Reborn

Inside the small, grey-stone house, Ra and Solara spoke for hours. They slowly grew acquainted with one another until soon bright laughter could be heard from within its walls.

Eventually, their conversation turned serious.

"Solara?" Ra's tone became questioning.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Solara raised her head to examine him, still showing a small smile. "Hm?" she made a small noise to show he had her attention as she continued to wipe her eye.

"What is Anima? Furthermore, how do I control it?"

Solara's smile faded, slowly at first until it was replaced with a fierce countenance, a shadow seemed to have come over her. "Is that why you're here?" she asked quietly. Ra was slightly put off by the sudden change but still he nodded his head in answer. Upon doing so, he felt the temperature inside the room heat up, and small beads of sweat formed on his neck.

"Anima, is life force, indeed, it is an infinite connection to creation itself. Possessed by harborers of an eternal soul; Aeonians." Solara's voice was cold, sharp, and flat all at once. More importantly, it was incredibly lonely. Ra felt his heart ache when he sensed just how painful of an existence she must have.

"And you...You are Aeonian?" Ra asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer.

"I am a Phoenix!" she said sharply, "undying, reborn every eon, the first race given life and the last to remain forever shackled to it." she said bitterly. Ra felt shock assail his heart, "is this what I've become?" he thought.

"Solara," he began gently, "I think...my soul has evolved to an Anima, does that mean I am also undying?" he asked.

Solara snorted, "How could immortality be so simple to attain!" her mood lightened somewhat as she gazed at him with piercing red eyes, "I noticed the changes to your soul from the beginning, but it is not Anima," she said while shaking her head." 

"But that cannot be," said Ra, not believing it. He knew better than others what he had experienced that day. "mine is extremely similar to yours!" he said, referring to the difference between his previous soul and his present one. Solara smiled softly, "It is," she said, nodding, "however, you seem to draw magic from the power of Dragons, An ancient race no doubt, but nevertheless, mere mortals." she said quietly, "there is chaos present in your soul, and while it is significantly near to approaching an Anima it is still merely a soul." she said. Ra fell silent at this and gave the matter some thought. "Magic?" he began, "You mean the draconite?" Solara shrugged, "I've no idea what you're talking about, but Humans are not a race possessing inherent magic, you may have latent magical ability but you have no means of actually creating it, It is possible you have stolen it from....somewhere." Realization dawned on him now, "So that's the case," and he now understood the motivation behind the war between Humans and Dragons. 

He opened his mouth to speak again but Solara cut him off, "I think....that's enough questions for now..." she said quietly, "let's just...talk, okay?" Ra nodded, and a slow smile spread across his lips and Solara became much more at ease.

Solara spoke about herself at length, however, she refused to reveal how old she was, oblivious to Ra's incessant pleading.

"Come," she said suddenly, "I want to show you something!" and she grabbed his arm and ran out the door. Ra's footfalls sounded heavy compared to her light ones. While his feet left heavy impressions in the grass, hers did not disturb the merest blade.

They soon arrived at a place that left Ra feeling shock. The difference was too extreme, from the beautiful grassland they had come to a large patch of scorched earth. Grey ash and blackened dirt littered the landscape but on Solara's face was a smile suffused with happiness as if this was her favorite place in the world. "This is where I come to be reborn," she explained simply, "it is the one bright spot I've enjoyed in my exceedingly long life." Ra stared at the circular patch of black ground and was surprised to see that upon closer inspection, there was a strange beauty to this burnt area. Patterns lined the dirt, it was intricate and detailed like an artist had etched each line with the purpose of bringing out its inner beauty. Ra had never seen anything quite like it.

"Ra," Solara was gazing at him now and their eyes met, "will you bring me away from here?" and a pained look had been born on her face, fearing rejection but her strength shone in her refusal to look away. Ra didn't hesitate to answer, he nodded, "I wi-" Solara wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips tightly against his, it was over as quickly as it started, she pulled away quickly with a dark red tinge coloring her cheeks. "I j-...thank you," she managed, turning her head away. Ra's soul ignited as if it was on fire as he fought to quell the urge that was mounting inside him. His head felt hot and his heart began pounding against his ribs desperate to get out. It was several minutes before he managed to bring himself under control, when he reopened his eyes, Solara was sitting in the center of the blackened pitch. She motioned for him to join her, and Ra took several hesitant steps forward, he did not wholly trust himself. She motioned again, so he quickened his steps and soon sat down cross-legged in front of her. "I am about to die," she said lightly as if it was of no consequence. "NO!" Ra shouted from the depths of his soul as pain suddenly blossomed in his chest. "Calm down, calm down," she laughed, "I will be reborn," she said happily. Ra breathed a deep sigh of relief, "Say that then!" he said sharply, and muttered under his breath. She smiled, "I didn't know you cared," but the look on her face showed how much she knew, causing Ra to turn away.

And then the flames erupted, first on the surface of her skin, Ra didn't flinch, pure white flames burned away her flesh, "This is the first time...I've died...in this form..." she said and her smile did not fade as the flames grew and her eyes glowed a shocking white. The fire soon began to cover Ra, but he did not find it to be unpleasant, it felt warm, and soothing; like...being cleansed. His clothes burned away and when the fire faded, he lay stark naked holding a beautiful golden bird and in his mind he heard the words. "Arise, Phoenix Knight."