Submission (#5617) Approved

If Sariel was known for anything it was his firmly cemented status as a ‘bookworm’.  He was of the type of kittoms that inhaled books like the very air they breathe with a ferocious eagerness that oftentimes outpaced their capacity to obtain the precious tomes.  Sariel had the ability to be a leisurely reader, but when something triggered his curiosity, he found his need for knowledge boundless and gaping.  A need to fill the gaps in knowledge with as much information as possible. 

As he pored over the tomes of his family home, this was what he was doing – reading upon reading upon reading.  Sitting upon a comfortable slouchy chair surrounded by piles of books.  The source of his current obsessive intrigue?  Fire.  Flames.  Embers.

The speculative theories in the tomes he had found described the ability to breathe fire as an enigma, the stuff of legends.  Theories and folklore abounded on how any elnin might go about unlocking this extraordinary power.  The current book he read expounded upon the power of mythical creatures of bestowing gifts upon those who had gained their favor.  The exact creature one needed to favor varied widely with the oral histories: fairy rings on Ahza or Bellmoril or Zevija, finding a rocky mythical creature in the wilds of Strynhalde that breathed fire upon any that dare approach it without a piles of gems, or even finding a single red or orange salamander upon the mud of riverbanks and offering it a tribute.

In these stories collected by scholars, lore keepers, and travelers alike, the salamander was no mere amphibian, but a mystical creature whose vibrant coloring fluctuated and glowed, perhaps even flickered when dug up from the mud.  This glow was said to contain power from hidden realms veiled from their world, or perhaps it was a marvel of anima and alchemy that allowed the salamanders to transmute their internal energies into flickering flames that writhed just beneath their skin.

Regardless of the reason behind their power over flames, all theories agreed that the salamanders would only share their secret of the flame breath only once properly enticed.  They were elusive, slippery creatures that would unleash their potential upon any traveler unlucky enough to step near their home and were said to even be able to curse any offenders with infection, or sickness, or ill luck. 

Offerings thus need be offered to entice the salamanders to show themselves.  The exact nature of the gifts varied, but all tales agreed it must be something truly valuable.  Some suggest the sincere breath containing the wishes of the elnin, trapped in a bottle.  Others declared that salamanders must be bribed with gems and precious stones.  Some tales even explained how the fire that flowed through the amphibian’s bodies hurt, thus bringing them relief with medical salves, cooling potions, or magical objects infused with cooling elements would be the only satisfactory tributes.

Once suitable gifts were offered, the tales grew vague and meandering.  In some, the elnin would be able to embark on some sort of journey of spiritual communion with the salamander, though the nature of the journey was never expanded upon it.  Other stories listed a series of rituals and practices that varied from singing to an unnamable sacrifice.  Others still said that if the elnin had the capacity to grasp this elemental force, the salamander would grant them with the knowledge necessary to unlock this ability with a touch.  Neither listed anything that could be considered steps or directions.  All agree that, at the end of this next step, the salamander would impart some of its fire upon the elnin, awakening the dormant potential for the breath within the lucky creature that pleased this magical being, and from then on, the skill of fire breath was merely intuitive, needing little practice to use.

Many of the tales, especially those expounded upon by scholars, however, emphasized that the ability to breathe fire was not a replication of the salamander’s physiology, but rather a sudden understanding on how to manipulate the elemental energy of the mana in the environment.  The salamander was a kind of guide in the journey, unlocking any latent connections the elnin might have to the mystical otherworld of fire, where the salamanders surely originated from.  If the elnin lacked this connection, the salamander would simply refuse the offerings.

Some of the stories even went as far as cautioning the listener or reader of the dangers of taking up the power of the fire breath without undergoing rigorous training.  These tales regaled the intricacies of practicing breath control, some even going as far as detailing certain breathing exercises, how energy control or mana control where necessary before taking up fire manipulation, and a few even noted one needed a background knowledge in the concepts of alchemy and its use of fires.  Only once these requirements were met could an elnin manifest the fire breath.

And as he studied, the hodgepodge of notes that Sariel was taking grew into incomprehension.  He was willing to suspend disbelief of magical amphibians to sate his curiosity, but he could not wrangle detailed instructions on how to do so.  The allure of such an ability, and the connection to a salamander or the imagery of one, clearly captured the imagination.  But could this really be achieved?  Was this a plausible theory amongst all the others?

It sounded better than practicing nonstop breathing exercises until he “became one with the flame” or whatever the other stories babbled about, at least.