4 Days Later
The First Day of Winter.
Along the shoreline of the underground lake in Aestus stood Elder Alexander as he watched on as nearly twenty bubbles ascended to the surface.
"You truly believe that Ignus will make their move today, brother Alex?" Faye questioned as she walked up beside him.
"I'm certain." Alex confidently replied.
"May I ask from where does this certainty stem from?"
"... Let's call it my old man intuition."
Among the rising bubbles was one that contained Elder Aira and Kenzo. Maleah would be the only Elder joining the guards on the surface as she was the most capable fighter amongst the council.
"How old are you, Kenzo?" Maleah questioned.
"Twenty-five ma'am."
"Both you and Mai are far too young to know about 'the Salvage'."
"Pardon me?"
"The Salvage is an event that happens in Aestus every fifty years. If, by chance, it fails to happen, then Aestus would surely meet its end."
"If you may, Elder Aira, what is the Salvage?" Kenzo questioned with growing curiosity.
"Well, as you know, our beautiful home exists in a rather strange location. Under a floating lake. Do you know how it became that way?"
"The Leviathan, right ma'am?"
"Correct. The Leviathan made this place as somewhat of a sanctuary after the fierce battle it endured against the Phoenix. Only one of the great deities could have created such a place as Aestus. The amount of essence used to keep the entire lake floating is incomprehensible. However, the Leviathan made a rather powerful rune that does just that. On its own, that rune keeps the entirety of this lake suspended above Aestus."
"So if anything were to happen to that rune, Aestus would be destroyed."
"Once we keep any potential threat outside of Aestus, then that shouldn't be an issue." Maleah replied. "The biggest problem we face is that after fifty years, the rune becomes unstable and eventually withers away on its own. To prevent that from happening, an event takes place every fifty years called the Salvage. During the occasion, the Leviathan itself would arise and repair the fading rune before it crumbles away."
"Well then, when was the last Salvage?" Kenzo questioned.
"Fourty-eight years ago. I was only fourteen at the time, but I will always remember for as long as I live, the truly astonishing scene I witnessed that day."
"Forgive me ma'am, but what is the relevance of you telling me this now?"
"The closer we get to that fifty year mark, the weaker the rune becomes."
All of the ascending bubbles one by one begin to emerge onto the surface.
"It's typically during the winter season where we see the most degradation take place." Maleah continued. "Brother Alex suspects that Ignus knows this, which is why we're expecting an attack today."
"But how would they know something like that?" Kenzo asked, pondering to himself.
The water began to recede from around them, exposing them to the outside air. Elder Aira displayed a rather intense look while keeping eye contact with Kenzo the entire time.
"... You think there's someone within Aestus who's leaking information." Kenzo concluded.
"I trust you, Kenzo, but I am currently re-evaluating just who all I can say that to. Be careful who you're giving information to."
The nonplussed guard watched on as Elder Aira walked away to join the others. Kenzo casually inspected his surroundings before breathing in and following behind Maleah.
.....
While the majority of the guards had made their way to the surface accompanied by Elder Aira. Those who were left behind were at the current day lowest ranking among the division. Mai, being one of these few, was tasked with confronting and reassuring the public of Aestus alongside Elders Treya and Claire.
"All this time, you were preparing for a war behind our backs!?" Exclaimed a disgruntled villager.
"What kind of danger are we facing!?" Asked another villager.
"You sent my husband to the surface to fight in a war without even telling me!" Said yet another upset villager.
"We assure you that we do not want or intend to engage in any conflict!" Treya sternly replied. "A peaceful resolution is what we are striving for, but due to the unstable nature of the other party, we have to make sure our land is defended. Please have faith in Sister Aira that she will be able to defuse the situation."
"Is it true that Ignus attacked Himawari!?"
"Are they searching for those children who came here several days ago?"
"Oh my." Claire said with a frown.
"What happened in Himawari?" Mai questioned in confusion.
"How did that get out?" Treya asked softly to herself.
Tension began to flare out of control as the two elders were bombarded with questions of concern from the exasperated villagers.
