Chapter 36 - The Peace Arrangement

"Let us see what this has to say." Alexander said as he walked over to Faye. "Sister Mildred was somewhere behind me, she should be here soon."

"It isn't just fire brother." Faye stated with her eyes closed.

"What're you feeling?"

"...Earth, fire... wind. Everything except water."

"Is there an issue?" Mildred asked as she arrived into the Elder's Courtyard.

"We're not quite sure yet, but, this should tell us something." Alex replied while gesturing towards the bubble.

Alexander penetrated the bubble with his entire right hand and then quickly waved his hand, spreading the water across the air before him in one swift motion. The water then began to form words in the air, flowing together and forming a message. Elder Mildred walked around to the side where Faye and Alexander were so she too can read the message.

"Himawari was attacked by Ignus invaders on the seventy-sixth day of fall at just after fourteen o'clock. I'm not sure but there were at least two attackers. However, before they arrived a group of children accompanied by one adult also from Ignus arrived at Himawari claiming to be travelers on their way to Aestus. One of them was Jayson Hillinger. He said that there was a message he were to deliver to Aestus, and he also fought against the two invaders. After the invaders retreated, Jayson and the others left shortly after."

"Jayson Hillinger." Faye repeated.

"Tamara's boy... he's coming here." Mildred stated.

"And he has children with him. They may be runaways. For all we know Ignus is still engulfed in a civil war, so whatever message he has must be important."

"Important enough that they'd send people after him." Alex pointed out.

"Their fighting has spilled into our lands, at this point they leave us no choice but to intervene." Mildred exclaimed.

"Let's not be presumptuous now, I think to start us off we should be trying to find Mr. Hillinger."

"The fire essence I felt at the frozen lake, it must be him."

"The frozen lake?" Mildred questioned.

"That could be his current location." Alex presumed. "If we move with haste-"

SWISH!

Without hesitating, Elder Mildred pulled a stream of water from the fountain and quickly sent it down the pathway.

"I'll be taking Ondo with me." Mildred stated as she briskly walked out of the courtyard.

"Sister, that may be a bit too hasty." Alexander stated calmly.

"Nonsense!"

Alexander stepped out to the edge of the courtyard in a very nonchalant manner, before gazing up towards the lake above them.

"So it's finally starting." He said.

.....

"Both of them are late." Via said as she played with a fuzzy flower amidst the grass.

"I don't expect much else from Kaden, but Mai seems like a very reliable person." Aaron stated. "Maybe they got caught up in something."

"Speaking of caught up, you still haven't told me what caused you to come home late yesterday."

"You're very much like an overprotective parent yanno Via." Aaron said jokingly.

"As I should be."

"Hmph. There were these two girls that were asking me questions. For some reason they were very interested in me."

"You haven't even been here a month and girls are already swooning over you." Via replied.

"First of all, they were like ten years old. Secondly, you don't need to be so blatantly jealous."

"I'm not jealous, you just need to stay focus on your training!"

"Yes ma'am." Aaron replied with a cheeky grin.

"Please pardon our tardiness." Mai said as she and Kaden approached.

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything is more than alright Aaron." Kaden replied happily as he walked over to the pond.

He placed his hand on the surface of the water and began to focus. After just a few seconds, he lifted his hand, extracting a column of water away from the pond.

"You unlocked it." Aaron exclaimed.

"Now he has to learn how to use it." Mai stated. "Is Kenzo around?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen him."

"You haven't?" Mai replied slightly shocked. "There aren't any guards around watching over you?"

"They probably realized we're no threat at all." Via replied.

"...That's odd. Wouldn't they have-"

"Don't overthink things Mai." Elder Aira said as she and Elder Claire made their entrance. "Aaron and Via will no longer be under any kind of surveillance, as per the decision of the Elders."

"Glad to know we've earned your trust." Aaron stated.

"Have you came here only to make that announcement?" Mai asked politely.

"No actually." Aira responded. "Kaden, how are you feeling?"

"Me? I'm fine. I released water essence for the first time a bit ago."

"That's wonderful news." Claire replied.

"But, physically you feel fine?" Aira questioned.

"Yeah, why're you asking?" Kaden responded.

"Just curious."

Kaden gave both of the Elders a skeptical glare, but didn't press them any further.

"How often do people leave Aestus?" Via questioned.

"The people of Aestus are free to come and go as they please, but most people hardly ever go to the surface." Aira answered.

"I wonder why they're leaving then." Via said as she pointed to a bubble which was ascending to the surface.

"Hmm, I'm sure they have their reasons."

"...What if I had a reason." Via said very shyly whilst everyone was viewing the bubble.

"What was that?" Claire questioned as she walked up beside Via.

"I-I mean, well..."

"Go ahead, say what you want to say." Aaron stated as he crouched down in front of Via.

Via gazed at his warm smile before taking a deep breathe in and turning to face Elder Claire.

"Th-There's a place I want to visit, even if it's only for a short while. Someone can come with me and watch me to make sure I don't do anything. I-I promise I'll come right back. If it's possible-"

"I'll come with you." Claire stated firmly.

"...You would?"

"I trust you Via."

That statement shocked Via for just a moment, before she started to blush and averted her gaze to the ground.

"Thank you." She replied softly.

"Is this place you want yo visit near Aestus?" Claire questioned.

"Yes, it's close to my home."

"In the Redwoods?" Aira asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"If that's the case... Kaden, about what you told me earlier. How would you feel attempting the gate tomorrow morning?"

Everyone present adjusted their attention over to Kaden. The proposal took him by surprise and it seemed like thoughts were conflicting in his head.

