11th Cylus 717
Cylus was always the rare occasion when the Aukari craved fire. It left him time to think, near whatever he used to supplement his inner fire within shelter. As he gazed into the fire one cold Cylus trial he had an epiphany of another time he wanted fire. For a race which actively avoided fire such troubles would be a surprise but F'mos had them, through his creations.
The bombs in their simple design needed fire to trigger. That requirement was their flaw as the Aukari learned. One of his early tests with one of the dreaded Shadows which terrorized Idalos nearly had him because he could not ignite the bomb on time. The fire he had prepared was too unreliable and would not start. The thrills proved to be the difference between life and death. His.
He had no desire of a repeat of that near failure or another brush with death because of his creations. The obvious conclusion was the bombs needed improvements in their design with a reliable method for the fire he needed. It did not take too long for him find the answer through his heritage, his curse, his impending death. The Immortal of any Aukari concern was Faldrun of course, but only because of the blood he forced on them.
Once F'mos learned to use his blood for his creations it would at least earn its keep. Satisfying was not a word adequate to describe such an accomplishment as F'mos would turn something which troubled him into a solution for his problem. While it would not be a significant contributor to the quality of his life, it would be a step in the right direction which might even lead to something else in the future. Like the poisons he used to control his heat, alchemy might be the answer to getting rid of it.
However after his previous attempts with the bombs, he ran out of his safety precautions, materials, and everything else. Fortunately it was easy to resupply as the merchants assumed the Aukari needed heat to get through Cylus- not for any scheme of his. As always whenever he worked on his craft, F'mos was ready for more experimentation after a trip to the shops. His goal, to find a way to use his accursed Aukari blood to start any fire he needs without erupting.
The alchemist saw no issue with Lizzie's assistance as this task would not be as dangerous as his bombs. At least she would learn what he, an Aukari of Sirothelle knew, without the terror of the volcanic land's natives. From the Aukari's knowledge of what he could approach without causing a fire and what he should avoid, he easily collected the items suited to his task. An unexpected number of them were solids like metals, wood and plants. Together they would cause his home to go up in flames, which made Lizzie's assistance when she brought each individually even more important.
The tests were dangerous and took him to the limits of his endurance. He pushed on Lizzie the idea she had to stay a safe distance and had her on alert should the tests go out of control. She was alarmed by the precautions suggested but the assurances that nothing bad would happen as F'mos had done this plenty of times- a lie of course, satisfied her. However F'mos had no fear even if he knew the truth, because he also knew Cylus afforded him some protection from his own blood.
Whenever he was ready for the next test, every door and every window would be opened to invite Cylus' cold. Each trial a new material for another test fetched by Lizzie on the Aukari's instruction. While F'mos knew of Aukari which were long lived and able to control their fire easily, he was not one of them. The stories he was told of those able to see the fire within them and control it were too far for him. Which was the reason he made sure all conditions were favorable for his attempts at emulation.
F'mos may not be able to see his fire, but he could at least feel it. If he had to describe it, it could be likened to the crappy food he made and the poisons he accidentally dosed himself with when he started out. Otherwise it might also be the uneasiness which swelled in his core when he was tense, or the heavy headedness from his stress before being spread throughout his body. To force himself into the state would be unnatural, but how unnatural was it really when the more experienced Aukari had done it?
He begun with his attempts to keep the fire in check, as he would when he felt he would erupt. That was the point to start and he tried to clear himself of all distractions, like the cold of Cylus which bit into him. It took time, but time was all he had although an actual situation would need the trigger act quickly. For his tests, F'mos could afford to make sure he did it right so the fire he would cultivate in him would not go out of control.
Once in a calm and collected state, F'mos started to feed the fire in his chest. Emotions poured in slowly from stimulants neither strong nor potent. The heat which slowly fought back against Cylus was not enough and he found wanted more. More that would have ignited if not for the cold he went against. After grew enough that he could not doubt its presence, he flicked his limbs. The act helped to visualize the fire mentally and eventually he could feel it flow along with the sensation, until reached the tip of his fingers.
