Flame of Hope

“Kyan. Status.”

Beeeeeep. Chirp! Chirp!

Roth sighed – they stopped for a moment to gather their surroundings. Their companion – a modified A6743 – flitted about, leaving a trail of glittering light. It was the tail-end of winter, but the lands were still blanketed in snow and full of ice. Landmarks could become inconsistent overnight as the landscape changed with each passing blizzard.

Due to a recent encounter with a rogue angelus, Roth had been thrown considerably off track in their journey to one of their personal camps. Now, they stood somewhere in a shallow, forested valley among the mountains, nowhere near any of their established camps according to Kyan's navigation. Most of the trees here were coniferous, providing significant cover from potential hostiles from above with their dense needles.

Angelus appearances had been more frequent than normal – though most of it was the usual training missions kept to the skies, Roth had also seen a large number of rogue angelus. They were able to avoid most, but a few seemed to be intentionally looking for trouble, managing to sniff out Roth even with their sophisticated cloaking. Roth had been able to shake off their pursuers every time, but it didn't do them any favors for their progress across the land. In their recent expedition, they had stumbled across a rather intriguing hidden area near a waterfall and a treasure trove of potential resources – but there was no telling if they'd be able to find it again due to having to dodge all the hostile presences.

Assuming the damn angels didn't blow it up in one of their military exercises. Sure, they allegedly made 'nature' flourish (Roth doubted that) but they were more like pests than anything with their obsession with hierarchy, power, and arbitrary rules.

Demons had also been making an unusual number of appearances, which was honestly stranger than all the aggressive angelus. Unlike the angelus, demons usually kept to their own world, appearing largely uninterested in the middle world (or maybe they were hiding away and plotting, who knew).

Whoever it was, whatever the reason – they were all nothing more than obstacles to Roth. Sighing again, they continued on through the forest, Kyan floating alongside them. The sky was already dimming quickly – night was upon the duo and Roth would need to find shelter fast.

A series of quick chirping and trills shook Roth out of their thoughts – Kyan floated closer and headbutted them on the arm, trying to get their attention. They emitted clicks and beeps: a handy code for communicating with Roth.

“... there are structures to the northeast? What's their status?” Roth said. More clicks. They tilted their head, thinking to themselves.

According to Kyan, there was a clearing not too far ahead in the middle of the forest. There were no hostiles detected yet, but there were the remnants of a small village. Most of the buildings were rubble, but there were still two sizable structures intact. Picking up the pace, Roth hurried onward – they shivered and drew their cloak tighter around themselves. They couldn't remember ever feeling this cold before – everything in the Reflection had been so different.

They had been here for nearly ten years, now. They should have gotten used to it. Hell, they were certainly better off in more ways than one without-

Stumbling through some bushes, Roth found the clearing and the ruined village. Much as Kyan had reported, most of the structures were heaps of gravel lying about. Close to the center of the village, there was one house that was still mostly standing. Half of it had been blasted away by something, the walls scorched and melted into glass. The other structure appeared to be a small shed of sorts and it was missing an entire wall.

“Well. I guess this is where we'll make camp...” Roth said. They hoped the surviving building would look better on the inside, but they couldn't have too many expectations. This was the wasteland of Gaianu, after all.

Miraculously, the structure still had a functioning door, which meant fewer spaces for heat to escape from the building. Upon entering, Roth carved a hasty glyph on the door: a ward that dampened Roth's presence, partly sealed the entrance against intruders, and would let loose an alarm if broken. Kyan began glowing, providing a handy light source and made happy chirping noises. It wasn't much warmer inside, but it wasn't a bad start for a temporary shelter.

Looking around, Roth quickly surveyed the interior – it wasn't very large, but it was comfortable, and the portion that had been blasted could be sealed off to conserve heat (it was the remnants of a bedroom, perhaps). Somewhat situated in the center of the main hall was a surprisingly intact fireplace and connecting chimney.

Beep, beep. Chirrrrp!

“Yeah. Though... I'm not sure. It could be really dusty in there.”

Boop.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm sure it'll be fine for just a night. Besides, I'm not burning a wood-based fire. And everything's too frozen or waterlogged to become firewood...”

Handily, there was a broom leaning against the fireplace, along with a couple other tools – though the broom itself was also already heavy with dust and soot, it should do well enough. Taking hold of it, Roth half-heartedly cleared out the fireplace.

“Kyan, set up a perimeter ward while I get a heat source going.” Roth said. Kyan issued a series of beeps before floating off to tend to the usual camping wards. Taking one of the fire pokers, Roth carved a series of elaborate circles into the floor space of the fireplace. They drew a red crystal from their bag and set it carefully in the center. The lines closest to the crystal began glowing, the circles completely lighting up within seconds. A transparent, wave-shaped flame rose from the magic circles, rippling softly and giving off a pleasant warmth that began to fill the room.

As Roth sat there, staring blankly into the 'flame', Kyan returned to their side, chirping. The building should now be fairly secure against most hostile forces, now and Roth could sleep through the night without worry. Outside, the winds began to pick up, howling like distant fiends and lashing against the trees – but the building walls stood strong. Kyan trilled, nuzzling against Roth's side and letting loose a bit of static electricity.

“Thank you, Kyan. We'll figure out a course as soon as this storm's over, and go back to home base.” Roth said. Despite the heat from the magic circle, Roth shivered slightly – truly, they had to pick one of the harshest places to live in the Reflection. Or maybe other places were worse. Either way, they had gotten the proverbial short end of the stick with how the rift dumped them in this new world.

Maybe this expedition hasn't been completely bad... Roth thought. They weren't under attack at the moment, they had a robust shelter, and a nice, warm fireplace. Maybe with a few fixes here and there, Roth could turn this place into another camp...

An echo of a feeling flitted across their mind, and for a moment, it felt like a familiar friend was putting their arm on their shoulder, whispering encouragement. Startled, Roth looked to their side, arm jerking defensively.

Of course they were alone. Or, they had but a robotic companion with them. No one else.

Roth stared into the fireplace again, feeling the heat against their face, grounding them in reality. Echoes of memories resounded in their head: a campfire in the middle of nowhere. A pot of warm soup. Friendly conversation.

Maybe they could have that again if they chose to live in the cities, but there was no telling who they'd run into here. And what if they were to meet old enemies in a strange, new land? No, it was best that they kept to themselves.

Kyan seemed to notice this discomfort and beeped sadly at Roth. They glanced down at the little robot and huffed, patting Kyan on the head.

“Sorry, little Ky... bad habits, I guess. When push comes to shove, I much rather leave...”

Exhaling slowly, Roth leaned to a side, taking up a somewhat reclining position on the floor. They'd have to get up again to figure out what food to prepare, but for now they may as well lounge about before the fireplace. Outside, the blizzard was already shrieking to full strength – but in the old house, there was a gentle fire and a helpful robot. Perhaps not all was lost in the world.