After leaving Faerelle, Lumia flew south, following the coastline. When the violet moon rose, we landed on a beach in a mountainous region and found a cave for shelter.
The cave was rather low and narrow with a stream fed by water from a hole near the top of the back wall.
Seeing as there wasn’t much space, Lumia transformed to her human form and we huddled together against the wall. We didn’t speak or make a fire. We were both mentally and emotionally exhausted.
In a single day, Lumia lost access to her home, her family, and saw her people’s holy land destroyed. Hours later my homeland was corrupted, my people slaughtered, and my birth mother killed. Vorlin, my adoptive father was also killed, or possibly turned into some corrupted version of himself, I wasn’t sure which.
I had no idea if Silvia or Mirina survived the attack, but after witnessing the strength of the black mages, I was hesitant to hold out hope.
Lumia’s hand on my shoulder reminded me that I still had her. We had each other.
I closed my eyes but they sprang open quickly at the image of my mother with a sword through her gut. I tried closing my eyes again, but the image was now burned inside my eyelids.
I retched and cried then puked some more all while Lumia rubbed a gentle hand up and down my back. Her own turbulent emotions bled into me through our bond. She was doing her best to remain calm and strong for my sake. I appreciated her support, although I regretted that I couldn’t do the saint for her.
Eventually the waves of nausea passed. I wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my ruined shirt then changed clothes.
“Are you alright?” Lumia asked.
“Yeah, just…tired.” I lied.
She let out a heavy breath then leaned against me.
“The dragons will help,” Lumia whispered. “Tomorrow we’ll go to Sunder and find my sister. We can tell her what’s happened; she’ll listen, and my father will hear from her.”
Her optimism warmed me. I took comfort in knowing that, maybe, Avantia could be retaken. Few beings were as strong as dragons. My uncle might have an army of dark magicians, but with Andrhei’s aid, Vale’s forces wouldn’t stand a chance.
I nodded.
Leaning against Lumia, I eventually managed to sleep.
----------------------------------------
When I woke up, Lumia was standing on the beach near the ocean. Her silhouette, against a pink-orange sunrise, looked lonely standing beside the waves.
Dusting sand from my clothes, I stood and went to meet her.
“Good morning,” I said. “Did you sleep?”
She nodded, but I knew she was lying.
“You know,” she began, “I actually love beaches.” tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “One day, before I was old enough to compete in the proving, my father brought my sister and I to a place like this. He told us that life is like the ocean, full of ups and downs, and sometimes it gets rough, but if we stay calm and wait, the storm will pass.”
She smiled at me.
I hugged her tightly, burying my face in her hair. For a moment I thought she would push me off, but instead she wrapped herself around me.
Our embrace lasted longer than normal. Lumia pressed her cheek against mine and held on tight until we heard a girl’s humming drawing near.
Lumia let go quickly, spinning to face the source of the sound.
Beside a rock formation on the edge of the beach a woman was dragging her feet in the sand.
“Nanae? What are you doing here?” Lumia asked.
The girl, Nanae, looked up from her feet, gasped, “Princess!” then bowed deeply. She started to come back up, then went down on both knees, burying her face in the sand. “Forgive me highness, I didn't realize you were the one I was meeting.”
“Get up Nanae. I’m no longer your princess, and I didn’t come here to meet you.”
The girl yelped as she trembled and pressed herself further into the sand. “I dare not, highness. I am unworthy to look on your grace.”
Lumia huffed over to the cowering woman and lifted her from the dirt, forcing her back to her feet. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m not a princess anymore.”
“Y…you’re not?”
“No, but since you’re here, do you know if Lila has arrived yet?”
“No, highne—” she yelped again, her eyes going wide as she jerked back. “Lila…failed?” Her confusion rang clearly in her words.
Lumia shook her head then explained the events that occurred at Thoravive.
Nanae listened well, gasping frequently and clasping her hands over her mouth. When Lumia was done, Nanae told us how three days back a strange little man came to the city. He kept saying that two travelers would need aid on this day—Walensday.