A sharp fragment to draw blood was to be the trigger's design as pain also helped to ignite the blood. While F'mos slid his fingers along the materials he tested, he was aware through his experience with poisons he might introduce something into his blood. This was the reason the fragments were lathered in oil, as a protective layer for the fingers which would be cut. He heard of the infections as a guard and F'mos decided to not ignore them. It proved more than beneficial as the oil also kept his blood on the fragment effectively so he would not have to hold it for long.
Finally he succeeded with the metal of the white flame. Like a lot of the other easily ignited known to the Aukari, it was yet another danger to be avoided. However as this was the first time F'mos chose to get close enough for his tests, he was able to notice something new. That in the room exposed to Cylus, the metal did not display any of the reactions he expected as it had been described to him.
Which was when he decided to take a pause on his tests. He knew a study of the metal would be useful to him, trigger or not. For his new tests, he prepared two similar pieces of the metal. One he left in his workspace and the other he instructed Lizzie to take elsewhere not exposed to the cold. He started with the latter and sent Lizzie away until he was done. The inside of a pot was where the piece was when he cut himself and let his blood flow over it. He only needed to wait for a few thrills to see a flash from inside which was how he knew it worked.
Unfortunately it was when he tested the other piece when he met trouble, in the chilled room he conducted his earlier tests despite its complete silence as he concentrated on his fire as always. While he knew it would not be accurate, he decided to try and replicate the conditions from before anyway. After that, to empty his mind of all thoughts like, death by fire from any carelessness, the cold which bit into him, and Lizzie's complaints of his process before he filled himself with rage. Lots of rage.
An emotion he should not have picked, as Lizzie's impatience with the new experiments which needed her for longer, interrupted F'mos when she questioned him. With rage as his focus and the unforeseen prompts of his assistant which annoyed him, the emotion spiked at the wrong time and the blood from his cut ignited. It was then that Lizzie also decided to take a peek and it all went wrong. The fiery blood reacted with the metal and a bright flash of light engulfed the room.
The girl shrieked in surprise and the Aukari could feel fire, actual fire, spread from his hand.
He too yelled for the girl's help once she recovered, but until then he was on his own. Fortunately he roughly remembered where the sand and water was for such emergencies and rushed for them. The panic which had taken him and caused his emotions to surge out of control muddled his mind and, still blinded by the unforeseen flash the Aukari stumbled over the water as it sloshed all over. However from his memory of his workplace's arrangement, he was sure the sandbag was right beside and made stabs with a knife at its direction.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Yes! His blind stabs finally hit something solid and without ceremony he dug in. The fire ate more of his clothes and he stabbed in and out to rip open the bag. It was not the sort of thing he was trained for in the guard but as long as it worked, F'mos did not care. The sand burst out and he rolled into it. Into the soggy floor where the water was, F'mos rolled and rolled, until Lizzie finally came to his aid and the fire was put out before there was more damage.
Unfortunately the commotion got some attention and soon someone was at the window. She asked about the screams and the smell of fire in the room. She was obviously not convinced by the Aukari's suggestion he was testing a new product, not even after he said he was a cook until he dropped the name of the Kettle Black. Fortunately the inquisitive woman dropped the subject, although she also mentioned she may stop at the Kettle to confirm the claim.
Lizzie was easier to satisfy. Although unhappy about being blinded and with the sight of her guardian on fire, F'mos decided to 'reward' her for her assistance. He knew threats were not a good idea as it was her presence which maintained his security in Etzos so if "you wanted that new dress? You got it!" She was dragged to the stores after he cleaned himself up with packed snow for his wounds before the burn ointment was applied and wrapped with hand. His injuries an afterthought his mind was on what he needed for future experiments, which was why he was quite happy for the trip they had planned.
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