"Miss Mai!" Kumori shouted from the edge of the crowd.
While the elders attempted to tackle the onslaught of questions, Mai took a few steps aside and knelt down to Kumori's level.
"What's the matter, Kumo?"
"One of those Ignus people." Kumori stated. "Ria saw one of them snooping around the woods two days in a row, and I think I saw them just now."
"What?"
"Come I'll show you." Kumori said while pulling Mai by her arm.
.....
"The progress you've made is commendable." Jayson says to Kaden, who's sat leaning backward and heavily breathing. "It's hard to determine what your capacity for fire essence will be, especially given your age, but I don't think it'd even mean much. If your fire essence pool is small, you'll still have the other elements to rely on."
"... Hey, let me ask you somethin'." Kaden stated. "When I first unlocked my water essence, I saw these... creatures."
"Creatures?"
"I don't know what else to call em. They were tall, and their bodies looked like a cloud of smoke. Their eyes were shining blue, too."
"Hmm, it might've been a spirit." Jayson answered.
"Like a ghost?"
"Not exactly. I'm not completely sure how, but all essence types are connected to the spirit realm in some way. There are stories of people seeing apparitions similar to what you just described, and usually, the color of the spirits' eyes aligns with that person's elemental essence type."
"So could it be like... I don't know... the elemental remains of a person's soul?" Kaden pondered. "Cause isn't dying here when all of your life essence runs out? What happens to your elemental essence after that?"
"Look at yourself and ask that same question."
"I'm an anomaly."
Rustle Rustle
Without any hesitation, a slight rustling in the bush near the two young men prompted Jayson to shoot a short stream of water into that area.
"AHHH!" Screamed a female's voice.
"That doesn't sound like the kid." Kaden remarked.
"What was that for!?" Avery exclaimed as she appeared from the bushes.
"Sorry about that, Avery." Jayson casually replied. "Shaedon didn't -"
"Shaedon isn't the issue! There was a note on the table when I woke up this morning."
.....
"Tanner! Camie, Mano!" Nakayla shouted from the river behind their house. "CAN ANY OF YOU HERE ME!"
She frantically searched the area while occasionally shouting out their names again.
"Something feels off." Shaedon stated from behind her.
"You're only saying that now!? Three of our... o-our siblings are missing! What if someone took them!?"
"Would a kidnapper leave behind a note that said 'I'm sorry'? There weren't any signs that someone broke into the house either. I think they left on their own."
"But where would they -" Nakayla began to say before being interrupted by a raindrop falling onto her cheek.
They both gazed up toward the lake as more raindrops poured down around them.
.....
Back on the surface, Elder Aira and the majority of the guards ascended to the top of the western side of the mountain range. Storm clouds began to roll in, and a distant rumble of thunder vibrated the land beneath them.
"Got a visual on some movement!" Damien announced. "Northwest, roughly eight miles out."
Among the bellowing gray storm clouds, Damien noticed several unidentifiable flying creatures, swiftly approaching their location on the mountain.
"Whatever it is, it's pretty big."
After just one minute, Elder Aira was able to conclude what they were observing. She had suspected it, but now she was certain.
"Crimson-scaled dragons." She stated. "Five of them."
A few of the guards showed visible signs of nervousness after that revelation was made. Reaching for their weapon, adjusting their stance, swallowing heavy, quick glances towards the others, and deep inhales could have been seen from everyone except a few. Damien, Kenzo, and Elder Aira were three of those few. After another minute, they were able to observe the creatures more precisely. Each one was around nine meters long, with black bat-like wings and four arms extending from under their torsos. Their tales were more than half the length of their torso, and each one was covered in sharp, serrated scaled.
"Eyes on fifteen men." Damien exclaimed.
The dragons, one by one, landed on the peaks of the mountain by puncturing the stone with their sharp talons. Those talons themselves were as hard as stone. The intimidating beasts crawled around Elder Aira and her guards while growling fiercely before stopping on a flat surface where their passengers could have unmounted them. Kajar, Nix, and Clint were all on one dragon, and they were the first to jump down and approach the guards.
