"Kel!" Raoul's voice was loud and strong, but it could not punch through the stupefied layers of agony surrounding Kel.

Her world was a black hole, devoid of all sense and emotion. All she felt was pain, a deep and rending pain that consumed her entire being and left no room for anything else.

Oblivious to the world around her, Kel held onto Dom's hand as though it was the only thing standing between her and insanity.

Tears blurred her vision, but Kel didn't notice. Dom was engrained in her minds eye, his every detail clearly visible to her. She didn't need to see him in reality.

"Dom," Kel's voice was hoarse, as though she had been shouting. She brought his hand up and cradled it to her chest, rocking back in forth in the leaf loam that caressed his body.

"Kel!" Raoul's tone was louder, more insistent. "Keladry!" Reaching down, Raoul went to grab one of her arms and lift her to her feet when he heard a noise echo through the small clearing.

"Raoul, no! Don't touch her!" The voice was quickly followed by a ragged figure, clothed in tattered black robes. He staggered into to clearing behind the knight Commander as he repeated, "Don't touch her!"

"Solan!"

The Initiate in question pushed back the hood of his robe, "Yes Raoul, it's me."

A momentary flicker of confusion shown in Raoul's face, "What are you doing here?" Turning back to Kel, he once again reached for her arm. "I'm not just going to leave her there."

Solan reached out and grabbed Raoul's wrist. "I told you not to touch her for a reason," His eyes flashed, "Let me handle this."

Raoul stiffened at Solan's touch, and with a powerful flick of his wrist, Raoul dislodged his hand. Glaring daggers at the Mithran, Raoul asked, "What makes you think I should trust you this time?"

"Because we both know I don't want her hurt."

Raoul was torn. He didn't know what to do about Kel, but he didn't want to place his trust in Solan, not after the last time. Pensively, his brain churned as he thought through all his options.

Finally admitting defeat, Raoul stepped to the side and allowed Solan access to Kel's side.

As he walked by Raoul, Solan gave him a look of pure gratitude before rushing to her. That look stunned Raoul, who had always been so sure that Solan cared for no one but himself.

Solan dropped to the ground beside Dom, on the opposite side from Kel. Quickly spreading his robes around his body, Solan then threw back his head and arched his back, holding his clenched hands out wide, palms toward the heavens.

In a deep, resonating voice he began to chant.

"Nel nome di tutti il che è sant'invito gli dei, entrambi il grand'e piccolo, per aiutarme in quest'atto funesto di bisogno."

Slowly, light started to pulse around and through Solan, whirling around his fists and neck. As he continued his rhythmic mantra, the light bulged and expanded, stretching to surround Kel and the fallen Dom.

"Aiutarme proscioglie quest'entità vile dai corpi di quelli con me!"

A blinding flash of light exploded through the clearing, followed by the roar of fire. A ring of the substance sprang up to encircle the three on the ground, except these flames flickered white, black, and silver, not red.

As Raoul's vision cleared following the aftereffects of the light, he found himself staring at the most eerie scene he could have possibly imagined.

The flames were roaring head height, and had begun to fill in their circle. Watching in horror, Raoul saw them consume first Kel and Solan, then Dom, hiding them from view in the awesome fury of the miniature inferno.

If he hadn't innately known it would have caused him certain death, Raoul would've dived into them to save his sergeant and his former squire.

Knowing he was helpless, Raoul was forced to do nothing but watch as the fire slowly dwindled after burning white-hot for a decade of minutes, as it antagonize him with every slow flame that diminished

As the last flame finally flickered out of existence, Raoul thought he would scream with relief, except his closed throat would not allow it. Instead, he watched with growing elation as Kel slowly began to shake her head.

Turning his gaze to Solan, Raoul's exultation began to fail him. The Mithran had collapsed on the ground, and his breathing was slow and shallow.

"What…?" Raoul's question hung in the air as he ran to help Kel. The young knight rose groggily to her feet, and with Raoul's help made her way over to a fallen tree trunk.

Collapsing on the shaft of the tree, Kel rested her length along it as Raoul went back to investigate Solan and Dom.

What Raoul found disturbed him. Solan's breathing had began to decrease rapidly, from what little it had been. Beginning to panic, Raoul had to reign himself in before he lost all control.

Slowly he began a meditative breathing pattern, and let that calm his shattered nerves. A minute later, Raoul opened his eyes to see what he could do to help Solan, when he noticed that the Initiate's breathing had begun to steady.

Confused, Raoul watched Dom for a moment before he heard Kel's voice. It was weak, to be sure, but Raoul could hear her clearly. "He'll be alright, it's just the after effects of the spell," Carefully, she sat up and pulled her tunic tighter about her body.

Intrigued, Raoul walked over to her to ask, "How do you know that?"

Kel looked up at him, "I've seen this spell before, once, in the Yamani Isles."

"Really?" Gently, Raoul sat down next to her and wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders, helping to steady her, "What does it do?"

"It depends on the will of the mage who casts it," Kel shivered involuntarily before continuing. "It can do everything from heal to kill."

Raoul had never heard of such a spell, and the concept of it captivated him.

For the lights that led to the fire during Solan's incantations, think pyreflies from FFX, except they're in white, silver, and black, not color.

So yea, RR please!

Until the next update!

Sull