Heyvl followed Irina closely. They didn't care about sneaking around now. Their feet crunched in the snow below. The heat wave that came from the large opening had melted a thin layer of the white powder. Heyvl knew they had to tell Coria what had happened.

The sky was beginning to turn orange as the sun went closer to the horizon. The evening was settling, but it didn't make Heyvl feel calm as it did when he was in Lonava.

"I can't believe we left him back there," Heyvl finally said.

Irina stopped in her tracks and looked back him. "We would all be dead if we had tried. That general was powerful. I know you can't sense as Elementalists can, but trust me when I say that we didn't stand a chance."

"If we can't take one general, how do we have a glimpse of hope for taking the Emperor down?" Heyvl asked harshly. He felt a strange surge rush through him. Something was different.

"Look, I know you're mad. You and Jet had traveled together longer than when I joined you, but trying to stop a Soul Elementalist that powerful, in front of whatever it is we saw back there...we wouldn't have had any chance."

Heyvl knew she was right, but he didn't want her to be. His face was red. He wanted to punch something, or someone. Heyvl thought it was odd because he never felt violent like this.

"Let's back to Coria. Maybe she'll have a plan on what to do next," Irina reassured in her calm voice. It did make Heyvl feel better.

Trying to shake his rage, Heyvl followed Irina onward. The large mass of soldiers and caged caravans were beginning to emerge from the wall. By the time they reached the hill where Coria camped, it was a steady stream of Soul Empire men and women leading the caged people.

"What did you three do?!" Coria yelled as she saw them running. She noticed that Jet wasn't with them. Heyvl held his sword tightly. "Where's Jet?"

Heyvl couldn't answer. He looked to Irina to do so. The girl took in a deep breath. The run over to Coria had winded them both. "He was captured by a really powerful Soul Elementalist general. We couldn't stop him. He took him into the desert."

"A what? Oh my...if we're dealing with generals too, we have trouble. They're the elite of the Emperor's men," Coria explained. She saw the look on their faces. They didn't care about the general. They wanted to know her opinion on Jet. "You guys knew what you were getting into by doing what you did...but I'm glad to hear that Jet wasn't killed immediately. Seeing this trafficking, I vaguely understand what's going on. The Empire needs Spirit Elementalists, not Jet specifically. Let's hope that Jet's cover isn't blown. The general could assume he is just a random Spirit Elementalist that happened to have escaped the trafficking."

"You think so?" Heyvl asked hopefully.

"With how many they are hauling, I wouldn't doubt they need every single Spirit Elementalist they can get their hands on."

"So what do we do now?" Irina asked the scout.

"We still camp here. I have to get a rough number on how many soldiers are escorting and how many Spirit Elementalists are being taken. Did you two hear anything about why they need them?"

They both shook their heads. Coria nodded and looked back out to the line of purple cloaked men and brown and gray caravans. "We can't have a fire tonight if I want to keep a lookout. So stay in the caravan for now. I'll let you know when they're done."

Heyvl nodded slowly. He didn't want to be in the sight of Coria. He felt as if he disappointed her. Jet was the catalyst that started the chain of events and now he was gone. What else could he have done to prevent this? He wondered and replayed the wall scenario in his mind. He didn't do anything to the general. A part of him thought he might have sensed that the general was too powerful, giving him time to blast his Element, but how could he be sure? Wasn't it an Elementalist trait to sense other Elementalists? He let out a sigh as he climbed into the caravan.

Irina wasn't far behind. She watched the Lonavian slump down onto the bench. She recognized the signs of helplessness. She had been there before. Irina sat down across from Heyvl and watched as his head sunk into his hands.

There was silence for a long while. The sun set and the caravan grew colder. Irina stirred when she decided to pull the tarp of the back closed. The cold breeze immediately ceased. Heyvl finally looked up and gave her a nod. Their eyes had already adjusted from the darkness outside.

"You shouldn't blame yourself."

Heyvl looked back to the Crystal Elementalist. "I don't think you understand. I promised someone back home that I would look after Jet. This wasn't supposed to happen."

Irina frowned. "I do understand. I felt helpless every day that I was in the Crystal Kingdom. The raiders and bandits could occupy any farm town they wanted for however long. They killed people. They killed-," she hesitated, "they killed my parents. The Queen couldn't do anything about it..."

"I'm sorry."

Irina waved her hand to disregard the need for an apology. "I understand why she couldn't now. I wouldn't know that if it weren't for you and Jet. We had the power to change circumstances, all because a young Spirit Elementalist appeared outside your village."

A smile began to spread across Heyvl's face. They had caused change. The Queen was aware of the danger her villages and market towns were in. Lonava and the Kingdom also knew the Empire was up to no good.

"You're right. I'm sure we'll stop the Empire before they do anything to Jet," Heyvl said to Irina as he looked at the low glow of the sword next to him.

"We'll get him back. I'm sure he'll be fine. He's strangely strong for someone who doesn't know their Element," she chuckled.

"That he is."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Heyvl shivered slightly as he pulled his cloak closer around him. The caravan was warm enough, but the cold managed to still hold its icy grip on him. "Do you think the general threw him into one of those cages?" he finally asked to break the silence. His breath clouded in front of him.

"I don't know...There's a good chance of that. We might be able to follow him back to Calbar too."

Heyvl hoped that was the case. He wanted to do everything in his power to rescue Jet. He figured he would have to wait for Coria's evaluation on the situation. He tried to wait for her signal, but the darkness overtook him and he fell asleep.