Spire

"Veri."

"Yes, Spire."

"Send a message to the Spire of Murad." The Spire held the book that Dorin had left behind. "Tell him that his son is undergoing a forging with a ten-sided die."

"I thought my mind was playing tricks. To think that he rolled a one."

"We were lucky."

The Spire had been waiting with Veri for most of the day. The crowd had nearly vanished, as most forgings were shorter than ten minutes. They could see faint images through the mist occasionally, but nothing of substance.

Suddenly the mist turned red, and a flame could be seen burning a hole through it. It changed from red, to blue, and then finally white for a moment before disappearing as mist filled the space again. 

. . .

Dorin woke up on the square that they had entered all those days ago. Alongside him were Ara and Morah. He looked around desperately, but neither Anya nor Rae could be found.

"Welcome back, spark." The familiar boom of the Spire's voice brought back the memories of that horrible day. "What have you brought back for humanity?"

'What is he talking about?' Dorin had only ever been thinking of survival, especially since he barely had a chance of winning to begin with. 

The sparse audience showed themselves and their cheers were stunned Dorin for a moment before the Spire stepped down to the square, locking eyes with him. "You are not who I expected to return . . . and so few remain."

"We were lucky to be able to bring anyone from Lonn's group at all." Morah stepped in between Dorin and the Spire. "The boy had a fire aspect, and he marked all but one of his followers."

"I see." The Spire leaned over to look at Dorin again. "That's unfortunate, but you must have nurtured quite the ego if you were able to overcome such power."

"He got lucky, Spire-" Ara spoke up this time, but was stopped by the Spire's raised hand. 

The Spire lightly pushed Morah to the side, walking right up to Dorin. He felt the hair on the back of his head standing up, similar to when he first saw what Lonn could become. 

"Give it to me."

"What?"

"Your ego." The Spire put out his hand. "Due to your victory, humanity has lost much more than we can afford, so you must sacrifice your birthright to make up for it."

'I wouldn't give it up even if I could.' Dorin had lost the connection between him and his ego ever since his conversation with 'Humungo'. Dorin put his hands to his sides, and stared directly at the Spire.

"So, you choose to defy me." The Spire's eyes flared, and Dorin took a step back. "What about the two of you?" 

"I would never, Spire." Morah said.

"Me either." Ara went to her knees, bowing to the point that her head touched the floor. 

Dorin looked between the two of them, realizing that their friendship was only a temporary ideal. The memories of troubles shared with Morah suddenly lost their meaning. 'I risked my life to save you from Lonn.'

"It doesn't matter if you are a spark." The Spire said, pointing right at Dorin. "Restrain him."

Morah and Ara glanced at each other, and Ara stepped forward. "I will be enough, Spire."

Ara slowly postured towards him, keeping a fist outstretched in his direction. He hadn't been in many fistfights, but he felt like he had a better chance against Ara than he ever did against Lonn. 

"Do your worst." Dorin said.

"Gladly." Ara immediately went for a flurry of kicks which put Dorin on the backfoot, forced to block.

Dorin took a few shots to the stomach, but the pain was nothing compared to being torn into by a beast. He stepped into a thrusting kick, letting it glance off his side before ramming a shoulder into her neck. 

Ara fell to the ground, and for the first time in a fight, Dorin felt nothing. He looked over Ara, who was coughed raggedly as she rubbed her neck. "Are you done-" Before Dorin could finish, Ara leapt from the floor, tackling him and bringing him to the ground.

Dorin tried to fight back, but she quickly put him in a chokehold. As he struggled to breath, he saw Morah pick up her satchel. 

"Finish him." The Spire said. 

Morah rolled a die from within her satchel, and a single white light formed a dagger in her hands. 

Dorin looked into her eyes, "You knew that Rae wasn't going to make it." She didn't hesitate to press the sharp edge into his neck.