"Einervaene, what's wrong?" I ask, my own heart as well quivering at the name she just exclaimed. My friend, my dear friend of many years and adventurers, that wind magic that scared the members of the court, it must've been him!
"BREWBRT! HE WANTED ME TO GO AND GET TO YOU AND I LEFT HIM TO FIGHT A..." she screams, panicking like the little girl I used to tuck into bed. A strange sight with how the power of a god is coiling itself about her as if it is speaking reassuring thoughts.
I hold my daughter.
"It's alright, Einervaene, I will handle it, I have something I've been meaning to use for a long time." I whisper into her closest ear as we rock back and forth. The divine power lurches away, diving into the cracks made so soon ago and a hole is made as if it always belonged. The wind howls by and the black abyss of the All-Coast awaits us below. Taking a step forward, Einervaene snatches up my hand.
"Be careful... He was fighting a thunder-shogun... I never saw it but I know that is what he was fighting." my daughter explains as her old habit of pushing her fingers up against the other shows that it is still carrying on. I nod and smile, bringing her in for one more hug and kiss before I bring up my wrists.
"Can you take these off, please, my daughter?" I ask sweetly and the magic-sealing metal snaps like dried-out leaves. Without even letting the metal strike the ground, I leap out of the grand palace and awe at its scale as I fall further from its light. My kimono is not particularly receptive to the descent and I tightly clench what I can to keep it reigned in. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, desperately trying to recall what Brewbrt taught me all those years ago.
Sensing wind magic is not like how it is with lightning, you don't feel for the mind and the muscles, the way they move and the friction of objects. You smell it, you fill your lungs and take care to notice which way this breath is trying to force its way. I am rustier than the stock of the ruins we used to pillage, but I can feel it coming back to me. Pushing against the wind failing to keep me sky-high, I find him.
The air in my lungs rubs along a direction, at an angle, but, the way I am falling.
"I hope we can laugh about this spell again..." I mutter as I get my hands up, bringing my magic through them to get rid of the lethargy brought on by my imprisonment. Flexing my fingers as they spark between each other, I spot a collection of drowning islands. The spines of beasts rising up and down through the turbulent waves brought on by such weighty strikes. So much land gone.
His power certainly hasn't been failing him in the slightest and he never allowed it to fail my daughter.
"You Idiot, You Clueless Idiot, I'm Not Leaving You!" I chant, memories rushing through my tearing-up eyes and emotional mind. All the times he stayed behind to ensure our safety, all the times his pessimism drove him to be so stupid. I hated finding him bloodied, I wanted to promise him he'd never have to be on his own like this again. I might be too late or just in time, I do not know and it's terrifying.
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The spell activates and the blessing I put on his beloved suit of relics comes to life. I am broken down and reappear from the bonds Thurnmourer has bound everything together with. Crushing, dark weight forces me down and bubbles explode from my mouth. A hand suddenly grabs mine and I am slammed onto the metal-earth, a chipped sword raised against me.
"Why have you come?" a stripped-bare, one-armed Thunder-Shogun demands to know as his blade ebbs closer from weakness, not threat. Though, with who this man is, both are mutual.
"F-For... For my friend...!" I explain as I take in the lost breath. I shiver and rise to my feet, wobbling on the unstable piece of uncertain land and find my friend. His armour broken, his blood soaking the ground and not a sign of movement from him. Dropping to his side, I pick him up and place his cold head against my soaked bosom.
"You should leave with him." the Thunder-Shogun explains as he falls onto his rear, exhausted by battle. I can't help but be agape with joy, my friend, my best friend for all time did this to one of the greatest fighters in the world? He really is amazing... Just like I always fought when we were young and my heart was uncertain.
He's not the father of my daughter, but, I have a feeling the two have come to feel that way to an extent. I cup his head and lean down, kissing his forehead with as much rejuvenation as I can muster on short notice and a smile remains even as he lays still. Taking the moment, I mess with his slicked-back silver-emerald hair and ruffle it a bit.
The land slopes and water rushes on to take much of Brewbrt's broken treasures.
I look to the Thunder-Shogun, perplexed, really, "Why have you not killed him or me? We have violated your sacred ground."
"Because... He won, this Great Man defeated me." the Thunder-Shogun explains and I frown a little.
"You still stand." I point out, admittedly weary.
"I stand so that he can be saved, I am at the mercy of the Pack of Seven and their skilled noses. He has a chance." the Thunder-Shogun answers, wobbling again with his sword arm clutching the hole in his upper side.
"I'm sure he'll be very proud to hear of this respect you have given him..." I start to say, my ability to fly coursing through my body before the waves start to be disturbed. I see the shine of deep-sea scales and hear the gnashing of teeth from the deep as if the water has thunder of its own.
"Take him, let this be my final deed in this world." the Thunder-Shogun orders as he summons the last of his strength to then take up position. I nod, my magic bringing me and my friend up into the sky as something accents the water with the colour of dull steel. Long and swirling at first, it vanishes and turns round and small. The water bursts.
"DRAGON!" I snap excitedly as its furious gaze suddenly turns blank as the leagues it travels into the sky abruptly occur without strength. A man with his sword flies ahead and goes limp, his body falling with the bisected beast.
Four things hit the All-Coast and begin to sink and I clutch my friend tighter.
"Oh... No one has to know..." I whisper lovingly as I turn Brewbrt around to face me properly, even if he's unconscious. My lips touch his and I wrap my arms around him tightly, my mouth opening slightly as the darkness of closed eyes enthralls me further.