Legend of Ransera

The captain didn't allow her to ruminate for long. The young Avialae watched her at her levers and steering apparatus, always keen to learn more of the world around her and its many wonders. As if a journey deep into the Warrens and now into the Astral Sea wasn't enough, she wanted to learn how to fly an airship. She wanted to understand the complex pattern behind the prismatic light. She wanted to know about the strange—

They were attacking the airship.

The dancer kept her feet. The boys mantled their wings to maintain their balance, not wanting to take flight and be left behind, even if they fought better from the skies. These were not skies, not exactly. Even the air was markedly different to her augmented senses.

"Aye, Captain," she replied, rather intensely, as she pulled out her knives. She might want the reach of her polearm or even her bow, but these were the weapons she knew best, and she wasn't only going to fight with steel.

"For the Blue Star!" Kaus called, using their family's battle cry as he plucked his sword from the aether. With a mighty swoop of his wings and a marvel of aeromancy, he sent one of the beasts staggering back into Ceran's waiting spear. The Silver Wing ripped it free and wasted no time in dancing back out of reach.

Two of Indric's arrows found the other, distracting it as Kala spun, her daggers drawing sparks from the air that bloomed into motes of fire that grew as she whirled, finally launching in a double helix toward the swarmer. The Silver Wings had trained together their whole lives, and with the twins for years now. They knew how to keep track of each other and control the fight.

As the first beast turned to grasp at the retreating Ceran, Kaus charged with his eldritch blade. As Indric nocked another arrow, Kala began to carve symbols into the air with her blades, scriving a more complex spell with surgical presicion. Whatever these creatures were, they wouldn't stand between her and her goal.

For all their cohesion as a fighting unit, these beasts were still terrifying. She finished scriving the fiery glyph with her dagger and pushed it forward, and it shot out at a swarmer, catching it in a net of fire. This allowed Kaus to pivot and launch himself at the undefended back of the creature with its tentacles on Ceran. Meanwhile, she gathered Fire to her to attempt to finish the one struggling against her magical net, but her attention was diverted by her relic of the Lady of Midnight Mourning.

She felt Kaus respond to her distraction, knowing as soon as the Silver Wings could handle the one beast, he would turn on the other, not allowing it to escape and savage his sister.

Kala didn't know what the relic could do. It was a holy item to her, not made for use in anything other than meditation and prayer. She didn't know if Saedene was trying to guide her. She didn't know what would happen. Taking a leap of faith, she channeled the gathering power through the runeforged reliquary gem, sacrificing her power to the Ara's direction. Whatever came of it would be what was necessary.

As the power poured into the rose gold jewel, she imagined she felt a tug, as if it were pulling more out of her. She also imagined she was reaching out a hand to the Ara, and half expected to feel a divine hand clasp hers.

They could afford no attention for the captain or their larger journey through the Astral Sea. Later, they would regret not being able to enjoy the view, perhaps. But this was a life or death struggle that required their all, their everything, and they all had to have faith that the unnamed captain would do her part as well.

Kala stood transfixed, though for all she knew, she was floating in the air. It felt like flying in her dreams. She had been wise to bring the Ara's reliquery; Saedene was with them. Her mind reeled and she couldn't tell if she was a channel of divine power, if her own power was being directed, or something else. For all her power, this threatened to overload her Senses.

Indric's keen eye caught sight of the dragon and he paused. Then Ceran gawked. Kaus fought on, and quickly they brought themselves back to the dire matter at hand as their unexpected ally appeared to rout the tide of beasts. Though the black wyrm did most of the work, they and the crew continued to harass the beasts until they flew off in full retreat. Time was funny in a life or death situation, but the battle ended and their savior alighted upon the deck, given a wide berth by those it had saved.

Kaus' weapon disappeared from whence it came, and Kala sheathed her blades, blinking as the young dragon came into sharper focus. It felt as though Saedene were still there, but perhaps it was like the afterimage of the sun burnt into the back of her eyelids. She carefully approached, curious as the creature spoke to her as only Kaus spoke to her. When her suspicion was proven correct as to its—her—identity, she smiled brightly. Her hand came up as if to caress the creature's face, but she paused, holding off, to see if the young dragon would push into it or leave it alone. She did not wish to offend, but the affection she had felt that day at the temple remained and she hadn't been able to hold the infant wyrm as she had wishsed to.

Little one? Kala laughed, delighted. My, how you have grown. We owe you our lives, I think. She offered the reverent bow of her people, as did Kaus. Their young men-at-arms followed suit.

"She speaks to dragons?" Indric whispered to his friend, awed but never more sure than that first failed attempt at their Warren March had been a blessing in disguise. Today, it seemed they were given a miracle.

Will you join us on our quest?

The physical connection with the wondrous being felt magical in a way that even magic hadn't felt magical since she was a child. This was a wonder, a dream come true.

Nessena. Thank you, friend.

