#the announcement of the ffxvi crossover event seemed like a good opportunity

[avirael]

Lord of the Inferno

With drawn weapons the Amalj’aa had led them to their stronghold.

A’viloh knew better than to resist.

The memory of the sleep spell that had hit him at the Invisible City still made him feel dizzy. The effect had long worn off but that feeling of helplessness as he collapsed to the ground and his vision started to blur, while the beast men and the traitors looked down on him, was harder to shake off.

The Amalj’aa terrified him. Since the day his parents had been killed he occasionally dreamt of the creatures. Their angry wild faces and their growls that made his blood freeze in his veins. The blood-drenched desert sand and his mother’s face with blank eyes staring right through him.

Another of those nightmares that made him wake up screaming in the middle of the night. This time however he wasn’t sleeping and he wouldn’t wake up in the safety of his room.

A’viloh was surprised the beasts hadn’t killed him and the other soldiers yet and left their corpse’s to feed the vultures. Somehow he feared that whatever they had planned for them would be even worse…

As if to prove him right the Amalj’aa’s pleas to their god were answered by an ominous rumbling. Suddenly everything went dark as the sun above turned soot-black. For a moment A’viloh observed the strange phenomenon before he noticed the flames that seemed to rain down from the eclipsed sun. Something came closer with incredible speed, like a small comet falling from the sky.

He gasped as he realised what it was, only seconds before the monstrosity hit the ground a few yalms before them. With a bloodcurdling growl Ifrit unfolded it’s limbs and straightened itself. A’viloh could feel the heat of it’s flames on his skin and yet he shuddered.

“Pitiful children of man! By my breath I claim you!”, the primal’s voice sounded deep and threatening and A’viloh felt how it’s words tried to drill itself into his mind. “Arise anew as my loyal minions! Feed my flames with your faith, and all who stand against us shall burn!”

Ifrit took a deep breath and then with a horrible roar spit out a wave of fire. A frightened cry escaped A’viloh’s lips as he uselessly threw up his arms to defend himself. The bright flames washed over him and he already braced himself for the unbearable pain of being burned alive, when to his surprise he realised that the fire didn’t feel hot at all.

Confused A’viloh blinked and stared at the flames that engulfed his body. Slowly they faded and left his skin unharmed from any burns or blisters and his clothes unsinged. But how was that possible?

Then he noticed the whispers and moans around him. He turned and saw that the other soldiers looked physically unharmed too but instead something else seemed entirely wrong about them. Some of them sank to their knees, while others raised their arms, all of them shared the same glazed and absent look in their eyes. With murmurs they joined the Amalj’aa in the worship of their fire-god.

Tempered.

A’viloh had heard stories about such happenings when he had still lived at the Forgotten Springs but never saw proof that it was a real thing. Sure none of them would have accused the grown ups of making things like this up, but secretly A’viloh and the other kids had always assumed that it was nothing but a fairytale meant to scare them away from leaving the village on their own.

Suddenly all eyes were fixed on him. He was as confused as them about the fact that Ifrit’s flames hadn’t affected him the same way it had the others.

Angrily the primal snarled, his piercing fiery eyes focused on A’viloh. Maybe Ifrit wasn’t able to take over his mind but it could very well just tear him to pieces with it’s sharp fangs and long glowing claws.

Fight!, a voice in his head yelled but all he wanted was to run away and hide somewhere.

Where would you even run, you coward?, he scolded himself in his thoughts. He was surrounded by fire and Amalj’aa, there was no way to flee. And even if there was, he couldn’t just abandon these people.

He didn’t expect to make it out of this alive, when he slowly reached for his weapons and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. As the primal’s giant claw slashed at him he dodged and rolled forward. All he could hope was to at least be able to put up a good fight.

One that would make the people who always believed in him proud.

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ff14 #final fantasy 14 #ffxiv writing #ffxiv screenshots #ff14 screenshots #ffxiv gpose #gpose #Aviloh Tia #I took that screenshot a long time ago and tried to write something for it ever since... #the announcement of the ffxvi crossover event seemed like a good opportunity