Raine’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of guttural battle cries. His body felt like lead, every ounce of vitality drained from him. He rolled over, hand reaching out to steady himself against the fallen Ash. He managed to drag himself towards the stump, using it to drag himself the remainder of the way and peer towards the horizon.

  “Such bad timing.” He mumbled, gaze landing on two battling armies below, the clash of steel and armoured plates a hellish concert of violence.

  The young lumberjack fell back, resting heavily against the felled tree, hoping its massive girth shielded him from wondering eyes. The frontline consisted of about a hundred men from both armies, currently engaged, whilst the rest of the soldiers remained in formation.

  “I should get out of here.” Yet he made no move to leave, his eyes brimming with childlike curiosity, even as he clutched the rough bark.

  A horn sounded from within one of the armies, its deep blast reverberating through the air, followed closely by a similar response from the opposite side.

  The opposing forces erupted into a rhythm of hammering sabatons, each thud resonating like a war drum. The clash of spears against shields joined the cacophony, the air filled with fierce roars. The ground trembled beneath the gathered men on the open plains, skin slick with sweat beneath their thick armour, muscles trembling from excursion.

  The soldiers formed a wide circle, split in half, making way for their Commanders. The two men wore embellished, resplendent armour. The Commander from the Westerly army wore black armour embedded with an array of amethyst gems. The Easterly Commander strode forwards in silver armour; a golden lion’s crest engraved on his chest.

  An eerie silence enveloped the area, wrapping around Raine like a thick fog. He sat frozen, eyes wide, feeling the weight of tension in the air. The calm before a tempest. He gulped, heart racing in anticipation.

  A drop of sweat slowly ran across his forehead. He should’ve used this opportunity to run. Yet he couldn’t. He had to see what was going to happen.

  Only a short moment passed, before the Commanders were in range to exchange words, though Raine was too far away to hear what was spoken. Then suddenly, they began laughing. They sounded like maddened beasts, sending chills down Raine’s spine.

  The laughing stopped as abruptly as it started, immediately followed by drawn steel. Raine squinted, noting was the wide, crazed smiles adorning their faces.

  Raine unconsciously held his breath. The black armoured Commander held a large halberd wrapped in violet lightning, whilst the silver Commander clutched two axes covered in their own blazing infernos.

  “Element wielders.” Raine whispered in awe, surprised and excited at witnessing the spectacle.

  The violet lightning had wrapped its wielders body, forming two curved horns, jagged tips towards the sky. His eyes had become a bright white, glowing starkly against his fair skin. He resembled a bull, body heaving, nostrils flared with deep huffing.

  Opposite, the other man’s beard had turned into a mane of fire. He appeared taller, muscular, the fire shaping around him to create a hulking mass.

  They clashed. An explosion of power Raine felt even from his distance to the fight. The breeze from the battlefield was thick with static and heat, the Commander’s elements stirring the air, till even the forest behind Raine seemed to come alive. Raine’s heartbeat in a staccato rhythm, his muscles seizing with fatigue, throat burning with the taste of ash.

  Is this really what a fight between two element wielders looks like?

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  The sight wasn’t that of a clash between two men, but that of two monsters. The two forces chanted, cheering their respective Commander’s as they readied themselves for the fall of one to instigate the next battle.

  Raine was utterly entranced, blind to all but the battle, until a hand landed his shoulder and dragged him backward. His hand instantly wrapped around his axe, swinging around to face his attacker, fatigue momentarily forgotten in the face of sudden danger behind him.

  “Whoa whoa! I’m just a fellow scrapper! I didn’t mean to scare you.” The scrapper held his arms up, taking several steps back, lips pursed.

  Raine watched him warily. Scrappers were usually orphans or exiles, scavengers of the battlefield, desecrating the dead to steal anything of value. Of course, those of the dishonourable profession never considered it stealing, what did a dead person have need of that wasn’t better suited for the living, or a hefty coin purse?

