Incline 12: Einervaene

"We really should be finding shelter." Brewbrt complained to me as we kept on moving even as the sky roared. But, that only made me smile as it meant that we were headed in the right direction!

"Not when we are so close!" I tell him just before a golden flash sends shivers up my spine. That was lightning!

"Close to being killed by whatever beast lives in these lands!?" he exclaims as we stumble about this odd mountain on an otherwise flat wasteland.

"There is no beast!" I remind him excitedly as I felt the strong power of the mountain call out to me. A kind of feeling he simply just would not have.

"There's nothing else out here powerful enough to cause..." he began to complain once more as we finished rounding about the odd mountain.

"Surprise." I quietly say after briefly looking back at him before the beautiful sight caught my eyes again. And on top of the awe I had for this sight. I felt hopeful for once in my despair-filled life. The power I sought was still here and it was still roaring for the world to hear.

I just couldn't help it even after having seen it all before. The bubbling sea of molten gold that shimmered with power as lightning lashed out against it. The distinct shadow of the iconic peak that this mountain had! It was the closest I could ever get to home, really...

"You're quieter than I expected." I then commented once I fixed my bad case of slack-jaw.

"So this is where it was." he huffed in bemusement as he seemingly got over it.

"Wait, really!? That's it...?" I let out in shock as I watched him do what he had just done.

"What's what?"

"This is THE Anvil-Peak and you just huff...!?" I gawk out of sheer shock.

"Just huff? Einervaene. I am in as much awe as one could ever be, really. Not to mention, I feel like my heart would give out if I just howled in triumph at finally finding it."

"You once looked for this mountain?"

"Yes, with your mother. It was her dream to find that mountain so she could literally catch lightning in a bottle."

"So that she could bring good fortune to all she cared about." I recall as my heart flutters and my hand goes to my chest.

"Obviously, we never found the mountain. But, if you have a bottle, now might be the time."

"Unfortunately, I did not come here to do that." I tell him.

"Alright, we'll ask if that man down there has one."

"Huh?" I let out before we both realize what he had just said. And, he was right, at the very edge of the lake of gold. There was a man in tattered black robes and went with the wind coming from the mountain. But where had that wind even come from...?

The wasteland behind us had no such thing at all! It was a dry, empty space with nothing disturbing it! But now we were coming face-to-face with a harsh wind that threatened to send cooling droplets of gold at us. The very edges of the sea acted as if they were water in rough weather!

"HEY! GET BACK FROM THERE!" Brewbrt yelled against the wind as many of the crashing waves threatened to engulf this man.

"BE CAREFUL!" I shouted to Brewbrt as he suddenly dropped the bag to run at the man. Clearly to save his life but something interfered. And a powerful bolt struck down and sent him flying back. Yet, before I could scream for his safety, Brewbrt athletically got back up.

"Thurnmourer, stay out of this!" he cursed as the storm above seemingly concentrated around us. And for some reason, the man out there, turned around to face us. With another lightning bolt aimed at Brewbrt carrying the gale back at him. Knocking down the hood and cloth strands he had covering his face.

"What the..." I let out for some reason or another as I stared at that man's features. His slick back black hair with a peculiar gold shimmer. His eyes that glowed as bright as the storm above! And his char-stained skin...

"Will you come here, please." somebody whispered. Yet, going by the sudden, inexplicit movements I found myself performing. It must've been this strange man at the sea's edge.

"EINERVAENE!" Brewbrt shouted as more lightning got in his way. But now, it was keeping him away from me as well as this man. This strange man who I felt an instinctive feeling to kneel before. Yet, of all the movements my possessed body performed, that was not one of them.

"Wh-Who are you...?" I asked the strange man as I got a clearer look at his well-formed frame and hard jawline. He did not answer me, though, even though he showed how clearly he had heard it.

"Thunder." he then answered as he started to walk away from the mountain. A mighty roar then sounded out behind him, as if to confirm his name. I even found myself walking away with him. Only to be tackled away by Brewbrt the moment some distance was made.

"ALRIGHT, YOU BASTARD! LET'S GO!" Brewbrt roared defensively as I shook the cloudy haze from my head. Only to start coughing as Brewbrt's magic swirled violently about. Bringing this land its first, and, as far as I could really say, natural winds.

"It's not safe here, grab your things and come with me to hide." Thunder told us as he began to head back the way we had come around from.

"Not safe here...? Did you not realise where you were standing!?" I pointed out to him only to find myself aghast as a dust storm rolled in from the other side of the mountain.

"That's not a natural one... It's coming in too fast! MOVE!" Brewbrt let out before he roared. And as he finished, large boulders began to smash along the dusty ground before they broke apart later.

"WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!" I cried as the storm that was formerly and seemingly hours away suddenly fell upon us. Yet, somehow, we managed to just barely make it back behind the mountain.

"Crazy bastard..." Brewbrt let out as a figure was lit up from within the thick of the storm.

"Thunder!?" I called out in worry before that same man appeared before us as if he had not just been within that storm.

"ALRIGHT, ANSWERS, NOW!" Brewbrt roared after he suddenly smashed Thunder against the mountain side. Yet, despite how easily he had seemingly done it, Thunder was showing no signs of care. He seemed to be only apathetic at what had just happened.

"I am not your enemy." he told us as Brewbrt's spell-covered hand got closer to him.

"Consider me your biggest sceptic, then!" he snapped before I interfered.

"Enough!" I told the pair of them as I did my best to pry them apart. But, I never got far until Brewbrt relinquished the grip himself.

"What did he do to you!?" Brewbrt then suddenly asked me with assertive aggression. Rough, but caring hands then began to assail me before seemingly comical actions took place.

"I'm fine! I-I'm fine!" I repeated to him before he moved me away from Thunder suddenly.

"What did you do to her!? I went to save you from that damn bubbling mess and instead you mess with her head!?"

"I am sorry, I did not mean to."

"Yeah, right, all of this stuff only started happening when we tried to get involved with you!"

"You interrupted my conversation."

"With who!?"

"Lightning." Thunder answered as he slowly sat down on a flat-topped boulder.

"Lightning... You spoke with lightning..." Brewbrt scoffed as he crossed his armoured arms.

"No, he's telling the truth..." I quietly pointed out, although I wasn't actually sure myself.

"I told you to get out of her head!" he spat angrily!

"No, Brewbrt! I mean it! It's how I came to realise that there was a power that could help me here! The storm up there is alive!" I try to explain to him.

"Alive..." he repeated before he groaned dismissively. Yet, he seemed to accept it before he began to dig about his bag.

"What're you-"

"Looking for the tents!" he snapped back at me, causing me to flinch.

"I am sorry for any friction." Thunder said to us as I turned to him.

"It's fine... I guess he must've gotten a little too close to that lightning..." I comment as I start to shiver just from it striking across the sky again. Its power was so vast and Brewbrt dodged several that nearly struck him. I think he had every right to be a little on edge after that.

Along with all the other strange things that have happened.

"I have to admit, though, I was not expecting mo- others to come here." Thunder went on to say.

"We weren't expecting someone to already be here, far in the other direction there is a whole city which walls in its people so they stay away."

"I am familiar with that place, it holds many memories for me." he explained.

"You were born there?" I guessed with an unsure smile. I hope he at least appreciated my attempt at keeping our relations lukewarm at the very least.

"No, I was born far before that city ever came to be even in its most insignificant state. My memories come from what I have done there."

Brewbrt then sharply scoffs suddenly, "Yes, as if you suicidal edge-dropper!"

"I must admit as well, Thunder, being that old is quite impossible."

"You will learn that your understandings of the world are quite bad well enough." he told us as he got up and moved over to Brewbrt.

"You trying to start something!?" Brewbrt challenged as magic spears began to form overhead.

"No, I was going to offer to sort out your tents myself."

"Only got the one, buddy."

"Your deception could use some work." Thunder commented with a mild tone before he dug into the bag and brought out another.

"So I have to share one?" I asked as that other one was the one I had used.

"I'll just sleep in my armour, Einervaene, so there'll be room. Oh, wait, I forgot, you aren't staying in our tent." Brewbrt pointed out to Thunder before he failed to move the soot-covered man.

"I did not intend to overstay my welcome. Besides, it might be for the best so that I may speak some more with Lightning."

"Anything you say, Immortal Idiot."

"An idiot I have been, to betray my friend the way I did." Thunder recalled sorrowfully as he teetered on the mountain's edge. Just daring the violent dust storm to come around and take him.

"So the storm up there is alive?"

"He is, and he is one of the greatest friends you could ever have."

"Would he be open to having me as a friend?" I asked idly as I swirly a boot tip against the disturbed gravel below.

"I am sure he would, even if it was only to shame me." Thunder told me with a smile as he patted my shoulder.

"So... Uh, how exactly would I go about befriending a lightning storm?" I then asked as I glanced upwards at the staggeringly violent weather.

"We would need to cross the Molten Sea first, reach the Anvil-Peak. Then, we would climb its sides using the path I have worn down over the millennia-"

"Cut it out already!" interrupted Brewbrt with a harsh snap.

"-and once we have reached the top, then you may speak to him in as clear a situation as any other."

"Is there some kind of ship you have perhaps made to cross all that melted metal?"

