Chapter -125: Fallen Ashes
The following day, Sarajin headed off to Canofloe ready to learn more about the element of Fire and hopefully, use the knowledge to tackle Magmankey's Trial.
The ash wasn't so thick today but the temperature was as bad as before, with heat that absolutely made Aquamoria's seem like an ember in comparison.
So, leaving his winter coat behind, Sarajin went to the designated meeting spot outside the fiery lands, where the temperature was mildest.
There he found Temporis sitting on a rock formation and paddling her feet in the air. When he came diving in close for landing she hopped upright and paced towards him with her hands behind her head.
"Morning, Sarajin!" She shouted, waving her hand up from behind cover.
"Hey, Temporis!" Sarajin greeted back, pacing forward a few steps upon landing. She had left her robe behind this time and switched out her pants for some shorts made of the same material.
Temporis leaned left and right, standing on one foot each time, all the while asking, "Aren't you missing someone?"
Sarajin looked over his shoulder for a moment and then rubbed behind his head with the usual smile, "Heh, yeah...Justek couldn't come with us today. He caught a cold."
"Really?" Temporis chuckled.
"Yeah. But he really, really wanted to be here with us."
"Ha! Four-eyes with a cold, I'd love to see that!" Temporis pulled her head back in laughter, then leaned forward and slapped both her knees, deflating into a sigh.
Once she was done she put her hands back behind her head and tilted to the side, "You sure you'll be ok with him glued to your side?"
"W-Well I didn't want to leave him behind, but he insisted I go."
"Eh, he's stubborn. I'm sure he'll be up and kicking again in a matter of days." Said Temporis confidently.
"You're right," Sarajin nodded, then gestured towards the thin ash cloud in the distance, "Are you ready to go, Temporis?"
"Ready?!" Temporis spat up a curt scoff, "I could barely get any sleep last night I was so ready! C'mon, let's go!"
She grabbed Sarajin by the wrist and pulled him forward, leaving him with a fluttering heartbeat and wobbly expression.
But she was quick to let go so they could move together at their own brisk pace. Sarajin put some wind around his body to help ward off the ash but the heat was its own separate issue.
He glanced aside at Temporis and asked her, "Do you want some wind to cool off with?"
She looked over her shoulder and then turned back with a shake of the head, "Nah I'm good."
"You sure? It's going to get hot in there."
"I can handle it." She insisted.
Sarajin lowered his brows and then, despite her vote of confidence, gestured his hand out to surround her with a light veil of wind.
She looked surprised when she glanced back and then over her body, with Sarajin stuttering as he rubbed the back of his head, "B-Better safe than sorry..."
"Geeeez," Temporis dully smiled and shook her head some more, "You can be such a softy, Sarajin."
"I can't help it." Sarajin said, feeling in a sour mood because of it.
"I didn't say it's a bad thing," Temporis chuckled, "Four-eyes could stand to learn a thing or two from you about that."
They then began to venture into the ash, revealing the state of Canofloe's village.
The land was spoiled by cracks filled with hot pressure but a vast majority of them were being covered up by the village's houses, which consisted of metal reinforced walls and charcoal covered roofs. It probably wasn't fun to live in them if you weren't a native.
"Huh, the shapes of these houses remind me a lot of the one's in Obscura." Sarajin commented.
"You'd put out a lot of sweat if you sat in one," Temporis said, turning around and gesturing playfully at his face, "Bet it'd clear out your skin though!"
Sarajin's face, already dripping with sweat, spread into a big, awkward grin before he commented, "N-No thank you."
Temporis let out a "Hmph!" as she pouted and then turned back around.
Sarajin then looked around and noticed that the people of Canofloe wore more clothes than the people of Cryofloe, with the women loving to have draping sleeves on their robes and sashes covered in ash, while the men enjoyed vests with charcoal buttons and foot long, baggy pants.
Their hair color primarily consisted of shades of red and orange with the occasional yellow and they looked pretty thin shaped overall.
