Chapter 7: Initium
So it started. Halo, Magpie, Lossius, and French all waved to Polar and Eve the next day as they departed.
"I'm sorry for setting your kitchen on fire, Polar!" Magpie shouted. Polar merely shook her head.
"If he comes back alive, I'm going to laugh," Polar stated, laughing. Eve was in her red cloak, looking down to them as they began to walk. She was concerned, definitely. "It's strange how Magpie could be so light-hearted even when Mikeland has been brought to its knees." She looked at Eve, then traced where eyes were looking. Lossius walked at the head of the pack, carrying his backpack full of food.
"Oh..." Polar said, realizing something. "Hey, Eve?" She turned on cue.
"What happened between you and Lossius last night?" Polar asked, raising an eyebrow. Eve immediately blushed and looked away.
"N-Nothing."
"That's BS."
"It. Was. Nothing!" Eve glared at her. Polar could've swore that she saw red flicker in Eve's eyes. She backed up slowly.
"Right, right, right. Nothing." Polar said, scratching the back of her head, laughing nervously. They were then interrupted by a rustle of wind from above. They saw a dark figure fly past them.
They walked for a few days, finally reaching the outskirts of Mikeland. It had began to become cold. Light traces of snow lay on the ground as they walked onward. Their leather clothing managed to keep them warm in these conditions. Magpie continued to try to conjure some Fire to warm himself up. The other three kept their distance. Luckily, over the past few nights, they were not attacked by any monsters. Shows that it will still take some time before monsters would begin to spawn.
"Why didn't they block off the caves, exactly?" Magpie asked, gripping onto his arms to contain warmth. The Sun was a light-yellow, the sky a nice blue. Unlike in Mikeland, where the Sun glowed red from the dark cloud cover. Lossius remembered how most of the land was bathed in red light.
"They didn't because the Amethyst was supposed to protect the land, idiot," French explained, not bothering to look back at Magpie. Magpie grimaced.
"Hey, I'm sorry for not noticing sooner." Magpie looked to his side, away from the group.
"I have Water, so I suggest you don't make any stupid moves." French stated.
"Fire can defeat Water if it's more concentrated," Lossius explained, also hugging himself to stay warm, "Von explained that to us just days after the beginning of training. The Water could evaporate."
"Are you saying that he has more power than me?" French accused, although his voice was not as offended as one would think.
"It's normal for them to conflict, Lossius," Halo said, shaking his head slowly. He was the first to succumb to the cold. He was shivering. He WAS the youngest of the group, so they weren't surprised. Lossius stopped walking, causing the others to stop. He then opened his backpack. He licked his finger then raised it high. Using his Air, he managed to concentrate on the specific changes in air current. He then looked forward, noticing a mountainous area.
"We must head to those mountains as soon as possible," Lossius said, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out four leather cloaks. "Eve made these for us." He gave each of them a cloak, and they all placed them around themselves.
"Wow, it's comfy," French observed, moving back and forth as well, "and mobile." Lossius nodded, shutting his backpack and putting it on his back. He then tied his cloak. It had become noticeably colder. With each exhale, his breath turned to vapour. It raised into the greying sky. French took off one of his gloves, raising a palm to the sky.
"I sense a great amount of precipitation in the air, Lossius," he said.
"Yes," Lossius replied, "there will be a low pressure system swooping in any moment." Halo placed a hand on the ground, closing his eyes.
"The ground's temperature is steady," Halo stated, focusing harder. He then opened his eyes, looking to the west. Gray, fluffy clouds were rolling in, "I feel an increase in heat over in the distance." Magpie looked to the west as well, walking a few steps in that direction.
"Means snow is accumulating." Magpie concluded, flinging his cloak to cover his front.
"A blizzard," Lossius presumed. "We must make it to the mountains in time!" They then began to run. A blizzard out in No Man's Land could be deadly. A million different thoughts ran through Lossius' mind as they ran. What if they didn't make it in time? Maybe Magpie could cast a kind of shield, to keep them warm? No, that wouldn't be possible. The winds would be too great. Maybe Lossius could cast a shield of Air that would push outward, allowing Magpie's Fire to be unaffected by the winds? Again, that wouldn't be possible. That would have to involve Lossius pushing constant Air out of his palms, which would interfere with the shield. Maybe Halo could create a shelter underground? No. They would lose oxygen too fast. Then the thought of oxygen came to Lossius' mind. That was another limitation for the Fire shield. It would suck up too much oxygen, causing them to suffocate. Maybe French could use his Water to create a shield? No, too inefficient. The only kind of shield that wouldn't require constant replication would be...
He palmed his face. As if the thought hadn't come across his mind sooner. His thoughts were all over the place. He stopped running. They weren't going to make it in time. Winds were starting to become too strong, and snow began to fall in great amounts.
"Stop!" Lossius yelled over the howls of the wind. The other three stopped, just ahead of him. Visibility was beginning to be lost. Lossius gestured Halo to come over.
"An Earth shield?" Halo confirmed, Lossius nodding. Halo nodded then placed his palms on the ground, through the sheet of snow. He then exhaled with a yell, exerting force into the ground. Rock sprouted in a circle around them from the ground. It went outwards, then inwards, reconnecting at the top. They were in a dark sphere now. Lossius took out a wooden torch.
"Magpie," Lossius alerted Magpie, "spark some flames onto the torch in my hand." A few steps could be heard. French had moved back a bit. Magpie shook his head, then snapped his fingers, a flame sprouting from his palm. It instantly flooded the room with orange light. He then placed the flame over the torch, setting it on fire. Lossius jammed the metal stand into the ground for the torch to sit on. Meanwhile, Halo and French were creating tiny holes for oxygen in the sphere. This allowed some grey light to flood the little 'corner' of the sphere.
"So now we wait?" French said, brushing his hands against each other.
"Now we wait." Lossius opened up his backpack, breaking out a can of tuna. He handed each of them a can. Each of them contained different kinds of food.
"So," Magpie began, already halfway through his can, "how long will it take us, exactly?" Lossius cleared his throat after swallowing some tuna.
"About six months." Lossius said. The three of them sort of drooped, the atmosphere becoming very dark and pensive.
"Six months, huh..." Halo said, laying back against the sphere's wall. "That's a long time." All of them nodded. Yeah.
"Is there really nothing out there?" Lossius wondered, placing his can down. He then locked his hands behind his head, laying down. The winds howled from the outside. The heat of the torch resonated a few feet away from it. They were grouped around it. It had become silent. Dead silent.
"No civilization? Nobody?" Lossius questioned, breathing deeply now, his eyes shut. French shrugged. "You never know. There could be anything."
"I kind of hope we run into something interesting on the way," Magpie said, lying down as well. "I mean, that would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?" Lossius nodded.
"Careful what you wish for," French warned, "because if we find anyone, they may not have the friendliest of intentions." That was true. This was No Man's Land. There IS no law. It's every man for himself.
