Chapter 9
Arrival at Firestorm
The path to the realm of the Prime Fire Dragon was a lot harder and more challenging than Blazorus and thought. Most of the time, he found himself fighting his way through the Etherstorm wastes, but then again, it was a good way for him to practice and sharpen his skills.
- "Hah! Nice one, Blazorus!" – Siaris praised his Ignition move, which requires his whole body to channel a great amount of Fire in order to unleash it and cast an explosion around him, great for quickly sweeping large waves of monsters. However, it also drains a bit of the caster's stamina, so, it's best not to use it too often.
- "Whew, thanks…" – Blazorus said. It was quite noticeable how much stamina Ignition drained from him, but he could still fight. – "These monsters sure are persistent."
- "Leave them to me!" – Siaris said, getting ready to battle the large wave of monsters. She jumps upwards and, extending her arms sideways and rotating her body quickly in midair… - "Orbital Flames!" – she suddenly starts throwing quick fireballs towards the entire wave of monsters. The fireballs were like a boomerang too. They would go back to Siaris after hitting a monster, allowing her to throw that same fireball again in whichever direction she desired. Most monsters were quickly obliterated, but the wave wasn't cleared yet.
- "Whoa…" – Blazorus was amazed at Siaris's Orbital Flames. – "Where did you learn that?" – Siaris chuckles and turns to Blazorus with a smile on her face.
- "Hehe, with training, silly. Don't worry, you'll learn some of my skills too as you grow stronger."
- "If you say so…" – Blazorus acknowledged, although a little disappointed to see her fellow Pyromancer still way ahead of him. – "Well, better leave the remaining monsters to me. I don't want you to get all the fun."
- "Sure, let's see what you've got!" – Siaris said, challenging Blazorus to do a better move than hers. It sounds like she was a little competitive about these things, but Blazorus wasn't intending on doing so.
- "Leave that to me." – Blazorus extended his right arm forward and channeled Fire on his hand, pointing it at the last remaining monsters. – "Conflagration!" – The monsters are then cast ablaze. Siaris carefully watches without saying a word, but nevertheless, she was rather impressed. In the midst of the monsters' squeals of pain from Conflagration, Blazorus raises his Magma Spire and, as its ruby glows bright… - "Withering Blast!" – The monsters explode due to the massive blast they've taken from being conflagrated and the Withering Blast spell itself. – "Whew… there." – Blazorus turns to Siaris. – "So, how was it?"
It was very clear on Siaris's face that she was rather impressed by what Blazorus had just pulled off, but he still waited for her to say anything.
- "Fantastic! Simply excellent! I must admit, I am quite impressed." – Siaris praised Blazorus's improvement. – "You remembered to cast them ablaze first."
- "Thanks. At this pace, I'll be able to defeat Xan in no time."
- "Haha, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions, silly! You still have a long way to go." – Siaris said, poking Blazorus's head with her knuckle. – "Alright, let's get going to Firestorm. We still have a ways to go."
- "Right, let's go."
Blazorus and Siaris continued on in their path. They were silent for a while, until Blazorus asked a certain question.
- "Say, Siaris… I remember you told me, back in the Ruins of Shurpu…"
*FLASHBACK*
- "You still haven't told me your name."
- "Uhh… right. My name is Siaris. I am also a Pyromancer, but I'm not a Fireborn. I've been looking for you for years."
*FLASHBACK*
- "That has been bugging me for quite a while now. You said you've been looking for me for years, so, I guess the most logical question is… who are you?"
- "I know you have many questions for me, but, I won't be the one to answer. You will see for yourself once we get there." – Siaris sounded quite serious, so, Blazorus dropped the subject and trusted her.
- "Well, alright." – Blazorus was a little disappointed, but he knew he had to be patient.
- "Ah, I see the Temple! Firestorm's right up ahead!" – Siaris said, cheering Blazorus up.
- "Great! What's our first step once we get there?" – Blazorus asked Siaris.
