Of Flames and Waves | ONC 2023

Chapter 1

Atlas looked around and wiped his brow. The light wind swirled sand in circles across a vast desert only intersected by a lava river. An immense knowledge just down the river...

"Atlas, a hand here."

He turned toward his brother who had just finished sawing down the fire cactus. It was time to extract its meat, which he hated the most. He would have much rather been in the library studying old scrolls than in the middle of the desert dissecting murderous spikes. He sighed and put on protective gloves. Atros had already sawed it in half when a potent fragrance filled Atlas's nostrils. Before stepping forward, he closed his eyes for a moment to savor the smell.

"Faster Atlas, I don't have the whole day."

Atlas rolled his eyes and crouched beside his half. He thrust his blade into the juicy red meat. An orange liquid splashed outside nearly hitting his eye. He wiped it and spoke:

"See that is why I don't like to rush. Do it fast and it turns wrong. Where is the rush anyway?"

He scowled at his brother who was already putting pieces of meat on the sleigh beside him.

Atros shrugged.

"I am meeting Ilea of course."

He looked over at Atlas curiously.

"Any girls caught your eye?"

Atlas ignored his brother's provocation and answered without looking up.

"No."

Atros wasn't done yet.

"Well, you can't find one in those scrolls of yours."

Atlas sighed. His brother could get overbearing sometimes. When he got the idea in his head he wouldn't let it go easily. Right now it was finding a partner for Atlas.

"I'm not interested."

Atros shook his head.

"Well, I am so hurry up. Look where I am and where you are."

Atlas looked up begrudgingly. Atros was right- he had already hollowed out more than half of his cactus as opposed to Atlas who had only done a quarter.

"Slow and steady," he murmured.

They were silent for a few moments before Atros spoke up:

"What are you reading anyway?"

Atlas tensed at the question. If his brother found out his intentions...

"About the ancient war."

Atros tilted his head.

"What is there to read? We all know what happened. Wavers attacked us, Enchantress raised a wall and now we have to pay for it every hundred years."

Exactly that is precisely why I want to visit the temple. If only I got rid of you...

During his readings earlier that day, he came across a mention of the great library of the ancient temple. He could only imagine the wealth of knowledge hidden there. Problem? The enchanted temple had always been a taboo for the nation of flamers. Ever since the rise of the Great wall, the terrifying templars march out every hundred years and take one young person as a punishment for the war. Nobody had seen them ever again. For that very reason, the people of Nero evaded that place miles away. Nobody dared to step foot inside. Nobody but Atlas. That was if nobody found out. He was meaning to sneak out today before his parents sent the two of them for fire cactus. It hadn't been hundred years anyway.

Atlas didn't raise his eyes and just shrugged his shoulders when he answered:

"You are right. I guess I will be moving to some other topic."

Atros shook his head but Atlas swiftly ignored him, focusing on his half of the cactus. When he was done he put the blocks onto the sleigh and started walking down the scalding desert toward the orange river. They were quite lucky to find a cactus near. Sometimes it could take a few hours to get to one. While rivers and streams were covering almost all the important parts of the land in a vast traffic network, a lot of desert wilderness reached far beyond them. Dragging a sleigh heavy with cactus for a few hours wasn't an easy feat.

He helped his brother load the cargo onto a raft before taking a piece for himself.

"Hey, it is not dinner yet."

Atlas shrugged.

"Yet I am hungry."

He sat down and motioned with his hand.

"Go ahead. I will come after you."

Atros gave him a skeptical look before sighing.

"Fancy a picnic in the desert? Alright, just don't be late, and don't do something stupid."

Atlas smirked at his brother.

"Don't worry, that is your job." He waved at his brother.

Atros stepped onto the raft and stretched his arm. It didn't take long for the river to start bubbling and Atros disappeared from sight.

Atlas bit into the piece of cactus in his hand, orange juice trickling down his chin. It was so sweet and spicy at the same time and Atlas adored that combination.

He stood up and made his way into the river. As soon as his foots were floating in the middle of the lava he made the same motion as his brother earlier. With lightning speed, he shot forward up the steam. He observed his surroundings passing by as the wind whipped his red hair. He couldn't say how long he has been traveling for the desert stayed mainly the same. There were no settlements down this trail. In fact, nobody had traveled down this path for more than thousands of years. The thought of him being the first in such a long time seemed... exciting.

Soon an enormous complex came into view. He started slowing down as the stream opened into a small lake leading to the stairs. His mouth hung open. It was a huge stone building much bigger than anything he had ever seen covered with orange wines all over. A wide staircase ran up the step pyramid to the entrance. Air brimmed with magic that he could feel enveloping him. It was even more astonishing in real life than he had imagined from his readings. He felt the excitement building in his chest as he pulled himself up to the platform under the stairs. Lava splashed over the edge when he stepped onto it. The home of the Enchantress- the creator herself. He spun around to look down the way he came. Many plants and trees grew around the temple making it look like those jungles growing around volcanoes. It was such a refreshing sight from the vast desert sprawling beyond. He turned around and started climbing the stairs covered with fire moss. Everything appeared abandoned but Atlas knew better. If the texts were to be relied on the templars should be napping now.

He was panting already halfway up and as soon as he reached the top he collapsed on the floor gasping for air. Never had he seen so many stairs in his life before. Besides he was a scholar, not a hunter or the like.

He gazed at the entrance. From the ground it looked even bigger, inviting yet terrifying. He had to admit it was a little intimidating as he felt his chest constrict.

I came all the way here, I can't leave now!

He stood up, took a deep breath, and walked inside. A moist air hit his nostrils as soon as he entered. The place would have been dark as moonless nights if not for the torches lining the walls. Flames flickered, casting dancing shadows on the walls and revealing intricate markings. His mouth fell open again. The air filled with magic and ancient secrets mesmerized him as his footsteps echoed off the sleek stone. Soon a slight trickling reached him. He looked over to the wall and froze.

The moss was no longer the colour of fire as it had shifted to green shades.

Water...

He instinctively moved away. A little water would only cause burns, the bigger quantity though... he would rather not think about it. Of course, that was to be expected. The temple was the staple for both nations so naturally, both liquids would be here. He scrunched his nose and moved to the other side. Perhaps it would be more to his liking.

Luckily the other side donned red moss and he ran his hand over the hard surface, the markings glowing warm light and tingling his fingers as he ran them across. Deep inside the temple, he did not hear the thudding sound of the entrance closing shut.

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