The sun had long since set by the time the group arrived at the Brimstone Isles, and the four travellers where hungry and tired. Especially Lily, who had been channelling her magic non-stop for hour after hour, and practically fell right off her mount the moment it hit the ground. The pegasi, on the other hand, seemed alert and excited. For a pegasus, flying on a good wind was practically effortless, and they had been able to fish on the way. Even the four the group had ridden on seemed eager to explore, and the moment they were free of their burdens the entire flock took off in search of new nesting sites. “That might just have been the worst and best thing I’ve ever done.” Lily groaned. “I’m so worn out I can barely move a muscle.” “I know the feeling.” Adam remarked as he worked to make Lily more comfortable where she lay. “I felt much the same after that night in the tower.” “I’m just glad the plan worked.” Sven said cheerfully as he started setting up camp. “It should take the enemy days to secure transportation across the sea, and even then it takes almost a week to get here from the mainland by ship.” Amber didn’t say anything. She simply lay down next to Lily and curled up against her side, humming contentedly. Adam bustled around the camp as it got set up, doing his best to make sure Lily got something to eat and drink and to make her spot on the open ground as comfortable as possible. All the while, Lily watched him with a slight flush on her cheeks. It was less than three hours’ trek from their landing site to the entrance to Flame’s Cradle, even with Lily still exhausted and leaning on Sven for support. Unlike Stone’s Cradle, there was no great massing of enemy troops around the entrance. Probably because the entire area around Flame’s Cradle was extremely geologically unstable, rife with geyser spouts and volcanic activity. Without a skilled fire mage who could sense the flow of heat below ground, it was an incredibly dangerous area to visit. But Amber guided them with a sure step, detecting and redirecting any dangers they came across with no apparent effort. However, as she drew close to the entrance, she signalled the group to stop. “There’s a group of soldiers lying in ambush just beyond the entrance of the cave. Twelve people, and one of them is a fire mage. Not a strong one, but probably good enough to warn them if there’s going to be an eruption nearby.” Adam frowned. “How do you know?” “I can feel their warmth.” “You can sense people’s body heat? Since when?” “Since yesterday. I figured out how when I was enjoying Lily’s warmth.” “I’ve never heard of a fire mage that can sense body heat.” Sven remarked. “There’s never been a fire mage like me.” Amber replied, not as a boast but as a simple statement of fact. “Well, it’s a good thing regardless.” Adam said firmly. “The question is how we deal with the ambush.” “I can get rid of them” Amber replied in a perfectly even tone. “From here? Without even a line of sight?” “I can feel their warmth.” She said, as though that explained everything. Adam hesitated a moment before nodding harshly. “Do it.” Amber raised a hand, but Adam saw no obvious sign of magic being used. Moments later, he could just about make out the sound of pained gasps in the distance, followed by a series of muted thuds. “There’s no-one laying in ambush any more.” “Not even the mage?” Amber shrugged. “He wasn’t a very strong mage.” With a small frown Adam led them into the cave that housed the trial of fire. Just out of sight from the opening, he found a dozen steaming bodies, their eyeballs popped from heat and the blood flowing from their mouths and noses already drying out in the warm air. All but one of them looked like they had died in moments, but the last one lay with his limbs sprawled out and his fists clenched, his dead face locked in a rictus of indescribable agony. Sven looked at the bodies with an uneasy expression. “Did you… Did you boil these people from the inside out?” “Fire is warmth. Warmth is fire. Adding a little more isn’t that difficult.” With a grim expression, Adam hastened the group further inside the cave. But Sven kept throwing worried glances back at the pile of steaming corpses. The trials were each a reflection of their element, as well as a challenge of the virtue associated with them. The trial of earth seemed simple at a glance, but was deceptively complex and required steely courage in the face of danger. But fire, fire was nowhere near as subtle. Fire was direct, passionate and unforgiving. As the group entered the chamber of the trial, a vast inferno spread out before them, a towering field of eternal flames so high they scorched the ceiling of the cave above them and completely concealed the path ahead. But for a powerful enough fire mage, one who burned with magic and passion, it was nothing. A fire mage of such power could simply walk through the flame unscathed, letting it flow harmlessly over their body as they walked. Bringing a group of others along was a far more difficult task. Even at this distance, the air was tinder dry and uncomfortably hot for the group. Getting any closer to the raging blaze would be enough to cook them. On their last visit, it had taken Amber over an hour to calm the blaze enough to allow them to pass, slowly lulling the trial’s burning passions to sleep with her song. This time, Amber didn’t even hesitate for a moment. With a sweeping arm movement she shoved the raging flames to the side, her own fierce passion smashing into the raw power of magic itself like a battering ram. Before her indomitable will, nature itself surrendered and fled. Adam watched her work her magic with equal parts reverence and concern. “Amber… When did you get this strong?” “It’s been twenty years, Adam. Twenty years of being alone, locked up by people who wanted to keep me safe from myself. Twenty years with no magic and no friends and nothing to do but try and try and try. Twenty years of being angry and alone and desperate. It didn’t make me feel things any less. It made me feel things harder, harsher. It took me a while to realize it once I came back, but my passion burns as brightly as I want it to, and I want to burn brighter than anything for you three.” Unsure how to respond, the three of them followed amber across the path, the flames fleeing before them as though terrified of Amber’s magic. Soon enough, they stood before heart of the cradle. This chamber was still warm, but it was a pleasant, welcoming warmth, completely different from the harsh, unforgiving heat of the flames. The heart itself hovered above them, the beautiful red formation of