X-Men: Black Fire
By Paradox
Notice:
All Marvel characters are copyrighted by Marvel Entertainment Group,
Inc., and all White Wolf powers, race names, and clan names
are copyrighted by White Wolf, Inc.
The material herein is intended as not-for-profit fan-fiction; no
copyright infringement is
intended.
BOOK
I
Prologue
In the quiet of the night, a singular voice rose in song. The words were
of an ancient and lost language that the world had not heard in centuries.
In a heavily wooded area, next to a running brook, a large bonfire blazed.
Its flames licked high enough to threaten tree branches, yet the great oaks
did not become damaged. A black silhouette clothed in what appeared to the
naked eye to be shadows danced about the fire in a clockwise direction. Its
arms moved about in a fashion not unlike praying, with the exception that
the prayer was not solely aimed at the heavens, but at the ground, the water,
and the fire as well. More words in an ancient tongue floated through the
air. Almost immediately, the wind picked up to the extent that scientists
would have classified the phenomenon as an F1 tornado. The shadow thrust
both open palms at the ground and a low tremor shook the earth with the effect
of an earthquake of level three on the Richter Scale. With a muttered word,
the shadow swept one arm across the brook, making its waters crash against
the dirt sides and splash into the air a few inches. Spinning, the figure
faced the blazing fire and thrust both arms wide, calling out a single
phrase.
Anal Nothrok Dochiel
Dienday!
The flames of the bonfire roared into the air, licking at the air above the
tallest tree. For several moments, the fire remained a pillar stretching
to the sky. Then, it shrank back to its normal size, shivering and shaking
to the side, as though it were trying to form itself in some other way.
Suddenly, fiery wings burst from the sides of the bonfire, stretching out
to a length of ten feet each. The main body of the fire shrank and thinned
out into the form of a reptilian body. The top of the flames flattened and
spiked in certain areas, forming a head with horns.
The flames had taken on the unmistakable form of a dragon. It looked down
at the silhouette and bowed its head, as though acknowledging its master.
The figure mimicked the gesture exactly. You know the question on my
mind, can you answer it?
The fire dragon stretched to its full height and regarded the questioner
for a moment. Then, it collapsed on itself before exploding out. The silhouette
shielded its eyes for a moment and then looked up just in time to see the
fire had become to singular rays. They wavered and bowed, like a charmed
cobra. Then, they crossed over each other and reformed together, making the
plain, ordinary bonfire once again.
But the whole event had not gone misunderstood, for the shadow-figure had
seen the image that the fire dragon had wanted him to see. For a second,
the two fire rays had given him a symbol to seek out to aid him.
The symbol was an X.