Vahara Arta was known as the city of cities. It was a health resort where they said people were cured of all diseases. There were seven gates to the city, which represented the seven fires of Allyria.
Guests were always welcomed with a bunch of herbs symbolizing good health, given to them by young elven girls and boys. Vahara Arta was also a center of education, with the biggest library in the world. Legend had it that every book ever written could be found there.
So... no wonder it was such a busy place. In order to keep the peaceful atmosphere and restrict the number of people arriving, teleportation was absolutely forbidden there. There were no domestic teleporters or public portals. By ship it was a few days' journey.
The island itself had the shape of a crescent. A part of it consisted of high cliffs which could be seen from afar. Unlike the other six regions of Allyria which had a single governor, here there were actually four governors, known as the Fae of Seasons, because each of them ruled for about three months a year.
"Why are you going to Vahara Arta?" Elyre asked Phabian.
"I am investigating ancient artifacts as you know. The library of Vahara Arta is the biggest library in the world. So, I come here from time to time when I need to double-check information."
"Ah, so you have been here before!" She exclaimed. She'd never been so far away before. "Can you compare it with other cities and towns?"
"It is a peaceful city," he said.
Just as he said that, there seemed to be some commotion on board. He was not interested in gossip, so this did not draw his attention immediately and his reaction was slow.
Elyre turned to the people crowded on one side of the deck. They were looking at the sky. Indeed there was something interesting there.
"I wonder what that thing in the sky is?" Elyre said.
Then Aristhaeus slowly shifted his eyes to the sky. There was a tiny black spot against the azure blue sky. Given the distance, the real size of the thing was much greater. It was approaching them very quickly. It was a black dragon indeed, and its tail hung downwards as if it was a giant mace.
How could that be? While Elyre was not sure, the archmage knew even as he glanced at it that it reminded him of a dragon.
The Autumn Fae, one of the governors of Vahara Arta *happened* to hate him... and she was a dragon master. So when he saw the animal, his first thought was it had to do with her... ...But then, there were several facts that made him doubt this hypothesis.
Firstly, how could she know he was exactly on this ship?
Secondly, he was more powerful than her, so why would she directly attack him?
...Could it be just a wild dragon out of control?
Elyre was shocked. She certainly hadn't expected such a "warm" welcome. Not just warm, plain hot. The dragon flashed through the sky with incredible speed. They didn't have a lot of time to consider the situation. People on board started screaming and running around. Aristhaeus pulled Elyre to one side and cast a magical protection that covered a large part of the deck in front of them. There was one more mage on board who also cast a protective spell.
The dragon breathed fire at the ship, but both mages were swift to create protective shields. As a result, there were no casualties during the attack. The ship was already reaching the shore of the island of Vahara Arta. The attack was a great surprise because Vahara Arta was famous for being a peaceful city.
Usually a mage, or even two mages, could not possibly defeat a dragon. Perhaps only the archmage had the prowess to do it alone. However, defeating the dragon would mean revealing that he was no ordinary mage. Therefore, it would be better to retreat. And keep what's secret a secret.
People were already jumping in the water in a panic. The ship wasn't too far from the shore. Aristhaeus sustained the shield until most people seemed to have escaped. He pushed Elyre to one side, and made the railing nearby disappear, so she reeled back and fell into the water. He followed her. The next moment both disappeared into the sea.
The ship was high and they sank deep into the ocean. On board there had been so much noise and smell of burning wood but all this disappeared underwater. Elyre opened her eyes, just to discover... this was a very... empty sea. There were no fish around, no corals and no seaweed. She could compare it to the high-water rivers of Wild Wood, which were full of life.
She suddenly spotted three oceanids nearby. Oceanid was the name used to refer to all human-like creatures who lived underwater. The first one was something in-between a jellyfish and a human. The other two were mermen and acted as bodyguards to the jelly-woman.
"Are you alright?" the jellyfish asked telepathically. Elyre heard the voice in her mind and was surprised. She looked at Aristhaeus.
~Oceanids are masters of telepathy,~ Elyre remembered. It was normal, underwater they couldn't speak a language.
"Yes, we are," Aristhaeus replied telepathically. His long black hair was scattered in the water and with his pale skin, he looked like one of the sea creatures.
"I would advise you not to stay here for long. Dead waters," one of the mermen said.
"Dead waters can be very harmful if you stay," the jellyfish explained.
"Dead waters?" Elyre wondered. She hadn't heard of such an expression before, though "living water" was widely used in Wild Wood to refer to springs high in the mountains where the water was used for healing.
"This water has been lifeless for years and nobody comes here except patrols dedicated to protecting the environment like us. This is the place where a noblewoman was disintegrated into molecules as a form of punishment. You know what I mean," the jellyfish woman explained. As she noticed Elyre's bewildered expression, she added. "Don't you know?"
Elyre shook her head.
"I am referring to Princess Magnolia Arunai, of course," the woman explained. "She was sentenced to death because she tried to kill her own younger sister, the present Princess Junnica Arunai. ...The water remembers this event and is sad. As the water is sad, it is undesirable for creatures to live in it."
Elyre raised an eyebrow. People were supposed to be familiar with the history of their country, but information about the Arunai dynasty was scarce with the exception of some very important historical figures like the mage-king Darius Arunai. Elyre had never even heard of such a type of punishment.
Shortly after, the two mermen escorted Aristhaeus and Elyre to the surface. The jelly-woman remained near the bottom, her hair and body radiating weak neon blue light against the dark water.
Elyre saw the silhouette of the ship in the distance. It was almost entirely destroyed by the dragon attack. The dragon still wasn't very far away.
"Peaceful city... eh?" she thought.