Day 232

[from The Ember Stone]

"Firstly, even if you do somehow take it from me - and you won't - it'd be Vaz'qui's, not yours," Erica began. "And secondly…" Clutching the Shard tightly in her hand, Erica assumed a combat stance. "-you're forgetting that the Ember Stone increases my power. Just this one Shard gives me enough power to fry you alive. So bring it on, bitch. I'm more than ready for you."

"We'll see about that!" said Viridia, and with a wave of her hand she sent the room's entire ceiling crashing down towards Erica. Erica was able to propel herself backwards with a jet of flame, retreating backwards into another corridor a split-second before the sandstone roof came crashing down. Although she was safe, she was now trapped in the darkened corridor, and though the darkness was no issue to her, the mountains of rubble between her and the exit most certainly was.

"Nicely dodged," Viridia remarked. "But now there's nowhere for you to go. I already took the liberty of sealing all the exits, so now you're trapped in here with me!"

"Maybe," said Erica. "Or could it be that you're trapped in here with me?"

"Your mind games won't work on me, Ember Guardian!" said Viridia. "I have the upper hand! It's just a matter of time before I squash you like a bug!"

Viridia fired a couple of pieces of rubble into the corridor at high speed, but Erica was able to dodge both easily. "Alright then," said Viridia. "How about a game of I Spike? I'll go first!" Viridia began blindly firing spikes of earth up from below, puncturing through the floor of the corridor and protruding up towards the ceiling, hoping to hit Erica and skewer her. [AUTHOR NOTE: This is the first and only time I will apologize for one of my puns… I am truly very sorry]

Each stalagmite missed Erica, some by only a few inches, but each one forced her to retreat a little further backwards down the corridor. Nonetheless, she remained as undaunted as ever. "Your puns are more deadly than your attacks!" she taunted.

Being so focused on dodging the spikes and dishing out witty ripostes, Erica did not pay attention to where she was going. Suddenly, as she took another step back, Erica felt her heel tug against another tripwire. From outside the corridor, Viridia heard a brief squeal, a flash of fire, and then the whistling of dozens of arrows being fired from the walls, punctuated by a thud. The Ember Guardian, surely, was dead. Nobody could have survived such a ferocious barrage.

With her opponent seemingly defeated, Viridia heaved a sigh. "How boring," she remarked. "Here I was hoping for some epic battle, and you go and get yourself killed by some ancient booby trap. Unless of course, you're still alive somehow… well, either way, I guess I'd better go check. Vaz'qui will want to see your dead body for himself." As Viridia was about to start shifting the rubble, she paused. "…why am I talking to a dead body?"

Erica was, in fact, not dead. She had been lucky: the lowest of the arrow traps had been about a foot off the ground, and so by shooting out a quick burst of fire, she had been able to fall backwards over the tripwire and land on the ground just in time to dodge the first wave of arrows. Hearing that Viridia had thought her dead, she had remained on the ground, eyes closed, listening with intent as the rubble blocking the corridor began to shift.

It was not long before the entrance was clear, and Viridia stepped into the corridor to see Erica's body for herself. The sight of the Ember Guardian lying on the dusty floor was enough to convince her. "So you really are dead," she remarked. "Darn it. I was hoping I'd get to kill you myself, but then again, I don't think Vaz'qui will care either way." She paused once more. "There I go again, talking to dead people… all this villainy must be getting to me. I need to see a shrink…"

Viridia made her way through the corridor towards Erica, still none the wiser about the Ember Guardian having survived. Indeed, she did not realize Erica was still alive until, as she knelt down to pick her up, the seemingly vanquished girl suddenly sprang up in a burst of fire. Viridia reeled back, howling as the searing flames licked at her skin."You tricked me!" she cried out.

"It'll take more than that to kill me," said Erica. "And by the way… you really do need to see a shrink." With that, Erica unleashed a blast of fire so powerful it knocked Viridia straight through the wall of the corridor and into an adjacent room.

Viridia struggled to her hands and knees, clearly wounded. "You're strong, Ember Guardian," she gasped. "I should have just finished you when I had the chance. But don't think this is over. My fellow Mistresses are still out there, and they will hunt you down. There's nowhere on this planet you can run to."

"Who said anything about running?" said Erica. "I'll fight them head-on, and beat them just like I've beaten you."

