Ash

Ash

                COME TO ME, came the voice of the Great Inferno. It woke Eleez from her sleep; and as she hurried to the centre of the temple the presence of the other priests and priestesses stumbled wearily from their chambers. I guess he has summoned us all, Eleez thought to herself. Compared to her fellows, she was fine. She had no need for sleep, although she did so occasionally to clear her head and to dream.

                They made their ways into the great entrance hall of the temple, where the prison of the Inferno sat. The two priestesses who had been on duty – a vigil in case of pilgrims arriving in the night – were kneeling before it. Eleez chuckled upon seeing them; the Inferno did not like ceremony and had only acquiesced so that the faithful would have a means of showing their faith. But I will forever look poorly on those who are excessively obsequious. Showing the most reverence for him would not get them far.

                As the awoken priests and priestesses – twelve in number – moved to stand before the prison, a couple of the fastest pulled the kneeling priestesses to their feet. Once they had all come to stand before his prison, circling around the pit that lay before it with Eleez at their head, he spoke to them.

                It has been seven years since I was dragged from the sea, he said – his voice echoing in their minds. In that time, enough of my power has escaped to induct thirty-two into the priesthood. None of you are close in power to Eleez; and few have received the second gift of flame.

                You will each die in time; of old age or through misadventure. In time, your numbers will swell, and slowly increase. But there will always be so few of you. The land you forge through faith to me grows ever larger, and soon will become too large for you alone to manage.

                I am not only a god of fire; but also a god of what remains after I have blazed. The ash, the char, the ruin, even the black glass this temple and the city beyond are made of are my domain. Awaken the initiates, and ask for the bravest amongst them. Bring them before me so they may hear my words. I have devised a new gift; but the cost of it will likely be great.

                Nodding to the Inferno, most of those assembled hurried off to awaken the initiates. Many were those who hoped to earn the Inferno’s gifts, and to join the priesthood. Each year, five were chosen to receive a gift of flame; and only two had been chosen twice. Yet there were three hundred initiates; some of whom had been present since the raising of the temple, just under seven years ago. Each year more came to join the priesthood, and although some left disappointed the number of initiates had continuously grown as the ‘Lands of Flame’ had expanded.

                Eleez sidled up to the Inferno’s prison, and laid a hand upon it. A Gift of Ash? she asked him.

                Yes, the Inferno replied. The fire – my power – shall burn, and the ash that remains will be empowered. But the fire shall not be extinguished, nor imbued – and thus can burn again. It is my hope that this gift will prevent the priesthood from becoming too thinly spread.

                Eleez nodded, and stepped back from the Inferno’s prison. It was a great honour she alone was given; to be told the Inferno’s thoughts and plans, even his worries and troubles. Despite his form – a great fire, hot beyond all reckoning, bound within a terrible prison of stone – he had once been ‘human’, or as close to human as beings from his former world were. Though he only sought to grow (through the proxy of the ‘Lands of Flame’, as he was trapped without hope of escape) his approach was guided by his previously far more human nature. He had once confided in Eleez that he felt her to be not only his greatest servant, but also his friend. Eleez had found his sentiment incredibly amusing (an Inferno, a god, forming friendships seemed so remarkably unusual to her); and she had been lucky that he did truly consider her a friend and had thus decided against any punishment for her laughter.

                Several plans had been put forward to resolve the trouble the expansion had begun encountering. Many priests were needed at the temple to handle organisation of the growing ‘Lands of Flame’; some were needed to keep an eye on towns and shrines within the Lands; and others were needed to push forward the borders of the land, bringing the faith to people who had not yet heard of the Inferno. The borders of the Lands of Flame had grown to a size where the current priesthood – numbering a mere thirty-three – was having difficulty controlling, watching and organising the land.

                The limiting factor was the Gifts of Flame; power given by the Inferno when initiates were inducted into the priesthood. Though incredibly powerful, the prison the Inferno was trapped within – a prison with no known means of destruction or opening – prevented him from acting openly. It was only through damage inflicted by the Inferno before being cast from his prior world (in which the prison was not invulnerable) that some of his power could trickle, given a minor goal but no longer under his control after leaving his prison.

                The only plan that had seemed viable was to create a ‘petty-priesthood’. It would consist of priests and priestesses who had not been given a Gift, but who were faithful and true to the Inferno. They would serve in all roles, and from their number those to receive Gifts would be chosen. This idea had seemed inevitable, though the Inferno had held off as he felt it cruel to add more hoops for those who have waited so long to jump through.

                The initiates – sleepy and tired – assembled before the Inferno’s prison. They had each been given the Touch of Flame, as had many faithful in the Lands. While close to the Inferno, the could feel his presence; and when right before him, they could hear his voice.

                I have devised a new Gift. It is the ‘Gift of Ash’. I shall, I believe, be able to grant it to any of you who desire it so long as you deserve a Gift. I am, however, not yet sure of the effects of the gift. I know this much, however: you will be unable to receive a Gift of Flame; you shall be charred potentially beyond what is recognisably human; you shall not age and will not need food but fuel; and you will have access to magics and strange abilities in some form. Finally, the first of you to receive the Gift may die. I ask that the bravest amongst you step forward to receive this gift.

