Anya

## Lore

*Born with Fire*

"To control flame, you must first control the fire within your heart."

Once again, Anya held her breath, her gaze locked on the row of candles in front of her.

"Focus... focus..."

A warmth pulse began to reverberate in her chest. The critical juncture was at hand.

"Focus. Let go of your worries..."

The pulse slowly converged in her fingertips, rushing through her skin in waves, trying to break out. Her forehead was soaked in sweat.

"You can do it, Anya. Focus."

The cool breeze of the Emerald Forest blew over her face. Out of nowhere, a monkey suddenly swooped from the bamboo forest above Anya's head and screeched aloud. The entire forest rustled from its intrusion. More importantly, Anya lost control.

A massive, irregular fireball burst from her fingers against the stone platform supporting the candles, sending embers flying everywhere. Anya was bowled over by the force. By the time she righted herself, she was covered in ash, and Tai's broad figure towered over her, bearing a solemn face.
She was in trouble, again. Before Tai even opened his mouth to reprimand her, her hands were outstretched for punishment.

"This is the 117th time that you have allowed yourself to become distracted." Tai pulled out a bamboo switch and snapped it at Anya's still-smoking palms. "Ow!" Anya cried, and rubbed the pain from her hands. The swinging monkey from before let out a giggle from its hiding place just inside the bamboo forest beyond.

"Master, I really almost did it this time! It's all the monkey's fault!"

Anya lifted her head and looked toward the mischievous critter. CRACK. Another blow.

"The 178th time, for shirking responsibility."

Anya hastily pulled her hands away. She did not want to get hit again.

"To control flame, one must first control the fires within oneself." With a wry smile, Tai looked at his unruly apprentice. "You are always so curious about everything in the outside world. However, you are blind to what's inside. Passion can help you grow, but it can also cause you to burn out. Pace yourself, my child. Remember your parent's sacrifice." Anya gloomily nodded her head.

"Go into the forest and meditate. Tonight we will continue training."

She continued to sulk as she walked deeper into the forest. She pondered until she finally reached the glade where she usually meditated, which was marked by an oddly shaped stone. She sat down cross-legged and hoped that this time, she wouldn't just fall asleep.

With a hot temper and bright red hair, little Anya was very different than the other children in her village. The midwife said she was a child who was "born with fire." At first, her parents took this as a joke. But as Anya grew a bit older, the accidents began. The firewood in the kitchen, the candles in the bedrooms--anything having to do with fire, little Anya could easily ignite. Her parents were terrified and hid her in the attic.

As she grew older, the intensity of the fire also continued to grow. And then, disaster struck on her 12th birthday. The day started normally, and her parents had carefully baked her a birthday cake--without candles, of course.

But this time, Anya just wasn't as excited as she'd been each year before.

"Father, mother, you can't lock me in this dusty attic my whole life!" Her parents looked at each other in despair, not knowing how to respond, fearing for their safety and that of others.

"I want to go outside and play with the other boys and girls!" Anya plunked herself angrily down upon her bed, with her back to her parents.

"I want to see mountains and rivers and faraway skies! I've heard in the west that there's a huge prairie with many kinds of wild beasts. I want to see them all! I want to see them all!"

"Anya, my dear... you were 'born with fire.' You know what your... gift might do."

Her father brought in the cake in an attempt to sway her mind. "Come, let's taste the cake. It's your birthday after all."

But Anya raised her hand in anger and smashed the cake into the ground.

"It's not fair! Not fair!" Anya had never felt so wronged. She hoped that her parents would at least have some sympathy for her. "Not fair! Not fair!" she continued to scream.

All of a sudden, her fiery red hair burst into flames. She felt that her arms were filled with power, and an appetite for destruction was kindled in her heart. Two streams of flame jetted out from her palms, turning the entire room in a sea of fire. "No! Anya! Stop! Stop!!!" Her mother screamed.

It was too late.

The small wooden attic was engulfed in flames, which quickly spread to the rafters. The entire house groaned, teetering on the verge of collapse. Seeing this, her father flung open the window. "Jump down! Be quick!" He grabbed the petrified Anya and, with all his strength, threw her atop a wagon by the side of the road.

Finally, after all those years, Anya had returned to the outside world. However, the price of this freedom was her parents' desperate cries as they were burned alive and crushed by their collapsing house.

Anya awoke and rubbed her bleary eyes; she'd fallen asleep again. And though the details of her dream quickly faded, she still had a clear picture of the cake that she was never able to taste on her 12th birthday.

Anya patted the dust off of her clothes, yawned, and left the depths of the bamboo forest for another day of training.

## Synergy

Tai

Thrym

Agony

Slim Jack