Yet another story

So, I was asked the other day, "Whatever happened to the fire elemental princess, Kiaphus?" from Goldcrest, who heard my story.

The fire princess, who was the only truly free elemental in the world.

The short answer is, a lot of things. She had traveled and seen many adventures.
However, she was destined for a difficult life. Her powerful and cruel father, the Fire Lord, soon found out that the magician boy did not sacrifice her, and she had run away to be free.

She fled, and her father sent an army of other elementals to search for her and bring her home. But in the end, she knew she could not run forever. For no matter how far she went or how obscure a place she found, there was nowhere that she could live and where fire could not reach. She could not hide on land, for fire consumes all things on the ground and they could find her easily. She could not live comfortably in the air, for the winds cut through her flame-skin.and she certainly could not live in the sea, for the water could destroy her.

Lost to despair, the princess sought a more permanent and more drastic solution. To keep her freedom, she must become something other than what she was. She would need to trade the flame-skin of a fire elemental and become human.

So, she went to the old crone. She was a witch who lived near a lake of lava, and was said to be older than the stars and more powerful and wise than any mortal. The witch sat in front of her stone cottage home, turning a spit with a worg haunch for her dinner. The witch told her that if she retrieved a magical down feather, she would be able to cast a spell turning the flame-princess human.

The flame-princess did not delay and went to find the feather off of a giant thunder-bird that lived in the tallest peaks of the world. The thunder-birds were wise and ancient, and gods among the birds. They were magical and listened to her tale of fear and woe. And, were all too willing to help. They gave her the feather she desired.

She returned to the witch and presented her with the spell component to make her human. But, the witch betrayed her. All this time, the feather was the final ingredient the witch needed to turn the princess into a sheep so she could easily transport her back to her father. Using the thunder-bird's feather, the witched turned the princess into a small, helpless sheep. The Fire Lord promised the witch endless power for the cost of returning his daughter.

The witch and the princess-that-was-now-a-sheep traveled across huge stretching planes and across winding rivers to get to the Flame Kingdom. The princess saw her opportunity to escape when a shepherd was crossing the road with his massive flock of sheep. The princess leaped from the witch's wagon and lost herself in the crowd.

The princess lived among the sheep for several days, grazing and socializing with the flock. Yet, she was not happy as a sheep. Sheep tend to gossip and have nothing important to say or do. She wandered away from the shepherd.

Then, an eagle came and swept her up in his talons. She was alone, and sheep that wander from their flock were fair game to predators. The eagle took her back to his nest to shred her with his claws and feed her to his young. The princess cried out in fear. "I am not a sheep!" She implored. "I am a flame-princess!"
Not knowing what to do, the eagle took her to the thunder-birds to decide her fate.

Once more, the princess told the thunder-birds of the betrayal of the witch and how much further away she was from her goal to become human. She wanted only her freedom, and nothing else. Now, as a sheep, she was in even more danger than before and far less happy. The thunder-birds listened, and deliberated.

Although they did not have the power to make her human, they could give her the freedom she wanted in another way. She could soar in the air and taste the sky on her wings, and be free from her father forever. They took her among their people, turning her into a thunder-bird. She would remain powerful, like a fire-elemental. And nothing was more free than a bird.
She lived to be old and wise. The tribal humans of the planes prayed to her. When she sang, her voice cracked out in lightening. When she flew, her wings drummed in thunder. The air elementals bowed to her, and she was never troubled again.

The end