The Masters, Students and Jo-lan were currently dwelling in an inn in one of the villages of the continent of Storms. It was the village in which the chief who governed most of the continent of Storms dwelt. The continent of Storms looked livelier. The plants were thriving within the domes and plant life extended even beyond the domes. Animal life was gradually returning and multiplying thus there was an abundance of both plant and animal food for the people.
The Masters, Students and Jo-lan were currently planning their next course of action.
"I suppose it's time we prepared to confront the next General Of Souryu" Jo-lan said.
"That would be Aeros who commands Wind" Master Andrea said.
"Did you discover his dwelling place Luna?" Master Ayumi asked.
"Yes I did. It so happened that where he currently dwells now happened to be Apollo's previous dwelling place for the first five years after his defeat at the hands of Fencer. The continent of Deserts" Master Luna said.
At this, Master Fencer's eyes assumed an uncharacteristically serious look.
"That slime ball. Taking advantage of the arid atmosphere created by Apollo!" Master Fencer roared.
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"Remember what we told you about the Storms? That they typically breed in wet places?" Master Fencer asked.
The Students nodded.
"Well, there is one kind of storm that breeds in arid places and is equally potent. The sandstorm that typically occurs in deserts. A strong wind usually sets it off and amongst all wind Psychorages in Souryu's army, Aeros is at the top of his class with regards to an affinity for wind" Master Fencer said seriously.
"Why so serious Fencer?" Master Kyem asked.
"I feel partly responsible for driving Apollo from my land" Master Fencer said.
"Don't be foolish. There's no way you could control what any of the generals decide to do. Their actions are their own doing" Master Kyem said seriously.
Master Fencer sighed.
"I know" he said.
"We've already beaten four generals but I can't help but wonder every time how we're going to take down the next one when that time comes" Josec said honestly.
"If you think about it, we've already come up with the basis through which we will combat Aeros" Harry said.
"Harry's right" Estelle said.
"What are you two trying to say?" Buern asked.
"I recently received a letter from my dad. The chief of this continent has also received a letter. Apparently, there's going to be a conference held in Gaeia and we're supposed to be there. There were certain details in the letter I didn't understand but I presume it's related to our quest" Estelle said.
"Sounds interesting. Normally we should be prioritizing our mission to take down the generals of Souryu however if this conference is somehow related to our quest, it would be wise to at least hear what the other continents have to say and it would be plainly rude to refuse to attend when our presence was requested" Jo-lan said.
The others agreed.
THE FOLLOWING DAY…
The Masters, Students and Jo-lan were at the harbour ready to depart for the continent of Gaeia. The chief of the continent of Storms and his elders were also leaving in another ship. The engineers and other experts had already departed roughly a month ago and it had been roughly three months since Aesakal's defeat. As usual, Harry couldn't handle the trip, Buern made fun of him throughout the journey while Estelle continuously offered him words of encouragement.
Then three weeks later, they finally arrived in the continent of Gaeia. According to the letter sent by the king of Avalon, the conference would begin a week after their arrival in Gaeia. This gave them enough time to rest from their journey and to brush up on their training. Utilizing the Killer Ghost Frenzy and the Labyrinth Of The Defender, Josec gradually increased in strength while developing a battle style that incorporated both. The Masters split up and trained the Students. Harry was given trials that involved mental fortitude and creativity. Estelle and Jason were constantly tutored in the art of Improvisation while Josec and Buern for the most part were left to their own training.
ON THE DAY OF THE CONFERENCE…
The conference was held in Gaeia's castle, a very magnificent place that over emphasized the people of Gaeia's skill in architecture. It was a gathering of experts, ministers and the kings of the four continents. They all sat around a rather humongous table. There was a huge board to display the findings and ideas of the experts. Then the conference began with an exchange of pleasantries and without much delay, the kings dived right into the heart of the matter at hand. Estelle was glad to see her father at the conference since she hadn't seen him ever since she left the castle with Harry.
"I'm quite certain that you all have an idea as to why we've gathered here" the king of Gaeia said.
There were murmurs amongst the people present and then silence.
"The core of the matter is that there have been noticeable changes with regards to the continents whose representatives are here and it appears that these changes might soon have a global effect" the king of Gaeia said seriously.
"What changes?" one of the people present asked.
"Roughly a year ago, the continent of Vung was a desert, the continent of Gaeia was plagued by devastating earthquakes, all Trade routes to the continent of Avalon were cut off and the continent of Storms was known as the Land Of Perpetual Ice" the king of Gaeia said.
"Over the past year however, Gaeia's earthquakes have all but ceased, Vung appears to be regaining its forest life, the Trade routes to Avalon have opened up and plants are thriving even in the Land Of Perpetual Ice" the king of Avalon said.
