Chapter 7-En Route
Reisha scowled darkly at the fire–or rather, the lack thereof. True, the fuel was a little on the damp side, but she had always been able to get a fire lit easily. She glanced around their very temporary campsite, her breath steaming in the early morning chill.
Jalen had gone off to the little stream to bathe, and he wasn't back yet. She shuddered and commended him on his bravery. The water was so cold that she was surprised it wasn't frozen. Never one for liking winter or the uncomfortable feeling of having the biting breezes invade her bones, Rei preferred hot or temperate weather. She had only been able to get up the courage to wash her face and hands. It was times like these that made her wish she would relent and cut her hair. When it was clean, the long, slippery-shiny strands were beautiful–and unmanageable. When it was dirty, she felt like cutting it as short as possible. For now, since baths were rare and conserving soap important, Rei always kept her hair in the style she tied it for training practice.
Drawing her mind away from the inconveniences and indignities of a long journey, Reisha glared at the stubborn, carefully-arranged bundle of sticks and branches. Under her breath, she muttered, "Of course, I'll be happy to leave the nice, warm temple that I've only lived in for what, ten years of my life? in early autumn to be cold, dirty, and tired."
Smiling ruefully, she shook her head at her complaints. "You'd think, by the way I'm carrying on, that I was a princess or something. But I know one thing–when this is all done and over with, I'm going back to the temple, and I'm never leaving it again." With that heated statement, Rei pointed at the fire and accused in a playful tone, "And this is all your fault!"
A brilliant, silvery-purple spark left from her finger and arced through the air, and it landed among the twigs. Reisha gasped, her eyes huge as she stared at it. Smoke began drifting slowly upwards, and a few seconds later, the wood burst into flame. "Oh no," she moaned, waving at it frantically, trying to extinguish it.
"What's the problem? That was a nice start, by the way. A little slow, but with a little training, you would have the fire going right away," Jalen commented lazily, back from his impromptu washing looking wide awake, his damp blond hair darkened by the water and slicked back.
Rei jumped and spun around, and the fire went out immediately.
With a disappointed look on his face, he asked, "What did you do that for? And it was just starting to get warm around here, too." Casually, as he sat down, he flicked a few fingers at the fire, and it ignited once more. "There we go. Since you don't seem inclined to sustain it, I'll do it."
She stared at him with her mouth open. "That's not–you shouldn't be–you can do it, too? This is abnormal!!"
He blinked up at her. "Come again?"
"Things don't just catch fire just because I pointed at it!"
"Well, no," he admitted.
She breathed easier then. Earlier, she'd been on the verge of hyperventilation. This was bad. Very bad. Magik escaping her was not a good thing. It was a dangerous thing.
Jalen grinned at her. "You don't set things on fire merely because you point at them. Number one, you have to possess magik. Number two, you have to want to set something on fire, and you'll need a powerful mind and will to control it. There are different degrees to these things, you know. You had to focus your magik."
"I don't have magik," she said firmly. "You must be mistaken."
He raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Am I really? Surely you know that I lived nearly my entire life among the elves. I know everything there is about magik...well, just about."
Regaining some of her spirit, Rei snapped, "Well, that's very modest of you. That's a quality I look for in men, you know–humility."
"Ah, that's where you're mistaken. I'm very modest. But I don't get humiliated very often." When he saw the red flushing into her cheeks, Jalen decided it was a good time to stop provoking her. "Did you really not know that you have magik?" he asked. When she hesitated, looking away evasively, Jalen said softly, "You can trust me, Rei. I told you–I'm half-elf and practically one in mannerisms and upbringing. Magik was a normal thing for me to see. And I've learned the hard way that displaying what little talent I have is very dangerous outside of the magikal realms."
She blinked at him. "You...have little talent?"
