Stormfalcon, Bridge.
“Is it really her?” Kidd asked, staring at the distorted image of the island and the hut on the screen.
“It’s her,” Ewan said, a hint of comforted smile hanging on his lips, his bubbling anxiety quietening down. He could see her now, she was safe.
“How do we go in?” Stefan asked. “The water around the island looks weird.”
“Nyte, do you have anything on it in your database?” Ewan asked, taking out the books that might give him more details.
“Confirmed match with the phenomenon of compressed water, sir,” Nyte said. “Flight will be restricted in the area; sailing and swimming are not recommended.”
And the books led Ewan to the related topic of ‘Animaborn’, an archaic path of Starons that had long gone extinct. The island could have or be a naturally formed rune that sucked in and compressed the water around it, and the accumulation over time resulted in the current situation. This was the vital core for the branches of that archaic path, ‘Seaborn’ in this case, and was also the cause of their extinction.
“We can't fly in; we can't sail on the water. How do we get to the island?” Lance said.
“Restricted doesn’t mean impossible,” Ewan said, keeping the books away. “With enough thrust, we should be able to cross the stretch. But it’ll strain the damaged thrusters.”
“Stormfalcon should be able to take it, but it’s a risk,” Stefan added. “If its stranded inside and the thrusters die, we’ll be helpless.”
“If I fly high enough and rush in, I should be able to hit the beach…,” Ewan said and calculated the arc he would have to make against the stretch of the compressed water to stick the landing.
“It should be possible…but…will you be fine dropping down from that height?” Stefan asked.
“I have my Varos, it’ll be fine,” Ewan said. “At worst I’ll break some bones, I can handle as much.”
“And how will you come back, Boss?” Kidd asked.
“We can use a rope,” Lance said. “If Stormfalcon hovers at a height, we can haul them back out without touching the water.”
“I’ll go then, I’ll take the risk,” Kidd said. “If anything happens to me, remember to bury me in the ocean.”
Before he could puff his chest with the pride of self-sacrifice, Ewan grabbed his hair and yanked him around as always. “Let’s go with the rope method. Stefan, double check the height and speed for me. Nyte, take off and hover with some distance from the compressed water,” he said amidst Kidd’s oscillating screams and the awakening thrusters. “It’s fine if we can communicate with the bracelet, but if we can't, we’ll talk with signs. Always keep an eye on the island. Lance, make sure this numbskull doesn’t cause any problems.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him, sir,” Lance said.
“A hovering warship might attract unwanted attention; you guys need to be on your toes while I’m away. Don’t create unnecessary conflicts, don’t get involved in unrelated matters,” Ewan said. “If we can't communicate at all, and if I have to stay in there for long, drop the warship back and anchor at a distance. I’ll find some other way off the island. At worst, I’ll just walk the seabed and come out.”
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They did several tests with different materials at different heights and speeds, and most tumbled inside the invisible barrier and sank in the compressed water without a splash after a smooth arc. Even the dry and hollow logs behaved the same, albeit they cracked and shattered against the force. Some faster objects did make it to the beach, though with a more turbulent path—the uneven tug from the water when entering the barrier combined with a stronger hurl twirled them harder until they thumped on the sand.
To make it to the beach, Ewan had to go through this turbulence, there was no other way. And so, he steeled himself with deep breaths, donned the Blackfeather overcoat, fixed the collar and the cuffs, and readied for the launch after the final tests.
“Will it be alright, Boss?” Kidd asked, accompanying Ewan in the air as he pulled away from the barrier and the Stormfalcon to gain the flying distance.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Ewan said, eyeing the stretch then pulling back some more, his overcoat fluttering with the wind. “You’ll be the only Step-1 on the ship while I’m away, you need to protect them and keep the ship safe. I’ll beat the shit out of you if you lose our Warship.”
Kidd nodded and hummed without a word, looking down.
“Don’t look so glum. I’ll go in and bring her back as soon as possible,” Ewan said. “Once we come back, we’ll have to start working on getting resources, our savings’ running thin.”
“Are we becoming mercs?” Kidd asked.
“If the islands around the area have any work and offer a handsome pay, then that. If not, then we’ll just loot them,” Ewan said, finalizing the distance and tracing the
“Godspeed, Boss,” Kidd said and backed away from his path. And with a burst of orange flames, Ewan launched at the island, leaving a contrasting trail of fire against the night sky that dissipated when he became a blur on the horizon. He gained speed by the second as he pushed the spell, the drag resisted him, the circuit trembled from the overload of Anima, and by the time his fire rune bottomed out, he zipped passed the Stormfalcon, swooshed inside the barrier, and tumbled from the sudden pull.
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Status: Healthy
Step-1 Severynth [Spirit-Nebula: Zeroth Surge]
Subtype: Step-0 Elementalist
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 7.0
Spirit: 25.5
Anima: [Fire – 25.5 | Ice – 25.5 | Blood – 25.5 | Mystic: 25.5 | Dark: 25.5]
Astylinds: 5 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-1 Severynth [Spirit-Nebula: Zeroth Surge]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
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Bloodthorn-Lotus [Iris]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-D]
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Necros-Crow [Ghost]: Step-0 [Level-3] [Grade-D]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter]; Moonkeeper [Crystal-Ball]; Rainwarden [Staff]; Blackfeather [Overcoat].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Unknown Book [Radon’s Legacy]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 24,285
Crelith: 1,014