Quest A Missing Link

[Perplexity]

8th of Winter, 514 AV
Early Morning

Belerius stumbled backward grasping his side as he fell against his desk. His breath came in shocked gasps. He winced against the pain in his side as his robe became darkened with blood. He was weakening and after the struggle that had taken place in his office he barely had the strength to defend against his unexpected assailant. He spoke, his words coming out in gasps.

“I..I knew I should have executed you.” The Regent of the College of Djed raised a hand likely to perform one final spell. He never got the chance.
Before he’d even summoned his djed fire barreled his way and in a wave of flames, Belerius, Regent of the College of Djed, was dead.

---------------

Professor’s Ignatius Stonemiller and Agatha Memry were making their way from the Scholar’s Forum. The tenured professors of the higher mysteries walked discussing some of the latest in theoretical debates amongst the scholars.

“It’s madness, Agatha. No one has ever found an answer to it. All who have either went mad or are locked up in the bowels of Sahova doing gods knows what.” The stoic professor almost shivered at the thought of the Isle of Dead Wizards but he suppressed the urge.

“We have enough problems on our hands without digging up centuries old theories.” The woman walking beside him shook her head.

“I disagree, Ignatius. She was on to something. I do not agree with her methods but all the same you cannot deny the validity of the question she posed.” The woman leaned on her cane, her pace slow forcing Stonemiller to walk at a measured rate. He huffed.

“I didn’t say that she wasn’t. I still think it is madness. Regardless, you know as well as I do Belerius will never agree to it.” The woman sighed nodding. She opened her mouth to speak. Whatever words were about to come out of her mouth were swallowed up in the series of explosions that erupted in that moment. Both professors were forced to crouch, Ignatius bending over the shorter woman as she nearly toppled from shock. An entire section of the building housing the College of Djed erupted into flames. The roof of that section collapsed as smoke filled the air.

“Ig-Ignatius! That was Belerius’s office!” The head of the Department of Magic paled ever so slightly. Agatha used the support offered by her counterpart to steady herself on her feet. She adjusted her grip on her cane watching for a moment as the College of Djed caught fire. She coughed a few times before shoving the man frozen beside her stirring him from his apparent stupor.

“Go! There will be others in need of help! I will be fine. Go!” Shaking his head, Professor Stonemiller nodded before dashing off in the direction of the burning building. All the while an uneasy feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn’t right. In the wake of the events that had been transpiring in the city recently, something was very, very wrong. He could feel it. He just hoped that what he suspected was as far from the truth as possible.

Please Read! :

Alrighty folks! This quest is kicking off. I hope you're as excited for it as I am! If you are not a student of the University then you can assume a call was sent out for help to quell the flames. If you have your own reasons for wanting to be at the University during the time of the fire, then by all means draft your own. Jump in how you see fit.

.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Jad was unfamiliar with the University grounds. His one previous visit was after being thrown from a runaway cart and waking up in the infirmary. His only experience walking the grounds was upon his release, and at that time, he just wanted to go, so he'd taken no notice of the layout of the place.

But now he was there, seeing what sort of programs Black might be interested in. She was pregnant with their child and he was sure there were ways they could improve their lives before the child came. He was there for his own aspect of benefit as well. There were surely ways to make himself more useful as a home body with a new child.

This excluded such indulgences as The Astronomy Tower or The Art Studio. Likewise, the musical instrument lessons available at Key Notes. Those were, however, things he would consider schooling their child in. He'd always been of the opinion that these were things best learned when young. He knew that advocates of such arts would protest such self-exclusive attitudes, but he simply didn't have time to devote to such pursuits. And would only have less time once the child was born.

No, it appeared that the West Wing was the most likely location for traditional schooling like cooking and child-rearing. On his way across the campus he stopped by the Cafeteria to see if there was any public provisions to be had. It was his understanding that basic provender was usually available. He'd had no breakfast, and it had caught up to him.

Thoughts of eating vanished in an instant as the ground suddenly shook beneath his feet. He grabbed the inside of the door jam for support to keep from falling. His expression mirrored those of everyone around as the sound of thunder rolled across the grounds to draw every eye towards the far wing.

