Suma’s POV

(Another mission inside enemy controlled territory.) I thought, perched and watching the horizon as the sun moved behind the Yggsdrasil tree, causing its green and orange leaves to shimmer like a sunset. (Hopefully not like the last.)

“Suma,” Jake said though our private connection, “squad’s here; at the base of the castle. Ready to go?”

“Yes.” I answered and flew down to meet them. All the while, wondering how Rou had handled Odens’ passing in the past week and a half. Would she be there? Spotting Jake, and landing on the perch in his armor, I got my answer after looking around. I saw Captain Gigoales, Lieutenant Datahu, and Nine, but Rou was nowhere to be seen. However, there were two new faces. Perched on a Black Serpent was Lauric Isbala, and one other Neame I did not recognize.

“Lady Suma.” Lauric said curtly.

“Sir Lauric?” I asked, surprised to see him again. I knew he had joined the Drakes just as Jake and I had, but not once in all our training had we encountered him.

“You are well it seems, as is your familiar.”

“Hey Lauric.” Jake said hesitantly. He and Lauric had never gotten along, and neither had we. “How have you been?”

“Well.” Lauric said flatly. “Shall we take our leave and begin the mission?”

“Indeed. The team has already been briefed on the mission, and each moment we stay here, our objective grows further away.” Captain Gigoales said. “We can make proper introductions while we travel. Third Squadron, get into tunnel formation.” One by one we all followed after the Captain as he took the lead. Flying into the sky, our formation was single file. Captain in the lead, then the Lieutenant, followed by Suma, Nine, Lauric, Fourteen which was the designation of the newest team member, and finally, Jake; who was riding Chariot.

The reason we traveled like this was to increase our speed as much as possible. The one in first position, in this case our Captain, was to cast and maintain a wind spell that created a tube of air that would push all turbulence aside, while also creating enough lift and directional winds to pull anyone inside forward faster than most could fly. Since Ambos-Ompera was so far away from the coast, every moment counted. Jake was the only one outside the wind tunnel as we traveled, since he was too large to fit into it, but he kept up with us by using fire magic to create what he called a ‘jet stream’ for himself. Apparently, it was already similar to what the runes on Chariot did, but more effective.

Due to the wind tunnels excessive noise, Lieutenant Datahu cast a Mind-Magic spell that allowed us to communicate. It was Jake who used it first. “I know we are already in the middle of a mission, but I guess I just wanted to properly introduce myself. You said your name was Fourteen? Mine’s Ja… Sentinel.”

“Ah yes, Sentinel. It is a pleasure. Though, I have no name, my current number is fourteen. I was transferred to your squadron just a few days ago.”

“Lauric and Fourteen are Odens and Rou’s replacements.” Lieutenant Datahu said.

“Does this mean Rou is leaving the Drakes?” I asked.

“No, she is on modified-assignment. Until further notice, she will remain on guard duty at base. It was by her own request.” Datahu said.

“She took Odens’ loss hard. Really hard.” Nine said.

“Fourteen was sent to fill Odens’ role, and Lauric volunteered to fill Rou’s for this mission.” Datahu said, to my surprise.

“Lauric, you volunteered to be on the same squad as me? Really?” Jake asked, rather tactlessly and equally surprised. Though I could not blame him. The last time we spoke to Lauric Isbala, he effectively called Jake a monster, best used for war. “You’re not still worried I’m a danger to the country, are you?”

Without looking back at anyone, Lauric responded, “No. After reading the reports and having the events explained to me firsthand, I believe you are neither a danger to the Drakes, nor a hindrance. My reasons for joining this mission are personal.”

“Reasons that I expect you will not allow to interfere with the mission.” Lieutenant Datahu said sternly.

“Never, Lieutenant. The mission comes first.”

“So, Fourteen. How did you get that… designation?” Jake asked.

“Probably the same way I got the number Nine. He was the fourteenth nameless Neame to join the Drakes this year, and the number was available.”

“Quite so. My skills with both battle and support spells allowed me to join, and I was placed on Seventh Squadron. Until recently.”

“Why did you leave?” Jake asked.

“Seventh Squadron was dissolved after a mission gone wrong, and all remaining members were reassigned.”

“If I might ask, how many survivors?” Nine asked.

“Two.” The Captain said, finally interjecting. “Their Sargent, and Fourteen. Now let the singing dive. I need to focus on maintaining the spell. Keep all nonessential communication to a minimum until we arrive at the sea-flyer.”