Most ignored him, but Nanae was curious so she came to the beach where the man said she would meet the travelers.
Through the course of discussion, I learned that Nanae was one of the dragons who had failed to ‘prove.’ Dragons who failed to complete the proving were sent to the city of Sunder. Usually, they were given a second chance, but if a dragon couldn’t prove, then they were no longer considered a dragon.
They were expected to spend the rest of their life in human form, and forbidden from ever displaying their horns or claws. This wouldn’t be Lila’s fate though. She was sent to the city as an envoy. She would be called enlightened and she would serve as the dragon's voice to the humans who lived in Serephina under the rule of king Darious.
Nanae offered to take us to the city in her boat. It would have been a shorter flight, but we agreed to travel with her.
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The boat wasn’t far, just on the other side of the rock formation. It took around an hour before the city came into view, then another half an hour paddling to reach the docks.
Sunder was a huge city on the water, set between mountains at the outer edge of The Peaks of Illumination. The mountains were divided by a wide river, several hundred feet across, that carried small boats from all over the continent. Larger ships designed specifically for crossing the ocean, dotted the waters around the bay.
Far back in the city there was a huge building, grand as a castle. It was larger than the palace I grew up in and had towers that reached above the surrounding mountains.
Once we reached the docks, we climbed out of the boat and made our way past hundreds of deckhands. The laborers loaded and unloaded all sorts of different cargo from boats both large and small. Some they transferred immediately to other boats, some they set aside in what looked like an inspection area. The rest were loaded onto carts and taken into the city.
Nanae said, “if you plan to stay in town, you can stay with me—” the word ended abruptly, cut off by a gasp as she cupped her hands over her mouth. Removing them, she said, “What am I saying, of course you’ll want to stay at the church. I’ll show you there right away.”
Lumia smiled and placed a hand in the girl’s shoulder. “Actually, your place sounds fine.”
I nodded my agreement, not that I had any preference.
Nanae smiled big, showing her teeth as she struggled to hide her excitement. After regaining her composure, she said, “We’ll go to the church first. If your sister is here, that’s where she’ll be.”
Lumia agreed.
Nanae led us to a path of colored glass laid over the surface of the water. It was narrow and ran up the river where only smaller ships sailed. At the end of the path there was a large white platform carved with runes. I could see at least five mana crystals inlaid in its surface and suspected there were several more beneath.
When we reached the platform, Nanae instructed us to stand on it then she imbued mana into the plate.
Blue light glowed from its surface, then the light enveloped us in a flash. It felt like I blinked and the whole scene changed. Now we were standing on an identical white plate, but somewhere in the city.
We were near the large building I saw before. From that distance it just looked like a giant structure, but now we were close enough for me to see carvings of dragons on its surface. They chased each other up large pillars, becoming statues that lounged on the roof watching over the city.
There were only small structures in its vicinity, most appeared to be rectangular prisms carved with more dragons.
Only one of the suns was visible from the shadow of the oppressive building, the other was blocked out completely by its towers. Both beautiful and imposing, it fit the pompous personality of most dragons perfectly.
Nanae gave us a moment to orient ourselves, then she led us through the crowds toward the entrance. Above the door the words ‘Blessings and Graces of the Light Bearer.’ were carved.
Nanae pushed the door open, motioning for us to go in ahead of her.
Inside, the building opened to a large hall lined with tall pillars and four doors on both sides. Ahead of the hall, there was an even larger space filled with pews facing a stage. Hanging over the first few rows of pews, there was a balcony. Stone dragons floated around the room, traveling along seemingly set paths then landing on the stage. Once the dragons stopped moving, they solidified into statues becoming idle and still.
A woman in white robes and two men in blue tunics were polishing a white marble carved dragon, who’s spread wings served as a podium. I watched them for a moment, then I noticed a huge stained glass window behind them. It spanned almost the full length and height of the wall, elevated above the stage by roughly ten feet.