Jalen laughed. "If you had said it a different way, I might have taken offense. No, I'm not very powerful. In fact, lighting a fire is rather difficult for me. The only reason I can do it is because I've practiced a lot. But I do know a lot about magik." He rummaged around in his pack for some bread and began toasting it on a stick he had sharpened and stripped of its outer bark the night before. "Since you like modesty, I'll stop discussing what I can do, and we'll talk about you. Unlike me, you must have a lot of potential and power if you didn't even know you had magik to begin with. Or you must have been angry. I'm leaning towards a mixture of both."
Reisha flushed and sat down beside him, watching the bread brown. "Well...I did know. About the magik. And I was angry before."
Eyeing her astutely, he remarked, "If you're as gifted as I see, your powers must have broken out before."
"Yes. I–I see things in the Fire at the temple sometimes, the one that never goes out. But only when I'm alone. It did break out once, but Adalicia–my friend, she also has magik–she taught me to control it a little." Rei sighed quietly. She hadn't realized how much she would miss Licia and Alec once she was gone.
"Hm. You see things," Jalen repeated thoughtfully. "That's odd. You may have naiad blood then. They had the best foreseeing skills. I know one who still has it."
"So...you said before–that you see that I'm gifted?" she asked curiously, suddenly reminded of his previous words.
He smiled enigmatically. "I thought you weren't interested in such abnormalities. Don't you want to go back to your little dream world, where all you have to worry about is your technique and how to control your magik so it doesn't stand in your way?"
Rei glowered at him. "I changed my mind."
"I would've thought by now, being a great warrior and such, you would've learned to be polite–and control your temper."
With a frustrated noise, she got up and stalked away. She'd brave the freezing water just to get away from seeing the smile on his face. When she glanced back, she smirked herself. "If you'd get your head out of the clouds, Jae, you'd notice that your bread is burning up."
His head snapped up, and then all his attention was focused on blowing out the fire consuming his bread. ‘Jae...' he thought to himself. ‘The last time somebody called me that was...'
****~**~****
"...three years ago, when I met the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen...long, dark hair, pretty light eyes. Must've had some–you know–mixed blood in her." The captain stopped in the middle of his description of some woman he had met at one of the seedy ports and stood up quickly, knocking his chair over. The crewman he'd been talking to followed suit (although he didn't knock over his stool). He shouted, "Oi–where d'you think you're going, eh?" at a figure down below, who was racing towards the gangplank. Turning to the younger man, he barked, "Why're you still here? Go after her and catch the damn thing!"
The sailor thought it was best not to waste time pointing out that "the damn thing" was a dryad (and a female) and bolted after her, joined by several compatriots.
Lirita looked behind her quickly, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. For the past few days, while the ship's departure had been delayed, they had been giving her more and more of the antidote so she wouldn't die before they delivered her to whoever was in charge of them in the capital. At the moment, she was feeling nearly back to normal. But as she darted further away from the ship, sailors in hot pursuit, the cries of other dryads, land nymphs, naiads, and elves echoed in her ears...
****~**~****
Malina glanced at her silent companion, who appeared to be brooding under his hood. She herself had been plagued a slight nagging voice that she'd shoved to the back of her mind; she'd deal with what was already done later, when she had the time. Nath, on the other hand, was inclined to do a large amount of contemplation in his private time. It was rare for him to air his views in public, and even though he shared more of his thoughts with her than anyone else, Mina could never really tell what he was thinking.
But the important thing was, she knew his strengths, how he would act in certain situations, and that he would support her in the majority of her endeavors. He might not particularly like her objectives or agree completely with her, but as long as it didn't go against his core ethics, he'd go along with it. Mina smiled fondly to herself: Nath had a ridiculous sense of loyalty–or maybe it wasn't so ridiculous. If he hadn't stuck by her for so many years, she probably wouldn't have been able to avoid several sticky situations.
They had been riding in silence, the only noise caused by the horses galloping through dry, rustling leaves or stepping on cracking branches. All of a sudden, though, as they were nearing a clearing, her ears sharpened, and she sat up straight. Frowning, she asked, "Do you hear that?"
