WarCraft

CHAPTER THREE: Trial by Fire

Alvis watched, sullen, as one of the Four he
wanted to Join with came down the stairs, his
movements so graceful he nearly floated. It
was the talker, the one who called him a ‘fat
weasel’, the one with the amazing big violet
eyes and the braid that shone like burnished
copper in the firelight. He was quite beautiful,
and Alvis, who was openly lustful for anything
beautiful and off-limits, let his eyes follow as the
lovely boy approached an oddly subdued Harris
and asked for food, his voice obnoxiously cheerful.

What did he have to be cheerful over? You would
think that finding out that skinny little brat Wufei
was his Fifth would have depressed him. Alvis’
eyes narrowed as he thought of the other boy.
Ugly little thing, with his face always twisted in a
scowl, his eyes squinting and his lips pressed into
a thin white line, his hair scraped back into a little
rat’s tail... The only attractive thing about him was
that warm golden skin...

Alvis scowled. He’d tried to touch that skin, often,
and although Wufei would ignore his taunts he
wouldn’t do the same with his touches. He’d
gotten a lot of bruises for his trouble, and no way
to get Wufei back openly - he wouldn’t admit to
anyone that the little bastard had been able to mark
him - or that he’d found the ugly thing attractive
enough to try to fondle in the first place.

It was just... that soft, honey-toned skin...

There was a sudden stillness in the room as the other
customers, assembled for the usual evening of drink
and food after a Gathering, stopped what they were
doing and looked toward the staircase. There was a
bigger crowd here than usual, as people were curious
to see more of that Four. Now there were two of them
coming down the staircase, the blond and the Spirit
with the cold blue eyes. Alvis watched them walk to
the best table, the one Harris had refused to let anyone
else sit at, and settle down to the food the man was
placing in front of them. Seeing them made him just
a little angrier.

They were pretty, too - and he couldn’t have them,
either.

All his life, when something went wrong or he wanted
something and was denied it, Alvis found a target on
whom to vent his spite. This time his thoughts naturally
went straight to the boy who *had* been chosen by
these wonderful Others, who had taken *his* place
in a WarCraft. Too bad that the other Lord was still
with him. Otherwise he could...

Hmm. His angry eyes watched as Trowa came down
the stairs and went to the table his Others were sitting
at, eyes moving over the food. Alvis accepted the
chance fate had given him and slid away, up the stairs
towards the inn’s Best Room. He knew Harris had
put these men there - nothing less would do for a
WarCraft Four.

“A WarCraft *Five*,” Alvis muttered darkly, slipping
down the hall toward the big carved door. “A *Five*
and I should be the Fifth.”

~And someone’s going to pay, since I’m not!~

He eased open the door and slipped inside. It was
late evening, and the room was muffled in twilight
darkness. The only light came from the fire in the
fireplace, a warm red glow that made the room seem
soft and dreamlike. Alvis wasn’t one to spend time
gazing at the beauty of his surroundings, and was even
less inclined to do so when he was so near the object
of his frustrated rage. He approached the bed on silent
feet, eyes glued to the slender form he saw, laying under
a single thin blanket. He snickered silently at the sight of
vulnerable prey and raised a fist -

- and stopped, staring.

After Wufei had collapsed the second time, Duo had
taken his hair out of the tight ponytail, worried that the
boy would wake with a nasty headache. Quatre had
eased him out of his outer clothes and they had put only
the thin blanket over him, since the room was warm from
the fire. He lay on his back, one arm folded over his
waist, the other hand on his pillow, palm up with his
fingers curled like a small child’s. His blue-black hair
was spread over the pillow like a spill of midnight,
feathering delicately around his relaxed face. His
ever-present scowl was gone, showing Alvis, for the
first time, the ethereal beauty of an Exotic’s face, the
exquisite bone structure under the honey-toned skin.
His lips rested in their soft natural curve, no longer
pressed hard against the angry words Wufei longed
to spill when he was awake. The light blanket was
scrunched up around his waist, showing off his slim,
strong torso. More of the bronze colored skin, silky
smooth over spreading muscles; delicate dove-wing
collarbones; temptingly exposed little caramel-colored
nipples...