It was not thunder. Shocked silence went hand in hand with the wide-spread wish that it was only thunder. Smoke and fire rose in defiance of these wishes from a large, newly collapsed portion of the East Wing. Cries rose in alarm as people regained their senses. Calls for emergency aid were shouted from every quarter. Jad thought perhaps his shielding might serve against the fire to some small degree. Any amount of help he could lend would be offered without hesitation as he ran toward the building.

x

[Johanne]

A day off was a rare and welcome thing for Johanne. In the past few days she’d been in the city, she’d found a place to stay, found a job, met a representative of the city, and worked her fingers to the bone at the Equinox. The tattoo parlour was truly a good place for her to work, she knew that, and from the past several seasons travel she’d missed that feeling, missed hearing the slight hiss as she pressed the needle to skin and inked someone with something they truly loved. Sometimes, anyway. There were more than a few drunk sailors getting ink they might regret in this town.

But today, she had no such obligations, no need to sterilize the instruments, no obligation to practice sketching under her boss’s watchful eye. No, she had the whole day off. The night was another story, as she was most likely going to need to go back in if her colleague stayed as sick as he had been yesterday, but no need to worry over that before the time was ready. No, on this fresh winter morning, Johanne was making her way to her new favourite building with her satchel clutched close to her.

Making her way through the cobbled streets of Zeltiva, Johanne, to keep herself warm, hummed a little lullaby to herself. Most likely, those listening in wouldn’t understand what she was saying, as it was in Denvali, and they most likely wouldn’t want to know, for her singing was so truly off pitch, but it kept her happy. The words went something like this:

Sweet child of mine,
sweet child, my dear,
close your eyes, sweet child,
I’ll hold you near.
I know the night is long,
and the winds are cold,
but you are well, my dear,
and I am wise and old.

She was nearing the end of the second verse, when a loud crash shook the air. Tumbling, Johanne fell to the ground. Dazed and confused, she took a moment to take in the surroundings. As she began to focus, she noticed a stinging on her knee, and looked down to see a gash in her dress and blood welling underneath. But that was only the beginning. Looking around, she heard screams, smelt smoke, and with a start she realised that was fire—fire on the horizon! Scrambling to her feet, she looked around, and with a start saw an older woman leaning on a cane, struggling to her feet.

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, offering a hand to the older woman, but her eyes were ever fixed on the horizon.

OOC :

The older woman Jo is helping is indeed Agatha.

x

[Philomena]

"Well, I don't remember exactly what happened next... honestly... its hard to say," Minnie, used to the blinding darkness of the cell, tipped her ear upward instead of her eyes, as she stopped in the middle of storytelling. She rubbed absently at the callous of the djed-shackle on her ankle.

Trewsy - that is, Trillyrose Schtelowitz, an enormous orderly in the Scholar's Asylum - clucked her tongue at this, playfully growling from where she stood slouched casually in Minnie's doorway, nibbling a hunk of kelp-fritter.

"Nae, Mussy Lefting, nae like tha', y'canny leave it! You finish the story!"

Minnie smiled a little hollowly now. In the famous breakout a... a year previously, perhaps? It was so hard to keep track of time... Minnie had had several of her teeth damaged by one of the other prisoners, to where the teeth had to be extracted. The hollows still annoyed her tongue,and she'd picked up a habit of probing the gaps with her tongue when she thought.

"Well, ah dunny knew the end, Trewsy."

"Well, make one up, 'en, that's no excuse at all."

Minnie chuckled a little, and Trewsy shifted, sitting in the doorway amicably. IT was no real danger, of course - the former professor was held firmly to her spot on the floor by a shackle on ankle and wrist. And besides this, Trewsy had, over the years, come to quite luck the funny creature, mad or no.

Minnie cocked her head again, probing the gap of a missing molar, "Make an ending? Funny, or sad, or what?"

"Surprise me, ammy." The word - an old slang for a dear friend, slipped out the orderly's mouth before she was aware of it, and she coughed, embarrassed.

