"Now, once again, Einervaene. Give me an idea of how we could go about this." Brewbrt asked me out of nowhere as I finished packing up some things. And, with a roll of my eyes, I walked on over to him to gaze out at the vast plain-like space between the city entrance and the mountains.
"I don't understand what you want me to say. Soldiers are coming in and out ceaselessly and that is it. And we can forget about flying as there is a shield!"
"Try thinking a little more to the left."
"There's nothing there!"
"Exactly. An open space where there is no one and there is nothing. Our magic would be masked by our proximity to the city and we'd make it to the other si-" he said before I struck him with my staff.
"If you are just going to do it yourself, do it yourself!" I told him as I let out the frustration these strange choices of his built up.
"It's the experience and familiarity that counts." he tries to tell me before I childishly dismiss him.
"Now how are we supposed to make it across the... This?"
"We just go for it." he shrugs nonchalantly.
"There are gathering armies to our right and witches you yourself have shivered in fear at! How can that be your solution!?"
"Just hop on." he orders as I roughly put all the stuff back in his oversized bag.
"Alright, on." I tell him once I secured myself at the top of the bag.
"Excellent, now, Valkinvar, let me see your strength!" he comments with adrenaline-fueled madness.
"W-Wai-" I started to say before I started to scream as he shot ahead far faster than any other time before. All this talk of suppressed magic and he just rang their alarm bells for them!
"Nearly, nearly, nearly, nearly, YES!" he repeated again and again before he made a final cheer as we skidded along the shield's edge. But this cheering of his was quick to end when an armoured warrior who happened to be flying across the bridge at the time saw us.
"MOVE!" I screamed down at him when this powerful warrior suddenly boomed behind us. Their sword point at the ready before the sky exploded from the force of their pursuit.
"HOLD ON!" Brewbrt cautioned as rolled us out of the way of incoming magic blasts and sudden thrusts. I was struggling to see the Valkinvar as well and I didn't know why. They were just breaking the sound barrier repeatedly but I couldn't follow them. It was as if they were imitating erratic lightning without actually becoming it!
And then, one thrust came all too close to me and I slipped from my previous position. Then, with panic and fear filling me as the witch closed in, I gripped my staff and filled it with magic. Only for Brewbrt to oppress it with his own magic. So I looked up at him for answers, my fear seemingly removing my ability to speak.
There was too much... I had to hold on for dear life and take into account what was chasing us!
"NO! IF YOU ATTACK, IT'LL ONLY ENCOURAGE THEM TO PURSUE!"
"THEY ALREADY ARE!"
"ONLY BECAUSE WE ARE NEAR THE CITY!" he roared back as he pulled off a manoeuvre to put me into his arms.
"NOW WE HAVE NO IDEA OF HOW CLOSE THEY ARE!" I screamed before a trail of magic and exploding air suddenly appeared below us.
"LOOK OUT!" I screamed as my arm pointed downwards. Then, a loud clang suddenly filled my ears and I also found myself suddenly surrounded by winds. And I realised too late that I had been knocked out of Brewbrt's grip. And with no clouds...
"EINERVAENE!" he roared as he suddenly dived after me while competing with the also-diving Valkinvar.
"HELP ME! HELP!" I couldn't help but scream as I tried to feel out for anything that was cloud-like.
"YOUR STAFF! HOLD IT OUT!" he told me before the Valkinvar collided with him again. Sending him spiralling towards the canyon face. And there I noticed sparks come from his armour.
"Steam..." I muttered in a brief moment of clarity as a water bottle rattled as the Valkinvar kept him against the cliff. So I cocked my arm back and focused on that water bottle. And I shot a lightning bolt at it, making it burst into a cloud of steam.
"GRAB ON!" he then roared as the bolt had freed him from the cautious warrior. And he shot his own magic up at the steam and sent it skyward. When our hands then briefly touched, lightning formed.
And we reappeared far above the Valkinvar who suddenly changed course!
"How..." I let out in despair as the warrior suddenly switched directions so gracefully.
"AND DONE!" Brewbrt cheered of all things as stopped flying so we could crash against the barren earth on the other side.
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING!? THEY'RE RIGHT...! There..." I started to scream at first before I saw how the Valkinvar had come to a complete stop. Almost as if they had become spontaneously frozen. Yet, I could also see how they seemed to gaze off into the distance. I also felt a distinct lack of magic from Brewbrt...
