Chapter -110: Managing the Temperature
Sarajin and Temporis went and took residence atop a rocky spire where they couldn't be bothered by anyone or anything besides each other.
From there they could see all the Tribes on the Southern side of the planet and Sancturia, along with all the Rot Walkers wandering around.
Both of them sat carefully on the edge overlooking the west and Temporis started paddling her feet in the air with a floaty weight to her movements.
They couldn't have asked for a better locale than this to relax and blow off some steam. No one to judge them. No one to drag them down. This was what true freedom looked like.
But while Temporis was throwing away all her obligations to enjoy the sun and breeze, Sarajin seemed to be shackling himself to them.
She caught him muttering under his breath with his face scrunched up, deep in thought. She narrowed her eyes and teased him tenderly, "Drop the worries for a moment and relax, Sarajin. You're going to get gray hairs."
"I-I was just thinking about Canofloe and Cryofloe, and-" Sarajin was interrupted suddenly by Temporis planting a hand on his chest and forcing the two of them to lay on their backs together.
"Relax." She said in a firm, almost motherly voice.
She then put her hands behind her head while Sarajin laid his flat atop his poncho. Temporis took a deep breath and sighed, "Dontcha just looooove the sunlight? How it's always there for ya, even on a bad day?"
A smile slowly came onto Sarajin's face, "Yeah. One time when I was talking to Twinbeak, they told me that the sun would sometimes hide behind the clouds and cast shadows across the planet."
"Doesn't sound relaxing at all."
"I don't think it'd be any different than napping under the trees with Ividae." Sarajin pointed out with a light chuckle.
"Yeah but the leaves make everything colorful and glistening! Clouds are just big, gray, poofy nuisances."
"You're saying this to the guy who lives in the sky?" Sarajin said with his brows raised humorously.
Temporis turned her head and grinned, "Do ya like clouds?"
"They make for comfy beds in an emergency."
"Not everyone's lucky enough to take advantage of that comfort, Sarajin." Temporis pointed out, slightly envious.
"Hey, you asked." Sarajin joked back.
"Heh heh heh! Yep! You got me," But she didn't seem to have seriously taken offense to that, and returned to looking up to the sky, "I don't want to imagine what this planet would look like without its sun."
"There's always some light in the sky looking down on us," Sarajin reached up and pretended to grasp the sun in his hand, "Guess that's why...I can always get up every day feeling hopeful."
"You said it, Sarajin." Replied Temporis in a soothed tone.
After they took a few moments to sit back and relax, she let out a light cough and said, "Actually, I've seen what happens when a planet doesn't have a sun."
"Huh?" Sarajin didn't quite know how to react to that coming out of nowhere.
"When I traveled through time, uhhh, one and only time of course, I somehow wound up on another planet."
"A-Another planet?" Sarajin replied.
"Oh yeah there's plenty of other planets out there! Though not all of them have life on them," Temporis said, sounding almost smart for a bit before returning right back to her spry young self, "This one did though! It was inhabited by a bunch of bug people."
"Bug people?"
"Yeah like, imagine if moths were bigger, like, half the size of us bigger." She said, stretching her arms out to reference the scale.
"...I don't think I'd want to imagine a moth that size." Sarajin said, nervously scratching the side of his face.
"They were kinda cute actually! They didn't speak much but they seemed to understand me. It was a pretty barren planet though. They lived in muddy hills and they didn't have a blue sky, a sun, or even a moon. All they got were stars."
"How were they...or will they...or..." Sarajin's gaze froze up, looking a little dizzy from confusion.
"I wanna say it's 'were'. I dunno it just sort of...felt 'past-y'," Temporis waved her fingers around with whimsy, "They were fine, for the most part. Had a real predator problem though."
"So I stepped in and went 'POW!'" While she swung her fist in an arc.
"AND 'BAM!'" While she pretends to aim and fire her crossbow.
"Hehe!" She settled down with a big, meaty grin, "Scared those hungry monsters right off!"
"The bug people really took a liking to me after that! One of the moth ones even nuzzled up against my chest and buzzed," Temporis then sighed and relaxed her hands behind her head, "I couldn't stick around, but I didn't wanna leave them unprotected either. So I decided to teach them how to use their Aura to defend themselves."