"Alright... hmm." Minnie's voice was cracked and worn, from weak food and no light. "Let's see... Well, in the morning, the captain, she woke up and came out her cabin, and..." Minnie sucked her teeth - or went to do so and found the missing gap, which annoyed her, "And, the ship's crew were gone, all gone, in the space of that single night. Only she were--"

"No, no..." Trilly's voice had softened. It was a dear sound to Minnie, rare on the woman so used to needing to be aggressive and harsh. "Tell it like a story, Mussy Lefting."

Minnie met the woman's eyes, blushed - an anemic smear on her yellow-pale skin, and nodded, solemnly. "Alright... " she took a deep breath, relaxing into herself, and let her voice fall into a low, canting, nasal wheedle, that rolled queerly and resonantly around the chamber. IT still made her shake a bit, to speak like this, to speak in the sacred voice, what she had always thought of as her Qalayan voice, in front of someone else. But she had learned Trewsy, she knew the woman, and trusted her that far. She would not mock her for it.

"And in the morning, upward came the sun, and upward came the captain too; she rose and mounted up the steps to look upon the deck. IT was as bare and drawn as was the captain's cheek, and she looked empty-hearted, empty-handed, out across the space that had, the night before, held all her crew. Now lost. She looked out over them to see the stone-still sea. And to the edge she stepped and called once more, this time her voice both thrilled and haunted, out toward the waterline: 'What would you take now from me, my beloved? I have come so far as this! My life? It that now what you wish? I beg you take it from me, if I cannot, even after all that I have given, have you take me up and draw me down into the pearl-pale sea! You cut me, bled me, and I now, my love, am here to render forth the very uttermost, the final drop."

She felt herself rocking gently as she spoke.

"And then, form o'er the gunwales of the ghostly ship, a spirit rose to stand upon the deck, and smiled, and stepped toward the captain, who looked up, her voice both trembling and filled with thirst unslaked. 'Oh, Pennyroyal! Why, my love, have you drawn me to come so far? I've only ever asked to give, to give myself to you."

Her eyes screwed tighter shut, "And her lover looked back at her, smiled, and stepped across the planks, 'Oh my beloved, I would take you with me - can you come to my last home, in a ship? With sailors? With your dress, your hat? No, darling, in the end, you most come stripped of all, be born into me, born a new thing, to a new form. Take my hand now, child of flesh, and slip this last layer of clothing off, the vestment of your skin. And you and I, my darling, we shall dance across the sea, across the sky, across the stars themselves, into the distant ends of what exists."

IT wasn't the best she'd ever thought up - but perhaps she could edit it a bit before she wrote it down that night.

She sighed, and heard a sudden clattering, and opened her eyes to find Trewsy clambering as fast as she could to stand again, her eyes tear mussed, and her face filled with shame, "Doctor, doctor, I... I was..."

The doctor did, indeed, now stand just outside the door, holding only a taper. The taper smarted in its bright point of reality, but Minnie, hungrily, stared at it.

"Its my fault, Madame Killory, I were--"

The doctor's smile quirked, an old face, careworn to exhaustion, "--think nothing of it, Doctor. No harm done. May I come in?" the request for invitation, of course, was little more than being polite, but the healer, still, always offered at least the pretense, and that was not nothing.

"Oh... were it my time, Mussy?" her accent, having mainly Trilly and the other orderlies as conversational partners, had slipped back toward the low brogue of her youth.

"Yes, Doctor Lefting, its your--"

And several things happened at once: a loud bark of fire sounded so loudly that it deafened even through the thick limestone of the cellar wall. It made the stone floor tremble so powerfully that Minnie struggled up to her feet, the chain slamming against her shin painfully. Trewsy leapt into the hall, as a chorus of angry shouts and exclamations sounded through other cells of the cellar, the healer dropped her taper, and it went dark, though her eyes were wide enough now that Minnie's eyes could see the glimmer of them even in the dark.

"What is it, Mussy Killory?" Minnie asked in a squeal of upset, but she neither sought nor was surprised by the lack of, an answer. Both of them had the same fear - a memory of the breakout. Madame Killory slammed the cell door shut, even though the lock engaged - a room with the frail, timid doctor was safer than freedom in a hall of others, be the doctor mad or no.

