When Thomas woke up, it was no longer raining and the sun was just appearing on the horizon. He sat up, his body was rigid and stiff, his movements were jerky and robotic. For a moment, he had hoped it was just a dream. For a moment he'd prayed that he'd have just fallen asleep outside, But, of course, he hadn't.

Across in the distance, he saw ruins. Fresh, smoky ruins silhouetted against the sun. And he choked back all tears, getting slowly to his feet. His burn was still there, looking like a contorted jewel with the burnt skin, the sweat and the rain glistening in the light. Thomas stumbled forwards with a yawn and he looked out hopelessly. Then he began to walk, ignoring the screams of resistance from his throbbing feet. He walked and walked for hours until he reached his home.

It was empty; deserted. Nothing moved, not even the wind and Thomas wanted to cry all over again. Homes were burnt down; black, smouldering corpses lay in doorways; a child's' toy was stuck under a smoking log and Thomas gently pulled it free.

"Hello, there, teddy bear," He mumbled, delirious with loss. "Looks like you lived too..."

The teddy bear just smiled back at him. It had mismatched button eyes, one brown and the other black, and its' fur was well worn and thin. It was squishy but firm enough to keep its' shape and its' stitched mouth just smiled. Thomas looked at it and cuddled it close to his chest, unwilling to let it go, despite being an adult.

He continued to walk across the streets, bear in hand. Thomas slowly spun, awestruck with horror, looking at the destruction of his home. Every street was the same. Carnage, corpses and catastrophic tragedy. Then he reached the castle and he wanted to gag.

The once magnificent castle of the human kingdom had resorted to two floors. The doors were thrown off their hinges and the banners that once hung from the ceiling of the entrance hall were disregarded, slashed and torn on the ground. Thomas just stared at the destroyed interior of the palace and then a terrifying thought appeared in his head.

The kitchens.

Thomas ran so quickly that, when he tripped, he pushed himself off the ground before he'd even landed. He hurtled blindly past contorted bodies and knocked down walls until he reached the kitchens. The place he'd worked. Where he had joked with his friends and annoyed his teachers.

It wasn't there anymore. It was just... gone.

The kitchen looked as though someone had taken a battering ram to everything. Glass littered the floor with skeletons charred beyond recognition and tables were smashed into the ground. Thomas awkwardly stepped around the damage, reaching the closet where the aprons were held. He opened it and yelled, but nothing fell out. He felt a little stupid.

Thomas moved to the very end of the room to see a window wide-open. That was the window he had dived through when the door was forced open. All the other chefs had been planning a clean evacuation but Thomas had felt something bad in the air that day and he knew he wouldn't get out alive if he did. Now, he wished he had taken someone with him. He was alone.

Unable to stand it anymore, Thomas left, feeling like his world had just taken a hit from a big avalanche. 

He climbed out of the window, just like he had done last night and his knees finally caved from beneath him. He dropped to the ground, still holding the teddy's' paw tightly and he stared at the ground, with no more tears left to shed over the losses.

Thomas sat there for a solid hour, mind blank and optimism gone, eyes fixated on a single blade of grass, rocking back and forth in the window. It was hypnotic until Thomas stood up and it was lost in the millions of others. The human walked again.

It was all he had left to do.

.:*:.

It wasn't only Thomas who knew that the humans were dead. Groups of 'unnatural', 'inhumane', and 'magical' creatures, all created from some sort of element, surrounded the human kingdom, each one following their own ruler.

There were four of these groups and they rarely interacted with anyone.

Air was the group that took the most mountainous and windy territories to the north, unhindered by the harsh cold because all the creatures were spectres or harpies. They were hard to find but you always knew where they were. The spectres and harpies were both united under the Air Elemental. Or the Air King. Someone born with the ability to manipulate air and wind itself. And their King wasn't the only one able to do that.

The Fire King controlled any form of heat, as long as it was solid. He was most famous for the tricks he could do with fire but many tales could be found of legendary feats with warm metal. The Fire people were fairies and sprites, small, fast and obedient, and they belonged in the deep valleys in the east, where the fires could be controlled.

But there was also the Earth King. He kept to the western forests and so did his people. Large, golem-like giants made from massive boulders and slow lumbering trolls. The Earth creatures could do a lot of damage and their King was known for stubbornly holding grudges and turning gravel grains into cliffs with a wave of his hand.

Then the final king.

The Water King, surrounded with nymphs and merpeople, lived and stayed in the southern ocean. He and his people were never seen and they wouldn't show themselves to anyone. They were deep and mysterious, reluctant to appear before anybody.

There had once been a fifth gathering but they were long gone, having wormed their way and blended into human life. No one remembered who they had been.

