Emerald Fire Beneath the Grass
"Fire!" a soldier screamed, and panic erupted through the ranks like a living, breathing thing—limbs flailing, boots skidding on dirt, voices tangled in a ragged chorus of fear.
Aurelian's hand moved almost without thought, tracing sharp, precise runes through the smoke-thick air. The spell he had prepared long ago flared into existence, a sudden white-hot burst that struck the fire head-on. Steam hissed and curled upward, a violent shroud that stung the eyes and throat.
Yet the carts—innocent only a heartbeat ago—seemed to pulse with their own malicious will. Tiny sparks leapt from the hay, growing, devouring, racing across the ground in tongues of fire that hungrily consumed everything in their path.
Soldiers stumbled backward, faces ashen, eyes wide, mouths opening in silent screams that the inferno swallowed whole. Every footstep, every frantic gesture, only fanned the chaos.
"My lord… what is this?!"
