A Fiery Predicament
392 words
A series of increasingly bold and reckless decisions lead an enlil engineer from joining a rebellion (or terrorist group, depending on who is asked) to helping save Terminus from a demonic invasion. The latter came at great cost when she was caught in the blast radius of the explosion that killed Malphas, a draconic demon. The magical and demonic flames nearly killed her. Should have killed her. Amicus, her woodland spirit companion, used his connection to Natum, the natural plane, to keep Ignis from the flames' reach. The draconic hellfire, as Ignis thinks of it, followed her across planes. A mysterious spirit or being in Natum kept her alive, much to the avian engineer's relief. Her salvation, however, was not an act of charity. She was kept from death in order to be held accountable for bringing demonic flames into Natum. Subsequently, the being tasked the enlil with putting out fires and restoring the natural landscape. To that end, Ignis gained the ability to travel to Natum for brief periods of time to clean up her mess. The remaining demonic wildfires continued inflicting damage to the natural plane and Ignis herself as they ate away at both the Natum and the enlil's ties to Mortalis.
Alternating between desperation and despair, Ignis worked to put out the flames and save herself. She relied heavily on Voroflammae, a shrub that developed the ability to suppress fire after being drenched in the blood of the arch-daemon Ferocitas. Using leaves of the plant recovered by Amicus, Ignis propagated the shrub in hopes of putting out the demonic flames plaguing Natum. Her efforts were met with limited success. Ignis lost hope as the flames persisted, seeming to burn their way across Natum and perhaps her own soul. Eventually, the flames began to impact her personality and body. In the end, the flames burned Ignis up after she harnessed them to burn down the hideout of a mercenary that kidnapped Deniisis Perifide --her friend and former (?) lover.
Yet, Ignis' story did not end there. Death could not steal her away from her obligations to the natural plane. Ignis found herself back in Natum, surrounded by Vorroflamae and plagued with questions. With no other way to avoid her responsibilities, Ignis must solve the problem of Infernalis' influence in Natum if she is to have any hope of going home.