"You...sure that was a good idea?" Sarajin murmured.
"Hey you would've done the same thing." She replied quickly.
"...You got me there," Sarajin withdrew with some worry still on the tip of his tongue, "But if it WAS the past, couldn't there be consequences?"
"Ehhh it was another planet, I doubt anything'll come of it." She brushed it off with her signature shrug then sat right up.
"And I'd have still done it even if there were consequences!" She decreed, "We've got...SOOOO much freedom, Sarajin. And if we ain't using that to break the rules and do what's right, then what's the point?"
For a brief moment, Sarajin saw Nimus in Temporis' place, but he quickly shook his head and told himself, "No, she's not like him at all."
His smile thus widened as he sat up and looked her in the eyes to say, "You're right, Bunny."
"I know I am!" She said excitedly.
"But that doesn't mean we're breaking ALL the rules."
"Yeah yeah, I know, I know." She said while looking away and brushing him off with a gesture of the hand. She then paused and turned to look at his wide-eyed expression with a grin and giggle.
Sarajin smiled back and nodded, "Then, we should probably get going."
As he began to rise, she fell flat on her back with a "Pomf!" and said, "Eh, just a few more minutes."
Sarajin glared at her and she sprung back onto her feet with a smirk, "Just kidding! Let's go!"
With their little detour out of the way they hopped back down to the surface and made their way to the twin, temperate peaks.
But as they were getting within range they saw the false effigies of the Titans battling it out atop the mountains. This dreadful sight came with an even more dreadful sensation that pierced through Sarajin's body like a bolt of electricity.
"Ghh...!" Sarajin trembled all over and grit his teeth hard.
"What is it?!" Temporis shouted, only to be pierced by a similar sensation too, "Whoa! Even I can sense that! They're going insane on the battlefield this time!"
"This doesn't feel like Colrez or Valflame's work though..." Sarajin tensed up and grabbed hold of his chest until his knuckles cracked, proceeding to then throw his arm out and begin running.
"Come on!" He shouted to Temporis behind him. The two ran their paces until they got close to the battlefield in the center of the two Tribes.
There they were bearing witness to what appeared to be an omen of armageddon. It looked like towering spears of fire had pierced the ground and smoke was billowing everywhere, making it difficult to see.
A small and lonesome figure zipped along through smoke, wreathed in orangish fire. The visage of their movements flashed into view like blinks of the eye, and they appeared to be tearing through the Cryofloe forces like they were made of leaves.
Colrez and Valflame were fighting their usual duel but both sides appeared to be losing focus due to whatever force of nature was on the battlefield.
There were definitely dead bodies to be seen on both sides but with the way the battleground was presented to them, it made it seem like this one striking silhouette had piled on these bodies by themselves.
Eventually they got the visibility they wanted when an ear-rending "POP!" split a ravine through the smoke to reveal the silhouette engaging with none other than the enigmatic Arctic Knight.
It was still really hard to fully make out the silhouetted person's full appearance, but they seemed to have red and black hair and were pushing back the Arctic Knight's twin blades with little more than hand-sized needles between their fingers.
"The battlefield's become an inferno!" Temporis shouted.
The two soon started to make out Colrez and Valflame's duel in the very middle. They were dancing around each other's attacks and striking each other's armor when they could find an opening.
It seemed like neither was winning or losing, presumably due to their focus being snatched away by the mysterious figure.
The ground was cracking down at the Arctic Knight's feet for as despite the red warrior's small stature, they were slowly pushing them onto their knees.
"If that knight loses any more of their balance, they're dead." Temporis stated the obvious.
Sarajin's hand was trembling but he grabbed hold of the hilt of his sword and started to press onward towards the battlefield.
"Sarajin you'll be swallowed up if you march in there." Temporis warned.
"I should've been here sooner, I need to do something to save that knight's life at the very least." As he trembled to think of an idea, observing the duel between leaders inspired him with an idea.
Colrez slashed the ground and a wave of frost cleaved towards Valflame, who sliced it through and continued running.
Sarajin then calmed himself and gathered frost within his katana, pulling the blade from his sheath and then bringing it down after preparing it overhead.
A wave of frost glided along towards the two fighters and the figure in red put at least a little effort into acknowledging it. But all they did was flick one needle off between their fingers to slice the ice to bits.
