In the familiar space of her dreamscape, Lilly suddenly gained consciousness. She had been drifting for a while, since her mind had been exhausted after the long day.
She was currently floating in deep water for some reason. Everywhere around her seemed to be an endless abyss, going darker and darker the further away she looked. But the appearance of her dream didn't feel particularly important at the moment.
Lilly took a moment to reflect on everything that happened. The city was safe, thanks to her actions against the fleet. Lady Selene would recover, though her archery skills might be hampered for some time. Eolande was out there, likely pursuing the assassin. And Gramps and Mia would probably be looking for her, but they would be safe at least.
'All in all a great end to the day!' Lilly concluded, considering the terrible outlook. Dortfell had even lost a giant fleet of ships, which would surely help in the war.
As she floated, the realization that the light in this vast darkness emanated from behind her sparked her curiosity. With a thought, she turned around, surprised to find a young girl bathed in the glow of a light orb.
She was surprised to see a young girl floating there, looking at Lilly with her hands on her cheek. She was floating like she was laying down in a bed, with her legs sticking out behind her, and looking at Lilly curiously. The source of light was a light orb floating in the water above her, very similar to the spell Lilly had used in the past.
'Who is this, one of the ancestors? She has red hair, so I guess that would make sense,' Lilly though, quickly adjusting to the situation.
"Um, hello?" Lilly ventured, her voice echoing softly in the void.
The little girl's response was delayed, her tone monotonous, almost distant. "Hi there."
'That's it?' Lilly's mind raced, a hint of frustration mixing with her surprise. Was this young girl truly one of her ancestors, or something else entirely?
"Did you make that light orb?" Lilly asked, trying to unravel the mystery before her.
"Yes. It's usually very dark down here, so I felt like making some light," the girl replied. Her words seemed to imply she had been here before.
"You can do that in my dream?"
"Well, this is more like a part of your subconsciousness. Your exhaustion sent your mind here," the girl explained, her voice serene.
Lilly nodded, trying to process this revelation. "It did feel like a strange dream. So you're one of my ancestors then?"
The girl's eyes flickered with a hint of recognition. "Yes, but to be more precise I was the start of the Vermilion bloodline."
Lilly gasped, struck by the revelation. This was no ordinary dream encounter; she was conversing with the progenitor of her bloodline. And yet, this pivotal figure was just a young girl.
"You are? How did it start?" Lilly's voice was a mix of awe and incredulity, her mind struggling to grasp the implications of this meeting.
The girl paused, as if weighing her words. "Have you heard the story about the girl and the little red bird?"
Lilly shook her head. "Uhm, no? Is it a famous one?"
"It used to be... The story is rather simple, a young girl found a newborn red bird in the forest one day, and decided to take it in and make sure it would grow up fine. They both became close over the next few years, while the bird grew larger. In the end, it turned out that the bird was a phoenix that had been reborn from its ashes when she found it. In gratitude for the help she had given, the phoenix gave her a part of its powers."
Lilly's eyes widened, a sense of wonder enveloping her. "And that girl... was you?"
"No, the actual story is that the bird was the Divine Phoenix, and that the two of them are… my parents."
"The Divine Phoenix!? One of the gods Is your father?" Lilly asked, her voice a mix of awe and disbelief.
"The very one," the girl confirmed, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Lilly floated there, momentarily left speechless by the enormity of the revelation. She looked at the girl, her ancestor, and felt a newfound understanding of her own powers. The legacy of the Vermilion bloodline was more profound and mystical than she had ever imagined.
"So you're a demigod then? But… I thought they were close to immortal?"
"It depends on the power we're given from our parents. I consider myself immortal, but it depends on your point of view I guess. I've already been reborn many times," the girl explained, her eyes reflecting a depth of experience that seemed incongruous with her youthful appearance.
Lilly furrowed her brow, trying to wrap her mind around the concept. "Reborn? Just like a phoenix?"
"Exactly. Any time a holder of the flame dies they can choose between being resurrected or giving it back to me. That way I am reborn from their ashes, and live again. That's the form of my immortality," she said, her voice carrying a hint of melancholy.
Lilly's eyes widened in realization."Wait, I can be reborn if I want?"
"Yes, as many times as you want. It's a bit of a hassle growing up again, but after your first life you grow a lot faster." The girl smiled slightly, as if remembering her own past rebirths.
Lilly grappled with the enormity of the revelation. The idea of immortality, of countless lifetimes, was both exhilarating and daunting. "Does this mean I'm... practically immortal?"
"Pretty much. The flame can pass on to your descendant, preventing you from resurrecting again, but that's usually something people don't mind. And if you give the flame back to me, you never get to live again. Remember that," the girl cautioned, her gaze becoming more serious.
Lilly leaned back, overwhelmed by the revelation. "So… you've lived many lives?"
"Indeed. 9 so far, including my first life." The girl's expression was a mix of nostalgia and a certain weariness.
Lilly took a moment to process everything. The weight of her heritage and the power she wielded felt both empowering and daunting. "So, the flame is actually a divine power? Is that why it can follow commands?"
"Oh, right," the girl said, but she shook her head. "No, the flame cannot follow commands."
"Huh? But I've been using it like that for a week now, and that's what my Mom told me," Lilly argued, convinced the flame could understand her thoughts.
"Yes, that was all my doing. I'm the one helping you with the flame, and before your meeting I told your mother it could follow commands so that you would use it freely. To actually be able to use the flame properly, you need to be taught. And I thought you would rather meet your mother during that first dream than me," she explained, her voice gentle but firm.
"So… So you're the one who's been doing my enchanting, and healing Lady Selene, and the phoenix?"
