PALE FLAME

It was already getting dark, they needed to make a campfire soon. Nira brought out what looked like bones and used a knife to crack them, revealing the marrow. She did that to about ten bones. The bones weren't very long, just about as long as a human arm. She set them on top of each other and then said,

"Hey Eros, I need one of your daggers or another knife."

Eros turned his head towards her.

"I don't have a knife on me."

Nira sighed.

"Okay then, give your dagger."

Riven sat on one of the roots of the tree and watched.

Eros hesitated, then asked with curiosity,

"What do you want to use them for?"

Nira let out another sigh, almost angered by what he just said—or maybe she really did get angry.

"Are you blind? I want to use another knife with mine to start a fire," she paused. "But seeing as you don't have one, I guess your dagger will do."

Eros blinked a couple of times.

"This dagger is a symbol of my warrior spirit, it can't be used for such silly things," he paused. "And you can always use your blades."

Nira looked at him with a dangerous look, then turned her head towards Varik.

"Hey Varik, you have a knife? One hard and with a sharp edge would be nice."

Varik looked at her.

"Yes," his voice barely audible in the distance.

Eros said in a subdued tone,

"Huh, what did he say?"

Varik moved closer, passing a knife to Nira. She replied,

"Thanks."

She took the knife and selected it as the one she'd strike against. She wanted to use the flint-and-steel method of making a fire. On the first attempt, she created a spark but no flame. Again, the same. Sparks but nothing caught. She tried again and again, and again, and it wasn't until the seventh try that a tiny ignition formed.

She bent her head downward, brushed her hair back, and blew softly on the flame. The fire began to burn in a beautiful white radiance, but slowly the white turned into a pale blue flame. She added more cracked bones into the flames, and it began to burn even more.

Riven didn't understand how she did it. He certainly knew bone marrow doesn't catch fire, but that wasn't what intrigued him the most. It was how she created the fire. Riven said to himself,

"How did she create a fire from just a knife?"

It was already dark. The moon was barely visible behind the grey clouds, but deep in this barren land where everything seemed dead, there was a beautiful pale blue flame burning under a tree with a corpse on it. Seven people sat close to the flames, but one of the seven sat a little far from the other six—the one who sat behind was Riven.

It was silent, very silent. The silence felt strange. Everyone just sat around the fire without saying anything, until Eros broke it.

"So Varik, the City of Silence, is it as big as that ruined city we just passed?"

Varik moved his gaze towards the flames.

"No, the city is underground."

Eros looked at Varik in confusion.

"Underground?"

"Yes, it's about three or two miles underground," he replied.

Eros was shocked.

"Three freaking miles?"

He paused.

"First, how was that built? And how are we supposed to get there? Humans ain't built to live in that kinda place."

Varik blinked a couple of times.

"To answer your first question, it wasn't built by the Order. We just found it about three years ago. We barely know anything about the place, that's why it's been occupied by the Order. And yes, there is a way to get there—I went there about a year ago," he paused. "And the place was built for humans to survive in, so I think we can live there."

Jae said to himself in a subdued tone,

"I hope there isn't any monster on the way."

Varik looked at him.

"There is."

Shock was written on everyone's face.

Eros said in a tired tone,

"I'm going to sleep. Nira, you're on watch duty. Wake me up in the middle of the night to switch."

Nira gave a faint nod. Following Eros, everyone soon laid their heads on the tree roots and went to sleep.

The fire crackled softly, casting a warm glow on the sleeping figures scattered around it. One of them sat apart, resting quietly against the thick root of a tree. She wasn't sleeping—just watching the flames, silent. Now and then, she picked up a small rock and dragged her blade across it, slow and steady. The sound was quiet, almost calming, just something to keep her hands busy while the night passed.

About an hour or two later, Riven woke up.