The desert winds blew in the night, whispering news of the coming rebellion, as campfires burned on the outskirts of the Red Sands tribe. Their sheikhs and fighters gathered around Eren and Leylin, their eyes filled with worry despite the dancing flames.
The sheikh said in a trembling voice, "We thought the Shadows had left after the ash fell, but they're back... hiding among us, hiding in our faces... stealing our strength and killing silently."
Eren nodded, his eyes serious. "The darkness won't last long here... Tonight the Sands will know freedom."
Leylin stood, her hair swirling in the hot wind, and said, "We will ignite the fire of revolution, and we will cleanse this land of the remnants of the Shadows."
Deep in the desert, Shadow cells hid in abandoned tents and deserted wells, trading in black ash, sowing discord among the tribes, and kidnapping children to become their spies. Tonight, their plan was to transport a new shipment of ash to ignite a civil war within the Sand Tribe.
But what they didn't know was that Eren had sent the winds to track their steps, and that Leylin had prepared her white fire to cleanse the area at the crucial moment.
The tribe's warriors gathered in the shadows around their elder, and Eren raised his hand and said, "This is your night... This is your revolution... We are here to help you, but the fire and wind will be yours."
The plan was clear:
- Leylin would fire the sparks at the agreed-upon signal.
- Eren would use the winds to isolate the shadows and prevent their escape.
- The tribe's warriors would attack them with their hand-crafted weapons.
At midnight, as the Shadow Traders attempted to transport the shipment across the dunes, Leylin raised her hand, and a ball of white fire lit up the sky above the sands, signaling the start.
Warriors' shouts rang out from every direction, storming down on the Shadows, while Eren's winds swept across the place, raising the sand and revealing hidden faces, leaving the Shadows completely exposed.
Some Shadows tried to escape, but Leylin closed in on them with her fire, trapping them in the burning dunes. The Shadows fought fiercely, using black ash weapons, but the winds extinguished the ash's toxins, neutralizing its effect on the sand.
In the midst of the battle, the Shadow Leader, a tall man in a black cloak, appeared, wielding a spear of animated ash. He attacked Eren, attempting to stab him.
Eren countered with a wall of wind, and a brief battle ensued. The Leader attempted to use the ash to poison the winds, but Eren lashed out with a clean gust, tearing the ash apart and scattering its remains.
The Shadow Leader shouted, "You are trying to build a fragile world... Darkness will return no matter what you do!"
Eren replied firmly:
Darkness never returns where fire and wind rise.
Eren finished him off with a combined attack with Leylin, white flame piercing the Shadow's chest as the Wind tore it to ash. The battle ended with the last Shadow pocket collapsing in the desert.
As the sun rose, the tribe stood under the banner of Wind and Fire, and the tribe's chief held his sword high:
Today... the Sands are free!
Leylin smiled and, looking at Eren, said:
One more step toward a world where the Shadows will never return.
The wind blew across the desert, carrying the Shadows' ashes away, while the sun shone on the golden sands, preparing for a new age of freedom, wind, and fire.