06-terra.mid A shadow rose in the night sky…a black and gray beast of shadow swept across the world. In its wake it left ruin and destruction, flame and ash. Into the clear, starry sky there rose great smoke from the great fires spread across the plains, the forests, and the mountains, only the great seas and lakes were not consumed. The shadow swept in its turn and then back again to where it hid, but it was not alone the cause of the flames… qzeal.mid A red light swept across vision, the crackle of flame on its heals. A burning heat and fire, and so he woke from his sleep… Hero: “What is this?” Hero looked about him and saw his world covered in flames. His house of wood and everything in it was set ablaze. Several planks fell from the ceiling onto the floor, spreading the red flames. He lept from his bed, grabbing his hooded cloak and shoes, then through the house he went, but he could find no one there. Finally, being trapped by flames in a room, he crashed through the window and landed outside in a pile of leaves. Out of the pile he dashed, the fire from the burning leaves spreading to his clothes, and into a trough of water. He sat up in the trough, panting and drenched, and looked back at his home. It was not the only thing that was burning. The trees round about were as well, and there seemed to rise a great light and smoke in the direction of the village. Donning his brown cloak and hood, as well as his soft leather shoes, he got out of the water and ran off through the burning trees towards the village. 11-Iifa_Tree.mid He came out of the woods on a hill overlooking the small village. As was everything else, it was burning with red tongues of fire that licked the clouds of smoke rising into the sky. His drenched hair and cloak blew in the hot wind blowing across the plain that stretched beyond the village, he looked across a world covered in fire. He stood there for a moment, was this a dream? What could set the world on fire without a trace? But he was still wet, and so the fires could not instantly burn him. He ran down the slope against the hot wind, if anyone was alive, he would find them and help if he could. Into the inferno he went. He stopped short on entering the center of the ring of buildings. There were ten people already here. Six all dressed in blue, suits and cloaks. Opposing them were three dressed in red with matching capes, and one in black with a dark hood over his head… 19-Immortal_Melody.mid Black suited man: “Isn’t it glorious? See how the red fires lift the gray smoke into the sky? See how the orange consumes everything? The ominous power, the melting heat…” He raised his arms up and looked into the sky, “My lovely flames spreading across the world and my clouds of ash across the skies. What greater sight could there be?” Girl in blue: “Water. A torrent from the heavens would be better then this! A flood from the sea would at least end everything!” Man in blue: “Your flames have torched the world, you’re destroying everything!” The man in black tossed his head back and laughed. His face was masked in shadow, but he had glowing eyes, gleaming from the darkness. “You think this is hot? You think this is fire? You are very much mistaken, this is nothing.” He raised his hands over his head, and then acted like he was throwing something at the people in blue. From his hands shot flames that hit the man in blue and a bright flash of fire erupted, consuming him. Girl in blue: “No!!” The girl cast her hands forward and a stream of water shot from her. But in the flames, the weak stream fizzled into a cloud of vapor. The man in black laughed more still. “You’re weakling powers are no use against me. Fool.” With no gestures this time flames shot from him. A ball of fire erupted from the man in black, spreading out from him and consuming the village and everyone in it. The ball of fire shifted into a mushroom shaped cloud of flames and billowed up into the ash filled sky. All that was left was fire, smoldering ruin, and the man in black. Hero was laying on the hillside just beyond the range of the ball of fire, having been thrown to the ground. His hair and skin was singed and he was now completely dry from water but drenched in his own sweat as his body tried to release the overload of heat. He panted as he tried to regain his breath, it was as if the air had been vaporized and was thin and taking a moment to come back. He fell back onto the hillside, his arms spread out to both sides, gasping for air and only finding heat, the air of the inferno that burned his throat and lungs. He closed his eyes…he drifted, mind, body, he couldn’t be sure, but one thing was constant, a dark laughter followed him wither he was cast. And so he found himself, awake on the hillside at daybreak, from a nightmare, into nightmares, through nightmares, and then, awaking in another, for the world was black and charred when he opened his eyes, save the patch of ground he was on. The ash fell, day seemed like night, and into a dark sleep he was cast, upon the hill, beyond the inferno, within a nightmare…