"Hush, Doctor, hush! Make no sound!"

x

[Shiyami]

Shiyami found himself floating through the halls of the University of Zeltiva. Not his original intentions to appear to be haunting these halls, but for some odd reason, the atmosphere of a learning institution such as this one made him feel as if floating around would be a much more fitting choice than seemingly walking.

He glanced over his shoulder, before laughing softly to himself. It has became a habit to check, even when he knew his usual companions weren't with him today. "Routines are hard to break". Muttering such a line to himself, he looked down the hallway with a smile.

His tranquility was utterly flipped on its side, when the explosion rocked the University. Swearing quietly to himself, he looked in the direction where the sound of the explosion originated from. Of all the things that might happen around him, something had to go with a blast. The only silver lining in this currently devolving situation, would be that his companions were not around, and most likely not in harm's way.

Quickly floating closer, his eyes narrowed as he beheld the sight of smoke filling the area, and the telltale flicker of orange flames dancing behind the black veil.

Shiyami

[Perplexity]

Jadlin

Professor Stonemiller stood directing both staff and students away from the spreading fires. They had a mind of their own it seemed. As soon as one was doused another surged forward devouring another section of the building.

“Everyone! This way!” The professor shouted as best he could over the panic. For the moment the fires seemed isolated to the building housing the College of Djed. It made him suspect several things but there was little time to dwell on his suspicions. He had to make certain that both his staff and his students were safe. Enrollment into the College had slowed as of late due to the events in most recent memory. While he had been worried at first he was quietly thanking the gods for it now. The less lives endangered by these angry fires, the better. He quickly caught a student who nearly tripped over himself trying to run to safety.

“Easy now, easy. Quickly, get to the Scholar’s Forum. That is where everyone is assembling. Go. Now.” The student nodded with wide eyes running as fast as his legs would carry him. The professor turned briefly to see just how many were making it safely away from the flames. He saw a large number and his panic lessened. A large number filing away from the building meant less lives lost. A pained cry grabbed his attention and he whirled around catching sight of another student. A beam had collapsed and trapped the young man.

“Help! Please! Please someone help me!” He was struggling to get one of his legs free. Professor Stonemiller moved then darting across the courtyard to the young man’s side. He brought an arm up doing his best to fend off the smoke filling the area. He couched placing a hand on the frightened young man’s shoulder.

“Be still. I’m going to get you to safety.” The professor moved to the beam. Some of the masonry had come with it. The lad had likely suffered a broken leg. Ignatius began shoving as much of the stone work aside as he could. He grabbed a hold of the wooden beam grunting as he tried to lift it. It was heavy. He knew immediately he wasn’t going to be able to lift it by himself. The student cried out in pain as the weight was shifted. Stonemiller’s thoughts were racing. What had happened? Why hadn’t the wards around the College flared up to prevent the fires from spreading? Was Belerius dead?

He shifted trying to lift the beam again. It budged only slightly. Professor Stonemiller looked around spotting a tall thin black haired young man. The professor took in a deeper breath fighting the urge to cough. He shouted.

“You there! Come quickly! Help me lift this!”

Johanne

Agatha was gripping her cane for dear life. Her mind was reeling trying to figure out how a fire of this magnitude could have raced through the building. The College had measures set in place to prevent such things. Her thoughts were interrupted when a young woman came to her side. The elderly professor accepted the arm offered with a nod of thanks.

“Yes, yes dear. I am startled is all.” She glanced at the girl noticing a red spot on her dress. “Come. Let us see what is going on.”

She nodded her head in the direction of the Scholar’s Forum where gathered a conglomeration of people. The majority of them were dressed in grey robes with several of the older figures in the crowd dressed in black. These individuals seemed to be the ones taking charge. An auburn haired man caught sight of Johanne and the elderly woman. He quickly stepped away from the crowd making his way over to them. Agatha gave Johanne a pat on the arm and a grateful smile still accepting her support. She spoke to the man as he approached.

“Oliver, who are we missing?” The man gave Agatha a nod and Johanne a curious glance but answered.

“So far we have counted thirteen students, seven professors now that you are here, and ten of the support staff.” The numbers ran through Agatha’s head before she nodded.