Nath also straightened in his uncomfortable seat, not being much of a rider, and listened closely. "Sounds like shouts up ahead. They couldn't have gotten ahead of us that quickly, so...let's get out of the way and see what's going on."
Mina nodded her agreement, and they dismounted and tied their horses so they were hidden in a nearby clump of trees. She had her bow and arrow ready, and she checked the daggers at her belt and boot. Nath had his staff ready. They didn't have to wait long before a tall, brunette woman burst into the woods, and before they could react, a group of menacing-looking men converged upon her. Mina's jaw clenched angrily as she recognized the marking on their clothing. It was the insignia of those who captured the magik people for the queen; they were little better than slave-traders.
As they surrounded the dryad, she began to lash out at them, and Mina did a quick count of the attackers. It was six against two...or three, if the woman could continue fighting, but she didn't look to be at her best. The odds were not what she would have liked, but she nodded authoritatively to Nath.
He rushed forward to engage the men, taking them by surprise, while Mina stayed in her concealed position, coolly shooting the assaulters in places that would wound and disable rather than kill. Nath hit one over the head and swept the legs out from another man, while the pale-looking dryad elbowed one man in the face and clipped a second sailor's jaw. He stumbled backwards and was promptly delivered into unconscious by a blow from Nath's staff. Within a few minutes, all the men either had arrow wounds or were unconscious.
Nath grabbed the dryad, who was weaving back and forth, while Mina rushed to untie their horses. They sped off into the distance, the girl slung across the horse before Nathair. "We should get her to a healer, if possible," he said quietly.
Before Mina could reply, the dryad moaned softly. "No...there are others-nymphs and elves–on the ship. Only I got away, and I'm not leaving without them."
Mina's expression darkened at the mention of other captives, but Nathair concentrated on the immediate problem. "You're crazy," he said flatly. "I wish we could help them, but it's just not possible with our numbers." Secretly, although he wouldn't admit, he was full of admiration for her unwavering courage and determination.
Her brilliant green eyes shone as she glared at him unyieldingly. Struggling to free herself from his hold, which wasn't necessarily a wise thing, as they were going very fast, she declared, "Unless you're going to help me, you better put me down right now. I'm not leaving without trying to help them, even if I die."
The nymph signaled for Nath to try and calm her down. Gently, she asked, "Are you hurt? I don't see anything, besides some bruises and scratches, but..."
"They created some kind of poison against dryads. The ship was supposed to leave a few days ago, but they've been held back. They gave me some antidote to keep me alive, but it must be wearing off."
The fire in the dryad's eyes matched the one kindling in Mina's, and Nath took one look at them and groaned. "Mina, come on. We could be caught–or worse, captured–so easily, and your wedding is scheduled to take place just about now. You're a little late, but if they find us now, you'll still make it."
Her answer was to scowl at him and say, "I'd like to help, but I'm afraid we can't just charge up to them just yet. We'll have to stop and make some kind of plan. But if you stay with us, we'll try."
"We?"
"You don't have to go if you don't want to," Mina snapped.
It was his turn to glower at her. "Why can I never win when it comes to fighting with you?"
She smiled triumphantly, and the as-of-yet unnamed dryad smiled faintly to herself. "You're my kind of gal," she managed to get out before blackness overtook her.
****~**~****
"You stupid, useless imbecile! Is it some requirement of the gods that princesses to be simpletons, or are you purposefully being a blockhead? I've never met such a bungler as you are! Do you realize that you nearly got our–my head chopped off? Is this some kind of game to you?"
They were finally safe, several miles away and the guard no longer pursuing them, but Serenitatis was still trembling from head to toe. Her shoulders were hunched defensively, and her hair had come loose of its restraining pins. The hood had fallen back sometime during their wild ride, and her long, lustrous hair fell in tangled waves. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her lips trembling. Any other time she would have stood up to him, but now she only felt lost, frightened, and very much alone.
