Craig hadn't realised that he had automatically become defensive towards the Divine Lotus. Since it was one with his mind and emotions it could be said that It was him and he was also it. He would be offended if one had ill intentions toward it because it felt offended itself. This was something he didn't yet know and could be considered a potential problem.
Of course, this wasn't an ordinary property of the Divine Lotus. It was the result of the Corruption that was spreading within.
"Teleported?" Craig was surprised. "You're capable of such powerful magic?" As far as he knew, teleportation spells required large quantities of mana that a single person rarely possessed. Humans had many books containing magical knowledge. Though they could not use it conventionally, the knowledge was still carried through history.
"Sadly, I don't possess that level of magical power. It was actually a combination of the magical power between this lake and the one in the elves territory that took on the brunt of the strain." Setra explained. It was true. If she had tried to activate a portal of that magnitude on her own it would either fail, cause a severe backlash or even death.
Enlightened, Craig looked at the lake in astonishment. "So that's how it is." He muttered.
Setra took a few steps toward the lake till she stood at its edge. "Tell me, now that you have this power, what do you intend to do with it?" She turned to face him, narrowing her brows.
Craig paused for a moment, then spread open his right palm as memories of those he lost flashed through his mind. The only thing he felt at that moment was never letting things like that happen to him ever again. "I don't know much about this power yet. But if it is as amazing as it is supposed to be, then," He looked up Setra, looking into her eyes. "I will use it to protect those that are important to me. I will use to fight against those who would harm the innocent as I did when I was powerless. If you don't trust me then, there's nothing I can do about it."
"Actually there is something that would put my heart at ease at least a little bit." She said suggestively.
Craig's curiosity was piqued. "That would be?"
"An oath sworn to the spirits. If you were to swear an oath to the spirits it would be like a contract. If you breach the contract, the spirits have the authority to punish you. In other words, it would give them justification to interfere with the mortal world directly." She explained.
Craig only pondered for a brief moment. "How do I perform this oath then? Do I just swear to the heavens?" He asked looking up at the sky.
Setra shook her head. "That's not how it works. An oath to the heavens requires much more than that. Unfortunately I can't make you swear a legitimate oath to the heavens due to its complexity. In its place you can swear an oath to the spirits of nature and magic." She lifted her milky white arm and spread open her palm in Craig's direction. "Featherlight." She exclaimed softly as a cloud of white energy surrounded Craig's body.
"This will allow to walk to the center of the Spirit Lake." She explained. "Once you're there I'll make the preparations and you will recite an oath towards the spirits. If you're sincere then the spirits will react to it. If not then nothing will happen and it means you're being dishonest."
Craig furrowed his brows in suspicion. "Then, what will you do if nothing happens?"
Setra gave him a smile that was also not a smile. "Don't let anything not happen so you won't have to find out."
It was strange how that threatening sentence made him want to perform the oath even more. He immediately set off, stepping onto the surface of the water and standing on top of it like solid ground. 'Magic is awesome.' He thought as he stepped forward, causing ripples on the water's surface.
Tap. Tap. Tap
In no time he had walked over to the center of the lake. He was now standing at the center of the Lotus Flowers. They had all been submerged underneath the water's surface. The blue lotus was situated directly underneath his feet.
Setra was floating in the air a short distance above softly repeating an incantation. When she was done, she slowly descended onto the lake's surface and as soon her feet touched the water, a beam of light shot towards one of the outer lotus flowers. Then, from flower to flower they became interconnected and soon a giant sigil was formed with Craig at the center. From above it looked like a giant lotus flower with complex runes inscribed within its petals. The center most area had a five pointed star with a yin and yang symbol within.
From each lotus flower, a beam of coloured light shot up into sky like pillars.
Craig was within a blue pillar of light at the center. A warm tingling sensation continuously surged through his body bringing forth a sensation of divinity. He was amazed by the sight around him, looking at every little detail of what was happening. In truth, he also had a slight suspicion of Setra's motives but chose to follow through regardless.
