Lithoniel

There was a reason if the tribes were divided, separated by hundreds of leagues. And that reason was just one: food. The Embersea was a strange and harsh land, bigger than the human realm in the south, but almost completely depopulated. Since the soil was barren, scorched and dead, nothing grew there.

Which meant the only way to find food was through hunting. However, the animals who lived here weren't deer or boars. They were no prey, but predators, monsters like the Zaruk. Granted, they usually were much smaller and weaker than the tyrant of the Embersea, but the principle was the same. Maybe it was a natural evolution after the Cataclysm completely changed the landscape and destroyed the habitat of most native animals, but all the beasts that lived in the Embersea had something in common; they were incredibly dangerous and never left the mountains.

Over the years, the elves created countless tactics to deal with the monsters and yet, their numbers kept shrinking and every year there were fewer of them. Under Naevys' leadership, their tribe survived and even thrived, but many clans completely disappeared, absorbed by other stronger tribes, or wiped out by someone much worse than monsters like the Zaruk, the rivers of fire or the harsh winters. The humans.

"Maybe they are raiding them. That's why the West ridge tribes are migrating." Kolvar suggested. "Maybe the humans intend to sell them in the markets of the eastern continent."

It was the middle of the morning, a couple of hours after they'd left the tribe.

"I don't think so." Rolim denied. "That's not one of their usual routes."

Lithoniel nodded, "The west ridge is too far from the big bridge of stone, what the humans call the Brimgate."

"Maybe they came by sea." Kolvar insisted.

"You really should have paid more attention to what the Loremaster explained during her lessons." Rolim chided, and Kolvar frowned.

That frown soon became a full-blown scowl.

"They call it frozen sea for a reason. It..."

"...is not navigable, especially when we are so close to winter." Lithoniel said, finishing his sentence so naturally, they seemed like an old married couple.

"What?" She asked seeing Kolvar had a strange expression on his face; it looked a lot like anger mixed with a bit of resignation like he gave up on something.

"Since when do you finish each other's sentences?" He asked with bitterness before rushing ahead and leaving the two of them behind.

"Kolvar..." She started to call him, but Rolim grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"Leave him alone. He has to blow off some steam."

"Please, go after him." She said. It was the first day, and they were still in the middle of nowhere, but the plains weren't safe as they used to be. "It'll be getting dark soon."

Rolim sighed before giving her a stiff nod. "Fine, I'll keep an eye on him."

Most of the trip continued along the same lines. Rolim or Lithoniel would say or do something to set him off, though most of the time they didn't even realize it, and Kolvar would run off. It was the morning of the second day when Lithoniel decided they had to deal with the situation.

"Maybe we should take a step back. You know...give him some time to get used to the idea."

Rolim, however, wasn't on the same page. "And why should we do that?"

"Rolim...you know we hurt him."

"No, Lithoniel, we didn't, and denying the truth won't solve anything. My brother has to learn he can't throw a tantrum when he doesn't get his own way."

"We are his family..."

"Exactly, and it's our fault if he is like that. We cuddled him too much."

"Maybe you're right, but we have we can't afford this rift to grow even larger and become something worse. Not now. If we..."

"No, Lithoniel. Don't even try. I can't do what you ask."

"Can't or won't?" She asked and when he didn't answer she continued. "At least don't rub his nose in our happiness." Lithoniel said with frustration.

Since the day that night, there had been a drastic change in their relationship. They had been quite cautious, at the beginning at least. But as time went on Rolime became so aggressive he didn't miss any chance to spend some quality time with her.

"You have to stop. Your brother is not an idiot, Rolim. If you keep doing it..."

"Doing what, Lithoniel?" He teased.

She gave him a dirty look. "You know what I mean."

"Do I? I don't think so. Why don't refresh my memory?"

"Rolim, I'm serious." She insisted.

He took a step back, his expression sobering, "So am I. think you won't achieve anything if we do it your way."

"Maybe not, but at least we can try." She pleaded. "Please? Just for a day or two."

His jaw twinged. "Fine, but don't get your hopes up. This won't solve anything."

Rolim was a good judge of character, and but he was wrong this time. Kolvar's behavior started to change as soon as they distanced themselves a bit. On the other hand, Rolim was angry now. She didn't like it, but it seemed a fair trade to her. At least she didn't have to worry about Kolvar anymore. However, the fragile peace they'd gained didn't last long. It was the morning of the third day after they had left the tribe when they saw it.

The sky.

It's the middle of the morning, but it was dark, pitch black like during nighttime. In the Embersea the skies were usually gray, but those clouds were black, thick and grim.

And not just that...

Lithoniel could feel that smell of rotten eggs hitting her nostrils as they grew closer to the mountains. It was like a punch in the guts. It was strong, much stronger than usual.

It's almost like we are on the Asp's ridge. No...it's even stronger than that. Wait a second...the cloud and that smell...

And then it dawned on her.

A volcano! It was the only explanation. But how is this possible? We are still miles away from the West Ridge.

"What's going on?" In the meanwhile, Kolvar was asking Rolim.

"Fire, fire from the mountains." Rolim answered, his tone a bit solemn.

But if the oldest brother was calm, the youngest one was the exact opposite.

"We are still too far away." He said a bit too quickly, his voice shrill and his eyes big and scared.

"Rolim is right. It's a volcano." Lithoniel confirmed.

