Dusk

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 VIII

Bright and Torrin > Hope > Luca > Thespa > Aerdrie > Celestina > Luna > Sunset > Me!

by Dryil

“...fire!”

“...fire!”

“Dusk, it’s on fire!”

Dusk was unable to hear the shouts of distress from her customer. All she could do was stare into the dancing small flame on the child’s toy. “Fire, fire. Why must it always be fire?” She whispered, her mouth drying before a loud squeal snapped her back to reality. “Ms. Dusk, you are on fire!” a young hatchling was shouting in her face, his eyes wide with horror. Dusk looked down and gasped at the fire licking her talons and arms. She clapped her talons and slammed the ground with her tail, howling a few magic words as her wings trembled with power. The fire on her body and the toy wavered, as winds began to whip around them. The hatchling watched, awestruck, as the fire soon began to evaporate off of Dusk and his toy. Dusk winked at him, and the toy floated in the air. Humming another incantation, she moved her talons in a wide circle around the toy, its burn marks disappearing and its tears pinching back together. Dusk plucked the toy from the air, smiling kindly at the hatchling eagerly grabbing the toy out of her arms. “There you go. Be more gentle with him next time.” The hatchling wrinkled his nose at her and fished a single gold coin out of his wings, giving it to her. “Thank you Ms. Dusk! I promise to take good care of him!” He puffed himself up proudly and swaggered away. Dusk chuckled and smiled at his retreating figure, remembering what she was like at his age. Then her smile fell.

As a hatchling, she was destined to do great things. It was in her birthright after all. She is a proud Avariel, a family of strong mages and warriors who are working hard to rebuild the city of Waterdeep. Her mother, Sunset, was an amazing mage from whom she had inherited her powers. Her father, while more ordinary in comparison, was steadfast and often kept his more imaginative wife grounded. Dusk remembered when her happy family life ended, and everything went wrong. It all started the day before. While her mother meditated in her room, Dusk snuck in to watch. She watched her mother's peaceful face, though being so young she quickly grew bored of the serenity. She waddled around the room, sniffing the air and batting at the beads. One item in particular caught her young eye, however. A small candle. It had soft pink wax and a brilliant flame. Dusk cooed and batted at the fire, staring in wonder as it quivered and shrunk in the breeze. She giggled as the flame returned to its original size. Finding this a fun toy to play with, she began to tip the candle over.

Sunset quickly scooped her up, ignoring her squeals of disappointment. “Dusk, careful. That is fire, and it is dangerous.” The hatchling glared daggers at her mother, clearly not understanding the accident she nearly caused. Sunset smiled softly, leaning her against her chest. “I'm sorry, dear. I know fire seems so fun to play with. Yet…” she took an unused prayer strip and put it over a flame, making her daughter watch as it turned black. “It destroys as well. It can burn down our home, and throw our very way of life into chaos. Cause that is fire. Fire is chaos, and it consumes all. Good and evil.” Dusk was not paying attention to her mother's words. She watched the paper slip, mystified. The paper turned to ash, feeding the flame and polluting the pool of wax below. “Do you understand, Dusk?” her mother’s words snapped her out of her thoughts, and she nodded softly. Her mother smiled, picking her up. “It is late, my little star. It is time for you to go to bed.” Dusk nodded obediently, her mother breathing a soft sigh of relief as she took her to her bedroom. Yet there was a crafty gleam in Dusk’s eyes. That was not going to be her last interaction with fire. Not by a long shot.

The moon hung low in the sky, a witness to Dusk’s mischief. She had waited for her mom to fall asleep, and now was a perfect time to play with her new friend. She waddled out of her bed, creeping past her mother’s sleeping form to find one of the candles that was left lit overnight. Dusk grinned and tried to reach for it, only to fall on her back. It was a tall but unsteady stand, so there was only one solution for the young hatchling. She threw herself at the candlestand, knocking it over and shattering the candle. She squealed in glee and threw herself at the fire, only to yelp at the broken glass cutting into her body. Ash flew in her face, and she screamed. Fire was not a friend. Her mother was right. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, looking back to see the fire follow her. Dusk should have ran to Sunrise, but some hatchling instinct told her not to tell her mother. She stumbled to the exit, covered in glass and melted wax. She looked back to her old home, and a terrible scream ripped through her throat.

Her house was on fire. Instead of stone, everything was made of wood and tar. This was perfect kindling for a massive flame. Dusk tried to run in to warn her mother, but each time a heat wave sent her running back for relief in the cool night air. She heard the pained roar of her mother, her squawking in relief that she will be fine. She can dispel the flames. She can return everything to normal, as she always does. This hope was quickly bashed as the house began to collapse, though not before she saw the almost golden form of her mother burst out of the wreckage, flying high into the air with her scales on fire. Dusk was in horrified awe at the majesty of her mother, as she seemed to hover in the moonlight sky, ablaze like the morning sun. But, a new emotion wracked her small body. Shame.

Dusk began to run, hiding her face in her small wings as she tried to hide her face from the now judgemental eye of the moon. She looked back at her home, eyes watering as the small house was now a single brilliant flame in the night. She wiped her eyes of tears and hung her head in shame, walking down the road. She would never show her face to her mother again, stealing to live. Only recently had she gotten herself on stable ground with the development of her magic powers, earning herself a more honest living.

“Is there is a Ms. Dusk? I need your services.” Another customer. Dusk snapped out of her memories, that same nightmare haunting her for decades. She shuddered and cleaned up her area of ash. Now is not the time to dwell. She made it so far, and she is not going to return to her old life.

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Written by PhantasiDreamin