Though discouraging for Sarajin, it allowed the Arctic Knight time to gather frost within their blades and shove it out in a cone-shaped blast of fractured ice to repel the red warrior.
And this was all right on time too, as a few seconds later the Titans' effigies began to descend back into the peaks. Once more, the duel between Colrez and Valflame was inconclusive, but in terms of men fallen, it seemed as though Colrez was the loser.
"Whew..." Sarajin breathed a somewhat forced sigh of relief and sheathed his sword.
The warrior in red relented, but only as far as their actions went. They radiated so much aggression that it alone could overwhelm the size of the mountains.
And when they turned and began to walk away, Sarajin felt like he was about to be stabbed through the throat, even when the warrior's gaze was pointed elsewhere.
"..." He stared blankly at the ravaged battlefield as the survivors returned to their separate Tribes. However, the Arctic Knight stayed behind for a little longer than the rest, looking all the way over at Sarajin.
Sarajin looked back and felt they were being scornful to his presence, though far more subdued about it than most people. After a few seconds they turned and began the long march back home.
Sarajin then turned to Temporis and remarked, "Let's go check on Valflame first."
Temporis was stuck there with her bottom lip curled and gaze pointed in the direction of Canofloe. She popped her lips and glanced his way, "What, got something to say?"
"No?" Sarajin said while fluttering his eyes.
The two then made their way over to the Fire Tribe looking like their usual selves. Again, not much point in protection when their bodies could naturally handle the environment.
The mood felt off and it wasn't because people were dead. Sarajin watched as Valflame's people were shaken up as the man rode through the city on his horse. Angry, sad, in disbelief, it didn't matter what these people's emotions could be described as. He was forced to feel them all and it was leaving him limping as a shell of his usual self.
Sarajin and Temporis ran along the perpendicular streets to catch up with Valflame at the entrance to his castle. Once he dismounted Sarajin shouted out to him cautiously, "Sir Valflame!"
Valflame pulled his head up from it's slump and whispered in an exhausted manner, "Sarajin?"
"I saw the end of that battle..." Sarajin said empathetically, "Who was that warrior?"
Valflame grimaced and his face curled up tight. A mighty sigh escaped his nostrils as all he could say was, "One born from the most parched Depths of Flame, I can only imagine..."
"Though that was no warrior. It was a beast that gleefully hunts humans down for sport. It stood on my side yet, I felt no safety for myself...Or my own men," Valflame then opened his eyes and looked skyward, "I almost pitied Colrez as we fought."
"But they're one of your people aren't they? Can't you do something about them?" Sarajin wondered.
"Mmm..." Valflame refused to answer, and looked more uneasy to the point he looked ready to throw up.
"Valflame..." Sarajin whispered with worry.
"...This probably isn't the right time for you to be here, Sarajin. Perhaps...there'll never be a time like that again." Valflame started to make his way to his castle with the guards parting their swords to let him through.
When Sarajin gave pursuit the guards clanged their swords together and barred the way. Sarajin still tried to reach out to him through words, "Wait! I wanted to ask about the encounter you had with Cryofloe on the outskirts of Aquamoria!"
Valflame paused and gave Sarajin time to ask him, praying desperately that his suspicions weren't true, "Y-You weren't planning on attacking the other Tribes were you?"
Valflame never made eye contact and continued to crane his head back with his body looking stiff all over. He then continued to march towards his castle alone, despite Sarajin's attempts to reach him.
"I thought you didn't want this violence to get worse?! Valflame! Sir Valflame!" But his words didn't reach and ultimately, an undefined answer was far worse for him than the truth ever could have been.
"Ghhh...!" Sarajin stood there and took the guards' shoving him away in stride as he turned around and walked a few steps closer to Temporis.
"Dunno what you were expecting, he's still the leader of an army in the end." She said, a rather blunt truth, but one that Sarajin had to swallow somewhat if he wanted to keep going forward.
"But still," He murmured in a perturbed tone, "It feels like he's being held back by something."
"Maybe it has to do with that violent warrior?" Temporis suggested.
"Probably," Sarajin nodded, "Can you wait here? I'm going to see if either of the Titans knows what's going on."
