It is an unfortunate fact of our fallen world that people, when wronged, will often seek retribution. Of course, this in and of itself is not the unfortunate part. No, it is the disproportionate way in which some seek to right wrongs. Too often people take things too far, twisting what was supposed to be justice into corrupted vengeance… You’d think I’d have gotten used to seeing such cases… but I’m afraid that isn’t the case…

  -Excerpt from Arvad Malachi’s Musings

  It took another two days of traveling before Galen and the others finally neared their destination.

  Thankfully, nothing else of note occurred during that time, and he found some of the tense awkwardness he’d felt around Tufani had diminished.

  Oh, it was still there, mind you. But she was far more willing to not give him a glare that sent chills down his spine whenever she regarded him.

  Sometimes.

  They hadn’t spoken much since they’d defeated the Ether Beast scorpion. Though, he was growing increasingly certain that, even if Tufani hadn’t been predisposed to disliking him due to this world’s history combined with her own experience with the Dominion, she still wouldn’t have been much for conversing.

  He was finding that she was rather stoic and reserved when not directing her malice towards him, so he tried not to annoy her by pressing too much.

  Galen watched the back of his mentor. They’d spoken quite a bit more than he had with Tufani. Though, the conversations weren’t very informative. Whenever he asked questions about the Rebellion, or what else Aleksi knew of the Dominion, the man would simply respond with, “I’ll tell you about that when we reach the hideout. Have patience, lad.”

  It irked him, but he trusted Aleksi enough to do as he asked.

  “You forgetting someone, boss?” Redian chimed in his mind.

  Galen’s eyes glazed over, Oh, you.

  “Hey now!” the Sentient Weapon protested, “what do you mean by that, huh?!”

  He smiled, I’m joking, I’m joking. There’s nothing really to note here. I mean, besides when you chime in the middle of my musings like just now.

  “I like catching you off guard,” Redian snickered in his mind, “gotta keep you on your toes.”

  Galen frowned.

  “Hey, not my fault you’re so easily distracted!” the sword huffed, “if you really didn’t want me to cut into your thoughts, then you’d close the mental door, wouldn’t you?”

  Not gonna lie, I sometimes forget to do that. You’re sometimes quiet for so long that I forget that the mental connection is still open.

  “Tsk, tsk. You gotta do better, boss! What if I hear something private that you’d rather not want me to know about?”

  Galen shuddered at the possibility.

  “Right?! So make sure you’re careful, boss. Because if you slip up, then I sure as hell won’t have any mercy on-”

  Galen shut the mental door, cutting off their mental connection.

  Peace, quiet, and, most importantly, privacy at last…

  It was around twenty minutes later when a piece of the ground a fair distance away suddenly burst into flames. And not just a bit, mind you. Galen’s jaw dropped as he saw what he could only describe as a tornado made purely of flames suddenly erupt a ways away, spiraling into the sky before dispersing. The fire on the ground, however, continued to burn. It didn’t spread, mind you, but it surely didn’t look as though it would stop anytime soon.

  “Lad? Are you alright?”

  Galen blinked, and turned to see Aleksi and Tufani had walked ahead for a bit while he’d remained frozen on the spot, staring at the burst of fire that ignited out of nowhere.

  “Uh… did you guys see that?!” he asked them as he pointed at the still burning ground afar off.

  Tufani raised a brow at him, while Aleksi simply shrugged, “You mean the Pyre Point? Yes, we saw it. What about it, lad?”

  “Uh, the freaking ground suddenly ignited! Didn’t you see that tornado of fire?! Why are you guys acting like that’s normal?!”

  Tufani frowned, “That’s because it is, you idiot.”

  He blinked, “...what?!”

  Aleksi laughed, “Right. Back at the Dominion, I was replaced before we could get to this point in our lessons. Judging from your reaction, I’m guessing they didn’t teach you about it so…”

  The man gestured for him to follow, “Come, lad. I’ll explain as we keep walking.”

  When Galen caught up, Aleksi began to explain, as they traveled, “Remember when we discussed how all the Fire Ether present in Axis Mundi causes the perpetual heat that persists year round?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, as you just saw, that’s not the only effect. What you just saw was what we called a Pyre Point. It’s where Fire Ether gathers with enough density that the tiniest friction can set it off, causing an eruption of flames and the ground to start burning. Those flames continue to burn until the excess Fire Ether has been used up. It usually takes a few days, but the fire eventually dies on its own.”

  “How come I never saw any until now?”

