Sharp stabs of light threatened to blind or injure John as Asgeirr continued his aggressive attacks, but John kept himself in a reasonably effective state. He hadn’t spent so long training with the Golden Tomb Guardians for nothing, and on a personal level he would be ashamed if his daughter was more effective against light cultivators than he was, both because of the difference in age and cultivation and because someday John fully intended to have control over the element of light.

For now he would have to settle for managing the strong reactions between them. He could shield himself from the light with other elements, but instead he did his best to use tiny amounts of darkness to trigger a stronger response from Asgeirr’s light. Each mote of his own energy could detonate several times as much if done well.

He needed to maintain that level throughout the fight, because of the unfavorable terrain. Asgeirr’s spear stabbed down, puncturing the lily pad that John was standing upon. A simple hole didn’t suddenly make it sink or anything- but the broken seal ruined the insulation from the heat below.

John danced around to another position, slicing at Asgeirr along the way. Air element formed the outer edge of his attack with darkness coiled beneath, injecting itself through Asgeirr’s defenses. He was unable to fully pierce through so the effects on the man’s body were minimal, but the attack tore apart some light element and forced Asgeirr to redirect his flow of energy away from just attacking with his spear.

Beneath them John focused a trickle of darkness and a greater quantity of earth. The former hid his machinations, while the latter was bent on reshaping the battlefield. John felt something as he worked his way through the lava among the tendrils of the fire lily stretching to the surface. He had a sense of understanding now, minimal thought it was, of how to go along with the flow of fire. It was a bit risky, experimenting with new techniques in the middle of an actual battle- but John had come to learn, and he wanted to provide his best contribution to the battle.

Especially since John didn’t like this jerk. There was no time to exchange words between the flurries of attacks, not that there was anything to say that would change things.

Four elements circulated through John, the final two being represented by Asgeirr. Heat and light had John sweating, though he kept his body at a not too unreasonable temperature. Since the ‘ground’ was the main source of issue he couldn’t use his traditional trick, but he had water element now which was quite adept with cooling.

So far, Aydan and the others were keeping the other Righteous Flame League cultivators away from the fight. Neither of the two combatants wanted to be interrupted so it was a reasonably agreed upon arrangement. Whichever side came out ahead in that battle would likely determine the fight between John and Asgeirr, except that it would most likely be the opposite- Asgeirr’s aggression not allowing their battle to wait for the conclusion of the other. Which was a shame, because John trusted Aydan to win that for him.

He landed on the final undamaged pad, having completed a full rotation around the central fire lily. He wasn’t looking forward to fighting directly on lava or even a partly intact pad, but he’d chosen to come to this position so he had to deal with it.

Asgeirr saw John’s conundrum and vaulted into the air, his body aligning with the sun to make it difficult for John to even look at him. A move just as underhanded as any proper dark element cultivator- or any cultivator that wanted to win. Not that John disapproved, he just thought it was hypocritical. Personally, once battle began he couldn’t see any dishonor in using most tactics. Even poison was fine, as long as it didn’t come down to poisoning someone within a diplomatic situation of some sort. He simply didn’t use poison much because the worthwhile ones were costly and sometimes difficult to apply.

Since he couldn’t make out anything of the attack itself, John had to judge only by Asgeirr’s position. Then he did more or less what the man expected him to do, which was to leap away. Except instead of going directly back, he moved to his right away from the fire lily. Giving up his hard fought position was effectively conceding the battle.

If he didn’t have a plan, that was.

Asgeirr landed with great power, unable to completely negate the force of his own attack even with no target. As he struck the pad, piercing it with his spear, he pressed it downward into the lava. Unlike water the viscosity and density of lava prevented it from just splashing out of the way so he should have expected minor trembling at most, but instead he sunk in as a ring of lava cracked.

All around the fire lily John had dug out a trench beneath the surface, one that could only hold its shape for so long despite some reinforcement. Under his final position he’d dug a bit deeper, such that Asgeirr now barely had his head above the edge. And it wasn’t just empty space he’d fallen into. An adjusted version of Sinking in the Mire had John greatly decrease the viscosity of about half a meter of lava beneath the man, an unnatural change he immediately released along with the rest of his efforts.

Asgeirr was up to his knees in lava that resisted his efforts to leap away as a wave of lava poured over him. John really wished he could count on that to kill the man, but he was a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator- and practiced the fire element as well. He wasn’t immune to the effects of heat, but he was highly resistant. By the time one foot was free, lava had oozed over Asgeirr’s left side, greatly limiting his movements as John chopped his sword towards the man’s head.

With an awkward angle of his spear he blocked John’s sword, power swirling through the man as he worked on tearing himself out of his predicament. John really thought he had the man, but apparently his subordinates had been paying close attention to the battle. Before John could finish him off several of them rushed at him and he was forced to respond to their attacks.

