All Chapters of World Fire: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20
51 chapters
Jade Sunday
It had been almost a week since the formal discharge of almost the entirety of the Amber Army. There was just eight of them that remained. Stag, Arla, Miles, Stocke, Kets, Trys, Rickter and Locke. Since there were now so many vacant rooms, Stag allowed them to each have a room for themselves, but Locke found this oddly lonely. He had always slept by someone’s side, and that someone was Fahrla.Her weak figure clouded his dreams, and he felt an immense longing to see her again. In the silence that filled the time when he was in bed and trying to get to sleep, he thought he could hear her, far and distant, calling for him.Just wait for me, Fahrla, I’m trying as hard as I can.But he kept hearing her call, and he drifted to sleep with a heavy heart and a sickening feeling that he was not trying hard enough. He would wake up at dawn each day to the sound of crashing pots and pans drenched in sweat. Arla would call them down, and he would try his hardest in training, but there was that li
Read more
Quest
‘Disappointed by your own weakness?’ Arla repeated, a smile playing at her mouth. ‘Getting stronger is a curious thing. Continuous training is a sure-fire way to reach the top eventually, but there are shortcuts that are unreliable and dangerous.’Trys and Locke exchanged looks. ‘Unreliable shortcuts?’‘True strength is borne through emotion and spirit. People like Me, Miles and Stag have put our life on the line time and time again, and we pushed through by the skin of our teeth. Every time, newfound, unexplainable strength coursed through our veins. This is called Passion, the human ability to develop in unexpected ways as a result of passion or determination.’‘I don’t understand,’ Trys said.‘What I’m trying to say is that you should fight for what you believe in and for the sake of the people that you care for. Time and time again, act for what your heart feels is just.’Locke and Trys stared at her, not fully understanding what she had said, when she grabbed each of their heads
Read more
Withering of Helmlock
The trio of Pegasuses touched down at the entrance of the town of Helmlock, a small and homely woodland village with homes constructed of brick and wood. There was a small chapel on the east side of the village, several houses scattered about, a blacksmith, a tailor, a few shops for food and an inn.‘Follow me.’ Arla jumped off the Pegasus and Trys and Locke followed suit. Arla led them down the cobble path, waving to the people that they passed, and entered the inn.The inn was sizeable, with a fire burning in the hearth despite the general warmth in the air. A few gamblers and day drinkers huddled around tables, giving the trio an odd glance or two as they passed. Arla reached the innkeeper behind the counter, who greeted them with a nod, saw the badge of the Amber Army, and gave a light gasp.‘Ahh, is the Amber Army all they could bring?’ the innkeeper asked, a wave of uncertainty sweeping over his face.‘Do you want the bandits dealt with or not?’ Arla stared down at him.‘We all
Read more
Mystery of the Jade Temple
‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ The girl flipped herself around and propped herself up with her elbows to look at them. She wore a typical archaeologist uniform with a wide brimmed leather hat. Beneath the hat, two brown braids fell down to her shoulders, one on either side. Sunburn and freckles stretched across her face. While she wore baggy clothes, Locke got the impression that she was a very lithe and thin figure.‘Just looking, same as you, I suppose?’ Arla said.The girl’s eyes analysed Arla and found the badge that symbolised her as part of the Royal Army. ‘I think we have the same direction, here. Helmlock put out a notice to find those bandits, didn’t they?’Arla nodded. ‘But our goals?’The girl shook her head. ‘My name is Sparrow. I’m an archaeologist. If I ever get wind of a secret opening to the mythical Jade Temple, one of the secret wonders of the world, I will give life and limb to find it. I don’t care about the treasure or the insurmountable riches that are r
Read more
Inside the Jade Temple
‘Trapped!’ Sparrow let out a laugh, wild lines of joy stretching across her cheeks. Her eyes had a demented look to them, and the whites were more pronounced than ever. ‘Oh, it was so exhausting having to deal with you lot, but I’ve done it, ha ha!’Arla also laughed, static electricity coating her body. ‘Do you really think that you have made a wide decision? You’ve “trapped” a Shiner, you know.’Shards of rubble levitated around Sparrow, the sharp ends pointed towards Arla, spinning like drills. Locke gripped the hilt of his sword and thrust out a hand in front of Trys to shield her. His knees were bent, and his body ready. After losing Fahrla, he did not want to lose anyone else.‘I care not for whether you are some Shiner. Such meaningless titles mean nothing to me. You are a dog of the Royal Army, demon of the Yara-ma-yha-who. I am an archaeologist; I know not to bite off more than I can chew. You may know of the erased years, but you also know of me.’ The rubble spun with increa