"Good morning." Kajar stated as he continued to walk forward on his own.
Several guards stepped in front of the young man to prevent him from advancing any closer to their Elder.
"Let him pass." Maleah ordered.
After a slight hesitation from them all, they obliged and stepped to the side. Kajar grinned before approaching once more. As he did, snow began to fall lightly.
"I presume you are one of the 'elders', yes?" Kajar questioned.
"Elder Maleah Aira." She responded sternly.
"Kajar Syton. Youngest son of Klay Syton. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Would that mean your brother would be the one who is next in line for the thrown? I've heard about the unfortunate news regarding your father."
"Oh, have you? Well, I can inform you that it will not be my brother, but instead, I shall be taking the title as the Seventeenth King of Ignus."
"Is that so?" Maleah asked without her expression changing in the slightest.
"And with that being the case, I have... promised, my loyal followers, a number of things. I plan to reinvent Ignus and rightfully cement our standing as the greatest kingdom in the history of this world. You see, I don't want to invade on you or anybody else's land nor cause any unnecessary turbulence within the four great lands. I just want to maximize the potential of my people."
"If that is the case, then why do you find yourself here today?"
"Oh, don't play stupid with me, 'Elder', you know exactly why I'm here." Kajar quickly retorted.
Following that statement was the first time Maleah's expression had changed in their entire exchange. From a cold, suspicious stare to a surprised and agitated glare.
"I'm only going to say this once." Kajar continued, slowly pronouncing every syllable of the following words. "Return what is ours."
"Would that be a threat?" Maleah questioned softly.
"Hehehe, let me educate you for a minute, Elder. You see, my father wasn't killed by any assassin or mercenary or whatever... I was the one who killed my father. Simply because I can not tolerate people who hold onto things that belong to me. In his case, it was the throne. That old dolt didn't know what it meant to change nor evolve. Now, your people are holding onto something that belongs to my people. Either you return it, or I'll go get it myself."
"You must be the dolt if you believe I'd let you get anywhere near my people. Look around you. You're outnumbered, in my domain, and not even the weather is on your side."
"Hehehe, you're so right. I didn't come here to fight. At least, not over what I have came for. Preparations were already made to secure our belongings whether you agreed to return it or not."
"... What do you mean?" Maleah asked in suspicion.
Once again, the ground vibrated and rumbled lightly, but this time, it wasn't because of the thunder. Kajar displayed a snarky grin before looking down onto Aestus.
.....
"TANNER... CAMIE... MANO!" Avery shouted as she and Jayson ran through the forest searching for the missing kids.
The cave around them rumbled as the rain seemingly began to come down harder.
"I can't explain it, but I have a really bad feeling in my chest." Jayson stated. "We need to find them, now!"
.....
"Shit, what did I get myself into?" Kaden thought as he too ran through the forest. "I don't even know what these kids look like."
"Kaden!"
The sudden voice that called out to Kaden belonged to Via, who flew in and landed just beside Kaden.
"Me and Aaron were looking for you." Via stated.
"Why?"
"Something is happening in the village, and I don't know what it is, but the air feels really heavy right now."
"Not just the air." Kaden replied. "Ever since a while ago, my chest has been feeling extremely tight. I don't know what's happening."
.....
"Are you sure it was around here?" Mano questioned.
"I think so." Camie replied in an annoyed tone.
"It should be." Tanner stated. "This fog is making it really hard to see, but from what I can tell, we should be nearby that weird circle we found. Did you really figure out what it was for?"
"I sure did. You guys are not gonna believe this." Camie exclaimed happily.
"We have to hurry before Jayson gets back home!" Mano stated.
"If Shaedon could sneak out and not get in trouble, I think we'll be fine."
"C'mon, I think it's this was. Let's still be quick." Tanner suggested.
The three Ignus kids ran through the forest, searching for something they found when they had first been transported to Aestus. Chilling raindrops continue to fall over the village as an ominous fog cloud crept its way through the forest as if it were a living creature. As the silhouettes of the three disappeared into the fog, a fourth shadow stepped out from behind a tree and proceeded to follow them from a distance.