The rage in Darrian's face lessened slightly, and he sighed heavily. "Get off your horse. We could have killed them by making them go so fast, and now I'll need to walk them a bit before we can go on."As she slid slowly down from her mount, her legs aching from doing so much riding in one morning, he took the reins briskly and walked away. "Stay here and try not to get us into any more scrapes," he ordered, then disappeared into brush.
With one half-hearted glance at her clothes and the cold ground, Seren sank to her knees wearily and buried her face in her hands. It was all her fault, first running into Darrian and foolishly attacking him when he could probably have saved Kent and now her attracting the notice of the guards. He had a right to be angry at her; she'd just never been subjected to such ferocity before. His wrath had descended upon her like an inescapable storm, and she had been so scared of him. She couldn't understand how someone like him could be Kent's best friend. Even though he was cold and stiff in public, he was always gentle and caring around her. Seren hadn't meant to cry, but she did just then; she couldn't figure out how her world had suddenly fallen to pieces.
His conscience reproaching him once the tempest of hot, bright anger in him had faded, Darrian shook his head ruefully. His temper had gotten the best of him more than once, and he hadn't meant to lash out so badly at the princess. It wasn't completely her fault that she had been brought up to be nothing more than a doll of sorts. Darrian sighed and made his way back to the little clearing. Once there, his and the horses' movements nearly devoid of sound, the last of his rage diminished when he saw the pitiful figure before him, sobbing her heart out. Walking forward, he said gruffly, "Never mind. It's not your fault. I got too angry, and I should have known that you would know nothing about the real world."
Startled, not having heard his return, she whirled around and fell disgracefully in the dirt.
He would have offered a hand up, but suddenly, her chin lifted in a dignified manner that instantly reminded him of her title, her breeding, and her bloodline.
"Don't judge me just because I'm a princess, Darrian McKellan. I hate court. I hate being considered useless, klutzy, and a ditz. I thought you'd understand, but you're just as judgmental as the people I've been forced to spend my entire life with. Maybe I don't know about the real world, but I'm trying. You're not even giving me a chance."
His mouth fell open, and he was so taken aback that he stared at her for a few seconds looking clueless. During that time, Seren got to her feet and dusted herself off. The beseeching look was back in her eyes as the obvious regalness of her aura faded, and everything about her suddenly seemed more real: her dirt-smudged cheek, the silken hair that had been mussed, and her undiminished beauty. The fuzziness around the edges that he had seen in the palace was gone, and he could see her clearly now. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat and apologized, "I'm sorry, Seren."
Her head jerked up. He had never called her by that before, only ‘princess' and ‘Serenitatis,' which mocking plain in his voice.
"There's a small stream nearby; I'll help you wash off."
The horses went with them also, to drink, and Darrian carefully scooped up some water to help her rinse her face.
When all the dirt was gone, the full force of her crystal blue eyes fixed upon him. "I want to know. About the world outside of the palace. As you can see, I'm sadly ignorant of so much, and I want to fix it. Will you tell me? And about my mother and the war with the magik people?"
After probing her with a level gaze to test the sincerity of her intentions, Darrian nodded slowly. "I'll tell you what you want to know–if you'll let me have a fresh start. We'll get to know each other this time around before I yell at you, and I won't be such an oaf myself."
She considered for a few minutes. "It's a deal...but I have two more conditions."
Warily, he asked, "What are they?"
"Well...one, you don't call either of us any more names...and two, you always call me Seren."
He smiled at her then, really smiled, and her breath caught in her throat. "I'll agree to that. You've got yourself a bargain–Seren."