Viridia managed a feeble grin. "You haven't beaten me just yet," she said.

Suddenly, the ground around Viridia began to crack and splinter. The cracks headed sharply in Erica's direction, spreading across the walls and ceiling as well. "Not good, not good, not good-!" said Erica.

Propelling herself forwards on a jet of fire, Erica got out of the way just in time as an entire section of the temple collapsed, kicking up a large dust cloud. Fortunately, Erica had had the sense to propel herself back into the room she had found the Ember Shard in, and towards the exit, meaning she would not be trapped by the debris. The same could not be said for Viridia, though of course she could just use her earth powers to free herself, assuming she had survived. Given the day's events, Erica felt it was best to assume that she had, for the time being.

"Well, I guess that's one Ember Shard down," she remarked to herself. "Now to get the hell outta this temple." No longer caring for booby traps, Erica rushed back towards the exit with the Ember Shard clutched tightly in her hand.

Day 225

[from The Ember Stone]

It did not take Erica long to locate the second of the Ember Shards. It had landed in one of the abandoned temples in the desert wastes, north of where she had encountered Jacob and Caerulea. She hoped that she wouldn't encounter any of Vaz'qui's minions at the temple, but she knew better than to let her guard down. If there were any enemies waiting for her at the temple, she'd be ready for them.

Being a powerful fire-wielder, Erica did not mind the scorching heat of the desert; in fact, she felt her powers growing stronger with every step she took under the blazing sun. The sand, however, frustrated her to no end. Though she was able to cover her mouth, she could not stop the sand from getting into her eyes, and after a while of blinking away tears of irritation, she had to resist the temptation to turn the entire desert to glass. "I should have brought goggles," she muttered to herself.

Finally, the temple became visible through the swirling sands, and Erica knew she was finally close. Even at this distance, she could feel the Ember Shard's energy radiating from within the stone walls of the temple. It was a large temple, and no doubt filled with false passageways designed to make her lose her way, or traps that would somehow still be operative despite having lain dormant for centuries. Her own temple had been no different, after all. Even if she had managed to beat Vaz'qui and his minions here, she would still have to be very careful as she made her way through.

As she approached, Erica pondered which would be worse: the temple door being open, or the temple door being shut. If it was open, that would most likely mean she had not been the first to arrive. If it was shut, there might not be an easy way inside. She was thus both relieved and frustrated to find that it was shut tight, without a button or door handle in sight. "Now how am I supposed to get in…?" she wondered to herself.

Erica decided to try the simple "hidden switch" approach. She slowly started patting down the walls either side of the door, hoping that something would happen. As luck would have it, part of the wall suddenly sank beneath her hand, and as it did so the door shuddered and began to slowly rise up into the ceiling. Behind it lay a dimly-lit sandstone passageway, leading further in than she could make out. If someone had come here before her, they had left no obvious trace of themselves.

Cautiously, Erica proceeded through the entrance. Not three steps in, she felt a floor tile give way under her foot and instinctively dropped to the floor, expecting a sudden volley of arrows or perhaps a giant swinging pendulum. Instead, the front door promptly slammed shut, leaving her trapped inside the now pitch-black corridor. She was not concerned about the lack of light - she could create fire, after all - but she was concerned about how she was going to get back out of the temple, with the door now closed behind her. Maybe there's another exit here somewhere, she thought to herself. Or maybe I'll just have to glass the whole temple and smash my way out.

Igniting bright flames around both of her hands to light the way, Erica started to make her way through the temple, paying extremely close attention to her surroundings in case of any more traps. Every footstep was tentative, ready to draw her foot away in an instant if she felt the floor start to give way again. If there were any more traps, she managed to avoid them, and soon she found herself at an intersection, with corridors leading off in four different directions.

Erica did not panic. Instead, she simply concentrated on the power resonating from the Ember Shard, trying to sense which direction it was coming from. "That way," she said after a moment, pointing down the third corridor from the left. She continued onwards down that corridor, but remained vigilant. There was no telling what other traps lay in store.

