Chapter 1: Flame

Flame opened his blue-gray eyes wearily and looked about him. He was in a cave high in the mountains on the west side of Istalria. He had been traveling for days, and he could not even remember the last time he had eaten. But he could worry about that later, despite his starving stomach and his constant weariness.

Rest was not a luxury he had time for. He had to get to that village, had to meet up with Shean. Who knew how many lives depended on him.

He looked out the entrance at the whirling snow outside. He closed his eyes again and sighed; he knew what he had to do. He stood and drew his black cloak even tighter around himself and pulled his hood all the way down, then, with a slow reluctance, he stepped out into the snow.

"Iris!" Irene called. She had spent the entire morning looking for her sister. They were twins with green eyes and brown hair that fell to the middle of their backs. They were exactly identical, even down to the same marks on their right hands. It was a dragon's eye, the pupil a mere slit and wreathed in flames that flared out in anger. Right above the eye, in the flames, was the symbol of the Triforce.

Irene continued on through her village, her sword strapped to her back bouncing as she went. She was the elder of the two, born two minutes before her sister almost eighteen years ago. The only real way to tell them apart was by the color of their clothing: Iris wore blue, and Irene usually wore red.

"Sabrae!" Irene called as she ran up to her friend. Their village was right next to the mountains.

"Irene! You just missed Iris!" Sabrae said as Irene ran up. She had sea-green eyes and long gold hair.

"Uhhhh! I've been looking for her all morning! Did she say where she was going?" Irene asked knocking her head on the wall in frustration.

"Relax; she only left a few minutes ago. As for where she went, she was headed for the mountains. She came in and mumbled something about someone 'calling' her. You know how she can sense things." Sabrae said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Go on; we all know how fast you run. If you hurry, you can catch up to her!"

"Thanks." Irene said as she rushed out the door.

"Huh, I do not understand them. What about you Shean?" Sabrae asked her friend. He was new to the village, only arriving a month or two ago.

Shean looked over at her. He was taller than her with short red hair and grass green eyes. He also had small goatee on his chin. "I understand them perfectly, but then I have both the mark of Healing and Wrath. Come on, we need to head out to the fields."

Irene soon saw the path to the mountain and quickly put on a burst of speed. She slowed as she saw Iris standing silently with her eyes closed.

"What do you sense?" Irene asked. Her sister always had this ability, the ability to sense and see things.

"I'm not sure. Whoever it is, they are an Istar, like us, but it…it's strange. Their presence is oozes with power. Whoever they are, they are strong, much stronger than even you and me. Yet, I sense that they are weak, and in need of help. That's why I left so early this morning. I had to come meet them. I can't get a good lock on him: he's blocking me for some reason. He's tired. Hungry. Even scared. He comes!" Iris said, her eyes snapping open as she drew her sword in a blur. Her sister quickly followed suit.

The underbrush in front of them began to rustle, and they heard several grunts of pain. They tensed, ready to spring should it come to battle. The brush parted and a figure stumbled out. Blue-grey eyes looked at them, warily going to the blades in their hands.

The figure staggered and a bloodied glove shot out and braced the figure against the nearest tree.

"Who are you and what do you want, stranger?" Irene demanded as she took a step forward.

The stranger didn't answer, but merely continued inspecting them with his piercing gaze, his eyes going to the marks on their hands. A smile turned his lips upward at seeing them. He shifted his eyes and stared Irene straight into her eyes. She flinched slightly as she saw fangs poking through his smile.

"Who are you?" Irene asked again. Beside her, Iris shifted slightly.

"Interesting. I had often wondered how the mark would affect twins; whether just one or both would bear it." The boy muttered to himself. His voice was harsh and raspy, as though it was raw and in pain.

"We don't care what you think about twins, just tell us who you are and what you want!" Iris shouted, stepping out from behind her sister to stand beside her.

"Ah, yes, I've heard of you two, although many think that you're just another rumor. The Bandits call you the Twins of Wrath; not to mention that they totally hate your guts. Friendly, pretty to look at, yet cold blooded killers. That's what they call you. Put those blades up; as you can see, I'm no threat to anyone at the moment. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Flamian Marksellius." Flame said, still leaning against the tree.

Irene chanced a glance at Iris, who nodded, then hesitantly put sheathed her sword.