Alvis dropped his fist and stepped closer, his eyes
gone from angry to greedy in a split second. He put
out a hand and touched Wufei’s leg carefully, skimming
his fingers up his thigh to his hip. They twitched against
the bunched blanket for a moment, hesitating, then Alvis
threw caution to the wind and dragged them up the taut,
flat stomach towards one of those pretty little nipples.

Wufei stirred at the touch, his head moving on the
pillow, big dark eyes opening to gaze up at Alvis
in soft, sleepy confusion. Alvis licked his lips at the
sight of them, so different from the narrowed angry
eyes he was familiar with - these eyes were large
and luminous, with thick curly lashes drifting across
them as Wufei blinked sleep-heavy eyelids -

- and then exploded in panic, jerking away from
Alvis’ exploring fingers and diving for the far side
of the bed. Alvis scrambled after him, suddenly
determined not to lose this prize. He grabbed one
of Wufei’s small wrists, hanging on with a crushingly
tight grip while he fought to catch the other arm.

Wufei, caught off guard and still befuddled with sleep,
swung at him wildly, frightened beyond anything he
could ever remember by the look of hunger on the
bigger boy’s face. Alvis - Alvis! - looking at him like
those patrons in the dining room sometimes did sent
nausea curling through his stomach, and if he had eaten
lunch, he would have lost it. Terror started clawing its
way up the back of his throat, and instinct took over.
He turned into a biting, scratching, clawing little wildcat,
using every dirty trick ever invented to try to get away
from the other boy. Alvis used his weight to press close,
avoiding most of the wild blows, catching hold of Wufei’s
free forearm and twisting it high behind his back.

Wufei let out a faint cry and felt something well up in
his chest, a warmth that was not *quite* his Fire, but
he somehow knew it had something to do with his
Others - then Alvis had him off the bed and on the
floor, one leg pinning down both of his, one knee
grinding his wrist into the wooden floorboards while
his free hand went back to scrabbling at Wufei’s
chest, searching for the little nubs he’d wanted earlier.
He began to shower hot, wet kisses on Wufei’s face,
trying to catch his lips while the smaller boy flung his
head back and forth, avoiding him, trying to struggle
out of the death grip he had on his limbs.

Neither of them heard footsteps racing down the hall
or the door crashing open, neither of them heard more
footsteps thundering up the distant stairs. All Wufei
knew was that one second Alvis was on top of him,
hurting him, touching him in ways he *never* wanted
Alvis to touch him - and the next he was gone. Blasted
completely off him by a newly-familiar tall boy with
auburn hair, the calm face he remembered twisted into
a vicious snarl as he pummeled the Mayor’s son.

Wufei crab-walked backwards until his back hit the
wall, curling in on himself and cradling his aching wrist
close to his chest. He stared at Trowa, who was
slamming his fists into Alvis’ cringing form even as
Wufei felt the oddly calm sense of his Earth Talent
swelling in his chest again - Trowa was trying to
comfort him even as he fought.

Wufei appreciated it, but it didn’t really work - he
didn’t know this boy, how could he trust any comfort
he might offer? He crept along the wall until he was
half-hidden by the big wardrobe, still feeling fuzzy from
two collapses in one day, trying to shake the cobwebs
out of his head. He wondered if he should help Trowa?

Apparently there would be no need - there were
suddenly a lot more people in the room - Heero
and Duo were pulling Trowa away from Alvis,
while the Mayor was exclaiming over his bruised
and bloody son. Harris was standing in the doorway
staring, while Quatre tried and failed to shove his way
past the man’s bulk. There were more men lurking
behind them in the hall. Wufei didn’t know who they
were and didn’t care to try and find out.

Trowa was struggling against his Others’ restraining
arms, and they were trying to calm him.

“Tro - hey, Trowa, I think he’s had enough! What
*happened*, man? Trowa?!” Duo’s voice was an
odd mix of soothing and worry. Trowa ignored him,
still trying to get at Alvis.

“Trowa.” Heero’s voice was flat, calm. “Trowa,
show me what happened.”