"Good luck." Temporis said, patting him on the back to send him off on his way.
After he had gone flying though, she narrowed her eyes and looked off towards the right side of the castle. She dropped her hands down by her hips and made a few short hops towards the corner of the perimeter wall.
There she peeked around the corner and narrowed her eyes further, "I coulda sworn I sensed a familiar power watching us..."
As she pulled back her heart skipped a beat as a blunt object stabbed right through the stone wall behind her head.
"Heeeeeh...!" A hostile presence breathed with salivating delight a foot away from where Temporis stood.
Standing at a mere 4 feet, 10 inches tall was a young woman who had a braided ponytail with a golden stinger attached to the end, which was what had impaled the wall. Her hair seemed to be burned black with ash around her scalp while her natural hair color, a vibrant red, remained on the braided part.
She was dressed without a care for looking good, with her top being just big enough to cover her chest and her sleeves loose and dangling with a torn, paper-y look at the edges and an oriental pattern underneath. She wore skin tight pants shredded near the ankles with an orange sash around the waist, and didn't care for undergarments like bras or panties. Her overall outfit had black scars burnt all across it.
She had a rock solid, visible six-pack and healed scar tissue across the tops of her feet and the right side of her thigh. Her knuckles had been beaten down, healed and beaten down again multiple times but the biggest wound was by far the fact she had lost her left eye. Now it was covered by a triangular eyepatch with a scorpion colored by the gradient of flames stenciled onto it.
The woman's ponytail withdrew like a slithering snake and their face was gleaming with a sinister scowl, eyeing up Temporis with lavish cockiness as her tone oozed with a sense that they were looking down on her, "If it isn't daddy's little girl."
Temporis was a little shaken up but held her ground and leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed, glaring the little devil back, "Go figure. Who else could it have been but Ms. One-Eyed Monster?"
The woman's eye flared open with her face stretching to match it, "Ha! Nice bark! Too bad it's wasted on a bitch with no bite."
Temporis closed her eyes and sighed, "Go ahead, I dare ya to pick a fight with me. I'd love nothing more than to humiliate one of Dad's Ten Sages."
"Uhhh..." Temporis was caught on a bit of a tongue snag, "What was your name again?"
"Vermilion," The woman addressed her with a vicious growl, "And it is the One-Eyed SCORP-"
"Yeah yeah," Temporis rolled her eyes and propped herself off the wall, "So, what kinda hold do you have over Canofloe's leader, Vermilion?"
"Leader?" Vermilion paused to think for a few moments, crossing her hands into her sleeves, "I didn't even know they had one. All I've seen are men cowering in their metal boots."
"You're doing something to him. I don't think Valflame would suddenly go and instigate fights with other Tribes, even if this is a war."
"Good!" Vermilion shouted, shaking Temporis up, "I want there to be plenty of fighting to take part in!"
"You're crazy." Temporis snidely commented in return.
"Right back at you, you pink-haired, pampered princess!" Vermilion said, spitting on the "p" sound of every word she uttered.
Vermilion then got right on up and grabbed Temporis by her chin and rubbed it tightly, making her feel how rough and battered it was, "Feel the difference in our skin? You're a coward who runs away from anything that hurts you. But this battlefield rewards those who stand and fight with the exhilaration of a lifetime!"
Temporis swatted her wrist but only managed to budge it an inch. Vermilion then squeezed her hand into a fist while scowling, and three needles slid out from her sleeve and between her fingers, putting them dangerously close to Temporis' neck.
Temporis continued to stare the one-eyed wonder down as they whispered in a sinister, sadistic tone, "You and your puny boyfriend, the Elemental Whoever the Hell Cares, better stay out of my way. I will fight whoever I want, I will kill whenever I want, and I will hunt whatever I want! This world is paradise for the strong and weaklings like you need to shut up and let us enjoy it!"
"And what'll you do if I don't?" Temporis smirked, "Bite my ankles, shortstuff?"
"Careful, princess, I might tear your whole damn foot off!" Vermilion smiled wide, a bit of fire burning out of her iris, "Heh, if your sister was in your stead, I might actually be quivering in excitement at this confidence."
Vermilion pushed her needles up until Temporis was milliseconds from feeling like she'd be made to bleed. And then, the one-eyed monster really drilled the point in home, "But without your precious little Drive you're nothing. And I can see each and every one of your weaknesses."
