Damon spent the night inside the cavern with Isolyn and the next day, he blankly followed her behind as she led him towards her village.
He was nervous for many reason, but at the end of the day, finishing the mission was more important, so he braved through his fears and determinately followed her.
They reached the village in about an hour or so, and Damon couldn't be more disappointed. He had it in his head that because this world is basically out of a fantasy game that at least the craftsmanship would be out of this world.
I mean, it's true Isolyn's clothing alone should've clued him that this people aren't yet advanced especially with their minds set on destroying the dragons. But truth is, he had hope that they were more than just village people.
But contrary to his hopes, this place might as well be ripped from the primitive times of human civilization, back when humans lacked vision and the knowledge to do more.
The housings were made of wood, admittedly they looked better than the one's he studied in his students days. But there wasn't anything about them inherently unique.
Damon looked around to find prying eyes, eying him with distain despite not knowing anything about him to give him such hateful looks.
Used to such looks from his world, it was a little unsettling to be under their scrutiny again after five years of solitude, away from such hostile eyes.
'I guess, you can never truly get used to such eyes.'
Reacting on instinct, Damon walked up to Isolyn and grabbed her hand and walked beside her. He felt her grip tighten around his hand, and he became a lot calmer.
This calmness gave Damon the level headedness he needed to note the difference between this people and Isolyn, which were apparent at first glance.
For one their eyes were totally black, with no irises and pupils, just void. Instead of the blue hair that Isolyn possessed they had sea weed green hair. They did have similarities with Isolyn like their webbed hands, their skin tone, but that's were the resemblance ended.
They didn't have the noble beauty Isolyn had, they didn't have her dragon claws or her beautiful elf-like ears. Quite frankly they fell short when compared to Isolyn Damon was inclined to believe their hate for Isolyn had as much to do with her beauty as much as with her heritage.
At least that's how he felt. With his enhanced ears, Damon was able to pick on their gossip about him, he could tell they feared him as much as they hated him for no apparent reason at all.
But Damon put their harsh words against him at the back of his mind, but when they so much as mentioned Isolyn, he would give them the nastiest glare that froze the blood of their entire lineage dating back to their ancestors.
It's true he didn't know Isolyn well enough to be attached to her, but to him at this moment Isolyn meant to him more than anyone his ever known, well except one person he thought he could trust but ultimately betrayed him.
Though she betrayed him, Damon had already forgiven her, because it doesn't matter what she did to him when the fact is that without her pitying him, he would've died on the streets after his banishment.
Thinking about that woman soured Damon's mood, but Isolyn's presence helped him keep going. They reached a temple-like place made of wood, and the craftsmanship was so elegant it paled in comparison to what Damon had seen thus far.
It was as if this people exhausted their entire potential to build this place, so that they didn't have enough juice to build better housing he just witnessed.
They walked inside, and immediately Damon's gaze was pulled to the statue meticulously crafted with so much detail, it was as if a literal god was responsible for this piece of art.
The statue was somehow floating behind the altar defying gravity from it's sheer presence, at least that's what Damon thought rejecting other possible explanation for what he was seeing.
"She's beautiful isn't she?"
Damon's gaze was pulled away from the statue to a woman, who had gracefully walked up in front of him without alerting his presence.
Damon wasn't alarmed and simply asked, "who's that?"
The woman smiled amicably at him, "It's a tribute to our Ancestor, and it's the most precious gift we have of her. It's been with us for the past thousands of years."
"Oh," that's all Damon said before his gaze was once again pulled to it.
He didn't know what it was about it, but it felt like it was reaching out to it, pleading even, and when he gave Isolyn a side long glance, judging by her grimace she felt the same thing he did.
The woman looked between the two of them, and also looked at the statue, and wondered what it was they saw she didn't. She walked in front of Isolyn, pulling her attention to her.
She smiled, "What brings you here Isolyn?"
Isolyn returned the same amicable smile, and replied, "I want you to merry us, the old way, with no witnesses just you, me, my soon to be soulmate and the ocean."
The woman's eyes widened and she gave Damon a scrutinized look, before instantly smoothing her expression and hiding her shock and disgust behind a false smile.
Damon immediately saw through her disguise, he instantly judged he didn't like her. He didn't react, until he saw her giving Isolyn the same look, this time blatantly.
Isolyn didn't seem to care one bit but it rattled Damon's long thought buried scarred feelings and they surfaced like a violent tidal wave that made him react in an impulsive way.
Damon had noticed that despite this world having a sun, it was unusually cold, not to mention that the atmosphere itself was moist. He also noticed that while touching Isolyn she was also unsually cold.
So he came with a devious thought to put this people in line, he used the little heat in the atmosphere and raised it's "temperature." The effects showed immediately as the woman's expression started to grimace, and she grasped her throat, as it quickly went desert dry.
Not knowing the effects it would bring to Isolyn, Damon made sure to gather the heat and trap it around only this arrogant woman. So that she doesn't start to retaliate Damon also unleashed his dragon oppression aura at her.
The woman fell to her hands and knees trying to breathe, but it was impossible, she was dying out slowly and Damon looked down on her with an impassive expression.
Damon felt his hand being squeezed and when he looked to his side, he saw Isolyn shaking her head with a serious expression. Damon immediately stopped what he was doing, and the woman could breathe again.
She quickly retreated back in fear, cautiously eyeing Damon.
Damon couldn't stomach looking at her again, so he looked at Isolyn, "I'll be outside the village, you can discuss whatever you want with her, and I'll wait outside."
He gave Isolyn a kiss on the cheek and left without giving the arrogant woman another glance.