****~**~****
A knock sounded at the door, and Amity peeked out cautiously. It was one of the temple priestesses, come to retrieve a draft Ami had promised to have ready for her. She let the priestess, a follower of the light/dawn goddess Norina, in with a shy smile. While the woman waited patiently, Ami disappeared into her storeroom and scooped up the vial from her worktable. Eyeing it critically to make sure it had settled the right way, she was just about to leave when a wave of anger swept through her. The strange thing was, it didn't seem to come from her.
The odd feeling didn't seem to be one of her usual visions...this time, it was different. There was fury, outrage, and humiliation, as well as suspicion, swirling around her in a heady tempest. Ami manage to grab the edge of the tabletop before she was caught up in the intensity of the emotion.
All of a sudden, she seemed to be standing on a dais of sorts. The throng of people before her was so large, and they all seemed to be dressed in very fancy clothes. The hall she seemed to be in was decorated in white, gold, and silver, and she was gazing at a richly-dressed couple: the man was blond-haired and must have been handsome in his time, while the woman she assumed was his wife wore a veil shading he face. They were apologizing for something...but Ami couldn't determine what it was.
Fresh thoughts dragged her away from her inspection of the room just then, and she was shocked by their content. ‘I should have known...she must have been in love with that brown-haired fellow who was always with her. They looked at each other the way Jae–Jalen and Ami always looked at each other...I should've seen it earlier then, too. I'm a fool. But this time, she won't get away from me. This is too embarrassing; she deceived them so well. I'll have to go after her now.' Her head spun, and she was surprised at hearing her name. The voice of the thoughts sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't identify it at the moment...didn't want to identify it. Suddenly, the resentful tone changed to one of deep sadness.
‘But if they love each other...they deserve the chance I didn't get. The chance I wasted, if it comes to that.' There was an inner sigh. ‘I need to get away from here a little. I need to get away from all the fuss, all the responsibilities–but they always seem to catch up to me anyway. I need some time to clear my head and get my mind back on track. And most of all,' he went on determinedly, ‘I need to get her out of my mind.'
"Miss Amity? Miss Amity!!"
As rapidly as she'd been taken away, Ami was returned to her home. "Wha-what?" she asked dazedly.
The priestess, clad in robes of light saffron-yellow, stood over her with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you all right?"
"Oh–yes. I'm sorry. I must have...I haven't been feeling very well recently," she said quickly. "I didn't drop the flask, did I?"
"No, it's right here," the priestess assured her, holding the unbroken bottle up. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Ami reassured her, pasting a smile on her face. "Don't worry about a thing. I'm sure you have duties attend to back at the temple...but any time you need anything, just come see me."
"I will." For a priestess, she was quite young, and her obligations at the temple were apt to be numerous. She bid Ami farewell and left, looking behind her worriedly.
Ami closed the door and leaned against it, burying her face in her hands. ‘I am not going to cry,' she thought fiercely. ‘You've done enough crying for him. There's no reason to be carrying on in such a manner.' And yet, the experience caught up to her: hearing his voice again, the passionate, headstrong manner she associated only with him...and the memories that she wanted to forget returned again. "Zacch," she whispered out loud, and burst into tears.
***~**~****
Reisha cast a sideways glance at her traveling companion. For all his talkativeness, he did not seem very inclined to speak at the moment, and she wasn't about to bring up the topic of magik. After suppressing it for so long, it felt unnatural to discuss it openly. She was also familiar with the concept of needing personal space and privacy, and there was very little of it for both of them, living in such close quarters and being constant companions. Rei was often frustrated when peace of mind couldn't be found at the temple, and she didn't want to intrude of Jalen's.
And yet, she had started to analyze Jalen. She felt that for the most part, he was very approachable and gave the semblance of being completely open about his thoughts and feelings. She was starting to get comfortable around him, and that disturbed her. Another problem was that she actually liked what she saw of him: he was intelligent, possessed of a healthy amount of caution, he understood–partially–her dedication to the fighting arts...and he let her be herself. He was also a tease and a joker at times, and Rei wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to approach him about magik. She scowled, huddling deeper into the folds of her cloak. It would be just like him to do something like that... "So, Jalen..."