Through the firelight, Erica suddenly made out a series of holes in the walls either side of her. The good-old-fashioned arrow trap. Not today, she thought to herself. Suddenly abandoning her cautious attitude, she sprinted forwards and, as she felt a floor tile give way under her, immediately unleashed a burst of fire in all directions. A hail of arrows burst forth from the holes only to be immediately knocked off course by the fiery explosion, spinning away and scattering harmlessly across the sandstone floor.

With the arrow trap successfully dodged, Erica continued on her way, and only a short time later she found herself in a small room. There was a small hole in the ceiling, and a bright ray of sunlight shone through, lighting up the immediate area. At the bottom of the sunbeam lay the second of the Ember Shards, glittering scarlet amongst the gloom. There were no traps guarding it; it simply lay there, ready for the taking. "Too easy," she said with a grin, as she stepped forward to retrieve it.

"That's far enough, Ember Guardian!"

Erica froze, one hand already reaching out to grasp the Ember Shard. "Shoulda known," she muttered to herself. Snatching up the stone, she straightened up and turned round to face the interloper. She had short, spiky emerald-green hair, and wore a knee-length brown dress with white detailing. Erica could guess at once who this woman was. "I really shoulda known," she muttered. "Viridia, isn't it?"

"That's 'Viridia, Mistress of the Earth' to you!" retorted the woman with a grin.

"In that case," said Erica, "you'll have to call me 'Erica, Guardian of the Ember Stone, who also got here before you'." She waved the Ember Shard at Viridia, grinning confidently.

"You getting here first means diddly squat," said Viridia. "I'm here now too, and this is the desert: my domain. You're not getting out of her alive, Erica, and that Ember Shard is mine!"

"Firstly, even if you do somehow take it from me - and you won't - it'd be Vaz'qui's, not yours," Erica began. "And secondly…" Clutching the Shard tightly in her hand, Erica assumed a combat stance. "-you're forgetting that the Ember Stone increases my power. Just this one Shard gives me enough power to fry you alive. So bring it on, bitch. I'm more than ready for you."

"We'll see about that!" said Viridia, and with a wave of her hand she sent the entire ceiling crashing down towards Erica.

Day 135

[from The Ember Stone]

"What… just happened?"

"You were attacked, stupid," said Erica. "I just saved you, though at the cost of an Ember Shard."

"Ember… Shard?" repeated Jacob. "You mean that jewel thing I found?"

"That's the one," said Erica. "Man, I really underestimated how quickly Vaz'qui would start looking for it…"

"Who was that?" asked Jacob. "Why did she want that Shard thing so badly?"

Erica raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know what that was, kid?" she asked.

"Not a clue," said Jacob. "I just happened to pick it up on my way into town, and then that woman attacked me on my way back…"

"I see," said Erica. "I guess I really am in the sticks out here, huh… alright, listen up, kid. That jewel you found is part of a stone called the Ember Stone, that gives whoever holds it the power to control fire. There are three other jewels like it, that control the other three elements, and if you have all four then you become invincible. An evil sorcerer named Vaz'qui has the other three jewels, so I smashed the Ember Stone to stop him from having all four, but now he and his minions are searching for the pieces so they can put it back together. I was hoping to get to the first Shard before they could, but so much for that."

"Uhh… sorry," said Jacob.

"For what?" said Erica. "Even if you hadn't picked it up, Caerulea would still have gotten to it before me. It's a pain, but there's nothing either of us could have done about it."

Jacob recalled his attempts to sell the Shard to the town's jeweller. Perhaps if he had succeeded in selling it, he could have kept it out of her reach. "So that woman... Caerulea… she's one of Vaz'qui's minions?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Erica. "He has four of them, each representing a different element. I should've known he'd have them out looking for the Ember Shards. I'll have to hurry, because with five of them out searching, they'll find them in no time at all."

"Uhh… so should I leave you to it, then?" asked Jacob. "I mean, I have to be heading home as well…"

"Yeah, sure thing," said Erica. "I gotta go find that second Shard, and fast. See you later, kid." With that, Erica sprinted off towards the nearby forest, leaving Jacob alone to ponder everything he had just seen and heard. This strange woman, whose name he did not even know, was currently on an epic journey to gather the fragments of a magical gem in order to prevent an evil sorcerer from taking over the world. Just for a moment, he had been a brief part of that journey, and somehow, it felt like it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in his life. But now it was over, perhaps never to return. All that was left now was to return to his home, and finish what he had originally set out to do. With a sigh, Jacob set off back towards his farmstead home, resigning himself to his ordinary life.

