Death By Fire

Orgon awoke from a deep sleep to a haunting chorus of mourning voices. When he reached for Laira, her once warm skin was now cold and rigid—she was dead. In shock and grief, he cried out, searching her body for wounds or signs of violence, but found none. The only clue was the missing jewel she always wore. Around him, the elves howled in mourning, and many were missing, including Laira’s sister and several other elves.

Desperate for answers, Orgon questioned his followers, but no one had seen or heard anything. The elf Oskan confirmed that many had simply vanished. Orgon wept, holding Laira’s body, unable to understand what had happened. Oskan asked if he could use magic to find them, but Orgon, having renounced magic, refused. He resolved to take Laira’s body "beyond the sea," to the land she had dreamed of reaching.

The elves did not try to console him. Instead, they began preparing to carry Laira with them on their journey. As the days passed, many elves and humans from Orgon’s caravan started to leave. The tribe of the Maor elves had disappeared with An-Kales-Na, while others began following new chieftains based on their appearance and lineage. Each elven tribe had a distinct look and a chosen leader, with Laira once recognized as the unifying figure who would lead them all to the East.

Despite the growing fragmentation of their group, Orgon did not try to stop anyone. He offered guidance and wished them well as they sought new lives in the desert’s oases or more fertile lands near the sea.

Strangely, as time passed, Laira’s body did not decay. More astonishingly, her belly began to swell, as if she were pregnant—an event that stirred awe, fear, and hope among the people. No one, not even Orgon, could explain it.

At last, the group reached the eastern shores of the Sea of Siria. There, amid the crashing waves and crimson cliffs, they wept with joy. It was a symbolic threshold between their old, war-torn lives and a hopeful new beginning.

And then, from the lifeless body of Laira, a child was born—Mirilir.

As soon as the child came into the world, Laira's body, still untouched by rot, was engulfed in radiant flame. Before the stunned eyes of those present, she was consumed entirely by fire—leaving behind only ash and a rising figure of brilliant light. Lyra had been reborn as a phoenix, ascending from the ashes in glory.

The child was named Mirilir, meaning “born of fire.”