Fire on the Mountain [Alain]

Life at Inverness didn't change a great deal from one month to the next. Since Demeter Gray had triumphed over her harbinger challenges it seemed that not much would happen in the near future, and that suited Lario just fine. The old man would happily spend weeks at a time in the Incin shrine in his elemental form, until the times he spent being human for Council meetings or other business seemed the exception rather than the norm. He knew that was nothing unusual; by the standards of the shorter-lived fire elementals he was surely reaching the end of his life, and the day would come when he simply didn't morph back into his human form again.

He didn't consider this fact with fear, rather with equanimity. It was simply a fact of life, and one that he had accepted. And yet after the meeting of a couple of days earlier, he had found himself thinking about whether it wasn't too late for one last adventure. Even as a pillar of flame the possibility didn't entirely leave him alone, and he now stood, clad in simple red robes, considering what he had heard and the document he now held. It had been a meeting not of the full council but rather a group of the acolytes, men and women he was mostly close to after his own decades as guardian and student of the elemental grounds. They had been researching a report sent from thousands of miles away that suggested something that might have a mundane explanation or might be far more disturbing. And ridiculous though it was, Lario wanted to go and see for himself.

Almost two hundred years ago a woman called Huáscara had visited a small boy named Candelario Sandoval. He hadn't known then how she would be the catalyst who had shaped his entire existence. All that was in the past, but what did haunt him in a quiet, unassuming way was the knowledge that he had always wanted to visit her homeland, and had never yet done so. For Huáscara was a native of Venezuela, where the subject of the acolytes' current studies originated.

Lario didn't know exactly where in that country the woman had lived. He hadn't thought to ask when he was a child, and once he understood enough about the world there had been more important things to consider, until the day she had returned to their element and it was too late to ask. But he wanted to see the region she described in such loving words, and if he didn't take the opportunity now, then perhaps he never would. But the country was strange and studded with mountains, and for somewhere so close to the sky he wanted the company of someone who understood such an area. Lario's second affinity was Typh, but he knew he wasn't equal to such a journey alone, even if the Council would have allowed it.

Which was why he was seeking out one Alain St. Clare. The man was young - still a boy in Lario's eyes - but already an experienced traveller, and more importantly someone that the old man felt comfortable with. He found him not at the Typh shrine but in the large, airy library that held the elemental historical records. Many of these were heavily warded, but it was no surprise to find the younger man reading at a table next to an open window.

"Good day to you" Lario said in Gaelic, before switching to French with a smile. "I wonder if I could beg a few minutes of your time? I have a...proposition that might interest you." He held out the scroll, upon which was detailed the recent disturbing energies felt in that mountainous region, together with the intimation that these energies seemed to shift between all the elements seemingly at random. He said nothing more, letting Alain draw his own conclusions.

Inverness, 5th June, 2000

There were times when Alain St. Clare felt pretty stretched out. Between his part-time work at The Third Aett, Advocate training, studies for a mastery in runes and wards, and a burgeoning relationship with his partner Ether he was kept rather busy. As a result there were times when the air elemental had to neglect something in order to accommodate the others. Lately it had been his advocate studies, which the French man had left untouched for several weeks. To make up for this he had chosen a day he knew Ether would be busy to book off work, so he could spend all of it in Inverness. His plan to spend the time reading through the historical records that held accounts of the events he would need to know, if he wished to become a Zealot one day.

That was how Alain found himself in one of the libraries based at Inverness pouring through ‘Starlight Trials of the Middle Ages’. It was an interesting tome, which detailed the more well-known disagreements between higher positioned elementals between the fifth and fifteenth century. It was fascinating to see just how much these elementals of old had in common with Alain and his contemporaries. How the same arguments kept propping up in different forms throughout history with the result dependent on the will power and resilience of the elementals in question.

The air elemental was clad in a pair of dark yellow robes, which were somewhat creased looking as a result of the man sitting in the one spot for a long period of time. Alain’s dirty blond hair was even messier looking than normal and his distinctive icy blue eyes were somewhat dulled by the small framed reading glasses which sat on the edge of his pointed nose. It was clearly one of those occasions where the scholar’s interest in learning new information outweighed the vanity, which usually demanded he look his best whilst out in public. Unsurprising for an air elemental the French man had positioned himself near an open window. This allowed him to escape the uncomfortable stuffiness that tended to pervade libraries such as this one. Just because he liked to read did not mean Alain liked having to do so in a setting where he felt barely able to breathe.

