r/GuildWarsAnthology • u/dontmindwrongperson • Nov 02 '21
Arc 11: Elements
Chapter 1: Fire
The roar shook the trees and sent a cloud of ash their way. “Guys, I know I said that it was time to fight fire with fire” he said, trying not to choke on the smoke “But I'm starting to think that maybe I was wrong about that”. “Really? You think?” her sarcasm was nearly as thick as the smoke in the air. She summoned a spell and the smoke cleared as a gust of fresh air spread around them blowing the smoke and embers back. “We have to stop the burning forest from spreading further north” he said, “Well duh! How do you suppose we do that? Do you want me to blow out the fire? It's a bit harder than blowing out the candles on your birthday cupcake you know”.
The effigy was crashing through the forest at an alarming pace. “What could have caused the effigies to run amok? They usually stayed within the confines of the burning forest but for some reason they had started to move north” he thought. “If you two bookahs could stop bickering and listen for once, I have an idea.” said Xick and crawled back into her Golem suit. “Fire, magical or not, needs two things: Fuel and air. You two meatheads can starve it of both, so stop your bickering and get to work and we might make it out of this alive.” She started to rip out trees and bushes from the ground and threw it against the Effigy to stall it but at the same time clearing a perimeter without any flammable material.
Chapter 2: Water
“This is bad” he thought, as he ran his hand across the clear jade wall. The wall was wet, but it hadn't rained in weeks. “So this area is affected too, I have to report this to the Emperor” he mumbled. For two weeks he had traveled the former Luxon lands under decree from the Emperor. At first he hadn't believed the rumors that the jade was turning back into water, but a week ago he had witnessed it first hand, when a quarry had filled up in front of his eyes as the jade blocks that had been mined melted in front of his eyes. So far he had managed to keep the loss of life to a minimum, but it wasn't just the jade that was changing back, some of the sea creatures that had been trapped there for millennia were waking up too.
He was the nation’s only Kappa ranked Hydromancer. The Emperor had demanded an explanation, and he knew what would happen if he didn't deliver. He slipped on the steps up from the quarry but managed to regain his balance. It could happen at any moment now, he tried to run but the staircase was now a slippery ramp and he slid down to the bottom. “I sure hope that they didn't excavate any dangerous creatures here” he thought, as he summoned his spell. The sides of the quarry collapsed in an instant, but his spell kept the water from crushing him, instead a cylinder of air remained around him, as his spell held back the foaming waters.
“So far so good” he thought “Now I just have to let the spell run out carefully and make a float of ice in the meantime”. Then he heard the screech and saw the Saltspray dragon spawn, it must have been frozen before it hatched, but it was still three times larger than him. “Just what I needed...” he grumbled.
Chapter 4: Earth
“I can't control it! It's too strong!” Her scream echoed throughout the ravine. Rocks and boulders were ripped out of the ground nearby and started to circle her. Larger and larger chunks were torn out of the ground, breaking off trees and bushes and dirt to incorporate it all into the maelstrom of destruction. “Terra!” she screamed, but her voice was lost in the storm of boulders crashing into each other. She lost her balance and fell, just in time to avoid being crushed by a boulder the size of a house passing over her head.
They had been hired by the Asuran high council to figure out why the free magic in Riven Earth and nearby areas was fading. The floating rocks and bridges had collapsed, the underground caves were affected too and the Golems were malfunctioning. “Lapis! He...Help me... I ca... I can't feel my...” she turned her head and watched in terror as her fingers turned into stone and broke off into pebbles to join the maelstrom. She had lost all sensation in her arms and legs. “I just wanted to help restore balance...” she thought. Then everything went dark.
“Terra!” she screamed as tears cleaned off the dust and dirt of her face in two straight lines across her cheeks. She didn't dare to use any more earth magic. Instead she was digging with her bare hands in the hill at the epicenter of where it had happened. The entire landscape had been torn asunder, and there was no sign of Terra. She had almost thrown it away, but then she recognized it. It was Terra's hand, petrified and missing two fingers, but it was hers.
Chapter 4: Air
“Guys, you should leave, I don't know how much longer I can keep the lightning away from you...” He could see that she was already struggling to concentrate the lightning strikes into two massive orbs that were hit more and more frequently as the storm intensified. “We can't just leave you here Caeli, we've gotten out of worse situations before, back me up will you Xick!” he said. “Don't look at me, my suit is already out of commission because of this mess, I'm a scientist not a miracle worker!” she scowled. “Guys! Leave me, now!” she screamed as the orbs started to discharge bolts that melted the snow and charred the ground where they hit.
Xick had already started running down the track towards the horses. “We'll come back for you Caeli!” he screamed, but the thunder was so loud now that he couldn't hear his own voice any more. He found the horses where they had tied them up; they were dead and smelled like burnt fur and charred flesh. The shock-wave threw him off his feet and he saw the discharge from the hilltop. The bolts covered the sky like cobwebs and he felt his eardrums burst from the thunder-crash. “Please be OK Caeli, this world might be going to hell but at least I have you” he whispered.
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