346. Burning ashes
Kai realized he was not prepared to see Sylvastra the moment he stepped into it.
Along the way, he had tried to steel himself for what awaited him. In his mind, he had imagined a land burned out and devastated, blackened by fire and loss. What he found was far worse than anything he had pictured.
Even before he descended, he saw it. An orange glow hung over Sylvastra like a sickly veil, lighting the sky from below. Heat rolled upward with thick smoke, pressing against him long before he reached the forest floor. When he landed, the smoke was so dense that his eyes burned at once. He had to cast a spell to shield them before he could even move forward.
Raven had not exaggerated.
Sylvastra was still burning.
The massive trees that once defined the forest had been reduced to ash. Those that still stood were burning even now, their trunks cracked and hollow, their branches snapping and collapsing under their own weight. Some had already fallen, lying broken across the ground. There were only signs of fire, smoke and loud silence.
Kai kept moving, heading in the direction of the Elder Tree.
With every step, the signs of battle grew clearer. Entire sections of the forest had been torn apart, the ground ripped open as if something massive had clawed its way through. The path bore signs of destruction—charred ground, splintered roots, and the residue of brutal spellwork.
As he drew closer, the destruction intensified. Burned husks littered the ground. Trees smoldered endlessly, producing smoke so thick that Kai had to constantly clear it away with bursts of wind just to see where he was going.
Without realizing it, he began to move faster.
He passed through the ruined forest in blurs of motion, slipping past burning trunks and collapsing branches, his focus narrowing with every step. Then, through the broken canopy ahead, he saw it.
A large shadow.
Kai paused for a few seconds before moving again.
He forced his way through the remaining undergrowth and the burning trees that blocked the path, tearing through what little remained until he finally entered the clearing that once housed the Elder Tree.
The moment he saw it in full, his heart seemed to stop.
The last time he had stood here, the Elder Tree had been majestic and overwhelming, a presence that felt eternal, something that could never be brought low.
Now, everywhere he looked, it was burning.
Raven’s words about the Elder Tree dying had been true.
Massive sections of its branches had collapsed, torn free and scattered across the ground. The land around it was no longer soil or root, but a wide crater carved by force and heat. Even its roots had been stripped bare, exposed and broken as if the earth itself had rejected them.
As Kai stood there and took it in, the upper half of the Elder Tree continued to burn. The flames clung to it unnaturally, crawling along its bark and branches without fading. Looking at it filled him with too many emotions at once, but one rose above the rest. He wanted to help it. He could feel it suffering.
His heart clenched at the thought of it dying.
Even though a part of him already knew it would fail, Kai raised his hands and acted. Sheets of ice formed above the Elder Tree and crashed down into the flames. They hissed violently as they met the fire, melting almost instantly and turning to water. Thick white smoke billowed upward.
But the flames did not weaken.
They did not retreat.
They continued to devour the Elder Tree as if nothing had touched them.
Kai’s heart sank.
Raven had called them everlasting for a reason, he knew that now. Still, seeing it with his own eyes made it no less painful.
Watching something ancient and alive burn without relief was a sight he had not been prepared for. He took flight again, moving closer to the Elder Tree to study the flames more carefully. As he did, he sensed movement behind it.
His eyes widened when three figures emerged from the smoke and ash.
There were three elf elders he recognised—Flossbor, Lirian and Caelith.
Compared to the last time he had seen them, all three have changed. Their backs were hunched, their steps slow and heavy. Exhaustion clung to them as thickly as the smoke around the clearing. Even so, when they noticed him, a faint light returned to their eyes.
Flossbor was the first to speak. “Nothing you do is going to work, Fatebreaker,” he said quietly. “We have tried everything. Even our spirits have no answers for these flames.”
Kai did not look away from the burning tree. “I still need to try, Elder Flossbor.”
Lirian let out a low, tired chuckle. “V’aleirith said the same thing,” she said. “That when you arrived, you would try your hardest to fix everything.
Kai floated toward them, then slowly lowered himself to the ground. The heat and smoke pressed in around them, but they barely seemed to notice as he asked, “How is she?”
Elder Flossbor answered without hesitation. “She is on her bed. Waiting for you.” His gaze drifted back toward the Elder Tree, burning behind them. “All of us have been waiting for you as well. We have lost hope of correcting our situation on our own. But I do not think you should try to speak with the Elder Tree right now. From what we can tell, it is doing everything it can to keep the flames from consuming it entirely. Our god is trying to stretch the time it has left.”
