I knew I was going to have to be careful on this journey in Evola, but I never would have thought I'd need to pack this many shoes!

The burning area I’m travelling in seems to be littered with much more volcanic glass than I had expected. I’m already on my fourth pair of shoes after carelessly stepping on and shredding the previous three.

"Hargh Hargh Hargh!", Soot laughs at my tip-toeing dance while I focus on not shearing the already thinning soles from my poor shoes. I glance back towards my “guide” and give him the fiercest grimace I can muster behind the pain of my blistering heels.

“Look here, you flickering flame of a guide,” I point at him briefly before stepping over a large shard of obsidian ahead of myself. “Just cause you’re immune to shredding your shoes and feet with them doesn’t excuse you from your weak warning earlier of them. I’m of half a mind to dock your pay as is. Hrggg...”

I can feel Soot grow dimmer behind me in response, the shadow from his light waning before me.

“Woah there! Listen up here, Hal-flame!” Soot shakes and appears in front of me suddenly on flame.

If I hadn’t known he was a Flame Elemental beforehand I might have been more than a little surprised to see a flaming man flicker before me unexpectedly. As an elemental, Soot’s physical body is loose and lacking clothing. He appears as a large man-shaped flame with a flickering, flaming edge that makes him nearly as hard to pin as he can be to hurt. The only clear part visible of him, thankfully because he’s a naked being, is his face, a thick flaming neck gives way to his glowing green embers for eyes and a wide grinning mouth full teeth that look like they’d been plucked from a stars surface. One of the few races nearly immune to physical harm, he makes a great living as a guide for explorers such as myself. All reasons we partner great together, just not perfect because of his poorly timed pranks.

Despite this I trust him to do a good job and watch out for me in times of crises. His flaming form flickers dimly and warmly in what I recognize as a “cold sweat” for him. I roll my eyes visibly seeing him tense, as if I’d ever actually dock his pay. He warms up slowly and nervously, catching onto my brilliant prank in return. I give a wide smirk at him to ease him down. I’m in love with my payback so much, I swear my grin might even reach my eyes.

“Heh heh, you always love to joke! I promise I’ll look after you better in our next venture together.” He gives me a small, savored bow before I step past him continuing our journey I through this volcanic area.

“Was that supposed to be a smile?” I think I hear him mumble something behind me briefly but he dismisses it quickly and waves at me, flickering across the ground ahead of me, keeping my pace easily and without any of the danger I have to avoid.

I look around in front of me and take in the surroundings. Up until now there were veins of lava running around us, giving off obnoxious amount of smoke and steam. Flames spit out from the veins occasionally now, but our view surrounding us is a bit clearer now that we seem to be clear of most of the rivers before. Dark black stone shines right in front of myself as I step over another jut of jagged obsidian, saving my last pair of shoes another cut. The landscape seems to be covered in dark, rich soil. Basalt covers another majority of the surface but obsidian lies inches beneath sections of the ground, only revealing itself in small croppings that pierce the floor and anything else soft.

“Bless Sol for thinking ahead though, Hal-flame. This region would be nearly unlivable for anyone who needs to breathe. Between the height, heat, and flames, I don’t think most mortal races would be able to get here.”

Soot gives me his point-of-view briefly before lifting to the air a dozen feet or so for a better view.

“I thought so too, Soot.” I pause and look up at him, keeping an eye for any changes in his flames we use to signal each other. “As a Sol-worshipper, you’re more than a help. You were vital to getting us here. Even with my natural immunities as worshipper of…”

FWOOOSH!

I stop speaking suddenly as Soot flares to a flame nearly fifteen feet wide, almost twice as wide as I am tall. He flickers through a shade of dull green, nearly brown, I recognize as a sign of someone alive and danger. Whether from the person or to them is unknown. A shrieking whistle occurs briefly as Soot tears through the air back to me.

“Sorry to cut you off but I believe I found something of note.” Soot’s flame flickers fiercely but without extreme heat. A sign he’s serious and focused but not panicked.

Soot raises his palm towards me and flames spread out, playing a scene in miniature. He shows me a much more jagged area in what looks like a crest higher up in the region. I lean in and try to take in some of the details more closely, noticing that there’s a creatures he’s showing me. Covered in mud and clay, it seems to be playing around in the mud, but that’s not what’s unusual to me.

“Is that a water wyrm?” I ask while looking at Soot, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

“Looks like it, flamekin.” Soot keeps showing me the scene but point out a couple things, one after the other. “I spotted the wyrm dripping wet and it seems a bit upset as well, spewing water like crazy around it. Also considering we’re around a literal volcano, it shouldn’t be able to live here. I’m sure you know what this means.”

