“How do you intend to proceed?” Algernon asked, the light from the lantern flickering on his creased face and melding his shadow into the pitch-black woods.
“She’ll accept the rune and the water around us will disappear,” Ewan said. “I’ll take her away with me after that.”
“So, it really is possible…,” Algernon said with an agitated voice, his hand trembling.
“It is,” Ewan said with a slight squint. Even though the tribe didn’t know about the Seaborn path, their tests and experiments had confirmed the reason behind their plight—the invasion of Water-Anima conflicted with the Whispered. This also meant that someone who wasn’t a Whispered would react differently with the invasion… This old man might’ve perceived the specialty of the natural rune. He might’ve left Nana alive on the beach to confirm his doubts.
“Will we be able to leave too?”
“If you wish to,” Ewan said and nodded.
Algernon took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the lantern and held his trembles, lowering his head again. “I thank you on behalf of all my people, living and dead. We’ll never forget this debt.”
“That’s what I had to talk to you about,” Ewan said. “Once she accepts the rune and the water disappears, the island will connect to the outside world again. I’m sure it means a great deal to you and your tribe. And since it is a favor, I’d like to ask something of you in return.”
“If it’s something within my capability, I will never refuse,” Algernon said. “Please, go ahead.”
“I would like to have your ‘Whispered’ inheritance,” Ewan said.
“Our inheritance?” Algernon asked, his wrinkles hiding his frown. “I don’t see how that would be of any use to you. You two already have your own paths of Asheva.”
“It’s for research purposes,” Ewan said. “I won't spread it if that’s your concern.” His ask was a deliberate inflation, and he saved his actual target for after the old man’s refusal.
“I must apologize; I can't fulfill your request. It’s our legacy, our predecessors died to create this path for us, I can't be the one to undermine their efforts,” Algernon said. “Please ask for something else, Lord Ewan.”
“I see.” Ewan sighed with disappointment. “Then forget about it, let’s write off this favor,” he said with a polite and a distant smile.
“We can't do that, I must pay you back,” Algernon said. “You’ve saved my tribe from an eternal imprisonment; we must repay this favor.”
“If you must…then how about those lanterns,” Ewan said, eyeing his actual goal. “Can I have its manufacturing method, details on how it works, or anything related?”
“It’s a companion artifact for us Whispered, you won't find any other use for it,” Algernon said. “But okay, I’ll have a new one sent to you soon, along with its details.”
“You have my thanks.”
….
“What did he say?” Nana asked when Ewan sat back down behind her, adjusting the blanket.
“Nothing much, just asking about the status quo,” Ewan said, hovering the Spellbook before them and reading it over Nana’s shoulder. “He’s happy that you can take the water away, so he repaid the favor.”
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“What did you ask for?” she asked, watching the pages flip in the air.
“Their lantern, Stefan needs that but the inheritance we got didn’t have any data on it,” Ewan said, eyeing the spells in the book, blocking their voices within the vicinity. The plight and the vulnerability of the current situation tilted him towards a spell he’d seen in the book. The invasion of the natural rune had already done the damage, it had already altered Nana’s path, and it couldn’t threaten them anymore. So, the most dangerous element on the island now was Algernon, or anyone of the tribe who equaled him or surpassed his prowess. And the spell he was looking for could counter an aspect of the Taredith tribe. It would give Ewan an edge in case the amiable dialogues became thorny.
“Are we a group of four now? No, five, counting me,” she said.
“If you stay on this island forever, we can become four again,” he uttered mindlessly, sorting through the spells.
“What’re you looking for?” she asked, scraping her hand against Ewan’s stubble on the chin.
“Deadlife…I think was the name…,” Ewan said under the breath.
“Dark element? Did you contract a new Astylind?”
“A crow, named him Ghost. I’ll introduce you once we get out of here,” he said. “He’s related to this tribe, exposing him might complicate matters even more, though I don’t see any crows here. Also, if I let him out here, he might jump into the water and kill himself.”
“Another weirdo like you,” she said.
“If anything, he’s more like you, prone to gloom and drab,” he said. “If I gave him some liquor, he’d become an alcoholic too.”
“I don’t drink anymore, haven’t touched it since you took my bottles,” she whined and mumbled.
“That reminds me,” Ewan said and narrowed his eyes at her. “You owe me several bottles of my pricey potions. One strand of hair for one bottle, and I’ll take interest.”
The flames fluttered with her screams as Ewan played out his revenge on her chestnut hair, and the dreary beach came alive with their animated foolery. Today followed the yesterday, and tomorrow too would mirror this night, their presence smudged each grain of sand and their consonance buzzed aloud.
Nights greeted their mornings, nights had bade them good night, and their sense of time blurred beneath the perpetual stars as days sped by. The occasional dim moons barely held the thread of normalcy, but that too ran thin with the long absence of the sun, and the balanced seasons contorted in a prejudiced mess. The island reflected that reality, and when the first speckle of snow feathered down on Ewan’s palm and stayed, and when the untimely Frosthelm announced its dominance, the world ushered in a long spell of silence.
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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-4] [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