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There was an unspoken rule with the members of Vox Machina: Never, ever split the party. The seven of them worked best as a unit; Pike with her healing, Vax and his knives, Percy with his guns, Scanlan and his music, Grog with his strength, Vex and her bow, and Keyleth with her magic.
The Wyverns attacking the volcano housing Pyrah initially split the party when Keyleth took off towards their volcano shelter to help, leaving her friends behind; she was angry at them for not stopping in their urgent trek towards the home of the Osysa’s mate, but also understood the dilemma they faced. Even as she flew into the fray, returned to her Half Elf form and reunited with her father, anger and fear coursed through her like ice and knives.
Her people were outnumbered, the creatures taking them down with ease. Keyleth had managed to save one person upon her arrival, but there were so many bodies lying among the stones, it was easy to see just how hard it was to fight these creatures. And that was before she saw the rift to the Fire Plane.
The portal was wide open, a fiery maw opened up in the heart of the dormant volcano. Where once was simply rock was now furious magma, brought about by the plane’s rift unchallenged status.
Tal’dori needed them. But so did her people. And the only way to help both in Keyleth’s mind was to close the rift to the Fire Plane…
With Kima and Allura, who were apparently alive this whole time.
“Keyleth, what are you doing here?”
“Where’s the rest of your group?”
And just when she was asked that question and was made to struggle with the thought of where her friends were, she looked back from the opened rift to the Fire Plane back to the city of Pyrah.
She could see Scanlan’s purple hand held aloft, the sound of Grog’s roar as he took on an enemy, and as the wind blew, she thought she caught a whiff of black powder burning…
Kima and Allura left to grab the rest of Vox Machina, and Keyleth and her father stayed behind to help with the rift. But it was as if the powers that kept the rift open had been waiting, and the opening seemed to get bigger until…
Her father went down with a yell, and Keyleth called for Pike, admitting to her father:
“I haven’t finished my trials. I’m scared, I’m not ready.”
It’s all for nothing…
As she spoke, a memory came to her mind; they say her own mother left on her journey, promising to come back. Hadn’t she told a young Keyleth that her own adventure would come someday?
Wasn’t she made to pass through fire?
It was as if the rift called to her. Keyleth set down her staff and made her way to the rift, hands out. She pushed her way through, heedless of the sound of someone calling her name.
The fire burned her, yes. And oh gods did it hurt.
“But only if I let it,” she breathed.
Moments later, as she fell from the now closed rift portal and into the arms of her father, Keyleth could feel her skin stinging. Voices called overhead.
“What?”
“Keyleth?!”
“Keyleth, you’re alright!”
She stood in time to feel Grog’s hand patting her shoulder, and Percy’s hand steady her as she stood on wobbly feet.
Pike and Scanlan were shouting in relief, and Vex stood nearby, watching them with a look of relief on her face.
And Vax…
She smiled, looking into Vax’s eyes as he returned her staff.
“I think you’ll be needing this,” he said with a small smile.
Yes, she split the party. But they knew they worked best as a unit.
And they didn’t ever go far from each other.