"Flame, huh? We've heard stories of you. They say that the bandits fear you as if you were death yourself. It's even said that you're the one who gave the Scared One his scar." She said, still watching him closely.

"Ah, yes, Calmaius, the traitor; leave it to none other than the king's brother to conspire to take the throne." Flame said, finally looking away from them and towards their village. "So, they haven't come yet; I had thought as much when I saw you two. Looks like I made it in time!"

"Made it in time? What are you talking about? Flame!" Iris shouted as he slumped to the ground.

"To…warn you. Calmaius…on the …way. Tell…Shean…Calmaius on…war…path…"Flame managed as he lost consciousness.

Irene pulled open his cloak and gasped as she saw blood flowing from a gash in his side. She immediately pulled her cloak off and pressed it tightly against the ugly wound.

"Iris, go get Shean and Sabrae; they know how to heal wounds like this!" Irene shouted at her sister. She saw Iris hesitating. "Iris! I can't heal a wound like this! Go get Shean and Sabrae, now! I'll be fine!"

Iris took off as fast as her legs could take her. She rushed into the village and paused. Now, where are they supposed to be today? Come on, think, Iris! Where are they?

"Iris? Whatever is the matter?" a woman asked as she went by. She stopped and looked at her inquisitively.

"Shean and Sabrae, can you tell me which field they are at work in today?" Iris asked, quickly.

"Yes, they will be in the north field…hey! Iris!" the woman called after Iris's retreating form.

Sabrae looked up from her work and looked over at Shean. He was busy at work, just as everyone else was. She smiled as she watched him work.

Shean looked up and saw her turn her head away quickly. He merely shook his head and smiled. As he looked around, checking on the other workers' progress, he noticed a small dust cloud. Someone was running, fast.

"It appears we have a visitor!" he shouted. Instantly, everyone looked up from their work tending the field.

"It's Iris!" someone farther down shouted back.

"Iris? She and Irene were supposed to be on patrol to the west, near the mountains today. If she's running to find us, alone…" Sabrae broke off and caste Shean a worried look.

"No, if it was trouble with Calmaius' bandits or scouts from his Red Army, she wouldn't leave her sister alone. Someone else is in trouble; someone who is badly hurt." he said, giving her a reassuring look.

"Finally!" Iris panted as she came up to where they were standing. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"What's wrong? Where's Irene?" Sabrae asked anxiously.

"She's with Flame! He stumbled down from the mountains! Shean, he said you knew him! Irene and I need both of you; we can't heal him! If we don't go now, then he might die! I've been sensing him for several days now, but I never knew who he was, just that he was coming here. Then I began to sense him growing weaker. But enough! We need to go now!" Iris explained as quickly as she could.

"What!? Flame? If he's here then…" Shean broke off, then realized what Iris had said. "We need to go."

Come on Iris, where are you? Irene thought, as she continued to apply pressure to Flame's wound. She jerked her head up as she heard footsteps. "Iris, I really hope that's you coming!" she whispered.

"Irene? Irene!" She smiled at the sound of her sister's voice.

"Over here!" she shouted.

She sighed with relief when she saw Shean and Sabrae with her sister. "Thank The Seerath and the Three Ladies! I was afraid you wouldn't make it."

"Stand aside, Irene, you know this is my field of expertise. Shean, your good at identifying different weapon wounds. Could you take a look to see just what type of damage has been done?" Sabrae asked, kneeling down beside him and Flame.

"All right, let's see here…" Shean broke off to examine the wound then continued, "…it was a serrated blade…obviously some form of saber…no, a scimitar…three inches in width I'd say. Looks like he tried to dodge out of the way, and nearly succeeded too, the wound isn't even that deep. That means he was up against no fewer than five." Shean said as he examined the wound. "All right, Sabrae, your turn."

Sabrae moved over to the gash and took a look at it. "Hm, your mostly right: the wound is merely a surface flesh wound, nothing more than a deep knick. This will be an easy fix.' She placed her left hand directly on the wound and placed her right hand on top of her left, applying pressure. Next she closed her eyes and concentrated on the magic that she knew was within her. A white light began to glow from beneath her hands. She stayed this way for several minutes before releasing the spell. She removed her hands and there, where there used to be a gash, was nothing more than fresh, newly formed flesh.