A Golden Ember

"A sword that is good, glows red and strong,

A sword for good is true and never wrong,

A sword that blazes with mighty golden flame,

Is a sword that casts down evil and shame,

There is a sword that lies still, awaiting its master's return,

Through malice and vengeance, all under the sky shall burn."

-

Arcelius woke to the sound of gentle splashing. He turned to see what it was and found his two companions hunting about. It was midday now, and rays of sunshine pierced through the tiny gaps between the leaves over their heads.

The mist had gone and thinned as the hours went by. It was as if a great evil had just been vanquished and the swamp once more was free of its influence. A feeling that that something malicious still lurked in its deepest reaches remained.

Arcelius groaned as his muscles and joints ached. He had expended more magic than what his recovering body could handle. Adrenaline had kept him going during the latter half of his fight, keeping him from feeling the aftereffects of pushing himself too far.

An hour or so had passed since then and his body has started to complain. It raised some very good points.

"Mind giving me some?" Arcelius said as he watched Ms. Crock catch another unfortunate fish between her jaws.

A snarl was her reply before disappearing in the murky waters once more. Arcelius couldn't help but smile. During the battle, he failed to notice either of his companions actually trying to help him.

Maybe that was why some tentacles seemed to take longer than the others to move.

Arcelius looked around, observing what had become of the abominable corpse. It laid bare and naked before him, its flesh already rotted beyond recognition, faster than expected.

He squinted and stood before walking near where its large mouth was. Since it landed mouth first into the swamp, there was barely anything Arcelius could do to turn it over in the meantime. He had no such strength to spare.

Everything about it was unnatural; the tentacled hands, its deformed flat body, and the unnatural shriek that bellowed from its monstrous mouth. It looked as if some ungodly power had tried to make a better human by combining it with another creature or two.

The longer he stared and observed the rotting corpse, the more some parts of it became familiar. The body was roughly similar to a sea creature he had seen a few times during voyages and underwater excursions. The creature in question was mostly flat with a long tail that stung prey and predator.

The tentacles, on the other hand, reminded him of another sea creature that had at least seven to eight long tendrils. It also had a bulbous head which was similar to the mass of flesh Arcelius punched through to kill it.

"I need to burn it before the rot spreads." Arcelius told himself. Before he could do so, however, he needed more rest and a bath. The rotten blood on his body was starting to pull on his seasoned nose.

He couldn't stay crippled for long. A day hadn't yet passed and already a monster of misbegotten flesh tried to kill him. He needed to recuperate and regain his full strength, or at least some of it.

A few minutes passed and Ms. Crock returned with two freshly dead fish between her jaws. The fish around the swamp didn't seem to mind the rotting blood that tainted the murky waters.

"Thank you, Ms. Crock. Now that I think about it, are you sure it isn't Mrs?" Arcelius teased. The reptilian predator hissed.

"Alright, Alright." He raised his hands as if in defeat as Ms. Crock returned to hunting.

Mr. Wormy was nowhere to be found until a few violent splashes erupted nearby. A few seconds later, Mr. Wormy emerged, wrapped around another unfortunate fish.

Arcelius stared at the two dead fish in his hands. They were fat and looked juicy, but he wasn't going to just chow down on fresh dead fish. As any civilized man would, he needed to cook it first.

The fresh fish he ate during their initial trek did not count since he was desperate. Or so he tried to justify to himself.

He looked around and found a small place to start a fire, a small mound similar to the one he woke on. There was murky water everywhere and the soil was wet beyond comfort, but it was enough.

Arcelius gathered some twigs and branches and set them all in a small bundle using some vines. All of it was wet but not for long. Normally something like swamp wood would be very hard to light up without fire magic, but thankfully Arcelius had something better.

He held his palms over the bundle and poured his magic. Fire magic was one of the easiest of all the elements to use but also one of the most difficult to master. It required good focus and good control.

His palms began to shimmer gold and from his hands spewed forth a golden flame. It met the bundle and immediately set it alight, a burst of orange and red met Arcelius' eyes.

Golden Flame, the most potent of fire magic, something only the divine could cast and control.

"I'm a... divine.... that's right..." The golden shimmer from Arcelius' eyes dimmed, replaced by the reflection of the fire that had begun to swallow bundled fuel.

Arcelius skewered his fish through two long sticks and held them over the fire. Thirty minutes passed and his fish had turned opaque. He hummed as he withdrew the skewered fish from the blaze, and he sniffed.

"Better than eating blood and parasites," He reassured himself, "The things I would do for some spices."

Ms. Crock and Mr. Wormy were floating nearby, each busy with their own meals.

He dug in. The chunk of fish melted in his mouth, assaulting his tongue with a bland flavor. He chewed and swallowed with all the vigor a hungry, battered man could muster. His growling stomach welcomed the meal.

The three unlikely companions enjoyed their meals heartily, for whatever all of it was worth.