***

"Welcome back, dear," said Jacob's mother as he came through the front door. "You're a little later than usual. Did something happen? You weren't robbed, were you?"

For a moment, Jacob thought about telling his mother about the incident with the Ember Shard, but since he still didn't quite understand it himself, he decided not to. "No, mother," he lied. "I just got held up a little at the bakery, that's all."

Jacob's mother let out a sigh of relief. "That's all? That's good," she said. "Could I have the money then, please?"

Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out the coins, which he handed to his mother. "Thank you, dear," she said. "Dinner will be ready soon, so wash your hands and then help me set the table, alright?"

Jacob nodded, and headed off to the bathroom to wash his hands, his mind still focused on what had happened only a few minutes ago. The thoughts remained with him even as he went to bed that night, and as he drifted off to sleep, he dreamed of women made of fire and water, and a crystallized man with crimson eyes. 

Day 116

[from The Ember Stone]

As Jacob approached the spot at which he had found the stone, he saw a strange woman standing over the impact site. She had long, wavy blue hair that fell to her waist, and wore a sweeping blue dress with a low neckline, as a member of the aristocracy might. Jacob had never seen her like before. He wondered what business she might have with this stone.

The woman suddenly noticed Jacob, turning her attention to him and making her way towards him. "Hey, you, boy!" she called out. "There was a small red stone lying in the grass here, wasn't there? Did you see it? Do you know what happened to it?"

Jacob was slightly alarmed by the woman's aggressive tone of questioning. Somehow, his instincts told him that this woman was not to be trusted. He quickly shook his head. "N-no, I didn't see anything like that…" he said.

The woman stood menacingly before Jacob, towering over him. "I don't believe you," she said. "I think you know perfectly well where that stone is. In fact, I think you have it on you right now."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about-" objected Jacob feebly.

Suddenly, without warning, five watery tendrils shot out of the woman's fingertips, wrapping around Jacob's body and gripping him tightly, preventing him from moving. Two of the tendrils slid into his pocket and took out the small red stone. All the while, an astonished Jacob attempted to process what on earth was going on. He'd never seen anything like this before. Who was this woman, and why did she want this stone so badly?

"So you did have the stone," said the woman, smiling in triumph. "You know, I don't appreciate it when people lie to me. I think I'll kill you now, and-"

"Not so fast!"

A burst of flame suddenly struck the ground next to the woman, setting the grass near her on fire. Unfazed, the woman turned round to view the new arrival, and Jacob's gaze followed, his mouth agape as he struggled to keep up with what was happening. Walking towards the pair of them was a girl with fiery red hair, wearing a red and black tunic. Flames smouldered around her fingertips, and there was an vicious fire burning in her amber eyes. She did not seem the slightest bit intimidated by the woman standing in front of her, even though said woman was several inches taller than her and currently had several long watery tendrils extending from her fingertips.

The woman herself was similarly unfazed by the newcomer. "So you must be Erica, the Ember Stone Guardian," she said. "You're too late, Erica. I have already taken the first Shard, and once I dispose of this boy-"

"What? You're really gonna kill this innocent kid, who has no idea what's going on here?" Erica seemed more amused than sickened by this. "You really are a heartless witch, huh?"

"He got in the way," said the woman, "as have you."

"I really don't have any idea what's going on he- ACK!" Jacob tried to plead his innocence, but to no avail, and the woman merely tightened the tendrils' grip on him. He was now struggling to breathe, let alone move.

"Unhand that boy now!" insisted Erica.

"I will not," said the woman, "and you cannot make me, Ember Guardian."

Sensing she was getting nowhere, and that she probably couldn't beat a water elemental in a straight fight, Erica decided to change tack. "Don't you have nine more Shards to be collecting?" she asked slyly. "Every minute you spend here is a minute you could be out searching for them. You'll have plenty of time to kill us both once your master Vaz'qui collects all ten. That is who you're working for, right?"

This unexpected suggestion gave the woman thought for pause. "You would really give up this Shard in order to save this boy's life?" she asked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" Erica remarked. "It's doesn't matter if you have one of them, so long as you don't get all ten. I'd say it's a pretty fair trade."

