blue pants made of a material she had never seen, and a black, sleeveless tunic that showed off his toned arms. He also wore brass gauntlets on his forearms.
The pyromancer started to sit up, and the pain that shot through her reminded her of what had happened to bring her here. At least, to this world, as she still wasn't sure of how she got in the bed. Looking at herself, she saw that her armor had been removed, leaving her wearing only leggings. Her chest had been wrapped in bandages, and she could see that she was covered in several bruises, but that appeared to be the extent of the damage.
Attempting to shift to a more comfortable position, she grunted in pain. This caused the man in the chair to stir. He grunted a bit as he stood up, and then turned his full attention to Chandra. He was a stocky man, standing about five foot eleven. Now that they were open, the pyromancer could see that his eyes were a deep blue with flecks of amber, and both were trained on her. He cleared his throat. "You're awake, good. Can you stand?"
"Who are you?" Chandra asked. "How did I get here? And where is here, anyway?" The man chuckled.
"The name's Jason Thuul, pyromancer. I found you passed out in the mountains, badly injured and a few hours out from freezing to death, so I took you back here, warmed you up and patched you up. This is my home. You're currently in my bed."
"Okay, but where is here? What plane is this?" Jason gave a slight look of surprise before releasing a hearty laugh. Chandra was confused.
"You're a planeswalker. That explains a lot. This plane is called Baath. Very cold, rich with metal of all varieties. Great for artificers. Not so much for reptiles. Pretty much, if you were born on Kaladesh, can easily build a fire, and are trying to escape say, I don't know, a dragon, this is practically a utopia." Now it was Chandra's turn to laugh, but that quickly gave way to more pain and a coughing fit.
"You pretty much just described my situation." She held out her hand. "Chandra Nalaar, pyromancer." They exchanged a handshake, and Chandra tested his skill with the magic he claimed to have. Her hand lit on fire as their palms connected, and Jason didn't seem to notice. As they pulled away, the man made a slight gesture, and the fire in Chandra's hand jumped to his. His eyes glowed a vibrant orange as the fire licked up to his elbows, and then was extinguished just as quickly.
"Is that what you were wanting to see?" he asked. The female pyromancer could only nod. "You need rest. I'll go fix something for you to eat, and I'll be back later. When that happens, I want to know what exactly happened that got you caught up in the mountains." He didn't even wait for a response before he left the small room. Not feeling like she had the energy to chase after him, Chandra just went back to sleep.
Chandra woke up some time later. She still felt sore, but she didn't have the biting pain she did earlier. Climbing out of the bed, she saw a fresh set of clothes laid out across the chair. A white tunic and grey pants that were made of a strange and soft material that was actually very warm and incredibly comfortable. She walked out of the room and was greeted by a whole new environment. On the left, there was a workbench covered with miscellaneous tools, scrap metal, and various half-finished devices. To the right, there was a small kitchen, including a table with a couple of chairs around it. Jason was standing in front of the stove, clearly cooking something. A small device sat on the counter next to him, playing strange music. It sounded like he was humming along with it. The young woman cleared her throat to get his attention. "I see you're awake," he said, still focused on his cooking.
"Yes, and I have a few more questions."
"Well, first, you tell me what you were doing before you arrived, and I'll do my best to answer your questions. Also, breakfast. You must be starving." Chandra hadn't really thought about it, but as he mentioned food, her stomach began to rumble. She sat down at the table as Jason started scraping eggs onto the plates he had set out. He sat down, passing her one of the plates, and began eating. She just poked at the food, not really feeling like eating. "You waiting for permission? Because if so, please, dig in," he said with a smile.
"I'm not hungry," she responded, but her stomach growled louder, betraying her.
"Doesn't sound that way." Realizing that it would be better for her, Chandra reluctantly began eating. The eggs actually weren't that bad. A little burnt, but what else would you expect from a pyromancer using what looked like a second-rate stove. "So, what happened to cause you to drop yourself in the mountains, and severely injured as well."