Kai let out a quiet sigh. He did not argue. He simply looked back at the Elder Tree for a long moment, committing the sight to memory, before turning away.
“Take me to Elder V’aleirith,” he said.
All three elders nodded in response.
They began to walk. About ten minutes passed before Kai realized something was wrong. They were not heading toward where the village had once stood. Flossbor seemed to notice the question forming in his expression and spoke before Kai could ask.
“The village was destroyed,” he said. “The ground there is nothing but a broken crater now. Our homes were burned down, so we began again elsewhere.”
Elder Lirian frowned. “Yes. It was easier than it should have been,” she said quietly. “There are far fewer of us to accommodate now.”
Elder Caelith slowed slightly, his gaze dropping to the ash-covered ground. The last few times Kai had seen him, Caelith’s eyes had been sharp and guarded, always watching for danger. Now they were clouded, the lines on his face drawn tight with emotion. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible.
“I always believed outsiders would be the end of us,” he said and raised his voice in the end. “That elves were meant to stand against the world, to guard the Elder Tree no matter the cost. But in the end, it was one of our own who betrayed us.” He exhaled slowly. “You must have heard the story by now.”
Kai nodded once. “I have,” he said. “And it is not your fault.”
Elder Caelith spat onto the ash-covered ground.
“It is our fault,” he said. “For not seeing it. For not questioning it sooner.” His jaw clenched. “We never expected one of our own to do this. An elder, of all people.” His fingers curled slowly. “I curse that bastard’s soul to rot every single day.”
He took a breath, then another, as if the words themselves were burning him.
“But then I look around, and I see my home still burning. And I realize that even if his soul suffers forever, it won’t give me the peace I want. Not while Sylvastra burns.”
They passed between another pair of trees still engulfed in flame. The fire crackled loudly, embers drifting through the air like dying stars. Caelith looked at them, and for a brief moment, pure rage flashed in his eyes. Then it faded, leaving only exhaustion behind.
Kai walked in silence.
He did not offer comfort. He knew better. These were elders who had lived for centuries. They did not need hollow words, and they would not accept them even if he offered. Their grief had already settled too deep.
Still, one question lingered in his mind.
“Why did he do it?” Kai asked quietly.
He remembered An’duin. They had never spoken much, but the man had never struck him as someone capable of betraying his own kind.
Elder Lirian scowled. “Spirit knows,” he said. “When we killed him, he kept repeating the same thing. That this was the only way. That we were bound to fall eventually, and this would give us a few centuries of peace.”
Flossbor let out a sharp breath. “Self-righteous nonsense,” he said flatly. “All of it.” His eyes hardened. “He lost his path long ago and hid it well. He was a coward. He didn’t believe we could stand against Maleficia, so he chose to kneel instead. He gave himself reasons so he wouldn’t have to see himself for what he really was.”
Kai had seen people like that before.
He felt no sympathy for any of them. Too many innocents had bled for one man’s fear and ego. Too many lives and treasures had been destroyed for a justification that meant nothing in the end.
So he said nothing.
He simply kept walking, the sound of burning Sylvastra following them every step of the way.
After nearly half an hour of walking, Elder Flossbor finally slowed his steps.
“We are here,” he said.
The next moment, he turned and slipped through a narrow path between two massive boulders. Kai followed, shifting his body to pass through the tight space. The stone scraped lightly against his clothes before the path opened up and he stepped into a wide clearing.
Three giant trees stood around it, forming a natural circle. They were not as old or as grand as the trees back in their original home, but they were large enough to shelter life. Makeshift houses had been built into their trunks and branches, carefully fitted wherever the wood allowed. On the ground below, beds made from woven branches and broad leaves were laid out in rows.
Dozens of them.
Elves sat quietly beside the beds or rested upon them. He noticed their movements were slow and subdued. A few children were nearby, staying close to the adults. Even though they were chasing each other in a game, their faces were dull and tired, as if joy itself had been stripped away from them. Even their clothes have diminished from the beauty they were before. They were merely… surviving.
Flossbor looked back at Kai. “After our home was destroyed, we found this place,” he said. “It lies just far enough from the everlasting flames.” His gaze moved toward the trees. “We do not have trees sturdy enough to rebuild properly, so we are doing what we can.”
Caelith nodded. “No one wishes to go farther,” he added. “The beasts beyond this point are far worse, and we do not want to be separated from the Elder Tree during its final moments.”
Kai felt the words settle heavily in his chest.