"What we do now?" Kolvar asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

"We keep going." She answered, but Rolim didn't agree with her this time.

"We have to keep our strength, Lithoniel. I don't think a forced march is a good idea."

"If what I think is true, we have no time to waste."

Rolim didn't rebut this time. It was late in the afternoon when they reached the West Ridge. Lithoniel thought she was prepared, she thought she knew what was going on, but what she saw exceeded all her expectations.

The entire land in front of them seemed on fire, the mountains like a red boiling tide.

"W-What...is this?"

It was Kolvar. He was completely terrified.

"A nightmare" Rolim said, his face grim.

Lithoniel agreed with him. She had never seen anything like that. In the Embersea vulcanoes were everywhere, but even in the Asp Ridge, a mountain range way larger than the West Ridge, there weren't more than two or three of them active at the same time.

But here...it's like there are ten or more volcanoes spitting fire at full power.

"Lithoniel, what do you want to do?"Rolim asked.

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Do you want to continue?" It was a question, but from his tone, Lithoniel understood what he thought about it.

"Of course."

"Don't tell me you want to go there?" Kolvar interjected. "It' an inferno down there!" He was starting to sound a bit hysterical.

"We have to..."

"We can't go that way, Lithoniel" Rolim interrupted her.

"He is right, Lithoniel." Kolvar reinforced the message. "Besides, now we already know something is really happening here. Something big. Why don't we go back and relay what we discovered to the Loremaster?"

Lithoniel shook her head. "It's not enough."

"Are you joking? This," He said pointing at the red tide. "Is not enough?!"

"It's just a theory. We have no proof, Kolvar. We found no tracks and..."

"It's a waste of time! You know the duststorms wiped them clean!"

"Yes, and that's why I need to see it with my own eyes. There has to be some proof of their activities if they are preparing to attack us."

"But so far we found nothing."

"Right. But if..."

"No, Lithoniel." Rolim said, his tone firm. "I indulged you so far, but what you want to do is not being brave, it's suicide."

"Listen to him, Lithoniel." Kolvar said.

Lithoniel ignored him. "So what do you suggest?" She asked Rolim. "Do you want to go back? And then what?"

Rolim furrowed his brow.

"I'm doing this because I think is the best course of action for the tribe. Every life is important, but even if by some strange stroke of luck, we manage to find our people and apprehend their scouts, it'll be all useless if the West Ridge's tribe attack us."

"I'm sorry to say this Lithoniel." Kolvar said. He seemed a bit calmer. "But I'm not sure about your invasion's theory."

"You don't believe me" She said, a bit shocked. Maybe it was because Kolvar had always been on her side, but she was a bit hurt he didn't trust her anymore.

Kolvar looked conflicted. "Lithoniel, I believe in what I can see. So far we didn't find any tracks or indications..."

"You just said the dust storms wiped them clean." She reminded him.

"Yes, and...maybe they did. Or maybe...there were none to begin with."

"Kolvar, I understand if you don't trust me anymore. I really do, but I'm right this time."

Kolvar opened his eyes wide. "Lithoniel! I never said that..."

"It's fine, Kolvar, really. I don't ask you to trust me, I understand if you don't. I just want you to be objective. If what you said is true and those responsible for the missing people are just stragglers, why did they start kidnapping our people?"

"I..."

"I think she is right. Kolvar, use your head, not your heart." Rolim interjected. "That goes for you too, Lithoniel. What kind of traces do you expect to find in that hellhole?"

"I...d-don't know. But we have to keep trying."

"Throwing our lives away won't help." Rolim scolded.

"So, what do you suggest?" She asked.

"We know that they came from here, but I really doubt the rest of their tribe is still inside the mountain range, don't you think?"

Lithoniel slowly nodded, "Right."

"An entire tribe moving leave tracks behind, Lithoniel. They'll have children and old people, hundreds if not thousands of tents. If you're right and they want to attack us, they won't be far from here. You can be sure of it."

"So you mean..."

"I mean they are still in the area. We came from the north, and we didn't find them. But if we go south, circling around the West Ridge's border..."

"We may find them."

"Yes."

"I don't mean to burst your bubble, but we already lost three days to come here, and we barely slept." Kolvar sounded annoyed. "We'll need at least two days to complete the trip you are suggesting. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Lithoniel gave him a stiff nod. "You're saying this is our last chance to go back."

"There is still time, Lithoniel." He tried to persuade her. "We can find proof of..."

"Don't try to convince her, little brother. It's useless, she has already decided."

"Kolvar, you can turn back if you want. I am sure that if you talk with the Loremaster..."

"I never said that Lithoniel. Do you want to continue? Fine, but don't think you can leave me behind. It won't work, not this time." He said, and without further ado, he started walking again soon disappearing into the darkness.

"Stubborn." Lithoniel muttered, shaking her head.

She heard a strange sound and turned to look a Rolim just to discover he was laughing at her.

She glared at him." What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. "It's just funny to hear you, of all people, saying he is stubborn."

Lithoniel narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying I'm stubborn?"

"Far be it from me, Nighstalker's successor" He said with a bow, but he was grinning. "Now, if you'll excuse me" He continued, his tone playful. "I'd better see if I can find my brother."

Lithoniel looked at his retreating back and despite everything, she smiled. That until she looked up, and saw the magma coming out the vulcanoes. It was no threat to them. However, it was a rare spectacle, beautiful and terrifying, no doubt about that.