Ewan lost control the moment he entered the affected area of the compressed water and wheeled towards the island. Even when he switched the Anima for the
Ewan gasped and coughed from the impact, his breaths wheezing in and out. The stars rotated in the sky and snaked in his eyes as he lay flat on the beach, his Varos keeping the world away from him while he recovered. And soon, the exhilaration of making it to the island rushed in. He succeeded; after so long, he finally reached her.
When his state stabilized, he got up and looked towards the other side of the beach, he looked at the crude hut and the ever so familiar figure staring back at him. The crash must’ve startled her, so her widened and teary eyes and a gaping mouth greeted Ewan.
He smiled and walked forth, and she dashed at him. His strides dug into the sand, her sprint hurled the sand back, and she slammed into him, her arms tightly hugging his neck as she bawled on his shoulder. Ewan supported her impact and held her by her thinned waist, caressing her hair with a gentle touch, and the nostalgic scent of night-jasmine embraced him.
“Finally found you,” Ewan whispered in a soft voice and with a contented smile, and Nana continued crying, drenching his collar like she used to. She was within his reach now; nothing could hurt her anymore—his knotted angst finally unfurled, and a sense of relief washed over him. His presence loosened her tensed nerves too, her mind rested after so long, so after sobbing for minutes, she collapsed and fainted in his arms, her hands still clutching the hug.
Ice Wall!
Ewan created a makeshift room with opaque ice walls, coated them with his Ryvia for insulation, and gently lay down on the sand with her, her drool and snot wetting his already drenched overcoat. The sudden release of tension, the solace of confirming her safety, the soothing hums of the insect, and finally reaching her tugged on his eyelids too, and he became drowsy. But he fought it off and just grinned while poking her dumb-looking sleeping face.
….
Not long after Ewan’s crash landing on the island and his reunion with Nana, as he enjoyed the relaxing bliss, the forest hushed down and some guests knocked on his door. Blindfolded men in black garb lined the edge of the forest, some holding a lantern with flickering fire of various gradient, and they stared at his makeshift room of ice, none making any noise, not even a whisper among themselves.
“Guest from afar, can you talk my tongue?” An old man among them stepped forth and asked in Kaaleria, without stepping onto the sand, his wrinkled skin wriggling with his words, and his bent back barely supporting his gait and his lantern—he fluctuated with waves of Step-1, stronger than Ewan and any he’d met on his journey.
Ewan blocked his sound for Nana the moment he started speaking and isolated her, then enlisted the sand with his Ryvia to form his reply in midair.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
‘I can.’ The sand formed the words of Kaaleria. ‘I apologize for intruding in your home like this.’
Even though they’d attacked Nana before, and he wanted to rip them apart for it, dialogue would work better than aggression in his current situation when the water trapped them here and he had to keep Nana safe, especially when the old man triggered the warning from his instincts.
The line of quiet men squirmed a little, and some alarmed and excited whispers came forth. Not only the old man, but the others could ‘see’ his words of sand too, most likely with their version of Ryvia. Nonetheless, the silence took over again when the old man spoke. “It’s been an age since we’ve had a guest…a guest who could talk our tongue,” he said in a dialect, his voice trailing off. “A long time…I’m called Algernon, I’m the current patriarch of my Taredith tribe. May I have your name?”
‘I’m Ewan Ayres.’ The older sand dispersed, and the new words formed. ‘I’m here to pick her up. Once I find a way out, we’ll be off your island.’
“We seem to have had some conflicts with her before, I apologize to you on behalf of my people,” Algernon said, bending his already hunched back and lowering his head. “I hope we can let bygones be bygones.”
Ewan waited a breath and formed the words again. ‘I agree.’
Neither mentioned the woman Nana killed, and her death became the insignificant loss that no one cared about against the possibility of conflict between the two Step-1 powers. After all, Ewan only had one Nana to protect, but the old man had to keep dozens of his people safe, not to mention his home. If push came to shove, Ewan could topple the old man just by targeting the weak from his tribe.
“Still, as compensation, let me give you a vital piece of information,” Algernon said. “You can't take her away, the water won't let you.”
----------------------------------------
Next Chapter Free on Patreon
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]
----------------------------------------
Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
----------------------------------------
Imp [Frost]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
----------------------------------------
Bloodthorn-Lotus [Iris]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-D]
----------------------------------------
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