There were a couple of men out with armor that was similar in design to their leader's, only with more bumps across their chest and shoulder plates.
What caught his eye immediately was that he didn't notice any spot where people trained, and there weren't any kids with weapons in their hands "playing" war.
It helped put Sarajin at ease to be here about as much as the cumbersome heat would let him.
Deeper into the village the ash started to change, looking brighter and more in line with what fire appeared as. But the flakes were small enough that they didn't have to worry about them touching down.
It gave the sky a slightly orange hue and sense of mysticism unlike any of the other Tribes.
But the scars of war still ran deep throughout the Tribe. There were buildings dedicated to housing the horses soldiers rode on, whose manes flickered on and off wildly as the stable hands tried to calm them down.
Then there was a building where the weapons were being stored, with their being enough overstock that they had to stuff many of them in soot covered barrels.
And of course, who could ignore the massive castle in the very back of the land? It was just as tall if not a little taller than Colrez's place and had multiple floors with sliding windows and a similar design mentality to the houses, just regal and larger than life.
It was armed with a few cannons near the top floors. Those strange weapons that lobbed magma on the battlefield were being stored in the back. Finally, the castle was surrounded by a thick stone wall that had been chiseled into to give it a rougher look, with metal bowls on top, each one armed with a thick candlelight.
Sarajin hesitated for a moment and Temporis turned around, catching onto his change in mood with a curt, "What's up?"
He craned his head back to look towards the castle with a drifting inquiry of, "I wonder what the leader is going to be like."
"I dunno," Temporis shrugged, "There's a lot of records on Colrez because the pomous warmonger shows off all the time but Valflame? He's rarely seen outside of his castle."
She waved her hand out and remarked, "He DOES share his castle with all his soldiers though."
Sarajin then turned his head around and commented, "Oh yeah, I did notice there weren't as many fancy houses close to the castle around here."
"Who knows, maybe Emberstache will be a more normal guy?" Temporis shrugged again, "We ain't gonna find out if you just drag your feet around."
Sarajin lowered his head with a smile, "You're right."
"Course I am!" Temporis shouted proudly, "When haven't I?!"
"Heh heh!" Sarajin smiled a little wider and then followed her further through the streets of Canofloe.
Since they had a little time to work with, Sarajin felt compelled to ask her, "Hey Temporis, I've been wondering for a while now..."
"Yeah?" Temporis said, her bluntness encouraging him to get his words out a little faster.
"Why do you always call Justek 'four-eyes'?"
"That's simple! Cause it's fun to come up with nicknames," Temporis then started giggling uncontrollably to herself, "And I know it gets on his nerves too!"
Sarajin had some mixed emotions, leaning more towards confusion, "But you also...don't dislike him?"
Temporis threw her head up and proclaimed, "Nah he's an alright guy."
She then turned around with a puzzled smirk and said, "Had that been bugging you for a while or something?"
Sarajin hastily shook his head and remarked, "N-No it's just..."
He sheepishly waved his hand out, "I thought a nickname was something you gave to people you like."
His cheeks started to turn red and Temporis' eyes widened, at first leading her to snicker before she covered her mouth and burst into laughter, "Oh my god! You're feeling left out, aren'tcha?!"
Sarajin waved his hands up vigorously and shouted, "N-No, not at all!"
"You are!" Temporis pointed at his face and giggled some more.
Sarajin threw his flustered face out and puffed his cheeks grumbling, "Y-You got the wrong idea, Temporis!"
She put her hands behind her head and sighed to settle down a little, "I gotta be honest though, I've just never thought of a good nickname for you."
"'Air head' is too obvious and kinda mean," Temporis closed her eyes and went deeper in thought, "Uhhhh, how about cotton puff?"
Sarajin smiled and waved his hand out with a light chuckle, "Somebody already beat you to that."
"Really?! Drat, I don't have any other ideas!" She waved her shoulders up in defeat.
"Didn't you call me the 'Elemental Overlord' when we first met?" Sarajin remarked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I guess I did," Temporis shrugged, "But that's too cool of a name for you."
