The ride from Elemonsina over to Durus was pleasant at first. The ashship zipped over the lush fields but not too fast, making it hard to hear over the rushing wind loud in your ears. But once they approached the bordering sands of the Ash Desert, the landscape transformed. Elemonsina's lush foliage vanished, withering away to nothing but rolling sand dunes. Every now and then, a stubborn cactus or desert plant could be seen, but in a dull mixture of dry green and brown. The fluffy white clouds vanished, but without them, nothing provided relief from the heat of the blazing sun.

Helian had no trouble with the increasing temperature—his body soaked up the energy, and the armor absorbed the heat like a solar panel, instead of growing hot and reflective. Tegen and Renuo appeared unaffected. Kalisa and Zelenia suffered—drenched in sweat, they panted and looked miserable. Most of the ashship was open, but the elevated captain's deck provided some shade, which they huddled in.

A crewman approached them with fabrics of different colors in his hands; he handed them out. "Put these on. They will protect you from the sulfurous air of Durus."

Not long after he had directed them to properly wrap their faces—Helian had his on under his helmet—the sky changed. The perfect blue sky turned green, gray, and hazy. Jagged mountains and erupting volcanoes, spewing lava and their hazardous fumes, disrupted the seamless horizon. The sands below them turned into a mixture of sand and gray ash, then it became nothing but ash dunes.

Eventually, the ash dunes as far as the eye could see subsided, blending into the Burning Grounds. Hence the name, the land was blackened and scorched, spewing fumes through cracks. These were the battlefields of eons of fighting against the hordes of Fangril's demons. Still now, but a skeleton could be seen if looked for.

Ahead, the outpost of Renen drew closer: the docking station for incoming and outgoing ashships. It wasn't large, just a few concrete buildings providing rest. A large blot sat in the distance—Cesivana.

Their ashship slowed on approaching Renen, reducing the cooling wind, allowing the stuffy, hot air to suffocate them. Once the ship docked, the Elementals disembarked with the crew to take refuge inside—the crew still needed time to readjust to the new air.

Other crew members of different ashships and their awaiting passengers waited within. They helped issue warnings of the dangers of the land. After a while of more advice, the Sun, Moon, and Elementals left the safety to walk to Cesivana.

Practically a wasteland, nothing green grew in Durus—strange crimson-colored plants had adapted to the harsh land and grew out of the ash. No wildlife could be seen or heard, either. The sun couldn't be defined through the hazy sky because of the volcanic smoke, but it definitely beat down the group of Elementals trudging through the desert-type lands toward the walled city of Cesivana.

Rising thirty feet into the air, the sand-and-ash-blasted walls stood imposing and sturdy. The sealed concrete gate prevented sight of the city. Guards peered down at the approaching group, no more than small figures at the top of the wall.

"State your business, outsiders!" one of the guards demanded when they stopped at the gate.

"I guess we can't just ask to be let in," Kalisa mumbled.

Helian glared back at her, hoping the guards didn't hear her rude comment. "We're here for somebody."

"And who is that somebody?"

Helian cringed at how immature he sounded at not having his ducks in a row. "We don't know."

The guard chuckled. "That sounds like a problem to me. If you don't know who you're looking for, how do you know they can be found here?"

"Because I was shown Fire is here."

Laughter exploded from the guards. "Of course fire is here; you're in the land of fire!"

Helian's hands clenched as he gritted his teeth. They saw him as nothing but a stupid boy. Could they not recognize the armor of the Sun?

A cool hand touched him, and he immediately calmed down. "Helian, relax," Zelenia said.

She had said she could ease his temper, but he didn't think she could.

Levelheaded, he looked back up at the guards. "I was shown the Fire Elemental resides here. I am the personification of the Sun, and we are seeking him for the quest of the Elementals."

Any lingering snickers vanished. The guards could barely be seen turning to each other and discussing something.

The discussion went on for a while before the gate was hauled open by four men. "We'll allow you in, but if he denies your offer, there's no changing his mind."

They passed through and met four other guards waiting for them as the gate was immediately shut. Other than loose fabric keeping them cool, the guards wore sand-and-ash-colored armor to blend into the environment. Two had their faces covered in tan fabric where only a horizontal slit allowed sight; the other two had theirs down around their neck.

The main street behind them moved with flowing robes of reds, yellows, and duller desert colors trickling to and from businesses. They all appeared to be a dark-headed people, tanned and hardened from living in the harsh ash. Some had their heads wrapped in free-flowing fabric, but all had fabric hanging around their necks in preparation.

"You know who Fire is?" Helian asked, surprised.

The lead guard nodded as he moved up to Helian and patted him down. "He has been Fire the last two times the Elementals came for him."

"The last two times?"

"What are you doing?" Renuo asked as a guard checked him.

"Checking you for Ash Clumps. If not dealt with before they fall off, they can multiply into Ash Spawn and destroy the settlement they invaded."

"Ash Spawn?" Zelenia asked.

He looked at her. "I take it you didn't see any outside the walls? Good. They resemble the form of a man, but are made entirely of volcanic ash and have no soul, no feeling other than the urge to kill. The only way to destroy an Ash Spawn is to burn it until it disintegrates."

"I wouldn't take that off until you're inside somewhere," a guard warned Renuo as he began to remove the fabric wrapped around his face. "You're not accustomed to the air yet."

"Anyway, where can we find Fire?" Helian asked after the guards finished checking them, and all but one left to return to the wall.

"He's probably—"

"ASH STORM!" the warning from atop the wall interrupted the guard. Gongs were struck repeatedly in alarm.

