Aaqa were strong—very strong. But Solam possessed the godslaying artifact, the Flail of Ages, as well as an amorphous artifact. No matter how powerful the Aaqa were, they could not possibly stir up much trouble! Not to mention the host of demons and Sons of Solam assisting him.
What puzzled Solam even more was that these Aaqa were clearly different from those described in the records. They were obviously weaker; he could even sense that some of them were already nearing the end of their lives!
Aaqa were not immortal. They had lifespans too, though theirs were extraordinarily long—roughly tens of thousands of years. Solam could not understand why the Aaqa would send a group of tribesmen already close to death to seize the Rod of Seven Parts. (Even the Aaqa themselves had forgotten, under the effects of magic, that a group of Aaqa had been appointed guardians of the Rod of Seven Parts. Thus, aside from the guardians themselves, no one in the entire multiverse knew of them or their duty. Naturally, Solam knew even less.)
Solam had never intended to clash with these legendary beings of the Wind Elemental Plane. From the very beginning of the battle, he had been trying to communicate with them. He had even said that he could return the Rod of Seven Parts to them, but even if he did so, they still attacked him in fury. There was no possibility of reconciliation whatsoever.
As a Shaman, Solam's attitude toward elemental life was entirely different from that of ordinary people. Most people always believed elemental life was no different from inorganic matter like rocks, and naturally paid it no mind. But Shamanic doctrine held that elemental life was not much different from flesh-and-blood life. Shamans believed that all things possessed spirits, and because