From outside the sigil, Setra yelled out to him. "Now you must kneel to show your sincerity and respect and swear an oath starting with the phrase 'Let the spirits attest to the words of my tongue and the words of my heart.' It must end with 'If I go against this oath spoken by me, let the spirits pass judgement upon me on behalf of the heavens.' You may begin when you're ready."
Craig listened to Setra's words and recited them in his mind a few times to ensure he got them right. Once he felt ready, he knelt down on both knees and clasped his hands with his head slightly bowed. "Let the spirits attest to the words of my tongue and the words of my heart. I Craigavon Stormfrost swear an oath, that this power I have received will not be used to perform evil. It will be used for defending the innocent, my loved ones and myself. Any life taken by this power must be justified and won't be taken in vain. If I go against this oath spoken by me, let the spirits pass judgment upon me on behalf of the heavens."
With the oath done, he stood up and turned to look at Setra with an inquiring gaze.
Setra was looking in his direction, but she wasn't looking directly at him. Instead she was observing the entire situation, patiently waiting for the result.
Soon, the pillars of light faded away and so did the giant flower-like sigil. The lake returned to its usual plain serene state.
Craig involuntarily had a nervous feeling welling up in his chest. 'Did it fail?' He wondered.
On the shore, Glowmyth's eyes were attentively locked on the center of the lake. "Did he fail?" She uttered in disappointment.
"I hope not." Petal remarked with her gaze also fixed onto the lake.
Setra wrinkled her brows and narrowed her eyes with a pondering gaze. It was too soon to jump to conclusions so she waited patiently, in silence.
Craig didn't know what success was supposed to look like so he was waiting for Setra's reaction. Yet she hadn't said anything and just stood there, staring at him. "Um, so, did I succeed, or fail?"
"It's too soon to tell. Just remain where you are for a moment longer, then we'll know for certain." She replied.
And so, in motionless silence, an entire minute passed.
Then another minute followed.
"It would seem..." Just when Setra was about to claim that he had failed, the entire surface of the lake lit up with specs of light akin to fireflies. Her mind was instantly put at ease, "That you have succeeded." She altered the end of her statement.
There were hundreds of specs of light coming from with the Spirit Lake. They all slowly floated over to Craig's location and surrounded him like a whirlpool. He lifted his hands and spun around with them as if he were a kid. When they were all gathered around him, they condensed into a miniature version of the sigil from earlier. Then the sigil shot straight into his body thorough his chest. There was a slight stinging sensation that came from his chest but it wasn't the physical kind.
Craig looked at Setra who was the one who knew about all this oath stuff. "What was that just now?"
"That was the contract imprint of your oath." She replied. "It is imprinted onto your soul which is the core of your existence."
"No wonder it stung in such a weird way." It was a feeling he could not fully explain. It felt as if a cold current stabbed into his chest, but it was so deep it didn't feel like it was physical.
"It only has power over you if you are to go against your oath, otherwise it is harmless and useless. Therefore you have nothing to fear as long as you keep your word." Setra explained. "You should return to shore before the waterwalking spell runs out." She turned around and flew towards the shoreline.
Craig looked down at the lotuses that were beneath the water with a strong desire to pluck them. His mission wasn't over yet as he had yet to collect any lotuses other than the one within his body. He had yet to see a black lotus which was the most important thing he needed.
From near the shore, Setra's voice echoed over. "If you're thinking about harvesting these lotuses don't. Firstly you will anger the spirits and face their retribution as you are within their domain."
Craig's hesitation completely disappeared upon hearing Setra's warning. He didn't want to experience the retribution of the spirits. Just based on the abilities the lake had displayed so far, he imagined gruesome strikes of lighting, dark clouds and a torrent of water peeling his skin from his body. In fact, it was more like the spirits were forcing these images into his mind as a warning.