Vermilion's needles slid right back into her sleeve and she pulled away still wearing that same feral grin she had from the start, "Face it brat. Change the world? You CAN'T! THIS is the way it was always meant to be."
And then Vermilion proceeded to wander off without a care in the world, having left her prey shaken with anger.
"Grr...!" Temporis grit her teeth and clenched her fists, but her anger didn't explode like Vermilion likely expected it to. Instead she just glanced aside and made a snide remark of, "I should've thrown out one more snappy comeback about her eye."
She then closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back against the wall and looking up towards the peak of the volcano, "This is definitely going to complicate things here though."
At said top, Sarajin has flown his way up there and landed inside of the Titan's little hot spring. At the moment the two were soaking in bubbling water with a plate floating around between them.
Magmankey drank a ton of liquid from his tiny cup and gestured it towards Chillo Dillo, who was slowly sipping away at what appeared to be hot chocolate.
"Talk about a wild battle! Oooo hoo hoo hoo! Did ya see all those bodies go FLYING?! There were like 'AAAAAAH' and some of them were choking like 'GGGHHHHCCKKK!'"
Magmankey's unrestrained excitement made Sarajin cringe.
Chillo poked his head up slightly and nudged his cup out between both hands, "Uhhh, bro?"
"Yeeeeeah I know he's here to poop on the party," Magmankey rolled his eyes and groaned before glancing across his shoulder, "Been a while kid. Hurry up and get the complaints out of the way so I can get back to lounging around."
Sarajin closed his eyes and sighed, "Can't you at least calm down on the fighting a little?"
"Hey, I set the terms for surrender," Magmankey flicked his pointer finger out, "And sure, yer lookin' a little tougher these days. Maybe I'd need a few fingers to flick ya off. But until I'm the one knocked out of paradise, I ain't gotta listen to shit."
"...Haaaaa," Sarajin shook his head and then gestured a hand out from his hip, "Then can I ask you a couple questions?"
"Sure, why not," Magmankey patted the ground to his left and slid deeper into the water, "C'mon, sit down and have a drink. You just turned 21 recently yeah? I'll give you your first taste of alcohol."
Sarajin smiled and gestured his hand out, "I already had a drink with dad on my birthday. Not really a fan of the taste, sorry."
"Mmm, sucks to be you." Magmankey shrugged and Sarajin settled down next to him, pulling his pants up to dip his legs into the water.
"I can take a couple guesses what you're after," The Titan murmured, "It's about that new warrior on the battlefield."
"You must have read my mind." Sarajin said with mild surprise.
The Titan cracked a smug smile and flicked his pinky off his cup, "I'm still a Titan kid, this wisdom comes as natural as my fur."
Sarajin looked straight down and remarked, "So, did you strike a deal with that warrior to let them borrow some of your power, like how Xiark does in Obscura?"
"Nah, power bargains are ol' lazybones' forte, I ain't gonna be accused of being a rip-off."
"Then who is that warrior?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Magmankey said in a mocking tone, "If you see something's out of place, it's probably one of those pesky Ten Sages."
Sarajin's eyes widened with him stuttering after, "T-That woman is one of the Sages?"
"Bingo!" The Titan snapped their fingers.
"...No wonder they felt so powerful. It was almost like watching a Titan go at-"
Magmankey stretched one of his fingers up into Sarajin's nose, "Ay! Don't go sayin' things you can't take back, kid. That fiery little tyke ain't got nothing on me."
Magmankey popped his finger out and Sarajin's head started ringing. The Titan then took another large drink and started laughing, "For a bug though, they're pretty charming, in a pathetic sort of way."
He then gestured to his fellow Titan and told them, "Remember when they climbed all the way up here and challenged me?"
"Ha, oh yeah, and then you flicked 'em off."
"And then she came running back up screaming like a banshee! Oooh hoo hoo! Funniest shit I'd ever heard!"
"I thought you didn't trust the Aurians." Sarajin pointed out.
"Not as far as I can throw them, kid!" Magmankey shrugged, "Buuuut I can respect the balls on that bug for trying to face me mano-e-mano. Plus they're bringing some much needed spice to the battles around here!"
