Suddenly, Karyn was somewhere else. Thankfully, she could now move her own body, and she took the opportunity to inspect herself. In general shape, she still resembled herself. However, the primary thing that identified her as something other than human was that she seemed to be made of-
"Fire!" She gasped, holding her blazing arms in front of her.
"Well, of course, silly," a voice giggled. "What else would a fire elemental be made of?"
Turning around, Karyn saw another creature like herself, a girl made of fire with a mane of flames billowing up from her scalp like a torch. A fire elemental! It made sense. After all, she had chosen "Elemental" as her character's race. It was clear that somehow, the game had turned her into her chosen character.
"Come on, newcomer," the other elemental said. "The others already went on ahead. We need you over at tank number seven. The Keeper of Sacred Scrolls needs his bath. After that, it's kitchen duty for us."
Karyn followed after her along a stone corridor. Ducking under a low archway, they entered a room dominated by a giant, cylindrical metal tank propped up on huge sculpted feet. Pipes running from its side traveled up into the ceiling. Meanwhile, a crowd of elementals crouched beneath the tank, flames shooting from their outstretched hands to lick the rounded bottom.
Karyn's guide directed her over to a space in the crowd and commanded her to join in the activity.
"But how do I do it?" Karyn asked.
The other gave her a good-natured smile. "Use the magic in your heart, dear."
Karyn raised a translucent eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
The elemental pointed at Karyn's chest where an odd spherical shape could be seen embedded in the flames. "Your heart. It sustains your life-force and stores your magical energies. Can't you feel it smoldering inside you?"
"I actually, I do feel it. Feels kinda funny."
"You'll get used to it. Now, concentrate on it, direct its energy to your fingertips, and then, let it free."
Karyn did as instructed. It seemed surprisingly easy, considering she had never done anything remotely like this in the real world. Soon, flames leapt from her hand and combined with the others.
"Good, good! You learn fast, girl. You'll be a fine addition to our little sisterhood," the elemental praised. Taking a place among the others, she also added her flame to the mix.
"Thanks, I guess," Karyn responded, easily maintaining a steady flame while she spoke.
After a while, the elemental turned to address the gathering. "Now that the crisis is being handled, I suppose a proper greeting is in order. Welcome to the Tower of Stars, or to be more precise, Kaldan's Wizard Academy. We elementals exist solely to serve the residents of the tower, providing warm water, cooked food, central heating, and many more modern conveniences. It's not the most glamorous of jobs, but the wizards are very kind. Best of all, with their magic to power our hearts, we'll never run out of life-force, provided we keep away from too much water. Essentially, we're set for eternity. So enjoy. This is your life now."
While the others seemed to be taking all this in stride, Karyn hid her grimace. An eternity as a living pilot light? Not if she could help it. Somehow, she needed to get away, and then she could go about finding Jon.
Jon, where are you?
