Anathema - Attack

Water extinguished fire.

It was a thought that sat heavily in the broken mind of the fire god, the rumors of Altus and Courant’s love rekindling - of the Valkyries rebuilding - finally reaching his end of the Crossing. He should not have been surprised really, their fate sealed in the elements that had been given charge of. The world hadn’t made sense in any of the days he could call himself a god, his sacrifice for Courant turning into nothing more than a punishment - a reminder of all the things he couldn’t have, of everything he wanted. He couldn’t ignore them any longer, couldn’t ignore such a glaring betrayal that was building in the Vistas, in the Isles, and anywhere else Water and Air moved together. He wouldn’t roll over and die again, though. Not for her.

His anger was building, pulsating like lava before it reached maximum pressure, destroying everything that lay within the volcano’s shadow. The Vistas were in his shadow now, the mortals so completely unaware of what was building beneath his surface. He foamed at the mouth, sweat soaked his body - and still they approached. Fools.

“Paduan. Is there anything I can help you with?” The voice of Tick Tock moved through the air, mixing with the scent of burnt flesh and smoke - a precursor of what was to come.

“How may you help me? How may you help me?!” Paduan asked, his words as off balance as his mind was. He was the volcano and she was the town in his shadow; she was Pompeii. As he stood there, his back bowed beneath the flames he called to life, arching as though to be rid of the flickering dancing things that now stretched towards the heavens, grasping and consuming any foliage they could reach. Something new stirred in him, something that had been dormant for far too long. “Burning.... burning would be a good start.” He hissed from clenched teeth, hellfire blazing in his eyes and brimstone flowing through his veins. The white hot flames that whipped along his back and sides reached out, grasping for the trio like leaving beasts, seeking to consume their flesh. Mad laughter poured from his mouth at the hiss of black hair being singed by his flames, ears pricked sharply and waiting for the pained shrieks to leave the scarred mares lips as her skin blistered and boiled. A crazed grin split his features, watching Tick Tock intently as the flames licked over her body, crackling and snapping their joy at the fuel they had been given.

“Burn for me.”