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Home / Fantasy / Of Flame, Sand, and Gold / Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Author: John T White
last update2025-09-15 16:46:14

The desert screamed. Not a polite wail but a whole orchestra of agony: sand grinding like broken glass, whipping the wind itself thin and sharp until it sounded almost human, and a distant thunder of collapsing earth that made the ribs of the dunes cough up avalanches.

The sky had the color of a bruised violet pressed against the orange teeth of a sun that refused to set properly. Heat shimmered in wavering sheets, but the storm coming in carried an honest, cold intent: grit for lungs, iron for teeth, and a hunger that ate tunnels from beneath their feet.

Varohn knelt. For a moment the world narrowed to the uneven plane of his palm on the sand and the dull, relentless throb of the burning on his back. His robes were singed black where the flames had found him — a map of failure traced in soot. He turned his head slowly, and there she was: a thing of ember and light crouched low beside him, bleeding heat into the air.

“The best I can do is take away the burning and the pain it brings
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  • Chapter 107

    “You survived that?” Varohn’s voice carried a lazy rasp, as he stepped forward, slackening his arm at his side, and collapsing the sphere of flame in his palm to a hiss of smoke that bled into the night air.The silence cracked under Kaelen’s low scoff, folding his arms tight across his chest, cocking his head toward Varohn with narrowed eyes. “Uh… what do you think you’re doing right now?”Before Varohn could answer, another voice slipped in.“Please… I do not wish to fight you.” Draeven’s tone dragged heavy across the air as he lifted his chin just enough for his eyes to meet theirs. “I just wish to speak.”Kaelen dipped his gaze, dragging it down. “And I’m supposed to believe whatever you say? Why?”“You can trust him, Kaelen.”Kaelen’s head snapped to the side. “What?” He jabbed a finger toward Varohn, seething his tone. “You also think you’re in any position to make demands? To tell me what I can and can’t do?” His finger shook with restrained fury. “You were also in on this. An

  • Chapter 106

    The world doesn’t revolve around you alone, Zhaedor.” Kaelen stepped forward, pressing a finger down toward the molten ground, narrowing both eyes, as the heat kept rising up in shimmering waves around his boots.“You’re not the only one in pain.” His chest rose and fell. “And you’re not the only one suffering.”Zhaedor’s teeth ground together, clenching his jaw so tight the veins along his temple stood out. “What do you know about me?” he growled.Kaelen inhaled, dropping his voice into a calm but edged with razor sharpness. “Whatever it is you think you’re doing right now? It’s nothing more than just a childish rebellion.”“Childish, you say?”Kaelen tilted his head slightly, almost weary. “I can’t understand your pain if you don’t tell me what’s hurting you. I’m not a magician. I don’t read thoughts. But I see through your actions—and right now, yours scream desperation.”“Enough!”The roar erupted with a force that rattled the sand beneath them. Zhaedor stomped his foot down hard,

  • Chapter 105

    “Yeah, right… about that…” Kaelen dragged a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. He stepped forward, crunching his boots against the scorched sand, as the glow of the storm-fire lit the hard angles of his face. “I’ve been meaning to ask…”Zhaedor tilted his head, painting the dunes in a ghastly glow through the crimson light of his body. His hair, still hovering unnaturally, did not move.“How exactly are we, uh… related?” Kaelen narrowed his eyes, lifting two fingers to gesture between them. “I mean, sure, maybe a slight resemblance if I squint through smoke, but apart from that? Nothing. So, enlighten me—what’s with this brother talk?”The desert went heavy. The flames cracked, the storm’s growl faded, and even Varohn, still clutching the charred ruin of his jacket, looked sharply between them.Kaelen’s voice dropped lower, dipping each word in disdain. “Explain yourself.”Zhaedor’s lips twisted into something half a sneer, half a snarl. His fists curled, and his veins glowed brigh

  • Chapter 104

    The desert went silent. Not a whisper, not a gust of wind, not even the rasp of sand shifting underfoot. The battlefield froze as the dessert itself held its breath. Only one sound cut through the heavy stillness—the sharp, crackling growl of Zhaedor’s flames colliding with the retreating sandstorm.Zhaedor stood at the heart of it, unshaken, swallowing everything else with his presence. Slowly—almost leisurely—he raised his right hand, spreading his palm wide above his head as the tips of his fingers began glowing faintly, flickering each flame like a candle struggling against the dark.Then, with a subtle flick of his wrist, he dragged his hand downwards.The flames at his fingertips went out with a breathy whoosh—and with them, so did the storm’s fury. The tornado faltered as its violent spin stuttered. Five jagged lines of sand split away from the core, dragging across the sky.And in that fracture—Zhaedor’s fire erupted.Red infernos burst from the gaps, molten sheets melting

  • Chapter 103

    The sky was choking on its rage.As the storm surged closer, engulfing the horizon in a grinding wall of grit and roar, the sand hissed like sharpened blades. The tension in the air between Varohn and Kaelen was sharp enough to cut; two figures hovered in midair, blue fire and dark flame glaring across the emptiness.“You do know how to talk?” Kaelen sneered, folding both arms across his chest, carrying his voice laced with fury above the wind.Varohn drew a breath deep enough to steady a storm inside his ribs. His words came low, heavy and deliberate. “I apologise for everything I made you go through. And of course…” He paused, flicking both eyes to the spiraling inferno below. “I am aware… saying that isn’t enough. Which is why I am willing to mend things—by lending a hand.” His arm extended, making a pointed gesture toward the blazing red cyclone encasing Zhaedor. “I can help you tear past his defenses… with just enough time for you to get in.”Kaelen flexed his jaw, as his eyes da

  • Chapter 102

    The desert screamed. Not a polite wail but a whole orchestra of agony: sand grinding like broken glass, whipping the wind itself thin and sharp until it sounded almost human, and a distant thunder of collapsing earth that made the ribs of the dunes cough up avalanches. The sky had the color of a bruised violet pressed against the orange teeth of a sun that refused to set properly. Heat shimmered in wavering sheets, but the storm coming in carried an honest, cold intent: grit for lungs, iron for teeth, and a hunger that ate tunnels from beneath their feet.Varohn knelt. For a moment the world narrowed to the uneven plane of his palm on the sand and the dull, relentless throb of the burning on his back. His robes were singed black where the flames had found him — a map of failure traced in soot. He turned his head slowly, and there she was: a thing of ember and light crouched low beside him, bleeding heat into the air.“The best I can do is take away the burning and the pain it brings

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