# MONTH 8 — THE INNER FIRE
## WEEK 2 — THE SAVAGE WITHIN
### Shortform III — The Same Fire
**Mara & Chibi**
**System: Pulp Cthulhu: Victoriana**
The argument began over a wooden horse.
Not land.
Not gold.
Not Empire.
A wooden horse.
—
BRITISH BOY:
“Mine.”
—
VILLAGE BOY:
“No.”
—
BRITISH BOY:
“I had it first.”
—
VILLAGE BOY:
“I found it.”
—
Mara and Chibi watched from beneath the tree.
—
CHIBI:
“This is going badly.”
—
MARA:
“They both want the same thing.”
—
CHIBI:
“So?”
—
MARA:
“So watch.”
—
The boys pulled harder.
The horse slipped from their hands and landed in the mud.
—
BRITISH BOY:
“Look what you did!”
—
VILLAGE BOY:
“You did it!”
—
CHIBI:
“Now they’re doing politics.”
—
Mara looked at him.
—
CHIBI:
“What?”
—
Later that afternoon, Mara and Chibi sat outside the British administrative building.
Inside, officials argued over land.
A large map covered the table.
Straight red lines cut through rivers, forests and villages.
—
OFFICIAL:
“The boundary is perfectly clear.”
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“To you.”
—
SURVEYOR:
“It has been surveyed.”
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“The river moves.”
—
SURVEYOR:
“The map does not.”
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“That is the problem.”
—
Chibi leaned toward Mara.
—
CHIBI:
“This is better than the horse.”
—
MARA:
“It’s the same as the horse.”
—
CHIBI:
“No, it isn’t.”
—
MARA:
“Why?”
—
Chibi pointed toward the papers.
—
CHIBI:
“They have paperwork.”
—
The discussion inside continued.
—
OFFICIAL:
“We cannot govern according to superstition.”
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“What superstition?”
—
OFFICIAL:
“You say the forest belongs to your ancestors.”
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“No.”
—
A pause.
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“We say we belong to them.”
—
The official sighed.
—
OFFICIAL:
“This is precisely the sort of primitive distinction that makes administration impossible.”
—
Chibi frowned.
—
CHIBI:
“They say the people here are strange because they care about their ancestors.”
—
MARA:
“Yes.”
—
CHIBI:
“But the British care about theirs.”
—
MARA:
“Very much.”
—
CHIBI:
“Family names.”
—
MARA:
“Yes.”
—
CHIBI:
“Titles.”
—
MARA:
“Yes.”
—
CHIBI:
“Kings and queens.”
—
MARA:
“Especially those.”
—
Chibi thought for a moment.
—
CHIBI:
“So when they do it…”
“…it’s tradition.”
—
MARA:
“Apparently.”
—
CHIBI:
“And when someone else does it…”
“…it’s superstition.”
—
MARA:
“Apparently.”
—
CHIBI:
“That’s stupid.”
—
MARA:
“Don’t say that.”
—
CHIBI:
“Why?”
—
MARA:
“It’s uncivilized.”
—
Chibi stared at her.
—
CHIBI:
“You’re horrible.”
—
MARA:
“I know.”
—
Inside, the meeting became more heated.
—
OFFICIAL:
“Strategic necessity.”
—
SURVEYOR:
“Legal ownership.”
—
LAWYER:
“Established authority.”
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“Home.”
—
Chibi looked at Mara.
—
CHIBI:
“Mine.”
—
MARA:
“Mine.”
—
A gas lamp inside the room was not lit.
Yet suddenly…
a tiny flame appeared behind the glass.
—
CHIBI:
“Mara.”
—
MARA:
“I see it.”
—
OFFICIAL:
“Order.”
—
The flame grew.
—
SURVEYOR:
“Progress.”
—
Brighter.
—
LAWYER:
“Authority.”
—
Higher.
—
OFFICIAL:
“Civilization.”
—
The flame touched the top of the glass.
—
CHIBI:
“They’re feeding it.”
—
MARA:
“Yes.”
—
The local representative looked around the table.
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“You call us children.”
—
“You say we are ruled by emotion.”
—
“You say we cannot see beyond our tribe.”
—
A pause.
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“But when we ask you to leave…”
“…you become angry.”
—
The flame trembled.
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“When we question your Queen…”
“…you become offended.”
—
The flame shrank.
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“When we refuse your laws…”
“…you threaten soldiers.”
—
Smaller.
—
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
“So tell me.”
—
“Which one of us…”
“…is ruled by emotion?”
—
The flame went out.
Instantly.
—
CHIBI:
“Oh.”
—
MARA:
“Yes.”
—
CHIBI:
“It didn’t like that.”
—
MARA:
“Maybe it did.”
—
CHIBI:
“Why would it go out?”
—
MARA:
“Maybe because someone finally saw it.”
—
Later, beneath the same tree, Mara drew a circle in the dirt.
—
MARA:
“Angry.”
“Afraid.”
“Kind.”
“Jealous.”
“Brave.”
“Greedy.”
“Curious.”
“Cruel.”
“Loving.”
—
Chibi stared at the circle.
—
CHIBI:
“That’s a lot of people.”
—
MARA:
“It’s one person.”
—
She drew a small flame in the middle.
—
MARA:
“Maybe that’s the Inner Fire.”
—
CHIBI:
“All of it?”
—
MARA:
“All of it.”
—
CHIBI:
“I thought the Inner Fire was the good part.”
—
MARA:
“Fire isn’t good.”
—
CHIBI:
“It’s bad?”
—
MARA:
“No.”
—
CHIBI:
“Then what is it?”
—
Mara looked toward the British compound.
Then toward the village.
Two fires.
Same smoke.
Same sky.
—
MARA:
“Fire.”
—
CHIBI:
“Then what makes someone civilized?”
—
Mara looked at him.
—
MARA:
“Choosing what you do with it.”
—
## THE INNER FIRE — THE SAVAGE WITHIN
A child says:
“Mine.”
An Empire says:
“Strategic necessity.”
The words become more sophisticated.
The maps become more precise.
But civilization does not begin when we learn better words for our instincts.
It begins when we recognize them.
## CTA
The monsters in Mythveil are not always hiding in forgotten temples.
Sometimes they are hiding inside the stories people tell themselves.
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