CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 70: ELDERS OF THE WYVERN MOUNTAINS

The ascent to the Wyvern Mountains was treacherous even by the standards of a realm where fire literally rained from the sky. The ancient flame-forger roads that had served them well in the lower ruins became narrow, winding paths carved directly into the volcanic rock faces. Each step required careful attention, as the stone beneath their feet was often hot enough to glow red, and the constant fire-rain made visibility unpredictable.

"I’m starting to see why the flame-forgers abandoned this place," Evon said, pausing to wipe sweat from his brow despite Lyria’s protective flames. The heat here was beyond anything they’d encountered in the lower city.

"Actually, they didn’t abandon it," Pyros corrected, his elemental form flickering as he absorbed energy from a particularly intense cascade of falling fire. "They ascended. The flame-forgers who lived in these mountains eventually became pure fire elementals themselves."

"Like you?" Quendor asked, his rainbow scales now showing primarily red and orange hues as they adapted to the extreme environment.

"I am their descendant, in a way," Pyros replied. "The knowledge of flame-forging runs in my essence, passed down through generations of fire elementals."

Evon’s asked curiously "Then where are they now?"

Pyros said "They have ascended to the middle realms. They are probably living in a world of fire."

"Oh... That’s interesting, when our world ascend to the middle realm, we can probably establish a good relation with them." Evon wondered.

"Probably!" Quendor rumbled.

...

The path leveled out onto a broad ledge that offered their first clear view of the wyvern caves. The mountain face was honeycombed with openings, each one glowing with its own inner fire. Some were small enough that a human could barely squeeze through, while others were large enough to accommodate creatures the size of dragons.

"There must be hundreds of them," Evon observed, studying the cave network through his enhanced sight.

"Flame wyverns are social creatures," Quendor explained, his dragon knowledge coming in handy. "They live in extended family groups and share hunting territories. But they’re also extremely aggressive toward anything that threatens their nesting sites."

A deep rumbling echoed from several of the caves simultaneously. The sound was like a volcano preparing to erupt, but with an organic quality that suggested intelligence behind it.

"They know we’re here," Pyros said, his form growing brighter as he prepared for combat. "The question is whether they’ll come to us or wait for us to enter their territory."

The answer came in the form of a massive shape bursting from one of the higher caves. The flame wyvern was smaller than Quendor but built for speed and agility rather than raw power. Its scales looked like they were made from polished obsidian, and its wings left trails of fire as it swept down toward them.

"Here we go," Evon said, raising the Blade of Fate as the wyvern opened its maw to release a stream of superheated plasma.

The first wyvern’s attack call brought responses from its nest-mates, and soon the air was filled with flying creatures breathing streams of fire and diving with claws extended.

Evon found himself at a disadvantage for the first time in this mission. His combat skills were designed for ground-based fighting, and while he could leap impressive distances with his enhanced abilities, he couldn’t match the wyverns’ aerial mobility.

"Stay near the cliff face!" Quendor called out, engaging two wyverns simultaneously in a dogfight that painted the sky with streams of competing dragonfire. "Use the caves for cover!"

It was sound advice. Evon pressed himself against the mountain wall and used the cave openings as defensive positions, striking out at wyverns as they flew past while using the rocky overhangs to avoid their aerial attacks.

His combination of fire and water continued to serve him well, but in a different way than before. Instead of using temperature differentials to crack armor, he found that Naia’s glacier techniques could create sudden bursts of steam when they contacted the superheated air, creating momentary clouds that confused the wyverns’ vision.

"Clever!" Pyros called out, having grown to nearly twice his normal size to match the largest of the attacking wyverns in single combat. "Use their environment against them!"

The battle was chaotic but gradually tilted in their favor. Quendor’s dragon superiority began to assert itself as the wyverns realized they were facing a creature that was not only larger and stronger, but also more experienced in aerial combat. Several of the younger wyverns began to back down, recognizing a superior predator.

Pyros’s approach was more direct. He simply out-burned anything that challenged him, his elemental fire proving hotter and more controlled than the wyverns’ natural flame breath. When one particularly aggressive male tried to dive-bomb him, Pyros simply expanded his form and engulfed it, forcing the creature into submission through sheer elemental dominance.

But it was Evon who found the key to ending the conflict without unnecessary bloodshed. During a brief lull in the fighting, he noticed that the wyverns weren’t just attacking randomly—they were defending specific caves, always returning to the same openings after each assault.

"They’re protecting their eggs," he realized, calling out to the others. "This isn’t territorial aggression, it’s parental instinct!"

From the start Evon, Quendor and Pyros came here fighting their way through the beasts and golems. They were always in a stance for fighting, especially Evon always held his sword. The wyverns probably sensed the threat and to protect their nests, started their assualt.

