Being this high up with the wind swishing through my feathers while the suns warmed my body was incomparable to anything else, and that was why I loved magic so very much; it provided these sort of experiences that were otherwise unobtainable to people.
I had a knack for Polymorphing ever since I was an apprentice thanks to this thirst for experiencing anything as freeing as this, and at the pinnacle of that thirst was the calling of the skies and the unique freedom it presented.
I could fly anywhere, anytime, and I could do so with ease so long as I practiced; it had gotten to the point where this owl form of mine was almost like a proper second skin that felt just as comfortable as my usual body.
Behind me though, I could tell that Wynn wasn't of the same mindset that I was, the sleek feathered bluejay beating its wings to a rhythm that was becoming far more uneven as we reached the fifth hour or so.
Time lost meaning when you were flying, the traveling and the mana control needed to maintain this form taking up most of your mental prowess - especially if you were unaccustomed to it - and leaving nothing behind to think as you just flew through the clear skies and drank in nature's beauty from above.
We passed over forests and lakes in abundance, passed over the occasional hamlet or village nestled within a clearing or even found ourselves above a deep gash in the earth that gave a look into what lay below our feet, the ravine famous for its abundant mana and resources calling up to us to take a dive and explore.
There was so much to see and so much to witness as you flew amongst the clouds, but I could tell that Wynn wasn't relishing this as much as I was since her beak was pointed straight ahead while her mana signature was incredibly focused.
For me this was an easy flight, so I took my time to study both her and the nature around us as I enjoyed every passing second, though that wasn't to say I wasn't being a proper mentor as I flew side by side with my new apprentice.
I was keeping track of her mana reserves, her focus, her stamina and her mental state as I hooted out to her occasionally, listening for the chirp in reply as she let me know she was still there and good to go.
She was straining herself a little, but as we slowly began to close out the fifth hour and enter the sixth I was beyond pleased with the results, her ability to maintain this shape for so long and to persevere impressing me since many of her peers wouldn't push through like she had, nor would they have managed to maintain a proper form.
That was going off of the last generation of apprentices that I had witnessed, anyways, so I was thoroughly impressed with her and hopeful for the future, my prior reluctance about this entire affair getting washed away slowly but surely.
Ahead of us was a break in the lush trees, and upon seeing the sudden shift from verdant forests to a dry, rocky plains Wynn looked over towards me and chirped tiredly, her 'voice' letting me know she was wondering if we were almost there or not.
In reply I just folded my wings and dived towards the ground, surprising the bluejay as I hurtled towards the rocks rapidly, though after a moment she followed in a more controlled, slow dive, only to join me as I switched back to my proper form.
Stumbling, the bluenette was about to trip over a rock when I caught her, supporting her by her shoulders and allowing me to look down at her as I said "Congratulations, you've arrived at our temporary lodgings.", earning that confusion that amused me.
She looked around and searched for a building of some kind only to turn back to me as I said "It isn't your typical house, Wynn. You see, I am... one of few who can claim to have sole ownership over some ruins of old, and as such... Have you ever heard of the Anubi Sultanate?"
Steadying the bluenette still, I gently guided her forwards as we walked through the rocky plains, the lack of healthy green grass supplemented instead by an overabundance of gravel as the mana in the atmosphere shifted from one spectrum to another.
"They... That was a small country formed millennia ago to stand against the hordes of monsters that prowled the lands back then, right..? What does..? Weren't they located in a desert?"
A smile graced my lips as I nodded, my silence making Wynn look around once more before she tried to turn around and stare at the forest, which was slowly fading away as we left it behind us; all around us was hot, flat rocks with the occasional tree, bramble and patch of thick yellow grass.
"You... You've got to be joking right now... THIS?! This is the Anubi Sultanate?! I know it's been millennia but..! Holy hells!"
When I gave her another nod she gasped, and I was even happier to see her genuine excitement rejuvenating her tired body as she bounced free of my grasp, the blue haired woman grinning as she looked around in fascination, only to stare at me as I said "Mana can shift in nature, and if enough of it flips from one element to another, the world itself shifts. This used to be all sand, but now the air is beginning to be filled with life. A slow shift, but a shift nonetheless."
She nodded, and I could see a million and one questions bouncing around in her head as she prepared to ask me something else, only for her to gasp and freeze as I waved my hand and sent a ripple of mana through the air, revealing something to her.
"And this is the last standing structure of the Anubi Sultanate. On the surface, anyways. They never tell you this in school, but they were a subterranean civilization that learned how to burrow beneath the sand. We aren't entirely sure how they did it, but like you said... millennia separate us and them, and now it is quite literal. Millennia of rock and mana given physical shape has terraformed this land into something new, and they are further buried beneath the earth, locked away..."
Both of us looked at a rather unassuming, simple building of red sandstone that was barely two stories tall and rather crude and damaged, but at the same time... as I pushed open the door I revealed a fully furnished, functioning house to the woman behind me, who stepped inside carefully like she was worried she would break something.