"I guess it would start on Amonkhet. Ever heard of it?" Jason shook his head. "Well, it's a desert world full of dangerous creatures and horrors. The only surviving humans live in the city of Naktamun and were protected by five gods. Me and a group of my friends, we call ourselves The Gatewatch, went to this plane planning to confront the elder dragon, Nicol Bolas. He triggered an apocalypse on Amonkhet, and when we fought him, he defeated us. There were five of us in all. Jace and Liliana went first, and then I ran after taking several severe hits. Nissa and Gideon remained, I'm not sure what happened to them." Chandra started getting choked up and began to cry. "Sorry," she forced out through choked sobs. "I just, I-I'm worried ab-bout what happened to m-my friends." Jason just sat there, silent and shocked.
"You know, there are people who would look at what you did and call you a coward for running," he said at last.
"Is that what you think I am?" she screamed. "A damn coward?!" Her hair began to spark, and Jason knew what was coming next. "You don't know me at all!"
"I said there are people who would think that. I never said that's what I thought," he said cooly. "Personally, what you did was rather intelligent. It sounds like you and your friends picked a fight you couldn't win. You got injured, and probably would have died if you had stayed any longer, so you ran. Live to fight another day. It's not cowardice, it's pragmatic."
"And it looks like it was about as useful as bringing fire to fight a dragon." Jason opened his mouth to respond, but quickly decided against it.
At that moment, there was a light knock on the door. Jason went to answer it, and quickly returned, followed by an elven woman. She was roughly five feet tall, had fair skin, bright green eyes, and dark hair that cascaded freely down her back. She wore a form-fitting green dress that billowed out around the knees and was covered in ornamental metal and the occasional grease smudge. "You didn't tell me you were bringing a girl home," she said in a cool, suave voice. Jason rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, wasn't expecting to either. Chandra, this is Syllia Cramaer." He gestured to the elf, who gave a polite wave. "Syllia, Chandra. Chandra, Syllia."
"I apologize for my uncleanliness," Syllia stated. "I've been busy with a project."
"You're an artificer?" the female pyromancer asked.
"Yes, among other things. I come from a place called Kaladesh. Artificers are commonplace there."
"Believe me, I know all about that. I was born on Kaladesh too."
"Am I the only planeswalker in the multiverse to not have gone to Kaladesh?!" Jason asked. The two women just laughed. "I'm gonna go blow something up." He walked out of the building, and the sound of roaring flames could quickly be heard.
"He gets like this some times," Syllia said apologetically.
"No, I understand," Chandra replied. "I think it's just a pyromancer thing. How did you two meet?"
"My spark ignited when my invention was approved for the Inventor's Fair. I landed on a world known as Dominaria, where I met Jason. At that time, he was on the run from some mercenaries he had angered, and I offered to help him. He declined, until I mentioned having just come from a different plane. We hid together for a bit, discussing artificing techniques, and then planeswalked here. We've been here for a few months now. He's actually quite a brilliant inventor when he puts his mind to it."
"Did you ever learn where he was from?"
"Unfortunately no, though I did once make the mistake of asking. He ignored the question, and appeared to be rather upset with me for the following couple of weeks, once almost building an aether bomb." The elf smiled at the memory. "He's a good man. And I'm hoping you can make him better. If you stick around, that is." Chandra contemplated the offer. She wanted to get back out there, to find Nissa, find Gideon, and end Bolas. But she was in no shape to do so at the moment, and these people were being very hospitable despite not knowing who she was at all. Plus, a second pyromancer to train with would certainly be helpful. She decided to stay for a bit, and when she was ready, take them with her to see if they would join the Gatewatch.
"I guess the only question is, how long am I going to be staying," Chandra remarked. "Oh, and do you have another room. That could be an important one, too."
I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter of Heartfire. The three main characters have been introduced, and the main plot will begin developing soon. I'm making this because Chandra is my favorite planeswalker and I want to give her more of the spotlight. And yes, the first section was just copied and pasted from the Hour Of Devastation story. If you like what you're reading, please remember to review. Until next time, Driver Out.