We flew for hours in silence, except for the sounds of winds roaring just a wingspan away, going so fast just touching it could break bones and rip out feathers. Just as the sun began to set in the distance, Jake said something strange.

“I think I smell the ocean.”

“We must be getting near our transport.” The Captain said. “Keep an eye out. We should be able to see it soon.”

“Captain, there it is. Forward left, under the sun and just above the horizon.” Nine announced. The Captain readjusted our formation, and soon we were landing on the shore by the ocean.

“A dockyard?” Jake asked aloud, now that we did not need the wind tunnel anymore.

“Indeed. I shall go and speak with the dockmaster, they will know which sea-flyer will be our transport. Wait here.” Captain Gigoales said.

“These are sea-flyers then?” Fourteen asked. We all examined them. They were colossal things. There was no stone anywhere in them that I could see, despite their large size. Rather, they were made entirely of wood, with large swaths of fabric strapped to and hanging from a set of, what appeared to be, comically large perches. The shape reminded me of the pit of a walgo flower if it was cut lengthwise, but brown instead of red. Along the top of the ship were runes engraved into perches and filled with clay.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“On my world, we call them ships.” Jake said. “Or, sailboats.”

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Jake’s POV

Of course we would hit a storm less than an hour after setting sail. The waves were choppy, and despite being several feet above the water thanks to runes that made the ship float while its sails were open, the waves were still tall enough to reach the hull and beat against it; causing the ship to rock back and forth violently. I clung on to one of the many birdbox like structures scattered around the deck, because not one inch of the ship had railing, and below deck was where the cargo was haphazardly stored. All the Neame were lying in their boxes, looking more green than blue, but I doubt I looked any better. Not a drop of rain made it to the deck at least, thanks to runes carved into the sails which created a sort of bubble of fresh air around us. For that, I was very thankful, because I doubt I would have been able to hold on if everything was wet. That deflection did result in a sort of thin film of water flowing down around the ship, like a pane of wet glass surrounding us. Suddenly, I was reminded of one of Zachariah’s memories, when he also traveled on a ship, after Deyja lashed out and lost his name.

“Jake, are you okay?” Suma asked. Her’s was the box I was clinging onto, so she was just above me.

“No.” I said.

“Neither am I.”

“Suma, on the way back, you can just summon me once you arrive, because I am never doing this again.”

“How do the crew of this sea-flyer make a journey like this every time?”

“We don’t.” A voice inside a nearby box called out, but I couldn’t see it from where I was. “The voyage is rarely like this. Actually, we knew this one would be rough, so only the experienced crew came this time.”

“You knew, how?” Suma asked.

“The clouds and the waves?” I guessed, remembering a show on TV about sailors I’d seen a few years ago.

“Good guess. The clouds came in quick, and the waves were regular. Our Captain tried to warn yours to wait a day, but it seems you group was in a rush.” The voice said.

“Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, flying around and keeping the ship sailing or something?” I asked.

“In the middle of a storm? The runes will keep the ship on course, and the rain off us, but they won’t stop a bolt of lightning from turning our feathers from blue to black.” The image of Zeus wearing Colonel Sanders’ red and white apron and black bowtie flashed in my head.

“Yeah, good point.” Without warning, a wave swell collided with the back of the ship, causing us to turn almost a full ninety degrees in two seconds. My head smashed into the pole I was holding hard enough to daze me. My grip loosened, and I fell flat. Stunned, and limp, I didn’t even notice myself rolling.

“JAKE!” Suma yelled, just as the wood of the deck splintered apart, and wrapped itself around me. Once I could see straight again, I noticed Lieutenant Datahu hanging halfway out of her box, with both wingtips pointed at me. Then I looked around and saw I was less than a foot from the side of the ship. The wood let me go, and went back in place.

“Thanks, Lieutenant.” I said, and Suma cast a healing spell on me. Apparently, I’d started bleeding from the nose without realizing it. She nodded, and pulled herself back into her own box. Once I was healed, Suma did the same.

“Maybe your familiar should go below deck?” The voice asked, his head now popping just barely out of the box. “We don’t normally transport anything as large as he is, so we have nothing prepared, but at least below deck he can’t fall into the sea.”

“No thanks, I didn’t see you strap down a single thing when you were loading up the ship’s supplies.” I protested.

“Well of course we didn’t. Who uses straps anymore? What is this, a fisher’s sea-perch? We have runes that keep things in place.”

“Jake, I think it would be a good idea. What would have happened if you had fallen off the boat?” Suma asked.