Sarajin slumped slightly and muttered, "You...don't think I'm cool?"
"There's like, levels of coolness. You just happen to be at the bottom right now." Temporis said.
Sarajin slumped some more and Temporis groaned, before then snapping her fingers out at him, "I got it! How about you try giving me a nickname?"
"M-Me?" Sarajin pointed at himself and gasped, then shook his head a lot, "I'd rather just keep using your normal name."
"Oh c'mon, have a little edge for once!" Temporis prodded him playfully, "I'm not saying you use it all the time! I'm just kinda curious to know what ya think of me!"
"W-Well..." Sarajin rubbed the back of his head some more and began looking her over.
"There's a lot I wish I had the courage to say..." But in lieu of his courage, he found himself drawn to her dangling ponytails and was struck with inspiration.
"...Bunny." He blurted out quietly.
"Bunny?" Temporis replied with a curious tilt of the head.
Sarajin affirmed his decision with a nod, "You've got a lot of energy and love to hop around. A-and your hair kinda dangles like a bunny's ears too. P-Plus you're..."
He slowly lowered his voice until it was a barely audible mumble, "Cute."
Temporis' eyes sprung wide open and with a few chuckles she turned around with her hands behind her head, "You know...I really like that!"
"Y-You do?" Sarajin replied.
"Yeah! See, you aren't bad at this nickname stuff!" The whole time she said this, she was hiding a light pink blush in her cheeks.
Sarajin closed his eyes and grinned awkwardly, "T-Thanks, but I don't want to make a habit out of it."
Temporis nodded and then threw her hands down, "Well enough of that distraction. Let's get a move on!"
She hurried along with her bunny-like feet and Sarajin followed close behind, the heat starting to make his sweats drip off his chin.
A couple more minutes of walking though and they arrived near the foot of the castle. There were no stairs leading into the castle but much like Colrez's palace, there were two guards standing beside the entrance.
They had a sword in a sheath behind their backs and a shoulder cloth made of horse hairs. Their helmets had a cross like gap to expose their faces and made them look more human, despite their presently statue-like stances.
Sarajin took a moment to step back and breath, interrupted by Temporis patting him roughly on the back a couple times and saying, "It'll be fine. If push comes to shove, I'll sneak you in with my Drive."
Sarajin smiled and whispered, "L-Let's not get into any trouble."
Sarajin swallowed hard and then walked on up to the guards. The two began to reach for their hilts with one of them remarking as politely as they needed to, "Halt Outsiders, what brings you before Lord Valflame's castle?"
Temporis walked a couple steps ahead of Sarajin and told them, "We're here to talk about the war between you guys and those coldheads on the other side. Do ya mind dropping the hostility and letting us in?"
The two guards glanced at one another clearly whisked off their feet by her forwardness. They leaned in towards each other and exchanged some whispers. Following that, they slowly took their hands away from their hilts.
"You'll find our leader on the middle floors tending to his men," One guard commented, "But do not cause any trouble, understood?"
"Got it!" Temporis shouted, leading the way for their entrance into Valflame's palace.
The front door slid right open and the inside was dimly lit by candles on the walls. It made for a relaxing atmosphere but also, made for a melancholic vibe once they stepped foot inside.
The floors were made up of complex patterned tiles and there was a stone staircase in the back that led up to the second floor.
In the corner was a cauldron that a few people were gathered around, kneeling down with their hands clutched in prayer.
The fires in the cauldron were kindling with a light crackle and the people's prayer could be heard once they got closer.
"May thy soul find rest under the wings of flame..."
One praying soul broke down crying and covered their tearful faces with their hands, the two nearby patting her back to offer their condolences.
Sarajin's stare lingered on them for a while after they arrived at the stairs, with Temporis merrily hopping her way up to the top.
He followed her up a few moments later and here, found hallways leading to other quarters of the castle, each one housing the families of soldiers. Their shadows could be seen faintly through the thin paper doors and their hunched over looks suggested there was sorrow being shed.