The woman paused for a moment further, then nodded. "Fine. Then I will spare you both, this time. But the next time either of you crosses Caerulea, Mistress of the Waves, you will be destroyed. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes!" stammered Jacob. "Crystal clear!"

The tendrils loosened themselves from Jacob's body, and the weary boy collapsed to the ground as Caerulea's hand reformed into a normal hand. Then, in a flurry of spray, she was gone, taking the Shard with her, leaving only an amused-looking Erica, and an extremely confused young farmhand.

"Are you alright, kid?" asked Erica. "That must've been pretty scary, huh?"

For a moment, Jacob was speechless, trying to take in everything that had just occurred and trying to think of the right thing to say at the end of it all. Finally, he asked the first question he could think of: "What… just happened?"

Day 105

[from The Ember Stone]

After dropping off the loaves of bread at the bakery, and collecting the payment, Jacob headed over to the jewellers' store to get the strange stone's value assessed. The old man running the store, upon seeing the stone on his counter, was immediately intrigued.

"What a curious stone," he said, peering intently at it through a magnifying eyepiece. "It almost looks like a miniature version of the Ember Stone… though of course, such a thing would be impossible..."

"What's an Ember Stone?" asked Jacob, intrigued.

"The Ember Stone is one of four powerful crystalline artefacts, each of which controls one of the four elements," explained the old man. "There is the Gust Stone, which controls wind; the Aqua Stone, which controls water; the Earth Stone, which controls the earth; and the Ember Stone, which controls fire. If you possess one of those stones, you will gain control over its element, and legend has it that if you can obtain all four, you will become invincible."

"I see," said Jacob. "So, if it looks like the Ember Stone, that must mean it's worth a lot, right?"

The old man thought for a moment, closely examining the stone, then shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I've never seen anything like this stone before, which means I don’t know how to guess what it might be worth. It might be an exceptionally rare find, or it might just be a worthless piece of glass. I'm sorry, but I'd like to do some more research before deciding whether it's worth buying this from you."

Jacob was disappointed, but he understood the old man's position. If he bought it for a large sum of money, then found it was worthless, he would feel cheated. If he bought it for a pittance, and then found it was exceptionally valuable, he would feel as though he had cheated Jacob. This was the safest move for both parties. "Okay," he said, nodding. "I understand."

"Good," said the old man. "I'll do some research on what this stone might be, so come back in perhaps a week or two and I should be able to put a proper value on it then. Alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me," said Jacob.

"One more thing, though," said the old man, as he handed Jacob the stone back. "You say the stone appeared to fall out of the sky?"

"That's what it seemed like," said Jacob, his fingers closing once more around the warm crystal. "I can't really explain it, but… it just seemed to suddenly land nearby, out of nowhere."

 "I see," said the old man. "Well, if that will be all, I guess I'll be seeing you around. Goodbye for now, Jacob."

"Goodbye," said Jacob, waving briefly before pocketing the stone and heading back out onto the high street. While he was still a little disappointed not to have gotten anything for the stone, he hadn't really lost anything, and he still had the stone itself… whatever it was. He started to make his way back up the dirt track towards his farm home, still none the wiser as to the stone's true worth.

Day 87

[from The Ember Stone]

"Ah, Jacob, there you are!"

As Jacob entered the kitchen of his family's farmhouse, he was halted in his tracks by his mother, who was holding a crate full of loaves of bread. She quickly deposited the heavy crate into his arms. "Could you take these loaves up to the village bakery, please?" she asked. "They're almost out, and they have orders to fill."

Jacob had only come into the kitchen for a snack, and hadn't expected to have such a task suddenly and literally thrust upon him. However, he knew this wasn't a request, but a command, so he had no choice but to comply. "Okay," he said, nodding. "I'll be right back."

"Please do," said his mother. "Make sure you get the correct money from them."

"I'm sure I will, mom," said Jacob. "They've never tried to swindle us before."

"Well, you never know," said his mother. "Now go on, hurry along."

Jacob nodded, and turned back the way he had come. Having grown up helping on the farm, carrying around heavy loads such as this and completing other manual labour tasks, he did not find the crate particularly difficult to carry, despite its weight. Opening the door, however, was a little more tricky. Evidently his mother, in her rush to get the hot loaves to the bakery, hadn't quite thought of that. Luckily Genevieve, one of the farmhands, was on hand to open the door for him.

