Hephaestus

"Hephaestus!" a Guardian hatchling shouted out. "Want to come play with us?"

Hephaestus nodded eagerly, swerving around stalagmites as he ran over to his friends. "Of course! What are we playing?"

"We're playing "War"!" the Guardian hatchling announced. "We split into two teams and everyone gets to choose a job. We take five minutes to formulate a plan, and then we fight!"

The group was divided into two; Hephaestus, the Guardian, and a Wildclaw was in the Fire Team, while the twin Spiral pair and a Nocturne was in the Ice Team. "Alright," the Guardian muttered. "We will first need to give ourselves jobs. I will be an archer!"

"Swordsman!" the Wildclaw said with a grin. "How about you, Hephaestus?"

Hephaestus was silent for a second, slightly embarrassed by what he was about to say. "Can I be the cleric?" he asked.

"Of course!" the Guardian hatchling said. "Now we need a plan. How about we go defensive? I shoot anyone coming nearby with arrows."

"And I attack people too close to be shot!" the Wildclaw whispered.

The Guardian smiled. "Exactly! Now, if any of us get attacked, Hephaestus will come in, avoiding any attacks possible and healing us. Got that?"

Hephaestus nodded. This was going to be fun!

Soon, the battle started. The Ice Team charged, and the Guardian quickly threw a twig at one of the twin Spirals. The stick struck the Spiral at the chest, and she dramatically fainted, shouting, "Oh nooo! I've been taken down!"

"I'll avenge you!" the Nocturne cried, running straight towards the Guardian. Before anyone could react, the Nocturne pretended to bite the Guardian's throat, who collapsed. Hephaestus ran over, holding a large leaf, and placed it on his throat.

"Hey, Hephaestus, you can't heal a fallen dragon," the Nocturne pointed out.

Hephaestus paused for a moment, then grabbed the leaf and sheepishly backed away. He watched as the Wildclaw fought against the Nocturne and Spiral, taking down the Nocturne before being "scratched" at the shoulder. He fell over, and Hephaestus quickly placed a leaf on him. The Wildclaw jumped up and started fighting against the Spiral again.

Suddenly, the Spiral leaped out of the Wildclaw's way, charging towards Hephaestus. He flinched, afraid of being attacked.

There was a flash, and a scream.

Hephaestus opened his eyes. The Spiral was lying on the ground, his shoulder singed. "Ow! Why did you do that, Hephaestus!?"

"W-Why did I do what?" Hephaestus stammered.

The Guardian walked up to him. "You summoned a large pillar of fire! You half-missed, though."

"I-I'm sorry!" Hephaestus cried.

"It's okay," the Spiral said, standing up and grimacing. "It clearly wasn't on purpose."

Hephaestus nodded. "Of course not! I wouldn't hurt my friends on purpose," he said. "But why did you attack me during the game? You were busy fighting someone else!"

"You were a healer, which meant you could heal anything that doesn't kill them," the Spiral responded. "Plus, Ice is supposed to be evil, so I have to attack you!"

Hephaestus winced.

"Be careful!" the Guardian snapped. "His mom is from Ice, remember?"

"Well," the other Spiral said. "Our dad says she might be a spy. That means she's working with the enemy!"

"Hey!" the Guardian shouted.

"Don't worry, Hephaestus," the first Spiral said reassuringly. "We don't think you're evil!"

Hephaestus was silent.

---

Hephaestus entered the healer's tent, where a Coatl who smelled of herbs and ash was sorting herbs into piles. He looked up. "Oh! Hephaestus, are you here for another lesson?"

"Actually," Hephaestus said. "I have a problem. It's my paws."

"Your paws? What happened?"

"They feel like they're burning up. A lot."

The Coatl held his paws, which, indeed, felt hot. "I don't know, Hephaestus. I haven't seen anything like this. Is it just your paws?"

"Yes."

"Any other strange things? A cough? A stuffed nose? A fever? Anything?"

"No."

"Very strange, indeed."

---

All around him, dragons fought.

The Ice clan ambushed them in their own home. Now his friends and family were fighting for their lives.

And all Hephaestus could do was drag the injured away and do what he could to heal them.

He watched as a Wildclaw from the ice clan snuck up towards the leader, who was preoccupied with another dragon, only to be intercepted by his mother, teeth bared.

He heard the Wildclaw exclaim in surprise before his mother struck her with her claws.

The two fought, but Hephaestus’s mother was outmatched. She fell to the ground, bleeding, as the Wildclaw victoriously stood over her.

He grabbed his supplies and ran towards his injured mother.

"Stop!" the leader of the clan shouted as Hephaestus approached. "You can't heal a fallen dragon! Go back and stay where it's safe before-!"

The Ice dragon pounced on Hephaestus, claws scratching through his scales.

This dragon. She killed his mother.

Hephaestus didn't remember exactly what happened next. All he remembered was his hands, burning hotter than ever. Flames erupting from his palms and wrists. Fire everywhere. The Ice dragon jumped off of him, screaming. Fire everywhere. All that existed was screaming and fire. Fire. And blood.

---

"Hephaestus, you were amazing!" the Coatl healer exclaimed as he wrapped Hephaestus's bleeding, fiery paws with bandages. "You drove off all of the Ice dragons! You even killed the one who killed your mother!"

"I know," Hephaestus muttered.

"Sorry, sorry," the Coatl said. "You probably got so much praise, it's starting to get annoying, huh?"

"She's dead," Hephaestus growled.

The Coatl nodded. "Oh, right... You must be mourning for your mother. The clan honors her as a bit of a hero, too, you know? They no longer believe her to be a spy, but... I suppose it's a bit late. If I can help in any way, let me know, okay"

Hephaestus stayed silent. Yes, the Coatl healer was correct when he said he was mourning for his mother, but... that Ice dragon. She's dead. He killed her.

---

Hephaestus wanted to be a healer, not a murderer.

But now he had an instructor, one who would teach him how to use his powerful fire abilities.

Use it to kill.

Use it to harm others.

He wanted to be a healer.

This isn't what healers were supposed to do.

Healers were meant to save lives, and he was being taught to take them instead.

---

Months has passed. Hephaestus had finished his training. He could finally control his fire.

The day after, he was missing.