Visions in the Flames

It’s a clear afternoon on the hills outside town, New Hillborrow can be seen just peeking through the gaps in the distance. BB is sat on the ground cross legged, the stone brazier lit before her. Even after having it for some weeks the snake shaped flames still try to strike at her, their hisses sounding like the popping sounds of burning wood.

BB leans forward with her hands hovering just above the brazier, and hesitates.

‘Remember Blue, if something goes bad you must go get help at whatever cost, just like we discussed’

The magpie currently sitting on the ground, some distance from the brazier, gives a quick nod of acknowledgement. With one last moment of silent thought BB places her hands on either side of the brazier and begins reciting the arcane words of the ritual.

Almost immediately the snakes of green flame strike out at her hands and coil around them, burning the flesh down to the bone. The pain is immense and BB hunches further forward towards the flames as it overtakes her, but her hands remain on the brazier. In a blink of an eye the snakes recede and her hands are back to normal, the price apparently paid.



‘Hello child, finally you’re ready to truly ssse’

‘Uhh hi, nice to hear you again? Are you going to help me with this?’

‘What do you want to sssee?’

‘I want to be able to see how I got my magic’

‘The flamess will let you, that isss our magic. Endure the pain, keep looking’



BB looks back into the flames visibly confused by the proceedings, when suddenly she feels her body frozen in place, yet her vision soars high above where she’s seated. It flies across Kantas towards the mountains of the Sunset Spines and to the desert beyond them. BB briefly recognises the section of desert close to the mountainside, but the vision keeps flying further into the expansive sands, to parts unknown to her. Then she spots it in the distance, an oasis like from her dream before, but this time there’s a large stone building nestled in the centre of it. It’s made of many floors, each floor being a smaller square than the previous to form a triangular-like building. As she gets closer to this building BB is able to focus a bit more on it features, and that’s when she sees someone climbing up and up the many stairs that surround the outside walls.



It’s… It’s herself?



As she’s looking, trying to understand what’s going on, a sudden wave of fear washes over her. She can’t explain how, but this BB on the building is in danger.



‘Keep calm, focussss’



So she does, focusing in on herself, and now the other BB and herself are the same. The building, and stairs, and sand are all gone. Replaced by a dark void that she’s floating in. But it’s not empty, there seems to pools of colour here and they’re moving. No, wait, she’s moving.

As she moves closer to these pools, she can see inside them, like looking through a misty window. It’s her tribe, her home. She recognises everyone there, but they’re all so much younger than when she left. Some who she knows are a similar age to her are barely old enough to walk. Looking through more pools shows differences in the tribe shown through each. People are the same age but some have scars they don’t have in others, some have tattoos she doesn’t remember or are missing ones she knows they’re meant to have. In one pool it shows a meeting of the druids of the tribe, her mum is there, but where’s Bon? He never missed one, not even when he was ill. Where is he? Where?



And as BB reaches out towards the pool, searching for the fate of her brother in this reality, the vision evaporates instantly. BB is once again sitting cross legged on the hills outside New Hillborrow. Looking down at the brazier, the snakes of green flame are now gone, cinders are all that remain of them.



‘I sssaw, child’



BB pulls up her knees to hug them close to her chest while still looking at the brazier, pausing before she answers. ‘Saw what?’

‘The Oasiss of Usar. We thought it losst beneath the sandss like many of our sitesss’ BB frowns at this answer from the High Priest. ‘Okay? How did you lose it? Is it important to all of this?’

‘I do not know how this particular place was losst to usss, but many of our sitesss were destroyed in the war, or hidden with magic. Now Glasya seekss them out in her wrath.’

The High Priest pauses in his answer, shoot did she ask too many questions?

‘The Oasiss of Usar is where the Cobra used the starss to cross the boundariess between visionss and reality. For a great price Usar can be used to access these visionss, we used it to influence eventss for a brief time’

Concern is spread across BB’s face at her next thought. ‘So if Glaysa found it already, could she somehow do this to benefit herself?’

Another pause. ‘We have already sent scoutss to find this site, but none have returned. So it’ss certainly a possibility. If she managed to overcome the trial of Usar that is presented to her, I fear it would benefit her’

‘Wouldn’t that be really bad for us?’

‘The Cobra people are on course to leave thiss world, you know thiss child. But I understand your plight’

Now it’s BB’s turn to pause, considering her next question

‘Can you please give me directions to this place? I want to stop Glasya if she’s found it’



‘Fine. But you need to do something while you’re there. Break a seal to help awaken the One Serpent. Then we can ascend from thiss plane, with no blood, no killing. Will you do it, child?’





BB flops back onto the hill, facing up to the sky filled with the colours of the setting sun. Blue has hopped over to nestle into their favourite spot between BB’s neck and shirt collar. BB starts spilling her thoughts, and once she starts she can’t stop them.

‘Glasya wants a stake in our world, and yet I think I’m a tiny bit more concerned about wanting my question answered. Is that bad? Am I a bad person? I need to tell the others, my friends, what I’ve learnt about this Oasis. But what will they think of me for using this brazier this whole time? Going this far to answer my question. Do you think they’ll understand? What if they ask why? I’m not sure I’m ready to tell them yet, I already lost everything once’

BB covers her face in frustration at her own thoughts, Blue chirps at the movement.

‘Yeah I know, telling people about it earlier on would certainly make this easier. But I don’t want to start a friendship telling something so, so shameful’



BB moves her hands and gets up, careful as to not jostle Blue from their position.

‘Let’s just focus on the One Serpent and this whole stopping Glasya thing for now. I don’t want to walk into that desert completely oblivious’



And with that BB picks up the now unlit brazier from the ground and strides down the hill, back towards her warm tent, back towards home.