"Somehow, the thought never crossed my mind. So, obviously, no, there is no ship. Instead, I could guide you through the path I always take. Where the gold will part for us."

"I suppose we'll have to trust you..."

"I am sorry, what!? Trust him!? He's a madman that nearly got you killed!" Brewbrt aggressively pointed out as he got up and got between us.

"He apologised for whatever it was he did! Besides, we can't blame him when neither of us were exactly expecting more than themselves to be there!"

"Oh, so because he said sorry I can get your mother's forgiveness when I have to go to her with news of your death!? A DEATH I FAILED TO PREVENT AFTER PROMISING NOT ONLY YOU BUT HER AS WELL!?" he ranted and rambled before he roared.

And I backed away from him, scared of the power he was leaking as he did so, "Brewbrt..."

"You are here for another?" Thunder asked as he turned around.

"Yes, my mother is in danger and, from a trip that took place a couple of years ago. I encountered Lightning somewhat intimately and I have come to understand that the power here can counteract the deadly yet obscene laws my mother has been placed under." I explained.

"Hm, a just cause, that, should it be true would help you warm up to Lightning. Once it is a proven circumstance."

"I don't... I don't see how I am meant to prove such a thing when all I can offer is my own testimony..."

"The laws you cite to me are of storm purity, no?"

"Y-Yes..." I let out, surprised he was able to catch on to it or even knew about it. This man despite the signs of lightning magic about him was clearly not Eusorochiian. Something that made it all the stranger as sensing his magic, he just felt so pure!

"For a moment, let me see." he told me as he suddenly guided me to a seat. My hand and some of my arm were in his grasp and his attentive eyes stared at my nervously concealed palm.

"S-Should I take the glove off?" I asked him as he began to pry the palm out of its shell.

"I only need to see your magic, so, please, spark for me." he ordered as if he were a doctor. And, I did as I was told, watching with ever more severe self-doubt and nervousness as he seemed almost disgusted by the blue he saw.

"You can just let it out... I've grown used to the comments." I lied. How could I ever not be troubled by them? My life had been forever changed by this one, single problem.

"Yours is a strange condition, it behaves like lightning yet somehow you lack the distinct feel of it."

"That makes no sense... My mother is a powerful noble ruling over a vast swathe of land! My father is the same, right, Brewbrt!?"

"Yes, he is a colonial lord in his own right."

"THEN HOW CAN I JUST LACK THE 'DISTINCT FEEL' OF IT!?" I demanded to know with a fearful scream.

"Magic is far more complex than just being one of the first gifts your parents give to you. However great or small."

"You don't know why I am this way, do you...?" I asked him with despair. Choosing to trust in his judgment when his aura felt the way it did.

"I do, but, I will withhold that information for the moment until I am certain you can handle it better."

"That just makes me worry more..."

"It is nothing to worry about, I assure you." Thunder told me as he came to a stop once again by the dust storm's unwelcoming edge.

"Yeah, right..." I muttered as I once again came to terms with the kind of freak I was. I mean, what else could I be when I lacked the distinct gold that the rest of my family had!? People weaker than me had golden lightning yet mine matched the colour of lesser people... Those further away from the Lightning Mountain's embrace.

"As many reasons as I have to doubt this man, Einervaene. I think you should try holding out hope for what he said." Brewbrt told me softly as he patted the back of my hand. A hand which I scared off by sending some volts down towards it.

"There's nothing to hold out hope for except for the power that I will take from that mountain!"

"Lower the aggression in your tone." Thunder warned as a particularly powerful bolt of lightning struck overhead.

"So, anyway, Thunder..." Brewbrt slurred out, "If this Lightning is your friend, that lightning right above us, why does it not kill us right now. Rather than trapping us in this dust storm!?"

"He is restraining his anger. This is his warning to go away." Thunder clarified.

"Well, tell him we aren't going to be leaving any time soon." Brewbrt told him with a snort at the end.

"He will take that into account." Thunder comments after glancing skywards.

"So now what? We wait for the dust storm to die down before we head to this spot you speak of?"

"Yes." Thunder answer efficiently as I groan.

"Board games it is, then." I say as the stones I was fiddling with rolled out onto the ground where I had picked them up.

"My family likes board games." Thunder remarked as he sat down on a rock that I could've sworn was not flat-topped an eye-blink ago.

"Do you have any preferences?" I asked as I pulled out the one closest to the top of Brewbrt's bag.

"If I can create something, I enjoy them quite a lot."

"Well, this one is not really creating but..."

"Victory is a pride-nurturing creation." Thunder confidently told me as he smirked a little as I prepared the game board.

"That's... One way of looking at it, I suppose." I uttered as I slowly thought on how that would work. Eventually, I came to understand how one might consider it a creation. The plan you created as you played was your method. The actions the part placing and your hands were your tools.