“Is Ignatius here?” Oliver pointed to the still burning building.

“He was staying behind to ensure everyone made it out safely.” The woman nodded.

“Gather the Reimancers with strengths in Water and Air. Take a team of them to quell the fires as best you can. Set those with Shielding skills to work warding what they can against the flames but do not endanger themselves if it is too risky.” Oliver gave a slight bow before turning to carry out the professor’s wishes with diligence. Agatha looked to Johanne giving the young woman a kind smile.

“My dear, would you be kind enough to help me to the building? I do understand if you would rather stay where it is safe.”

Philomena

The groan of a structure under duress echoed through the corridors of the Asylum. The sound of people crying out in pain as well as shouts for assistance filled the halls. As soon as the door to Philomena’s cell was slammed shut another groan echoed through the Asylum before the cracking of stone announced the impending collapse. Several things happened at once. The ceiling above Philomena’s cell split open. A scream could be heard just outside her cell door as masonry and wood fell all around. The chain anchoring the timid doctor was smashed as a large section of the ceiling fell upon the links connecting it to the wall.

As the dust and rubble settled light shone through into the dark cell. The shouting of people could be heard in the background but once Philomena’s eyes adjusted to the sunlight there stood freedom. The rubble brought about by the collapse of the ceiling had piled upon itself creating a ramp up to the floor above. From Philomena’s corner she would be able to see sunlight streaming through a portion of a collapsed wall on the floor above.

Another crack sounded.

How much time was left before the rest of the structure came down? It was either take freedom by the horns or die, crushed under the weight of the Asylum that had imprisoned her for so long.

NoteShiyami feel free to insert yourself somewhere.
.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Jad saw dozens of young men and women running past him as he made his way into the structure. The heat and smell of fire assaulted his senses with renewed intensity at every turn. Several hallways were pointless to attempt, as were many rooms, their ceiling collapsed, the previous function of the room rendered unrecognizable by ash and debris.

New flames flared here and there. He felt he was doing well to direct an occasional lone figure in the direction others had gone. Some mention of "Scholar's Forum" had been shouted his way by a middle aged woman amongst a group of apparent students. She probably numbered him among them. He had no idea where it was, but it seemed to be acknowledged by those to whom he mentioned it.

He knew he should probably follow, but he had not entered the building just to find safety. He had been safer by far outside. He came to find those that had not found safety. The explosion had surely dazed and disoriented several who would remain in peril if no one guided them out. "Black will kill me for doing this." he muttered to himself grimly, "...if I don't get myself killed first."

He had tried to remember his course in. It was not difficult to recall the few turns he had made. But a sudden booming crash a ways behind him gave him to think it was all moot now. He remembered a saying he'd heard once - "If you can't get out, go further in." - and decided it was as good a plan now as any.

He doubted the one who'd coined the phrase meant it for this exact situation. But it was possible he'd locate a new path out, or someone who knew one. A voice called to him as he reached a crossing of hallways. “You there! Come quickly! Help me lift this!”

Jad looked and saw a man, attired in professorial robes, standing over a large beam and waving him over. As he approached, Jad saw someone pinned beneath it. It was fairly obvious what the man wanted him to do, and he did not hesitate. The far end of the beam was buried beneath debris, and even with the leverage they gained from their end it was still all they could do to raise it an inch, their faces quivering with the effort.

Fortune smiled on the pinned student though, as a piece of masonry rolled under the beam, preventing it from crushing the young man's leg again as Jad and the Professor were forced to set it back down. He was still trapped though.

Panting heavily, Jad looked around, gasping a single word, "...leverage!" He saw a metal pipe sticking up from the debris and ran to retrieve it. He didn't consider that it might be hot, and he screamed as he grabbed hold of it, burning his hands. Fortunately the burn was more surprise that injury, and he ripped his cloak free and wrapped the end in it.

He screamed a second time, but this time to generate adrenaline, as he tore the pipe free of the heap, bashing it against the floor a couple times to break some burned wood and plaster loose from it. He came back and slipped it beneath the end they were trying to lift. He knew it was probably not the stoutest grade of metal, but it had to be better that just arm strength.