crystals gleaming like fire. Amber looked up at it with a small frown. “How much do you want?” “How much can you get?” Amber scoffed. “I could shatter the whole thing into fragments if you want me to.” “Please don’t. I have no idea what that would do to the magic of this world. Just break off a chunk we can comfortably carry.” Amber nodded and placed a hand on the crystal, her magic isolating and breaking off a sizeable chunk in less than a second. Adam watched her with a thoughtful frown. “Let’s take a break. It’s comfortable here, and we could do with a rest before we walk back through the trial chamber.” As Lily and Sven made themselves comfortable near the heart, Adam signalled Amber to follow him further into the chamber, well out of earshot. Once he was sure they wouldn’t be overheard, he turned to Amber with concern in his eyes. “How powerful have you really become, Amber?” “As powerful as I need to be. If I have to, I will burn so bright even I turn to ash.” From anyone else, than might have sounded like a boast, but Amber… Amber was never afraid. She was often sad, or lonely, or very, very angry. And when she thought one of her friends was in danger, she worried so much it hurt to watch her. But she was never afraid. Near the end of the last war, she had walked across the battlefield without a moment’s hesitation, uncaring of the screams and the gunfire as she bathed the enemy in flame. Adam hadn’t even really considered it before, but… “Amber, what would you do if I told you to burn down a city?” “I would try to get as close to the centre of the city as I could and build up a wall of flame that I could push outwards.” Amber replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Thousands of people would die. Maybe tens of thousands.” “Yes Adam. That’s what happens if you burn a city.” Amber replied in slow, measured tones, as though she was explaining something to a child. “And that doesn’t bother you?” “Should it? They are people you told me to kill. Like all the soldiers.” It was the response Adam had expected, but not the one he had hoped for. Still, there was one more thing he had to ask. “And what would you do if I told you to die?” Amber stopped short for a moment, a thoughtful frown on her face. “I… I would ask Lily first.” Now that was an answer that Adam hadn’t expected. Still, he didn’t relent. “And what if Lily agreed?” “Then I would be very sad, because it would mean I wouldn’t get to be with my friends any more.” “But you’d still do it?” “Of course I would.” Adam sighed and wrapped his arms around the girl. “I love you, Amber. You know that, right?” “Of course I do. I love you too. I love all my friends.” “That’s… That’s good. Why don’t you go rest with Lily and Sven for a moment? I need to think a few things over.” Amber nodded and skipped away to join the others, seemingly without a care in the world. Adam watched her go with a troubled look upon his face. By the time they made it back to their campsite, the sun had already set. It was a fairly subdued group that settled in for the night. Even Amber seemed unusually thoughtful as she helped the others with their chores. Adam sat by the fire, staring into the flickering flames with a distant expression. Everything he’d seen and heard today was rushing through his head, filling him with a dull sense of mounting dread. He noted wryly that there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be able to draw his sword right now. His heart was such a confused maelstrom of conflicting thought and emotions he could barely feel his magic at all. “Penny for your thoughts?” Adam looked over at Lily, who had sat down next to him. “I… I’m just thinking about our end game. Staying alive is fine for the moment, but one way or another, we’re going to have to end this war.” “There has to be more to it than that. You look like the world is ending.” Adam laughed, but it was a dry, bitter laugh. “Maybe it is. A good part of it anyway.” “What do you mean?” “This war… I think we could actually win it.” “I thought you said our armies would be useless in open combat against the enemy troops?” “We wouldn’t need an army. We have a weapon of mass destruction.” Lily seemed confused at first, but as she started to understand the colour drained from her face. “You’re talking about Amber.” “Of course I’m talking about Amber. We all knew she was dangerous, but none of us understood just how dangerous she really is. If we told her too, I genuinely believe Amber could reduce the entire enemy kingdom to ash. Millions of people gone in a matter of months, maybe even weeks. Just Ashes in the wind.” “That’s… That’s awful! We can’t do that!” “What can we do? Actually making the cage was always going to be a long shot, and even if we manage to make it, getting it into enemy territory would be next to impossible. Unless we told Amber to clear the way. Those are the only ways I can see us winning this war, Lily. Millions dead for a decisive victory, or tens of thousands dead for a long shot.” Lily grew silent for a time, staring blankly into the flames as she considered the scenarios Adam had put forth. But after a few minutes she shook her head and smiled. “No. There has to be another way. You’re going to find a way. You always do.” “Lily, I can’t just…” “You can! You always did. You weren’t our leader because you were the bravest or the strongest or the most powerful. You were our leader because you always figured out what we needed to do. You always found a way.” “Lily, I’m just a tailor way out of his depth. I’m not some kind of hero of legend.” “You are, though. In this world, that is exactly what you are. You’re going to live up to that legend. I know you will.” Adam opened his mouth to speak, but Lily shushed him and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short, Adam. I believe in you. We all do. And you should, too.” Adam didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply stared into the fire with a small sigh. Amber watched the two of them. She didn’t care about their conversation. If they told her to burn a kingdom to the ground, then she would. It wasn’t important. What was important was the way the two of them were acting towards each other. There were many things Amber didn’t understand. She didn’t understand what made things ‘good’ or ‘evil’. She didn’t understand why she was supposed to care about people she didn’t love. She didn’t understand fear. But she understood passion. She understood love and desire and longing. She knew what was going to happen, and it was going to happen soon. She just hoped she would be able to keep it all from tumbling down once it did.