Tista was glad they had to keep their eyes closed or Lith would have seen the grin on her face.
‘It’s nice hearing him getting scolded, for once. It means my lil bro is human.’ She thought.
As Lith’s and Tista’s Primordial Flames struck respectively a rock and a patch of ground at her feet, their eyebrows went up in surprise.
“What the fuck?” Tista could feel through her Flames how different materials burned at a different pace.
At first, Lith and Tista thought it was just an impression. After a while, they could sort out the different components of their respective targets simply by the degree of resistance they offered to the Flames.
‘He said purify but without specifying what, so…’ After vaporizing the first rock Lith moved on to a second.
He had the Primordial Flames wash over the stone’s surface and seep through it before making real damage, just enough to grasp the density of the rock’s main components.
Lith burned everything inside, feeling the stone rearranging its structure to fill the empty spaces left by the Flames. He saw how removing impurities made the stone harder or more brittle based on their position and composition.
The second rock collapsed, its structure incapable of withstanding its own weight after all the impurities had been removed. Lith moved to a third stone, this time making the flames lick at the various components without burning any of them.
Only after he could discern which impurities were functional to the rock’s structural integrity from those that deformed it did he start the purifying process. Tista too learned how to study her target through her Flames as they burned through a barren plot of land.
“Good. You can now open your eyes and look upon the results of your work.” Valtak said once they were both done.
Tista needed time to catch up but Lith could use it for practice.
The obsidian stone that Lith had purified now looked like an angular jagged fang with sharp corners and sleek sides. The patch of ground below Tista’s feet was blackened no longer.
The ashes poisoning it were gone and so was the rocky layer of solidified lava. The soil was soft, brown, and so fertile that it only needed one seed and a bit of water to bear a bountiful harvest.
“As I said, fire brings death…” Valtak pointed at the charred remains of their first attempts. “But also life and change.” He waved at the purified rock and ground.
“How is this possible? I’ve used Origin Flames countless times to kill or purify but I’ve never felt anything through them.” Tista asked. “I’ve always needed to memorize the position of the impurities before refining metals.”
“Because even though most users of Origin Flames come to the realization that they are akin to one of their limbs, only a few of them garner enough experience to discover the Flames have a sense of their own, hatchling.
“Every Dragon I trained describes the phenomenon in a different way, but they all agree that the closest thing to describe it is the sense of touch.”
“You, like all my past students, have discovered its existence because I’ve allowed you to use mana instead of life force. Mana answers your every command with ease, giving you the opportunity to focus on how Origin Flames work instead of on making them work.”
“I see.” Lith nodded. “But even after experiencing it firsthand, I still don’t understand how I could garner so much information via Origin Flames. Don’t they just burn stuff?”
“Indeed, but you see, on Mogar everything has mana. Everything assimilates world energy and makes it their own. Rocks, plants, you, and me.” The Fire Dragon said and his students nodded for him to continue.
“Origin Flames burn the world energy, but if everything assimilates world energy, then everything burns.”
Valtak looked Lith in the eyes while using his words. “It’s how the Fire Dragons’ bloodline ability, Primal Spark, works.”
He dipped his tail in the nearby river of lava, turning it into a blazing stream of Origin Flames that spread back to the volcano that had generated them.
“Fire Dragons can turn any form of fire into Origin Flames. Spells, natural fire, and body heat, they are all comprised of world energy and life force that we can spark. And when there’s no life, like here, we can give a bit of our own.
“Come on. Give it a go.” Valtak beckoned at Lith and Tista.
The siblings exchanged a quick glance before throwing a fireball each to the Fire Dragon’s sides while also taking care they wouldn’t touch him. Passing near him was enough to turn the two tier three spells into roaring spheres of Origin Flames that burned their point of impact instead of exploding.
“Good gods.” Tista was speechless.
“Yeah. Imagine how things would be easier for us if Mom awakened her bloodline.” Lith wasn’t.
“Lith!” She scolded him while Valtak laughed.
“Let’s take a short break before moving on to Immortal Flames. The toll on your life force has been negligible but you are more tired than you think.” The Elder Wyrm shapeshifted into his human form and his disciples followed suit.
As soon as he took his fingers off their foreheads and dispelled Primordial Spark, Lith and Tista felt their bodies become as heavy as lead and found themselves covered in sweat.
“What’s happening?” Lith said, wheezing like a bellows.
“Hatchling, you have probably used more Origin Flames today than during your whole life.” Valtak replied. “Until one second ago, your mana core shouldered the burden but now it’s back on your body.”
Lith checked his life force, discovering that it had suffered no damage. The cracks were unchanged and his exhaustion was no different from what he would expect after an intense session of physical training.
“You guys can recover with Invigoration, but I’d like you to rest and eat instead. Learn this lesson not only with your minds, but also with your bodies.” The Elder Wyrm took a few dead cows out of his pocket dimension and breathed fire on them.
“Why?” Tista said with a disgusted expression. “We should have butchered them. If you don’t take out the organs, the meat goes bad and tastes terrible.”
“First, it takes too long. Second, give me some credit.” The Fire Dragon tore a cow in half and a delicious smell wafted in the air. “I’ve done this for millennia. It lacks spices, but that’s it.”
Lith had many questions, but the remark about his trust issues still burned at his pride.
‘Pun intended.’ He thought as he ripped a leg off and started to chew it.
“How is it?” Tista asked, poking at her cow.
“Delicious.” Lith replied, taking her by surprise. “The fire has spread the fat evenly, tenderized the meat, and made the bones brittle. You can easily suck the marrow.”
“What about…” Tista pointed at the intestines and bladder.
“The wastes? I’ve purified them, of course.” Valtak replied. “Just because I can eat anything safely, it doesn’t mean I have to. Had I purified everything, our meal would have been reduced to flabby, tasteless meat.
“Instead, I just cooked everything right and removed only the naughty bits.”