                The initiates stood, each considering not only the risk to their lives, but also the other costs and benefits of the gift. It was not long before one of the initiates stepped forward. The initiate was a tall, broad man. Eleez recognised him, as he had toiled as an initiate for the past five years. His name was Viktir, and he had not been chosen due to his lack of intellect. He had not minded; he had come to serve rather than due to temptation, and had happy to act as a bodyguard (something he was very good at; having personally prevented two assassination attempts).

                Those assembled felt the Inferno nod within their minds. Descend into the pit, he said.

                Viktir walked to the pit, and gently lowered himself into it. Once within, he stood in the centre and looked up at the prison expectantly. Liquid fire, bright and pure, the power of the Inferno began to pour from a crack and pool in the pit. It was a slight amount more than was usually given as a Gift, and Eleez suspected it was almost all the power the Inferno had readied.

                The fire flowed towards Viktir, eventually finding his feet and burning away his sandals. As it flowed into him he winced, and groaned in pain. His feet started to redden, as if blistering from intense heat, and then started to burn with the glow of embers – no flame curled forth. The redness stretched up his legs and soon covered his entire body. His feet, having burnt, were left as strangely solid ashes – a mix of pure white, gray, and black. The process continued; burning his entire body with only a rare flicker of flame. His clothes caught – unlike his sandals – did not catch alight, as they had been made from a material designed to withstand fire (as was much of the clothing of the priesthood; due to the nature of their abilities).

                Beyond his initially grunts of pain, Viktir kept his silence as he burnt from the inside out. As the process completed – his face becoming a mess of ash that was hard to interpret, but seemed to have the same shape – he coughed loudly, expelling a thick cloud of ashes. His form had been slightly changed by the Gift; his flesh seemed to have expanded a small amount as it burnt, and his ‘skin’ appeared to be loose – as if a shake would send ash floating off into the air much as his cough had. His eyes had become hard black chunks of charcoal and his hair had burnt away completely.

                Crowding around the edge of the pit, all those gathered saw the liquid fire drip from Viktir once it had completed its task. Eleez – and some others – keenly noticed that it was slightly less than it had been before changing Viktir, but not by much. It flowed to one side of the pit, and formed a small puddle there.

                Viktir let out an unintelligible groan that he cut short. He raised his hand to his throat and patted it, as if to check it was still present. Only a tiny amount of ash was loosened by the actions, and it fluttered gently down to form a ring around him.

                “Can he not speak?” muttered a priest who stood beside Eleez.

                Before Eleez could reply, she noticed that Viktir was moving his arms and hands in a strange pattern. But it was one she recognised – it was a form of sign language, a piece of knowledge the Inferno had imbued into her. “What is he doing?” the priest continued, not understanding Viktir’s actions.

                “He’s communicating with sign language,” replied Eleez loudly, leaping down into the pit.

                “I am fine,” Viktir was signing, looking around for someone who understood him. As Eleez leapt down, he focused on her.

                “I understand you,” she said to him, signing at the same time. “Wait patiently for the Inferno to speak,” she added.

                Viktir nodded, and signed in reply, “He has already spoken to me. I panicked at first, but he told me that this had always been a possibility and that he had gifted me a skill that would help. And now I know these signs, this language.”

                “Unfortunately he was not foresighted enough to grant it to the priesthood. It would have been a useful tool,” signed Eleez.

                The Gift has succeeded, came the voice of the Inferno. But it has cost him his voice. I have gifted him a skill, as part of the Gift of Ash; the knowledge of a signed language spoken with hands and arms from my long-ago home. With it, he may communicate with you all. Eleez shall teach it to you all, beginning with the priesthood.

                As Eleez closed her eyes and sighed at the additional work, the Inferno continued. Having examined the effects of the Gift, here are my proclamations: Viktir has become the first of the Ash Priests, who will guard my shrines and spread my word. They will be assisted in this task by an order of petty priests, who shall act as their interpreters for the masses. Petty Priests shall be serve under Ash Priests or Flame Priests (as all prior priests shall now be referred to as). Initiates shall become petty priests after receiving training here; or, should they choose, Ash Priests. Those to receive a Gift of Flame shall henceforth be chosen from the petty priesthood. Promotions to petty priesthood, and the creation of more Ash Priests, shall begin tomorrow morning. For now, return to your rest or your duties.

                The newly renamed Flame Priests and the initiates excitedly chattered for a time, though a few began to make their way back towards their chambers. Within the pit, Eleez signed to Viktir, “Come with me. I wish to see what you are capable of. The Great Inferno has analysed you, but we have yet to discover the nature and extent of your abilities.”

                Viktir signed his agreement in reply, and the pair left the pit – Eleez light of foot, Viktir with a thud and a cloud of ash.