Kneeling on the hard ground, a sharp rock poking into her skin through her ragged dress, Nara clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms, trying to maintain control. Trying to keep it from getting loose. Sweat beaded on her brow. Her whole body shook from the exertion. She stared fixedly at a rather large pile of ash right in front of her. She had caused this blanket of ash. She had caused the fire. She was responsible. For everything. Everything that had been destroyed. The forest. The village. All the people in the village.

Her parents.

Her hands clenched even tighter, and she felt her nails cut into her skin, and blood oozed from between her fingers, staining her already ruined dress. The dress her mother had made for her last birthday. The pain seemed to pull her to herself, making her pay attention to her body, and not the vast store of almost uncontrollable power that sat just on the other side of the wall she had built in her mind to contain it. The shaking stopped as she lifted her hands and uncurled her fingers, staring at the blood and the cuts. 

Pain. It makes it stop. 

Using one finger, she brushed over one of the cuts, wincing. But it worked. She felt the power receding and the pain filling the space. Carefully she stood. The power tried to rush out, but then she pressed a thumb hard into the cuts, and it fled once more. She took a step, then another, and another, fending off the power's efforts with the pain from the cuts.

As she walked, she remembered something she had felt earlier that day. People, here in the forest. The power had wanted to destroy them, and that was what had caused her to fall to her knees amidst the ash and fight against it. She did not want to be responsible for more destruction, for more death. She remembered sensing that the people had a similar power to hers, but much smaller, and they were more removed from it. Maybe they could help her. Use their power to help contain her own. Or free me from it entirely. She continued on, coughing every once in a while from the ash, and letting the blood flow from her hands to keep the power in check. On toward the people who she prayed could help her.

~ ~ ~

Gaijan sat up quickly, heart pounding, scanning the burned forest for what had woken him. He couldn't quite describe the feeling he just had... he just knew that something was out there, and that he had to find it. He quietly slipped his boots onto his feet, then carefully sneaked away from the camp. He wandered in between the scorched trees, covering his mouth and nose against the ash. He didn't know what he was looking for. But Eyish told him to always trust his instincts, and they were nearly screaming at him to keep going.

Suddenly he heard a noise just ahead of him, and he stopped, straining his watering eyes to see what it was. A figure appeared through the gloom. As he watched it stumbled, then fell. Gaijan rushed forward, then stopped short when he saw what it was. It was a girl, a year or two older than him, in a threadbare dress, her brown hair matted and dirty, and dried blood on her hands. He came forward again, then stopped as she spoke.

"Please... don't come any closer. I don't know if I can contain it much longer..."

"Contain what? You need help, I can see that. There are others with me, we can help you."

"I do need help, but not in the way you think-" Her words stopped abruptly with a gasp, then she took one of her bloodied hands in the other and dug in her fingers, drawing more blood.

"What are you doing!?! Stop it, you're hurting yourself!" Gaijan rushed forward and yanked her hands apart, but as soon as their skin touched he felt an overwhelming power just held back, threatening to spill over and consume him. He somehow knew that this was what had caused the fire. What was causing the feeling of foreboding within himself, and the unnaturalness of this place. He snatched his hands back away from the girl. What is this? That was more magic than he had ever felt before, and it was an evil magic. It was almost uncontrollable. It was making the girl do evil things. "Tell me, how can I help you?"

"I don't know," she said, wincing as she again dug her fingers into one of her hands. "This is all that is keeping it back at the moment." She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Can you take me to your companions? I know that you all have power, like mine, you can help me."

"I will do all I can to help you."

"Gaijan!" A voice shouted. "Boy, where are you!"

"Here!" Out of the gloom materialized many figures. The magicians of the company. The leader, Royan, strode forward.

"There you are, why did you wander off? It's dangerous, especially for a young apprentice all alone-" he stopped as he saw that Gaijan wasn't alone.

"Royan, it's her, she's the one that caused the fire, the one we're supposed to find! But it wasn't her fault," he said quickly when he saw Royan's reaction. "She has magic, but it's trying to control her. We need to help her." Royan's frown disappeared, but his serious expression did not. He waved the rest of the magicians forward, and they gathered around the girl.

"Stop, please," she said. "It's getting very difficult, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Keep calm, miss, we are going to help you." Royan began muttering under his breath, but Gaijan didn't know what kind of spell he was performing. He looked reassuringly down at the girl beside him. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she was shaking violently. Suddenly she cried out, and he felt a giant wave of energy burst out of her. It flung him backward into a tree, and he slumped to the ground. He looked up, and saw that the girl was now standing, her magic rolling off her in great waves. He struggled to rise to his feet against the onslaught. He saw the other magicians lying on the ground, also having been blown back.

Gaijan looked at the girl, this girl who was struggling so hard to contain the magic, to not let it control her. He saw tears running down her cheeks, and knew that none of this was her fault. She had been caught up in all of this. She was a victim.

Gaijan suddenly knew what to do. He raised his hands, and drew on his store of magic. He said no words, he didn't even think, it was like the magic had a mind of its own. It gathered the magic that was emanating from the girl, then brought it close to her and locked it away within her. She was watching him through her tear-filled eyes. There was a pleading look in her eyes, and he knew what she wanted him to do. She wanted him to end it. To make sure her magic could never again be used for destruction. To kill her. 

He shrank away from the thought. He could never take another person's life, never! He had promised that he would help her. And he would keep his promise. His magic swelled, then a bright light flashed, making him shield his eyes. His energy was sucked out of him and he sank to his hands and knees, exhausted. He looked up, and stared at what he saw.

Where the girl had stood was now a pillar of deep red crystal jutting out of the ground. He got up and ran to it, and as he touched the cool smooth surface he felt a small flutter of energy within. She was still alive. He stood there, one hand pressed against the crystal, thinking about what he had done. He didn't really know what he had done. It all just... happened. He had stopped her magic from hurting any more people, but did she deserve to be locked away in this crystal tomb? He had promised to help her. He remembered her tear-stained face, her pleading expression. She had wanted to die. She was ready to die. Maybe... there was a chance to really help her. To find a way to stop the evil magic within her. He somehow knew that there was a way. And he would find it. He had promised to help her. And he would.