It was the Neame in the box that answered. “Well, we can’t stop and raise the sails in a storm like this, so he would have gotten left behind, and you would have had to resummon him, assuming he didn’t drown before you could, or die as soon as he hit the water. He doesn’t exactly look like he can swim; no offense.”

“I can swim… I might still go below deck though, if it really is safe.”

The ship was rocking back and forth too much for me to stand and walk to the hatch at the back of the ship, so I had to spread my arms and legs out like a starfish and crawl on my belly to make it. On the way there, I heard what sounded like Nine’s voice, moaning, only to be quickly followed by the sounds if retching and another pained moan.

Below deck wasn’t much better, but at a glance, it seemed nothing was moving around; despite the obvious lack of anything keeping even a single box down. The only thing that was different between this room and one on land is that you couldn’t stand up or you’d fall down, and the glowing silver runes that lined the walls. Suddenly, the ship lurched again, and I felt like I was about to fall, but some kind of force pushed against my entire body in the opposite direction, and kept me upright. Hardly even moved a centimeter.

“Oh?” I said, surprised. After only an hour of this, I was ready for it to be over, but the journey was scheduled to take several days. (Gotta at least make it through this storm.) I thought to myself. Deciding to pass the time by diving into Deyja’s memories, I laid down, and waited for another sharp turn to make sure that I wouldn’t move, even if I was flat on the floor. Once I’d confirmed it, I told Suma what I was doing, and opened the memories.

As soon as I fell into that hazy darkness, the feelings of the choppy waters disappeared, bringing a nearly overwhelming sense of relief. The memory I dived into was one I’d seen before, but hadn’t yet finished. It was of Deyja teaching Zachariah what Ashem had taught him years ago, how to dual cast spells.

“The secret is to perfectly master both spells, and then perform them at the same time. Your body already knows what to do for both, as does your mind, but now it must learn to do them together. Daily practice is key.” Deyja said, in his creepy voice. From context, I gathered that this was before whatever happened between him and Ahshem that caused them to fight, and Ahshem to die, but after the battle of Dragon-Fall Bay, which nearly got Zachariah arrested by that council.

“Rot.” Zachariah said, casting a Death-Magic spell on a tree. As the bark turned black, and the leaves fell off in droves, my stomach sank, remembering both the first Death-Magic I ever saw in the alley, and the first I ever cast on Harbinger.

“Good, now using the residual magic, cast a spell of inversion.” Deyja said, his massive head hanging over Zachariah like a looming shadow. With a wave of his hand, but without any words, the tree began to regain its color. New leaves sprouted, and the bark healed slowly. However, before it was fully restored, the spell stopped.

“I used all of the magic that was left, but it did not turn back to how it was.” Zachariah said, frustrated.

“This is only practice, to help you understand the process. Casting both spells at the same time will fully heal the tree, because the magic that is inverting will not be residual, but active.”

“I do not understand. You speak of tiny creatures that split in half, and that we are made of them, but this sounds impossible to me. I am sorry Deyja, perhaps you are wasting your time teaching me your world’s magic.”

“Zachariah, do not be so distraught. Look how far you’ve come after only a few lessons! If you had known of this technique when you fought at the Warring Grounds, then you could have killed that army by yourself. You must not give up!” Deyja waved one of his massive claws in the air, and restored the tree exactly how it was before.

Zachariah sighed, “Fine. Still, as awful as I am at this, it is still far better than what Ambos is doing now.”

“What is he doing?”

“He is with the twins, Kukulkan and Indra.”

Deyja scoffed. “Yes, preferable indeed.”

The memory continued for a while, and I took careful note of what was happening. Without realizing how much time had passed, Suma eventually woke me up. “Jake, the storm has passed. Thank the dragons.”

Ending the memory and waking up, I went back to the top deck. Most of the Neame were flying around, some were perched as high as they could get without actually leaving the ship, and others were leaning over the side, still more green than blue.

“How long was I down there?” I asked.

“Four hours. Did you learn anything?” Suma said.

“Yeah, a bit. I need to practice it though.”

“Well, you have the next few days, and a whole ocean as a target.”

“Thankfully, the Queen gave me special permission to practice Death-Magic. Now I need a target.”

“What spell are you going to cast?”

“Well, going by what Zachariah and Dey… he were doing, I think the rot spell inverts to Healing-Magic.”

“So, you need something that can rot?”

“Yeah.”

“Just be careful not to accidentally sink the boat.”