  “That’s because we were near a city, lad. And this is especially the case with a city as massive as Ignis. There are… were so many Ethereans and machines that used Ether that the power never had a chance to build up into a Pyre. The farther you get from a city or any area where there are many Ethereans, the more likely you are to see them occur.”

  “The fire they leave behind doesn’t spread?” Galen asked nervously.

  “No, not normally. Out here in these dry, dirt plains, lad, there’s not much for the fire to burn. Once it runs out of Ether as a fuel source, it quickly goes out.”

  “Oh, that’s good then-”

  “Unless it’s a Firestorm.”

  “A fire what now?!”

  Aleksi smiled, amused by his reaction, “A Firestorm. It’s basically a Pyre Point that’s several magnitudes greater. Just like how a normal storm can cover a wide area, so too can a Firestorm. Only it’s not all at once. It starts as a Pyre Point and then quickly spreads to cover a massive range.”

  “And how do you know the difference? Hell, how do you even know where a Pyre Point is and when it will go off?”

  “The answer to both questions, lad, is by sensing the Ether. That’s why the lass and I weren’t surprised or startled by the earlier Pyre. We sensed the Ether building there and figured it’d go off any second now.”

  “Okay… it’s seems pretty dangerous and terrifying for people who can’t sense Ether though,” he contested.

  “True. However, it doesn’t take having a sharp Ether sense to known when a Pyre Point is forming. The accumulated power is so dense, even those with the worst Ether senses can feel them.”

  “I didn’t feel it though…” he grumbled.

  Tufani snorted, “Your senses are shockingly dull.”

  “It’s not easy having Ether Intolerance,” Aleksi defended him, “you can only open yourself up to and sense the power when you’ve taken your medication, lad. However, as your body continues to adapt, you’ll start to sense it naturally, even without using it. Much like how you can smell scents or hear sounds.”

  Galen perked up at that, “Well, that’s good! Any other weird weather phenomena I should know about?”

  “Well, there’s higher than normal volcanic activity in this Realm too,” Aleksi muttered.

  “Okay, that makes sense-”

  “Lastly, there’s the Scorching Winds.”

  He gave his mentor a flat look, “You’re doing this on purpose aren’t you?”

  “Doing what?” the man asked, putting far too much effort into looking innocent.

  “Lulling me into a false sense of security before surprising me with something you know I’ll find terrifying!”

  Aleksi chortled, “Apologies, lad. You just make it too easy.”

  He wiped a tear from his eye, “That should be the last thing. Scorching Winds only occur during the peak season of heat, when Fire Ether is at its strongest. As the name implies, its when the winds carry air so hot that it dries out whatever they blow against. They can also cause dust devils that, with this moisture ridding effect, can be quite dangerous when caught in one. They are not so dangerous to Ethereans, mind you, but to one who doesn’t know how to use the power? It’s not pretty.”

  Galen gulped, not even wanting to imagine it, “ANYTHING else?”

  “Hmm…” Aleksi pondered, “no, I think that’s all-”

  “Don’t forget about the storms,” Tufani muttered, so quietly they almost didn’t hear her.

  “What’s that, lass?”

  “The storms. The… thunderstorms. Due to the Dominion’s success in reconnecting this Realm with their home Realm, Branlyn, some Lightning Ether flows into this Realm as well. More so than the others. That can make the storms here a little more… violent, than what the Champion might be used to,” she explained, her gaze focused solely on the ground they walked.

  “I see… thanks for telling me,” he responded with caution.

  Why the caution? Because, for some reason, Tufani looked REALLY tense after mentioning the storms. He didn’t know why, but he wasn’t about to poke that bear.

  ***

  Aria didn’t know how much time had passed when she saw a large, rising pillar of black smoke in the distance.

  “What’s that?” Daxton asked, squinting as he used a hand to try to keep the oppressive sun out of his eyes.

  “Trouble…” Aleksi answered quickly.

  She thought she heard something in his voice. Worry?

  “How do you know?” Daxton asked.

  “I can see from here using Ether,” the older hume explained, “and as much as I’d rather we avoid going there, I’m afraid we must.”

  “Why?” Aria asked.

  “There’s an informant from the Rebellion there. I need to confirm with him if the hideout I’m taking you both to is still being used. Last thing we want is for us to arrive only to find that they’d already left,” he explained.

  She looked towards the distant, rising pillar of smoke. For some reason, she felt an odd sense of dread looking at it. She shoved the feeling down as they made their way there.

  When they got within a mile or so, Aleksi had them stop by one of the many scattered trees.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Alright, you two,” the older human reached into his pack and pulled out two dark, hooded cloaks, “put these on. We’ll need to obscure our faces so that we’re not recognized.”