‘Show?!’ Wufei thought, near panic, suddenly
wondering if they were going to make him re-enact
that ugly scene with Alvis. But Trowa just jerked
his head around, his green eyes still wild and angry,
and stared into Heero’s calm blue orbs. A second
later and Heero’s head swung around, glaring the
promise of death at the cowering redhead cradled
in his father’s arms.

“Hey, Heero, man, share! C’mon, what happened?”
Duo demanded, reaching out a cautious hand in case
he needed to hold Heero back, too. Instead of speaking,
Heero’s eyes swung to glare at his Second, then around
to his Fourth. Quatre gasped; Duo growled.

“Okay, Tro, I was wrong. He *hasn’t* had enough!”
Duo let go of his Third and started to dive for Alvis
himself. Luckily, Quatre had finally managed to get
past Harris and he caught hold of their Second. Heero
was still hanging onto Trowa, although he looked as
though he was considering letting go - and joining in
the beating.

“Let go of me, Quat.” Duo’s voice was cold, his gaze
vicious as he looked at Alvis.

“No, Duo. Let Heero and Trowa deal with him.”
Quatre was calm, soothing. “Duo, *let* them. Wufei
needs you and me. Help me with Wufei, Duo.”

At the sound of his name, Wufei tore his wide eyes
away from staring at Alvis and stared at the two boys
coming toward him instead. He fought down the urge
to scramble away from them - if they were his Others,
they wouldn’t hurt him, it didn’t work that way - did it?

~Please don’t let it work that way.~

Quatre knelt next to him and put gentle arms around
his shoulders. “Are you all right, Wufei?” He stroked
back the strands of black hair that were hanging in
Wufei’s face. Wufei shuddered and tensed at his
touch, still wanting to push them away, wanting to
scream at them not to touch him - but he controlled
it, fought it down. Quatre sensed his panic, sat down
firmly on the floor and hugged Wufei tight against him.
He wasn’t too much bigger than their Fifth, or he would
have tried to pull him into his lap.

Duo knelt on the other side and reached for Wufei’s
wrist. “Hey, Wu-man, let me see, okay? I won’t hurt
you.”

Wufei surrendered his wrist with ill grace. He would
have preferred to just keep the slight injury to himself
- he had been beaten often enough to know that he
was just bruised, nothing was broken. He couldn’t
seem to make his voice work to tell Duo that - he
just let the other boy go through a gentle check,
pressing careful fingers against his skin while he
asked him to bend his fingers and did that hurt?

Wufei just shook his head - it didn’t, not really. Just
ached. He wished he hadn’t been such a baby and
held it to him in a way that obviously screamed ‘wounded.’
They would think he was weak - these boys who claimed
to be his Others weren’t going to want him anymore.
Heero had seemed pleased that he could protect himself,
and look how splendidly he had proved him wrong! No,
they would be getting rid of him as soon as they calmed
down enough to think about it.

Too bad. He had rather liked them...


*


If Wufei didn’t start talking to them soon, Duo was going
to scream.

Or his head was going to explode.

It had been three hours since the Mayor had dragged his
son out of the room, looking like he had been run over by
a wagon - who knew quiet Trowa could get so violent?
- and Wufei hadn’t stirred from the chair they’d put him
in. He wouldn’t even talk to Heero, and their First had
told them, mentally, that the boy was deliberately blocking
him from reading anything from his mind.

That last was rather surprising - how did Wufei learn to
do that? Duo knew seventh-year Sorcerers who couldn’t
keep Heero out of their heads! Their little Fire was a lot
stronger than he looked, wrapped up in that blanket with
his injured wrist held carefully on his lap.

Duo frowned, gazing at the small wrist. The slightest bit
more pressure and it would have been broken - as it was
Wufei’s fingers were swollen and his hand was black and
blue from his knuckles to halfway up his forearm. Badly,
badly bruised - but it *could* have been worse. Hell, the
whole thing could have been worse - at least their tough
little Fifth had managed to fight the bigger boy off until
Trowa got there. His Others were proud of him, but Duo
had a feeling he didn’t realize that. He looked rather lost
and lonely, though he was trying hard to hide it.

