<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: Courier;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3c/f5/34/3cf534981e609fca0503a4cf6df7f8c8.jpg)</div><strong>Dramatis Personae:</strong>Igneus<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>N/A<br/><br/><strong>Time:</strong><em>2nd Eadae of the Month of Forge, late evening</em><br/><strong>Location:</strong><em>Dream Sequence</em><br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Fennu |<br/><strong>Notes:</strong><br/><hr/>She--or rather 'it', as elementals are genderless beings--punches a hole through the membrane that separates the spiritual plane from the physical, and pours their essence forth. However, a problem makes itself apparent: a being of pure spiritual essence is limited in the ways they can interact with the physical world. They need a form, a Vessel to pour their essence into, or have their power reduced to 'warm coals' as opposed to the sun-strong flame they possess.<br/><br/>They see the dwarven form. Diminutive, stocky, slow. Clumsy--but then, all physical things feel that way when one is used to being a disembodied spirit. But, the form is taken, and they assess the situation more clearly.<br/><br/>Studying the rocky creature, they realize it's not actually made of stone. It has a stone-like carapace, colored in a way that helps it blend into the rocky surroundings of these deep tunnels. Eyeless sight peers beyond the shell, deeper into the core of the being, and sees tiny flickers of heat within. Igneus perceives the creature<em>on a cellular level</em>and can see the effects of cellular activity, and how it generates heat (which is one aspect that contributes to the whole of 'fire').<br/><br/>Fennu--through her connection to Igneus--becomes aware that fire is more than just fire. Heat, light, creation, destruction; it's a complex concept, made up of a combination of other concepts, which are, in turn, made up of their own strings of concepts.  Holding total and absolute mastery over the concept of fire gives them both unique insights into the other concepts.<br/><br/>These are concepts that magic can interact with; change. They reach directly into the cells of the creature, and turn up the heat that they are producing. This sets off a chain reaction. First, the creature slows its rampage and starts scratching at itself; then it starts gasping, which progresses towards screaming as it gets hotter and hotter, as the cells start to incinerate themselves.<br/><br/>And while Igneus perceives things on such a scale that it feels like a small infinity, objectively, it's only ten seconds until the creature's internal temperature has reached such a high level, that subcutaneous fat deposits combust into open fire. Igneus<em>cooks</em>the creature from the inside out, ending its existence.<br/><br/>As the creature's existence is ended, Igneus turns its attention to two dwarves. They are laying down, which is odd. One has a misshapen neck. It occurs to Igneus maybe necks should work that way--necks are pretty odd, and still a new thing to study--but what it is certain of is that their heat is slowly decreasing, rather than staying at a stable level.<br/><br/>They also become aware of a group of a dozen other dwarves, some bearing smithing equipment as makeshift weapons, others simply pressed up as far back against the wall as they could be--to be as far from the monster as these corridors allowed them.<br/><br/>The dwarves are all watching Igneus, fire in their own image. They are uncertain. Some still feel fear; one among them feels reverential awe, rapturous ecstasy, at seeing the entity they have worshipped actually take a corporeal form. But, they are all quiet; the forge still hiss-crackles, and the rock troll is turning into ashes, but nobody says a thing, and none of the dwarves move.<br/><br/>In that stillness, what was it that Igneus did?