Mourning

Don’t get me wrong, anger destroys. Anger builds up and has an explosion of energy, of destruction. Anger has the capacity to be a great destroyer, so I fully understand why people use fire to represent Anger.

The thing is... anger can never be as destructive as Misery. It can’t be as destructive as fear or despair. If you let those things get inside of you and take hold, it’ll destroy every part of you. Misery will burn you up inside, and destroy you from within. So yeah, fire can be used to represent anger… but don’t forget that when it’s at its most powerful and destructive, Fire’s Blue.

There was a fire burning away at Rua. His partner had been killed in a stupid accident a month ago, and now the days just… dragged. He had nothing to do all day but work the metal at his smithy and try not to think about it. Not to think about how cold his bed felt. How hollow his house seemed.

Every day felt longer. When he swung his hammer it seemed like the metal gave a little less than the last time. Customers had begun to complain about their purchases; horseshoes didn’t fit, swords were unbalanced, nails would break easily. It wouldn’t be long before he’d need to give up his smithy.

The days were encompassed by trying to forget. The nights were encompassed by trying not to cry. It’s hard for a Dragonborn to cry, their tear ducts don’t work the same way as other humanoids’ do. But Rua’s partner was dead, and he’d never see him again. It takes a lot for his people to shed a tear, and a river was flowing.

Have you ever gotten to the point where you want it all to stop? Wanted this pain to go away so bad you’d rip it out of your own chest? One afternoon, Rua was reworking a dagger he had tried several times already to forge. He couldn’t quite get it right. Maybe his arm just wasn’t strong enough? Or maybe he just couldn’t see it properly through his tears.

What was it about this evening? Perhaps it was just because this was like the day he first met Tommen, or maybe it was just the grief coming to a crescendo. Either way, it felt like Rua’s chest was going to explode. With a shaking hand, he placed down the hammer and tried to breathe. Short and sharp, in and out. The Blacksmith tried to take a deep breath, but no good, he couldn’t steady himself enough.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He reached to his chest, trying to wrestle the darkness out of him. He needed to get it out before he was completely annihilated. With an effort of will and a second of silence, Rua’s hand detached from his chest with a small amount of force and a calmness cascaded down his body. The feelings of Sorrow, Misery and Despair were gone and hovering above the Dragonborn’s hand was a fierce blue flame. It’s not like he didn’t miss Tommen or wished he was there to hold Rua, it’s just he was able to hold those thoughts without being entirely consumed by them.

Rua looked at the flames flickering away in front of him. What to do with this now? Turning to his furnace he thought of a way he could turn this destructive energy around and use it to create.