This wasn’t any regular dream.

  It was much more real, as if the fuzzy lens of sleep had been focussed somehow. SEB’S surroundings were much more vivid and real than he expected.

  Urgh … That headache! Why do I still have a headache in my dream?

  It was like he had been entrapped by a dense, multi-coloured fog. The wispy veil clouded his vision so much that he couldn’t see the rest of his body beyond the top of his chest – still the glass pane that protected his crystal heart.

  Can’t even escape that in a dream, it seems.

  Over time his vision grew clearer and the colourful fog dissipated, the condensation over his eyes was evaporating, but now his surroundings made even less sense. He was encased in a huge ball of cloud, hollowed out in the middle; as he tried venturing forwards, he found his feet bouncing off cushions beneath him. Everywhere he looked he was met with the same mesmeric fog, its colours swirling round the surface like hundreds of exotic snakes slithering around him.

  What struck Seb the most about this peculiar situation wasn’t the overwhelming imagery barraging him from all sides – it was the lack of any semblance of noise or activity. It was deathly silent inside this cloudy orb. He had never felt more alone.

  As his vision gained clarity he slowly discerned more of his surroundings, but now his range of vision had reached its limit. The inside of this sphere spread out to about sixty feet in each direction, and the cloud boundary at the edge of the space looked much more solid and impenetrable. He wandered over to the edge of this new world and placed a hand on the multicoloured wall, but with a searing shock it forced him away – the pain was sudden, yet it felt real. He stumbled backwards, tripping over the fluffy pillows under his feet, and clutched his hand in surprise.

  What happened next, though, was even more astonishing. On the wall in front of him, exactly where he had been repelled, a shadowy figure came into focus. This figure raised its hand to the wall and with no effort at all it pushed through the colourful barrier. Magnificent rings adorned each finger of the hand, decorated with dark shades of red and orange, and the nails were painted in a similarly luscious scarlet. In a flash, the clouds parted, as if willed to do so by the figure, and stepping through the fog the shadow instantly came into focus – it was a woman, with flamed, orange hair and a lavish red tunic. She walked towards Seb with such class and authority, and stopped before him with hands on hips. This woman was Flame Goddess Haiyan, it was undeniable. Her likeness to the statue outside his room was remarkable – except unlike that dull, metal statue, this lady before him now was bursting with outrageous colour and beauty.

  “Hello, Seb.” Haiyan spoke with such a simple, warm cadence. It sounded almost motherly, though still stern and serious.

  “You … You are … Where am I?” he stammered.

  She walked around and behind him, brushing his shoulder as she went, and sat down on a lush, velvet chair in the centre of the sphere.

  Okay … I’m pretty sure that chair wasn’t there a second ago.

  “I have summoned you to the World Between Worlds – The Gods’ realm,” Haiyan revealed. “It is the place where my family and I reside. It is here that your journey in The Path of The Flame shall begin.”

  “Y-You must be mistaken … I don’t have any Flame ability – Elder Kai, The Arbiters’ Flame Elder, says I cannot be trained. You must think I’m somebody else.”

  Haiyan stood up from her chair, her eyes aflame.

  “I’ve summoned you here, a mortal amongst Gods, and you have the nerve to call me ‘mistaken’?” The very clouds themselves shimmered and recoiled at the sound of her booming voice.

  “Sorry …” Seb mumbled, looking down sheepishly at the wispy ground.

  “I know of Kai,” she stated, sitting back down. “He’s a good man, and it is a very astute observation for him to make. That is exactly why you have been summoned here today.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “What? Why? I’m a hopeless case! How can I pursue The Path of The Flame if I have no Flame ability to begin with?”

  The Goddess didn’t seem to be listening. She stared into her palms; a pair of shiny, inflamed daggers materialised in her hands from nothing. She juggled them mindlessly, tossing and catching them with elegant proficiency.

  “We don’t just summon ‘hopeless’ mortals to our realm, Seb,” she finally said. “Only the Mages with the greatest potential are fortunate enough to have this honour. It is paramount that the strongest Mages have our Blessing – with it, they shall learn the Pathways at a frightening pace, and boast powers unparalleled on the mortal plane. It is a gift that my family has chosen to bestow upon you.”

