For the next four hours, the group stumbled through the dark forest. Sometimes the Ferals lowered themselves, intently listening to distant noises Ether could not hear.
They came to a stop outside what appeared to be some ruins. Their arches and pillars covered in moss, hiding away the carefully decorated figures behind.
One of the Ferals stepped closer to the middle, where a drop was. He softly roared down the drop, listening closely for his roar to return. Which came back very quickly, too quickly even.
"This is not a drop, it's a set of stairs!" he called out to the group.
Ether ignited a bright fire in his hands, which dazed the Ferals upon seeing the careless flames. They hissed while covering their eyes to protect themselves until they were used to the light again.
As he descended down the stairs, Ether realized just how much effort was put into this place. There were figures along the walls that represented different stories.
One of them was a group of figures stumbling through the forest, another had figures digging, and another to his right detailed powerful weapons and armor birthed by a forge.
Which amazed Ether. He had no idea what he had just discovered. From a Legion that was once whole with Onum and its distant third in Uvurim, this place was designed to help them thrive.
When Ether reached the bottom of the stairs, he found out why. Massive chains held a large forge over magma pits. It rumbled as the endless orange ocean raged on like a forever storm.
He stared out in awe, unable to trust what he was seeing. Right before him was a platform that connected to the forge itself. However, the path itself didn't go anywhere.
It was almost like that forge was sealed, but he did not know why. Until he glanced up at the worn out paintings along the outer walls.
From what he could tell, metal-workers had to step inside of the forge where they would begin. The next picture illustrated the same workers fighting against strange creatures. And by the end, they stood with their new weapons.
"Th - this place... Yarno is very unlike Imbushko, alright..." Ether awed. "Hmm. Whoever the builders were, I can tell they were desperate for something. No Legion would build something like this for no reason."
And he was right. After the main Legion, called Drekon, had fractured, the Vusqur branch, led by the idea of being clever was being stronger than cunning and powerful, escaped into Yarno.
Their followers ventured into Olavin-Faa where they made this forge with the help of Thawed Rituals. By the end, they formed a device capable of bending the fabric of reality.
But this device had a high price to use. Their sanity, Will, family, friends, themselves, any of these choices were possible prices to pay. Sometimes, the forge asked for all of it.
If the users withstood whatever kinds of tortures it held inside, the forge would compensate by giving what they wanted. This was a massive risk, one that led to their extinction.
Leaving behind the forge for others to discover.
Ether blanketed the entire space with gentle flames that picked up every little detail. Once he felt like it was enough, he reached out for the flames. And they reached back, settling into his palm.
He opened his mouth, then placed the flame inside. Once it was in there, he consumed it. Casually eating it like a snack, chewing on it as if it was normal.
After he returned to the surface, Orako pounced on his father. By now, he had grown big enough to be able to tackle Ether down. But he still pretended to be a small cub, it was his way of pretending to be the Yonie Ether sometimes was.
"What did you find?" Orako chirped.
"Everyone will see it once we return to Krugi, but for now. Let's continue going fo-"
"Shh!" every Feral interrupted.
They quickly began to growl, distancing themselves away from each other just in case. Orako started to growl with him, he looked all around from where the noise was coming from.
Some time later, Ether began to hear these noises as well. His hand reached down to his waist, where Tellendor would spark from.
Branches bent, powerful legs propelled themselves off trunks, and distant chuckles rung through the forest. Bringing everyone into an uneasy state.
"Lower yourselves. Whatever is coming for us will have to drop lower to reach one of us. Allowing us to snatch it," Ether whispered.
And they obeyed. Everyone brought themselves lower to the ground, ready to jump just in case they needed to sprint away. That's when they heard it dropping.
But it was not an it, it was them. Hundreds of feet thumping down on the ground, chuckling with each other in the darkness. Then one voice silenced the rest.
"You don't smell from around here," it said.
That's when Orako unleashed an ear-splitting roar in the voice's direction. Dazing everyone caught inside of that howl, which encouraged the others to follow through.
In moments, the visitors had the dominance in the situation. They pounced on victims, holding them in place as they struggled for control.
"Stop, we are not going to hurt you!" the same voice called out. "We just wanted to know who you were."
Ether pulled out Tellendor, igniting the entire forest in bright flames that cast half of his frame in shadow. Every Feral witnessed a hellish scene as the tip drove itself into the ground.
Just like a creation meant to strike fear into the hearts of many, Ether remained low to the ground with his eyes narrowed. Teeth gritted against each other as if he was prepared for everything.
"We are Infinus, from Imbushko. We do not want to attack anyone either, but if we have to, we will not hesitate," Ether warned.
Orako and his Ferals growled as they surrounded the flames that engulfed the forest. The same Feral from earlier stepped forward, revealing itself to be a female. Except she was different.
While Infinus' Scalers had normal eyes, this one had tear drop shaped eyes with a single green stripe in the middle. It stared intently into the flames.
"Let's settle down, then we can talk. Okay?"