Within the Orb of Origins, the elementals gathered together to mourn their fallen friend and to decide what to do with this pending threat.
Valkun: He stood in front of the broken table, his burning eyes dimmed to a smolder. His words carried the burden of restraint, plodding and somber, half-wondered.
"I never imagined I'd be here… mourning one of our own. A being born of the same origin that gave rise to who I am. We entered this world side by side under the same stars, bound to the same tie, to protect this world from what exists beyond the veil."
He tilts his head, a darkness covering his weak smile. "And yet… we are here. A reminder that none of us are invincible, not even those who burn the brightest. Whoever did this they didn't just attack one of us. They attacked the balance itself."
He turns slightly, making sure each of the elements is aware of the weight of his gaze. "We cannot let sorrow cloud us into anarchy. That is just what the enemy wants. Fear… confusion… disunion. I have seen it before. The darkness feeds on it."
He leaves the word "darkness" to hang, aware it will ring suspicion from himself and toward the unseen. "So we stand together. We pay honor to our dead by not turning on each other. By preparing. Waiting. Guarding the fire that still burns."
His voice growls darker, deeper, grimmer, as if in mourning, but also commanding."And when the time comes… the one guilty of this will pay."
Monse: She stood near Wiliaquo, her posture poised but cautious, careful not to stand too close. Her voice lowered to a whisper, her words barely escaping through the currents. "He moved on rather fast from her… He has hardly even said her name."
Valkun: He jerked his head around towards her, his eyes blazing with fiery fury. Before she could even blink, a fiery sphere of flame flashed past her face, slashing through the water with a vicious hiss. It burst against the opposite wall, scorching the stone and making it bubble black. "Silence yourself… I am speaking not to you."
Monse: She flinched back, one hand instinctively rising to her cheek, the heat still lingering where death nearly brushed past.
Eartakiel: "Valkun!" he snarled, planting a massive foot upon the earth and coming between Monse and the pyre. His great frame turned into a bulwark to protect her from the flames. "What in the name of Heaven is the matter with you?! You could have hurt her!"
Valkun: His teeth clenched, fire leaking from the corners of his mouth. "I knew what I was doing," he growled. "I can shoot straight. She must respect me."
Wiliaquo: "You still attacked her unprovoked!" The serenity in his voice broke into thunder. Whirlpools of air churned through the temple, whipping his hair about his face. "You could have killed her!" His air seethed with veils of sound, swirling around his tightly clenched fists, bubbling into roiling currents that churned and groaned the water itself.
Monse: She staggered back against a pillar as the two powers began to clash, wind and fire, temple lights blazing furiously from the elemental release.
Valkun: "ALL OF YOU BACK DOWN NOW!" he roared, his body erupting in flames from head to toe. Fire crackled over the muscles of his shoulders and chest, illuminating from within the plates of his armor like hot lava boiling up through the earth. The room resounded with his roar for a great length of time, bubbles swirling up in disordered streams as warmth distorted the air around him.
Eartakiel: His fists were clenched, readying himself, the ground beneath him already fissuring from the strain of his strength.
Valkun: He exhaled a long breath, the fires dancing on his shoulders receding to paltry flames. His voice mellowed, but it still carried the gravel of repressed anger. "We all have to take a deep breath… This is a charged situation, and we are all grieving." He looked down for an instant at Monse. "Monse, I apologize for my violent outburst…"
Monse: She hesitated, still shaken, her voice quiet but composed. "You nearly burned my face, Valkun. An apology doesn't erase that, but I'll accept it… for now." She brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, her calm masking the faint tremor in her hands.
Wiliaquo: His surroundings settled down, the violent storm of air subsiding to a hum. "Apology or not," he said, his voice cold but under control, "you have to learn to keep yourself in line. We can't afford to fight each other.".
Eartakiel: His strong position eased slightly, his arms crossing as the ground beneath him stopped trembling. "You are lucky she forgives you," he snarled, still scowling at Valkun. "Next time, think first before you unleash that flame."
Valkun: Nodded once, shoulders sagging, a flash of guilt crossed his eyes before he masked it behind composure. "Understood." His eyes drifted away, as though he was gazing beyond all of them into the memory that had started the rage in the first place. "Let's… continue the discussion. We owe it to the fallen."
Monse: She nodded, glancing about the room. The tension still clung like smoke, but thinner now, delicate, tentative peace filling the air. "Then let us so do… for their sake."
Wiliaquo: He gave Monse a soft expression, his wind flowing over to her hand to give her the feeling of him holding her hand. He nodded in her direction, and she returned the favor.
Valkun: He stared between the two of them for a moment before turning back to the center of the table. "We will soon enough meet the next bearer of her legacy and crown, let the Heavens accept her graciously." He tried to move on quickly, feeling a dark presence attempting to speak with him, but he shut it out. "Everyone, go back to your posts...I will call everyone back for further instructions..."