Book 4 - The Homeseeker - Chapter 08 - Loss of Flame

Rep and Zalan approached the inert body of the Flame Elemental cautiously. It lay face up, its red, glowing eyes glazed over. Its robes danced and looked like they were slight, dying embers. It didn’t rustle in the breeze atop the volcano, as though it existed on a different plane than the world. Its smoldering face had a stillness reserved only for the dead. It looked uncanny and out of a nightmare. 

“Rep, is it
?” Zalan asked, not believing what he was seeing.

“I
 I believe so,” Rep confirmed, baffled.

“How?”

They approached the creature cautiously. Zalan was confused beyond understanding. Elementals weren’t supposed to be able to die. They weren’t even able to be touched. There had never been evidence of either phenomena before. Even in the books Rep and Zalan read about them, there was no mention of death or how one would ever pass away. As they got closer, Zalan wondered if it was somehow a trick. 

“Elemental?” Zalan asked. “I came to accept your challenge.”

The Flame Elemental’s body made no motion. 

“Elemental?” Zalan prodded.

“Zalan.”

“What? I wanted to know if this was part of the challenge or something,” Zalan said. 

“No, Zalan, look,” Rep pointed. 

They were standing over the body now. There was a large hole in its chest, like it had been shot through by a cannonball. Rep and Zalan stared in stunned silence at the image. Zalan swallowed hard, taking in the information with a sinking sensation in his stomach. 

“Did something kill this thing?” Zalan asked, his voice small. 

“I do not know.”

“I thought that Elementals couldn’t be touched. I saw you attack one, your fire went right through it. Even when I threw a bunch of lightning at a Bright Elemental, it had no effect. How did this one get a hole in it?” Zalan asked.

Rep nodded in agreement with the question, then drew his sword. Reaching forward slowly, he tried to poke the dead creature. Zalan watched with his breath held. The sword passed through it, as though it was nothing but a collection of mist. Rep waved the sword a few times, then thrust it deeper toward the creature’s head. Still, there was no movement. Even in death, Rep couldn’t affect the Elemental. 

“How did this creature die?” Rep asked, swallowing hard. 

“You think there’s an Artifact that can do that?”

“I have never heard of any such Artifact. If such a thing existed, it would be legendary. No, I have never heard mention of any Elemental dying. Ever. Not by ancient legend nor by errant rumor. Elementals do not die. Whatever this is, it is very new.” 

“You mean like a new monster?” Zalan asked. “Do new monsters just appear in the realm?”

“I am not familiar with the creation of monsters. But the spontaneous creation of new creatures is not something I have ever heard of. I think it is unlikely,” Rep said. 

“Then
” Zalan thought hard. He narrowed his eyes over the hole in the center of the Elemental. Even in death, its visage intimidated him. Or perhaps he was scared of the existence of something that could kill it. “I don’t understand at all.”

“Perhaps
 There is a chance that a different Elemental had a disagreement with this one,” Rep surmised. His nose scrunched slightly at his own explanation. Zalan could tell Rep wasn’t convinced by his own words.

“But if an Elemental came this way, wouldn’t the volcano have erupted. Natural disasters follow the Elementals wherever they go, right?” Zalan clarified.

“Perhaps there are ways for Elementals to travel that we have not yet discovered that do not include disasters? What if it moves without intending to migrate from its home?” Rep suggested. 

“Have you ever heard of that happening before?”

“I have not heard of any of this before,” Rep opened his palm at the image before them. “Neither have I heard of Elementals doing battle with one another.”

“Then
 There’s a definite chance it was killed by something other than an Elemental.”

“Indeed. And if it was not another Elemental, then a human must have come up with a way to do this.”

They both stared at the fatal wound in the dead creature. 

“We can’t touch them with weapons or Elemental Powers. There aren’t any Artifacts that let you interact with them. How else are you supposed to attack this thing?” Zalan said. 

“I do not know.”

They stared at the dead being for a few more moments of silence. Both Rep and Zalan were shifting uncomfortably in place, unnerved by the sight.

“What does this mean for your Elemental Power?” Zalan said. “Does it get weaker?”

Rep considered the question for a second. He raised a hand and summoned a tiny ball of flame in his palm. He rolled it around his knuckles, then threw it away. He redirected the flame and brought it into the floor. Then, using both hands, he emitted a giant fireball into the sky, like a catapult launching pure flame skyward. Zalan watched until it dissipated when Rep could no longer maintain its distance. Rep tilted his head thoughtfully.

“My power seems to be exactly the same. The Elemental’s life looks to have no bearing on the power it gives. But I fear this means that no one else will ever have access to this Elemental Power. Elemental Fire may become a rare breed.”

“What do you mean?” Zalan asked.

“Have you noticed the most common type of Elemental Power in this realm?” Rep asked. 

“Yeah, Elemental Fire, for sure. There were a lot of users in the Elemental Rage Tournament and it seems to come up most often,” Zalan replied.

“That was because of this single Flame Elemental. It was a known fact that this creature’s challenge was one of the most consistent. And it wasn’t very difficult to accomplish compared to most other Elementals. It did not migrate, nor did it turn away any challengers. Without this one
 Accessing Elemental Fire becomes significantly more difficult,” Rep said. 