Sarajin glared at him and the Titan responded with a scoff, "Oh don't gimme that sour look, kid. You knew exactly what you were getting into when you climbed this volcano years ago."
"I'm not anywhere close to giving up," Sarajin stood up and looked the Titan in the eyes, "I'll keep getting stronger, but until I can beat you, I'll use this power to keep as many people from dying as I can."
"Yeah. We saw," Magmankey grumbled, "Ruined a perfectly good fight scene."
"But at least it wasn't as blue-balling as SOMEBODY'S," He said while glaring at Chillo, causing him to freeze with his cup against his mouth, "Big bug problem!"
Chillo slumped into the water and left his cup floating on the surface.
"There's another Sage active around here?" Sarajin interpreted these events.
"Duh," Magmankey snipped back at him, "And because of them well, let's just say there ain't as many bodies as there should be."
Sarajin blinked and the Titan focused back on their drink with one last remark of, "Go down and you'll see what I mean. Now beat it, you're killing my mood..."
Sarajin left without comment and flew back down to the village to meet up with Temporis. He found her where he left her near the castle, where she promptly asked, "So, what did you find out?"
Sarajin had to think the information over for a moment before deducing, "It sounds like there's a Sage active on both sides of the conflict here."
"Ah," Temporis blurted out with dull surprise, "I didn't recognize any Aurian power on Cryofloe's side though. Maybe they're that knight?"
Sarajin shook his head with hesitation, "Maybe? We're going to be heading over there next."
"So we're done here?"
"Not much else we can do at the moment," Sarajin sighed, "I'll try to talk to Valflame another day."
Temporis reached out and patted him on the shoulder, "Cheer up Sarajin. I bet we'll get a win eventually."
He smiled and nodded. The two then headed on out of here and crossed the battlefield to head over to the icy side.
They could already feel the hostility in the air before they ran across a single person. And so Sarajin had to make a note of, "We'll try and get the aquamarines back for Oreore, and then get out."
They went straight for the palace. It was the same old disgusting, indulgent celebrations going on all around. Hardly surprising that Sarajin's rarely, if ever, stepped foot in this area.
But not everyone was celebrating. Because near the foot of the mountain a few soldiers were taking their weapons and pounding away at blocks of ice lined up in rows.
More surprisingly was that inside those blocks were other Cryofloe soldiers, their bodies frozen in such a way that suggested they had been caught after being sent flying with tremendous force. Or in some cases, were saved from being cut in half.
The two of them stopped and made a closer examination from a safe distance, with Sarajin noting to Temporis, "This is what Magmankey must have been talking about."
"Are they dead?" Temporis wondered.
"I wouldn't be able to tell," Sarajin shook his head, and tried to remain optimistic, "It looks like they might be."
"Only a Sage would have the power to preserve life within a block of ice," Temporis said, mildly impressed, "Who'd have thunk one of the Sages would turn out not to be an asshole?"
"Well, hopefully that means they're on our side."
"It DOES kind of lead more credence to the idea that the knight is the Sage though."
Sarajin nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I didn't see anyone else out of place on the battlefield."
It did relieve some of Sarajin's earlier woes though to know that the fight wasn't the massacre it was portrayed as.
Thus they kept moving and eventually made it to the palace where, of course, the two stoic guardsmen were posted at the front gates.
Temporis swung her fist around in circles to hype herself up for mischief, "Gimme a moment and I'll get us past them with time stopped."
"Not now, Bunny," Sarajin said, making her grumble and pout, "This is one of those times we need to play by the rules."
Sarajin thus boldly approached the guards, who armed their lances to further bar the way into the palace.
"Let us through," Sarajin said with assertive politeness, "We're here to negotiate with Lord Colrez on behalf of Oreore."
The two guards glanced at one another and then one remarked, "The sword stays behind."
Sarajin smiled and reached for his sheath, "That's fine with me."
He took it off and tossed it over to one of the guards, who put it down by his side while parting his lance, "Proceed to Lord Colrez's chambers, negotiator."
"Thank you." Sarajin was surprised they were pleasant to talk to, even if it was merely business professional.
So he and Temporis climbed the towering staircase to the palace's sole chamber, where no doubt, it's lord was busy enjoying the touch and sight of many women.