“Yes,” I agree and shake my head resolutely at his conclusion. “There’s gotta be a rift opened up recently that let him in. Probably one to the plane of water.”

“Exactly.” Soot agrees with me and grows a bit more resolute. “We’ll have to close it, but I won’t be able to help much there. I’m in as much danger there as that creature is here. Sorry, Hal-flame.” His flame flickers a shade of purple briefly, a sign of his remorse but I understand why.

“Don’t worry, Soot. I should be able to handle this well enough. Luckily this rift doesn’t seem to be to a dangerous realm and hasn’t been open for too long. I’ll hurry ahead and deal with that wyrm briefly.” I start forward to take off after the creature before a warm hand grasps my shoulder.

“Just a moment before that Hal-flame.” I turn to face Soot and he’s still showing the scene to me. “I think there’s someone there next to the creature as well.”

I look closer at what he shows me, but even with my experienced eyes I don’t see anyone from what I could tell.

“Where are they, Soot?” I ask him pointedly; we need to deal with this before it messes with the wildlife and the rift lets anything else through.

“See the clay?” Soot asks me and I look closer at it, not noticing anything too important before his insinuation dawns on me.

“An Almaej?!?” I ask him in surprise, one of the first times I’ve been surprised since starting this journey.

I know that the Almaej are one of the recently discovered mortal races. Much is still unknown about them, explorers having only found a few “corpses” on their journeys. Even then, corpse is a loose term as the only thing left of a dead Almaej is raw natural clay. The Almaej are a people made of gray clay-like flesh, able to manipulate their body like the substance it seems to be made of. My brow creases at this revelation. Even the two of us, with probably the highest combined experience exploring, haven’t heard much about this new race.

“That’s what I’m thinking as well, Hal-flame. What would an Almaej be doing up here? And do you think the clay is what’s left of…?” Soot, dismissing his surveillance, asks me worriedly. The edge of his flames give off a hint of green showing the disgust he normally makes light of to avoid.

I ponder for a moment, bringing my hand to my chin in short contemplation. While it’s true we don’t know much about the home of the Almaej or how they live, we can’t assume they’re a mortal race that breathes like myself. For all we know they may be more akin to Soot’s people than myself.

“We don’t have much time to investigate Soot. All I can assume is that one may be there alive but in danger. They may or may not need to breath. You said so yourself, this area’s nearly unlivable for any breathing mortal race. As for the remains, I hope the scene you saw isn’t as gruesome as the worst case.”

“…I hope so too, Hal-flame. Remains like that remind me too much of Elemental massacres I’ve seen.”

Soot’s flame takes on a somber blue nearing indigo I’ve only seen a few times before. From what I’ve learned, it’s reminiscence of bad memories. I know to respect his feeling when his flame reaches this color and let him be when he wants.

I tip toe slightly in order to see if I can spot the area we’ve been warned of. Soot blocks my view somewhat so I look around him quickly but I’m able to spot the beginnings of the zone I would need to reach.

“I’m thinking I’ll take off after the Wyrm and try to settle whatever issue is going on there. It might be best for you to scout some more of the area around us ahead of me. Hopefully you can catch sight of the rift and any more possible…anomalies.”

In an effort to spare Soot’s emotions right now, I try my best to be sensitive with my words.

“Pshh, anomaly.” Soot rolls his eyes towards me. Hmm, his flames gain a tint that notifies me of his aggravation.

It seems I may not be as sensitive as I thought I was. Odd.

“I’d prefer if you stop beating around the bush for me and call it a massace like this might be.” His flames regain their somber tint quickly again. “Let’s get to work though, Hal-flame. We can handle ourselves and our jobs best. Hah har! I know you wouldn’t let me down anyway.”

With another shrieking roar, Soot takes off again before I have much of an option to stop him, this time in a direction opposing the Wyrm. He stops in the air suddenly about a hundred feet however before shouting loudly back towards me.

“I’ll signal you!” He cups his hand together in the distance in order to make his voice heard, keeping his relay short and to the point. “You signal me if you need to! I’ll recognize it!”

With that he takes off in earnest before disappearing from my vision within less than a minute, leaving the only sign of him being a streaking comet in the distance.

“Hmph, show-off. He could stand to cool down his take-offs now and then.” I mumble to myself, waiting for smoke and gravel to clear from the air.

“Heh.” Cool down. He’d love that.

In sincerity though, if it weren’t for the bubbling magma and general roar of the volcanic atmosphere around us, he might have gotten us noticed by the Wyrm. I give a brief shrug to myself. Although I suppose he knows what he’s doing if he recognized that too.

