The Elemental War

Chapter 1. Night.

Night. I always loved it. I got to sit up in the trees with Corvus, my trained pet raven. I didn't need powers to have him as a companion, unlike those Beast Controllers... They nearly brainwash the poor things. But nonetheless, I sat on watch high in a pine tree near to camp. I know Falisha should be relieving me soon. I mean it's nearly 0300 and nothing has happened since the Fire Movers declared open war on anyone who wasn't them roughly a month or two ago. (Typical of those aggressive types...) I see Corvus chasing after a bat, which distracts me from my usual gaze on the eastern horizon.
I very quickly hear burning and smell sulfur.
Fire.
I look back to where I was in time to see a fire ball immediately 2 yards on front of my face. I instinctively envelope myself in shadow. Its cold embrace comforting me with safety as the fire explodes around me burning the pine slowly below me that I am attached to. I leap to the pine next to me and latch on. I look on the horizon as the darkness fades to light of the moon. That couldn't have been a Fire Mover... They have a distinct smell that tips it off that it came from Magick.
Someone thinks they were gonna be slick and blame a killing on the Fire Movers. I turn into shadow and as a result arrive immediately on the forest floor. I materialize to my normal humany self and see Falisha running to me.
Falisha.
Smart women. She is a bit of a tech wizard. Things I could never get acclimated to. But that's not important right now. She is part of my faction, the Shadow Walkers. She puts a veil around us to shroud us to the outside observer.
"Are you hurt?" Her motherly instinct as usual kicking in at stressful times.
"No. Not a scratch" I say off-hand.
"Elliot Ray. Are you sure?"
The middle name? Really?
"Really. I'm fine, Leesh." Using her nickname that she hates. "We need to find this guy."
She bites the side of her cheek. She's annoyed but this isn't the time to deal with it. "Right. Let's go." She drops the veil and we move east.
* *
I see footprints 20 yards from where I was stationed, heading to and from the position. Sandals. Strange for this weather. Snow hadn't fallen but this weather wasn't the warmest. They were not from here. Which factions wear sandals? The Earth Warpers and the Light Walkers... The Light Walkers should not be up here... But then again...
In this area, I smell sulfur I touch the earth where he was standing the closest to my post. Its warm. As if something was fired from there. No scorch marks...
"Let's keep going." I say.
We continue on the trail. To hear heavy breathing up ahead. It's behind the next pine. I take the left, she goes around the right side. I pick the individual up by the front of their shirt, and slam them against the tree. It was a female. I flinched. I hate hurting females...
She grunted when she hit the tree. I said sternly, "Faction."
She shook her head like she didn't understand, and she was obviously distressed and afraid. "Bonjour?" I ask harshly in Old French. She shook her head again. I gritted my teeth, slammed her again, I'll deal with that guilt later. "фракция!!" Modern Russian. "Factio!" Revived Latin. She looked up at R. Latin. I speak to get in R. Latin:
"Lady. Answer me. What faction do you belong to? Answer me now and your punishment will be less severe. You tried to kill me dammit!"
"Fire!"
"Lies! Don't try me lady! You would've burned me by now, if you were. Truth please" I press her against the tree.
She pauses. "Light... I'm Light."
At this point Falisha pulled back the trespasser's hood to reveal her golden near platinum blonde locks. And her gold corneas stabbed into my gaze and I put her down. She seemed saddened by her failure. I mean who wouldn't though, but this was different. Like something big was at stake.
But I don't know what. She intensified in brightness and blinded us with light and seemed to disappear.
What was at stake? What was so important that the Light Walkers would stage a Fire Mover attack against us? There's something I've not been told. I don't like being out of the loop.