Egosum’s back ran cold, his chest deflated, and his eyes went glossy.

‘That is just impossible. They have to be lying. It makes absolutely no sense. Quetulopus is a god amongst amphibians. He even eclipsed my master in skill’

“You are lying. That is the only viable explanation. Quetulopus is immortal.” The denial ran through his lips in one clean breath. He was certain of it. That was the only explanation.

The look on the salamander's face only fell more after his diatribe. They seemed to think about their next words carefully as Egosum stared them down.

‘To think she would try to trick me about something so serious. That is ridiculous in every way possible. If Quetulopus died, then all hope is lost for my people.’

“I understand the disbelief. The magma council did not believe it either, so they enacted a clairvoyance using one of the personal gifts he bestowed on them. They looked into the molten pools channeling their sorcery and found his body. It is undeniable.” The voice was painful to listen to.

How she could confidently spout lies was so foreign to him that he questioned if she was even an amphibian. Sure, there had been an incursion into their heartlands, but that did not mean that their leaders were dead.

‘She might be telling the truth about the joint coalition attacking with the figures fighting in the distance and the bird people, but that is where the truth ends.’

The look of certain disbelief on his face seemed to egg them on.

“His entire body looked to have been severely burned and crushed under some immense weight. The ground around him was barren and molten. They said it looked like an explosion of impossible proportions had taken place.” The salamander stared at him in sadness.

‘That can’t be. A burned and flattened body. What would even be able to cause that?’ Egosum sat thinking about the last thing he had seen before fleeing into the drains.

‘A meteor massive enough to destroy hundreds of acres might be able to end him, but that would be preposterous. How could multiple of those things exist? It would take an act of a god and that is only reserved for the direst of circumstances. The price would be huge and the consequences immense. ‘

He looked back up at the salamander and stared into their eyes ready to denounce everything again before he had an epiphany of horror.

He never mentioned a meteorite and the only way for the vernal pools to have been attacked would be if the upper echelons of the society failed to react to whatever the first attack was. If someone launched a surprise attack on the great mageking, there is a small chance they might have actually been able to end them with the help of a god.

“I….I…How do you think it happened?”

“I am not quite sure, but it would have taken immense heat and an immensely powerful blow to cause the damage they saw. Maybe some war machine or a powerful fire blast. Magic would be my first guess.”

His mind worked through the scenarios. ‘The salamander might be telling the truth. Shit! This can’t be happening. What should I even do now? Do I even go back home if there isn’t anything or anyone left?’

“Are you okay?” The salamander put their hand on his back as he sat in silence.

“Yes. I am perfectly fine. Just shocked is all.” He struggled to convince himself of the lie and went silent again with his brain racing.

‘I need a goal. Pangu said I was talented. He went so far as to say I was the most talented person he had seen in a long time. Maybe I can do something about the assault if I gain enough power. It has to be doable.’

“Have you ever been told that you have a really nice presence? Feels homely in a way. Definitely strange to me seeing as you are not a bubbling molten swamp.” The salamander patted his back with their mittened hands.

“No, I have not heard that before. Though I guess I am not surprised if my other new friend is anything to go by. He showed up in my sleep and wanted to stick with me.” He looked to the side to meet the amphibian's eyes.

The bright yellow orbs reflected the sun in a way he never saw in any of the salamander kin at home. They looked kind and emotional, completely uncommon in most eyes he saw from the feeders that manned the pools. They carried an age to them that he couldn’t place in a youngling.

“If I may be so bold as to ask, why have you not metamorphosized into a bipedal form yet?” The question appeared to throw them off as they took on a pensive look.

“Why would I ever do that?” The response floored him. His entire civilization orbited around the process. It was a major founding principle behind expanding their potential in specialized work paths.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Generally, the toads would gain immense muscle mass, the frogs would gain lean muscle and denser brains, and the salamanders would expand their manahearts. How could a group of ember salamanders be unaware of the benefits?

“I guess Quetulopus was bipedal in the statues, but I never really thought about why he or Quetinctol looked like that.”

She even knew of his master. He lapsed back into thought as she finished. The benefits were immense, and the practice was common in their civilization but she hadn't seen it practiced by anyone else?

His misguided thoughts proved themselves again as his failure of knowledge stymied his understanding.

“Argh, this is too much thinking. I need time to digest this stuff. He hopped away from the salamander and turned to them to speak again. “Are you gonna come along?”

It looked at his retreating figure before speaking up

“Sure, it’s not like I have anything better to do. My name is Cinera, mage of the Embermount lava field and fifth of her name.”