“Aren’t there other Flame Elementals?” Zalan asked. 

“Certainly, but the only other Flame Elemental I knew of gave a challenge to walk through a tornado of fire.”

“Is that even possible?” Zalan asked. 

“Whatever the answer, it is not as simple as climbing this volcano,” Rep tapped a light foot on the earth. “This challenge has been done so many times that there is a method passed down by people that got the power themselves. Parents could teach children. Mentors to students. They could give advice to those seeking the power for as long as this Elemental lived. But no longer. Elemental Fire may become a rarity,” Rep said, sounding somewhat forlorn. 

Zalan blinked suddenly, remembering why they came to the volcano in the first place. The Flame Elemental had died before it could even issue him the challenge. 

“So, I can’t get a power? I’m stuck?” Zalan asked. 

Rep gave him a curt glance, but said nothing. Zalan could see how much patience Rep was practicing at the moment. Something extraordinary had occurred—the death of an Elemental—but Zalan only cared about his own lack of power. Zalan could see all of that in the quick movement of Rep’s eyes and it frustrated him. Because as much as he knew this was a much larger issue, he almost didn’t care. He desperately wanted an Elemental Power. More than he cared to dig into a new mystery the realm offered. 

“What do we do now?” Zalan asked. 

“We go back to the village and inform them of what we have discovered. And they will insult us and not believe us,” Rep said. 

“I mean
 yeah, that sounds about right. Shouldn’t we just skip that part? If they won’t believe us, then why tell them?”

“Because just because a truth is hard to believe does not make it any less true. And given enough time, I am certain they will confirm it themselves. We should feed them truth, even if it is bitter. We can try to stop Jade from challenging a dead Elemental and wasting more of her time. And we should tell the town, then we ask them if there are any other Elementals nearby,” Rep determined. 

“What are we gonna ask about other Elementals for? Are we checking for more dead ones?” Zalan asked. 

Rep looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“I thought the whole reason you got out of bed was to get yourself an Elemental Power. So long as we have the impressive speed of the Belt of Bolt, I see no reason why we should not continue searching for an Elemental to challenge,” Rep said. 

Zalan smiled slightly. He could always count on Rep.

“Right.” He nodded.

Though the matter was concluded, neither of them felt that it was right to leave the dead Elemental at that moment. They were staring at something that no man had ever seen before. Zalan had long stopped thinking of his phone in this realm, but at that moment he wished he could take a picture. It was like a historical site he wanted to preserve. Elementals could be killed. Rep was right. Even if people didn’t like it, they should know.

“How recently do you think it happened?” Zalan asked. 

“Within the past few days. There are new challengers at the base of the volcano almost every day. I think it is not bold to claim that a week does not go by without a challenger coming. If this had been going on for any longer than a few days’ time, someone else would have climbed the volcano to examine the area. The nearby town would have known of it.”

“So you really think we’re the first to discover this?”

Rep shrugged uncertainly. 

“Unless it was a man or woman who killed this creature. Then they would be the first,” Rep mumbled nervously. Zalan didn’t like the thought of one person holding that kind of power.

“Yeah, I guess we can’t really know any more than that,” Zalan said. 

They continued to stare for a few more seconds. Then, Rep turned his back to the creature. Zalan followed, beginning their journey back down the volcano. 

“This way,” Rep said. “We can ride down the side here. It will save us hours of time. The Elemental told me about this after granting me the Elemental Fire Power.”

Rep sounded surprisingly sad to Zalan. The nostalgic memory now included two who were dead. Fran and the source of Rep’s power. The death of the Flame Elemental had a subtle effect on him. Zalan remained quiet and followed closely. 

The edge of the volcano Rep led them toward was a steep slide of volcanic gravel. There were no handholds to climb up, but it looked like it was designed to be traveled down. Zalan could see footprints within and on the sides of the angled earth. It occurred to Zalan that the shape of the slide had been formed by the hundreds of people that went down the face of the volcano after having gained their power. It was an incredible indentation in the earth and Zalan could see the sheer number of people who had come here in the past. 

And no one would be able to come and learn of this exit any longer. There would be no more reason to climb a dangerous, active volcano covered in Flamestrikers. It made Zalan feel somewhat strange, a melancholy in his heart joining in Rep’s apparent sadness. Like he shared in the idea of loss. His power was stolen. And the opportunity of gaining power was stolen away from all the people that would come here. A good thing was taken away for no apparent reason.

Zalan frowned. He was never supposed to be around in the realm long enough to relate to the inhabitants of it. He thought he would escape long before serious events went down. But now he couldn’t help but see things from their perspective. He even wanted to prolong his stay here if it meant acquiring another Elemental Power. He considered that it might be nice to discover what killed the Elemental, if only to stop it from happening again.

By the time they reached the bottom of the volcano, Zalan felt a creeping darkness crawling over his heart. He hadn’t realized how much he was looking forward to having the power over fire until it was pulled out from under him. He already proved his Strength, but felt he needed the Elemental Power. It felt like a requirement for him to live. 

Life, itself, seemed less worthwhile without an Elemental Power.