Heyvl could see the large tower through the thick flurry. It had been a long journey, but now they were not too far. Rujar had made sure everyone knew they couldn't stop moving now. Being this close, Heyvl could hear the Soul Army stir. It was still the element of surprise because they could reach Calbar before the Empire had a chance to form its men.

The army was equipped with cloaks to get through the snow. They would be at the capital city by nightfall. There had not been a tower in the city when he passed it the first time, so he assumed the project was near completion.

"Not long now," Irina said. She used an arm covered in crystal to shield her eyes.

"Not long now," Heyvl repeated. He had been patient over the last few months. He knew he had to remain being so until they were there.

"Do you know how far that is?" Irina asked.

"I think we'll get there by the day's end." Heyvl didn't shield his eyes. Not even the snow broke his focus. He was leading the army and they weren't going to stop.

"I hope Jet is ready," Heyvl added. The Imperial army wouldn't be ready for what he was bringing to them.

Jet ran to the barracks immediately. His heart raced. He had to find Nadreen.

The desert dweller girl was pushing a cart of food by the barracks. All the other prisoners had no idea.

"Nadreen!" Jet shouted.

She looked up, surprised at the sound of Jet's voice so loud. The other prisoners curiously looked up from their beds or their work nearby.

"They're here! Heyvl and Irina actually made it!"

"What? Are they in Calbar?"

Jet shook his head. "They'll be here in a few hours. But we have to act now."

Nadreen smiled and looked over to the nearby Elementalists. Jet moved over to them.

"What do you want?" one asked him carefully. They were all still workers, the level below patrolling prisoners. Jet figured he looked rather intimidating in his guard outfit.

"Isn't that the kid who rants and raves about us being oppressed?" another Elementalist asked.

"Yeah I think it is. Kid, we've had enough of your tales."

Jet shook his head. "I'm here to tell you that we are about to be rescued. The Kingdom and Lonava are leading an army to stop the Emperor. He is going to destroy us if we finish this."

Almost as if his words had set things in motion, the large building began to echo with a loud hum.

"You mean the final touches that were being done today?" the first Elementalist laughed. Jet had no idea they were to finish today. The Emperor might have a chance to enter the Planes and use that power. He had to get out of his chest device.

He turned to Nadreen. She was frowning at the other Elementalists. "I don't think they'll ever believe us Jet. We have to fight for ourselves."

Jet shook his head and turned to the others. "I know some of you believe me. It is the time to rise up! The commandant and other Soul Elementalists are distracted. Let us all take the tower together and stand against the Emperor's clutch around the Ahrura!"

His short speech seemed to rouse several of the Spirit Elementalists. The others seemed to follow suit. "Gather the others! We will come together near the entrance!" Nadreen added. They all agreed and started gathering whatever they could use as a weapon.

Jet nodded and smiled. "Let's go," he told her as he grabbed her hand and began to lead her away from the barracks.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to get these devices off."

Jet led her to where the cells were. They were all empty. "Look, the old man had escaped."

Nadreen looked into the cell and saw the chest device on the floor. "He did!" she exclaimed.

"If he could, I think we could too. We need to focus, right here, right now."

Nadreen looked around nervously. "What if we get caught?"

"The Soul Elementalists are going to be busy, if any are still here in the tower. The machine is fully powered and they'll have their hands full with the army on the horizon."

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Nadreen accepted that. Jet was making sense.

"Okay, let's get out of these then."

The two stood still. They both have focused over the months to gather as much power as they could. Jet felt like he could finally use his power to release the device.

After a few moments, both their devices fell to the ground in two pieces. They both looked at each other with smiles.

"We did it!" Nadreen yelled.

Jet nodded and was about to reply when he felt extremely weak. "I think that took a lot of energy to do," he managed as he leaned against the cell carefully.

"I think so too. What do we do now?" Nadreen asked.

Jet looked around. It would take time for the Emperor to get word of the army and the machine. They had a short window to regain a bit of strength. "Let's see if we can get any of the other devices off and help the Kingdom's army from inside the city."

Nadreen nodded. They both moved as fast as they could towards the main entrance. They both hadn't seen it in many months. Hundreds of Spirit Elementalists had gathered together. They all looked to Jet and Nadreen as leaders. Jet almost didn't feel comfortable with so many eyes on him, but he had changed in the last months. He couldn't be shy anymore.

"Nadreen and I will see about getting these devices off of you. The more we get off, the more we can help others get theirs off too."

They both got to work immediately. With a better look at the chest device, Jet could tell that a little bit of Element could easily break the connection to make it come off. After he and Nadreen got a few off, the now free Ahrurians helped the others.

