Liquid Metal

CHAPTER 0.1

Deep in the woods beneath the Western mountains of Solumina, a young man and his patriarch were arguing as they travelled.

"What does it matter, Sten will just make a fire the instant we arrive." Claden whined.

The older man sighed as he was too tired from all the bickering along the way. He wanted to return to camp so that they could prepare dinner with the materials they currently had, but his youngest son still wanted to search for more herbs in the forest.

"You are nearly fourteen summers old, you should know it is not the fire we need; it's the bed of coals that take too long to form. We would be wasting our efforts and even such rare meat if we keep searching for anything else to add to the supper; what have I always told you boys since the moment you could walk?"

"Don't go starting trouble with strangers and never let good meat go to waste."

"Good," the old man smiled as they continued. "Perhaps we can search for more in the morning as we travel. That way you can start making your spices while your brother starts the coals tomorrow."

That seemed to cheer up the young Claden enough that he was quiet for the remainder of their trek. Though the old man noticed his son would still stop briefly at every plant that looked useful as an additive.

Fmmmmmmmm!

They both froze from the light rumble of the earth beneath their feet. Before they could respond, it stopped as quickly as it came, leaving them baffled.

The old man pondered for a moment before speaking, "Just beyond those mountains is the west coast. I think we just experienced the tremors of a landslide hitting the sea."

He gestured at the range of mountains that occasionally gave off the smell of saltwater whenever the wind changed directions. They waited a few moments before confirming nothing else would happen, figuring the theory of a landslide must've been the only plausible answer, and they continued walking.

They managed to arrive just minutes before the sun touched the horizon, finding the oldest son had already unloaded the tents from their two-horse cart. He was still undergoing the assembly of a makeshift spit to roast their meat using thick branches, kneeling in front of the unlit fire pit at the center of camp with wood shavings everywhere.

"Gahh, Stennick! Worry about those later, get the fire going while Claden pitches the tents. We will need what little sunlight we have left to make sure everything is arranged for nightfall."

Stennick, who was only a few inches taller than his brother and father, stood up from his crouching position, "Oh I see, I get to do all the heavy labour while you two take a leisurely viewing in the forest.

"Ugh, I swear if I hadn't been there when your mother gave birth, I'd think you were the offspring of that lazy hard-arse neighbour back in Dowell." The old man joked as he set his sons off to start their chores

"Complain all you want, but we know too damn well that we are related to you. Besides, wasn't the old neighbour half-elf? I don't know about you Claden, but my ears are rounder than doe eyes."

Stennick chuckled at his own observation and then cackled once he spotted his sibling checking his own ears for the pointy edges of an elf. The younger brother was too young to remember the old family house, or the fact that their neighbours used to be part Aruka, the species of elf known as the dark elves.

They had the common pointed-ears and slim physique as all elves do, but their unique trait was the slight tint of purple and blue in the skin. Something they surely would've picked up on growing up.

Indeed they all looked alike, with the same mess of light brown hair and cleft chins. It was hard for the old man to find any of his late wife's traits among his children. Not that he cared, as he loved his family no matter the appearances and hardships they persevered over the years.

"At least make yourself useful before you cause your brother to panic about his own heritage."

Stennick reluctantly put his spit project to the side and stood above the pile of firewood. He closed his eyes and began to focus as he brought his palms only a few inches apart from each other.

After a few seconds of concentrating, sweat already started to bead along his forehead. An almost misty haze began to form in the space between his hands. It grew with every passing second in concentration until he could not contain it any longer.

Stennick motioned a shove at the gathered haze downward, where it combusted during the slight impacts against the wood. In less than a minute, he had managed to ignite the wood into a roaring fire using magic.

It would have seemed impressive to Claden as a jealous younger brother if he hadn't seen him perform the same thing dozens of times over the years, and if it wasn't such an exhausting process to the body.

Once Stennick released the bundle of energy, he was down in the dirt for a while, wheezing as if he had been labouring for hours. He sat there till the last of the sunlight vanished into the night. In the meantime, the other two moved several small crates off of the cart bed and finished laying out the tents.

The two horses they used to pull the cart along the dirt roads were watching from the side of camp, tied to a fallen log. They quietly watched the routine unfold, waiting for when the humans would share some of the feed they were owed for towing the cart all day.

Once everything seemed ready enough, Stennick and their father hoisted one last item off the bed and next to the fallen log. It was a decent sized cage with a tarp wrapped over the exterior, with an additional measure of twine securing it in place.

As the old man carefully unbound the twine from the cage, it started to jerk slightly; meaning the captive prey was beginning to stir. Once the knots were untied, he pulled back the material, revealing two children restrained inside.

"Alright, time to get started."