Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Fifty-One - The Storm Brewing on the Horizon

Wilbur

As Owen explained, Origins is a prosperous city. The buildings near the center of the city are exceedingly large, made from strong brick and tiled shingles. The outskirts of the city are filled with cozy townhouses with well-maintained yards. A river runs through the left side of the city. There are streamers planted in the ground along the riverbed except for where a large water wheel spins eternally. There are people- humans and hybrids- walking around the streets with brightly colored clothing and loud voices ringing out. In the fields filled with blossoming crops ready for a harvest, there are tents set out where the people from the mountainside cities have descended to live during the war. The sunlight warms the lively earth below, allowing for multi-colored flowers to blossom even when the surrounding mountains are mainly covered in powdered snow.

Wilbur stands on the other side of the Lyssa mountain from Fort Jasper. He gazes down at Origins. He notes every detail he can. Some part of him envies the people living in relative peace. He knows that his own people are suffering greatly. They do not have the happiness or prosperity like Origins does, and it's all because Greater's Overlord and council of lords are able to keep the war from truly reaching their mountains. The Lyssa mountain is in constant conflict, but Wilbur knows that the other mountains are left untouched. Mainly because they border with a lot of countries not participating in the war, but also because Pogtopia has been unable to claim Lyssa mountain and move on. Whoever is leading Greater is doing an exceptional job at protecting their people, which really brings into question what Greater wants in this war.

"Can you do anything?" Wilbur asks his companion. Shubble shifts her attention away from him when he looks at her. When Shubble first teleported the both of them to this area, she had been perturbed by his decision to ruin Origins. He could feel her hesitance in his heart like his skin felt wind. He reassured her that it was temporary, and she finally accepted the uneasy truth that war demanded bloody sacrifices. Wilbur didn't want to, but he found himself reminding Shubble about Greater's history with the Wild Lands. Wilbur felt the second Shubble remembered that her entire race (former race, technically) were destroyed by Greater's allies. She didn't want to hurt anyone else, and the thought was honorable. It quickly was dismissed when Wilbur informed Shubble that this situation was a 'them or us' type of deal. Shubble finally accepted the situation for what it was: a genuine war. She wasn't eager to help Wilbur, but her defiance had faded away.

"The mana in the air is... strange," Shubble admits. She begins to lift her hands. Her fingers prod the air above them. As her fingers reopen from a fist, a gray mist shrouds them. A gray light pulsates from her palms. The white puffy clouds in the air disappear as if they were never there. Shubble's eyes fly open as she lands on her knees. She heaves in a tight breath, pressing her glowing hands against her chest. Confusion fills her eyes as she presses down harder on her chest. Wilbur winces. He thought Shubble would have noticed by now that she no longer had a beating heart. Wilbur realized the moment he woke up from his divine sleep.

"It's a temporary fix. It requires a lot of mana, and I have to be present to keep the weather like this," Shubble explains to Wilbur with a tight expression. She rises back to her feet. Wilbur offers his arm to her. She looks at his forearm for a long moment before she grabs it. Wilbur considers this progress. Shubble will fully forgive him eventually. He just needs to prove to her that all his decisions are for the best.

"What would it take to permanently seal the weather?" Wilbur asks. Shubble's expression hardens as she thinks. Wilbur can feel her mind pulling away from him. Wilbur closes his eyes as Shubble's mind pulses right next to him. He does his best not to infringe on her personal thoughts. He already feels bad enough that her emotions sometimes seep through. Luckily, none of her thoughts actually come to him. The one thing that does is a static image, like a painting. Shubble throws a careless thought about her time as an honor student of Kinoko's Scholar Academia away, and it ends up planted in Wilbur's head. He distracts himself with it.