Listen to the audio version: https://soundcloud.com/zivivi32/dust-and-fire
Dust.That would have been a proper name for this place. It used to have luxurious green grass and trees. Now, it's just dust everywhere. Even the animals fled the place. The only source of humidity would come from his breath, but even that was dry. The gorgeous city of Vellacity now reduced to ruins. The sun being the light scorching the whole city and the stone that used to be walls were so hot that his sweat instantly turned into steam.
Vellacity used to be a loud place. That day, it was as silent as a tomb. His boots were the only thing making noise. No leaves, not even dry ones. Not a single carcass found, or dead body in the ruined city. 'Could it have been that violent?' he thought to himself.
His name, Vincent Connor. A bounty hunter known for his particular set of magical skills. His immobilising magic was one of the most powerful known in the land. He used to be in the authorities of Bellfire, a city in the north from where he was. Turned rogue because of political issues. He left the force and became a bounty hunter. Quite a successful one.
Not only was he able to get his prey still, but used destructive magic to crush the bones if the target would get away. More like tried to get away though. No one has ever got away from Vincent. This magic made his forearms larger than usual and his fists harder than they would look.
He stopped at the ruined city gates, and took out from his pocket a piece of paper describing his next target:
'Brown hair, hazelnut eyes, and the birth mark on the lower neck in the shape of an Angel. Looks more like a tattoo than a birth mark. Last seen in Vellacity. To be brought alive if possible.'
'I like the if possible,' he smiled to himself, 'makes it easier for me to lie if things get messy!'
He scratched his messy beard, while putting back the piece of paper back into pocket, and a readjusted his white scarf to cover his strong face. The wind was picking up. 'Sandstorm's ahead.'
He slowly made his way into the city to find a place he could lay down and wait for the storm to pass before looking for clues if this new target. Sand covering the tracks was not a problem. He was the head of the tracking division back in the days. This would be a piece of cake and He would be back to Bellfire shortly to very soon and deal with someone who messed with him at the bar. He never turned down out a fight, but he was paid good money for this job and would be free from those gang scum who holds him on a leash. For good this time.
He found a small supermarket, with closed windows but open door. He went in and closed the door so that the sand does not get in easily. He took a look around to see if he could find something to eat. He found old canned food. 'Still good I suppose,' he thought.
He took some supplies and found some magic lamps for the night. He sat down and ate what he found. He would not be able to do anything anyway as it was. The storm was too strong. Waiting for the storm to pass was the only option. It was not like the target was going anywhere in this storm.
Those storms were pretty deadly. If you got caught in one, you were most probably dead. Vincent turned on the magical lamp. He found it nice. It had a flame texture and mimiced fire as it was turned on. Looking at those fake flames made him lost in his mind. They took him back to those days he was with her.
His wife was everything he had before the war broke. The same war that tore down Vellacity. He reached into his satchel he brought with and took out a picture of them together while they were dating. He looked at it for some time, smiled and turned to read what was written at the back.