It was just as the French was moving on to a new page of his text that his attention was drawn to the arrival of another. He offered the Spaniard a soft smile, while his thick brows rose upward in clear curiosity. Although Alain liked Lario, and the characteristically fitting warmth the Incin harbinger exuded, it was not every day a mere advocate like himself was approached by one of the most important members of the council. Especially not a harbinger who preceded over a different element. “Dia Duit Harbinger Incin. Cad é mar atá tú?¹” The greeting and query spoken in awkward sounding Gaelic. While the air elemental had learnt enough Gaelic to get by in the council he was still far from fluent. The French man always meant to study it more extensively, but there was only so much a man, even one as driven as himself, could do at one time.

The twenty two year old nodded in acknowledgement before accepting the scroll Lario had passed over to him. His brows furrowed together in concentration as he read over accounts of disturbances in the elements within the mountainous ranges of Venezuela. The French man’s keen mind quickly formulating multiple theories on the cause of said disturbance. After a few moments of thought Alain placed the scroll on the wooden surface before him and regarded the Spaniard with a thoughtful expression. Finally he ventured a response in his native tongue. “If I had to venture a guess I would say a pythia is now living in that region. Of course there is a possibility of it being a group of rogues working together to collectively cause these shifts, but to me it seems the shifts are far too sudden at times for it to be a cause of such effort. No, the instable elemental magic of a pythia and its tendency to fluctuate at random seems much more fitting”.

His opinion now offered the air elemental eyed his superior with an openly curious expression. “Do you agree with my assessment Harbinger. Incin?” Alain still wondered why Lario wanted his opinion on something any of the Zealots or Acolytes could have examined.



1. Irish Gaelic for "Hello Harbinger. Incin. How are you?"

His smile was characteristically warm in response to the younger man's greeting, but the slightest hint of amusement lurked within his old eyes. It wasn't advancing years that meant this harbinger had lost count of how many times he'd offered to help the Typh advocate with his gaelic studies. It was close to becoming a running joke between the two men, even though it never felt as though his offers were truly rejected so much as politely postponed, and he couldn't help but imagine that one day the other would learn to speak - or at least pronounce - fluently the language of the Council.

"May I?" he asked, easing himself into a nearby chair opposite the younger man. There was no sense of urgency in his movements, and nothing about his demeanour suggested that he expected an immediate response to his question. Indeed, he rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, steepling his fingers as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Never pass up the opportunity for a little meditation. Nonetheless, intuition or perhaps long experience meant his eyes were open several seconds before the Typh laid the scroll on the table between them. For a few further moments the men regarded each other in silence. Then Lario's eyes closed briefly, and he sighed, his expression becoming more serious.

"You reach the same conclusion as I was forced into" he agreed. "The first report was some nine months ago, but that was the first time the energies had come to our attention. As you may be aware, there are currently very few of us based in that region, so it's quite possible the disturbances have been going on for some time. And, as you rightly say, a group of rogues could cause these shifts, but it doesn't seem logical they would place themselves so far away. Historically..." he paused, thinking for a moment. It was of course possible that a group or even a rogue couple had chosen this location precisely because it was so far out of the way. But if that was the case, they surely had their reasons. He shook his head. When he spoke again, his voice was a little softer.

"The first elemental I ever met hailed from Venezuela. I had no idea such a place existed at that time, and I always vowed I would visit her land, even after she returned to our element. That is a vow I have, so far, failed to keep. A foolish notion, perhaps, but when I learned of this...circumstance, my long-held curiosity about this part of the world resurfaced. Of course, I could not travel alone, and in such a region, it seems only natural that somebody at one with the air would find the environment easiest to navigate."

This was no clandestine jaunt the old man was suggesting. As one of the six harbingers, he had the right to investigate anything that could threaten the safety of the council, even though he had barely left Inverness in years. And a possible Pythia certainly needed investigation and ultimately bringing to the Council where the child could be properly cared for. But if that was truly what awaited, thousands of miles away...it could be the most dangerous adventure he faced in a century.