Midday passed and noon came. The sun was now over the west and the coldness of the swampy marsh had lessened. The mist, however, had returned, thinner at least than before.

Arcelius' hunger was not quelled. The two fish he cooked and ate were bland yet good. However, for someone as big and as powerful as a divine champion, two roasted fish was hardly a meal worth mentioning. Soon, he was chowing down on his seventh fish before he even approached feeling satisfied at all.

His two companions had watched in what appeared to be awe despite their lack of facial expressions. An understandable reaction as Arcelius pulled fish after fish from the murky waters before cooking them all on his small fire.

On his twentieth fish, he was finished and satisfied. The prickly bones of his victims either floated over the murky waters or laid scattered around the small mound.

"That was... needed," He said before unleashing a loud burp. "Excuse me."

A cooked meal could do wonders to a starving man and a great many cooked meals did better. His inner magic had begun stabilizing alongside his mana circulation. It seemed like a good lunch was all he needed.

Though he was a bit of an idiot to neglect the effects of a hungry stomach on a magic user. Inner Magic formed on its own inside the body of a magic user but that didn't mean it couldn't be helped in anyway. Hence why he drew in magic from the environment in the first place. It was meant to boost his inner magic as it recovered. Food helped in a similar vein.

A magic user expelled less bodily waste compared to a non-magic user. This was due to the fact that most of the supposed waste from eating food is instead absorbed then converted into mana. This added into their own supply of inner magic.

Arcelius was then consumed by his thoughts. Worry weighed on his brow.

He wasn't acting normal. He wasn't this friendly before, not with animals. Nor had he neglected or forgotten as much as he did just now. All of it should've been basic to him but there was something amiss.

"I'm not thinking straight, am I?" He turned to ask his companions. The two swimmers looked at each other before giving Arcelius what seemed to be poker faces. "Uhuh."

He sighed.

"Why am I even asking you? I mean, you're not gonna know everything or most of the things I need to know. You're both just animals," He paused, "No offense, again."

His companions seemed to understand as they circled around his mound and made their way up near his feet.

"I need to find people. A small village perhaps. Do you know of any nearby?" Arcelius asked. Ms. Crock hissed and shook her long snout. Mr. Wormy, on the other hand, nodded in excitement.

"You seem to find the idea of a village pleasant," Arcelius said, "Where's the nearest one then?"

Mr. Wormy then took off and dove into the water, speeding off to the northeast.

"Oh. He's very fond then." Arcelius commented. Ms. Crock simply growled before following after their slimy friend.

'At least wait until after I burn this corpse' He thought as he turned and beheld the rotting corpse of the abomination.

Maybe there was something of value underneath the pile of misbegotten flesh, but he didn't feel comfortable digging through it. Something was amiss with the creature and burning it right then and there seemed like the best. Dissecting it for anything of value felt unwise.

An explosion shook the swampy marsh, blowing away mist and leaves. Birds flew and fled alongside burrowed creatures and disturbed critters. Smoke began to billow into the air as several trees were engulfed in flame.

"Hmm." Arcelius stared at the result of his 'simple' fire spell. The abomination was aflame in front of him, the swampy marsh steaming around it. The Golden Flame he cast was mild and small, well it should've been mild and small.

The blazing trees and charred reeds begged to differ. A few fish had even surfaced, floating lifelessly over the sudden boil of the murky waters.

The food he ate did more wonders to his recovery than he first thought.

The raging flames cackled as rotten flesh seared. The fire that came after the initial bout of Golden Flame was beyond that of nature. Despite its name, it was the embodiment of uncontrolled greed. It would burn until it had consumed everything of which it was supposed to burn.

For as long as there was any part of the abomination left, the fire was to rage until it was done. Such was the power of the Golden Flame.

Fortunately for the forest, his target was the abomination. Any and all golden flame that flew and missed transformed into normal fire. These would choke out in a few minutes to half an hour just like any other fire in nature.

With that cast and done, Arcelius turned his gaze to the northeast where his companions went. Surely they weren't that far ahead just yet. He had the feeling that they were alarmed by the explosion so hopefully they turned back to check on him or at least stopped to wait.

Arcelius looked at himself from neck to toe as began to once again trudge through the murky waters. If Mr. Wormy was correct, then a village laid ahead just northeast of them. If not, then something sinister should be waiting.

But Mr. Wormy had been helpful thus far and a calming presence admittedly. Arcelius doubted such a simple yet neutral creature of his master's creation would have the capacity to betray.

But Mr. Wormy was a weird and unique water worm.

Arcelius shook his head and sighed. He was overthinking things. He was still unwell, broken. His mind and spirit were separate yet entangled. He had drowned out his hate and grief for now.

But it would only be a matter of time before any of it resurfaced. His struggle within was far from over.

As he left the raging embers of golden fire behind, the shadow that billowed appeared as if a great shadow had descended behind him. A wake of destruction and a tide of uncertainty.