The Elemental Hymn

Chapter 13: Hap Tepe

Within the mountainous region that the Zephyr called home, it is dotted with ruins of cities that once float high in the sky. The most interesting archaeological site is Hap Tepe ruins, from which it is built into Mount Roxcana. Unfortunately, due to erosion and poor preservation, the ruins crumble daily to the point that it becomes harder for anyone to traverse.

Isaac materializes at an unknown location, after using his last wish to escape from the Black Leaves. He looked around and found himself close to the mountain range, and he sees the Wind Tower several miles away from where he is at. Curiously though, there's a dirt road that leads towards Mount Roxcana with a sign post. The sign post reads:

"To the Hap Tepe ruins: twenty six miles eastward. To Avewood village: fifteen miles westward".

He sighed, not wanting to walk down to the Hap Tepe ruins to hide from the Black Leaves. It left him not much options, other than wait for someone riding a horse for him to get on or walk down the road. He chose to walk down the road to Hap Tepe ruins rather than to wait, knowing it'll take hours to get there. The scenery of the road was breathtaking, as woodland covered some of the mountains while snow topped peaks are seen from the distance. It took him five hours to reach the sixteenth mile on the road, and the sun is starting to set.

"I'm not sure about continuing on anymore, it'll get dark soon. Not to mention my feet are killing me" he said to himself.

He sat down on a large rock, taking a break from walking. He can see Mount Roxcana in the distance, even though it looked close. Then he heard neighing coming from down the road, figuring that there are wild horses nearby. He got up and walked down the road, and saw three horses eating the grass. One horse has brown coat of fur, black mane, white diamond shaped marking on it's face, and it's rear end is white with brown spots. He gently tip toed towards it, trying not to spook it. It snorted as it turns it's attention towards him, wondering what he is doing.

"Easy there, girl. I don't mean to harm you or scare you, I just want a ride" he said to it.

It whinnied, raising it's legs before getting down.

He brushed his hand on the horses fur, trying to calm it down. He then got on it's back, continuing brushing it's fur. Then the horse headed towards the road, with him riding on it as it galloped down the road to the ruins. It took about four hours, as everything gets darker when the sun sets into the peaks. Luckily, he conjured orbs of light for him and the horse to see where they're going. The air gets colder and colder the more he gets closer to the ruins, and he tries to brave through the cold night air. It wasn't long until he arrived at the Hap Tepe ruins, and he saw a big camp in front of the ruins. The camp itself has many archaeologists that were studying the ruins, but he wasn't sure if it's property of the Order of the Nations. As he rode through the camp, he can see many archaeologists already asleep while others were busy studying artifacts. Then a female researcher came to him, curious about what he's wearing.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you sure you're comfortable in wearing such ancient clothing in this cold weather?" She asked.

"Not really, trying to stave off this chilly air. I mean, I found this outfit over at the Wind Tower" he replied.

"Well, there are spare clothes that are weather appropriate. It keeps you warm, even in this chilly night" she said.

He got off the horse, and followed her into a large tent. Inside, there were warm clothing on display that each have their own designs. The female researcher gave him a pile of warm clothing to try on, so he went into the dressing room to try it on. After that, he now wears a fur cap, wool coat, pants that are stuffed with wool, and boots.

"There, now you look cozy! Well, I need to go to back to my studies. I'll be seeing you later, and get some rest" she said as she left.

He soon left the tent to look for a place to sleep in, since sleeping outside is out of the question. However, he went into another tent that has three beds. The left bed already has a researcher sleeping soundly, but the other two beds are empty. He shrugged before getting on the bed to sleep, thinking that the researchers wouldn't mind.

The next morning

The sun started to peek from the tops of the mountains, allowing it's light to shine into the valley. Isaac yawned and stretched the moment he woke up. He got off the bed, and he can see that the Hap Tepe ruins looked good when the sun shining at the top of it. He walked towards the ruins out of curiosity, and when he got there, one male researcher is studying the architecture of the exterior. The exterior has two stone statues of archers whose arms are long since broken off at the entrance, numerous windows are in a row from the top to the middle, and there's two ponds with statues of birds with their beaks open as if they once been used as fountains.

"Such exquisite detail! Hap Tepe ruins were once home to the Zephyr tribe long before they move out into the sky, despite it crumbling due to weather and erosion. Even though a some kids like Sophia and Nathan have already entered there, I wondered if they're safe" said the researcher.

"You don't say, this ruin has something very interesting things" said Isaac.

The researcher yelped before turning around.

"Don't scare me like that!" Yelled the researcher.

I'm sorry, I just want to go inside of Hap Tepe to look around" replied Isaac.

"Well be careful, Hap Tepe ruins is crumbling down daily. It's dangerous if parts of it caved in, in which it will take a miracle for anyone to rescue you. I don't think that restoring the ruins won't be possible, nonetheless if it was restored through magic" said the researcher.

Isaac waved at the researcher, before leaving into the entrance of Hap Tepe. Inside, the center hall was carved from stone and with mud bricks, both the left and right halls are decorated with statues of archers, but the center of the hall has a statue of a horseback archer wearing an extravagant helmet.

"Wow, the researcher wasn't kidding about how this place has exquisite detail" said Isaac.

Authors note: this is where the Zephyr once lived in Hap Tepe, with Isaac exploring it. However, an unexpected ally will show up next chapter.