"And just how are you planning to do that?"
Agni smiled at him. "Why don't you tell me?"
"It's not my business to cater to you," Skaff told her. It was something Skaffwory often said. He clicked his beak together, then started to yawn -- not completely out of politeness, but because he was still tired from the grueling night before. "What are you talking about, with this Quartzal torch thing?"
"Pyreksoma has torches corresponding to the separate Districts of Fire. There are roughly thirteen of them, spread out across Anthem Low. The largest is Aubuston, which covers seventy percent of Anthem Low, including the entirety of Feldspar Grade."
Now Agni raised her hand, fisting it. The darkness of her skin made her entire forearm look like a pitch-covered torch, and fire began to rise from her flesh. "When the salamanders of a certain District are in good spirits, the torch burns brightly, and calmly, like this. If not, the torch's light either withers" -- the light dimmed down to smolder against her knuckles -- "or grows out of control." She spread her fingers and the fire burgeoned, roared.
He watched in amazement. There was...how could he put it? A...different quality to his fire, than to his own. When Skaff moved his salamanders, they spiked up in all directions, they moved too quickly, overshot the magnitudes he wanted them to obey and had to cool down to normal temperatures. Controlling them was like controlling a leaf floating on the top of oil, which he could move by no other way than flapping his wings on it -- to get it to a specific point he had to flap at it from all directions. In comparison, it was as if Agni was simply placing her finger on the leaf and moving it into place directly. Direct, perfect.
His salamanders saw it too. They spent most of them time crawling between his shoulder blades and wings, but now all huddled on his shoulders, still, their flames reduced as they too concentrated on Agni's expertise.
Agni smiled again, the two rows of bones in her mouth a firelight-shiny crescent. "Your mother never did want to have anything to do with Pyreksoma, but I wonder if you should like to make your own opinions?"
"It's not my business to cater to you," Skaff told her. It was something Skaffwory often said. He clicked his beak together, then started to yawn -- not completely out of politeness, but because he was still tired from the grueling night before. "What are you talking about, with this Quartzal torch thing?"
"Pyreksoma has torches corresponding to the separate Districts of Fire. There are roughly thirteen of them, spread out across Anthem Low. The largest is Aubuston, which covers seventy percent of Anthem Low, including the entirety of Feldspar Grade."
Now Agni raised her hand, fisting it. The darkness of her skin made her entire forearm look like a pitch-covered torch, and fire began to rise from her flesh. "When the salamanders of a certain District are in good spirits, the torch burns brightly, and calmly, like this. If not, the torch's light either withers" -- the light dimmed down to smolder against her knuckles -- "or grows out of control." She spread her fingers and the fire burgeoned, roared.
He watched in amazement. There was...how could he put it? A...different quality to his fire, than to his own. When Skaff moved his salamanders, they spiked up in all directions, they moved too quickly, overshot the magnitudes he wanted them to obey and had to cool down to normal temperatures. Controlling them was like controlling a leaf floating on the top of oil, which he could move by no other way than flapping his wings on it -- to get it to a specific point he had to flap at it from all directions. In comparison, it was as if Agni was simply placing her finger on the leaf and moving it into place directly. Direct, perfect.
His salamanders saw it too. They spent most of them time crawling between his shoulder blades and wings, but now all huddled on his shoulders, still, their flames reduced as they too concentrated on Agni's expertise.
Agni smiled again, the two rows of bones in her mouth a firelight-shiny crescent. "Your mother never did want to have anything to do with Pyreksoma, but I wonder if you should like to make your own opinions?"
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