The main entrance doors pushed open. Outside there was a group of Soul Elementalists ready to try and take control. The Elder from Nadreen's village appeared, his chest device already removed. "I can take it from here Jet. I know now that you have more important business to take care of. Please, go save our people."

Jet nodded to the Elder and already felt Nadreen's hand grab his. The free Ahrurians charged as the Soul Elementalists entered the tower. Nadreen led Jet around behind the two masses. Jet had faith that his people were strong enough to beat the Emperor's men.

Outside the massive building was a direct link to what was left of Calbar. From the inside, Jet had no idea that the building was causing so much destruction. Land and houses were torn up to produce lines of power for the machine. The machine was even causing the Empire to suffer unless you were privileged enough.

"What can we do out here? Looks like everyone has moved to another part of the city," Nadreen stated.

"Maybe we can stall the Emperor. Let's go to the castle." Jet pointed to the large building that towered over the city. It still loomed beside one of the biggest bodies of water in the Empire. The water was once a beautiful sight to Jet. Now it made his palms sweat. The thought of confronting the Emperor made him nervous, but also courageous.

Nadreen could see the memories flooding back to Jet. She took his hand and led the way. It wasn't hard to get to the castle when you could see it from any point in the city. The streets were seemingly deserted. Nadreen began to think everyone near the machine had fled due to the destructive nature of the Emperor.

"How do the people deal with the cold?" Nadreen asked. Her feet were stomping through the layers of snow on the cobbled roads. Her boots were already completely soaked.

"Now that you mention it, I don't really like it much myself," Jet replied. He eyed the white powder covering the buildings. Any more snow and it would just be a field of solid white. It made Jet think of how the area could be wiped out in the next 24 hours if the machine failed. Then it would be a field of white.

The two of them soon reached the castle. The sun was now at its peak, or at least Jet thought it was with what he could see through the clouds. The morning had gone by quick, but it still took time to get to the castle.

The castle was just as Jet remembered. Its gray bricks were neat and cut to make magnificent walls. Towers jutted out of the main structure. The one that stood out the most was the Emperor's study. Jet glared at the tower that he once admired. He could almost feel the wind from falling again.

"There isn't any soldiers around..." Nadreen muttered.

"Must be preparing for Heyvl's arrival. I wouldn't doubt that there will be some in the castle. Can you use your Element?"

"I think so."

"We should use it to keep an eye out for any soldiers. The Emperor must still be in there somewhere."

"Let's hope so."

The Emperor paced his throne room. The dusty room filled him with even more hate.

"How could we have not known?!" he demanded of his general. "Where were our scouts? We have hundreds of them out there!"

"I'm sorry, my lord. It seems the renowned Queen's scouts are accompanying the army. I guess one of the kids that I imbued with our Element had a stronger will. I didn't sense their approach or get a read on his thoughts."

Wrathel sneered. He had heard that the Kingdom's scouts were the best in the world. He had assumed his own Elemental network would have easily compensated, but he was mistaken. Now he had an army outside his city with no formation to hold them back. Even if he managed to get his soldiers together, they wouldn't be able to stop the army from storming the city. They would fill the streets.

The Emperor smiled suddenly. He knew that his men would have an advantage over the others in the streets of Calbar. It could be a turning tide. "I'll send word to get as many of my men to fall back into the city. See if you can get some of the prisoners to aid us. One more of them is one less Soul Elementalist that might die."

"Yes, my lord," the general stated with a bow. "I know just the men."

"Good. Now how goes the progress on my machine?"

"It should be nearing completion sir."

Wrathel looked up in thought. He knew it would take a bit of time to 'charge up.' It would be well into the night when it was ready. "Well we'll have to make sure that we hold out until it's ready. Once it is done, we'll be sure to wipe them out of the Empire for good."

A scout voice started to talk to the Emperor and general through their Element. "It seems the army has the Queen and several other important figures in the Kingdom's court, my lord."

Wrathel burst into a laughter. "Those fools! We'll get to destroy the Kingdom in our own land!"

The general laughed too. Wrathel sat down, a cloud of dust blowing up around him. "I will be ready when the time comes. Go and confront this army with a forward group. See if we can frighten them a bit," Wrathel told the general.

The general bowed and turned away to leave. "Don't go and get yourself killed now," Wrathel told him.

"I wasn't planning on it sir. Perhaps I can change the kid's mind. He seemed to be in some authority, so it may be in our favor. I'm ready to see an end to the Kingdom's nonsense."

"You and me both."

The general chuckled as he left the throne room. Wrathel sat alone. His arms flared up with the Soul Element. He was going to demand all his men to get to Calbar as soon as possible. There was a war to fight.