(Gavin)

After first mentally reorienting myself, I manipulate the air to stop my ascension, then to float in place.

The next thing I do is realize that I'm in my true form with the aura active, so I immediately shut that off, then summon a mirror to look at my new appearance. I haven't changed in size at all, and my wings are the same. My eyes remain the same as well, though my hair has a streak of violet on the left side of the top.

My ears are the same as they were before, so they're not pointed, thank goodness. I don't mind seeing it on Fairies and Elves, but I'm not a big fan of my ears being pointed. That said, I do have the sparkly cheeks of Fairies, now, and it doesn't seem I can turn them off.

One final change I can see is the presence of a zierna, akin to Warren's. It's on the back of my left forearm, and is a rich, sparkly violet in color. Examining it, I realize that's a rune in Kratus.

Are the zierna runes Kratus Runic Language runes, then? I haven't recognized any of the others, but I recognize this one, mostly because it's in several of the more powerful spells' fucked-up versions.

The rune is a barrier rune that works for containment without hindering the spell's power. It's exceptionally powerful, and would normally be beyond my Level of the Skill to actually know without a headache, though I saw it so much I managed to figure it out.

Summoning several more mirrors, I check to see if there is a change anywhere else on my torso or higher, and determining that there is none, I dismiss the magical constructs, focusing on the flying ship that's off in the distance.

It's like a ship for the seas, only it's in the sky. Flying. It has masts and sails, much like a ship for the ocean would, but also strips of metal attached to poles spinning akin to a windmill in high winds sticking out of it.

An airship. I remember Michael mentioning them before, as well as Lord Yggdrasil, but I haven't been to a continent with them yet. He mentioned they were only on one continent, and that its people were interesting.

They're also short. Very, very short. And bearded. And stout.

What… are these? Michael never described them, yet their Species all register as something called "Dwarf".

The airship draws closer and closer, and once it's about a thousand feet away, it suddenly turns to the side.

"KILL THE HARPY!" A Dwarf yells as panels on the side of the airship open up, revealing a series of metal tubes with Dwarfs behind them, tapping a crystal in his hand to one affixed to the back of the tubes.

What's a harpy?

With explosions, massive balls of metal blast out of the tubes.

Oh. They're attacking me. Duh. You should have seen that coming, Gavin. He did yell to kill the harpy, while aiming those things at you.

I extend a hand, stopping the metal balls with a blast of air, then allowing them to drop to the ocean. With a flap of my wings, I soar up, then down, aiming at the airship. Maybe we can clear up this misunderstanding. It would be a good opportunity to get to know a new Species, too.

They start shooting at me with arrows, though nothing actually hurts me, so I let them bounce off my body and wings harmlessly. It only takes me a few seconds to land on the deck to the ship, dismissing my wings and turning my gaze to the Dwarf who yelled to kill the harpy.

He flinches.

"The Hero of-"

"Aisranar," I say. "Yes, I know what you are. I'm not a harpy. I've never heard of those before. What are they?"

"It talks!" He exclaims, then takes a step forward. "Ye be an Enlightened, then?"

Monsters can talk, too… I know a couple of languages of species that aren't Enlightened. Including a wyvern tongue.

"Once Human," I nod.

"Once?"

"I've Advanced my Species," I answer. "What is Aisranar a god of?"

"She be a goddess, lad," he smiles at me. "She guides our sails and guards our ships! Sorry 'bout the misunderstanding, there! We've come across all sorts of harpies in our journey to discover what rests beyond the impassible field!"

He accepted my comment about Advancing my Species pretty fast.

"The impassible field?" I ask. "Are you referring to the Boundary of Sages?"

"Perhaps!" He exclaims. "The great, impassible field in the ocean that surrounded our continent! Aye, a nasty thing! We could never fly through it! It tried to fool us, but we knew its presence! We left our home in search of the rest of the world! Our lads back home are checking around to find the one who dealt with the damnable thing! The great tower that manifested it just up and vanished!"

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

"That, um," I say. "That was me. I undid the Boundary of Sages a little while back. It was hindering me and my goals, so I got rid of it."

"I like you, lad!" He says. "Nali-ho!"

"What?"

"Traditional Dwarven greeting, lad!" He laughs. "Nali-ho! Say it with me! One! Two! Three! Nali-ho!"

"Nali-ho!" The other Dwarfs exclaim.

"Nali-ho?" I say.

"With a bit more enthusiasm!" He says. "We'll work on that. Thanks for taking that sucker down for us! Now-"

"How do you know I'm telling the truth?"

"Aisranar is not just a goddess of airships!" He tells me. "She's a goddess of truth as well! Her blessing allows me to see through any lie!"

No wonder he's accepting things quickly.

"Now!" He says. "How did ye Advance your Species? Just reaching that much Experience is pretty darn difficult, ain't it?"

"Yes," I answer. "But I have multiple bonuses to Experience gains. I'm actually the reason the System did that change six or so years ago, so that Classes will only receive Experience from things relating to them. How has your traveling been going?"

"Quiet well!" He exclaims. "Why, we just left a land of the most interesting folk! Call themselves Dark Knights, they do! Now, we're off in search of more adventures! That, and to track down old Michael! Well, he ain't old, but he's sure Michael!"

"Formshift," I say, pulling up the interface and quickly changing my Form to take on what Michael looked like years ago. "This what he looked like?"

