The clue

Blood,

Blood was all that could be seen, along with people laying on the ground motionless and screams and wails. The blood spilling from the swords stained the green floor, bushes, and tree trunks a bright scarlet color. The once-nice and warm setting has been transformed into a battlefield where individuals were striving to dominate each other. That is the frightening aspect of wars: people do not detest each other, but the circumstances drive them to kill before being killed. Who knows, though, for what? to possess authority, freedom, or perhaps pride. However, this conflict looked to be different; rather than being solely about the kingdom or power, it seemed to be about the urge to kill, ravage, and define who was the most powerful. And whoever started the fight, there was always someone to blame—someone who would spend the rest of their life wallowing in sorrow. Aella experienced the same guilt that it all began because of her. She was to fault for bringing George and Ignacio into this dire situation. She chastised herself for having met them.

Aella could clearly hear the slashing sound of the skin, the cries of the troops, the clanging of swords, and every other thing that she hoped she had never heard while she was currently locked within George's small cabin and away from the conflict taking place outside. She knelt on the floor, her ears covered, sobbing quietly, believing it was a nightmare, but it wasn't. Outside, Ignacio and George were battling the pirate goons alongside the soldiers Ignacio's parents had sent.

"Well, well, well, look who's hiding here!"

Hearing the voice, she hates the most made Aella's blood turn cold. She would never forget the voice, which made her too terrified to even rise up and confront the person. Her eyes widened, but she didn't move from her squat as she continued to think about the events that had happened on the island. She was shaking with terror, and her forehead was covered in beads of sweat. The floor began to creak and there was an abrupt thudding sound, followed by swift footsteps. "I had been looking for you, Venn." Aella abruptly rose up and retreated away from the window through which Hali had entered. She defended herself by raising the kitchen knife. "Oh, calm down, I won't harm you." He said this while lifting both hands in the air and came to a halt ten steps away from Aella. "Yet."

"H-how did you?" Aella's words were shaking with fear. Hali looked at her in a mocking way and whined.

"Even your voice is attractive." Licking his lower lip, he smiled. "And talking about the small army your boyfriend has hid to defend you." He stroked the back of his neck while cocking his head back. "He needs to improve their training, I suppose." He whispered as he pulled out a little dagger smeared in fresh blood and placed it in front of her. Aella backed up a step-in terror—the warriors are dead! She thought, all of them are dead! "However, he did a good job of disguising this house; I nearly missed it, but I'm wiser than that. Earth Power can't stop me; if I want to, I can simply flood the entire globe." He laughed maniacally. Aella's eyes widened as she realized Hali was an elemental, a water elemental, rather than just a violent pirate who was dreaded all over the planet.

"Aella, Aella. Oh goodness." From the front door, there was a sound. It was George attempting to open the door that was obstructed by a stack of corpses. Although hearing a familiar sound somewhat relieved Aella, she was afraid to rush for the door.

"Oh, is that the new name for you, I see." Hali laughed. "Do you want me to finish your man right now?" He pretended to be thinking by resting his index finger on his chin. "No, that would be too dull. I'll deal with him later. You can take your time with him."

"Say something, Aella." George repeated it while removing each body one at a time.

Hali moved in close proximity to Aella before bending down to whisper in her ear. " I'll take you back with me right in front of your attractive lover when I return for you." His voice sent shivers down her spine, and she remained frozen in place. Hali glanced away swiftly and leaped out the window. The knob was turned, and George entered with a concerned expression on his face. George hurried up to Aella as he noticed her shaking with fright and embraced her tightly. "You are OK. You are fine." He muttered, attempting to steady Aella's shaky form.

"He was here. Hali was here." Aella murmured as she became calmer. George stepped back to observe her. Aella made a motion with her hand, pointing to the bloody dagger on the ground. Hali had left the dagger on purpose. It was a warning; he wanted them to know he'd be back, and he has no fear of anything. "And he is a water elemental." The unexpected information caught George off guard. He took the dagger in his hand.

"We need to let Ignacio know."

George and Aella dashed as fast as they could towards the battleground, where Ignacio was leading the troops. Aella's breath caught up as she realized how terrifying it was to hear everything and then to see the fight unfold right before her eyes. When she met the scene in front of her, she heard screams and saw people fighting with one other. Bile began to rise in her throat. Aella gulped dryly while sharply driving her nails into her palm. She watched as mankind disappeared before her eyes as she stood at the valley's crest unable to move any further. People were filled with malice and loathing toward one another. She was so distracted that she missed the man who was preparing to attack her. The man yelled, which drew Aella's attention. However, the man raised his sword before she could take any action. Everything happened slowly. Aella waited with her eyes closed for the blow to land, but it never did. "Aella, be brave; we must fight." As soon as Aella heard George's sound, she opened her eyes. The man who attempted to attack her stood in front of her, attempting to break free from the roots that were firmly holding him. Aella shifted her focus and noticed many armed people ascending the hill. "Aella." She hurriedly followed George after he shouted from a distance.

