Frost Arch

The humans never expected that their precious technology would lead to their eventual demise. Mobile phones, factory pollutions, computers, nuclear experiments, cars and petrol were all contributors.

After hundreds of years of abuse from humans, the earth’s air became toxic and the land turned to fire and ice. The fumes were deadly and the humans fled underground where they had built cities large enough to house them for several hundreds of years. The cities had many generators to create electricity and warmth, and hundreds of underground farms with an artificial sun. It was the only way to save them from the hell they had created, yet they still could not survive without their wretched technology.

The abuse of the earth had brought forth a self-made apocalypse, killing billions of people. Hundreds survived in their underground cities for decades, and bred, trying to save the human race from extinction for they feared that all life on the surface had been turned to dust.

However there were a handful of humans who possessed a rare and hidden genetic code, which allowed them to survive in the radiation – barely. Over time they came to tolerate the deathly conditions, and month by month living on the surface became easier. Yet if a human who did not possess the rare genetic code ventured from the underground and onto the surface they would surely die within a matter of minutes.

And so the underground humans hid beneath the earth’s surface for five hundred years, passing the knowledge of the apocalypse through each generation until the cold, hard facts became blurred and there was no one in living memory that had actually experienced it.

It was one particularly brave, adolescent that broke free from the claustrophobic underground and wanted to see what the world had to offer. The fact that the humans did not properly educate their young anymore about the dangers of the toxic air was a great factor to this break out. However when the young man breathed his first breath upon the surface he found the air to be pure and clean – cleaner than any air the generators underground had provided. His mind had never felt clearer.

The adolescent quickly returned to the underground and told everyone of his discovery – that after five hundred years the earth had finally healed itself and it was safe to live outside again. After much convincing the humans ventured outside and heaved a sigh of relief to be free of their prison and to see the colour of the sky and grass. The earth had returned to its perfect state.

The humans believed that they were the earth’s only inhabitants, and the only survivors of the apocalypse that happened so many years ago. Surely they were the masters of this new land.

Yet there were those who had managed to survive the hell on earth. It was rare for humans to survive the radiation, though some did. Eventually, those humans with the hidden genetic code began to breed over the several hundreds of years that the earth had been unoccupied, and generation by generation their bodies began tolerating the changed environment more and more until they had evolved completely to live harmoniously with the earth.

When the humans from the underground encountered the evolved race they were joyous that they had found other survivors and wondered where their underground cities were located. The evolved race looked exactly the same as regular humans, yet inside their genetic make-up couldn’t have been more different. The evolved race did not refer to themselves as humans, but introduced themselves as Mages.

The humans discovered that the Mages were not regular people for they possessed strange and unnatural powers that had been unlocked within the depths of the mind after hundreds of years of evolution. What usually took millions of years to happen had taken a mere millisecond in comparison.

The humans watched in awe as the Mages demonstrated their powers. Some could read minds, or move inanimate objects without touching them. Others could control the elements of fire, ice and water, and then there were those who could heal fatal wounds in the blink of an eye. One young female Mage could even morph into a bird at will.

The humans were amazed and proposed that the two species unite to rebuild their fallen empires which had shattered to the ground all those hundreds of years ago.

The Mage’s disagreed and foresaw with their Power that the earth would surely crumble and die if it were abused again by humans. They declared that technology and harmful toxins were now banned on earth in the effort to preserve life and prevent another global catastrophe. Of course this declaration was also in the human’s best interest.

Overcome with rage and jealousy the humans declared a war upon their evolved counterparts in order to gain control over their rightful land. Naturally the Mages annihilated the humans’ weak attempt at war for they possessed weapons of mass destruction – their own gifts.

The Mages did not murder the humans yet enslaved them to ensure that they could never harm the earth again.

500 years after the war between the Mages and Humans…

AVALON REDDING

Sometimes I wished I could feel the fire as it licked at my fingertips. Sometimes I hoped it would burn my flesh. Yet it didn’t. The warmth would spread from my fingers and up my arms, a lovely calming feeling. Maybe if I knew how painful fire could be, it might prompt me to be a little more careful when I was around others. Yet I couldn’t escape the soothing reaction that engulfed my entire body when I was producing those searing flames.

I think I had always known in my heart how my life would pan out. I had never been as talented as the other children, and I was often viewed as dangerous.