The Second was just opening his mouth to inform him of
*how* proud they were when someone knocked on the
door. Heero spun away from where he’d been standing,
gazing into the fire, and strode to answer it. Trowa had
been sitting on the floor next to Wufei’s chair - he shifted
until he was in *front* of the chair, though he didn’t get up.
Duo and Quatre were curled up together in the other chair.
They didn’t move, just glared at the door.

Heero jerked it open to find the blond Fire from the Arena
standing there. What was her name... Renee? It didn’t
matter... “What do you want?” his voice was its usual
monotone.

“I’m here to offer myself as your Fire, of course,” she
said sweetly, “am I the first?”

“What?” Heero asked, voice flat but his eyes were
confused.

“I said, I’m here to offer myself as your Fire! We’re
all waiting in the Hall, downstairs, but I just thought I
would slip up and...”

“What do you *mean*?!” Duo interrupted, earning
himself a glare before the girl’s eyes swung back to
Heero, worship clearly visible in their depths.

“We have our Fire,” he said calmly.

“But - but - no, I heard you caught him with Alvis.
The whole village knows. Of course, it’s only what
you could expect from him. But no one blames *you*,
you couldn’t know what he was...”

“What?” Heero just stared at her. Behind him, Wufei
sank down into the chair, pulling the blanket up higher
and wishing he could pull it over his head. Too bad that
was the coward’s way out - he wasn’t a coward...

Trowa stood and gently eased the blanket back down,
running a gentle hand over Wufei’s tousled hair. His
Fifth blinked up at him in obvious surprise. Duo and
Quatre frowned at each other, then untangled themselves
and hurried over to stand with Heero.

“Don’t talk about our Fire that way!” Duo said hotly,
watching the girl’s blue eyes widen in surprise. “I don’t
know what your damn Mayor told you, but Wufei didn’t
do anything wrong! And besides, he’s our *Fifth* - our
*Other*! What the hell do you mean, you’re offering
yourself? Who is waiting in the Hall, *why* are they
waiting?!”

The girl waited until he took a breath. “Everyone
knows you won’t want him now - he’s - he’s *defiled*!
You have to find another Fire, and we’re all waiting for
the Competition. Even Alvis.”

Heero growled at that name, ignoring her other words.

Quatre quickly stepped in. “Competition? Gods, how
do you people think this works?! Wufei is our Fire.
He *Spoke* to us. Nothing can change that.”

“Yes, we can! We have the Old Law here, if your
Chosen is proven unworthy, you must take the winner
of a Competition! I suppose we *could* let him
participate, since you think he’s so blameless, but it
would be pretty silly. I mean, have you *seen* him
use his Fire?” She snickered, her amused eyes gazing
at Wufei, who tried to sink down in his blanket again.

Trowa stopped him with gentle arms around his shoulders.
“Easy,” he whispered, and Wufei felt the gentle calming
presence of his Earth Talent again, a comforting
reassurance in his heart.

“The Old Law is obsolete. The Emperor himself
commanded *that*.” Duo sneered. “And anyway,
we’re WarCraft. The only laws that apply to us are
the Military Laws.”

The girl opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off
by a voice from behind her. “Now, Relena! You
know you shouldn’t be up here, trying to tip the
scores in your favor. Get back downstairs and
wait with the others, there’s a good girl.” A tall
old man loomed behind her, his hair and beard a
beautiful shade of russet streaked with gray. He
wore the clothes of a Trainer, and he beamed over
Heero’s shoulder at Wufei.

Who, his Others were astonished to see, was beaming
right back.


“Well, now, Wufei, didn’t I tell you not to give up
waiting for your Others? I always knew someone
special would be coming for you. Come on
downstairs, now.”

“We’re not participating in any Competition!”
Duo spat at him.

“Now, now, lad, mind your temper!” The man was
still amused. “No need to get so hot under the collar.
You don’t want complaints following you to the Capital,
do you? Having Alvis and Relena following you around
Helia, trying to say your Fire isn’t properly Chosen?
I’m sure your Commander won’t enjoy the trouble
they’d cause.” He grinned at their horrified expressions.
“I didn’t think so. You have nothing to worry about.
They think a Competition is an easy thing, just lighting
a few candles - I saw that wince, Wufei. They don’t
know there are several other Trials. It’s nothing to
worry about. You can bow out of one Trial, and
that’s the one you should choose. You’ll have no
other problems - didn’t I train you as much as Harris
would let me? I know what you can do. Now come,
all of you. Best to just get it over.”