George did everything he could to keep the attackers from reaching the top, as it was nearly difficult for them to reach Ignacio, who was fighting. Aella trembled for Hali's next move because he was nowhere to be found and was a cunning man who would stop at nothing to obtain his goals. She stroked the ring on her finger—it was the one Ignacio had given her before the battle. Thinking back on those times caused her to sigh.

"Keep this," Ignacio remarked as he removed the ring from his pinky finger.

"Are you really confessing?" Aella leaped in delight. Aella and Ignacio sat opposite one other, appreciating the silence, while George went out to get some supper.

"Oh my God, no Aella." Aella's face lost its expression when Ignacio sighed. "It's a promise ring. "We're not sure what will happen. Hali has clearly called a war." He laid the ring on her outstretched hand. " I'll always be with you through this, even if I'm not literally there." Aella smiled as she slipped the ring on her finger.

"One of them knew who I was. only had I not made a mistake that day."

"Stop blaming yourself; you are not to blame." Ignacio could tell Aella wasn't convinced by her sadly nodding. " Do you want me to, then?" Aella glanced at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence, so he dragged out the last word a little longer. "You know," Aella swung her head from side to side. "To..to confess." He whispered softly, but Aella heard him and gave him a little smile as she turned to face him. Ignacio's cheeks began to flush as he rubbed the back of his neck. " Nevermind, I asked." When Aella didn't respond, he began to stand up.

"No. I mean." Aella avoided looking at him. "Yes, after all of this is over." Taking Ignacio's hand, she muttered, and he nodded in response. There was tense silence for a moment. Without batting an eye, Aella and Ignacio continued to glance at one another. In that instant, there was just the two of them, two souls appreciating each other's presence.

The doorknob suddenly turned, the door opened, and a surprised George entered. "Am I causing a disturbance?" George laughed as he saw Aella and Ignacio fast advance while turning to face the other way.

"Aella."

"Aella."

When she heard George calling her name, Aella jolted out of her daydream. George was pulling on her sleeves to get her to continue forward because the opponents were far away and George had cleared the way down the hill. George and Aella sprinted down the slope quickly. A vast number of individuals had died, and the remainder were fighting over their remains. Ignacio's parents were unable to send the army that Ignacio had requested in his letter. It was against the law, and Fenoria was a country without a sovereign. Without official meetings, they couldn't assist, and there wasn't time. They nevertheless provided the necessary equipment and weapons because they couldn't bear to see their son suffer. George and Ignacio prepared the common people for this conflict by training them. This was the first conflict to occur in Fenoira. The inhabitants of Fenoira needed some convincing, but they knew George and respected his choice.

Aella noticed Hali at the bottom of the hill, sitting calmly and taking in the horrific conflict like it was an entertainment show. And, as if sensing Aella's presence, he turned his head to make eye contact and grinned. He wasn't even concerned that his own people were dying; all he cared about was getting his turn. Aella felt the path had suddenly become longer and sprinted as fast as she could. She caught a glimpse of Ignacio's smoldering form. Since she was racing down the slope and her legs were uncontrollably moving, she continued to sprint straight for the blazing figure in front of her as her eyes widened at him. A delicate vine twisted about Aella's waist, stopping her as she was about to collide with Ignacio. She inhaled deeply, and Ignacio calmed down.

"Hali." Aella let out a breath. Ignacio supported her shoulders as she exhaled.

"What's wrong, calm down,"

"Hali is wat-." As George gathered his breath, he spoke with a broken voice. Ignacio was unable to comprehend him because of the obscurity of his voice.

"What?"

"Oh, the fire boy is your lover; impressive." From the side, there was a voice. Hali was moving slowly between the combatants, but not a single attack got close to him. He moved with ease till he stopped five meters apart. " Although it's good to see other elementals." He took a quick scan of his surroundings. "Why are we battling? We're all brothers." His tone was sarcastic throughout. "Hand me the girl and we can end this here; the girl is not worth fighting for." He stated calmly and Ignacio had pulled Aella behind him in a protective manner.

"Then leave her be."

