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While sailing, Alaria added another entry to her diary:
"Reflections on Flame
When I was younger, I didn't think much about the nature of the techniques of my homeland. Yes, warriors like me were taught to control fire, to envelop their weapons in it, and to heal wounds. To use it to cleanse the world of evil and its servants among humankind. And what was there to think about? The instructors always said directly that this flame was a sacred gift from above, given to fulfill our noble mission. Perhaps not the most convincing explanation, but no other was given for our supernatural abilities.
Of course, after leaving my homeland, and after re-evaluating my life values, questions about the source of my powers began to arise again. Why us specifically? Where did it come from? But in a world where a person can be born with magical abilities, and even with some more rare and unique abilities, the conclusion was obvious: "the source of power was myself." However, again, without details "but why me specifically?". Unless any person is potentially capable of this, and the warriors of Tanaris guarded their secrets well. Of course, it could all be attributed to the "meridian theory" I mentioned earlier, but I was probably a living refutation of it. I can't say for sure, as my fifth meridian remains a mystery to me to this day, but the remaining four were well known to me: air, air, light, and darkness. That is, according to this theory, I was more like a free-spirited girl at a crossroads than a possessor of a fiery heart.
However, I had another clue. Contrary to popular belief, in my homeland, my fellow warriors and I were taught not only to wield iron. As hunters of evil and heretics, we had to know our enemies by sight. We had to be able to recognize traitors and be able to resist their tricks. And once, in one of the books, I even came across a mention of the "Cult of Flame," which was considered, however, to be extinct and unworthy of attention. So much so that it was limited to just a brief mention. At that time, I didn't pay much attention to this branch. However, later, when I began to question the nature of things, I became somewhat curious. Not that I expected that a bunch of cultists would know more about the nature of fire than learned scholars. But ordering a book or two on this topic wouldn't hurt, would it? At worst, I would get some interesting reading material for a couple of evenings.
The literature turned out to be interesting. If what was described there was true, and not the invention of an unscrupulous rogue, the fire techniques of the cultists surpassed the Tanarisian counterparts. The most capable of the heretics were completely immune to the effects of the destructive element, only becoming stronger from such effects. According to the contents of one of the books, they were even able to cleanse "spawn of corruption" without killing them, as long as they agreed, thereby restoring the walking dead to human form. After everything I've been through, it's hard to call such an ability useless. There were also some amusing moments, at least for me personally. The cultists worshiped a divine dragon named Alarion. No, I'm not kidding. His name was really Alarion. It's even interesting whether my parents intentionally named me after a heretical deity? In fact, probably not. Most likely, they didn't even realize the meaning of the name. But the coincidence is still amusing. Is it surprising that a child with such a name could not become a symbol of Tanarisian virtue?
However, no matter how curious their techniques sound, the methods of developing such skills were absent in the literature I ordered. Implying, of course, that they even existed in reality. And I didn't have extra time or money to check this. And ideologically, I had little in common with the cultists, even if I assume that their practices were preserved somewhere to this day. Therefore, the contents of those books remained nothing more than a guideline, a direction in which I could develop my abilities. I didn't.
Now, sitting in my cabin, I am starting my journey from scratch. Even those scraps of understanding that were in my mind were erased from it by the cruel whim of a warlock. I have already achieved certain successes on this new path. And I have no intention of stopping. I would be lying if I said that I would not like to compare Baldurian techniques with Tanarisian ones in practice, but alas. At least, like those mysterious abilities of the "Cult of Flame," they can still serve as my guide. Moreover, a more realistic guide, the existence of which I am sure. But what the final result will be... I will not judge yet. Time will tell."
(Looks like four entries.)
Ple-Sen
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