The ascent of the city wasn’t much different from its descent. The bubble that kept the water at bay shrank down, and the city began to rise. As the city broke the surface, the film that covered the city ballooned out and burst into tiny colorful sparks. “Too bad we were all eating breakfast during the morning surfacing, as the sparks are even more brilliant in the morning sunlight.” Irin rustled some vines. “It was raining, so you didn’t miss out on much.” Well then. “Well, that was fortunate, then. Not that I mind the rain much, but it would make the surfacing far less spectacular to watch.”
As I finished speaking, there was a light tapping noise from the balcony, and a moment later the balcony door opened and Eira entered. “MOM!” Miva rushed from where she was sitting and embraced her mother. “Welcome Eira. I’m glad you didn’t swim down.” She lifted Miva into her arms and walked over. “After last time? I think not. The idea of being stuck as a Torgol does not entice me in the slightest, even if it is temporary.”
Miva looked up at her. “Huh? What’s wrong with the lake?” Eira sat down and gave Miva a smooch on the cheek. “Well, pumpkin, the waters are so suffused with mana magic becomes unpredictable. With our shapeshifting abilities, they become a bit too good. So I was having issues turning back. It was as if my shapeshifting powers thought my true form was that of a Torgol, and it took days of staying out of the water before the effect faded.”
Eira looked up at me. “Anyway, Teacher, thank you for looking after Miva this week.” I waved her off. “Oh, don’t worry about it. She has been behaving… mostly.” Eira glanced down at Miva. “Do I want to know?” I shrugged. “Just a small bout of childish curiosity overriding her better judgment, no harm or foul from it. She also has already paid the price for that foolishness.” Eira let out a sigh and shook her head. “Fair enough. Since it’s already been dealt with, I won’t pry further.”
Eira put down Miva and got back to her feet. “Well, I should probably get going. I promised Akhala I would drop by when I arrived.” I nodded. “Why don’t you bring Miva with you? I have little doubt she’d want to spend some time with her friends today after all.” Miva opened her mouth, but I pre-empted her response. “I already planned for that, kid, so no worries.” Miva’s annoyance changed to a grin. “Alright then!” She rushed over and gave me a hug. “See you later, Morgana.” she then reached down and scratched Midnight on the head. “See you too, Midnight.” Midnight gave a happy purr and licked her hand.
As Miva went around and said bye to everyone, Meleri was introduced herself to Eira. The two seemed to get along, which was nice. Soon after, Miva and Eira were at the door. “We will be back in a few hours, Irin.” she then looked at me, As I got to my feet and walked towards the balcony door, while fishing out the carpet. “I take it you’re not planning to stay the night.”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately not. While I would love to, there are some things I have to take care of that cannot wait. I am sure you noticed it, too.” I glanced over at Meleri for a moment. Eira nodded. “I did. It’s understandable that you’d want to get that dealt with as soon as possible.” Meleri looked at me, curious. “I’ll explain on the way back. Now all of you gather around. We have to get going before the town starts to sink again.”
I pulled out the carpet and Irenji, Winter Midnight, Soot and Ivy all got on immediately. Meleri hesitated for a moment before she joined them. I walked over and gave Irin a hug. “Sorry for the abrupt departure.” Irin hesitated for a moment. Then she returned the hug warmly. “Oh, think nothing of it, Milady, I understand. I do, however, hope you will come back soon.” I gave her a warm smile. “Well, I will most certainly try. I cannot promise anything, of course, but if we are lucky, I will.” I jogged over to the carpet, and with a wave to Miva, Eira and Irin I took off and brought us up and away from the city.
“Care to explain why we’re in such a hurry now?” I reached into my pouch and pulled out a rather pretty hand mirror. The damn thing cost a small fortune, but it was worth it. “Look at yourself.” I handed her the mirror. Meleri looked at her own reflection. “Why are my eyes a solid teal?” Soot hopped onto her shoulder. “Remember how Mistress’ skin is green, and Aile’s is dark blue?”
Meleri looked at him and nodded. “That skin change is the hallmark of witchcraft, and the only reason Eira doesn’t show it is that she is a shapeshifter. What happened to your eyes is called Shimmering. It’s a sign of a magic user, and not one you’d expect to see in someone untrained in the magical arts.” Meleri handed the mirror back to me. “So I am a witch too?” I shook my head. “If you were, I could simply start to train you back at the apartment. Unfortunately, Shimmering means your gift lies in the realm of sorcery, something I cannot help with, at all. You, dear sister, are a sorceress. And considering how early the Shimmering manifested, I’d say a damn powerful one as well. Which is why we need to get you a teacher, fast.”
Meleri looked confused, though Soot was more than happy to elaborate for me. “The way a sorcerer or sorceress channels magic differs from a witch. Because of this, Mistress cannot teach you. More to the point, if you can’t learn to use your magic, you will begin to experience signs of mana overload, as sorcerers and sorceresses generate mana naturally. This will get worse over time and if nothing is done, you will die. More to the point, the stronger the potential, the faster the symptoms can show up in those who are untrained. Which is why Mistress is so keen to find you a teacher as soon as possible. Now granted, given how you got your talent, it might not be an issue, but…”
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Meleri reached up and scratched Soot under his beak, earning her some delighted chirps. “I get it. Better safe than sorry, right?” I nodded. “Indeed.” Midnight looked up from where she and Irenji were lying. “I take it you must have someone in mind, then.” I took a deep breath. “That I do. Though I am not happy about it, he is the best sorcerer I know. Unfortunately, this means we need to go on a bit of a trip, as last I heard he joined up with Winter Hall.” That got a reaction out of Soot. “Surely, Mistress, you’re not… No, wait, you are, can’t be anyone else.”
