"No Orc would do such a thing," the master of flame replied. "Now come, we have work to do."

Athgar followed the pale Orc, who was in no hurry. The old master had the eyes of a hawk, and his penetrating gaze took in everything as they passed. Eventually, he halted before a small fire pit filled with kindling and wood in anticipation of the initial flame.

Artoch halted, then sat, cross-legged, indicating with a wave of his hand for the Human to do likewise. "A wielder of flame has an inner spark that he, or she, must learn to control. I will demonstrate the technique for you first, then show you how to conjure it forth from within. Do you understand?"

"I do, Master Artoch," replied Athgar, watching intently.

The Orc closed his eyes for a moment, reaching out his right hand towards the stack of wood. Athgar detected a momentary buzz in the air like a swarm of mosquitoes, and then a small amount of smoke issued from the tinder, finally bursting into flame a moment later. Soon, the entire bundle of sticks was alight, its warmth washing over them both.

"There, you see?" said Artoch. "I have used the spark within to ignite the kindling."

"What words were you uttering?" asked Athgar. "They didn't sound Orcish."

"They are not," replied the flame master, "they are words of power. They can only be invoked by one who has the power within. These words are universal."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that Orcs, Humans, and even Dwarves would all use the same words to invoke the flame."

"And I can invoke them?"

"Once you are trained, yes," answered Artoch.

"This is powerful magic," said the Human.

"More powerful than you can imagine," the Orc replied. "Releasing the flame is a controlled action and must only be done when necessary. I have shown you how I created fire without flint and steel, and yet have you ever seen me use it before?"

"No, I can't say I have. Why is that?"

"To become a master of flame, you must learn to respect fire. If one is trivial with it, it will consume them. Although you will learn this spell, you will hardly ever use it."

"Then why teach it?"

"It is merely a stepping stone to greater things," answered the Orc. "Once you have learned to create fire, we can apply it elsewhere, such as to weapons, for example."

"A flaming weapon?"

"Why not?" said Artoch. "Can you imagine the damage such a weapon would inflict?"

"Would it not consume the weapon?"

"No, not at all. Though it is true the woodpile here feeds the flame, there is a more practised approach. You can harness the spark to feed the fire, creating fire without fuel."

"You could use that to enchant arrows," Athgar offered.