There was no enthusiasm to be found in Sarajin's expression, but rather embarrassment, when his confidence turned out to be true.
At least half a dozen half-naked women were crawling over his bed and giving him the time of his life across every muscle that could feel something.
The other half were just feeding him, and doing various other obscenities that Sarajin would rather just ignore.
"Ugh, gross." Said Temporis, putting into words what he dare not say.
"Hmm?" Colrez sprung to attention and pulled up out of his bed sheets, "Hmph, didn't I tell the guards I didn't want visitors? Just who are you bums?"
Sarajin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "The sooner you get this over with, the better..."
He then forced himself to look past Colrez's gathering of breasts and hips to look him in the eyes and say, "I didn't think we'd meet again so soon, Colrez."
"...Who are you?" Colrez stammered.
"..." Sarajin's eyes widened in disbelief and he let out a brief gawk.
Temporis leaned her hands behind her head and grinned, "Wow, I must've kicked you harder in the head than I thought!"
"What what?" Colrez leaned forward and his eyes glistened lustfully while his smile began to widen, "Mmm, I daresay, what a supple young thing you are. Did you come out all this way to experience my glorious power?"
Temporis let out a shrill gasp and playfully laid her hands atop her chest, twisting and turning her body around while taking on a dumber sounding, high-pitched voice, "Like, I would so totally love to jump your bones, Mr. Frost! But like, warmongering manwhores are a huge turn-off!"
She then stuck the tip of her tongue out and spat at him, causing him to recoil and sputter out in anger, "Ugh, filthy woman!"
He then raised his hand ready to snap his fingers, "Guards!"
"Wait!" Sarajin swung his hand out, "At least hear what we have to say first."
Colrez hung his hand partway down and grumbled, "Well snap to it, you're already on thin ice."
"Ok," Sarajin turned aside and presented himself with a reasonably diplomatic demeanor, "I'm here to talk about the aquamarines you took from Oreore."
"Oh, so you're a messenger allied with those angry cavemen." Colrez uttered with scorn.
"No," Sarajin shook his head, "I'm an ally of all Tribes. Even yours. Ask me for anything related to the elements, and I can provide it of equal value to the aquamarines."
"Hmmm." Colrez slowly hummed to himself, going silent right as his eyes widened. Then finally, sputtering up in disbelief, "Pbbbllltt...! Y-You're that boy, again...!"
"Took him long enough." Sarajin bemoaned in his head.
Colrez glared at him and targeted him with an accusing tone, "Why should I trust anything you'd give me? No doubt it'd blow up in my face or make me sick!"
Sarajin closed his eyes and sighed, "Ok, if you don't trust my powers, then how about I offer you important information on Canofloe?"
"I-Important information?" This was able to turn the tide a little, making Colrez settle down and offer to hear him out, "Very well, let's see what you have to offer."
"You sure this is a good idea?" Temporis whispered.
"Trust me," Sarajin whispered back, facing Colrez and addressing him with sincerity, "You want to know the identity of the warrior in red who was tearing through your soldiers? They're a powerful Aurian warrior, and one of Sancturia's Ten Sages."
"Oh, that's what you have to say?" Colrez ruffled his mustache and smirked, "Ha! I already knew that."
"W-What?" Sarajin stuttered in disbelief.
"Oh and those aquamarines you're so hungry for? We already used them up to fuel our weapons in the last battle!" Colrez leaned back with an infuriatingly smug smile, and twirled his mustache on one finger while the women around him turned and laughed at the two, "So remind me again what you have to offer? Nothing, I presume?"
"I didn't think he was smart enough to pull a trick on me," Sarajin thought while gritting his teeth, "No, he's not that smart...I got overconfident. But how-"
Temporis stampeded forward and shouted, "How would YOU know how to identify an Aurian, anyways?!"
"You only have yourself to blame." Announced the voice of the one and only Arctic Knight.
Their heavy, metallic footsteps rang through their ears as they entered the chambers from behind, and proceeded to advance past them.
It was the first time Sarajin was getting a close look at this mysterious warrior. They wore their armor to not only express the prides of their people, being the ice and the bears they rode alongside, but did an excellent job of ensuring that nobody would be able to make out their identity.
It only further drove home the idea that this person was indeed the Sage of Ice.