  Aria raised a brow at the cloaks, “Wouldn’t these just make us stand out?”

  “Not necessarily,” Daxton answered, “back in Ignis, I saw a lot of people wearing cloaks. Given how damn hot this Realm always is, clothes like these actually help keep you cool and keep the sunlight out of your eyes.”

  “Right you are, lad,” Aleksi tossed them both scarves as well.

  Within a minute, they were all wearing their cloaks with the hoods up and scarves around their necks and up to their chin.

  “Ugh, I sweat too much…” Daxton whined, “my scarf is going to be soaked through in no time…”

  Aleksi chuckled while Aria merely ignored him.

  The three began to make their way to town, following a well beaten and used road to one of the town’s gates.

  As they neared, Aria felt her heart drop as her sense of dread was proven right.

  “By the Maker’s grace…” Aleksi cursed, “I was hoping I was just seeing things…”

  “What the hell…” Daxton hissed as he then let out several whispered swears in his strange language.

  Aria stood frozen as she looked at the gated entrance.

  In front of the town, impaled on many long spears, were the rotting, burnt bodies of what could only be elves. Several spears had a severed head stabbed onto the sharp tip. On the top of the gate hung several more by their necks with rope. Vultures and other carrion feeders pecked and ate away at the gruesome feast.

  Aria clenched her fists tightly as she felt rage begin to bubble up within her.

  The humes, she thought with barely contained rage, how many of my people have been slaughtered here?! And why?!

  “Lass…” Aleksi called to her, “if you’d like, you can wait-”

  “No,” Aria shook her head.

  Her mission took precedence over her rage and grief. The Dominion would pay for this several times over, of that she would make certain. Unfortunately, that was for the future. First, she needed to make sure it was at all possible by making it to Vindanna.

  As Daxton passed her, she growled to him in a whisper, “And you wonder why I hate you ashborn…”

  He winced, but she was too angry to care right now.

  Let him see what his people have done. Maybe then he’ll start to understand just how wicked his fellow humes really are, she mentally snarled.

  They neared the gate, and one of the guards eyed them suspiciously. Aria wanted to beat the hume into a bloody pulp. Maybe impale him on one of the spears used to run through several elves. See how HE liked it…

  She reigned in her bloodlust. Now was not the time.

  “What do we have here?” the guard muttered, “travelers? Merchants? Either way, you picked a bad time to be moving about.”

  Aleksi nodded, “Of course. Granted, we were already on our way here when everything began to get crazy.”

  Another guard spit on the ground, “So just bad luck, eh? I feel you. None of us expected the past few weeks to occur. Voiding knife-ears…”

  Aria bit her tongue to cut off the scathing response before it left her lips.

  She tasted blood.

  “So, what’s your purpose of visitation?” inquired the first guard.

  “We’re here to meet with a friend of ours,” Aleksi answered, “we were already on our way to visit, but after all that has occurred, we especially want to check on him.”

  “Good a reason as any I suppose,” nodded the first guard.

  Aleksi continued speaking with the guards and going over paperwork. Aria leaned towards Daxton and remarked, “These humes sure seem awfully lax.”

  He gave her a raised brow in response, “Really? They don’t seem that way at all to me.”

  Aria frowned, “What are you talking about?”

  Daxton gestured to the two guards with his eyes, “Look at them closely. Their eyes in particular.”

  She did so. And for the first time, she noted the bags under their eyes. They looked completely sleep deprived. There was something eerie to how their expressions seemed under scrutiny. They looked almost…

  “Damn, those two look haunted by something,” Daxton muttered.

  Aleksi finished speaking with the two. Surprisingly, the man clapped them both on the shoulder and whispered something to them. They both nodded, seeming to brighten even if just by a minuscule amount.

  One of the guards knocked on the gates in a particular rhythm, and they opened soon after. The two guards waved them in, with one saying, “Best to mentally prepare yourselves. We haven’t been able to clean up everything after… THAT…”

  Aleksi nodded and ushered Aria and Daxton to follow.

  Daxton was quick to ask what Aria was thinking, “So… you sure got friendly with them towards the end.”

  “I was just offering encouragement to soldiers who’d recently been forced into following very unsavory orders,” the older ashborn responded.

  “You gave them encouragement?!” Aria hissed with disbelief.

  Aleksi sighed, “I’m planting seeds, lass. If those two were any indication, the Dominion might have overstepped in what was done to their elf slaves here. We might be able to do some heavy recruiting for the Rebellion if we play things right.”

  Aria still wasn’t happy about it.

