Ashes to Ashes

Just because someone is born indestructible does not mean they won't later become as frail as a newborn lamb. A phoenix may rise from the ashes time and again, but there are some things that even they can't handle - just as Adena found out through her own foolishness.

Long ago, there was a place in the world for all creatures, humans, monsters, fairies - everything. In that time, the world was new, a glassy sky swept the atmosphere, the land coloured with vibrant greens and oranges and browns, rather than the musty blacks or greys that humanity had brought upon the place.

In this time, a boy had lived, though his existence had not been worthy of note until his twentieth birthday. He had grown up in one of the many arable farms, slogging away with such effort his knuckles had become gnarled and knotted, just like those of an old man - not that this was uncommon for those of his social standing. Still, he wasn't terribly keen on this hardship, particularly as he knew full well that he was not just another number, he had something different about him, something dangerous.

This mysterious asset of his happened to be a member of a supernatural race, and her name was Adena. She was hundreds, if not thousands of years old, and her somewhat trite nature gave good testament to how her years had in some ways soured her, though also caused her wisdom to become greater than what any human could imagine, save one.

When Vulcan had been a young lad, he had believed in Adena in the same way most children believed in the Tooth Fairy, but she was his own personal fairy. Of course, this childish innocence had lasted little more than six years, as even at that age he had known full well that this wasn't right. He was a child that thought for himself, his parents being far too busy working to spend too much time teaching him, and so the phoenix housed inside his body had taught him everything he had needed to know, and then some.

Perhaps one of the shortest and most pertinent of their conversations occurred during one of the sweaty summer nights when the boy was fifteen. By then the two had an arrangement, and generally the two spoke only in short bursts when either one had special need of it. It wouldn't do for a grown man to be seen chattering away to himself all the time, madness happened to be frowned upon.

"What does it mean to be human?" It was an odd question by anyone's standards, simply because any human man, woman or child would automatically feel the utmost power in their species, deluded though this view may be.

It caught Adena off guard, not that she was ever one to stay floundering for too long. The answer she gave was cryptic at best, a veritable labyrinth of deliberate misguidance. Even so, the final round up of the conversation was something that caught Vulcan off guard too. What exactly did she mean by saying she'd let him know about not being human? The way she said it - it was sinister, even if it was accidental.

Time went by, and soon the conversation was all but forgotten, in amongst all the other useless pieces of information that whirred in Vulcan's head. Adena remembered more clearly, though she remained brooding, as her spirit had done so ever since she had become trapped in this human vessel. She had never told him why, or even how - but one fateful day whilst harvesting the years crop, he was destined to find out.

It was a bee sting. Apparently not even some celestial being could protect you from an allergy, and so the downfall of Vulcan was sealed. Well, not quite.

The sudden fall of one of the workers, a couple of people noticed, the sudden burst of flame that rose from him? That was a spectacle for all to see. They were frightened, and worried about the harvest, but humans always did have a penchant for destruction. Had they known what was going on the inside of the burning man, they might have thought differently of the spectacle.

"Vulcan, it's okay." Came a familiar lilting voice, gradually chasing away the void, in favour of a white sheen of an inner sanctum. "We don't have much time, so listen quickly." Her usual sanguine nature was gone, everything was rushed - almost like her human host, though she remained dignified through it all.

"As you know, we phoenix' regenerate when killed, but the way around that - well, it's this." Her pause for thought garnered a glimpse of bright copper feathers, slowly shimmering into existence as her form gradually became visible. "We can be trapped, and if the soul of our host is destroyed, then we go with it to Hell. But, I cannot do that to you. Grant me permission to show you what it is like to not be human."

Death. No. He was young, he had no wife, no legacy, he couldn't die. It was this foolish youth that caused the man to blurt out. "Do it. Anything." He had no idea what lay in store for him, but the fear of death was a human trait he could not push out of his system fast enough, and so with glorious speed the phoenix descended upon his ethereal form.

The blinding pain was over in an instant, but the darkness lasted a lot longer - allowing many hours to pass and the now living body to be left alone in the charred field. The eyes that opened were no longer a milky grey, but more a lively amber. The skin was not red and peeling, simply layered with ash as the form sat slowly, taking in the surroundings.

He immediately knew what it was like to be inhuman. Even with the entire village bustling nearby, there was something he could feel was inexorably true, and inescapable. Adena had gone to Hell, as should have Vulcan, but a whole new nightmare waited for him here. One feeling, nothing more.

Alone.