Legend of Parocaav: The Quest for Redemption (First Draft)

Chapter LII: The Outskirts of Ember

A few days have passed now, and so far there has been no sign of Elite Soldiers. Nothing but open lands have been stretched out before the Bringers of Hope. Not even a trace of any Elite campsites. The land is completely bare of any life.

"We are going the right way, right Drayk?" Roku asks with worry in her voice.

"This is the way we were told to travel," Drayk assures her.

"I thought there were supposed to be base camps and such along the way."

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing."

Roku agrees with a smile and stops walking. It takes a few seconds before Drayk realizes she has stopped. Once he does, he turns to look at her. Roku has a blank look on her face and her ear is to the wind. Drayk remains silent to allow her to listen to the winds. He can't help but feel envious towards her since he hasn't mastered wind like she has.

"I hear some voices being carried in the wind," Roku whispers, although she is not sure why she whispered, "There is a town toward the wind. I hear people talking about finding Lady Yarr."

"Why are they trying to find her?" Drayk inquires.

"I'm not sure yet," Roku starts, then stops to listen to the winds once more, "I hear a voice that sounds like it carries much authority.... it's Kraag! He's looking for Lady Yarr to prevent her from assisting us!"

"We have to hurry up and get there before she's found by him! How far away do you think we are?"

"Hard to tell.... Let's go Drayk!"

A few hours later ~

A small town is starting to come into view up ahead amongst the flat lands. A larger city can be seen several miles passed the smaller town. Ember is just ahead. The soft sands fade away into what looks like a sea of lava. It stretches for miles in every direction in front of them. The only way to the town of Ember is to cross this blazing hot ground. Roku tries using Wind Magic to move the molten rock from their path, but all it does is make the ground radiate even hotter. She then attempts using Ice Magic to cool it, but it melts on contact. Drayk can see the wheels in her mind working as she tries to figure something out. He smiles, then steps in front of her with his arms raised high above his head. The lava bubbles as he does and cools into a black rock walkway.

"Remember, we are in Fire Country. Everything can be manipulated using Fire here, just as you had used Wind Magic to get us to Oro," Drayk explains.

Instead of saying anything, Roku just sticks her tongue out at Drayk and starts to walk on the freshly cooled path. He follows closely behind, making sure the path does not heat back up. Roku starts humming and skipping as she progresses down the trail. Even in a place like this, she can still find joy. This is another trait that Drayk envies about her. He has never been able to find the optimistic side to pretty much anything his entire life. All he has ever known has been pain, suffering and that anything can go wrong.

Just as they about to finish crossing the sea of lava, the path starts to heat back up. Drayk desperately tries to keep it cool, but to no avail. Roku shoots herself up into the air using a strong blast of Wind Magic. Drayk follows behind with a stream of air lifting him up as well. The path fuses back into the molten rock and disappears from sight. The two of them land safely on solid ground. Roku wipes her hand across her brow with a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the Bringers of Hope are ambushed by a few dozen Elite Soldiers. Using various elements, they quickly drop the soldiers to the ground. As soon as the last soldier falls, Kraag walks out of the town to greet them.

"Welcome to Ember, the town of secrets," Kraag says sarcastically, "So nice to see you both again in one piece."

Drayk ignites his hands with flames while glaring Kraag down. The sight of Roku not budging set his mind into curiosity. She was not moving, only her hair as the winds blow. A completely blank, yet snarled look is on her face. He's been around her for so long now, he could tell when she was holding back rage. Drayk then decides to lower his guard. This wasn't his fight. This was for Roku to finally settle things and seal her past. After what Drayk had to go through with Lance, he saw it fitting that he back out of this.

"Riinah, my child," Kraag says with a twisted smile on his face.

Roku cannot her rage back anymore and screams as loud as she can, "MY NAME IS ROKU!!!"

Enough words. Roku was ready. She leaps towards Kraag while drawing her blades from their sheaths. Kraag summons a dark blue metal staff with an icy blade at the end. Not holding anything back, Roku strikes at Kraag over and over as he parries all of her attacks. Sparks fly from each contact with the weapons. Kraag steps back and spins the staff in front of him. Ice shards come flying at Roku from the spinning weapon. She lifts up her hands to bring up a solid rock wall from the ground.

"Such anger Riinah," Kraag sighs with sorrow in his voice, "Is that how you got that lovely scar? Just like your father."

"Enough Kraag! I'm not your daughter anymore. I haven't been for years," Roku growls at him, "You betrayed mother.... you betrayed your people.... you betrayed the light.... and you even killed Leon."

"You understand so little child."

"I understand enough you bastard! Prepare to meet your fate!!"

While sheathing her blades,Roku's entire body starts to glow with a golden aura. A beam light shoots from her hands as she points them at Kraag. He gets blown back several feet, landing right on his back. Without hesitation, Roku leaps into the air and draws the original twin blade that Crito had forged. She dives down with the sword pointed straight down. Kraag manages to roll mostly out of the way, only having the blade slice through his arm.

Kraag jumps to his feet, his nostrils flaring. His body lights up with an icy blue aura and he starts to freeze the air around them. Drayk puts up a veil of fire and jumps to a safer spot to allow them to fight. Roku uses a strong gust of wind to blow warm air from the sea of lava to heat back up the freezing air. A smile cracks on Kraag's face as he creates a massive and destructive blizzard. Ice tears through buildings, leaving holes in their walls. A dome of fire suddenly appears over the town to protect it from further damage.

Roku envelops herself in a tornado, the spinning winds catching the snow and ice in the air. Kraag calms down the storm and his aura fades away. As soon as Roku releases the tornado, clumps of ice shoot off in all directions around her. The ice slams into Kraag, throwing him off balance.

"You have become much stronger since our last encounter Riinah," Kraag laughs, "But it won't be enough."

"That's where you're wrong, Kraag," Roku states with a monotone voice.

"I'm not the King of Ice because I am soft. I may have been caught up with fatigue on our last meeting, but I'm ready for you now Riinah!"

Kraag levitates off of the ground with a dark blue aura covering him. The aura begins to get brighter until it is a bright white. Chunks of ice form in midair and fall onto the ground, making a pile of ice. The ice then glows a bright white as well and melds together forming the shape of an dragon. The dragon is crystal clear with a long tail that comes to a spikey point. Its wings are wide and pointed like those of a bat. Three horns are at the top of its head, one pointed forward, and the other two pointed back. Large spikes run down the creature's back to the point of his tail.

"Meet the spirit of ice, Bringer of Hope! Guardian of the frozen lands, and my loyal companion for many, many years!" Kraag shouts, "Tundra, the Crystal Dragon!"