  He should have just let them suffer…

  As they walked, Aria took the time to inspect the town.

  People were out and about, and sure enough, many wore cloaks like her own to shield themselves from the harsh sunlight. She was able to catch the occasional glimpse of a hume’s face, and in many of them the same sort of haunted look could be seen. Not nearly to the same extent as the two guards at the entrance, but it was present.

  In the outskirts, there wasn’t much to see. Various buildings of varying sizes that were either homes, shops, pubs, etc.

  As they went deeper into town, however, Aria began to see signs that there had been a recent conflict. Various workers were up and about. Some were repairing damage to buildings. Some were scrubbing the concrete streets and sidewalks, trying to get rid of blood stains and scorch marks. The fact that work like this was still being done was a testament to how much violence there had been.

  Aria clenched her fists, trying to reign in her boiling emotions.

  Daxton leaned in, “How are you holding up?”

  “How do you think?” she hissed back.

  “About what I figured,” he responded back, “hang in there, alright? I’m here for you if you need it… Aleksi too.”

  She didn’t respond.

  Because the sight that greeted them shortly after as they turned a corner and neared a large open area made her rage ignite all the more.

  “What the hell…” Daxton gasped as Aleksi looked on grimly.

  Aria began to tremble with equal measures of wrath and horror.

  Before them was an utterly massive pile of burnt corpses, the source of the enormous column of black smoke she saw earlier from outside this town. The bodies ranged in size from adult to… younger… the small size of some of them made Aria’s stomach churn…

  “Keep moving, the both of you, and don’t let your gaze linger here,” Aleksi advised as he ushered them to move.

  Yet even as Aria tore her sight away, the sickening smell of charred flesh remained in her nostrils.

  I hate them. I hate them! I HATE THEM!!! she snarled in her mind.

  Were it not for her mission, she’d likely have given in to the urge to rampage.

  ***

  It took several minutes before they reached their destination. It was a store of some sort, though what specifically she didn’t know or care. They walked in, and she was glad to see the place was relatively empty in spite of all the chairs and circular tables.

  Aleksi walked up to the shopkeeper who stood behind a thick desk, and behind him were various glass bottles filled with liquids. The hume looked to be around his mid thirties, with black hair, brown eyes, and some stubble on his face. He seemed very… unremarkable.

  The shopkeeper raised a brow, and asked, “Well now, in light of… recent events… I can understand why you’d want a drink early in the morning, but I’m still getting things set up. So if you could…”

  To Aria’s surprise, Aleksi lowered his hood and revealed his face to the hume.

  The shopkeeper’s eyes widened, and he quickly hissed, “You?! Put your hood back up you fool!”

  Aleksi did so, and responded, “Don’t worry. I don’t sense anyone nearby, Norman.”

  The shopkeeper, Norman, visibly relaxed, “Good. Void, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  “I need to talk you,” Aleksi whispered, “privately.”

  Norman snorted, “Well, duh! No chance in the void I’m going to risk talking to you in public. Come on, we’ll talk in the back.”

  Aleksi motioned for her and Daxton to follow him.

  Aria eyed the shopkeeper as he moved to the entrance of his shop. The hume peeked out, looking both ways before hanging a sign, closing the doors, and locking it. He was quick to follow them to the back.

  The backroom was rather spacious, with a circular table with chairs in the center, a sink and a strange, box shaped contraption. The shopkeeper gestured for them to take a seat, which they did.

  Norman checked to make sure every door and window was properly closed and locked before he turned back to Aleksi, “Well, now… I certainly wasn’t expecting to see you here of all places.”

  “Why’s that?” Aria asked with suspicion.

  Norman eyed her and then Daxton curiously, “Who are these two with you, Aleksi? Ah, never mind, the less I know the better. Better to ask if they are trustworthy.”

  The older hume didn’t hesitate to nod, “Most certainly. I trust them with my life.”

  That surprised Aria. Daxton smiled sheepishly at hearing his words.

  “Well, if that’s not a clear sign that they can be trusted, than I don’t know what is,” Norman sighed and then looked back to Aria, “You asked why I wasn’t expecting you all to be here. Well, that’s because, last I heard, Ignis had been wiped out, and the Dominion has been in an uproar since. Void… as you’ve probably already seen here, some retaliation has already occurred.”

  “We noticed,” Aria stated coldly.

  Aleksi cut in then, “What you heard is true. Though I’m here for a different reason, for a different mission.”

  “I hope this won’t involve me doing anything too dangerous,” the shopkeeper smiled then, letting them know he was partially joking.

