Legends of Belariath
Fyre
Fyre's Background
Fyres story must begin right at the start of her life. She was born on a day when the sun’s rays struck the earth near her home, born at the very break of dawn it is said the sun burned brighter than at other time, she was named for the sun that day and the colour it lent to the dawn for the fyre that burned her parent’s eyes and her village’s folk’s hearts. Her birth was celebrated by the whole village and at the moment she was born the woods fell silent almost as if the very trees held their breath, the silence was ended only by her cry.
She grew up there under the guidance not only of her parent’s but also of the others in her village. It had been so long since a child had been brought into their world they all had a hand in raising her. From them she learned many skills, picking things up that would aid her throughout her life.
What became very apparent to all there was that her affinity with Gaea far surpassed the normal, what had been hinted in the silence at her birth and shown many ways as she grew up it was also noted that her intelligence set her apart.
When she discovered the only way to further her learning, to increase her affinity with mother earth was to join the Druid Order she went to her parents and bid them seek out one who could allow her entrance. Her parents who had never forbid her anything were pleased she had chosen such a worthy path, the time away from them would cause her to be missed, but what was that many years to the elves, just a blink of the eye.
They soon found her who she needed who came and presented her with the tests she needed to prove herself; he was pleased and said the order would be happy to accept her within its folds. When she gained the acceptance the village gathered at the meeting point and the celebration they had lasted for days, food and Meade, wine and dancing it would be in her mind and heart and so with joy in her heart she bid them goodbye, following the rules of the order she went to them with only the clothes on her back, long flowing skirts made of the finest hand woven silks of her family and tight bodice style tops under long hooded robes made for her by the people she loves in colours suiting her kind.
Upon arrival she was given her robes and a from then she wore them, her clothing kept carefully for the day she was allowed to leave them and go into the world, what she discovered quickly was that she was much younger than most any of the others that they normally accepted and so because of this she was most left alone, not included in the activities of the other novices, almost shunned, her skills however were very apparent her tutors were awed by her speed of learning and yet she gained no arrogance, she instead took the fact that she was alone there and immersed herself deeply in her studying, her learning and it benefited her greatly, she quickly moved up the ranks until she was at the highest level she could reach beneath elder.
The begged her at that time to stay with them but she refused, she longed to go home, to share her knowledge there, to be with her family as she missed them sorely since she had been allowed no contact whilst in the order and so she removed her robes, and returned to her silks, wearing on her thumbs two silver rings to show her level of learning and understanding.
She left with high spirits, and the blessing of her peers and made the journey home, several days it took and she travelled from early until late into the night longing to get home quickly, her heart was drawing her and was not merely her need to get home, the closer to her village she got the more the trees whispered of violence of lost, they whispered to her not to go any further that it lead to heartache, Mother Earth tried to protect her but she had to, she had to go to see her family, that was what was going to be at the end of her journey, wasn’t it?
She could smell wrongness in the forest as she made it to the valley of her village she broke into a run, skidding to a halt only when she reached the meeting point of her village, the very place where they had celebrated her birth and then her acceptance to the order of the Druids. She found herself amidst the scene of destruction, ruin, the trees told her of the violence that had occurred, although it was long done, she dropped to her knees and the most painful piercing scream tore from her chest, she had done it all for nothing, all for her village and now it was gone, everything, everybody, why? How? Her world crashed in round her ears and when she raised her eyes the pain there was plain, she walked through the village with unseeing eyes her feet leading her straight to her home, that lay just outside the village, it seemed to be untouched, not burnt like the others her heart soared and she ran into her home, but from the moment she entered the house was empty, devoid of all life, neglected, she ought to have known, her parents would not stay here whilst the village was drawn the only heart she was able to take was that she knew they had died fighting, fighting for all she had loved.
She knew she had to leave this place and quickly for her very sanity hung in the balance, she called to herself the calming exercises she had been taught and moved around what had been her home gathering a few things as she went, lying on her cabinet right in the centre was a thing she had seen her mother wear every day of her life, she broke down and wept, knowing her mother had left this home with the knowledge she was going to her death, knowing that her daughter would return home and find this gift, lifting it in trembling fingers she carefully placed the moonstone in the centre of her forehead and fastened the chains around her head to hold it in place, she knew she would not take it off.
The moonstone had powers that as yet were untouchable by her, she could not make any of it work, perhaps when she had grown it would come to her, for now all it did was pulse in perfect time with her heartbeat.
She left her home then, with never a backwards glance her mother moonstone on her head, her fathers daggers in her belt she left and she walked, she knew she would never be hungry for she had learned to live on the bounty mother earth provided to any that cared to look, she wandered not really caring where she went or where she ended up, avoiding others, she by-passed villages, and encampments she wanted nothing whatsoever to do with anyone at all, she slept in the forest and mother earth spoke to her in her dreams, the embodiment of Gaea was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on, she gathered fyre to her and held her while she wept, these tears unlike any other took her bitterness from her, she cried away the pain, the need to be alone, Gaea explained that although the pain would never go away it was now no longer going to overwhelm her, it would no longer control her life as it had been, she had been allowed a period to truly mourn deeply and now she must raise her head, use her mind, her learning to go and do what she had been taught. Gaea told her of a place, explained that it still had a deep forest around it, with old trees, knowledgeable trees, she explained to her the diversity of people she had felt in that place, and that there were a few who truly cared for her, and worked to heal others. Images and thoughts flooded her mind as she slept and when she wakened she felt refreshed and she had a purpose.
Gathering herself, and what she owned she set her feet on the path she had been given and she moved unerringly to a place, she knew not its name but she knew she had to go there, there she would find help, guidance, a purpose and so she found herself in the forest surrounding Nanthalion and she began as instructed to enter the society there, she joined a Guild of Magic first, to learn to defend herself, to learn to work with the powers of the spirits that surround everyone but remain mostly untapped.
She bought herself armour, weapons and once she felt better able to protect herself she began to do as she had been instructed, she began to learn how to heal and so having just joined the Guild of Healers, she begins on the true path set by Gaea and although the pain is there, always there, she can cope with it, keep it hidden and concentrate on her work on her studies and so that is where she can be found in either one Guild or the other, working on improving herself …