"I also create defeat for you." he added, confusing me initially before I realised how quickly he had won the game.

"How did I...?" I asked myself out loud as I saw where he had placed his pieces. I should've seen that coming miles away. It was the kind of tactic a young child thought was smart purely because it was a quick way to win against the moronic! Yet, I suppose it was smart when I fell for it...

"You were distracted." Brewbrt explained as he watched us somewhat from the boulder he was grouching on.

"I suppose I was." I dismissively say as I wiped away the confusion of defeat. I was thinking about stuff. So, naturally, with my focused returned... I would see only myself as a creator of victory!

"Okay, I have to admit, he outplayed you there quite well." Brewbrt then commented with surprise as I sorted out my slack jaw. Seeing my defeated side from this view made me feel stupid... It was just basically a more complicated version of what he had done the first time!

"I... I... Don't... I refuse to play!" I complained as I crossed my arms. Bittering glaring at a nearby stone before Thunder moved the board over to Brewbrt.

"Care for a game?" Thunder asked him, seemingly catching his interest for a moment before he turned away.

"Beat it." Brewbrt answered eventually as he leaned back and enjoyed whatever it was he was looking at. Though, my first guess was that he was just watching the dust storm. Like maybe how I used to watch the waves during my lonely voyage to this land...

"You strike me as the kind of man who'd prefer something more engaging."

"I'll strike you in a moment..." Brewbrt grumbled as he suddenly turned around and started to play. Yet, sore from my prior defeat, I moved towards Brewbrt, hoping he could win.

"Maybe you could..." I soon uttered before I shook my head as the pair took their turns again and again.

"You are a veteran of many trials, no?" Thunder asked him as Brewbrt seemingly avoided most of the traps that I had fallen into.

"And obviously, I am not withheld by them." Brewbrt smirked confidently as he moved his piece for what seemed to be the final time.

"Yet even at your best, it was still possible to be overwhelmed. And age has not been kind." Thunder pointed out before his final move corrected the mistake Brewbrt had made.

"How..." I let out with even greater confusion as I had been watching that from a different perspective! I was not the one playing, so how did I get roped into whatever misdirection Thunder clearly employed!

"Are you cheating!?" Brewbrt accused as a fist went into a nearby rock. Oddly enough as well, despite damaging it severely, his magic did not cause any form of eruption. Even with all this magic power above us, it was so well-contained and barely leaked out if at all!

"Incorrect." Thunder commented with a very brief, cocky smile.

"Alright... Uh, I'll move your pieces, then." I say as I interrupt any attempt by either of them to touch the board. And with a little guidance as I hastily went about it, I prepared the board once again.

"An odd demand, to construct something while being told to make it as the commissioner wants it. We all make as we please, our route of least resistance as it is. But, some want it done their way and still get the same result." Thunder rambled after the pair had commented, snapped or just simply whispered their desired moves.

"I am a bit lost right now..." I say after having taken in so many orders for what piece had to go where and do what.

"Then let my victory guide you home." Thunder let out as he leaned back against the air.

"Son of a..." Brewbrt growled before he got up and went to the other side of our enclosed space.

"You are very good at this game, Thunder. Do you ever get tired of winning?" I asked him as I decided to put the game away. I don't think any of us but him were particularly interested in playing right now.

"This is rare for me, my family are very good at this. Then again, we've all had time to practice." Thunder explained before he flicked in a missing piece just before I properly closed the case.

"Show off." was all I had to say as I took the game back to the bag. However, I decided to just leave it on the bag. As I had no idea when this dust storm would end and we would need all the entertainment we could get.

"I know it is not in line with this past hour or whatever, but, even before we met Thunder and Lightning I suppose. Were you ever certain you could get this power?" Brewbrt asked me as he looked out at the wasteland further down the mountain's side.

"I don't know... Even now, with him here. I don't think I was ever sure we would leave victorious. Frankly, I feel like we're going to die." I fearfully admit.

"I have to admit, I have felt the same way since I saw that mountain." he told me with a sigh before he tried to bottle it all up.

"The best we can do is at least try, right? For Mother?" I asked him as some certainty tried to come back to us both.

A firm hand then grasped my shoulder, "Yes, for Eratheen."

"It feels like we're talking about a stranger when you say Mother's name." I point out with a smile.

"Then this stranger is one of the most important people we will ever know. A dear friend, and a loving mother." he told me as he returned the smile and let go of me.

"Do you think it is possible, for me to get this power, so I can save her?" I asked him uncertainly, despite having just voiced my own doubts not that long ago. Even he had voiced doubts at the same time...

"I do." he answered with a simple smile.