novellaaa Chapter 593: I think we have time for one more.
Chapter 593: I think we have time for one more.
Unlike most tribes in the Heights, the Nomads didn’t show any resistance when Kael asked them to move.
These people did not have any ancestral grounds they valued deeply, yes, they valued their freedom, that was true, but the Heights wasn’t a place where words like freedom, independence, or such held much value.
The Heights was... cruel.
And a war in an already cruel environment like the Heights...?
That was even crueller.
And the Nomads had no intention of moving freely, without any proper way to defend themselves in this cruel atmosphere.
So the moment Kael offered them space behind the Wall, they agreed. Heck, they didn’t even ask for shelters, as long as there was enough space, they could settle in, they had their own tents.
And that was something Kael actually preferred.
The Velmourn land was large, that was true, but there weren’t many houses there, sure, there were about a few hundred empty ones, but they definitely did not have enough to accommodate so many new people.
At this point, they needed something.
And the Nomads’ ability to make tents and temporary shelters was something that was going to help them, quite a bit.
Anyways, after the Nomads, Kael and his party stood up, the Nomads knew the way to the Wall, so unlike the others, they did not need any guidance.
One of the Nomad Elders, however, came with Kael’s party, towards the other tribes.
Yes, the work was still not done.
They still had one last name remaining on their list.
The Emberfolk.
The Emberfolk territory was... quite different from most territories Kael had been in.
Even in winter, even under snow, their land was... heated.
It wasn’t comfortable, no, it was... much warmer than to be comfortable, but whatever it was, it was far, far better than the cold that killed you with frostbite.
No Emberfolk died of cold. There was still starvation that these people had to worry about, yes, but cold? No.
The ground in the Emberfolk settlement was darker, it was stained by soot and old ash. Their shelters were built near furnace pits and charcoal caves, smoke came out of all the vents that were there and disappeared into the sky.
The Emberfolks were... true forgers.
They had this uncanny ability to find charcoal even in the deadest of places.
And because of this ability—
These people almost never ran out of fuel, even in the harsh winters of the Heights.
These people knew how to preserve flames, even in strong winds. While most tribes in the Heights had frostbite all over their bodies, their hands were often burned and scarred by heat.
Their clothes were thick, of course, even near the flames, the cold was enough to devour them completely if they tried to be too bold.
But together with the thickness, their clothes also had heat-resistant leather.
Yes, they were quite the oddity.
Though when Kael saw the look in their eyes, he just saw... people. People who... although they were living near a fire... they never felt... safe.
Especially with the situation as it was now.
The Emberfolks weren’t like the other tribes Kael had visited so far, even the Stormcallers could see their value.
They provided heat in this frightening cold, any being with a brain would want to recruit them.
The Stormcallers had approached them quite a few times too, with different, more... enticing offers, some of those offers were even worth considering, then there were also... direct threats.
Threats like joining them was the only option or they would be considered allies of the enemy and would perish.
Yes, the Emberfolks had been through all of that.
Despite that, they still hadn’t given their word, partially because they did not trust the outsiders that were directing the Stormcallers.
Of course, it was good for Kael and his party, the Stormcallers had approached them and yet they did not agree. That meant that they were the only possible choice these people even had.
But...
Both Kael and Lavinia were outsiders too.
They weren’t out of the scope of the Emberfolks’ hatred.
Be that as it may, Kael was... still quite confident about recruiting the Emberfolk, mostly because he had what genuinely interested these people.
So when Kael met the Emberfolk leader, he gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
"The Velmourn Flames."
He started with those words.
"If you join us, you can work with the Velmourn Flames however much you want."
Kael offered and the instant he said those words, the Emberfolk leader’s eyes shone like never before in their entire conversation.
The Velmourn Flames were... different.
Kael obviously knew this, Kael was one of the few who had joined every single one of Velmourn’s veins, he understood Velmourn society in and out, especially now, with the ants keeping an eye on every single thing.
Of course, the Velmourns didn’t hide its existence either, that was actually one of the first things Alrisa, Kael’s assigned liaison, told him when he got there.
The Velmourn Flames weren’t ordinary, they were... Memory Flames, or as the Velmourns call them, the Flames that remember what they burned.
Flames that burned... dragon bone.
And it wasn’t just any ordinary dragon, it was the strongest Steel Dragon—
Vorgath.
And because those flames were then empowered by Lord Vorgath’s bones and his memories were burned into them—
Those ordinary flames turned into... flames that never burned out...
Even in the strongest winter, even when literal people froze to death, those flames burned. They had been burning for twelve hundred years.
Of course, other tribes knew about it too. Especially the Emberfolks, who were interested in anything related to fire.
But...
What could they do?
At that point, they couldn’t just reach out to the Velmourns and ask them to see or experiment on those flames, now could they?
Those flames were a Velmourn ancestral treasure, something they deeply valued, they would never allow an enemy to get even an inch close to it, let alone experiment with it. The only way for the Emberfolks to actually take a look at those flames was to defeat the Velmourns.
But that too... came with risks.
What if the flames sensed that the Velmourns had lost and... dried out?
Unnatural?
These were flames that never burned out even once during the past twelve hundred years, nothing about them was natural.
This was the reason the Emberfolk never made a move, well, lack of strength was the other. They couldn’t possibly go beyond the Wall, crushing through the Velmourn Army—not with their strength.
But now...
Now Kael was offering them something that basically guaranteed them being able not only to see, but to work with those flames.
It was an offer the Emberfolks just couldn’t resist.
Kael saw that, and he nodded to himself and thanked Imperia. After all, she was the one who, with the help of the information her ants brought her, inferred that this was the way to bring them in.
After mentioning the flames, the rest of it became easier.
Kael also threw in the recording and the Gel Rations to make the deal even sweeter, something that the Emberfolk Leader appreciated very much.
The flames were more than enough to convince him, but knowing that there would be enough food for all and that his people would be safe behind those walls—
It was nice knowing all that.
Plus, it also made it easier for him to convince his people. Which, he knew would be a little difficult, especially since Kael wanted them to come with him.
The thing with the Emberfolks was that their land didn’t just have ancestral value, it was also... much warmer than most lands because of Emberfolk activity.
And while they did have the ability to turn any land similar to theirs, the process itself took... time.
Lots and lots of it.
The Emberfolks had been working on it for generations, they couldn’t just abandon it. This was also the reason they didn’t leave even when the Stormcallers threatened them to.
And Kael understood it.
So he came with a counteroffer, he told them to stay till the war continued, once it was over, once a clear victor was decided and the other party was unable to hurt them—
Then they could return to their land.
That was all he could do from his end, and the Emberfolk Leader understood it. He agreed, convincing his people would still take time, but he believed that the Velmourn Flames should be able to convince them.
With that, the Emberfolks became part of the Alliance as well, the Alliance grew stronger. Kael’s party smiled.
Now, they could see the difference more clearly.
Lavinia looked at the sky, they had begun in the morning, but the sky had already darkened, even then—
"I think we have time for one more."
She muttered as she walked towards Kael. Kael however, shook his head, he then gently held her hand, almost as if he was trying to calm himself through her, an action Lavinia smiled at.
She liked it when Kael depended on her.
Then, Kael looked at her and—
"We cannot."
"Why?"
Lavinia frowned.
"The Frostveins."
Kael said the name with a somewhat bitter look on his face.
"They were with the Stormcallers, they reported what we are doing. So we don’t know what the Stormcallers might do. We need to return to our land and stabilize everything."