Against the Frenzied Flame
Chapter one
A ghost of a chance
The Erdtree roiled with maddening flame, spilling out from its deepest core in a billowing tongue of infernal destruction. Its boughs, already alight, were incinerated quickly, leaving only the punctured trunk standing. The flame spiraled high into the night sky, pooling in a chaotic cyclone which outshone both the Erdtree at its height of glory and the very sun.
Melina stood on city wall and looked on, her incorporeal form feeling no heat at all. Beneath her, the already ruined city of Leyndell burned anew. The few branches and buildings that had escaped ruin upon the release of Destined Death were now landmarks among the cauldron of the city, as even the ash was now burning. Already, these flames spilled over the city walls and raced towards the amber fields of the Altus Plateau. Soon, the walls themselves would crumble or melt, and the tide of flame would pour across the lands unimpeded. Melina shuddered to think of all the lives that would be snuffed out, boiling alive in white hot agony.
And I am to blame. I found that flame when it was mere cinders, and nurtured it back to life. Now the whole world shall suffer for my indiscretion.
She clasped her hand tight around the small ring which still faintly glowed in her hand. She had not the courage to attempt to use it, to learn whether or not Torrent still lived after being abandoned by his master. The Lord of Frenzied Flame had taken all of his purloined Great Runes for himself, leaving only Marika's fractured hammer and the tiny ring behind. And now it fell to her to find him and kill him. Where even to begin?
She turned outward, gazing over the Altus Plateau. The lion's share of the escaping flames were pooling in the castle moat, but that was only a temporary reprieve, and a thin blanket had already leapt up the side of the ditch and begun coursing across the plains, heading for the outer wall. There was no stopping it, and thus no salvation for the Lands Between. Or, for that matter, anywhere else the Lord would tread once this land was naught but ash. There was no hope for anything but vengeance.
Suddenly, her vision darkened. She looked up.
Above her head, dark clouds began to gather. Swirling, nebulous clouds tinged with starlight, they blocked out the tendrils of flame which snaked across the sky, appearing to smother it. Then, once they reached a substantial mass, they cracked open and spilled their contents. Melina watched, awestruck, as thousands of magical droplets fell to earth, challenging the spreading tide of fire.
The effect was immediate. The glintstone bolts fell the hardest upon the infernal city, where the rollicking flame now faced its first worthy adversary. Of course, it still burned brightly, but the flames reached shorter heights than they had unchecked. The walls, which had begun glowing red, now seemed to cool ever so slightly. A lighter rain battered the plateau itself, having far more success. The burning grass was extinguished steadily, and the seemingly inevitable tide of fire now reversed its momentum. It seemed the world had been granted a stay of execution.
Melina gazed at the skies, awestruck. How could anyone have mustered enough strength to challenge the Frenzied Flame itself? She followed the path of the clouds in the sky, looking for its inception. She saw it thin and taper, pointing to a spot just beneath the Altus Plateau. There, behind a large manor, three towers stood resolute.
She smiled. Perhaps a glimmer of hope yet remains.
Ranni's Rise was far enough from the burning city to still be cool, with the perpetual mist managing to obscure even the flaming beacon in the sky. Yet already, the temperature had risen a few degrees. A fell wind blew from the west, and even within her doll vessel, she could feel it. Eventually, the flames would spill over the edges of the plateau, and she would be forced to relocate south. The Moonlight Altar plateau was the obvious choice, at the cost of having a much better view of the carnage unfurling beneath her. She knew seeing the cathedral which played host to her short-lived matrimony would bring her great shame, but such was the price of her rash decision.
She heard her lift spring to life, snapping her out of her machinations. She straightened her posture and composed herself, then waited for her new guest to arrive.
The lift reached the top, but there was nobody on it. Ranni remained in her regal posture, acting on a suspicion proven correct when a woman materialized in front of her.
"Good evening, Melina," she said. "It has been some time, has it not? My thanks for sending advance warning of your approach." She gestured at the lift with two of her hands.
"Hello, Ranni," Melina said. "Are you well?"
"As well as could be expected, given the circumstances," Ranni answered. "I trust you are here to discuss the frenzied flame."
Melina hung her head. "More than that," she said. "In truth, I am responsible for it. 'Twas I that guided the Lord of Frenzied Flame to the Erdtree. Though I did not wish it, he felt the embrace of the Three Fingers for my sake. And now, I can do naught but atone for my disgraceful path by bringing Destined Death to him."
Ranni nodded. "I see," she said. "If you came to me seeking a stern hand to punish you, I fear I cannot in good conscience. I too was beguiled by him." She fiddled with the ring in her hands. "I first used him for my own ends, then aided him in his. In no small way, I am also to blame."
"But even now, you are fighting back," Melina said. "It is your founding rain of stars that now quenches the flames of the capital, is it not?"
Ranni waved a hand dismissively. "A temporary salve at best," she said. "With the Erdtree as fuel, I cannot hope to subdue the flames for long. Even now, the fire burns hotter by the second, and neither I nor all the sorcerers of Raya Lucaria could halt its progress."
"There must be something that can be done," Melina insisted. "You are the great witch Ranni, princess of the dark moon. Surely there must be some contingency to call on that can halt the tide."
"You may as well ask me to halt the procession of the sun across the sky," Ranni said. "The new Lord hath wiped all other demigods from the face of the earth, and claimed their strength as his own. I am long divested of my own Shard, and with the loss of my stalwart blade and my war counselor, I am more exposed now than ever." Her doll's facade was impassive, but her spectral face showed her dejection as plain as day. "I cast the spectral rain only to buy myself a few days more, so that I may set my own affairs in order. The end is inevitable."
Melina dropped to her knees. "Please, Ranni, I beseech thee," she begged. "'Tis my duty to slay the Lord, I know, but without your aid, I could do naught but avenge a dead world. Only with your aid could I hope to ensure this world survives."
Ranni raised a hand. "Offer me not thine flattery, Melina. Even an Empyrean standeth little chance against the flame of frenzy. It would take a far more brilliant demigod than I to…"
She trailed off. A thought struck her. She cupped a hand to her chin, making abstract gestures with her other three. "Yes, perhaps…the chance is remote, but not yet nil…" she muttered. Melina looked puzzled, but refrained from interrupting her train of thought.
At last, Ranni's head snapped up. "To thine feet, Melina," she commanded. She hopped down from the stack of books she had been sitting upon. "We have but a small window of opportunity, and I am in no need of a laggardly sort."
Melina got to her feet. "Then…you do have a plan?"
Ranni smiled. "Didst thou not hear me earlier? It will take a far more brilliant demigod than I to repel the flames of disaster."
"Yes…" Melina said uncertainly.
Ranni extended her palm, a glimmer in her spectral eye. "Then come, let us find him."