“Who *are* you?” Quatre asked even as Heero
made his decision, motioning them to obey.

“I’m Torlin, the Trainer here. I’m quite sure you
boys don’t know yet what you’ve got in Wufei. I
think you’re going to be surprised.” This last was
said low, and Wufei, who was nervously scrambling
into his clothes, didn’t hear. The other boys just
gazed at each other for a moment, then shrugged
and followed Torlin down the stairs. Heero went
first, followed by Duo and Quatre, while Trowa
waited to walk down at Wufei’s side.


*


The Great Hall in the inn was indeed set up for a
Fire Competition - there was an elaborate candelabra
set up in the middle of the room, all five fireplaces
were laid with tinder, kindling and wood, and there
were three items laid out in ceremonial style on a small
table. A twisted metal rod, a length of black silk, and
a covered platter.

Torlin moved to stand beside the Mayor and another
man, obviously a town Elder. He lifted a dusty book
and slammed it down on a table, making most of the
people in the room jump. Quite a feat, since most of
the village seemed to be present.

“Wufei, join the other Fires.” Torlin said softly, and
Wufei reluctantly moved to where Alvis, Relena,
Garret and Mya stood. He made sure he was as
far away from Alvis as possible - though he nearly
snickered at the raccoon look the boy had, with two
black eyes and a swollen, pink nose. Alvis glared at
him, then his eyes drifted over the still-loose hair and
flushed face - the bedroom upstairs had been quite
warm - and he licked his lips.

Wufei shuddered and curled his own lip, looking away.

Trowa growled, a low rumbling sound that only the
people standing close heard.

Heero echoed him.

Duo and Quatre practiced their death glares.

Alvis wilted.

“I declare a Competition!” Torlin said loudly, pulling
their attention back to him. “A Fire Competition, to
prove who is worthy to be considered as the Fifth of
this WarCraft!”

“Considered?!” Relena shrieked, “No, that’s not
right! If we win, we *are* the Fifth!”

“Mind yourself, youngling.” Torlin glared at her.
“Know that it is not your place to speak. You do
not know the Laws. So it is written in the book of
Old Law and so it shall be!”

“So it shall be.” The two other men with him echoed,
the Elder looking rather interested while the Mayor just
looked worried, darting glances at his son.

“Such are the Rules,” Torlin continued his formal intoning,
using the severe Old way of speaking. “Each Potential
shall face Trials, the Trial of Heating, the Trial of Lighting,
of Feeling, of Hunger, and of Burning.” The four
‘Potentials’ besides Wufei exchanged surprised looks
- they *had* assumed the only competition would be
with the candles. The idea of other Trials worried them.
“Each Potential may choose one Trial, if they so desire,
and be allowed a Pass. The Potential who performs best
of all the Trials shall be considered by the Challenged
Others as to whether or not they will Accept him or her.
Let the Competition begin! The Trial of Heating is first!”

A man dressed in blacksmith’s clothes strode forward
and picked up the twisted metal rod off the table,
holding it in his protective gloves.

“First Potential, Alvis Hayweather! Step forward!”

Alvis smirked, as much as his painful face would allow,
and stepped out, confident.

“Heat the rod, Alvis Hayweather, to the best of your
ability, without burning its holder.”

Alvis frowned a little, his eyebrows drawing together,
then concentrated. This shouldn’t be that hard... He
glared at the end of the metal rod, willing it to warm.
It slowly, very slowly over about five minutes, began to
turn a lighter gray and a faint wisp of moisture or smoke
- something - curled from the tip. Alvis gasped from the
strain and backed away.

Torlin came forward and passed his hand through the air
over the end of the rod. “Not bad. Not too bad. Hey,
Blacksmith?”

“Huh,” the man grunted, eyeing the end, “not a bad bit
of heat. Not enough to work it, but not bad.”