"Good idea..." the sweating old man breathed out before he suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Nervous laughter soon spilt out of him as the Valkinvar disappeared back towards the city. His laughter was contagious, though, and I caught it.
"Never. Ever. Do that... Again!" I tell him slowly, making sure he understood it all as he continued to laugh.
"Enjoy staying on this side of the canyon, then!" he cackles before his gaze settles on the hovering Valkinvar. A knowing smirk then appeared on his features while I prepared for a potential fight. Oddly enough, though, I felt a built-in terror come forward as I stared at this warrior. However, they went on to do the opposite of what I was preparing for.
And they sharply gestured from their head to their upper chest three times. The holy gesture of the Thunder God. Did that mean she was aware of what was within these wastes? Or was it because of something else?
"Why are they heading back to the city? They just tried to kill us!" I asked Brewbrt with a loud hiss.
"Oaths..." he sighs out in relief.
"Why would an oath stop them when they were that close!?" I demanded to know before he shook his head disapprovingly.
"Don't debate or question it, Einervaene. Just be glad that she chose to leave us alone and let it be bygone." he tells me as he gestures at me dismissively.
"Alright, okay." I stammered uncertainly before I looked back at the city. It was quite a large one even before you accounted for how it was a two-part city. With one side dominated by a grand structure that had many of what I assumed to be Valkinvar flying about it. That half of the city had a very strict style to it.
Regimental like the armies we saw marching out of it. The side we were closest too, might as well have been a garden paradise. Even with the massive wall protecting and surrounding it. It was still easy to see all of the decors as the many different towers and skyscrapers rose above it.
Yet I had to admit, I questioned the point of a wall that grand for a wasteland like this...
"Are there any stories of barbarians or something out here?" I decided to ask Brewbrt as I briefly looked his way. And as I did so, I saw how entranced he was by the sights. I then heard him mutter a quiet prayer to the Guardian God. He must've feared for the city?
"No, that wall is to keep the people of Thurn's Forge in, not to keep anyone out. I mean, look at this, there's nothing." he explains before his wild arm swing brings our current environment to the fore.
"There are many things out there." I correct as I look in the direction I assume Tobaballe's ruins were along with the Anvil-Peak. Our destination...
"One of which, is where you want to go. But, we will need to be graceful and steadfast if we want to cross this distance." he explains, a comment that was surprisingly knowledgeful despite him having never been here.
"How do you know this?" I ask him, somewhat disappointed I couldn't be the one to guide him. I felt a little like a knowing child with a parent who was bemused but dreading what they were smirking about.
"I can feel great power in these lands... The wind does not blow this way, making it easy to tell that something is beyond here. Is Troecvol nesting down here?"
"The Lightning Emperor!? No!" I let out after hearing him say that name.
"Well I don't know many things out there this powerful with a lightning-familiarity about it." he mutters as he clearly feels out my aura.
"You will see when we get there. But, despite this power you feel, we need to be careful. Keep your magic within you. So I hope you brought plenty of tool in that bag." I explain to him as I recalled the blue, fireball-like explosions I once had to put up with. Back when I was last travelling through this land.
"Oh, right, my bag..." he mumbled as he unhooked it and slipped out of the straps. I then watched nervously as he inspected the damage my plan caused to his stuff.
"Sorry..."
"No, don't be, your choice got us to safety. Besides, the Valkinvar avoided cutting our stuff for whatever reason. I guess it makes sense when I am the better target." he comments before he tapped his armour.
"Are you alright, by the way? That was quite a solid strike from what I heard."
"This armour has stood up to worse. But, damn... She hit hard. Yet, that's a Valkinvar for you." he says as he drums his fist on the solid plate again.
"That magic isn't going to cause problems, is it?" I worried out loud as I saw the glowing lines coming from the grooves and engravings on that dark steel.
"It's all internal, so, I can't imagine it would. If it does, well, I will just have to mark an easily seeable spot and dump it there."
"I hope you don't have to." I say as I look up at his face once again.
"Understandable, having just seen what it can do." he proudly tells me before he hoists the bag back onto his bag.
"Can you get your map out? So we can at least point ourselves in the right direction?" I ask, and sure enough, he did it. Only for the map to act strange and refuse to follow through with its purpose.