He looked to the professor, ready to give a count and make another attempt.

x

[Philomena]

Minnie stood stock still, waiting, and then, literally, the sky split open above her, as the ceiling of the cell crumbled with a great crack. The world, mercifully, slowed, in her mind, as, overwhelmed, her consciousness took a step backward to collect herself. The lime walls opened in a burst of movement, then sent flecks of the heavy stone rumbling downward in great chunks, and outward in tiny flecks, that Minnie let biting like gnats against the skin of her exposed face. The light followed it, light... light. She had almost forgotten that light could pour in so extravagantly, the sort of light so heavy and rich one forgot almost that it had a source thatdid not simply permeate existence like air.It too exploded into the room, the haze of fine lime-dust catching it in tiny sparkles of reflected color, white and palest blue and a green of faded seafoam.

Minnie did not move, the doctor did not move. Minnie's eyes closed, unable to accept the glare, her skin felt the cold of moving winter air and queer creeping of air that was not damp-soaked across the hair of her legs.

She squinted, weakly, looked down at first, at her hand. It shone in the light, as liquid and alive as the day that Qalaya had formed it. It was real. The Q on it stared up at her like a questioning eye. She did not have an answer, an so she looked for one.

A ramp, more or less. Rough stone, now lay spread across the corner of her cell, almost eerily easy, almost unnaturally easy. It was not simply an escape route, but a deus ex machine so unbelievably simple that in an opera she would have thought ill of the author who wrote it in. But, there it stood, like something from a dream.

Doctor Killory, who was not crouched, but actually unconscious, the tallow taper half dropped from her limp hand. And the building, still groaning, still struggling to remain on its pillars.

And inside, Minnie Lefting, everyone else. Trewsy was there, somewhere, probably trapped, and the other patients - the Gods, it was to be supposed, had not had time to break EVERYONE'S chains. The other orderlies. The cat Minnie had heard hints of catching rats somewhere afar off. The rats themselves.

But the ramp, it was there too.

She started toward it, hesitated, stupidly, like a child afraid of a trick being played on her. Then she scrambled to it, halfway up. Stopped.

No. Don't look a fine ship up the gunnels, you stupid gutterslut. You have a way out. You have work to do, go, leave, now!

But, her neck did not look up at the sun, it turned, to look back, at the limp healer by her door. And a second, small voice came to her, a voice like a child, very small and very frightened, but struggling to be brave.

If Lanie was here, we would not leave the doctor behind.

And with a regret that made her stomach sick,Minnie turned back, and grabbed the doctor round the chest, hooking under the woman's armpits. She started to try to drag her body across the room, squeaking in terror with each groan and tremble of the building, but still dragging, not letting go. The doctor was probably twice her weight and she had been, of course, chained to a stone floor for more than a year, and as she stepped onto the sliding, uneven stone ramp, her body already began to ache, but she pulled, starting to heave the woman up stone by stone.
x

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Kamilla had been taking one of her usual morning strolls, something she had taken a liking to since she'd moved to Zeltiva. It was ridiculous to think that something as simple as taking a leisurely stroll was all but non-existent in Sunberth, where no matter where you were or what you were doing, you were never entirely safe. To Kamilla, it was just another reason to be happy that she'd left the Lawless City and all it's anarchy behind for a safer life.

One of her biggest reasons for picking Zeltiva, rather than one of the many other cities that the Sylira region had to offer was because of The University, Kamilla had a thirst for knowledge, especially of magic and it offered courses in that very thing. Yet, even after a few years in the city, she couldn't bring herself to enrol out of fear of being outed as a mage, a fear that still clung to her, reminding her of her hometown. So, instead, Kamilla found herself strolling past The University each morning on her way to work, drawing closer and closer each day as her curiosity grew stronger.

It was because of this curiosity that Kamilla found herself in the vicinity today, she'd been strolling past like every other morning and had paused at the entrance, once again, contemplating whether or not to enrol. She'd long since inquired about the courses offered and none seemed to encompass much more than theory, so didn't seem worth the risk of being discovered to be a mage, even in a city that seemingly accepted them.