“Mmm. Second Potential, Relena Peacecraft! Step
forward!” She received the same formal command
as Alvis, and was able to heat the rod slightly higher
than he had - it had the faintest bit of glow to it when
she was done. Garret, the young Fire Talent, managed
to heat it more but nearly fried the blacksmith’s hands
- luckily, the big man realized what was happening and
tossed the rod to the stone floor before he could be
injured. Garret looked like he was going to cry.

“All right, Garret, all right.” Torlin soothed. “You’ve
never yet practiced your Heating, you did very well
for a first time.”

Mollified, Garret stepped back and let Mya, the
timid-looking brunette, have her turn. Her efforts
matched Alvis’ and that seemed to please her enough.

So did the praise Torlin gave. “Good girl, very good!
I see you’ve been practicing! Ahem! Fifth Potential,
Wufei! Step forward.” Wufei obeyed, his face calm.
His Others exchanged glances, wondering at the omission
of a surname, but they didn’t have time to dwell on it for
long. Within seconds the end of the rod was heated
white-hot, while the blacksmith, staring in amazement,
eased off his glove and laid a bare finger carefully on the
other end.

“I’ll be gibbered.” he whispered, making Duo snicker
out loud.

“The Trial of Heating is over. The scores are marked.”
Torlin said before people could exclaim much about
Wufei’s success. “The Second Trial is upon you,
Potentials! Now comes the Trial of Lighting!”

All four of the other Fire Talents looked eager, their
faces turning toward the big candelabra. Wufei winced
again and wished he could hide. It was a huge piece
of ironwork, twisted to look like a small tree, its
branches bearing over four dozen tall white candles.

“First Potential, Alvis Hayweather! Step forward!”
Alvis immediately moved into place, his whole face
eager. “Light the candles, Potential, in any order you
wish, and put them out as well.”

Alvis was an old hand at this game - it was his favorite
way to show off his skill with his Talent. He immediately
had the candles lighting themselves in intricate patterns
as they went up the tree, till the tiny flames seemed almost
to chase themselves around and around. He kept it going
for a good three minutes, even when people stopped
murmuring at how pretty it was and started fidgeting.
Then suddenly all the candles were lit, and as suddenly
put out. There was scattered applause, and Alvis bowed.

“Second Potential...” Torlin went through the line again.
Relena copied Alvis’ theatrics, though her patterns were
more delicate and seemed inspired by music. Garret just
lit the candles, one by one, and put them out as he went.
His family wasn’t able to afford expensive candles for him
to practice with. Mya was nervous - she lit the candles
in a simple every-other-one up, then back down pattern,
and put them all out at once. She still got some applause,
and flushed prettily before moving back to her place.

“Fifth Potential?” Torlin asked instead of ordering,
looking at Wufei, who quickly shook his dark head.
“You wish to exercise your Pass, then?” A nod.
“Very well. We move on to the next Trial. Let the
Trial of Feeling begin!”

Men came forward to move the candelabra out of
the way. The sounds they were making didn’t cover
up Alvis’ mocking laughter.

“We’re all very glad, Wufei, that you Passed. I *still*
find bits of candle in my hair from last time you tried!”
There were snorts of laughter around the room, and
Duo frowned.

“Last time?” he asked, and Relena answered, her own
eyes derisive as she looked at the Exotic.

“Yes - when he tries, the candles explode. Have you
ever heard of something so silly? He can’t even light
*candles*!”

“E-explode?!” Duo stared at Wufei, who flushed red
and looked away. He didn’t realize that the stares he
was getting from his Others weren’t incredulous - well,
they were, but not because he ‘couldn’t light candles.’

“Explode!” Duo whispered, looking sharply at Heero,
“do you know how powerful he would have to be to
make...”

Torlin’s voice cut him off. “The Trial of Feeling! It
shall be revealed, who can sense these who come
seeking Fire. First Potential, step forward!”

Alvis didn’t look so confident this time - partly
because he had no idea what was about to happen.
He moved to the middle of the room as Torlin indicated,
and the Trainer came forward and wrapped the black
silk around his eyes, effectively blindfolding him.

“Now! If one of you will step forward?” He asked
the Four who were gazing at him, puzzled. “Any of
you, but do not say aloud who it is. Please, try to
Speak your Talent to him, and see if he can say who
you are. He must try to guess all four of you properly.”

