The Emperor Wrathel sat in his throne. He wasn't content in doing so. He wanted to be back in his study. There were plans to finalize and blueprints to examine. Months had gone into finalizing his tweaks to the original machine. And now they could start with a larger scale.
The Souls were talking. Wrathel listened carefully. He could tell what each member of his army was doing because of his Element. His army had grown in the last few months. A good portion were controlled by his Element. It made him feel stronger and his Element reach wider.
"Where are these spirits coming from?" one Soul said from the front near Lonava.
Wrathel gritted his teeth. There was a Spirit Elementalist out of his control. He wasn't sure exactly how one got out of the desert unnoticed, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. The desert's border was supposed to be the most guarded section of the Empire. He knew someone was going to have to pay the price for letting someone cross. The desert dwellers believed they were a part of the Empire, but Wrathel made sure they didn't come onto Imperial land. Some of their powers might cause too many problems this early in his stages of planning.
"Capture that Elementalist!" Wrathel yelled, his eyes glowing with the purple aura of his Element.
"We've sent some soldiers on horseback after them," another Soul replied to him.
Wrathel stood up from his throne. His fists were illuminated in his Element. He had to check on his plans. He couldn't have a repeat of his last machine. Any time he felt nervous or any slither of doubt, it always comforted him to double check the plans.
The Emperor travelled through his castle. He didn't let anyone stop him from getting back to his study.
After what seemed like ages, he finally reached the study doors. He opened the doors and was greeted with the still shattered window in his sight. Wrathel frowned and mumbled, "Waste of a specimen."
Wrathel shook his head after he realized he was staring out the window. The clouds were gray as always. There was nothing different for him to look at. He walked over to his desk. His study had been cleaned up since he last actively used it. Only a desk with his work remained with a green scarf nearby. The old machine was gone.
The Emperor scanned over the blueprints for his new machine. It was going to be much larger than his last one. He hoped that it would work as planned. He knew he was going to need a lot to power it, but that's where his new plans came in.
Wrathel then decided to leave his study to go check his war room. It was on the other side of the castle. Wrathel took his plans and blueprints. It wouldn't be long before he didn't need his study anymore. He looked passed the papers and charts in his arms at the scarf. He wasn't sure why he had kept it, but there it was. He hardly remembered what the kid looked like, but the scarf seemed to be a symbol of his humanity. With a sigh, he left the scarf on the desk. He didn't need to have a reminder of his changes.
After reaching the war room, Wrathel set his blueprints and charts down. He had a table set up to keep track of his army's movements. He scanned the table and saw the fraction that was surrounding Lonav. Then his eyes looked back towards Calbar, where a bigger portion of his army was heading northwest. He needed to see his advances on the desert.
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"I think we found the Spirit Elementalist!" a Soul told Wrathel.
"Good. Capture it and bring it here. We're going to need a lot more where that came from," Wrathel said with a smirk.
Jet woke up, still in darkness. He was sitting this time. His back was up against a cold and hard wall.
"Heyvl?" Jet asked out. The air was cooler. It felt damp. He figured he must have been in a cave of some sort. He wasn't quite positive, because his only relation to a cave would be that of Calbar's sewer system.
"I'm still hear Jet," Heyvl's voice called out.
Jet lifted his hand. He let his Element light up the surroundings. The cave lit up with the pale green light. Heyvl was to Jet's right near the entrance. He didn't say anything about Jet's Element so it must have been safe.
"How long was I out?"
"Not too long. It was probably easier to carry you," Heyvl tried to say with a smirk, but Jet could tell the situation was pretty dire with soldiers on their tail.
Jet simply nodded. He strangely felt better for only being out for only a little bit. He decided to dose his Element. His eyes had adjusted. Light from the moon was beginning to pour in through the entrance.
"Are we close to the border?" Jet asked. He was wondering if the light had changed due to location.
"I'm actually not sure. We travelled pretty far with your Element...it all happened so fast."
"Yeah sorry. I guess instincts took over there. I really don't know the extent of my Element."
"I don't blame you. Spirit Elementalists are nearly unheard of anywhere. The Element is the same."
After a few seconds, Jet realized that his bag was missing. He looked around to see if Heyvl may have gotten it, but not even Heyvl's bag was around. "Did our bags go missing?" he asked.
Heyvl sighed. "Yeah I think they fell off sometime while we ran or when we fell."
Jet slumped back against the wall. He frowned as he looked at his hands in the dim moonlight. His power lost them their only supplies.
"Do you think they'll be willing to help in the Crystal Kingdom?" Jet decided to ask once again.
"Even more so now because of what we know. Why is the Soul army outside my home city? They must be up to something."
Jet agreed with Heyvl. He wondered what the Empire was doing. It could start a war. Was that what the Emperor wanted?
Another light began to shine towards the cave. It made Heyvl jump, which made Jet perk up. "I think they're in here!" a soldier's voice shouted.
"Oh no," Heyvl spat as he scrambled to stand up.
Jet clawed at the wall behind him to push himself up. He could hear the soldiers marching towards the cave. He readied himself with his Element igniting on his arms. Heyvl stood next to him in a battle stance. Jet wasn't sure if either were any match against even one soldier. He had never seen what more a Soul Elementalist could have done.
"Here they come!" Heyvl shouted as he raised his fists.
Jet raised his hands. Element began to swirl from his hands and arms. The soldiers quickly came into view. There were at least two dozen of them.
"I'm sorry, Jet," Heyvl said.
"Don't be. Let's make sure they don't get us so easily."
Jet didn't want Heyvl to feel bad. They had thought they lost the soldiers. Jet decided to send the Element towards the men, as they began to send the purple counterparts back.
Before the two Elements collided, a figure dropped down from above the cave's entrance in between the two boys and the soldiers. Jet quickly disbursed his Element. The Souls, on the other hand, kept charging. The figure raised a shield-like object which sprouted bright pink shards. The shards expanded and made a wall that took the full force the souls.
"I do beg your pardon, but you are in the Crystal Kingdom's land, which strictly prohibits the use of souls against innocence," the figure said, as he looked back and gave Jet a nod. It was Rujar.