“I am Egosum….. Mage in training of….. Quetulopus’s holdings and first of his name that I know of.” He wanted to smack himself as he spoke the words. His first real introduction to a peer and he blundered every step of the way.

Cinera smiled at the stuttering and followed him to the elder elf.

The bonfire of bodies stacked before them lit the surroundings in an orange glow as the flesh was returned to the ground as charcoal.

“I heard about your new friend. Nice to meet you. It’s not very often you get to meet two talking amphibians in one day, I guess I should count myself lucky. Hahaha.” The two creatures looked up at him with a blank look.

“Hahaha, um, so what are you guys going to do?”

The awkward air lifted slightly as they stopped staring him down after a few seconds.

“First, I am going to collect my reward and gorge myself on it. Then I am going to disappear into the forest and away from your city, never to be seen or heard from again.” Egosum looked him in the eye and waited for an answer.

“Yeah, that works. You definitely earned the eight crates. Still don’t get how you eat that stuff but hey, more power to you.” The old elf turned around and whistled to the entire camp, drawing everyone’s attention.

In the distance, a loud piercing call wailed across the plains, making everyone flinch. Coyotl must have felt left out by the whistle and joined in.

“I guess that is a great call to everyone else still burning to smaller camps. We are moving out now that we cleared the camps. Get in formation and grab the cargo, this mission was a success. We will have a feast once we get home, courtesy of the finance department.” The elves around him erupted into cheers.

Egosum watched the crowd with interest.

‘Is this how you gain favor with your subjects? It seems effective. I might have just learned something from that old codger.’

He hopped along at the rear of the crowd with Cinera skittering along after him.

“Can you tell me more about yourself?”

“Sure. I graduated with honors from the Embermount School of Wizardry about two years ago and have been honing my craft ever since.” She looked down as she walked ahead, deep in thought.

“I realized that ash and lightning were my main interests after an eruption sent the plumes of smoke up and covered the sky. The dark skies lit up like the brightest of thunderstorms. Lighting raced across the ash-filled atmosphere. It was a sight that I struggle to put into words even to this day. I fell in love at that same moment.” Her yellow eyes glowed with a power that he hadn’t seen in the weeks that he left.

“I know this might not be proper for me to say but do you mind if I ask about your magic?” His timid voice contrasted drastically with the expectant expression covering his face.

“I was hoping you would ask. What would you like to know?” Her expression brightened with life.

“Uh, I don't even know where to start. Why do you seem so happy to talk about it? Isn’t it taboo to ask?” He was a little floored by her eagerness. Sure, it was common to overhear topics being spoken about, but the thought of openly sharing it was a little strange to him.

“Not at all. I love to speak about magic. If you don’t talk about it, you can’t familiarize yourself to an adequate degree. That is why we are forced to teach a class before we leave school. It is wonderful to impart your knowledge.” She spoke with the confidence and energy a tadpole would have. It was refreshing in a way he hadn’t expected.

“I guess the first thing I wanted to ask about was what the winds of magic feel like to you. My master talked about being able to feel it after his awakening from the herbs.”

She took a second to think before finally answering.

“That is a little complex. Before eating some ripe Sunny flowers and ember roses, we already have a deep understanding of the fundamentals, so we know what to feel for. It's probably best described as a deep sense of homeliness. It gets channeled into you and builds up to create your mana heart.” The dry grassland they walked through crackled under their feet.

“The mana source you draw from usually determines what magic you will end up using. I am more of a fringe case. I can see mana in you already though. What magic are you training in?” Her bright eyes looked at him curiously.

He flushed slightly, embarrassed and unsure at the same time.

“It would be wetlands magic, probably. I am not really sure, to be honest. I don't really know how to tell or use it beyond projecting it slightly.” He flexed his dao, letting it seep out of his frame, moistening the dry grass below him.

She watched the phenomenon occurring with rapt interest.

“How are you doing that? That's super interesting. So much mana too”

“I just pour it out from my body and let it affect the grass around me.” He reeled it back in as Pangu advised and looked over to his new companion.

“That is a crazy application. I never would have thought about using mana like that. I don’t even really understand how that works without you casting but if it works, it works. I might have seen something similar from the older mages, but that is usually after dozens of years of practice.” She pressed her hand into the moistened ground and watched water pool into the handprint.

He stuck his head up and puffed his chest in pride.

“I am glad you think so. It took a lot of effort to learn. I doubt someone without a deep understanding of the wetlands could achieve it. Ya know, I would love to see some actual magic in practice if you would be kind enough to show me.” It was his turn to watch in awe at the display of mage craft before him.