- "Don't tell me you've forgotten what that spirit said." – Siaris said, a little annoyed. – "We need to get to the Temple of Zellare and speak to Hs'Sakar."
- "Oh, that's right…" – Blazorus said.
Upon arrival at Firestorm, Blazorus and Siaris headed to the Temple. The realm itself was peaceful, or so it seemed. They've arrived at the entrance of the majestic Temple, but only Siaris entered it. Blazorus froze there, gazing upon the beautiful architecture of this Sanctuary.
- "Blazorus, let's go." – Siaris said, causing Blazorus to focus his attention on her.
- "Oh, uhm… I'm coming!" – Blazorus said, running towards Siaris.
The inside of the Temple was just as majestic as the outside. Many statues of Dragons covered the walls around them, but what caught their attention the most was the big altar at the center. Behind it, there was a much bigger statue than the other ones. Blazorus gazed upon it, wondering who it might be.
- "This is the Temple of Zellare." – Siaris began giving Blazorus a history lesson. – "This is his statue. Many years ago, he was the Prime Fire Dragon of Firestorm, with Ssikari as his Priestess. Upon her birth, Zellare bestowed his blessing upon her and made her his Dragon Priestess, carrying the Prime Dragon's power within her. I guess you could say Zellare's blessing was the Dragon Essence of the Priestess."
- "I see…" – Blazorus said.
- "One day, Zellare passed away, and Ssikari became the High Priestess and ruler of Firestorm, taking Zellare's place, although she was human."
- "Although Zellare passed away, his spirit lived on through the Dragon Priestess." – Said a third voice that came out of nowhere, or so it seemed. Both Siaris and Blazorus turned around to see a Dragonkind priest with bright yellow stripes in his head and neck and wearing a red robe with bright yellow stripes for decoration. It was Hs'Sakar, the High Priest of the Prime Fire Dragon.
- "Oh, High Priest." – Siaris greeted Hs'Sakar, bowing before him.
- "Welcome home, Priestess." – Hs'Sakar greeted Siaris, also bowing.
- "What!?" – Blazorus was shocked to see Siaris being called Priestess. – "You're a Dragon Priestess!?"
- "Yes, I am." – Siaris said. – "I am a Dragonborn, just like you."
- "Oh, you must be the young Pyromancer the Priestess told me about. It is an honor to meet you." – Hs'Sakar greeted Blazorus, bowing before him.
- "Oh, uhm… it's an honor, sir." – Blazorus bowed before the High Priest, returning the bow. – "What brings you here?"
- "I was told to come here by the spirit of Ssikari." – Blazorus said.
- "The spirit of Ssikari, you say?" – Hs'Sakar said, doubting the young man, but not for long. Ssikari's spirit appeared right before them, much to Hs'Sakar's surprise.
- "Hs'Sakar…" – Ssikari's spirit said. – "It's good to see you again."
- "High Priestess…! I cannot believe my eyes… I've never thought I'd live to see this day…" – Hs'Sakar said, a bit emotional. The spirit of Ssikari smiled.
- "You haven't changed a bit." – She said, then turned to Blazorus. – "Blazorus. This is where you'll learn about your past and your true identity."
- "Really?" – Blazorus said, a bit anxious.
- "Yes. Hs'Sakar and I will tell you everything. We know you have many questions for us. Siaris will also help you if necessary."
- "I see…" – Blazorus said. – "Then, I believe this is the best time for you to tell me everything."
- "Indeed it is." – Siaris said. – "To answer one of your questions, I am Siaris, a Priestess in the Temple of Zellare, under the guidance of Hs'Sakar. I bear the blessing of the current Prime Fire Dragon, Ssikari, since birth, so, you could say I am a Dragonborn, making me Ssikari's successor as the Dragon Priestess."
- "I see…" – Blazorus turned to Ssikari's spirit and Hs'Sakar. – "Now… I believe I have many more questions for both of you…"