In the time it took him to finish them off, Aydan and the fire cultivators working with Firepine Palace killed or forced away the others, but Asgeirr was also back on the surface… and running. John considered chasing after him, but he wasn’t exactly fresh himself and the man was running into a waiting group of Righteous Flame League cultivators upon the shore. It didn’t seem worth the risk.

He did throw a dagger at the man’s spine, putting a good portion of his remaining water and darkness into the attack. Asgeirr still had enough presence of mind to avoid the attack and it only sunk into his left shoulder blade, the reaction of light and darkness not quite providing the explosion John wanted. The red of blood contrasted the other red of his left side which looked like a boiled crab. Sadly not charred to bits, but certainly affected by the lava.

John angled himself towards a different part of the shore as the group pulled away. He was not fond of the feeling that his toes could catch on fire at any moment, and his energy wouldn’t last indefinitely. Firepine Palace would be dealing with the retrieval of all of the fire lilies anyway.

Few people gave chase, instead securing the shores as Charlotte finished her harvests. The Righteous Flame League had intentionally avoided her, ultimately making off with a couple of the fire lilies that might compensate for their losses. As for the denizens of the lake, the strongest occupants had been among the first to attack her, and now nothing dared to compete with her for the fire lilies- at best chewing on the roots left beneath the surface.

-----

John accepted the sealed box from Charlotte. It contained the majority of one of the fire lilies- at least the important parts like seeds and petals. Some portion of the seeds had been set aside to hopefully create a new generation of the fire lilies in the lake.

As a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, John wasn’t completely sure if one part in ten was a lot or a little for his contributions. Counting Aydan’s contributions, there were two of them. On the other hand, there were dozens of other cultivators involved from the Firepine Palace to local allies. Having actually secured just one of the plants, it was pretty reasonable. That discounted the efforts of the allied cultivators, but also considered that he stopped Asgeirr and the group from bleeding over into other conflicts.

“If you’re planning to consume those, I’d start with the petals,” Charlotte advised. “They’re much more mild, and unlikely to cause any internal damage even if you screw up. Without a fire totem… well, you’ll have to make your own judgments on if and when you’re ready to consume a seed. I might suggest externally deconstructing one. A waste of energy, but you may gain some insights that would help you.”

John nodded, “I appreciate it. I wouldn’t want to overtax myself.”

“Oh, and feel free to make use of the training rooms. They’re a good environment for such things.”

“And it will recapture all of the fire element I let go to waste, I imagine,” John grinned.

Charlotte shrugged, “What can I say? You manage a clan. I’m sure you don’t like waste either.”

“As long as the rooms themselves remain fairly neutral in their activity, I’m sure it will be beneficial.” John intended to take a good look at what he had- opening up the container that was effectively an enchanted jewelry box would expose the fire lily to some potential decay, but it would be minimal until he actually removed the various pieces from their containment.

As John thought about his future training, he also thought about Aydan. His uncle was always paid well and supplied with resources from the clan, but he deserved something extra for helping secure this prize. Just because the man had grown beyond a level the Tenebach clan had been able to anticipate didn’t mean John shouldn’t continue to provide what he could as the clan continued to grow. Something special would be best, to show appreciation instead of just treating it as a normal transaction. They still had more of the Shadowhawk to work with…

-----

The feel of the petal between his fingers was odd. It was less like a plant and more like a solid piece of fire. Yet when he placed it on his tongue, it was simultaneously hot and sort of wet. As he pulled apart the spiritual energy within it it basically melted, fire trickling down his throat. He did only what was necessary to protect himself as it found its way to his stomach, preferring to directly control the fire to prevent it from burning rather than negate the heat with water element.

It was, as stated, very easy to work with. Smooth. Even so, without his efforts studying the firepines and his exposure to the lilies he would have found himself hard pressed to control it. Going from the Viridia Wildlands to the Phoenix Forest had given him some new perspective, and he was now familiar with traditional plants with a minimal understanding of the fire plants. Minimal from his perspective, of course. He could feel how they worked to some extent, something unattainable on Earth, but a very real experience here.

Ultimately, the energy was drawn from his stomach into his dantian, metaphysically not that distant. The majority of it was used to bolster his water element, the heat providing power for water to change forms from oceans to clouds, or from ice to liquid water. Not that John had much ice in his internal world at the moment, a problem he thought he should perhaps correct. He didn’t plan to simulate a full world or anything, and with the aspects his totems had it could never really do so, but containing more different aspects of the elements he had control over seemed like it might provide a better balance.

John looked forward to when he might consume some of the fire lily seeds, as the petals also came with insights into working of fire as he consumed them. All spiritual energy did, to different extents, and John needed every bit of understanding he could get with fire. And he was starting to get it more deeply, his own thoughts and Charlotte’s words letting him see more sides to fire. Though it was still mainly destructive and consumptive, it was part of the cycle of elements and contributed to growth of new things and to change. Maybe he’d actually be ready to attune to a fifth tier fire totem whenever he finally got to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. By pure ranks he was more than halfway, but he expected the late phase to take even longer for every step.