The little girl nodded. "All of it, even the time I helped you dress. But you'll have to do all that on your own in the future. Turning into a phoenix and destroying a fleet might take some time to learn, but maybe you'll get there?"
Lilly felt a mix of disbelief and awe. "This is a lot to take in… What about other flames then, can I still command them?"
"Not like you have been, but with the right technique it's easy. So far the thoughts you've used to command the flames have all gone to me," the girl explained, her tone patient but matter-of-fact.
Lilly's mind raced, pondering the implications. "... What about my other thoughts?"
"Those as well. In fact, as long as I stay here I can vaguely sense everything you do."
Lilly's eyes widened in shock. "You've been here since I got the flame? But, then you even saw–"
"I didn't peek." The girl's response was quick, but Lilly noticed a slight flush on her cheeks and an awkward shift in her demeanor.
Lilly crossed her arms, feeling a sudden need for privacy. "... I hope you're leaving this place after this meeting then. I appreciate your help, but sharing my entire life and thoughts with someone I don't know makes me very uncomfortable."
"That's understandable," the girl responded, her gaze softening as she acknowledged Lilly's discomfort. "I'll leave once I've taught you to control the flame."
"Okay, no more big revelations for now, please. I need a moment," Lilly said, her voice tinged with a mix of exhaustion and astonishment.
The girl gave a slow, understanding nod, allowing Lilly the space she needed.
Lilly floated there, her thoughts racing. 'This is crazy. My bloodline is divine, I'm near immortal, a little ancestor has been living in my mind, and the flame has just been controlled by her all this time.' The enormity of the information weighed on her, yet in the dreamlike realm of her subconscious, it felt strangely more digestible. 'Am I just getting used to surprises?' she wondered.
Lilly felt a bit apprehensive, hearing the flame had to be controlled directly. But at the same time, she also felt excited. The feeling of mastery and competence she had felt at the start of her enchanting journey had been absent lately, since the flame had been doing everything for her. This was a chance to start mastering the craft once again.
Taking a deep, steadying breath in the water-like space, Lilly prepared to continue. "Okay, I'm fine now. Do you mind telling me your name? I'm guessing you know mine already."
"Yes, I do. I'm Myndia Vermilion, sometimes called the Phoenix Queen. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lilly Baker."
Lilly attempted a courteous bow in the weightless environment. "The pleasure is mine, Myndia." Her curiosity piqued at the title 'Phoenix Queen', she added, "Could you tell me a bit about our bloodline's history?"
Myndia nodded, glancing reflectively out into the abyss. "Well, it's hard to be brief with such a long history, but I'll try. I was first born 2400 years ago, and I lived 3 lifetimes before I passed the flame to the next keeper. A few hundred years later I was reborn, and founded the city you live in. The Vermilion family was respected, and had a good relationship with the rulers of Eldoria. After that I was reborn a few more times, either to fight injustice or to restore our family to its past glory." She looked wistfully into the air, seemingly thinking of an unpleasant memory. "Then 300 years ago a group of assassins eradicated our lineage, destroying our legacy and attempting to end our bloodline."
"What!? Why did they do that?" Lilly asked, shocked. Was that why her family had forgotten so much of their past?
Myndia gently shook her head. "I'm not sure, but it might be that someone feared my return and wanted to prevent it in the future. I don't like to brag, but I'm rather powerful."
Lilly pondered this, recalling the phoenix's destruction of the fleet. 'Such power would certainly invoke fear,' she thought, still in awe of the spectacle she had witnessed.
"Oh, that was merely your untrained flame at work. In my prime, such an attack would be effortless," Myndia said, responding to Lilly's inner musings.
Lilly furrowed her brows. "... You can still hear my thoughts?"
"I'm still here, aren't I?" Myndia replied, her rare smile adding a touch of warmth to the vast emptiness.
She was quite the beauty, Lilly thought. But she quickly regretted it.
"Why, thank you! But you shouldn't make Mia sad, so let's keep this a secret between us two." Myndia kept smiling, and Lilly thought she could see a hint of smugness as well.
"My heart is firmly in her grasp, I merely noted that I might have gotten my own beauty from you." Lilly deflected the taunt, taking care not to show her flustered thoughts.
She paused, processing the influx of new information. "How did my family survive the assassins then? Did they do a bad job?"
Myndia's expression turned somber. "No, they were quite thorough. But after 2000 years I have a lot of descendants, and any of them can receive the flame if no one more fitting is around. They only removed the ones still using the name of Vermilion, while thousands of my descendants never did. Some were born out of wedlock, others were exiled to other countries, and some just wanted to use other names. Your family was found to be the most fitting by the flame."
"But what about the amulet then? Surely they would have destroyed something so important?"
"They would have, or at least tried. But the amulet is a divine artifact, tied to the flame itself. I myself don't perfectly understand it, but somehow it found its way to your family."
"It's that important? I thought it was only a tool to awaken our powers."
Myndia nodded, her gaze intense. "It was made by my father. It is as tied to our bloodline as the flame itself, and one cannot be fully mastered without the other. In fact, that's what I was going to teach you here, so you can learn to control the flame yourself."
Lilly felt numb to the surprises at this point. The fact that the amulet she had walked around with since she was a little girl had been made by a god simply bounced off her.
She felt conflicted about the flame's powers though. A few days ago she would have been happy just using the flame for enchanting or other useful spells, but now she understood that she might need power in the future. If she wanted to protect whatever she needed to, power was the only way she could think of. And now that she had stepped up to protect the city once, she felt a responsibility to do so again should the need arise.
"I understand, please teach me what I need to learn."