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    It was midday in Solem. The guards stationed at the foot of the Volcano of Creation were all knocked unconscious with Desdemona’s power. The ancestors were right. The Volcano of Creation is attracting Desdemona, and soon she will be able to extract the Creation Flames from it.


    It has been over nine months since the Mother’s Womb incident. All this time Leo was forced to help out the people of Sanctuary. Even after explaining that Areliam was in danger, no one, including his parents, agreed to help him. Instead, the idea of Leo trying to save Areliam scared his parents so much that they willingly cooperated with Atlas.


    After a decade of living in isolation, the people of Sanctuary no longer wanted to be connected to the outside world. So, they came to a compromise. The Hearth-Bringers would help them gather resources to stay alive, and in return, they’d be allowed to stay in Sanctuary. Over the last several months Calaren used his sources to acquire various resources. Then they worked Leo to the bone to transport everything back to Sanctuary, all the while keeping a tight eye on Leo to make sure that he didn’t run off to Kracten. If the Hearth-Bringers negated on their end of the bargain, they would pay with their lives.


    So, Leo had to figure out a plan to counter the Anons in secret. It wasn’t easy. However, by combining his smartness with the knowledge of his ancestors, Leo knew what to do. To bring Areliam back to balance, all the three Primordial races needed to be in top shape again. The Primordials gain strength from their home worlds. Ragonia was destroyed, and Yonder was under the Anon’s oppression. Out of the public eyes, the Anons kept polluting Yonder, killing it little by little. Currently, however, there was no way to free Yonder, as it was hidden away in a secret location. So, Leo had to start the counterattack by rejuvenating Ragonia first.


    It is a great thing that the curse doesn’t affect the Elementals. So, once Ragonia is healed, the remaining Elementals will be able to use their powers fully again. Then they will be indebted to Leo and will have to help him in saving Areliam and freeing his people.


    The first step to achieving this is rekindling the Creation Fires at the Meadow of Origins. Only an Elemental can do that by acquiring sparks of the Creation Flame from the Volcano of Creation. Nature itself wants that to happen. That is why as soon as Desdemona neared the Volcano of Creation she was entranced to approach it.


    The ancestors told Leo this would happen. So, for months he had been trying to travel to Solem with just Des. This task was extremely difficult given that he was always accompanied by a suspicious adult. Today Des convinced Atlas and Leo’s parents to let them go for a quick trip to Solem so she can visit the Snack Stop again. Only this time. Leo tricked Des into coming near the Volcano of Creation. He told her they would be collecting local fruits to make snacks themselves.


    Leo looked at Desdemona walking in a trance in front of him. She had used her powers subconsciously to destroy the energy of any guards she met on the way here. Most people took Desdemona’s carefree and kind nature as a sign of her weakness, but Leo knew the truth. Des was far more powerful than the average Elemental, yet for some reason, she hid this truth from others. Not anymore though. Once she obtained the Creation Flames, everyone would know her might.


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    Leo silently followed Des, who by now had reached the mouth of the volcano. He watched as she walked down the jagged pathway to get to the boiling lava. Step by step she grew closer to the fiery magma until finally she stood a pace away from it. The heat increased, jets of fire rose, and Des put her hand in one of them. The fire didn’t burn her though. The moment Des put her hand into a jet of fire, it disappeared. The fire slowly assimilated into Desdemona, her body glowing orange like the fire it absorbed.


    This process went on for a few more minutes. Jets of fire would connect with Desdemona only for them to become one with her. After a while, Des couldn’t consume any more of the fires, and she fell to the ground as her knees gave in. By now, the Anon authorities must have been making their way to the volcano. Or they would have if Leo hadn’t broken all the mirrors that could have provided them an easy entrance. He had left only one of the mirrors intact, and that mirror was showing movement now.


    Finally! He is coming! Good thing the ancestors stimulated the mirror in Ethan’s chamber so he saw what was going on here and responded. Thought Leo. Ethan jumped out of the mirror with Lore holding on to his back. He looked around to find Des and saw her unconscious body by the lava. He ran at full speed to reach Des. Once near her, he bent down and scooped Desdemona in his arms. No guards around him only the toddler princess ancestors mentioned before. Well, this makes my job easy, thought Leo.


    “Hey wake up! What’s wrong with you? Wake up. Wake up, please.” That was the last thing Ethan said before Leo pushed him along with Lore and Des into the portal he opened right in front of them.


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    Ethan hit the floor of Anorea’s underground temple in Sanctuary. He found himself surrounded by Elementals who were extremely surprised to see him there. He could feel Lore holding onto his neck tightly. She had latched on to him when he bolted to reach the girl in his embrace and hadn’t let go.


    “Take them into custody. He is a prince of the Anons, Ethan Gainsworth, and that baby is Princess Lore of the Anons. They followed us back!” said Leo.


    “What? No! You were the one that…” Ethan started saying but was interrupted.


    “Look what he did to Des,” said a man from the gathered crowd.


    “How dare you hurt my daughter?” asked Atlas.


    “GET HIM!” yelled a woman.


    “GUGUGAHGAHGAGAGA!” said Lore loudly before she used her powers. All the stored water in Sanctuary came alive to aid her. The temple was flooded with water and people were having a hard time staying afloat. The only dry place was near Ethan.


    “Damn this monster child. She wasn’t part of the plan,” Leo blurted out.


    “Plan? What plan?” asked June.


    “Leo…what did you do this time?” asked an enraged Calaren.


    “Forget about me and do something about that demon baby. It took almost nine months for me to haul all this water in here and increase the reserves. Please, you can’t let her waste it all!” Leo pleaded.


    “Fine, but you better have some good answers to our questions later, or else…” threatened Calaren.


    “Save me from this deranged kid first,” said Leo as he and the others were being sucked into a whirlpool.


    Calaren started to hymn loudly. Calaren Hearth-Bringer was the man with a magical voice. The power of his voice made the impossible possible. Words and sounds coming out of his mouth could bring down storms or hypnotize the enemy. Cal used his powers to lull Lore and Ethan to sleep. Once Lore was asleep, the turbulent waters dispersed throughout the tunnels. The people who were drowning but a moment ago now had the chance to collect themselves.


    Calaren got on his feet and walked to Leo, who was coughing his heart out. He grabbed Leo by the neck like a cat and pulled him to his eye level. “Start explaining,” Calaren demanded angrily.