Humanity's Hero Of Despair

The scent of ash and damp earth lingers heavily in the air.

It is a sharp contrast to the smell of untainted nature. The sun is setting now, casting an amber glow on the trees, houses, and animals of Mistfall. Flames still lick at some tree trunks, creating foreign light not meant for the landscape. Many trees lay on the ground like logs. It is a sad sight.

"I knew it would be bad, but-," Ivy says as we round the corner and see the full extent of the damage. Raging flames are desperately trying to spread, and the villagers are doing everything they can to prevent it from happening. The smoke only makes it harder for us to see anything.

Cough! Cough!

I hold my hand up to my face as Ivy does the same. We continue forward, closer to where the villagers are doing everything they can to slow down the raging fire. Their water from the buckets splashes about the flames. There are only a few water mages, but that isn't enough to put out these many flames. As some villagers recognize me, they run toward us.

"Thank goodness you are here, Lord Lotus! Please lend us your strength to help put out these fires," one villager pleads with me.

"My friend and I are here to help with the flames. Thank you for not giving up on saving our village," I reply to the villager as Ivy and I grab water buckets. We then rush to the nearby river to collect some water, as the other villagers have done before us. My gut tugs at me as I stop in my tracks.

A strange realization occurs to me. If origin magic allows me the ability to wield all the elements at once, surely I can use each element separately as well? My hand is pale and shaking. Even though I am injured, some earth mages can heal me sufficiently to keep moving until things are back to being pretty normal.

"Are you okay, Nico?" Ivy says as she notices me stop moving. I glance up at her, nod in response, and then set down my water bucket. My knees still hold as I crouch down and point my wand in the bucket. I close my eyes, hoping I don't look ridiculous in front of her.

The adaptability of water. The line from Justus's book Magic and Emotions pops into my head. My origin magic allows me to wield any element I want. I can do this. The mana flowing through me makes me feel powerful, as I feel the creation of water become a reality at the tip of my wand.

"Aquiel!"

My eyes flutter open in excitement.

In my water bucket, there are three drops of water. Ivy is doing everything she can to not end up laughing. The funny thing is, because of this, I crack up as well. A minute later and we are both bursting out loud. Our laughs rebel against the solemn atmosphere.

Ivy walks over to me where I am lying on the floor from the laughter. She stretches her hand out to me to grab. "We have a village to save. Let's get to it!"

Her hand feels warm as I grab it. She pulls me up from the ground and we head toward the river. It might not be much, but I am happy knowing I can wield the other elements by themselves. However, I have to fully recharge my mana before I can truly make it a reality.

For hours, we work with the villagers through the night, hauling water from the river to put out the flames from the large fire and homes. Ivy swiftly uses her earth magic to help clear debris, grow trees, and replace structures. Her magic is so graceful. She has grown so much since the first time we met at the gates of Keeper Academy.

As the night grows darker, it becomes harder to see. Luckily, people find lanterns and even use the fire itself to see in the dark. The way we come together to fight off this destruction means a lot to me. We can't afford to give up, not after everything Justus and Ignis did for us.

Splash!

The water from my bucket smothers a few flames. As I lower my bucket, I feel someone tugging my shirt. I whip my head around just to find out it is a little boy. His eyes are full of fear and curiosity.

"Hey mister, are the monsters really gone?" the child asks.

The child's mother comes running up to me.

"Nathan, you are supposed to address him as Lord Lotus, not mister. I am so sorry, your lordship," the mother bows to me.

I tell her it is fine, and it is no worries. We have so many bigger things to worry about than formalities. The kid seems more at ease when I tell him the Eradicators are gone. At least for now. Even though I don't know if this is one hundred percent true or not. I am just grateful that none are left in Tarondar at this moment.

I wave as the mother and child leave to go back to their home. Some villagers are lucky because their homes escape most of the damage. Many others have to gather outside their ruined houses and make tents. We make a small campfire for the villager camp as the night makes the atmosphere cold.

By the time we finish helping, the fires are mostly extinguished. We finally put out the big one. Everybody's home is safe from further destruction. We just need now to help rebuild everything tomorrow in the morning.

Ivy and I wave goodbye as everyone settles in to sleep. We walk away from everybody else and sit down by the river's edge. The trickle of water rolling downstream is easy on the ears and mind. Ivy sits right next to me. Her hands within a hair of my own.

"You did good today! Lord Lotus," Ivy says to me while emphasizing lord and making a silly face. She knows I don't care for formalities much.

"Right, hilarious Ivy," I reply as I chuckle.

My heart skips a beat as part of her finger now touches mine. Flashes of all my moments with her surface in my mind. The first day at the entrance, the talks in the library, the Golden Keeper Ball, and now this. I have to do something before it's too late.

"Hey um, Ivy..." I say to her.

"Yeah, what's up?" she replies to me with curiosity.

"After everything is rebuilt, would you like to go back to the Stonelight marketplace with me? Just us, of course," I ask with butterflies in my stomach. Those butterflies make it very hard to ask.

Ivy notices me struggling to get the words out and lets out a slight laugh.

"Yes! That would be so much fun," she responds to me with a smile on her face. Her hand feels warm as it finds mine. We spend the rest of the night by the river, looking up at the stars. It eventually gets too cold, so we head in the direction back to my place.

My house is fairly big, so there are two guestrooms.

Before I know it, I am asleep in my bed. The bed that gets me through the nights before I went to Keeper Academy.

So much has changed since then.