Helian turned to see the cause of alarm and why the guard immediately wrapped his face up and unsheathed his sword: a huge broiling mass of ash and dust rolled toward the city as black as night with no stars. The citizens also threw up their own face coverings and quickly ducked into a building from constant practice. Soon, the street was empty, except for guards racing to battle whatever the cloud brought and a bewildered group of Elementals.

"Get inside the bar!" the guard ordered, pointing at the nearest building as he ran to the wall.

"We can help!" Helian insisted.

"No! Get insi—" The roar of the cloud barreling into the city wall drowned out the guard's words.

The group stumbled under the force of the cloud, and visibility swiftly became impossible—Helian couldn't see any of the other Elementals. Sounds of battle and monstrous panting sounded all around him. With his vision at zero and no idea of the unknown in the ash and dust, Helian panicked.

A form materialized ahead of him, running in a loping way. He couldn't tell if it was a guard, and held his bow aimed but waited to prevent friendly fire. When he could see the red eyes and human form made of ash, it was on top of him.

The Ash Spawn swatted his bow away and went for the easy kill. But the thing obliterated in a heavy swoosh and a tongue of fire. Helian lunged for his bow and whipped around, aiming at the new enemy.

"You should heed orders, boy," a deep and gruff voice rumbled.

Helian strained to see his savior: a tall man—not dressed in matching armor like the guards—but in a black chest plate, equally dark arm guards, light-colored pants, and red fabric whipping around him. The red fabric covered his head and face, but glowing ruby eyes looked back at him. He hefted an extremely large black sword in flaming designs of red and orange back onto his shoulder. Helian finally noticed the red aura blazing around him.

Being in the presence of Fire, Helian's sarcastic attitude intensified. "I stayed, hoping I would run into you."

"You can run into me later in the bar after this is over. Now go!" The man in red turned and vanished into the cloud.

A hand grabbing his arm jolted him, but his panic eased at the recognition of Zelenia's touch. She tugged him along, towing him blindly through the ash cloud.

The dust disappeared along with the heat as she pulled him inside a building. Vents above the entrance sucked up the dust and ash. He could both smell and feel fresh air blowing down on him. Zelenia removed her face covering, so Helian did the same; once he rubbed his dust-and-ash-crusted eyes, he saw the rest of the Elementals, safe but dusty. Renuo sat watching Kalisa beat the sand and ash out of her clothes, grumbling the entire time, and Tegen walked around, observing the vents.

"I'm glad you found him," a man in an apron said as he passed out drinks to the ones taking refuge in his bar.

The bar had the normal counter at the end of the room, circle tables, and even a platform for musicians or singers. But there were no windows—the walls were completely smooth and the door heavy in concrete.

Helian turned to Zelenia. "I found him."

"Fire?"

"Geryon," the barkeep stated.

He turned toward the older man as he approached to give him a glass of water. "Does everyone know him?"

"He is quite popular, though not overly friendly and talkative. It'll be a shame if we have to lose him for the third time, if he even goes with you."

"Why wouldn't he?" Zelenia asked as Helian drank.

The barkeep returned to his bar. "Because it'll be his third time to make the same trip. Since you're here, the last two times failed." He looked at them. "I'm not trying to be mean, but what confidence is there that you won't fail, too? Who in their right mind would choose to go through that disappointment and shame of returning home a failure again?"

"Third time's the charm," Helian declared.

The barkeep chuckled as he refilled a customer's glass. "You have spunk the others didn't have."

"Thanks."

"What were they like?" Zelenia asked.

"I don't really know. I only briefly heard them in passing. You'll have to ask Geryon."

"Speaking of which..." Helian glanced at the concrete door keeping the ash storm outside. "About how long do these storms usually last?"

"Not terribly long; it depends on how many Ash Spawn are in them. The longest lasted two days."

"Two days!"

A gong was struck outside, and the refugees inside the bar headed for the door.

"Twenty minutes," the barkeep commented as he began collecting the discarded glasses. "Not a big one this time."

The bar emptied of townspeople, only to be refilled with thirsty guards. They headed to the bar where the barkeep had water already waiting. Some took a few swallows or poured the water in canteens and left; others sat down with their drinks to rest. The last to walk in was Geryon.

The red fabric that had been covering his face now hung around his neck. He wasn't a young man—he looked to be in his forties because of a craggy face, rough with stubble and five o'clock shadow, and black hair graying at the temples. Multiple scars marked his face, but the longest one ran through his left eye.

He considered them as he walked over to the bar. As he drank the water, the barkeep poured some whiskey into a shot glass and slid it to him. Geryon finished the water, knocked back the alcohol, then turned toward them.

"I didn't expect you to be so young," he began.

"How old were the others?" Zelenia asked.

"Well, they weren't children, but they argued like it."

"Is that why you couldn't defeat Fangril? You never got along?"

"That, the fact that we never reached Fangril, and other reasons." His eyes grew dark. "But I'm not here to talk about them." Those burning orbs turned on Helian. "'My anger will be my virtue', isn't that what you hoped would convince me, Sun?"

Helian swallowed thickly. "How do you know that?"

"It's what I've been told every time before, but it's never been proven."

"This time it will."

"Everyone is confident when they don't know what's ahead."

It didn't look like he would go with them, but Helian's disheartened spirit lifted at the end of his statement. "Then that's why we need you more than before. Your experience will help."

Geryon's eyes narrowed. "You said that right; you'll be dead by your first temple." He didn't say anything else for a while as he thought it over. "Perhaps this time won't end like the others."