Understanding the situation changed everything. Instead of fighting to drive off the wyverns, they began to demonstrate that they weren’t a threat to the nesting sites. Evon sheathed his blade and held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. Quendor landed on a neutral section of ledge and folded his wings. Pyros dimmed his flames to a less threatening level.

The response was gradual but positive. One by one, the wyverns stopped their attacks and took up defensive positions around their nesting caves, watching the intruders warily but no longer actively hostile.

"Smart," Quendor said approvingly. "Flame wyverns are intelligent creatures. Once they understand you’re not a threat to their offspring, they’re quite reasonable."

With the wyvern aerial assault ended, they were able to continue their ascent toward the highest peaks where Yena’s fragment waited. The path became even more treacherous as they climbed, requiring them to navigate sections where the rock face was so superheated that it had become semi-molten.

"The fragment is up there," Evon said, pointing toward a cave opening near the mountain’s summit that glowed brighter than all the others. Through his connection to Yena’s other pieces, he could feel the fourth fragment’s presence like a beacon of tortured light.

"That’s the Heart Chamber," Pyros said, his voice carrying a note of reverence. "The flame-forgers’ most sacred space. If the Burning Seed has taken residence there..."

They climbed in silence for a while, each focused on the challenging terrain. The fire-rain was heavier at this altitude, creating cascading waterfalls of liquid flame that they had to navigate around. The air itself seemed to burn, and even with all their protections and resistances, the environment was testing the limits of their endurance.

"There," Quendor said finally, landing on a broad ledge just below the Heart Chamber’s entrance. "But look at what’s guarding it."

The cave opening was flanked by two massive flame wyverns, easily twice the size of any they’d encountered below. These were ancient creatures, their scales scarred by centuries of life in the volcanic peaks, their eyes holding intelligence that spoke of long experience and hard-won wisdom.

"The Flame Wardens," Pyros whispered. "I thought they were legends."

"What are Flame Wardens?" Evon asked, studying the two massive creatures. They hadn’t moved or shown any sign of aggression, but their mere presence was intimidating.

"The last of the flame-forgers," Pyros explained. "When the others ascended to pure elemental form, these two chose to remain in physical bodies to guard the most sacred sites. They’ve been here for over a thousand years."

The larger of the two wardens raised its head as they approached. When it spoke, its voice was like the rumble of controlled avalanches, ancient and measured.

"WHO SEEKS THE BURNING HEART?" it asked.

"I do," Evon replied, stepping forward. "I’ve come to reclaim what was scattered and restore it to its proper place."

The second warden studied him with eyes like molten gold. "YOU CARRY OTHER FRAGMENTS. WE CAN SENSE THEIR LIGHT WITHIN YOU."

"Yes," Evon confirmed. "Three others, and I hope to find more."

The wardens exchanged a look that communicated volumes despite lasting only seconds.

"THE BURNING HEART SUFFERS," the first warden said finally. "IT TRIES TO BRING LIFE TO THIS REALM OF FIRE, BUT ONLY CREATES MORE HEAT. IT NEEDS TO BE REUNITED WITH ITS SISTERS."

"PASS, FRAGMENT-BEARER," the second warden added, stepping aside. "BUT KNOW THAT WHAT YOU WILL FIND WITHIN HAS BEEN CHANGED BY ITS TIME IN THE HEART OF FLAME."

As they entered the Heart Chamber, Evon could immediately feel the difference. This wasn’t just a cave—it was a forge on a cosmic scale. The walls were covered in flame-forger runes that pulsed with their own inner fire, and the air itself seemed to be alive with creative energy.

At the center of the chamber, hovering above what had once been the greatest forge in the flame-forger civilization, was Yena’s fourth fragment. But like the piece they’d found in the underwater depths, this fragment had been transformed by its environment.

Instead of pure holy light, it had become something like a miniature sun, radiating waves of creative fire that sought to forge new life from the volcanic energies around it. The result was chaos—half-formed creatures of living flame appeared and disappeared in the space around it, while streams of molten metal flowed in patterns that suggested attempts at complex creation.

"She’s trying to forge new life," Lyria whispered in awe. "But she doesn’t understand this kind of creation."

"We need to help her remember who she is," Naia added gently.

Evon approached the chaotic fragment carefully, feeling the waves of creative energy washing over him. Through their bond, he could sense Yena’s frustration and confusion. She was a goddess of healing and purification, not creation and forging, but the environment had forced her to adapt in ways that went against her fundamental nature.

"Yena," he called out, extending his senses toward the fragment. "Remember what you are. You don’t have to be this."

The fragment pulsed once, and for a moment, the chaotic creative energy stilled. In that moment of quiet, Evon reached out and gently took the fourth piece of his beloved’s essence into his hands.

As always, his Eyes of Fate activated as the fragment settled into his possession. And there, embedded in the cosmic forge itself, he could see the outline of another relic piece.

"Four down," he said to the others, already reaching for the mysterious artifact. "Nine to go."

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