"Well, you see, I cannot do that. I had paid even more than 100 gold coins for her." Hali uttered it emotionlessly. "I own her, and I always take what belongs to me."

"You can either return to your ship or stand and fight because she is not yours."

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, all for the sake of a girl." He had an evil gaze for Aella. "Well, I guess I'll have to fight for my prize then."

"You'll never get to her." Ignacio didn't understand what he was saying; it may have been either his humanity or his love for Aella. He moved Aella's hand to George's and urged her to take a step back. "But it will be a one-on-one battle. Release others."

"That's fine with me." Hali smirked.

All the deceased were removed from the battleground and the area was cleaned up. The pirates' crew and the remaining soldiers retreated, making a sizable space available for their leaders. All that was left were blood splatters on the ground. Aella and George stood back. George wished he could join Ignacio, but he couldn't intervene in a one-on-one combat. Hali and Ignacio waited for each other to launch an attack as they stood 10 meters apart.

Ignacio was a fire elemental, and Hali was a water elemental. They were in opposition to one another. One may use his water to drown anyone, and another can use fire to burn anyone if necessary. Their elemental force was completely within their control. Nobody could have predicted that the four elements would one day turn against one another when they first combined to create a living planet. People were probably right when they asserted that certain elementals shouldn't interact because what followed was unexpected.

Gia closed the book after completing the translation for Alaric and Hermes. The fact that the moon had risen in the sky, illuminating the night sky, indicated that the book was quite lengthy. Gia sighed and sat back in her chair, seeing their perplexed expressions.

"But what happened after that?" Alaric enquired.

Gia shrugged, "I'm not sure—no one knows."

"What?"

"Who knows? Either the pages are torn or someone purposefully quit writing after that." Alaric was dissatisfied because every time he believes he is close to finding a solution, something stands in his way and causes him to have a new difficulty. "All we know is that the earth elemental departed the area, and the air elemental killed the water and fire elementals that day. The war caused the Lumpus dominion to be divided into several minor kingdoms."

Alaric exhaled the air he had been holding while rubbing his face. "What brought the air elemental there?" Gia pouted a little and shrugged her shoulders.

"May I ask where are you both headed?" Gerald enquired. "You folks, specifically, are inquiring about the warlock. Not often does something like that happen." Hermes and Alaric exchanged a glance before nodding.

"We're not sure,"

"Not sure?"

"Actually." Gerald and Gia both cast doubtful looks at Hermes as he pulled out the map and set it on the table. "Here." He indicated the ocean's center.

"In the middle of the ocean?" Gia posed the inquiry.

"The place where the sun and moon never rise or set should be here, according to the map. That's where the warlock must be as said in the tales." said Alaric.

"Wait a second." Gerald examined the map. On one of the edges was a red arrow indication. In addition to the first map, he also opened the other two that Hermes had taken out and placed them on the table on top of the first one. He questioned, "Where did you obtain these maps?"

"During my time in Fenoira, I acquired others from my collection." said Hermes.

"Do you notice this, friend?" He indicated the arrows. Each map included a single arrow with four different color options. According to what was described in the book about the elementals, Gerald had placed the arrows in each direction.

The color blue, which symbolizes water, is facing south. Over the first one, a red arrow representing fire points west. Green, which stands for the earth, is pointed east, and white, which represents the air, is pointed north. When Gerald stacked the maps, an island-like shape that was in the middle of the ocean was revealed. Hermes and Alaric were flabbergasted. They had been examining the maps separately all along, but they had never realized that they were only pieces of a puzzle.

"This planet was created by the elements; it wouldn't have been possible without even one of them, as it is stated in the book." Gerald stated as he was pleased with himself. Alaric and Hermes expressed their gratitude to Gerald and Gina for their efforts. Alaric finally started crying after realizing that this was a crucial information for them to continue their journey. He couldn't help but cry, but these weren't tears of sadness like they had been before; they were tears of joy.

"But the warlocks are not mentioned at all? within the book." Hermes questioned him.

"Because the fire elemental had passed his knowledge, it's possible that warlocks originated in this way or that they are entirely new manifestations of these elements. There must be someone in command of these elements now that the older ones are no longer in place." Gia made a suggestion. How the warlocks came to be and what transpired during the conflict between fire and water were mysteries. Alaric looked at the chart that was on the table, but there was a hint of relief on his face. It was to the north, a small island, encircled by sharp rocks, with water all around. However, the surrounding sea appeared to have a deep, dark blue tint; perhaps this was caused by the way the maps were arranged. Or does that imply a different, eerie, more frightening significance?