  Seb gasped. Me? Why am I so special?

  Is this really happening, or is it just the weirdest dream ever?

  “I still don’t understand. What have I done to deserve this? Why should I get this ‘Blessing’ over the countless other skilled Flame Mages? I know an intimidating woman who could make use of it … I reckon you two would hit it off!”

  Haiyan groaned. “Urgh, mortals and their incessant questions … We have watched you with great interest, and we see special things in your future. Shall we leave it at that, or do you wish to spurn my gift further?”

  She doesn’t exactly sound thrilled about summoning me here … Did the rest of her “family” make this decision for her?

  “Oh, uh, sorry. What do I have to do, then? Do I need to earn your Blessing in some way?”

  Haiyan stood up from her seat again. The chair vanished in a puff of smoke, disappearing into the cloudy floor.

  “Stand still, say nothing,” she ordered. “This will only take a moment.”

  She closed her eyes and held up her hands. Without warning, she erupted into a chant: verses from a foreign poem that Seb had no hope of understanding, vocalising whilst waving her arms through the air. Lines of flame, like fiery brushstrokes, formed in front of her, bending and coalescing to create some sort of runic writing. In a brilliant flash her crimson eyes opened, and she thrust her arms outwards. The fiery rune propelled towards Seb, impacting him and sinking underneath his skin, binding to the flesh.

  The force of the blow nearly knocked him off of his feet. He could feel the magical energy flowing through his body, the warmth of the flames crawling along his muscles. He felt far stronger than he did before, as if an underlying energy within him had been uncovered and unleashed.

  For the first time in his life, he felt powerful.

  “There,” Haiyan announced. “You should feel my Blessing within you. You’ll find your upcoming Flame training to be considerably easier. May you use it wisely, and may you fight in honour of the Gods.” She seemed almost reluctant to bestow this power – the words trickled out of her mouth like a script rehearsed a thousand times.

  “This … is … awesome!” Seb exclaimed, “Thank you, Flame Goddess! I can’t wait to get started with this!”

  “This is just the beginning, Seb Teneki. Do not celebrate as if the battle is won – you’ll need my Blessing, and the power it brings, in the coming months. I would not have given it otherwise.”

  Seb stared at his fingertips, admiring the newfound sense of power building up inside of them.

  She says I can now learn Flame magic quickly … Does that mean I no longer have to limit myself to one Pathway? Can I learn all the others once I’ve mastered The Path of The Flame, and become even stronger?

  “Erm, Goddess …” He felt ashamed to say it now that the words were coming out of his mouth. “Do you think the other Gods – your family, I mean – have some more Blessings to spare? If I’ll need as much power as I can get, shouldn’t I try to learn every Pathway as quickly as I can?”

  Haiyan narrowed her eyes; the fire on her eyebrows pulsed angrily.

  “I warned you not to insult this gift. Only a handful of Mages every generation are fortunate enough to receive my Blessing, and you question its power? You believe that the other Gods, my brethren, would be better patrons? I can remove this Blessing quite easily, you know.”

  “I’m sorry!” Seb wailed, grovelling by her feet. “Please forgive me! I’ll just stick to Flame, I didn’t mean to cause any offense–”

  “Good. Mastery in one Pathway is more than enough, and delving into multiple could have disastrous consequences. We wouldn’t want you ending up like him, after all.”

  ‘Him’? Who is she talking about?

  “This matter is resolved,” she continued. “I’ll return you to your world. Goodness, mortals are such a headache …”

  “Hang on!” Seb called out, knowing it would be the last chance he got. “Am I really ‘The Saviour’, like people say I am? What does that mean? What would I have to do?”

  Haiyan shook her head, and sighed. “No more questions.”

  With a simple wave of her hand, the cloudy kingdom around Seb collapsed. Haiyan and her flamed daggers disintegrated, and he felt himself being swallowed by the clouds beneath his feet. He sank down to waist level, then to his chest, before finally the thick fog covered his face and mouth; no amount of clawing for grip could help him. He felt a horrible choking sensation, as if the wisps of cloud had infiltrated his throat and lungs, and the colourful world around him faded to black.