"Thanks, Genevieve," said Jacob.

"Don't mention it," said Genevieve, bowing a little. "Are you heading down to the village?"

"I am, yes," said Jacob. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes, but I suppose it can wait until after you're done," said Genevieve. "If you don't come back with the right money, your mother will get angry, won't she?"

"Yeah, she will," said Jacob. "Alright, I'll be off then."

"See you later, Jacob" said Genevieve, bowing once more. With that, Jacob headed through the open front door with the crate of bread, and Genevieve closed it behind him. He started to make his way through the fields, towards the dirt track that led to the small village about a mile away from the farm. Jacob travelled there on a regular basis, delivering fresh goods from the farm, and was familiar with most of the people who lived there. It seemed to him like the kind of sleepy village where the only significant events were weddings, deaths, and new arrivals; the kind of village where you could live your whole live without anything exciting or unusual ever occurring.

As he set off down the familiar dirt track, Jacob was not expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen at that time, either. He had traced this route a hundred times before without incident. But today, things would be different.

Jacob noticed a bright red gleam out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, curious, he saw a crimson streak, like a shooting star, fall from the sky, arcing over the trees and landing with a soft thud in the grass a short distance away. His curiosity piqued, Jacob decided that neither his mother nor the bakery would notice if he took a little time to investigate. The bread would stay hot for a while longer, after all.

Jacob trudged off into the grass, heading towards the spot where he had seen the red streak land. As he reached it, he carefully put the crate of loaves down to one side and bent down to examine the small crimson object that glinted at him from between the blades of grass. It was a jewel, slightly smaller than his thumb, and glistening with a deep-red colour. As he looked more closely at it, he could almost see small flames smouldering within it, as though the very insides of the jewel were on fire.

Jacob didn't know what kind of jewel it was, but he guessed that it was probably quite valuable. If he took it to the jewellers' in the village, he could sell it and earn a lot of money for the farm. He reached out and gently picked it up, his fingers curling round it. It felt strangely warm to the touch. Pleased with his find, he slipped the stone into his pocket and stood up. Picking the crate of bread back up, he continued on his way to the bakery at the village as though nothing had happened.

Day 50

[from The Ember Stone]

"He's coming!"

As the guards within scrambled to their posts, the doors of the Crimson Temple were torn asunder, and the evil sorcerer Vaz'qui stepped over the threshold, his black cape billowing behind him. This was the fourth and final stop on his quest to gain the ultimate power. The Silver Temple, Jade Temple and Aqua Temple had already been plundered by him, their guardians slaughtered and their sacred elemental stones stolen. All he needed now was the Ember Stone that lay inside this temple, and he would be invincible.

One by one, the guards began to draw their swords and charge at Vaz'qui. One by one, they were swiftly cut down. The first guard was thrown effortlessly through the air and into a wall, with enough force to shatter his bones. He was the unlucky one; it would take him several minutes to die from his injuries. The next three were all impaled by sharp spikes that shot up from the earth, piercing straight through their steel armor and skewering their hearts. Their deaths were mercifully swift.

The fallen guards' swords began to levitate off the ground, and a moment later, at Vaz'qui's command, they shot forwards, each one impaling a guard through the neck. Blood sprayed across the temple floor as the four guards collapsed, the weaker of them already dead, the stronger of them slowly drowning in their own crimson blood.

All this time, Vaz'qui did not take his eyes off the door at the end of the chamber, or even break step.  He knew what his goal was, and in his mind, he knew he could not be stopped. The Ember Stone, and immortality, were about to become his, and nobody could do anything about it. Not the puny guards whose corpses lay strewn across the blood-soaked floor. Not the weak guardian who lay in wait on the other side of the door. Not even their pathetic traps.

As he stepped in front of the door to the Ember Shrine, the floor suddenly crumbled away beneath his feet. This, it seemed, was a last-ditch attempt to stop him, or at least slow him down. It was useless. With the Silver Temple's Gust Stone in his control, he was able to halt his descent long before he would have hit the forest of sharp spikes at the bottom. Easily levitating himself back out of the pit, Vaz'qui blasted open the doors to the Ember Shrine.