In various frames, the stories of twelve great saints played out—Mirin was included among them. Each saint was depicted completing the mission they had dedicated their lives to, but all of these were nothing in comparison to the great white dragon who stood in the center frame. His radiance was the source of power, drawn on by each of the saints.
This dragon, majestic and pure, gave guidance to each saint. At times he offered counsel, other times he granted power, but always, his presence acted as a guiding light.
I didn’t know much about dragon lore or how there came to be a religion worshiping them, but I did know saint Mirin didn’t care for dragons.
The dragons of her time were evil and led by a dark lord who thirsted for power. Those who wanted to overthrow him were too weak to succeed which ultimately led to saint Mirin accomplishing the task alone.
Ushering us forward, Nanae hurried toward the pulpit.
As we neared the group, one of the young men noticed us. He said something to the woman and she turned with a smile.
“Hello, welcome to the holy house of Illudrasille. Do you seek—princess Lumia, we weren’t expecting you.”
Lumia brushed aside several strands of hair as she answered, “That’s not surprising since I wasn’t expecting to come here; also, I’m no longer a princess. I’ve been exiled.”
The woman’s eyes popped, practically leaping out of her skull. After a moment of consideration, she said. “No matter, as a priestess of Illudrasille, I believe it is still my duty to aid you however possible.”
“Thank you. Has my sister arrived for service yet? I need to get a message to High Lord Andhrei.”
The woman shook her head. “But we can deliver a message once the new envoy arrives.”
Lumia nodded. “I thought you’d say that, thanks anyway then.”
The priestess smiled. “Your wait won’t be to long, the envoy is already en route. I’m told they should arrive tomorrow…strange though, dragons usually travel faster.”
My heart sank at those words. “The new envoy is Lila. She lost a wing in the proving, but rather than condemn her, the high lord ordered her to serve here,” I explained.
The priestess frowned. “So that’s why you came asking about your sister.”
Lumia nodded.
“As soon as she arrives I’ll send word to you. I’m sorry we can’t do more now, but the church is happy to provide any other assistance you require. Speaking of which, do you have a place to stay?”
Lumia nodded again, saying, “Nanae has opened her home to us. Thank you for your time.”
"Of course.” The priestess nodded, smiling sweetly.
There was nothing more to be said or done here, so we left.
Nanae took us to the shopping district next. The girls laughed and talked as we walked, while I hung back. I was still processing everything that happened yesterday. At some point I lost track of them, but I was lost only in the sense that I didn’t know where I was.
Lumia and I could sense each other through our bond so I could find her at any time.
Sunder wasn’t just a city for disgraced dragons; it was also a port town with access to goods from all over the continent and even goods from the distant kingdoms across the ocean.
Most of the rivers on Selatha found their sources in the peaks of illumination—the mountain range named after the church of the light bearer. As such, a bit of magic was all it took to transform those rivers into fjords that flowed all the way out to sea. Once that was done, Sunder became the ideal hub for imports and exports across the ocean.
There were shops selling everything from luxury silks to enchanted weapons. Miguel’s Trinkets sold jewelry and amulets. Across from that, a shop called Potions sold potions, but also tonics and elixirs. Another store that caught my eye was called The Sorcerer's Secret. Through the window I saw a dark skinned Selvarian. He was looking over a tome with an opaque crystal set in its cover—it had a sort of draw to it.
Pulling my attention away, I noticed a store that sold beast eggs and taming manuals. I was tempted to stop in there, but I already had a bond and my pockets were light on coins.
At the end of the strand there was a trendy spot, an overlook with a great view of the city and ocean. I decided to stop there a moment before heading back to meet with the girls.
While I leaned against the railing an emptiness grew inside me. Perhaps it had been growing for some time, maybe it was always there, but now it felt overwhelming. I longed for something and my gut was telling me it was nearby.
My core ached and I started feeling dizzy so I decided it was time to head back and find the girls.
I was so focused that I bumped into a man wearing black pants and a black scarf, both with gold trim. It was when I saw him that I realized what I needed. It was his mana…all of his mana.