"Yes, Reisha?" His tone was perfectly solemn and his posture immaculate as he looked straight ahead, but she caught the edges of his mouth twitching into a smile.
"About what we were talking about earlier–you seeing things?"
"Oh. That." He was being immaculately bland and perfunctory, and when she glared at him, he seemed not to notice. "Well...I thought you weren't interested in anything except controlling your magik so it won't hinder your fighting. I understand that you think it's underhanded to use it against an opponent in battle. I can teach you–or find people to teach you–about keeping your magik suppressed, but it'll still break out. Gifts like yours aren't meant to be wasted."
"You talk like I'm only interested in fighting."
"Isn't it true? When I met you at the temple, all you were interested in was improving your technique. You didn't want to leave the temple–ever–which, I think, is a pretty stupid thing to think even for you isolated warriors up there, you didn't care what was going on in the world, and you didn't think it would affect you. I think you're wrong on all three points."
Reisha flushed brightly but managed to reply civilly, "Are you going to keep throwing these barbs at me, or are you going to talk? From the way you were going on before, I'd say that magik is something very important to you."
He turned to grin at her, and all of a sudden, her spirits lifted. "I had to go on a bit longer than I expected to. You're more patient than I thought you'd be. But if you had waited a little longer, I would have said that you've opened your mind a bit. Now you actually want to know. Or do you only want to learn about things that affect you directly?"
"Well, if I'm never going to encounter it, what's the point of learning about it?"
"The point is, you might ‘encounter' things one day, things you aren't used to. And then you'll wish that you'd been a bit smarter." Jalen grinned wider when his shot struck home. "Now that I'm done lecturing you, let's move on. I have very little talent in the general field of magik, which involves lighting fires, creating light-globes, etc. But I'm very good at examining auras. I'm not sure if it's some innate ability, or something related to magik. It's not very common, though. I don't just look at someone and suddenly see their aura, though; it's not that simple. I have to be looking for something specific–and you should remember that, Reisha. Magik is very specific. Before, I was looking for your power, so I saw it."
"So...you just look for power in everyone you meet?" She was surprised when he threw his head back and laughed. His laughter was deep, resonant, and friendly. She would have felt like joining in if she hadn't thought he was laughing at her.
Calming down, Jalen managed to choke out, "I'm sorry. I'm really not laughing ta you. It's just–no, I don't go randomly looking ‘into' people. I have to have an inkling that they possess it. It would take too much time, effort, and concentration to check everyone I meet. I didn't know you had magik until I saw you light the fire."
She nodded slowly, her cheeks burning. The thought that she wouldn't be so ignorant if she'd bothered to learn about things beforehand annoyed her even more. "About the magik folk...I know there are different peoples but not what makes them different from each other."
"Well, to start off, the folk are divided into two groups: elves and nymphs. There are three types of nymph but only one type of elf. There are land nymphs, dryads–ones that live in the woods or the forest, and naiads–ones that live underwater. I mentioned the naiads before, when I talked about prophetic abilities. A very long time ago, all the magik folk had the gift of seeing the future, but it's diminished over the ages. It's lingered in the naiads for a few years now and nowhere else. There are also four kingdoms. The elves live in several of the forests, but they're ruled by one king."
"And the king right now is?"
"Well, his son is sort of in charge. The king hasn't really been in power ever since his wife died; he hasn't been interested in ruling. The current Prince of the Elves is named Zaccheus." He felt a pang when he spoke his friend's name.
"All right. And the others–the nymphs? They also have kingdoms?"
"Right. The land nymphs have a king right now, but don't ask me his name, because I always forget. He's a pompous, boring little man, and I disagree with some of his decisions. He has several relatives though, and the court at the Palace of the Nymphs is very elaborate. They basically live together in this big jewel box-type palace. It's rather like a human palace; it has extensive gardens, aviaries, portrait hall...all the works. The land nymphs get along the best with humans, since they're more...similar. And more inclined to make treaties. They're very good at diplomatic relations.