"There's a lot of power buried in that suit of armor," Sarajin said, his Wellspring of Ice trembling in his soul, "Now I get how somebody like this gave Zeke a hard time."
Temporis crossed her arms and remarked, "So you're the 'Arctic Knight' huh? Nice nickname, your armor looks like crap though."
The knight glared out of the corner of their visor and then remarked, "You don't remember me, do you?"
"Should I?" Temporis said, trying to push towards the person's identity.
"Hmmm. Well I haven't forgotten you, Aurian. When you created that cross bow out of thin air and sliced through a tree with an arrow, it opened my eyes to the fact that my best would never be enough for what's out there waiting for us."
The knight then looked straight at Sarajin and remarked, "So I simply became better. And now, you've appeared before me again, standing in my way just like I knew you would."
Sarajin began to hesitate. Something about this person's words reeked of familiarity, but for the life of him nothing rang clear in his head.
Sarajin stared clear into their eyes and remarked, "Are...are you one of the Ten Sages?"
The knight let out a droll groan and then drew their blade of black frost, pointing the tip at the bottom of Sarajin's neck.
"I...am your enemy, Sarajin Stratos."
Temporis immediately swung her arm out and drew her crossbow at the knight's neck, causing a stir of gasps among Colrez's women.
"Wanna test and see who's faster?" Temporis taunted with a bit of anger in her voice, only to shake with a chill as the knight drew their second blade underneath their arm and pointed it into Temporis' hip.
This tense clash of wills had Sarajin keeping his cool and trying to address the knight with reason, "Why do you hate me?"
"Because despite the passing of time, you haven't moved. While I have constantly pressed forward. And I will not be dragged back by a shadow that offers nothing but empty promises."
"There can't be anything here worth dying over." Sarajin whispered.
"Is that why you saved my life on the battlefield?" The knight said with piercing accuracy aimed at Sarajin's heart.
"..."
"I will fight to live, or die weak. To choose any other path is to accept insanity into my heart."
"I can't understand why you'd choose to live your life that way," Sarajin shook his head, "But being kind to others and choosing to help isn't a weakness. It's my strength."
"...Then you are a failure, for I remain deaf to your madness," The knight clasped their blade tightly, "Now take your talks of peace to Tanglefae, before I remove you from this palace by force."
Sarajin's eyes widened and he started to say, "Y-You're..."
"L-LORD COLREZ!"
The clash would have to be cut short as a soldier came barreling into these chambers, tripping over himself and stumbling towards the wall, where he fell on his knees, where it looked like his right arm had been mangled pretty badly.
"What in the world...?!" Colrez shouted, "Who did this to you...?!"
"I-I was part of the patrol regiment going towards Tanglefae..." The man gasped for air like he was closing to dying, "B-But as we were passing by the ruined village...We...We were suddenly ambushed by an abnormal looking Rot Walker!"
"You blundering idiot! You aren't supposed to use your elements out in the wasteland!"
"T-That's just it, sir! We weren't!" These words sent chills down everyone's spines, "It...it just attacked us, like a normal feral beast..."
"B-But it wasn't normal...It...It swallowed up all my men in black goop, and oh god, then it tore open our bears with it's bare teeth and gulped down their innards..."
"And it was smiling...and laughing...As it treated us like toys!"
"W-Well where is this Rot Walker now?!" Colrez demanded to know.
"I-I was able to drop it's pursuit just barely...B-Because...It started marching south of here...Towards Obscura...!"
"Oh," Colrez settled down with an eerie calm, "Well, that's not our problem then. Go get patched up and take some rest. Sounds like it's been a horrible day for you."
Sarajin and Temporis glanced at each other and Sarajin muttered, "Obscura...?"
"I don't like the sounds of this, Sarajin."
"Neither do I."
They both nodded and then ran for the door, with the Arctic Knight firmly telling them, "This isn't over, Sarajin Stratos."
Sarajin glanced over his shoulder just long enough to say, "I know. But right now, I have more important things to worry about."
After getting his sword back from the guards, Sarajin and Temporis ran out of Cryofloe to pursue this strange new Rot Walker, unaware of how this one encounter would be the catalyst that would tie the fates of many together forevermore...
Next Time: The Primal Black