The force that traveled knocked the arrow and the person who sent it back as they began to fall. Her head swung down as something struck the back of her head. Following the motion she dropped on her hands, extending her feet behind her but not finding purchase. Immediately rolling to the side she narrowly missed the point of the spear as it struck where her body was a moment ago.

But it had brought the man wielding it into the range for a kick, that sent him falling on his back. Taking a quick look around she noticed that Borka was still in a duel, the leader motionless on the ground as the human he brought down with him kneeling over him. The fall had shifted clothes and revealed that it was a girl kneeling over the unmoving dwarf.

In her hands was a soft light as she hovered them above his body. The spear wielder had lost his helmet, revealing that he looked identical to the girl. Twins, she thought as her body lurched forward.

Trying to stop herself felt like trying to push up against a brick wall. Futile but she kept trying, hammering the metaphorical brakes as hard as she could. In a moment she was pinning the man on the ground when she noticed how young he looked. There was no fear on his face, only fury.

And that was enough to make her falter, giving the man enough time to knock her off him. Rolling to the side she came back to her feet as did he. Not wanting to give her enough time to conjure something he charged at her, drawing a sword from his hip. But she turned on her heel and started running, focusing once again. Taking her eyes off him was a bad idea but so was bringing a fist into a sword fight.

Ana sprinted for a few seconds, and when the spell was formed she jumped, turning as she did to face the man chasing her. He was a lot closer than she thought and when the kinetic force was released it struck his hand instead of his body, flinging it and the sword it was holding back and away. But the inertia of his body kept him going forward and he fell on top of her grabbing for her throat with his other hand.

Before she could get him off, he brought the fist of the other hand directly on her face. Once, twice, thrice. One punch after the other. Pain flared as her vision became blurry. Wanting to get him off she just released the raw power, without control or focus. Through her blurry vision, she saw the man's hand turn into dust.

He screamed in agony as she kicked him off. Clearing the blood from her eyes she saw Borka bring down her opponent with a slam from her shield. While her opponent had a helmet, the blunt force was enough to stun him. Looking around the Leader was starting to move again, but she couldn't spot the archer anywhere, but he had spotted her.

A sharp sting knocked her on her back again, a wooden shaft protruding from her abdomen. It hurt, and it hurt a lot but for some reason, it did not impede her from thinking or acting. Like she could ignore the pain for some reason. It was surprising, as she remembered tears from a small cut the one time she tried cooking.

Before another arrow could hit her, Borka appeared in front of her, the arrow striking the wood of the shield. And then the lul came. Ana tried to focus again but her injuries and the exhaustion from the previous spells weighed heavily as she was not used to throwing that much magic in such a short amount of time.

Having been beaten to a pulp, the aggressors decided it was time to fall back. They quickly collected their screaming companion and got on their mounts while the flying archer kept Borka pinned with a few more shots. In less than a minute they were gone.

When she was sure, Borka turned around to see Ana with a bloody grin on her face just as she coughed up blood and passed out.

Ana woke in the cabin again, the arrow went from her chest but the pain still present. Breathing was harder and each breath brought more pain. Even with the pain, she felt better than she thought she should. Never being stabbed didn’t give her a perspective but it felt odd to just shrug it away like a paper cut. Even her face only hurt when she touched it. It was a little puffy and she imagined the bruises that will form in the coming days.

She found her protector outside putting wood in a fire, the only light source in the darkness of the night. It took her a second to realize she slept through the entire day.

“Hey.” She croaked, her voice raspy because of her dry throat. Borka gave her a smile, it took getting to know the big bear to know that to be a smile as it was as comforting as Ana’s. Pointy teeth and all.

Her friend had a few red spots on her fur as well, a few cuts that bleed but it didn’t seem to hinder her in the slightest. “Are you alright?” She gestured at the wounds. That brought a chuckle, that sounded terrifying coming from someone as big as her.

“It takes a lot to take one of my kin down, by no means is it an easy task. Even for someone as skilled as he was.”

“I’m sorry I got you in danger. And thank you for sticking with me.” Borka waved her comment away. “I relished the opportunity to get into a real fight, it has been months since I shed blood.”

It was good to hear that there were no hard feelings, but it was somewhat disturbing to relish such a fight. Deciding that she was in no position to judge she sat down next to the fire.

“I have a stupid question.”

Seeing an eyebrow rise on a polar bear was adorable. “I remember you saying that there are only stupid answers and no stupid questions.”

Ana chuckled at that. “True enough. But just before we started fighting I heard someone say something. And it was weird. The thunder had deafened me, but the voice was clear and I was terrified from it.”