  “I am no scrapper.” Said Raine, lowering his axe.

  “Why are you here then? If you’re not insane, are you just stupid?” The white-haired scrapper gave him a lopsided grin, eyes darting to the fallen Ash and then the axe in Raine’s hand. He stood shorter then Raine, and thin for his age, which he shared with the Lumberjack. His hair was a mess of short spikes; grime smeared on his face and tattered clothing. He was barefoot and when he walked forward, hands on hips as he peered at the battle below, Raine noticed a multitude of deep scars covering his soles.

  “I just happened to fall asleep in the wrong place, at the wrong time.” Raine finally answered, pushing his axe back into it sheathe, gaze drawn to the battle again but darting to the scrapper that had no doubt come to reap the dead’s rewards.

  “Well, you sure woke up to one hell of a nightmare.” The scrapper jested.

  “Why’d you approach me?”

  “You looked like you were about to jump down there to get a better look.” The scrapper waved his hand toward the armies, eyes gleaming in amusement. “It’s safer to sit this one out and run once they stop. These sorts of battles end faster than you’d expect.”

  Raine nodded. He didn’t know if he could trust the scrapper, but his body language and friendly manner gave Raine no cause for alarm.

  “So, what are you doing here then?” The scrapper insisted.

  Raine shuffled towards the stump once more, shoulder scraping the bark. Soon, the entire town would know Raine had felled a world tree, it made little sense to try and keep it a secret.

  “I was chopping this tree down.”

  “You took it down?” The scrapper raised a questioning brow, but upon seeing Raine’s serious expression, he let out a low whistle of appreciation.

  “That must’ve taken a lot of effort.”

  “I’ve been at it for months.” Raine informed him with a casual shrug, feigning nonchalance even though the idea of running home to inform his parents of his feat had his blood pumping.

  A flash of light interrupted their conversation. The fight had stopped. The man clad in black had lost his left cheek, flesh and muscle burned away to reveal his bared teeth. Blood poured from the wound, coating the purple gems of his armour, turning them dirty red. His opponent had dropped one of his axes to clutch his chest; blood seeping through his fingers. Significant wounds had been dealt to both and yet they remained standing, Commanders and wielders, fierce opponents and paragons of war.

  An ominous silence had coated the plains like an oil slick; even the breeze had still, waiting in anticipation. The two warriors remained rooted, glaring at one another, before simultaneously turning away, calling for a temporary retreat.

  “Wait, that’s it?” Raine exclaimed, nonplussed at the sudden development.

  “I told you. A shame it ended in a draw though.” The scrapper nudged the ground regretfully. “Had one of them fallen, chaos would’ve ensued.”

  Raine narrowed his eyes. He knew why the scrapper was here after all.

  “If there’s no battle, there’s no bodies and if there’s no bodies…”

  “There is no loot.” The white-haired man grinned. “You’ve got a mind for this sort of thing, could make a scrapper out of you yet.”

  Raine ignored the remark. “Think it’s safe to leave now?”

  “Should be.”

  Raine joined the scrapper on the edge, sweeping over the size of the armies walking away. The army retreating north had about eight thousand soldiers; the other easily had over ten thousand.

  I wonder why they were fighting in the first place.

  “Quite a sight to behold, huh?” Said the scrapper.

  “So much power...” Raine said in awe, the vision of the two men wrapped in their elements still fresh on his mind. Though he’d heard all the stories, and read the texts in his old books, it was completely different witnessing it with his own eyes.

  “Yup. Just serves to remind you we’re just pebbles in an ocean.” The scrapper chuckled, though it lacked any real humour. With a defeated shrug, he began to walk away.

  “Well, there’s bound to be something that can be scavenged!” He called over his shoulder, waving his hand. “Good luck bringing that big boy home!”

  Raine watched the scrapper disappear from his sight, then turned his attention to the world tree and smirked.

  “So, how do I get you home?”