"We've been sharing information amongst the four continents whose representatives have gathered here and one thing is common amongst all the lands and that is the appearance of certain mysterious strangers. You know what I'm talking about people of Gaeia because you witnessed it yourselves during the terrible onslaught by the Golem Army. It was these same strangers who were responsible for the recent changes in architecture with regards to our current buildings as well as the efforts to restore forest life. They also defended Gaeia from the onslaught by the Golem Army" the king of Gaeia said. "From here on out, I will leave the rest to our experts to explain" the king of Gaeia said.
A certain scientist from among the king of Vung's experts stood up and began to speak.
"I will begin my explanation from right around the time Vung began to become a desert because it was roughly around that time that the misfortunes began to become more pronounced. A certain trait was noticeable right around that time on a global scale and we believe it may be responsible for most of what has been occurring lately. That trait was that certain continents like the continent of Vung and the continent of Deserts suddenly became too hot while other continents like the continent of Storms suddenly became too cold. We believe that the sharp disparities in the climates among these continents to a large effect may be responsible for everything else in between" the scientist said.
"What do you mean by everything else in between?" another person asked.
"The earthquakes, the mysterious reason behind the cutting off of all Avalon's Trade routes and the Storms" the scientist said.
Harry thought back to what the Masters had said right before they prepared to leave for the continent of Storms.
"Among the four generals of Souryu (in that the Masters were referring to the Four Great Malevolent Storms), you could consider some of them as amplifiers or catalysts and you could consider some as the amplified. It would be foolish to attempt to take down an amplified while the catalyst to its power is still in effect" Harry recalled Master Andrea's words.
"I see, so Apollo was an amplifier" he recalled Josec's words.
"Aeros, Aesakal and Apollo act as Raichuu's amplifiers and Raichuu in turn is Syren's amplifier. So our next order of business is to take down Aeros and Aesakal. Once they are down, Raichuu's power should be significantly reduced" he recalled Master Ayumi's words.
"I see, what the scientist is saying makes sense. Apollo was also an amplifier for Gargolem. Together with Aesakal, they serve as catalysts for the other storms" Harry thought.
"The good news is that recently, we've been noticing a drastic improvement in climate on a global scale. It's becoming more evened out and something akin to a reversal is taking place" the scientist said.
"What do you mean by something akin to a reversal?" someone asked.
"It means at the very least, climate within our four continents is becoming what we've always known it to be. I cannot speak for the other continents yet however if things are ever to go back to the way they were before, we have an obligation to help them all resolve their problems" the scientist said. "For that reason we need to know where these strangers will be acting next and develop the means needed to aid them in whatever they need to do. They have recently shown an interest in the continent of Deserts so we have begun to develop the means of aiding them" the scientist said.
"Whe-e-ew whew, we haven't even planned out yet how we're going to take down Aeros and they're already developing the means to combat him?" Master Fencer said with an impressed look in his eyes.
"What we have noticed is that the actions of these strangers is directly somehow tied to the end of the disaster plaguing the lands they journey to so we began researching into disasters plaguing the continent of Deserts. One thing that was predominant was the frequent occurrence of sandstorms" the scientist said.
"Looks like they've already located Aeros" Master Andrea said seriously.
The other Masters nodded.
"The sandstorms occur very close to the heart of the desert and gradually extend into the lands within the desert. Sandstorms however do not frequently occur if they ever do occur in lands abundant with vegetation and that is partially due to the ability of the roots of the plants to bind the soil firmly together, also to protect it by acting as a cover and a wind barrier. Therefore to deal with the sandstorms plaguing the continent of deserts…" the scientist said as he straightened his glasses till they were gleaming. "…we have to reclaim the continent of Deserts through massive afforestation projects" he said.
"How do you intend to achieve this?" Jo-lan asked not because he doubted their capacity to do this but because he was very interested in human ingenuity.
"That's a good question. The continent of Vung has recently begun to implement planting schemes that involve the use of greenhouses. The greenhouses are shelters that protect plants from adverse weather conditions. In the continent of Storms, we recently implemented a variation of the greenhouse which we've codenamed 'The Winter Greenhouse'. We are now in the process of developing a 'Summer Greenhouse' by making modifications to the 'Winter Greenhouse'. Our aim is to erect these greenhouses in numerous regions of even distance from one another within the continent of Deserts. As the plants within the greenhouses grow and thrive, they will affect soil conditions around the greenhouse gradually extending outwards creating a ripple effect till they eventually converge. That to a large extent is our plan" the scientist said.
"Impressive, they appear to have really thought this out" Jo-lan said.
The Masters and Students agreed.
The conference eventually ended. Jo-lan, the Masters and Students were glad they had attended and Estelle spent some time with her father who eventually spoke at length with Harry.