The sky was still covered in black ash clouds, with occasional flashes of red lightning behind them, while the remains of the burned-out forest became a battleground for building a last hope amidst the darkness.
Eren stood on a high rock, watching the survivors gather stones to build small walls and dig trenches around the perimeter of the low area they had chosen as a gathering point.
Lylin used her fire to light damp wood to warm the children and elderly, keeping the smoke low so as not to attract the attention of nearby shadows.
One of the men approached Eren, his face covered in ash but looking determined:
How will we stand against the Ash Lord? We only have old swords and a few spears.
Eren placed a hand on his shoulder and said:
We are not here to fight a long war. We are here to hold out, to give time for the fire and the wind to unite and confront the Ash Lord.
He turned his face to everyone and raised his voice:
From today, we will no longer hide behind fear. We will turn this place into a small fortress amidst the ashes.
Eren began dividing the people into groups: one to gather stones and clay to build walls, one to dig ditches to drain the black water that sometimes falls with the gray rain, and one to set up lookout points using the remains of burnt wood.
Meanwhile, Leylin trained a group of teenagers to quickly light fires, teaching them how to use small fires to ward off the weak shadows that might creep in at night.
At night, when all was silent except for the whispers of the ashes blowing in the wind, Eren and Leylin sat with some warriors, drawing defensive lines around the site and identifying potential points of attack from the shadows.
"Those shadows will come," Leylin said, staring at the blazing fire before her. "They will try to swallow this place, too."
"That's why we're here," Eren replied, watching the wind swirling around his fingers. "We won't give the Lord of Ashes an easy victory."
A few days passed, during which the survivors built a wall of stone and mud around the site and installed guard posts above. At night, Leylin lit fires in the watchtowers to illuminate the area, while Eren fanned the winds around the site to detect any unusual movement in the darkness.
The moment came when shadows began to move across the horizon, black waves creeping silently under the red lightning, snaking between the burning rocks, carrying with them the foul stench of burning ash.
Eren raised his hand, and the wind blew through the gray mist. The shadows appeared clearly, some crawling on the ground, others walking on long, black limbs, their red eyes glowing in the darkness.
Lellin looked at the fire in her hand and said, "Now is the time for the real test."
Eren ordered everyone to stand still behind the walls, while Leylin let loose a small fireball that landed among the shadows in front. The fire exploded, igniting the ash for a moment, and the shadows receded briefly before slowly creeping back.
Eren drew the wind around his body, releasing it into blades of air that cut through some of the incoming shadows. Seconds later, the shadows re-formed, becoming larger and denser.
Despite the fear on their faces, the people stood their ground. Men raised spears, and women carried burning stones to ward off any shadows that climbed the walls.
The night was long, and each attack of the shadows left behind black ash that mixed with the dust. But with each attack, the fire burned, the wind blew the ash away, and hearts held firm.
And when dawn broke, with the faint light slivers behind the black clouds, the shadows suddenly stopped, receding as if they had never existed, leaving behind ash covering the ground and heat hanging in the air.
Eren sat on the wall, breathing deeply, while Leylin looked at the ash covering the ground and whispered, "This was only the beginning."
Eren stood beside her and said, "But we survived, and this is the beginning of our resistance."
As the weak sun tried to break through the clouds, a small fire ignited between Leylin's fingers, and the winds swirled gently around Eren's hand, as if vowing that this land would not fall easily to the Great Ash Lord.