From what I’ve gathered of Soot though, he’s the type to be rash but can be taken seriously and knows his limits. Even though his race is near immortal, they’ve learned about their concrete weaknesses in my realm. Water being his obvious one. Most would snicker at the behavior they exhibit because of this. They’re extraordinarily cautious! Most don’t like to take risks with things that may simply be beyond them. His race, as a whole, rules the elemental planes as he came from a fire rift that opened in the past. He is one of the few elementals I’ve encountered anyhow, so I’m not sure if his experience can be wholly applied to other subtypes.

A feint roar of something in the distance occurs and I see steam rise immediately. The Wyrm must be furious and spraying water haphazardly. I should take off immediately right now.

I take a deep stance to acknowledge how weak this Wyrm is! It’s nothing more than the worm it looks like! To come within MY space and think it won’t suffer retribution!

A golden mass starts to form in my core, spreading out as I gather my rage and pride.

“Hmph, pathetic beast.”

In a burst of golden energy around myself the mass explodes within me. I take on a transformation that changes me nearly completely. With a bounding launch into the air I spread massive golden wings, each several feet wide.

Soot is a Worshipper of Sol, the Lightthief. She’s God of the sun and a joyous god. Mortal races in my realm, and my realm alone, can worship one of the gods and receive their Boons to become one of their Worshippers. This grants them a portion of their divine power in exchange for their faith. For worshippers of Sol this lets them control and conjure flames. Soot, as a flame elemental, can combine this with his natural abilities to become a true master of the fire.

Myself on the other hand, I’m a Worshipper of Bahamal, the Righteous Breath. One of the Dragon Gods, he’s the God of Justice Law; creator of the metallic dragons. In an encounter long ago, I gained the respect of a golden dragon I met which allowed me the rare privilege to worship Bahamal. I abandoned my god and took this rare opportunity and now have all the abilities of a Bahamal Worshipper.

Before I took a new god, I was a normal human, albeit somewhat tall, around six and a half feet. Chestnut hair and broad shoulders, I was a small time explorer. Now I’m taller and broader, a towering massive man nearing seven feet tall. My hair is a truly golden color and I’ve gained jagged teeth matching a dragon’s set. My eyes contain no whites, being replaced by black, and have golden slitted irises. When I charge my pride and wrath like a dragon, I take on more features as well. The signature wings I’m soaring with now being the most notable. Clawed hands and a general draconic constitution have been gifted as well.

To be honest, the soles of my feet are fairly protected even from the obsidian shards. My loss of good shoes is the real complaint.

With a wave of my breath-taking wings, I gain a surge of speed before spotting the feature I'm looking for in the distance. A large outcropping of obsidian forms a jagged cliff, loose and muddy clay splattered throughout the top.

Rummaging through the ground is the large, unseemly creature. A Water Wyrm surely, I sneer in disgust at the creature some would call “dragon-like”. Its scales shine an iridescent and boorish cerulean, unlike mine own magnificently glowing gold. The snout is a narrowed one that ends in long flowing whiskers caked in dirt now. Without arms and more snake-like than any dragon I’d recognize, it must resort to rolling and slithering to move about. Hmph, it seems to be rummaging around for some filth to play with. Truly an unrefined beast.

A brisk breeze from this high up in the air chills me for the briefest moment and I clear my senses before falling to the pride and wrath once more. I need to keep in mind that the creature may have killed some of the Almaej. When I draw more upon the Boon of Bahamal, my personality can become much more prideful but I always try to maintain respect for what I can.

I start to hear shaking and rolling from below me, right before the Wyrm raises its head from the dirt. A torrent of water is unleashed from its jaws and wipes the area clean in a haphazard pattern before focusing towards one area. In a larger mound of clay, most of the material is washed away before revealing a smaller man shaped mass of clay. The Almaej! The individual must have been hiding within that clay mound and is currently being blasted by the sopping creature!

Circling myself downwards, I flap my wings strongly and perform a fierce pitch and dive. The wind gives a rushing whoosh as I plummet headfirst towards the monster.

I rear back my draconic talons to tear the hideous head off from its nonexistent shoulders before the Wyrm does one more thing to grow my wrath. It’s vision must be specialized for three-dimensional combat, as it spots me narrowly at the moment before death and hoists its gushing maw skywards at myself.

Gallons of water immediately rushes at me. While the water doesn't bother my vision too much, having a second pair of protective eyelids, my wings aren’t protected as much. My downward flight is disrupted severely as my wings catch the water pressure before closing. Still on a death plummet, I strike with the utmost self-assurance, raking my claws through its slicked scales and drawing warm blood that pours out immediately.

To land, I slow my descent with a last second flap of my wings and tuck myself but I’m a second too slow. I ram into the ground with a shattering sound of obsidian, splintered shards detonating everywhere.