"Whatever it is, it's creating a blind zone." he comments familiarly.
"This has happened before?"
"Yes, certain landmarks and individuals have so much magic about them that the map can't define the area. And this blind zone... I am in awe." he explains as he zooms the map out towards a more complete picture of the globe.
"I can see why." I comment quietly, eager to see his expression when we finally find it.
"Though, having said that, your homeland has a lot of blind zones." he starts to say before I see my homeland for the first time in years. And even though this was just all a magic projection. I longed for the collection of landmasses that I saw drifting in the sky. I could even see clearly where my home was.
The lands my family ruled over... Or did at this rate.
"Can you just..." I interrupt as he started to zoom in on a random part of the continent. As for why I interrupted him, I just wanted to stare at the landmarks I could eagerly remember. The Derheniyo, a grand temple resting at the edge of my family's main island; Croneht. There was just so much that I wanted to see again but all I had was this reminder of it all.
Then, all of a sudden, he moved the image so that it was showing my family's home. The extravagant castle known as Consoyotin, my home... The home I grew up in. A place that was once the only place I ever really knew.
"Forgive me if this bothers you, but... I feel like a nostalgic reminder might help." Brewbrt explains as he seemingly starts to get uncomfortable.
"No, no... It's fine. Even if I am not gazing upon it all again. I am just glad to have been reminded of what it all looked like."
"Glad to have helped, now," he comments, having perked up at my words, "as you can see, your homeland is full of blind zones because of what is holding it all together."
"Except for that bit, apparently." I quietly giggle even if it was a disturbing sight. To just watch a large piece of my homeland suddenly drop from the sky and into the All-Coast below. At the very least I could keep my conscious clear knowing that this wasn't as sudden as it appeared.
The signs of its departure to the southern coast of the continent we just left would've been clear years before. Mostly, all that would've been lost is memories for those who might've lived on that island. But, I still made a point to pray for those who might've stayed on that island. There were many stories after all of the adventurous men and nostalgic fatalists that went down with them.
"But, enough about the science of this relic. Let's get going."
"Of course." I answer back with a firm nod. Then I quickly help him with the last of his check-ups before we start to walk.
"Out of curiosity, do you think you could reach those clouds over there if you tried?" he then asked me after some quiet walking.
"I wouldn't even be able to make it to the clouds back there." I tell him as I gesture back in the direction of the city. Both lying and being honest about my situation. I probably could reach them as well, being a lightning bolt meant I covered distances quickly. So I could probably actually launch up and try to reach for it. But, with the strange power in the storms we were approaching...
I knew that I would not be able to, lest I get swatted away once more.
"Do you recall any landmarks or how this land works?"
"It's dry and eventless. At least, until we get deeper into its depths. However, you won't have to worry about much else other than boredom." I huff, somewhat amused in hindsight.
"You are very lucky then that I have the experience I do with travelling. There's some boardgames in there that we could play."
"Are any from my homeland?" I ask, hoping he might've snagged something during his time with Mother.
"I got something from the colonies. Picked it up about the time your mother met your father, actually."
"What game is it? Maybe I have heard of it." and while I had some doubts about it. There might've been something that I honestly knew!
"It was called... Tch, what was it? It involved dice and required lightning magic to play."
"Oh! I know that one! Asaminra! You roll dice to set up a board and then you gamble on how the arc will look with only one player knowing the effects of the board pieces!"
"Might be difficult to play that, then." he remarks.
"Yes, you do need to be able to use a specific kind of magic, after all." I smugly comment knowing that I would be able to rig the game completely in my favour.
"That's fine, I brought a game I could rig myself." he smugly retorts.
"I just won't play that game then." I say with a shrug.
"Then I guess we'll never play asaminra..." he sighs.
"Fine... I'll play it fair." I huff, pouting at the attempt he made to deny my nostalgia-fueled catharsis.
"At the very least, we have plenty of time to figure out how we can overcome the difficulties my lack of sparks creates."
"We'll have plenty of time to talk and deliberate if we have to walk this distance." I sigh as I remember how short the airship made that journey feel. But, I also remembered how we only started to feel magic issues later on. We got quite far before the land started to erupt.
"Hey... Hey!" Brewbrt called out as I suddenly started to run with the help of my magic.
"We should be fine for a bit!" I call back to him before I started to run again.