Her friend took a few moments to think over it before answering. “It is possible you have a Roho ny ama.” Before Ana could ask for clarification her friend continued.

“It is a spirit, one that settles on one's soul, and not the body. They are rare, and only stories from old tell of them. Merry agrees with my assessment and is looking for knowledge while he remains in the city.”

“A spirit huh.” The thought was comforting, shifting all the blame and guilt she felt to something like that fell nice. “What happens when a spirit takes a body and not the soul?”

“Then it takes the body, with the original soul rarely surviving.”

“So am I in danger now? If it is indeed a spirit, will it take over?”

Borka shook her head. “We do not know. And much of what we do are just stories. But I believe that if a spirit takes a soul it can only influence the host, and not take over their flesh. We will know more once we rejoin with Merry.”

Ana nodded intensely. It felt like having a tick or some other unwanted parasite. She tried talking to the spirit with no response offered in return.

She spent the night keeping a watch with Borka getting some sleep. The cabin was well isolated and the fire was positioned as such not to be visible through the dense forest around them. A few days passed with Ana training and sleeping during the day and keeping watch during the night. They settled in a rhythm that suited them both, and time flew.

Ana did get to know her companion a lot better, learning about her past and sharing a bit of her own. It made her feel bad growing up with such luxuries when she compared the two of them. Still, it felt good to talk about her world, and she kept details about technology out of it so as not to confuse her friend too much. She was not as curious as Nathaniel was.

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A week passed with the two of them training and hiding in the cabin. After the brief clash, Ana wanted to learn how to handle a weapon and they had settled on a spear as it was the easiest to teach. The lessons she already had came in handy with the proper footwork already ingrained in her mind over the past month.

Almost two weeks passed before Nathaniel showed up riding a similar beast they had faced, with two heavily armored figures on his heels. With identical armor, Ana struggled to find any difference between the two, the slits in the helmets not revealing much.

They told Nathaniel about their encounter as they packed up and got ready to leave. And he told them that there were several inquiries and that even led to the searching of his home. Even without any evidence, the party that had attacked them did tell a tale of whom they faced. And it wasn’t hard to connect the dots, with Borka’s kin being rare.

But Nathaniel had too much clout and was leaving soon so there were no major issues on his part.

“The bad news is I couldn’t find much information, but I did find something better. Or someone better and he will meet us at the port.”

“He?” Both Ana and Borka responded at the same time.

Taking a breath Nathaniel continued, clearly excited. “One of the elders was in the city and when he heard what I was looking for he contacted me, wanting to see you for himself.”

Seeing the confusion on Ana’s face he added. “Elders are the oldest and usually the leaders of their perspective orders. Some are said to be as old as the old empire!”

“I don’t know either to be excited or to be scared that someone like that wants to see me”

“I can understand as I feel the same. Master Emcry does not lead any order and spends his time in pursuit of knowledge instead of politics and power. His council is broadly sought after, but he only gives it when he chooses to.”

“That sounds promising, I can’t wait!” So they continued down the hill. She introduced herself to the two bodyguards, learning their names and that they were almost as tall as Borka was. But even less chatty than her.

It took them the rest of the day to reach the port, arriving as the sun was starting to set.

The port bore the same name as the capital and was considered to be a part of it. The distance between them only a few hours on foot, it wasn’t hard to imagine why. The port was quite smaller compared to the city, but it was spread along the coast with many ships docked along the shore. Ana lost her count around fifty when they reached an inn. The design of the ships varied so much that she had a hard time figuring out a comparison to the historical ones from her world.

There were no cannons and they weren’t all that big compared to the modern ones she had seen. A few came close though.

They were supposed to board a ship tomorrow, but now they were on their way to meet this elder. The inn they entered was filled and yet had room to spare. She had been to a few clubs and bars, and usually, it felt cramped going in. But the high ceiling and way the tables were set left a lot of room around, like that in a restaurant.

Nathaniel had a quick word with someone behind the counter while Ana took a good look around at the fishermen, sailors, merchants, and travelers that were telling tales, drinking, and having a relaxed day.

It didn’t take long for him to return to the group, leading them up the stairs to one of the rooms on the second floor. Borka and one of the bodyguards decided to stay in the inn, while the trio went up.

Reaching the intended door Nathaniel knocked and opened them. Looking inside she saw the window to be open, letting the light from the sun and the salty breeze enter. On a chair next to the window sat a shriveled old husk of a man. At least he looked like a man, human with flaking scales over some parts of his body. His yellow eyes skipped Nathaniel and locked directly onto her. She felt naked under his gaze, and it erased all doubts that this person was powerful. Closing the book he motioned them in with a wave from his hand, his eyes never leaving Ana.