Wasting minimal time possible, I think to check on the threat first. While I should be checking the Almaej, I know how important it is to clear threats first and, to be frank, keep myself guarded. Beating my wings to quickly clear the air of floating soot and dust, I see I missed my mark by a few feet. The creature is already rolling in the clay in a primitive attempt at sealing its deadly wound. Carved gashes mar its smooth scales along the neck, deep as my hand could go, indigo blood pouring out by the gallon.

“Hmm.” I mumble to myself in focus. With blood flowing so much and the Wyrm still unfettered, considering the amount lost, I can probably assume it’s got enormous quantities of water stored in its blood as well to maintain the gushes of water being released. This might also explain how it’s surviving this long as well. I’ll have to end this as soon as possible.

I bring my wings back curled to boost me in a magnificent charge when I hear a grotesque bubbling sound behind me.

“BlaAArghHH!”

With a bubbling and gurgling shout, I look behind me before stuttering my charge in surprise. The Almaej has grown large, extraordinarily so! Almost over ten feet by my best guess!

Still no dragon’s size, they race past me in a speed unbefitting of their size. Their hands are shaped into clawed ends that seem unnaturally large, each the size of my torso. They get within a fairly close range before the Wyrm notices them in surprise and unleashes another bout of water.

The Almaej raises one hand to block the water. Surprise reaches my face again before I act. Unleashing my wings, I launch towards the Wyrm and gain distance ahead of the clayman. Once there, I block the full front of the attack with wings curled in front of me and turn to speak to my new compatriot.

“I’ll draw its ire!” I shout over the rushing sounds of water. “Take cover and watch my glorious back or stand up for yourself and deal another wound! Take pride in whatever action you choose!”

Following my own advice I gather more dragon’s pride in my core, forming another large mass.

“I…” The Almaej starts to respond in a stuttering, bubbling voice. “I...can...fight.”

Spittles of clay land on my back as they duck behind my wings, the Wyrm’s gushing torrent still pounding away at me.

“Then do so.” I tell him before inhaling deeply, allowing the soot and ash of the air to fill my lungs this time.

Taking all of the dry air in, I let my lungs itch and hack silently before infusing it with my golden mass. The two merges into a more potent mix than I’ve felt in awhile. Right as the energy within myself starts to heat up more than I can withstand I pull my wings back and unleash a cascade of flame from my own maw. Mouth wide, flames lick my tongue, singeing but never burning again. Crimson sears my vision entirely and, in an explosion of steam, fire meets water. Despite somewhat of a size difference, my gusts of flame envelope the torrents of water, empowered by an initial burst given from the mixture I took in.

The Wyrm is surprised by this and forced to focus on myself and my sudden burst of raw fire. It hunkers down and unleashes more pressure than before, giving full focus to making sure its elemental blast reigns supreme as it should.

Luckily for me, this is just according to my plan, giving the clay being chance to bound and circle around on the side of the creature’s wound.

They pounce in a huge leap that would impress even flight capable beings, clawed hands outstretched to the open wound.

My dragon’s eyes grant me the abilities to see through my own flamed breath. This lets me see the Wyrm’s eyes as it notices an enormous and enraged Almaej aimed right for its wound. Unable to stop and defend itself else I win our bout, it is forced to let fate take vengeance.

Landing on the hide of the creature with an unusual splattering sound, the clayman tears right into the wound and rips open flesh with its mass of clay.

Unable to do anything the Wyrm lets loose a roar in anguish that is nearly drowned out within its own roaring waters. The Almaej is tearing the wound wide open, spreading its hand apart in a strained effort to rip apart the creature in two.

Unfortunately, my breath cannot last forever, and I’m forced to close my jaws and roll out of the way as my vision starts to blur. I gain a fair distance and avoid the remaining gushes of water thanks to my lengthy roll, wings fluttering mid-roll to gain speed and distance.

Standing up alertly, I see the clay being has noticed my changed position and they begin to rip chunks of cerulean flesh off the Wyrm’s hide as fast as possible. The creature, acutely aware of my missing presence, rolls and throws the clayman a few feet before it slithers towards the cliff’s edge and dives down.

I race to the air with a flap of my wings and try to regain sight of it. As I ascend high and far enough to see over the edge, I’m greeted with the hideous creatures gleaming and prideful eyes. I stare it down for a brief moment before charging in to finish its wounds and deal the killing blow. I prepare my wings for a slight shift in case I need to roll away from another breath atta...

Zzzrrrttt.

A ripping pain flares suddenly, and I plummet headfirst towards the ground. My mind blanks at the sudden loss of one of my wings as I crash and shatter the jagged obsidian surface past the cliff.