By looking at Meleri, it was obvious she was getting annoyed. “His name is Bahruun. He’s a self-centered asshole that has looser morals than I am comfortable with. However, he is also one of the best sorcerers, and more importantly, teachers I know of. If it wasn’t for his lack of social graces and legally questionable interests, he might have landed a job as a court magician or some such, given his talents.” Meleri looked doubtful as I described his personality. Winter hopped up next to Meleri as well. “Mother and Bahruun don’t really get along. Their spat began before I hatched, so I don’t know the details, but Bahruun left the area because of Mother.”
Ivy landed on Winter’s head. “It’s because he tried to scam the Fauns over at Appleridge. I was there when it happened, as Morgana was visiting to buy some fruit. When she noticed the scam attempt, she grabbed his shoulder and calmly told him to pay with real money rather than the conjured gold he was trying to get the wares for. He paid up and got the heck out of there. Never saw him again.” Ivy patted Winter’s head as she spoke.
Ivy wasn’t wrong, though that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, as it wasn’t the first time he was causing problems in the area, be it at Appleridge or in Nekkal. He was already a wanted man for grave robbing, among other things, by the time I found him at the farm. Although, if he got accepted into Winter Hall, he must have cleaned up his act. Those guys didn’t accept crooks into their midst. More to the point, it meant Bahruun must’ve taken up cryomancy. Not a common branch of magic at all in warmer climes.
Meleri didn’t seem happy. “If he is that bad, why use him?” I took a deep breath. “Because the grand number of sorcerers and sorceresses I know of that could take the position of teacher amounts to a grand total of 2, and there is no way I’ll let Arida the Flayer teach you, I have no interest in seeing you dead, after all. And yes, that is a name she has rightfully earned. Seriously, compared to her, Bahruun is a saint.” Meleri seemed far more open to the idea after that explanation.
When we entered the swamp, the moon was high in the sky and I could see Soot was nodding off. “Hang in there, Soot, not far now.” Soot clicked his beak softly. “I am fine, Mistress. Besides, we haven’t… have…” His voice trailed off for a moment as he yawned. “… We haven’t eaten dinner yet.” He shook his head. “I won’t mind if it was something quick and easy, however.”
Something quick and easy, huh? Well, I could always warm some sausages, everyone could eat that. “I’ll see what I can do, sleepyhead.” The remaining trip continued in silence, as everyone was getting sleepy. As a precaution, I changed the wind barrier to exclude myself, that way I wouldn’t fall asleep. By the time I landed on the landing pad, the rest of them were fast asleep. Well, I wasn’t waking them up for food at this point. Instead, I levitated them all inside, and gently tucked Meleri into bed. Then I placed Ivy on her bed and put the others on the couch while taking care not to wake them. A quick spell on the door and it made no sound as I closed it.
The next morning, breakfast was devoured at a rapid clip and everyone wanted seconds. Not a surprise, given I never skipped meals if I could help it. Meleri looked up from her plate, where she was busy eating a large omelette. “You could have woken us up, you know.” I shrugged. “I could have, but with all of you out like a light, I figured it would be better to let you sleep. Especially you, sis, since you have a hard time falling asleep again if woken up.”
“Thirds, please!” A new and unfamiliar voice. I looked down at its source. “Oh, so you can speak again, Irenji?” The wolf looked up from his bowl. “Yeah, I can, now thirds, please.” I levitated some more meat into his bowl. “Here you go. Now, how did you wind up reincarnating so early?” Irenji ate for a bit before he responded. “Don’t remember, by the way, when are we doing the familiar ritual?” I glanced over at Ivy.
She always knew when the blood moon would hit. She looked up from her food as she realized I was looking at her. “The next blood moon isn’t for another month. So not for a while yet.” Irenji finished his bowl of food. “Aaw, well, that’s fine, right Meleri?” She reached down and began to scratch Irenji behind the ears. “Not a problem at all.” Irenji let out a delighted growl. “So… nice…” His tail began to wag like crazy.
Well, the two were getting along. That was nice, however… “Say Irenji, do you have a way of contacting whichever Great Wolf that was supposed to look after you? I’d rather not have any misunderstandings happen and having to square off against an angry Great Wolf closer to seven times my size.” Irenji opened an eye and gave me a lazy look. “Afraid not, but I doubt Irane would be overly aggressive against you. You know each other, after all. Also, last I checked she was only five times your size, not seven.”
I pinched my nose. “Very funny, ya damn fur ball. Well, I guess that’s just another thing to add to my growing pile of things I have to deal with. Speaking of things to deal with… I will have to contact Winter Hall and see if I can set up a meeting with them. At least the teleporter circle will save a ton of time.” I turned my focus to my breakfast. This was going to be a long day.