The young Avialae watched her fly, then caught sight of the blur on the horizon. Her fingers erred toward the jewel dangling from her wrist as the captain spoke to her. She nodded at the plan.

"Thank you, captain."

Indric already had a shoulder under Ceran's arm when Kaus moved to take his other arm.

"I'm fine," Ceran protested.

"We need to prepare, Ceran," Kala explained. He deferred, not wanting to show weakness. "Let us help you so you can help us complete our mission." He sighed, but nodded, and relaxed a little into his comrades' strength.

Kala led them down into the interior of the ship and they found the galley without issue. Kaus and Indric set Ceran down at the nearest table and then the young lord pulled Indric away and toward where food was being laid out and crew members were waiting. While Kala did her work, they would get food for the four of them.

"Hold still for me," she said firmly. The young mercenary nodded, gritting his teeth, though she was surprisingly gentle with her application of Water to clean out the wound. There was enough water in his blood that she could forbid it from flowing for a time, staunching it with will and aether. She cleansed her hands similarly and then pulled a softly glowing vial out of her belt, as well as a needle made of bone. "Sinew thread," she explained as she drew it out of the vial, and threaded the needle with it. He watched with morbid curosity as she stiched his flesh together, and then again, pulling the skin closed and knitting it neatly together.

All the while, she murmured prayers of thanksgiving to Lyren for the knowledge, requests for Raella's blessings, and begged Wraedan to be patient for this soul, who was dear to her.

"It barely hurts," he marveled. She nodded and bound his wrist loosely to his chest with a length of cord.

"This is mostly to remind you to keep it immobile while it heals. I don't want you to use it for now, though if it comes to battle, you can do what you must. But if all goes well, this will heal quickly and cleanly, leaving nary a scar."

"You have been busy at the Tranquil Gardens, my Lady."

"Doctor Wardell is an excellent teacher," she said, laying a fond hand on his good shoulder.

The other boys returned, a plate in each hand, and sat. The four of them ate quietly, Indric's gaze often on Ceran to ensure that he was all right. He certainly seemed to be. After they finished, a friendly crewmember bussed their plates, thanking them for their help with the monsters. Kala checked everyone for minor wounds, and then they all got up to return to the deck. All of them wanted to see the Astral Sea, the black dragon flying proudly, and the approach of the Boundless Gate.

This was what they had risked so much for.

Beautiful... She didn't even realize she was projecting; she was so used to a constant back and forth of words, images, and concepts with Kaus. There had never been another person who could hear them.

Thank you, friend.

Kala passed along the warning just as they were handed dragonshards to ward them. She quickly examined the work, marveling at it. There seemed to be similarities to the aether nets they used to harvest dragonshards, keyed to absorb aetheric energy if a mistake caused a disastrous discharge. They lashed themselves to the taffrail. She tried tos ense everything as they passed, wondering the name of the ruined city, trying to understand the magic still functioning below them. The energies that attacked Nessena, and then the ship—she wished she understood them so she could protect the dragon and the ship. Perhaps she ought to have mastered Negation before coming, but while she didn't know the Goddess' sense of time, she didn't want to wait overlong.

When she felt herself slipping from consciousness, she tried to fight, but she could not prevail this time. And the world went white.

Nes... sena...?

She fought against the disorientation, as though she were waking from the drugged sleep of an apothecary. Still lashed to the traffail, she looked as the dragon bade her do. Had the Shepherd's own dragon come to take her to the afterlife? Had the Boundless Gate taken them to the Aetherium?

The young Avialae had so many questions, but that was nothing new. It was merely exacerbated by the circumstances.

Kaus was growing more alert, as were the boys. Her hands fumbled at the lashing even as they all tried to take in this new vista. Kaus began to hum, barely audible, and the words of their old nurse's song came unbidden to her mind:

The young questors recovered rather quickly all things told, physically if not their aplomb. There were only so many wonders one could take in at once before the mind had trouble juggling them.

The presence of Avialae was comforting; the sound of wings was a sort of lullaby as well. But none of them were prepared for the voice that greeted their captain. Even Kala, normally so composed, was agog when the woman revealed herself a winged Avialae. The blows to rationality kept coming, however. The Boundless Gate had taken them to Atoria, homeland of the necromancer who had created their race to battle the cursed Hellmaw. Her studies into the history of her race had led her down the path of necromancy as well, seeking to understand the nature of her people.

But the histories had made it sound as though Atoria had been an island in the sea, perhaps destroyed by time or violence. Had it only been lost to the Aether Sea?

Thankfully, the woman made polite introductions, and out of habit, Kala was able to respond as was proper.

"Thank you, Captain Emerea. I am Kala of House Leukos, and this is my corebonded twin, Kaus. These are our doughty warriors. We have come to answer the call of the Crystal Lady, Her quest brought to me by the Lady of Midnight Mourning."

They bowed.

"I'm... not quite sure what She wanted me to do when I arrived, though..."