Small framed glasses slid to the edge of the young elemental’s nose as the French man smirked with amusement while Lario slid into the chair across from him. From anyone else Alain would have considered the man’s redundant question a form of power play. A way of demonstrating that he was able to do whatever he wanted regardless of Alain’s wishes. However, he doubted the Incin harbinger had the temperament for such games, and besides here in Inverness there was no question of Lario’s superiority. Instead he put it down to the other man feeling the need to be polite, and it was that which amused the young typh.

The twenty two year old listened with an enigmatic expression as the older elemental agreed with his conclusion before offering further explanation on the source of the report. He opened his mouth to argue that such a faraway location provided them with the privacy needed to control such powerful energies, but the harbinger had already quickly shifted to a new topic. Since the French man had his own doubts about rogues being the culprit he allowed the transferal without any fuss. A soft smile appeared on his face as Lario spoke of the first elemental he had ever met. He could understand the older man’s desire. There was a bond that formed between an elemental and the elemental who informed them of their status. An ever present gratitude for introducing them to a part of themselves, which may have remained eternally hidden, had they not interfered. Therefore it was only natural the Incin wanted to learn more about the land his mentor had originated from.

“And you would like for me to travel with you” he concluded in a matter of fact tone. The words not a question, but simply a confirmation of the message he had picked up from the older man’s words. “I take it you have had the international portkey creation arranged?” The French man had not even stopped to consider the possibility of arriving at  Venezuela via a joint morph. Joint morphs were a private intimate matter due to the sharing of memories involved, and not something to be entered into lightly. With the exception of the Zhyadad procession, where the joint morph had been so large the transference of memories was not quite the same, Alain had never been involved in one. It was not due to an inability, in fact morphing was an area the young typh had a nature talent for, he was simply too private to trust anyone with that much access to his innermost thoughts and feelings.

Alain expression became one of careful thought as he regarded the Harbinger across from him. “If I may, why do you wish for me to join you sir?” The query was spoken respectfully as he made eye contact with the older man. Alain was well aware of the fact that Lario’s harbinger status allowed him to seek the help of Typh zealots and acolytes who had been studying the element for decades longer than he a mere advocate could claim. While Alain liked to think of himself as more powerful than the average elemental, he was also aware his mastery of the air element could not match theirs, yet.

As he sat there awaiting the older man’s answer his quick mind was already mentally composing a list of the things he may need for such an exotic venture.

As he had expected, the younger man intuited his reason for being there almost immediately. That was one of the things Lario most admired about the Typh elementals. Their airy and some might say flighty nature also gave them an insight that others seemed to lack, and he smiled. "The portkey...can be ready in a matter of days" he agreed after a short pause. He had indeed made the necessary enquiries and gained permission for the transportation, although he would have much preferred to use the Floo network. Decades earlier, before his retirement from a regular occupation he would have attempted to create a long-distance link, but it was considered risky over thousands of miles and he hadn't even made the request. As for a joint morph, again it was possible, but he didn't want to put the onus on the younger, less experienced elemental to get them safely to their destination.

Now came the inevitable question; why did he want Mr St Clare rather than any one of half a dozen more experienced Typhs? His own reason was clear, but it wasn't something he wanted to voice outright for a number of reasons. The weight of expectation was one of the most pressing, but there was also the fact that certain things weren't discussed unless the entire Council had agreed beforehand. As it was...he could be a little cryptic, and his explanation would touch on the truth. Lario smiled as he began to speak.

"I imagine you've already guessed there are others I might have asked. Indeed, I myself am hardly the most sensible choice for a mission of this
nature; please do not ask the last time I ventured forth from the confines of Inverness, the answer would no doubt amuse you greatly. But I digress. My point is, we should not always dismiss either the very old or the very young from stretching the boundaries of their expectations - or, indeed, from their future path." He thought of the prophecy, the one that he believed pointed to the man sitting with him as a future Harbinger but that others felt described an elemental of his acquaintance, older and far more experienced. That was what he could not speak of; in much the same way that the very act of studying a creature's behaviour caused that very behaviour to change.

"So if we are to turn to age and experience, why should we not counter that with youth and talent?" he offered, and that was all the answer Mr St Clare would be receiving on the matter. "What do you think? Do you accept the challenge?"

[I know Alain was archived for a while and may still be on hiatus, but Lario felt like replying all the same]