I hope the Princess is fine.
Singly Eota was doting on his horse, staring blankly off into the endless waves of grassland in front of him. Little avenues of smoke still passed along the horizon as the remaining fires burned out in the broken forest behind him. His attention had strayed from the extinguishing effort comprised of a fine strap of locals. Nearby, they whapped tirelessly at the claw of blackened stumps that still smoldered with lava heat. An aide named Nirbai was hovering beside the goblin hero on a lean lemon pony, wringing his hands on the grip of a sheathed sword. He looked on the edge of speaking, but Eota's intentional aloofness had kept him quiet for most of the drudging hours.
The prince of war pulled out of his daydreaming abruptly by a rising sound. Next, his horse reared in an ugly surprise and he spent several seconds blinking in confusion. The rising sound now bubbled and popped loudly in his ears. A blast of heat hit him then, and the horse huffed painfully.
"Prince!"
Several voices barked over the next few seconds of pure noise, but Eota left them behind to wield his full attention towards the falling floor of the grassland in front of him. Another blast of sweltering wind strafed him as he dismounted his horse and he fought to keep calm readiness as he witnessed the entire stretch of land melt into a boiling pit of lava. Soldiers swung onto his flank, swords already drawn towards the scene. Suddenly, two raging jets of fire shot from the lava pool. They whirled towards the formation of soldiers.
"Break off!" A decorated guard on Eota's shoulder cried.
Eota rolled through the ensuing firestorm, coming to his feet again with his sword whipping through the air. He swept a hand through his hip pouch and broke a vial against the flat of his sword's blade, the steel became stained blue and he tested the flame shield potion by cutting through a column of lava. It broke clean apart and the Prince dove through the buffer of cool air, escaping the web of fiery tendrils. Looking back he saw most of his guard fighting with their own blue swords, unfortunate others were screaming in pain as they saw their flesh melt into pools of fluid against the fire. Someone was calling through the howling wind, but their attention was pulled immediately back towards the fight. Eota came fully out of the attacking fire and now prepared a flame shield over his entire body. He followed the coat of blue with smatterings of ashbutter salve, then, belting out a roar of excitement, jumped forward into the boiling pool of lava.
It was a convulsing depth of hell, but he quickly found his footing on two pillars of fountaining lava. He squinted through the vortexes of twisting magic, trying to keep his balance in the whirlpool of pressure winds that circuited around him. In front of him, beset in the fiercest light he'd ever seen, was a darkened figure. Eota gasped from his uneasy position close towards the apex of trembling fire, recognizing it as the fire wizard in a heap of bright robes. The fire wizard stared from under his deep hood, his eyes glowing like two white suns. They slid down into concentration as he spotted the audacious hero who had dared such an approach. Eota saw the figure convulse and he leaped blurrily in a counter direction. He luckily landed on another pillar top of lava as his previous position was drowned in a flurry of thrown fire. Through the ensuing railing of noise he calculated several weaknesses in the wizard's thick robes of protection, but was torn out of thought by another wave of fire coming his way. Shuffling onto another pillar top he came back to his observations: while the wizard pulled the lava up from its depths and combined the streams above his head, a long fold in the robes revealed a curious depth. Inside the fold was a brighter light that pulsated in the familiar thump and catch rhythm of a heartbeat. The goblin recognized it as his only potential weakness. He battered off a light attack of fire with a swoosh of his sword, then returned his concentration back to his plan of action.
"So you're their new hero, then?" A crumbling voice blew through the whipping fumes, it was clear and struck Eota solidly.
"What do you want from us, menace?" The hero prince puffed up his chest in courage, he swung his sword down from in front of him towards his feet.
"Always this question. Always this brave little boy in front of me."
Ignisem started to advance with a casual stride, and pillars of fire spouted up to form stepping stones for his long steps. He stopped a few paces from Eota, just outside of swinging range.
"A boy may have come to face you in the past, but I am a prince before you." Eota said, swinging his blade in a graceful fashion. It glittered in the blaze of fire.
"Oh, I've faced Princes, and I've killed many. But today I won't kill you." The evil eyes flicked like hungry candle flames. "I want you to tell your precious Princess of the true power of Ignisem- or, better yet…"
The wizard jumped to Eota, who reacted with a violent thrust of his sword. Ignisem produced a spiral of fire that enveloped the blade, ravaging it with intense heat. The blue of the flame shield slowly started to peel away from the steel, crumbling into little shreds. With the magic of the shield gone, the sword quickly melted into a curvy goo. The spiral of fire advanced onto Eota's hand, spinning with a terrifying intensity. The wizard's face was ablaze with delight, his teeth clacked together in a manic grin. Eota fell to his knees, screaming in pain. He whipped his hand from the spiral of fire, seeing it now a black stump through crying eyes. The pain racked him with staggering convulsions and he lost his focus, falling down onto the pillar that suspended him above the lava pit.
"Now for one last adjustment, and then Ooo will see what their dashing Prince is compared to me." The wizard's visage twisted in a laugh.
He reached out to the war hero's face, gripping it with strong fingers. The shield quavered against the raging heat until it broke with a snap, leaving the skin exposed. Eota let out another shriek of pure pain as the firm grip of fire pressed into him, searing the skin into a flaky crust. The scream fell out of chest and he lost his will, going totally limp. Ignisem collected the broken hero in his arms and tossed him up onto the surface of the grasslands. The goblin soldiers hurriedly came to the crumpled body, yelling at each other in confusion. As they began to pull him away towards safety, one of them looked back into the pit of lava: it lay still now, a flat pool of glowing fire. The wizard menace was gone, having made his mark.