The Lands of Ralosia & Ranuulo (Books 1-3)

Weld Mountain Chapter 1

(8) The Lands of Ralosia: The Weld Mountains (5.5k Words)

Aero and Jirro travel into the volcanic region, the Weld Mountains, in search of a peculiar looking orb. The Mecarne Temp guides them through the scorching area. They come across peculiar creatures, an old enemy, and learn firsthand what a Mecarne is capable of.

(2/15/23) Self edited, Audio edited, Peer edited

Peer edit by Mikrokosmostae

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~Chapter 1- Weld Mountain~

~Age 988B~

The Weld Mountains had the smell of burning metal emanating from it. The area was dotted with a series of mountain ranges and volcanoes. The blacksmiths who lived among the mountains were known for smelting and creating materials. The best metals came from them. Many Densius and Mecarne lived among the mountains, for they were unaffected by the intense heat.

The Mecarne Temp looked up at the mountains as sunlight bounced off his reflective flesh. His body was tall and slender, slightly muscular, and had a metallic sheen to his purple-tinted skin. His hyena Kelvin was lapping up water from a pond; he needed to be hydrated before they went up the mountain.

The group of children Temp was escorting to the mountains was swimming about in the water. The two 13-year-old boys, Aero and Jirro, were racing back and forth through the pond, swathes of water violently being spilled about in their wake.

"Beat you!" Aero spat as he reached one end of the pond before Jirro.

"Let's go again!" Jirro said immediately. The two were insatiable; they simply couldn't stop competing.

Nout floated atop the water with his pink-tinted belly up in the air and his hands folded over him. His long trunk dipped into the pond to suck up water, only to shoot it up into the air like a fountain. The Phantine felt at home in the water. Temp was sure he wouldn't enjoy the heat of the mountain.

The little red-haired girl named Corri waded through the water around her red sparrow. The great bird gulped down water from the pond.

The rock being known as Ruben sat beside the pond, content with watching the others. Its body was round and boulder-like, with relatively short arms and legs. As a Densius, Ruben couldn't float in water. If it decided to jump in, it would likely sink to the bottom.

"Make sure to stayed hydrated. Once we enter the Weld Mountains, it gets pretty hot," Temp instructed, "Except you Ruben. You and I will be fine."

"Are there other Densius up on Weld Mountain?" Ruben asked.

"A fair amount, and other Mecarne like me," Temp answered, "Make sure to keep your bird on the ground, Corri. I wouldn't want you flying into a plume of toxic smoke and asphyxiating."

Corri snapped to attention, "That's scary!"

"I'll take you through the trail to the nearest wellspring. Stick with me, and you'll all be fine," Temp assured.

Aero sprung from out of the water with a strong jump, his rough black hair was sopping wet. Temp knew the boy was far stronger than him, but with his skinny frame, one would never guess.

Jirro primly came out of the water and dried himself, as did Corri and Nout. "There are wellsprings up on the mountain?" Jirro asked.

"A few. They're the chilliest points on the mountain, perfect for you Ralosians," Temp said, "You'll pay me once we get there, won't you?"