.:*:.

Thomas was hiding in a tree, catching up on sleep, when he heard voices below him. He panicked quickly, opening his eyes and fumbling around until he saw the speakers.

They weren't human but they weren't one of Them either. Trolls. Stone trolls. Their limbs were made of boulders and pebbles, dust dropping from their elbows as they gestured in a heated argument. Thomas leaned over the branch and fell out of the tree, hurtling shortly to the ground with a cry.

He landed on his side and gasped in pain, cradling his wrist.

One of the trolls leaned down to touch him but Thomas jerked back.

It rambled in a crazy language and its' friend opened a mouth, saying brokenly, "H-He wa-ants to kno-ow if y-oh are o-kay."

"I'm... okay. But I have nowhere to go..." Thomas replied cautiously.

The one that spoke to him turned to its' friend and chattered away. Then it turned back to him. "Wuh-eeh  w-ill t-a-k you to ow-er king."

Thomas widened his eyes. "Oh, no, that won't be necessary!" He said hurriedly, hating the idea of talking politely to a powerful man who'd speak to him with long pauses and mispronunciations. He knew it would make him laugh and he did not want to be killed today, especially after yesterday.

"Y-ooh are sp-eek-ing too k-wick-lee. Ow-er king wuh-ill huh-elp you!" It responded, and its' friend picked him up into its' arms.

Thomas yelled fearfully, desperate to struggle but still exhausted and he needed sleep. Besides, he felt safe in the strong trolls' arms. It carried him further into the cluster of trees until the world around him morphed into a forest. Thomas slowly fell asleep in the rocky, uncomfortable arms of the stone troll.

The journey was either too quick or his sleeping patterns had been messed up because it felt like he had only blinked and he was being put down on sharp stone steps. He looked up at the sky to see it was night once more, or at least evening, and he struggled to his feet.

One of the trolls helped him and Thomas was suddenly swarmed by more and more until he was lifted high above their heads. He started screaming as they carried him up the stairs, like an overenthusiastic riot. They charge forwards with him wailing above their heads and the trolls shoved through the doors.

The first Thomas noticed were the millions of books. They ran all the way up to the ceiling and not one looked the same. So many books in one entrance hall, not a single banner. Just books upon books. Next, it was how bright this place was for a lack of windows and lamps. All the light came from a singular, rotating ball of fire and Thomas was perplexed. This was the Earth Kings' palace, right? Why was there a manipulated ball of fire?

Thomas didn't have time to question it when a grave snarl sounded and he was placed on the ground. The trolls cleared from around him and Thomas looked up and gasped.

If you saw someone who looked exactly like a human, just made out of stone, what would you do? What would you do if their pale blue eyes scanned your face and their stone jaw clenched fluidly, as though it were normal? What if they had black hair growing from their scalp, slicked back across their head? What if they wore glasses, for crying out loud, and a suit?

Because that's the face Thomas saw. That was the face of the Earth King.

"Do you have a name, human?" He asked him, his voice clear and perfect, the sound of a human voice making Thomas want to sob.

"Thomas Sanders," He whispered.

"And what is a human doing in the western forests?" He fired back quickly. "We don't have many guests."

Thomas swallowed. "I'm the only human left..." He whispered.

The Earth King stared at him before straightening up and chattering to the trolls around him. They all left the room and he turned back to Thomas, offering his hand. "Stand, Sanders." He ordered and Thomas quickly took his hand, pulling himself up. The King was his height, maybe just a little taller, but the difference wasn't much. "My name is Logan. Prove your claim."

"M-My claim?" Thomas stammered.

"Your claim about being the last human left alive," Logan responded. "Just last week, we traded with your kind, there is no way your race could have died out so quickly, it was far too robust."

Thomas steadied his breathing. "I-I don't know it all, b-but everything was on fire. It was all burning to the ground and-and I ran away. The castle i-is in ruins, all the villages and towns are burning and I found no one left alive..."

Logan raised an eyebrow and glanced down at his chest. "Why are you burnt?"

"Wh-When I was running, a-a tower fell down. A rock that was on fire flew off it and it landed on me. It kinda burnt my shirt."

"Noted. That is a serious burn and I doubt you'd give it to yourself just to create an elaborate falsehood," Thomas frowned but the Earth King continued, "And I have had many reports about sights of smoke in the western areas, too close to be of the Fire Kings' making." Logan frowned. "Was it the Fire King who attacked you?"

Thomas shook his head, then nodded and then shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I live in the palace, I ran the moment I heard the door getting broken down."

Logan's' eyes widened and Thomas panicked but the King only placed his cold, sharp hand on the boys' shoulder. "You should come with me." He said.