The stairs to the third floor crossed beside where they got up from and they quickly made their way up to another housing section. But on their way up they had to hop back as a marching line of robed women cradled colorful clay jars against their chest.
Each was unique in that the outline of a different face had been burned on. Tears trickled down the women's cheeks and one of them even kissed the lid of the jar.
There was more noise coming from higher up so before the melancholy got the better of him, Sarajin followed Temporis up to the fourth floor.
There they found another housing district but some of the doors had been slid open. There they could wind a couple of the soldiers with their armor shed and bandages wrapped around their chests and shoulders, getting tended to by their kids and wives.
However, some commotion from one of the rooms drew Sarajin away from the stairs, where he happened upon a man on his knees before a pregnant wife and what appeared to be her lover, resting on a soft, pillowy bed.
The man's distinct armor made it clear he was Valflame, leader of Canofloe, even if his helmet was off at the moment.
The man took a slow, solemn bow and said with a strained whisper "I'm sorry" as the woman bawled her eyes out, begging and calling out the name of her love as those tears fell upon a wounded, unmoving corpse.
Sarajin was stunned, not by the sight of death, but just how different it was treated in this place.
Valflame stayed by this woman's side for a couple minutes and let her cry into his chest, aiding her grief with words of comfort, "I will remember Zhong until my flames burn out. He was as strong as he was courageous...I-If only he had a better commander at his side."
This was a man who, mere days ago, was fiercely matching Colrez blow for blow, now kneeling, barely able to hold his voice together.
Eventually Valflame stood and left the woman to grieve. Upon turning around he stopped in place and looked tiredly at his two young guests.
His sorrowful gaze tried to regain a little of his lost spirit as he remarked, "...Pardon me, I didn't know we had visitors. Though, you may have chosen a poor time to come here."
"...I know," Sarajin looked around the room for just a bit before remarking, "You must have lost a lot of men in that battle."
"You witnessed it?" Valflame murmured, enticed by a growing sense of curiosity, "...I hope this isn't too forward of me but...Given your clothes I must ask...Who are you?"
"Sarajin Stratos, sir." He replied with a bow.
"And my name's Temporis Aurora! Pleasure to meet you!" Temporis declared with her hands resting comfortably behind her head.
"Stratos?" Valflame rubbed his chin and Sarajin cracked a terrible grin.
"You...might know about my dad." He forced himself to say, just to get that out of the way.
"Hmmm, yes, someone with that surname definitely was here a long time ago," Valflame put his hand down to his sheath and laid it down non-aggressively, "But I'm more interested in the reports I've gotten recently about a boy with a poncho who has been seen traveling all over the land."
"H-Huh?" Sarajin stuttered.
Temporis leaned in and whispered, "Wow, seems your reputation's grown a bit, Sarajin."
Sarajin threw a surprised look her way and then following a shrug, looked at Valflame and told him, "Well there's a good reason for that, sir. I'm trying to stop the war between all the Tribes."
Valflame's brows shot up and his pose became a little antsy, "S-Stop the war?"
Sarajin firmly nodded in confidence, "That's right. By showing everyone that we're not so different from one another."
"Hmmm..." Valflame closed his eyes for a few brief seconds and then shook his head with a sigh, "It is a wonderful sounding dream, but that's all it is...A dream, detached from reality."
Sarajin grimaced and lost a bit of his confidence in the process, "What do you mean?"
Valflame opened his eyes and had a tired expression throughout, "We can't just stop fighting on a whim. Our Titan has led us to fight for our own survival."
"Pffft...!" Temporis blurted out, throwing her hands down and shouting in disgust, "Your Titan is an asshole who is just using you for his own sick amusement!"
"...What did you just say?" Valflame sputtered out.
Sarajin took a step forward and hastily remarked, "I-It's true sir. Yesterday I climbed up the mountain and talked with both Cryofloe and Canofloe's Titans and that's what they said."
"Hmmm..." Valflame crossed his arms and looked mildly perturbed as he whispered, "And did you approach Colrez with this information?"