Read more
Kenner of Shadows
Locke charged through the halls, praying that he would find Trys against soon. He stole glances behind him as he ran and found a glob of shadows stretch across the watery surface.The more he ran, the more exhausted he felt, and the more he wanted to stop and slow down. He felt vulnerable and weak without a weapon by his side, and all he could rely on was creating as much distance between him and the relentless Kenner.While Kenner was a shadow that moved and stretched across the endless halls of the Jade Temple, Locke noticed that Kenner avoided all the slits of light that scattered the surface.He gritted his teeth, turned a corner, and came face to face with a dead end. But it was not just a dead end – it was a treasure room. Piles of ancient relics stretched to all corners of the room. He ran to the far end, spun around, and fought to gain a few breaths before Kenner reached him.‘Eh, so you found one of the treasure rooms,’ Kenner’s voice was a deathly hollow. ‘You ran around tha
Read more
Sparrow of Gravity
The necklace wobbled and burned red, and an aura shrouded the ruby that hung from the golden chain. There was a pop, and a fairy jumped out, floating in the air. The fairy blazed red, and the light refracted and bounced off the figure to give it the impression that it was a dancer eternally in motion even when it was still.Elandra was only a few inches tall with two pairs of insect wings. She looked around vault of the Jade Temple with curious eyes, a smile of relief sweeping over her.‘Are you Elandra?’She nodded.‘Thank you so, so much for saving me.’Elandra clicked her tongue. Locke took a step forward. ‘I need to get back. I need to save Trys and Arla.’ Then, his legs buckled and gave way and he fell to his knees.‘It’s Locke. I can’t rest. I need to get back.’Read more
Belvon Laire
Trys dragged her upper body across the podium and towards the lower half of her body, which she picked up and reconnected to her torso. The feeling and sensation of her lower half spread across her body, and as the adrenaline faded from her, the pain of Sparrow’s final attack pounded through her. She held herself above the surface of the water and vomited.‘How do I get out of here?’ she asked herself, trying to make out the details in the darkness. At the far end of the pool, she saw a vine that stretched down from above and dripped into the water. She waded through the water to the vine, tested it, and decided that it could handle her weight. Then, she carefully climbed up the side of the wall, using the rocks that jutted out from the wall to her advantage.She reached the top, pulled herself back into the jade room, and made her way back through the halls clutching her head. It took her a great deal of effort to walk in a straight line, and she knew that she would not last long in
Read more
The Terror of Belvon Laire
Belvon Laire stretched out his arms, crimson fury radiating from him. 'Run! Flee!' he demanded with a scowl etched to his face.‘I will do no such thing!’ Locke shouted, scorching flames bursting from his body, as hot as his temper. Locke and Trys readied themselves in the fighting stance Stag had taught them.‘Loooocke … Tryyyys … ruuun.’ Arla’s voice was almost a whisper.‘Not anymore, Arla,’ Trys said. ‘We’re not running.’ She stretched out her legs and got into a ready position, elbows raised and knife pointed out in front of her.Belvon Laire whipped off his cloak. ‘Then you shall have it!’ He threw his polearm of blood at Locke in a powerful overarm swing. Trys pushed him out of the way and stood in front of its path, smiling as the polearm burst seamlessly through her, where it then crashed into the ground and broke into a pool of blood that stretched across the water.Locke focused his mind. Are you ready?‘Ball of Scorch!’ The ball of fire shot at Belvon
Read more
The Passion
Locke caught the syringe and held it flat on the palm of his hand.Don’t worry, I’m not going to make any more mistakes.The syringe wobbled and spun around.Then the syringe spun around once more.Flames coated Locke’s fist and he punched with all his might to the right, crashing against Belvon Laire’s ruined face.‘You will pay for this, boy. I underestimated you, but you seem to continuously grow the more you fight. No more games.’ Belvon Laire held his hand up to the roof and an orb of blood swirled around the space above his hand, slowly growing bigger. ‘This ends now. Call of the Bloody Night!’ Spikes erupted from the orb of blood, reaching forward and skewering everything.Locke gasped, shocked at the bloody death that waited for him. He shut his eyes, braced for the worst, but the death never came.A figure stood in front of him, dried and grey, electricity shroud
Read more