Nathaniel closed the doors after she entered, the bodyguard staying outside.

“Hello.” She managed to squeak.

“Yes, I see why you were worried.” Nathaniel bowed his head in respect. “What can you tell us?”

Master Emcry rubbed the stubble on his chin. “You let this novice use magic on her body.” His eyes finally shifting away from Ana. She let out a breath not realizing she had been holding it in.

“I’m afraid curiosity won over.” He sounded apologetic, making Ana feel terrible for not listening in the first place.

“I was in a...” Her explanation was interrupted by a simple finger snap, not loud but somehow silencing her. “You were lucky! If it was not for the spirit within you, you would be dead.”

“Ah! You reek with the magic of the Sea, so much so I smelled when you entered the port.” Shaking his head he continued. “Your survival should not have been possible, and yet here you stand. Fascinating.” Emcry stood up, walking towards Ana, as she stood there frozen.

Sniffing her he gagged. “Ah, not only do you stink of it but the spirit is from the sea. Its soul has mixed with your own.”

“What does that mean?” Nathaniel chimed in. Curiosity and worry battling on his expression. “Most likely death upon separation, but you survived the sea so who knows.” The old man's eyes flared as he muttered a few words with a gesture of his hand.

A sudden feeling of being watched crept on Ana, a paranoid and illogical fear gripped her as she started breathing heavily. His eyebrows shot up before he averted his gaze, letting Ana drop on her knees, struggling to catch her breath. Nathaniel ran to her, helping her sit on the bed.

“Well. Isn’t that something?” Taking a cup, he poured something from a pitcher and handed it to Ana. With an herbal scent, she took a sip, the tea having quite a pleasant fruity taste.

“An ascended spirit hibernates within you. What you experienced had nothing to do with the spirit, unfortunately.”

“Then what caused that?” Ana asked.

“The wild magic.”

“Is there a way to remove it?” Ana was hopeful but the face of the man had told her everything.

“The chaos from the sea is a part of you now, and what is worse the longer the spirit hibernates the worse it will be when it wakes up.”

“What do you mean worse?” Emcry took a seat, carefully lowering himself into it. A small action that showed how old and frail he really was.

“Depends on the spirit and how malevolent it is. There is a chance that it is just curious but I highly doubt that.”

“What are my options?”

“Wake up the spirit now and face it, or wait for it to wake on its own. With me here, I would recommend we do it now.”

Ana looked at Nathaniel who seemed to be of the same opinion. Closing her eyes she took in a deep breath. The old man was just as capable of ending her life with a snap of his fingers as he was of silencing her. She considered something for a moment before voicing it.

“Why help me? I understand wanting to see me out of curiosity, but why offer help?” Nathaniel's lecture on the nature of wizards came to mind. Arrogance and selfishness being on top she doubted that the old man was just being generous.

Emcry smiled with a slow shake of his head. “It is rare to see this problem, and it only comes from those that travel the sea. Simply put I am a curious old man who would love to hear your tale.”

“Well if you find a tale of traveling between worlds and meeting a goddess to be interesting, I think I can oblige.” While he kept his face neutral, Ana saw the gleam in his eyes.

Needing a safe and private area for the ritual wasn’t filling Ana with confidence, but the old man was right that it was better to deal with the issue sooner rather than later.

After getting some supplies they traveled outside the walls for half an hour, leaving the road and settling down in the shade of an old tree. The port was still visible in the distance due to the flatness of the terrain.

It didn’t take long for Nathaniel to set up the ritual, following the instructions of the old man. He relished the opportunity to learn as much as he could from the elder. Ana was too busy being nervous to follow everything but there were some resemblances to what she learned before.

The big difference was they didn’t use a circle but a pentacle, which was a five-pointed star inside a circle. Candles were set at the end of each point, with Ana sitting within the pentagon.

The others gave them privacy, leaving only the trio for the ritual. Nathaniel was somewhere behind her, and the old man sat in front of her. “Remember that the spirit cannot harm you without harming itself, and vice versa. Once we awaken it, your body may undergo some change with the shift of your soul. Like your body was changed when you first got out of the sea. It will most likely entail more pain, but less so with me here to slow the transition.”

Ana nodded with a slight smile, feeling cocky remembering how the arrow hitting her felt. While it hurt it was nowhere near enough to the pain she felt in the sea.”

Emcry nodded as well, closing his eyes and starting to chant in a language she did not know.

Almost a minute passed without anything happening, while she was considering if the ritual was working, someone plunged a blade through her heart.