"Um, yeah sure." He replied very hesitantly.

"You can decline if you feel as if you require more time to prepare." Elder Aira stated.

"No no, I'll be ready, it's fine."

"You sure Kade?" Aaron questioned.

"Yeah man, I said I'll be ready, so I'll be ready."

Mai displayed a worried expression towards Kaden before turning to Elder Aira and giving her the same concerned glare.

"We'll leave you four to your training then. Tomorrow morning we set out."

Elders Aira and Claire departed from the group, leaving the others to converse about the sudden change of events. Kaden fiddled with the strings on his hoodie before telling Mai...

"What're we waiting for? Let's start."

"...Okay." She reluctantly replied.

.....

On the surface.

Elder Mildred and a guard by the name of Markus arrived at the surface after swiftly making their exit.

"Who is this person we're suppose to be collecting Elder Mildred?" Markus asked.

"His name is Jayson Hillinger, son of Tamara Hillinger of Aestus and Wade Syton of Ignus."

"He's a mixed blood?"

"Not just any mixed blood. His father Wade is the brother of the 16th King of Ignus. Eighteen years ago, when Aestus and Ignus were still clashing over many things, his mother Tamara served as a messenger between the two cities. She spent an extended amount of time in Ignus sending and receiving bubble messages. Tamara was a pure soul who wanted nothing more than peace between the four great continents. While Ventus and Humus were naturally very cooperative in the negotiations, there has always been tension between Ignus and Aestus. The history is extensive to say the least."

"So I'm guessing Tamara had a role in the peace agreement?" Markus assumed.

"Very much so. While she stayed in Ignus, Wade Syton personally watched over her, per the King's request. I couldn't tell you why the King decided on his own brother to take such a task, but that was his decision. And it wasn't  long before Tamara fell in love."

"She must've really been a pure soul to fall in love with someone from that nation."

"From stories I've heard it may seem that Wade was a decent man, but it didn't take much to win over Tamara. That woman was rather forward, but thanks to her a new piece was thrown into the peace negotiations. A mixed blood child, bearing fire and water essence. There hasn't been many of those born throughout the year so he was deemed 'a valuable asset'. Once we received word of her pregnancy we ordered her to return to Aestus immediately. Unfortunately the news had already leaked over there before that was possible. She was captured held as a hostage. Such actions almost initiated a war."

"So then how did peace arise from that situation?" Markus questioned.

"Tamara and the child were used as bargaining chips." Mildred replied bluntly. "In exchange for peace the two would remain in Ignus, not as prisoners  but regular citizens."

"And Ignus honored those terms?"

"Yes, Wade Syton made sure of it. He was enraged once he found out that they had imprisoned not only the woman he loved, but also his unborn child. He personally ensured that they would not be bothered or tormented in their new home. As years went by we heard less and less from Tamara until she eventually stopped sending updates all together. However, in the last few messages she did send, it did seem like she was enjoying her new family."

"That's good to hear then. I wonder what kind of person her son turned out to be." Markus stated.

"Let's go and find out."

Elder Mildred extended here hand towards the lake, drawing from it a large volume of water. She formed a water sphere that was roughly the same  size as herself, and with little effort she launched it into the sky. The sphere rocketed through the sky swiftly reaching the height of the surrounding mountains. Once there the sphere exploded into a cloud of steam.

"Hurry now Ondo we don't have all day." Mildred stated.

"Ondo?" Markus asked with visible confusion.

SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!!

A high pitch screech echoed through the mountain range, followed by the appearance of a silhouette perched on the peak of a nearby cliff.

"What is that?" Markus asked showing a small amount of fear.

"Calm down, it belongs to us." Mildred responded.

The creature dove from the cliff towards the surface of the lake, not opening its wings until just before impact. One flap of their enormous wings was all it took to propel the creature skyward.

SCREEEEECH!!!

The other animals naturally were spooked by the winged creature and fled from the field, leaving a vacant area for the creature to land in. It's entire appearance was now completely visible as it made its approach to Elder Mildred and Markus. Some of the easily distinguishable features on the creature are its long thin neck that measured at least five meters tall, along with its lengthy wingspan of around twelve meters. The body in its totality was larger than a giraffe's, with shiny blue-gray skin and a long sharp beak extending from its head. The creature landed rather gracefully before the two and began cooing while scoping around.

"This is Ondo." Mildred stated.

"What is he?" Markus asked inspecting it.

"He's a quetzalcoatlus. Only nine years old so not quite fully grown yet."

"He'll get bigger?"

"Let's go." Mildred exclaimed while approaching Ondo.

"We're... going to ride him?"

"How else are you expecting us to travel to the frozen lake? Now let's go, there is no time to waste."

"Yes ma'am."

The two mounted Ondo and began their travel to the frozen lake in hopes to find Jayson Hillinger.

.....

Later that night.

The scattered members of Jayson's crew settled down in their different environments for the night. Avery and Sayu secured shelter underneath some exposed roots of one of the redwood trees. Nakayla and Shaedon made it to the edge of the mountain range and found refuge in a shallow cave for the night. Camie, Mano and Tanner found themselves on the shoreline of the underground lake. The trio made their bed on a grass bed a few feet from the water. As for Jayson...

"She said the village was nearby didn't she?" Jayson thought as he dragged himself through the karst landscape. "This isn't good, I don't have the strength to find food for myself. My left leg is trembling after every step and my chest hurts. I should rest, but I need to catch up to them. They need me."

Crack!

The ground crumbled away beneath Jayson's foot as he took another step, leaving him to collapse into a shallow ravine beside him.

Awooooo.

"Get up Jay. This is no time for this... just get up..."