Sarajin shook his head.
Valflame then stood upright with a strong, regal presence and gestured his hand out, speaking calmly to the two, "Say I did choose to believe what you're saying. Would it stop me or my people from having to fight for our lives against Cryofloe's forces?"
Sarajin hesitated to admit it, but he was right, "...No."
"I have difficulty believing you even climbed the mountain to begin with," Valflame said gently, "If you could offer me proof of one of the Titans' Conduit Forms, then maybe..."
Sarajin sprang up and leaned out, gesturing his hand towards him enthusiastically, "Actually, that's another reason we came here. Your Titan agreed to give me their Conduit Form if I managed to climb their volcano. So I was hoping somebody around here would be able to teach me how to handle Fire so I can climb it."
"Climb the volcano?!" Valflame sputtered, "Don't be ridiculous. It's too dangerous for our people, let alone an Outsider."
"You'd be surprised what kind of danger Sarajin's gotten through already," Temporis said with a smug smile, "How bad could it be?"
"One misstep into the magma flows and you won't even feel the flesh burning off your body." Valflame said.
Sarajin and Temporis let out a tiny gulp. Valflame then shook his head and said tearfully, "And this land doesn't need anymore ashes."
He was about to turn away when Sarajin stepped forward and pleaded, "Then help us out so someday, you won't have to mourn the dead anymore!"
Valflame froze with his eyes trembling. He looked away and shook his head, whispering in a bitter tone, "I wish I could just drop my sword, Sarajin..."
"But if I do, then who else will raise their arms to shield the guiltless?" He walked towards the mournful cries further down the hall, which drowned out his final words: "I'm sorry..."
Sarajin bit his lower lip and then threw his head down with a grunt, squeezing his fists by his hips.
Temporis sighed and then put her hands down as well, "He's got a point..."
"...It felt like I was getting through to him." Sarajin remarked.
"Well unless he winds up believing that his Titan is a small furry bastard I don't think he's going to stop fighting anytime soon."
She then turned to him and put a finger to his chin to raise his head, "Let's get out of here. It's too gloomy for my taste."
Sarajin gave a weak nod before the two of them made their way down the stairs and exited the castle with little fanfare.
Their bodies were full of sweat so they sauntered off to some shade between the wall and a nearby house to cool down a bit and plan out their next move.
Temporis plopped onto her butt and groaned. Sarajin provided the two of them some water to rehydrate with his Conduit Form and after they had a little more energy to spare, Sarajin came up with the first thought.
"How am I going to handle the volcano without any elements when it's so hot...?"
"It's NOT going to be easy, that's for sure," Temporis remarked, paddling her feet along the ground, "But there's one thing we can do to mitigate the heat. Canofloe has their own Atelier we can use."
"Then let's stop there before we head towards the volcano."
Temporis nodded but then mentioned, "Still, it's a very long climb up and I don't think any 'fairy' is going to be there to carry you to the top if you run into trouble."
"Well..." Sarajin looked up at the sky and wondered, "There's more visibility here than in Cryofloe...Do you think you'd be able to keep an eye on me while I climb?"
Temporis smiled and patted Sarajin a couple times on the back, "Sure thing, Sarajin."
"Alright, how about this then?" Sarajin stood up and she followed right away, with him pumping his fists up by his chest and remarking, "Let's just see how far I can make it up the volcano and we'll try to come up with some plans after that!"
"Ok, let's do it!" Temporis threw her hand out and after a brief pause, Sarajin smiled and slapped his hand into hers so they could shake firmly on it.
Thus they made their way to Canofloe's Atelier, which had an almost identical look to Cryofloe's with a greater focus on reds. There they took turns dipping their clothes in so they'd be prepared for the higher temperatures.
And it was an effective shield against the heat, preventing them from sweating as long as they remained in the village.
...But they would have to venture out away from this comfort zone and towards the mighty volcano whose shadow loomed over all the land.
And there, Sarajin would be confronted with his toughest trial thus far...
Next Time: Boiling Blood