Alvis took a deep breath and waited. And waited.
Nothing, although he could hear the rustle of clothing
that told him someone was standing right behind him.
Finally he just guessed wildly. “Uh, Water!” He heard
the someone move away, and then Torlin spoke again.

“And who is behind you now? You may no longer
guess Water.”

“Earth...” He guessed Spirit next, then Air.

“You may remove the blindfold. You were correct
once of four. Second Potential?”

Relena guessed Spirit correctly, much to Heero’s
Others’ amusement, but she couldn’t get any of the
rest. Garret surprised them by getting two, Air and
Water, and Mya guessed Water correctly, possibly
because Duo nearly tripped walking over and
snickered at himself.

Wufei, of course, got them all correct.

“The Trial of Hunger is upon you now, Potentials!”
Torlin was getting bored with the pompous way of
speaking, but he had to follow the Rules. He lifted
the cover off the large dish to reveal five smaller
dishes, each with a raw game hen sitting in it. He
quickly set them on different tables.

“Potentials! Step to a table and cook this offering,
to appease the hunger of your Others. You who
finish first without ruining this food will find yourself
victor!”

Relena and Wufei tied. Mya came in next, with
Garret and Alvis turning their hens to charcoal.
Garret thought this was most amusing, and Alvis
glared at him. Torlin had to hold back a snicker
of his own, but moved on.

“The final Trial is now arrived, Potentials!” ‘Gods,
who *wrote* this crap?!’ “The Trial of Burning is
come! Step each Potential to a fireplace!” They
obeyed, although Alvis and Relena exchanged sudden
desperate looks. “You must light your fires, Potentials!
Light them with all possible haste, to show how you
can provide your Others with warmth when it is
speedily required! First Potential, begin!”

“Wait! This isn’t fair!” Alvis whined. “He” - he
pointed a finger at Wufei - “He has an unfair
advantage!”

“You can Pass, Alvis.” Torlin said cooly. “I didn’t
hear him crying ‘foul’ over the Trial of Lighting. Do
you wish to Pass?”

“No...” Alvis grumbled, turning back to the
fireplace. He concentrated, scowling, and a
flame appeared on a bit of tinder, running
rapidly along it. He bit his lip, scowling harder,
and the flame spread out quickly, lighting the
kindling and flickering hungrily at the wood.
When the fire was nicely burning he stood back,
slightly smug as usual, and Torlin nodded.

“Very well. Two minutes. Second Potential.”

Relena bit her own lip, but not to scowl. She
looked worried. Her tinder burned easily enough,
and set the kindling afire, but it took her longer to
get the wood to light. Finally she stood back.

“Good, Relena.” Torlin knew she had trouble
with lighting fires, and he gave praise where praise
was due. “Two minutes, eleven seconds. The
best you’ve ever done. Good job.” She tried to
smile at him, but it was wobbly and tears were
gathering in her eyes. She knew she had lost, and
she turned those big teary eyes on Heero.

Who was ignoring her.

Garret surprised even himself by beating Alvis by
ten seconds. His fire was slower to start with the
kindling, but the wood caught in record time, blazing
cheerfully. He was pleased enough - he like the
Four, but he never thought he’d win. He didn’t
really want to - he wanted to stay with his family
longer and the idea of being WarCraft frightened
him.

Mya’s fire was a warm success in a minute and a
half - she always lit the fires at home, and knew
some good tricks to get them going fast. Not that
it mattered - she knew as well as anybody what was
coming next, but it pleased her that she could beat the
others in this when she felt she’d failed miserably in the
other Trials.

Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre were surprised when
the room went silent. They turned puzzled looks on
Wufei, who everyone else was staring at. Their Fifth
looked at Torlin for a moment, who gave him an
encouraging nod. He darted a swift glance at them,
then turned his dark eyes back on the fireplace. They
exchanged nervous glances. Wasn’t he good at this?
He’d done so well in the other trials that they had been
sure he...

FOOM!

The neatly laid wood went from unlit to an inferno
in a bare second, heat rolling out of the fireplace in
waves even as Wufei stepped back.

His Others just stared.

And stared.

Then -

“Holy SHIT!” Duo yelled, and Torlin laughed.

“I told you so.”


.