"Secondly," Setra continued, "You no longer need them to save your friend since you already have the Divine Lotus. The rainbow medicine is basically a fragment of the Divine Lotus's power. With a fully manifested Divine Lotus you are basically a walking cure for dragon fever."
Craig was surprised and at the same time relieved. He had already considered the possibility that the Divine Lotus was capable of healing dragon fever. Now that it was no longer an assumption, a burden was lifted off his mind. He walked across the lake and arrived ashore in no time.
Standing together again, the atmosphere was many times warmer than before. Setra no longer had much of a sharp piercing gaze, Petal got close without any adverse reactions and Glowmyth remained the same, landing directly on Craig's shoulder joyfully.
"You didn't let me down." Glowmyth exclaimed as she swung her little feet back and forth.
Setra smiled at Glowmyth's behaviour. In her opinion it was good for her to let go some of the hatred she had towards humanity. Negative emotions was detrimental to a fairies health.
"So, what now Lady Stardust?" Craig asked, wondering what else was required to please this fairy.
"Hmmm, With your oath sworn to the spirits, I suppose we can consider you an ally. For now, you should return to your own business and make preparations for what is to come. Learn how to properly use the power of the lotus as fast as you can. The denizens of Terramis have grown restless over the years and soon the long maintained peace will shatter. As a result, terrible things will ensue, rising from the shadows to plunge our world into darkness." Setra explained in a serious tone.
With such a future ahead, everyone felt a sense of gloom overshadowing them.
"Then, I guess I'll be taking my leave, but, where do I go from here? I don't even know where this is." Craig said hopelessly. "Also, I can't leave without my companion. She's probably still looking for the lotuses as we speak or maybe even got captured."
Setra pondered for a moment. "I can only send you back to the Lotus pond since it has a natural connection with this Spirit Lake. However, it won't be accurate without Having something to lock onto so you'll end up anywhere in the vicinity of it. As you already acquired its source of power it should only be capable of a single teleportation, meaning you can't return through it. As for your friend, I should be able to reveal her location using the the Spirit Lake. Once you get there, the rest will be up to you."
"I'll go with him." Glowmyth stated before Craig could give a response. "He'll need my invisibility to get out of that place. Now that he doesn't have an aura, we won't be detected either." She explained sensibly. She was right on the money, with the Divine Lotus hiding Craig's aura, it would be a walk in the park, or more accurately, a stroll in the forbidden territory when combined with her invisibility.
Craig agreed, after all, he didn't want to get caught and he had yet to learn anything about his new power.
Setra nodded and got to work. She flew above the lake and connected with it just like before, forming a door sized window beneath her. After conversing with the spirits for a moment, an image appeared in the window, displaying a fully furnished chamber with a woman sitting cross legged on a bed within. The image faded away after a short moment.
Setra landed with a bitter-like, awkward expression on her face.
"Well...?" Craig saw the expression she had and felt like it didn't work.
"The spirits were a bit annoyed, but decided to make an exception just because it's you. On the other hand, I was forced to agree to some of their conditions I had been avoiding for some time." She sighed grudgingly and helplessly. "Your friend is inside a luxurious looking chamber with, lots of red furniture and three windows." Setra formed a holographic image of the room above her palm. "I'm uncertain as to whether she's a captive or not. With Glowmyth's help you should be able to find her."
Glowmyth and Craig memorised the structure of the room and nodded.
"Alright, let's move."
With that, Setra led Craig and Glowmyth onto the lake and began activating the portal, the same as before. Soon a whirlpool formed underneath the two and sucked them in before settling back down into peaceful water.
Setra flew back to the shore and looked at Petal apologetically and sighed. "We will be paying your mother a visit..."
Petal had a reluctant expression upon hearing those words. "Is that what the spirits wanted you to do?"
Setra nodded.
Petal, although reluctant, nodded. "Okay."