The shrine itself was a large, tall circular chamber, with a ceiling at least ten metres high. In the centre was an elaborate stone pedestal upon which stood the Ember Stone. The pedestal was surrounded by a ring of flames, but with the power of the other three Stones at his command, this was no obstacle to Vaz'qui. He raised his hand and a powerful stream of water burst forth and dowsed a section of the flames, creating a gap for him to pass through.

Now only one obstacle remained between him and the Ember Stone. Standing atop the pedestal, blocking his way, was Erica, the guardian of the Ember Stone. Her expression as she looked down upon the sorcerer was one of stony determination. She had known he would be coming, and she knew what was at stake: right now, she was the only thing standing between Vaz'qui and invincibility. The fate of the entire world, it seemed, lay heavily on her shoulders.

Vaz'qui landed on the floor of the shrine, glaring up at Erica from beneath the hood of his robe. "Stand aside," he growled. "It's useless to try and resist me."

Erica, to Vaz'qui's surprise, started to grin. "Oh, I know I can't beat you in a straight fight, Vaz'qui," she said. "So I'm not going to try. I have a much better plan instead."

"Anything you try will be futile," sneered Vaz'qui. "Give me the Stone, and I will make your death merciful."

"I don't think so, Vaz'qui," said Erica. She raised a hand dramatically. "Activate the Last Resort!"

At Erica's command, a series of wall panels slid back, revealing a ring of magical beam weapons surrounding the pedestal. Vaz'qui was not concerned by them; their beams would not be strong enough to harm him, even when combined together. However, when the beams fired, they targeted not Vaz'qui, but the Ember Stone itself, much to the sorcerer's surprise. The fiery red jewel began to spin rapidly on the pedestal, shining brightly as its many facets reflected the beams' light all over the shrine.

"What is this?" asked Vaz'qui."

"This is my final plan to ensure you'll never get your hands on the Ember Stone," said Erica. "It was a risk, not activating it until you arrived here, but I wanted you to be here to see it. I wanted to see the look on your face when your twisted goal was ripped from your grasp!"

The jewel continued to spin faster and faster, the light growing more and more intense until Vaz'qui could barely look at it any more. Then, suddenly, there was a blinding flash and an almighty shattering sound, followed by a rumble as the shockwave from the blast rippled through the shrine. When the light faded, the Ember Stone was gone, shattered into several pieces that floated high above the pedestal.

This was the last thing Vaz'qui expected. He took a step back, shocked. "What have you done?!" he exclaimed.

Erica threw back her head and laughed. "What a priceless reaction!" she boasted. "You see? The Ember Stone has shattered into ten pieces, and in a moment I will scatter them across the entire world. Neither you, nor anyone else, will ever be able to lay their hands on the Stone again!" Erica laughed once more.

Vaz'qui fumed silently for a moment, stunned and enraged by this sudden development. Then, he calmed down, and let out a chuckle of his own. "You can scatter the pieces as far as you like," he said, "but as long as they still exist, I will find them. When I do, I will restore it, and your efforts will have been for nought. I admire your creativity, but even such an extreme as this will not prevent me from reaching my goal."

Erica grinned. "We'll see about that," she said. She snapped her fingers, and a section of the temple roof slid back, revealing the dark, cloudy sky above. All at once, the shattered pieces of the Ember Stone soared upwards through the gap in the roof, and then scattered in every direction. The wall panels slid back into place, cutting off the magical beams, and the roof slid back into place.

Erica was now left alone in the shrine with Vaz'qui. She was expecting him to fight her - he had, after all, killed the other three shrine guardians - but instead, he simply turned on his heel. "If the Ember Stone is no longer here," he said, "then I have no further business here. I shall take my leave, and begin searching for the shards of the Stone. I will spare you for now: your pathetic life is hardly worth the effort. But do not cross me again, or I will make you suffer unimaginably."

"I'm so scared," sneered Erica.

Vaz'qui ignored her, striding back through the temple, past the bloodied corpses of the guards he had slain earlier. Neither he nor Erica knew how long it would take for him to collect all the pieces of the Stone, but the longer it took him, the longer Erica and the other heroes of the world would have to try and find a way to defeat him. And if Vaz'qui, the world's greatest evil, could be vanquished, the world, and the elements, would once again be in harmony.