  “No, nothing like that. I merely want to confirm that the hideout that’s been used for the past few months is still being used, as that’s where I’m heading with these two right now.”

  Norman nodded, “Last I heard from Lusha, which was around two weeks ago, yes, they should still be there. Though, given recent events… Guess I better say goodbye to this place on the off chance any Shadows managed to track you three here.”

  “I’m sorry,” Aleksi apologized.

  The shopkeeper waved away his concern, “Don’t be. I figured I’d have to up and leave the moment I saw your sorry mug. You usually don’t show up personally like this unless it’s something serious. I’ll be fine. I knew what I signed up for.”

  “Then instead of an apology, accept my thanks,” Aleksi offered.

  Norman nodded, “So, is confirming the current hideout all you needed from me?”

  Aleksi paused, then handed him a letter, “If there are any of the leaders either not at the hideout or not making their way there already, pass this message for me. It should convince them to come quickly.”

  Norman whistled, “Whatever you got cooking this time, it must be something else if you’re risking having all the leaders present in one location.”

  “It is,” Aleksi confirmed. “we’d like you to update us on what has been happening in the Dominion as well, even if it is mere rumor. If you could let us know what happened here in this town on top of that, that would be good.”

  “Void, where to I begin?” the shopkeeper sighed, “in terms of what happened here, that should be obvious. Orders came in, brought by the Shadows with Athanasius’s seal of approval and everything. They declared their intent to slaughter the elf slaves present in town and then immediately got to work…”

  Aria tensed, her hands clenching into tight fists. Guilt began to tear her apart from the inside. No doubt this was caused by Ignis’s destruction.

  Norman continued, “Naturally, most started to run the moment those butchers made their announcement, but not a single one got away. The most defiant among them, among whom were some Ethereans surprisingly enough, were spared immediate death. But that was because what awaited was worse than the quick death the rest suffered.”

  Norman poured himself a strong drink and took a gulp to calm his nerves, “It was horrible, Aleksi. The cruelty… I couldn’t tell if the Shadows were enjoying it or just following orders, but it was no mistake or rush of bloodlust that made them do as they did. They forced the most defiant ones to watch as they hung their loved ones, before they impaled them on spears and burned them alive. The screams… Void, I sometimes think I can still hear them…”

  The man took several gulps of his liquor, downing it in one go before he continued, “You all saw the aftermath out by the gates, I imagine. Surprisingly, a lot of the citizens here didn’t seem to take the slaughter all that well. You got the rare noble who was uppity about having his slaves killed since that meant they’d have to find new laborers. But the common man? Well… a lot of them still have a haunted cast to them, even now, a week after it all happened.”

  Norman put his cup down, then set his hands on the table in the middle, looking Aleksi in the eye, “It might be too soon to tell, but I think the Dominion and Athanasius might have gone just a bit too far with what they’re doing in slaughtering their slaves here. Yeah, the people understand that it’s punishment for the destruction of Ignis, and no doubt most will rationalize and justify this whole thing in their minds… but I think there will also be many who will be unable to shake the doubt that took root from this whole thing.”

  Aleksi nodded, “I agree with you. We might be able to bolster the Rebellion’s numbers and make allies in high places if we play our cards right. Still, best to be careful. We don’t want to overplay our hand and get wiped out.”

  Norman looked about to pour himself another glass of his drink, but paused. Instead, he put the bottle down and instead filled his cup with fresh, clear water. He sat down at the table with them and took a long gulp before continuing, “Now, as for what’s going on with the Dominion… I kept notes and wrote it all down in case one of our informants or even one of you big-shots came along.”

  He handed Aleksi a sealed envelope before adding, “Keep in mind what I wrote in there is what I heard from hearsay. Just stuff I overheard in conversations my customers had with each other, or stuff I coaxed out of them myself. I made a brief mention of it earlier, but a lot of the nobility aren’t happy with the fact that their ‘property’ is getting cut down.”

  Aleksi opened the envelope and read it, his face grim. He then burned the envelope with a tiny burst of flames.

  Aria didn’t chime in. She merely sat down and closed her eyes, trying to control her emotions.

  “Thank you for the update, Norman,” Aleksi said.

  “No problem. And don’t worry, I’ll get your message to the others,” he replied.

  “Excellent. Now, with that done, we must be on our way,” the older hume stood, “may the Maker guide your steps.”

  Norman nodded, “Likewise. Be careful out there. While it’s been over a week since the Shadows were here, you never know when one might be around in disguise.”

  Aleksi thanked him for the warning, and he began to leave with Aria and Daxton following closely behind.

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