Every child or teenager thinks about running away from home at some point. Usually over silly little things like feeling inferior to a sibling or having to do chores, because as you know every young person feels victimised no matter what their situation is. However, my reason for running away was completely different.

“Stay away from that Fire Starter,” the mothers would say to their little ones, “Nothing but destruction follows her around”.

They were right of course. Often emotions would get the better of you, catch you off guard, and the next thing you know you’ve accidentally ignited someone’s hair.

It was hardly my fault and it wasn’t like I was in control of it. Fire Mages were often regarded as demons, trouble makers and the bringers of destruction. Not to mention I had a very irritable personality. Why couldn’t I be host to a normal Power like healing? Everyone loved a healer especially if a Fire Mage like me were around. It probably didn’t help that I had absolutely no self control either. If I was overly happy or excited about something, whatever was closest to me at the time was bound to catch on fire. Tantrums were a death trap. I learned at a young age that throwing a tantrum was strictly out of the question. The term “Mage” is used in my world to describe those who are gifted with an extra Power. It is very common among my people, and the type of Powers range from elemental forces to brute strength, even to mind control.

My little town of Mortlock wasn’t home to any other Fire Mages, which was probably a good thing, yet it meant that my family and I were outsiders. We were seen as cursed with a horrible gift that brought nothing but pain in its wake.

My mother and father cursed me with their fire starting “gift”. It was inevitable that I too would be a fire starter. Powers were usually determined by breeding. If two Fire Mages bred, their offspring was bound to share that gift. Only on a rare occasion would a new gift spring to life.

The good thing about being in a family of people who are fireproof is you don’t run the risk of accidentally murdering your family while they sleep if you have a particularly frightening dream. Nightmares often trigger a fire starting reflex. I’ve lost several beds due to this fact.

So this was the plus side to having a family of fire starters all under the one roof. That was, until my little sister Helena was born ten years ago.

A child’s Power doesn’t usually become apparent until they start to walk and talk, so we had to be especially careful around little Helena until we figured out that she was indeed a Fire Mage as well. When you’re eight years old like I was, and you’re only just getting used to your Powers, controlling them around an attention-seeking sibling is a particularly hard thing to do. Not that an eight year old has a very strong Power to begin with, yet all it takes is a tiny flame to burn down an entire forest.

Helena started walking and talking on time like any normal kid. We waited for signs that she was a Fire Mage like my mother, father and I. Early symptoms often include a very high body temperature, and hands that could heat up a cold bottle of milk just by holding onto it for a few minutes.

By age five Helena hadn’t shown any signs that she was a Fire Mage. In fact, Helena hadn’t shown any signs that she was a Mage of any kind at all. Helena is now ten years old, an age which we refer to as ‘The Age of Insight’.

Ten years old is the age where every child has a growth spurt – so to speak. Up until this age, evidence of Power is very minimal. The Healer children might be able to recover after a grazed knee twice as fast as any other kid. The Water Mage might be able to hold his breath underwater for ten seconds longer than anyone else. Or a Fire Mage like me might be able to keep their dinner warm by sticking a finger into it – or of course in my case I could snap my fingers and have a flame flicker there for the briefest second. Like I said, all it takes is a tiny flame to burn down a forest.

When a child turns ten years old you always notice a change. Their Powers become a little stronger, more defined, and continue to grow. This “growth spurt” often lasts up until the age of eighteen. Gradual growth over a period of time often helps the host to control their Powers. So at the age of ten the little Healers might discover that they can now mend a broken leg with a little concentration. Not only their leg, but someone else’s leg as well. A particularly strong Healer might be able to cut an arm off all together and be able to grow one right back. The Water Mage would be able to hold their breath underwater for hours. I’d even heard of amazingly talented Water Mages who lived under the water for days at a time. This kind of Power was exceptionally rare however. Then there was me. Once I had turned ten I wasn’t allowed to hang around the other kids anymore. I’d skip through a paddock, a trail of flames in my wake. It wasn’t because I was a ridiculously talented and powerful Mage, oh no, far from it. I just couldn’t control my Power. The other kids could do amazing things like read minds, morph, talk to animals, predict things, or turn water to solid ice in the blink of an eye. Poor pathetic Avalon Redding is cursed with hands of fire.