Their cousins, the dryads, are a completely different story. They only live in one forest in the land, and they live in its very heart. I believe they live in a palace of sorts, but it's open to the skies so they can commune with nature. They're very close to the trees, dryads.
The naiads live in underwater cities, and they've got a palace and a ruling family too. They live in these great bubble-like places, and while they're good swimmers, they can't exactly breathe under water. They aren't fish; they're people with water-based powers."
Rei was trying to absorb all the information, and she had a million questions to ask, but the only one she managed to get out was, "They all have royalty, and they all have palaces. They seem...alike."
"I'm getting there! Well, there are some physical differences. Elves and dryads tend to have pointed ears. Way, way back, dryads descended from the same ancestors as the other nymphs, but now they've become closer to the elves. They also tend to have fair hair–either that or brown and auburn. Their eyes are brown or green. The stereotype of the land nymph is a beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed male or female. Many of them do look like that, but it's not a given. And naiads...well, they're usually dark-haired and dark-eyed. Or they can have blue eyes." Thoughtfully, Jalen added, "But really, apart from the ears, they look mostly just like humans."
"And magik-wise?"
"That's where the main differences are. Land nymphs work with shaping light and metals. That makes them very popular with the humans, of course.
Dryads and elves have very nature-based powers, and they're both extremely good wood-workers. But dryads tend to be very free-spirited, and they like celebrating and dancing in the open. They're very intimate and open amongst themselves but extremely wary of humans.
Elves prefer more cultured, indoor-type activities, like court functions. They tend to have very flamboyant outward personalities and hidden inner ones. They're also extremely intelligent but in more creative ways. They think outside the box.
The naiads, now...they manipulate water, fog, ice–anything like that. Unlike the elves, they prefer to solve problems through the use of science and reason. Water is typically connected to healing, and some of the best healers were naiads. The majority of them possess at least some type of minor healing power. My friend, the one who has visions of the future–she's currently working as a healer now, in Arcelia.* You'll get to meet her soon."
"I...will?" Rei asked dazedly.
He smiled at her. "You didn't think that I was just going in whatever direction I felt like, did you? But then again, I forgot about your illusions concerning my randomness..."
She glared at him, and conversation ceased as he reached took a large gulp of water. After their lengthy discussion, he seemed to want to rest his voice, and Rei mentally reviewed everything during the silence. It was more interesting than she'd though, but it wasn't until later that she recalled that he hadn't mentioned anything about any of the magik people have fire-based powers...
****~**~****
AN: The city where Ami lives at the moment, with all the temples and whatnot, is called Arcelia (which means ‘altar of heaven'). The destination for Mina and Nath is the city of Amaranth (‘immortal'), which was once called Tiassale (‘it is forgotten'). Now that all this geography is over...I apologize for the long lesson about the magik folk, but I figured it was time for a little explanation. Next chapter, a conversation between Darr and Seren provides the perfect opportunity for me to lecture you again, but this time, I'm explaining the circumstances of the upcoming war (spoiler? ^.~) between Queen Serenitatis and the magik people...
I also apologize for two more things. One, the lack of action. I'm not too good at fight scenes, so the one in this chapter may not have turned out too well. I'm trying my best, though, and maybe war scenes will be easier. Or not. The second thing is romance, which Isis Aurora Tomoe asked for–thanks for the review! ^^ Unfortunately, that will take a bit, since I'm working mainly on character development right now. But I promise that in the long run, the Shittenou and the senshi will fall in love with each other.
Thanks for the reviews everyone; I really appreciate it!! ^^ Thank you, Cherrystarr, for reviewing so often (you're awesome!), and I'm glad you think the prophecy turned out okay! And thank you to Amnicity for her compliment on the plot ^^.
~Ice
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