Challenges of the Aether: Call of the Abyss

Chapters 5: City Of Ash

Now, finally, we begin descending the mountain, our bodies filled with a sense of unease. As we draw nearer to the village, the scent of smoke and burned meat fills the air as the area around us grows quieter.

As we approach the outskirts of the village, a chilling sight unfolds before our eyes-a raging inferno engulfs multiple buildings across the village. Scattered around the village lay even more buildings torn apart and falling due to the flames.

The air around us was thick with ash making it difficult to breathe, mixed with the smell of burning flesh and singed hair also mixing with the wood smell left a sickening feeling in my body.

With each step further into the village, the true unnerving sight begins as the deceased bodies of the villagers lay sporadically around the village, their lifeless bodies torn and gashed by gigantic claw marks and singed bodies from the blaze.

One unfortunate person was trying to escape their house when the roof collapsed onto his body severing him at the waist, there was blood adorning the ground around the village splattered onto the sides of the buildings, and tainting the fountain in the square.

Standing in the village for a couple of seconds over the raging fire we began hearing calls for help coming from various buildings surrounding the village, The captain ordered the mages the begin putting out the fire while requesting for the rest of us to assist with the rescue of the trapped villagers.

The mages began chanting their spells, their voices resonating through the air. My gaze shifted towards Nytsul, as he raised his staff towards the sky. Spellbound, I followed the motion of his staff, my eyes fixated on the sky above. As if commanded by his words, the peaceful sky transformed into a tumultuous array of dark clouds. I watched in awe as the first droplets of rain trickled down, gradually evolving into a downpour.

Though the rain ended within moments, it was able to quickly put an end to the fire saving what was left of the building standing, I couldn't help but feel relief not just for the village but for the rain that drenched my body also washed away the blood that was still covering my body.

After the sky settled I looked around for any survivors seeing someone struggling to get through some rubble in a nearby house, Edger and I alongside some guards quickly rushed over to the building clearing the debris that trapped the survivors inside.

Once we removed the rubble and got the survivors out we moved them over to our group, curious about what was happening I asked one of the survivors what had happened.

"It was insane just insane, we were just having lunch down at the pizza parlor when we heard screaming so we stepped outside to see what was happening, And there it was terrifying yet beautiful Dragon.

Just the sight of a dragon is enough to get people excited as they don't come around often but it all went crazy as it crashed into one of the houses on the edge of the village destroying some of the other buildings and leaving a crater where it landed.

When the dust settled the Dragon unleashed a roar that shattered glass before it began rampaging around flinging fire and attacking everyone nearby. At that moment I grabbed my friend's arm weaving through the crowd of people and flying debris from the building finding our way into here."

After rescuing the survivors we could find in the village, we bandaged their wounds, treating them with what medicine we had. The Captain instructed us to make one last double-check to find anyone else who might have survived.

Pearl and I went to search the Herb shop on the outskirts of the village to hopefully find some supplies that would help. Approaching the herb shop it was visibly damaged from the attack, with shattered windows and broken pieces of wall and roof laid beside.

Upon entering we searched for anyone that would be inside, thankfully There were no bodies inside, so we searched the cabinets for anything that would be useful finding some aloe cream and pain medication, still intact.

Quickly we rushed back delivering the supplies we found to the survivors helping with the burns and their damaged bodies after the attack.

Gathering back with the group, Edger informed us that we were heading to the next village over and that it would take around two to three hours until we got there. Edger, Pearl, and I volunteered to help carry some of the supplies while others helped with the survivors while heading to the next village.

As we headed through the village we walked past the lifeless bodies of the villagers, an overwhelming surge of guilt and revulsion coursed through my veins. Thinking about the battle we had just emerged from, and the fact that I had taken the life of another human being for the first time.

Strangely enough, I felt a peculiar sense of calm and acceptance, as though it were an instinctual act for me. But this, this mindless slaughter, was an entirely different matter. These people had merely been living their lives, and now they lay lifeless before me.

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a woman clutching a child, her desperate attempts to shield them from harm proving futile, having burns down one side and splattered wood sticking through.

To distract myself I spark up a conversation with Nytsul and why or how something like this could even have happened in the first place.

"To be completely honest, I'm not sure what could have caused this. There hasn't been a Dragon attack in nearly a decade, the last unfortunate incident occurred due to a breach of the treaty on our end.

A misguided attempt to "save humanity." This is what caused the last one, leading to the destruction of a major mining town when he attempted to cause a cave-in to kill a few dragons that made their dens there."

"Have you ever seen a Dragon in person before?"

"Unfortunately I have not met one but I have met with a multitude of Dragon-kin, although there is a meeting that takes place every year in order to discuss the treaty and other things our kingdom and the Dragons share. My father has been on the council of meeting for some time and this year I was elected to go in his place.

As we leave the village behind Nytsul and I continue to talk about our fascination with them, delving deeper into the discussion we talk about the power one of them possesses and the freedom one must feel to be able to soar above the clouds and look at the world in a new point of view.
After talking with Nytsul for a while I meet back with Edger and Pearl, Walking over Pearl grabs my water flask from my bag and adds some herbs and honey to it.
"What herbs did you add to make it so refreshing?"
She smiled, and replied, "It's nothing much, just some Peppermint to help your senses and help with the fatigue, and a touch of honey to add some sweetness."
I hugged her wrapping one arm around her as a show of thanks for helping me out when I always needed it.

Thankfully, the journey from the village turned out to be more peaceful than the rest of our trip so far. We did encounter a few unexpected wild animals along the way, forcing us to take a slight detour that added some extra distance to our travels. Nevertheless, even with the small detours, it was easygoing to the next village over.

Oddly enough, I feel more fatigued now than when we had dealt with the Mountain bandits. The load I am carrying now is around three times the amount that I have been so far and we've been traveling for what seemed to be an eternity- yes I know it's only been maybe two and a half hours but it feels longer.
During this time the three of us decided to practice channeling our mana throughout our bodies, hoping to strengthen ourselves while carrying the extra weight.
I couldn't help but be distracted by the sting of the wound on my arm where the bandit had slashed me alongside the pain on my feet from carrying the weight I was.