"What are you here for?" he asked, making his voice sharp. His crest flexed with irritation.

"Just to see how you are doing," Agni told him, with a smile. If she was perturbed by his aggressive behavior she didn't show it -- which, he imagined, was the mark of a good fire elementalist. "Quartzal's torch sputtered, but didn't go out, so it wasn't until we heard word of Skaffwory's death that we thought to check on the state of the fires here."

"Quartzal's torch?"

"Pyreksoma keeps a track of the districts of Anthem," Agni explained. "Well, not the districts as they're politically drawn. Not by Anthem politics, anyway. The point is, Quartzal's torch flickered, which meant there was trouble -- but when it revived itself, we assumed that Skaffwory had taken care of things."

"Skaffwory wasn't part of Pyreksoma," Skaff said warily. At least, he was pretty sure that she hadn't been.

"You're correct. But she regarded us still with respect, and we regarded her with respect as well. Which is why I came to investigate what happened to her. And to see," she added, "if you, the new lead fire elementalist in Quartzal, can match her ability."

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