There had been absolutely no warning offered about the sudden turn of events that took place. One moment Kamilla was staring at the building with it's beautiful architecture, birds singing happily as they flew on by and nothing out of the ordinary taking place and the next everything was thrown into chaos. The loud boom of the explosions shook the earth and air alike, sending vibrations through her body as the peaceful scene suddenly lit up in a haze of fire and rubble, her body tensing in shock as she stood there and watched it all unfold.

The moment the explosions had stopped, Kamilla found herself running, running towards the building and into it. There were people inside, people that might need help, she was present and uninjured and couldn't shirk off the responsibility that was thrust upon her the moment she'd witnessed the chaos. She rushed through the doors, stumbling forth, her mind not thinking clearly as she looked around for anyone in need of help, that was until she realised she was surrounded by flames.

In her haste, Kamilla hadn't bothered to consider that the entire building may be engulfed in flames, and now that she was inside, she could see them everywhere. The tendrils of the inferno licked at the walls and ceilings, spreading their cruel touch as they attempted to consume everything in their path. She was absolutely terrified of them, she felt herself thrown back into time, into that night...the worst night.

On that new years night in 510AV when The Djed Storms send forth a raging inferno that claimed dozens of lives in Sunberth. A fire so great that it engulfed most of the ramshackled city in it's flames. That was the night that she'd lost everything, her mother and gran taken by the fire, leaving her with only a few belongings and a large burn scar running from her left ankle to her knee. Even as she pulled herself out of her thoughts and into reality, Kamilla could feel the searing sting of the fire as it had lapped at her flesh. Her scar sang with pain as if it had merely been asleep all these years, waiting patiently for the flames to return and finish the job.

When she finally snapped out of her state of petrification, Kamilla found herself on her hands and knees, bent over in a fit of coughs as her lungs tried to rid themselves of the toxic smoke. She could hear them all around herself, the frantic and panicked voices of people as they rushed passed her, scrambling to get to safety and by the time she'd pulled herself from the ground there was no one left.

Her half baked rescue attempt had been entirely futile, it seemed as if she'd simply entered danger to watch everyone else escape it and now that she was ready to do the same, it was clear that the flames would not let. The direction she'd come from was now a wall of flames, roaring behind her. She needed to get up and get out of there.

Pushing herself to her feet, her knees trembling slightly under the anxiety of the situation rather than the weight of her body, Kamilla willed herself forward, coughing every few ticks as the smoke got thicker. There had to be another exit somewhere ahead, there was no way she'd survived the flames all those years ago, just to be reclaimed by them now.

Kamilla hadn't wandered very far when she came across two men, she just could make out their figures ahead, but by the sound of it, they were under a lot of strain. As she moved closer it became evident that there were actually three men, two who were trying desperately to move a large fallen beam and a third who was trapped beneath it. Feeling her mind shaken back into place by the young man's pained screams, Kamilla rushed towards them, ready to assist.

The beam itself was quite large and looked to be heavy enough on its own and as if that wasn't enough, it was pinned down by a heap of rubble on one side. The two men were trying to force the beam high enough up for the younger man to pull himself free, but to no avail, they hadn't enough strength.

Without a word, Kamilla stretched out her palms, focusing on her inner djed as hard as she could in an attempt to bring it to the surface. Her panicked state seemed displeasing to the magic that lived within her as it shied away from her touch each time she reached out for it. It took her several attempts as well as a whispered chant to calm herself down before the glistening lavender substance finally began to emerge from her palms.

The moment she felt that she'd gathered enough res for the task at hand, Kamilla willed the rock sized liquid ball towards the heap of rubble that was pressing down upon the beam before she changed it's purpose, forcing it to attract the rubble beneath it. The pull was weak at first, but it quickly grew in strength until several heaps of rubble had risen into the air and gathered around her res. "Lift it, now!" the urgency in her voice was clear as day, ringing above the roar of the surrounding flames. She could feel the weight of the rubble that she currently held with her magic, as if it were pressing down on her arms instead, putting her under physical strain as she pushed to resist against it's crushing force. If they did not make use of the temporarily lighter weight of the beam to get the young man free that instant, her hold on the earth and stone would be shattered along with any hope of success.