Fallen Angel

City of Fire

 It felt as if their journey through the Gramen Silva had taken eons to complete. Even though they remained under the protective shade of the large grass, the sun's heat still burned down on them with fierce intensity. When they pushed through yet another wall of grass, they were relieved to find the absence of vegetation and the addition of the barren, cracked earth of the Mortuusterra. There was not a living thing in sight, save for the four young adults that stood on the border. Sand and particles of dust blew with the wind. Leira slipped on her jacket to protect herself from such things, but rolled her sleeves up as far as they could go. In the distance, the summit of the famous Incendian stratovolcano, Mt. Ignis was visible.

"Not too much further, guys," Leira commented, lifting her hand up to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun so she could gain a better view. Incendia was still too far away to see the outline of the buildings, but they knew it was there. Kyle urged them on, his face displaying the eagerness he felt at seeing Incendia for the first time.

Leira heard an audible crunch beneath someone's feet. Her first instinct was to lift her foot up and examine the flat bottom of her boots. Nothing was underneath where her foot had been, and nothing was wedged in between the grooves on the bottom of the boot. Everyone's gaze instantly turned to Will, who bent down and lifted up a cracked black rock no larger than the palm of his hand. The top was broken up a bit, since he had stepped on it. Leira started at it, noticing the strange wrinkled patterns on its surface.

"What is this?" Will asked, his eyes scrutinizing every surface of the rock.

"It is just volcanic rock. The eruptions from Mt. Ignis were so forceful that they would spew debris even over in this area," Cora replied, uninterested. Will shrugged and shoved it into the pocket of his pants, probably saving it as a souvenir.

"This must mean Incendia is definitely close. I had no idea the dead lands were so close to the town," Kyle commented.

"We must keep moving. The Mortuusterra is an incredibly abysmal place at night. We should not get caught here what night falls," Cora said, her eyes calm despite the warning she just provided. Well, she would know, since she is a former citizen of Incendia...

As it turned out, haste was not something easily accomplished. The fiery heat of the dead lands was too much for one person to bear, and it quickly lowered their stamina. Kyle finally gave in, and demanded that they rest for a while. Leira agreed and sat down on a large igneous rock. She wiped perspiration off of her forehead with the back of her hand. Cora passed a bottle of water around, reminding them to take small amounts so they will still have a life-sustaining amount.

"So, Leira, how do you manage to be so good at combat?" Will asked out of the blue. Leira stared at him curiously, taking in her share of water.

"Lots of practice, my friend," she replied, passing the bottle back to Cora. Will appeared uncertain about something, as if he was holding something back.

"You have something you wanna say?" Leira inquired.

Will scratched his head. "Well, I-I was hoping you could teach me some tactics," he admitted.

Kyle chuckled at the statement. "You couldn't have picked a better person to teach you battle tactics, Will."

Leira smiled overconfidently, and removed her sheathe with the sword still inside. It was traditional in Fortis for training warriors to practice fighting with sheathed swords so no one was injured.

"Well, you wanna learn?"

Will hesitated, but nodded and removed his sword from his belt. Kyle leaned back against a rock, closer to Cora than most friends usually are. She did not appear to mind though, and relaxed.