"Aye!" He exclaims, looking quite startled at the sudden change. The other Dwarfs do, too. "How ye do that?"

"Formshift: True," I revert back to my previous appearance. "Through a Skill not normally available outside a select few Species."

"So ye know Michael?" He asks.

His assumption was that I know Michael, and not was Michael, screwing with them? Interesting.

"Did he ever mention a Gavin to you?"

"Aye!" He nods. "Talked 'bout that Wizard all the time! Boy, did that wolfy have one hell of a crush on him! Ye know him?"

"I am he."

"Well, I'll be!" He exclaims. "I knew Gavin was hot, but you take it to another level! Michael never said it was that well! Glad me wife's back home, or she'd probably leave me for ya! Ye ever reunite with your old friend?"

"I did," I answer. "I was actually getting ready to head back to where he is now. I'm the founder of the Order of the Violet Flame, and we accept people of all Species without hate, and spread our knowledge without holding back, without good reason. The Order's headquarters is located on the center of a continent that direction," I point in the direction of the continent. "It'd take me about three hours to fly there, manipulating the wind, though I'm not sure how long it'd take you. To get to the continent, I mean.

"That said," I say. "There are also high mountains surrounding the valley we live in, and we haven't begun forging a path through them yet, as we've only just begun settling there shortly before I took down the Boundary."

"No worries, there!" He says. "The Invincible can fly quite high! Boys! Who wants to go see that wolfy again!"

"Aye!" The dozen or so Dwarfs on deck yell out at once.

"Aye, then!" The Dwarf in charge exclaims. "Set a course for the Order of the Violet Flame! Let's go, go, go! Nali-ho!"

"Nali-ho!" The Dwarfs all yell in response.

"Ye can leave or ride with us!" The leader looks at me. "Up to ye, Wizard Gavin!"

I could just fly or Teleport there, but the Trial left me exhausted, and the time will give me an opportunity to adjust to these folk some. That, or just sleep.

"Archmage, now," I answer. "And I'm exhausted, so if you're alright with it…"

"Aye!" He says. "There's some beds belowdecks, Archmage! Get some rest!"

I head below the deck, and after asking another Dwarf for directions, make my way into one of their sleeping chambers. I have to duck a little, because the Dwarfs are shorter than me, and this place is built for them.

Once in the chamber, I lie down on one of the beds, closing my eyes.

My eyes…

Moron. You didn't revert your eyes back to their 'ordinary' appearance, Gavin. I do that now, then relax. The Dwarfs are a friendly bunch, and I sense no hostility from them. I do still put up some magical defenses, just in case, but Michael told me that the people with the airships were a friendly bunch who'd only attack if they knew one was their enemy.

I guess being mistaken for a harpy automatically made me an enemy, even though I was a distance away. I'll have to ask what those are, when I wake. For now, I'll relax, and fall asleep.

The next thing I know, I'm being woken by an overenthusiastic Dwarven greeting.

"NALI-HO!"

"You're lucky," I look at the Dwarf leader. "That I didn't smite you out of shock."

"It's a risk a Dwarf takes!" He tells me. "We're landing in the valley now! There's quite a crowd looking out at us, too! That's normal, though, seeing as flying ships ain't exactly normal outside our continent, according ta Michael!"

No, they aren't.

I climb out of bed, then follow the Dwarf to the deck, arriving there just as we land on the ground. A ramp is lowered to the ground, and the crowd watches as the Dwarfs begin exiting it, only a few staying behind.

I stretch my wings out, then fly up, over, and down to the ground, people realizing then that I guided these short folks here, which means that they probably aren't hostile.

"Nali-ho!" The Dwarf leader exclaims, turning just in time to see a certain Wolf Beastborn charging at him. "Michael! The real one this time!"

That's all he gets out before Michael's tackled him in a hug, his tail swishing from side to side in his excitement.

"Thomas!" Michael eventually says, releasing the Dwarf. "Nali-ho! Gavin finally went to your continent?"

"Nah!" The Dwarf pats the Wolf Beastborn on the head, standing on his toes to do so. "We found 'em as we were flying out, searching for continents and word of where you were! Thought he was a harpy, we did, so we attacked! But we cleared it all up, and are friends now! And we found you! The real you this time!"

"The real me?" Michael asks, and I explain what the Dwarf means. Michael looks… amused. "Ah."

"I'm going to go check on my apprentice," I tell Michael. "You reunite with your friends and… translate for them. I'm sure they'll be happy to actually be able to communicate a bit with locals."

"Aye!" The Dwarf exclaims. "Wait – how do you know our language? Michael teach ya?"

"I learn languages exceptionally fast," I answer. "Had the Skill for it the moment you yelled to kill the harpy. From our conversation, it's already at Level 5."

"Aye!" He exclaims. "That's fast! Yer just as amazing as Michael said ye were! Michael! I'm glad the missus is at home! If she'd came with us-"

I tune him out and make my way to the training hall, where Ryan's furiously studying runes again, rather than practicing his magic. As I enter the building, I catch a part of the conversation between the Wolf Beastborn and the Dwarfs about having a feast.

If any Dwarfs join the Order, times might become real… entertaining. Hopefully, I can keep my apprentice from being corrupted further by them, as they seem like the kind of folk he'd get along with just fine.