Is It Possible?

Augustus gave his hand to the ethereal man seated across from him. Those words: Druid, Spirit, Vulkan, he never expected to hear them outside of a fictional or historical context. Now that he had… he simply had to confirm it for himself.

The Arc Knight cleared his mind in an effort not to scare away the spirit that would try to enter him.

'He has blue eyes,' he noted absently.

But he was only sure that the spirit had successfully transferred itself when he heard it speak in his mind.

'You're a bit bulkier than I'm used to, but I can adjust.'

The spirit spoke in no language, only intent. It's voice was similar to rustling grass and creaking wood. Augustus was a little confounded about how he could understand it.

"I-I think I hear it," he said, his stony expression cracking from the sheer amazement he felt at this moment. "Are you the forest spirit?"

'Yes. I'm called Jahreszeiten. It is an old word, but so is your surname. I recognize it.'

Augustus set his jaw and ignored the spirit. He turned toward the city lord, nodding firmly. "In my opinion, you should heed this Druid's word on spirits as strictly as you heed a sorcerer's on magic."

The sound of rustling foliage echoed curiously in Augustus's head again. 'Tell me why a Kaiser is hunting the children of Vulkan?'

The knight frowned and continued to ignore Jahreszeiten.

Meanwhile, his vote of confidence had convinced the city lord to take Druid Glorianus seriously. They were currently discussing the dangers of the fire spirit awakening and potential ways to reduce the imminent loss of life.

Shutting down the factories wasn't feasible. The city had many obligations to fulfil that depended on the materials coming out of those buildings. Countless people relied on the factories to remain operational for their jobs and livelihoods, directly or indirectly.

Evacuating the city also wasn't a practical plan. How would they get a million people to safety in time? Where would they live after that? People would simply die to hunger and the elements instead of to fire.

"Ideally I will be able to reinforce Vulkan's seal before anything tragic happens, but you must be prepared to take measures in an emergency, even if they aren't ideal," the Druid urged.

The spirit seemed to have no issue leaving all the negotiations to his Druid. It continued to haunt Augustus, who continued to quietly tolerate its presence.

If he could have just a moment alone with it, there was something he desperately wanted to ask.

'I sense that your essence has been trained for physical combat. No wonder you're able to hunt dragons.'

'You reacted to Vulkan's name when Aurelius brought it up. You know what your surname means, don't you?'

'Dead-set on ignoring me, I see. You can respond without speaking aloud, if that concerns you.'

Could he? Well in that case…

Augustus gathered himself and asked his question, 'Jahreszeiten, tell me… is it possible to kill a spirit?'

This brought the ancient voice to a pause. He seemed to give the question due consideration.

'I'm not sure. I think it might be possible. As with any other living being, you would have to sufficiently damage the body. The exact method would naturally be different depending on the form the spirit takes. The question is, why are you asking?'

Augustus's stern face grew grim. 'Ten years ago, the dragons suddenly grew wings and began attacking people. What else could've caused such a thing?'

Jahreszeiten was quiet for a few moments.

'…You would find it difficult, I think, to kill a wind spirit.'

Then, without further warning, it the spirit departed. There was no noticeable difference from Augustus's perspective. He only realized the spirit had gone because a forest green light had drowned the rich, natural blue of the Druid's eyes.

***

Aurelius was doing his best to convince lord Octavian. Not that he had to do something but that there was anything he could do.

"How much warning will we have before the fire spirit awakens? It would take at least a day to evacuate everyone even if they leave all of their possessions behind."

"I'm sorry, but this is all the warning you have. Vulkan could awaken in a month or in minutes. Is there nothing you can do to clear the skies?"

"I could consult with a few engineers, but how could there be no smoke when there's so much fire?"

"It would collect and dissipate into water, wouldn't it?"

"And how would we put water at the top of those smoke stacks? And if that water stops the airflow, the factories would fill with smoke instead. The workers would suffocate and it would all billow out through the windows instead."

Cecilia stepped in to make a suggestion, having gotten the gist of things and tired of being a bystander.

"Purification magic is known to work on polluted air. Perhaps a filter could be devised and placed at the top of each smoke stack."

Octavian seemed interested, clasping his hands together and leaning forward slightly. "How expensive would it be to fuel enough of those devices with mana?"

"Well, we'd need to know the quantity of debris that'll need purification. If I had to make a rough estimate…"

'Aurelius. We have a problem.'

'What? What now?' Rory reluctantly turned his attention away from the negotiation. 'Don't tell me Vulkan is waking now.'

'No, I sense no sign of that,' the spirit said. His Druid sighed in relief.

'Alright. What is it then?'

Jahreszeiten hesitated and then spoke gravely, 'It would seem I am not the first spirit to awaken.'

Rory froze. On the one hand, he was relieved because the world wasn't currently crashing down around them, so this other spirit shouldn't be an immediate threat, right? On the other hand… Jahre wouldn't sound so serious if it wasn't.

'Explain,' he proved softly.

Jahreszeiten spoke every word deliberately, 'This is derived half from that knight's testimony and half from my own conjecture, but it seems Vulkan's love may not have been as one-sided as I thought…'