He wanted to say that he did not intend to let the Elder Tree die. The words rose to his lips, but he held them back. There was no point saying it out loud. Every elf here had already accepted what they believed was inevitable. After seeing the Elder Tree burning, after enduring so much loss, he could not blame them for that belief.
They moved deeper into the temporary village.
As Kai walked, elves slowly rose from their beds. Others climbed down from the trees, pausing in their work to look at him. Quiet whispers spread through the clearing. He caught fragments of them as he passed.
“Fatebreaker.”
The word followed him softly.
Still, no one approached. They watched from a distance, eyes filled with something between hope and fear, as Kai continued forward through what remained of Sylvastra’s people.
All of them looked as worn down as the elders. Kai doubted that many of them truly believed he could change their situation. To be honest, even he did not know what he could do. Still, he kept walking.
The elders stopped beneath one of the larger trees and began to climb. There were no stairs, only thick branches positioned just well enough to be used as handholds. Despite their age, they moved easily, lifting themselves upward in seconds.
Kai followed, using a gentle push of magic to carry himself up. When he landed, he found himself standing before a simple wooden door built into the trunk.
Elder Flossbor opened it.
The smell hit Kai immediately. Scents of herbs, potions, and crushed leaves filled the air. Thin smoke drifted through the space from bundles of burning plants hung near the ceiling. The scent was strong enough to sting his nose, but the elders did not react to it at all. Neither did Kai. His focus was already shifting elsewhere.
They moved through the interior of the tree, passing two rooms where more elves worked quietly. Some were grinding herbs. Others stirred mixtures in shallow bowls or applied thick pastes to bandages. They looked like caretakers, moving with tired precision, their expressions serious and subdued.
Finally, the elders stopped in front of another room and a simple flap of layered fabric covered the entrance.
Flossbor turned to Kai. “She’s inside,” he said. “I believe you should go in alone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Flossbor replied. “We will go speak with the others to see how they feel about you being here.”
With that, the elders stepped away, leaving Kai alone in the narrow space. He stood there for a moment, staring at the flap. But he knew hesitation would not help anyone.
He reached out and pushed it aside.
The scent of herbs grew even stronger inside the room, thick enough to cling to his skin.
Smoke curled lazily through the air, but Kai barely noticed it. His eyes were fixed on the figure lying on the bed.
Elder V’aleirith.
His heart sank.
She looked thin, far thinner than he remembered, as if she had not eaten properly in a long time. Her skin looked pale beneath layers of herbal paste spread across her body. Bandages and leaves covered her wounds, and the rise and fall of her chest was slow and shallow.
Seeing her like this made something tighten painfully in his chest.
Kai’s gaze lingered on her right side.
Where her arm should have been, there was only a bandaged stump, wrapped thickly in cloth and herbal paste. The sight pulled at him more than he expected, and he did not look away quickly enough.
“You came, Fatebreaker.”
Her voice drew him back.
Kai took a step forward and nodded, meeting her eyes. They were fixed on him, clear despite the pain. Unlike the other elders, there was still something else in them. Hope.
“I did,” he said quietly. “I heard about everything that happened. I’m really sorry I wasn’t here to help.”
She let out a soft chuckle. “You can’t be everywhere.” Her gaze drifted briefly, unfocused. “Even I did not see this coming. I sensed a calamity approaching, but I thought it would be something else.” She exhaled slowly. “What happened is already in the past. We cannot change it.”
Kai nodded. “No. But we can correct things.”
That made her smile.
“I know you will.”
Kai raised an eyebrow slightly. “Did you foresee something?”
She shook her head, then winced as if the simple motion caused pain. Her breath caught for a moment before she continued. “No. My spirit is injured. She has returned to her plane. I cannot foresee anything anymore.” She looked back at him. “But I have age on my side. I have seen enough of you, Kai. You are not someone who stops until you find a way to correct everything.” Her smile softened. “Or at least some of it.”
Kai stayed silent.
The image of the Elder Tree burning rose again in his mind, vivid and suffocating. His eyes dropped to her missing limb.
“What if I can’t?” he asked quietly. “I won’t say I don’t have ideas. I do. But they’re not foolproof. They might not work.” He hesitated. “What then?”
Elder V’aleirith smiled gently. “Doubt does not suit a king.” She continued in a steady voice. “Whatever you decide, I believe you will see it through. You always have. Some people possess that conviction. Fate does not bind you the way it binds the rest of us.” Her eyes softened further. “And even if you fail, that is fine too.”
Kai frowned. “How is that fine?”
Her smile did not fade.
“Because,” she said, “there is another way to extend the Elder Tree’s life.”
***
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