I’m not really a big fan of how often I’m dying, I mean ultimentally all that matters is that she lives but it’s beginning to irritate me just how weak I am compared to some of the opponents I end up fighting.

At least I seem bigger now.

I’m nowhere near as large as those giant orbs of blistering purity and light beneath me but I’m large enough now that the ocean drags me deeper within itself rather than just keeping me a dozen feet below its surface.

It feels like I’m getting placed under more scrutiny by this abusive, loving sea.

But I can’t tell if it pulling me deeper to offer me more security and protection, or to imprison me within firmer waters.

It’s stagnant here, the water is somehow even more still and solemn than it is at the surface, yet I feel no pressure here.

All I feel is a brief lapse in my consciousnesses and then I drown in nothingness, sleeping dreamlessly until I am resummoned once more.

And then I’m awake and the ocean is disappearing, I can’t sense the passage of time nor do I recall what I was just doing.

But now’s not the time to focus on that, it’s a common occurrence after all.

What I should be focusing on is how quickly I’m being summoned, it’s not exactly fast but it’s certainly not slow either.

So it’s not an immediate battle, a stand off perhaps?

Or maybe a few weeks have passed and she’s summoning me to guard another convey because there are signs of enemy activity nearby?

I’ll get my answer soon enough, the waters are receding and dissipating as my manifestation nears completion.

Then reality shifts and I’m corporeal and alive once more.

My surroundings consist of bleak rock with patches of sand lying everywhere, either blown over here by particularly harsh winds or perhaps a light sandstorm.

Turning around to face my creator, I take a good look at the stern mountain ridge she’s standing in front of, something feels off about it though, it seems new somehow.

Ignoring how and why it feels new, I focus on her.

She’s tired, that much is evident even to my lacklustre eye, she just looks so utterly worn down, like a reef thats been invaded by swarms of starfish.

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The trio with her seem equally strained, two of them are knight squires and so I can’t see their faces but the hunched over posture the two have helps me know that they’re exhausted.

I’ve never seen a knight squire look so small before, they normally stand upright and firm. The other person with her seems to be a mage and while he is actually standing quite tall and firm, he still gives off an aura of exhaustion, barely held back by stoicism and duty.

“What happened?” I call out to her.

“Uh, honestly I don’t really know, we got ambushed but how is beyond me, if I had to guess why this happened though... They’ve got to be sieging the Arid Sentinel. It’s the only reason I can think of as to why they attacked us so aggressively.” Even though she’s not actually speaking aloud she still sounds so drained of life.

Sensing my concern she waves her hand slightly to reassure me, then she continues talking.

“We’re uh, going to be fine, there’s just a few pursuers hot on our heels, so I want you to guard this area for at least an hour so we can put some more distance between ourselves and them.”

“Of course, I will hold them here.” I gently say, it’s a bit hard to do that mentally but I try and that’s what counts, I think.

She stares at me for a few seconds longer than I like, making me feel a bit concerned that I’ve done something wrong but then she unexpectedly says “I promise you once we’re clear from the Rovers I’ll teach you about the constellations.”

Then, before I can reply, she stumbles around and starts to hurry towards the mountain alongside her cohort, slipping into a small cave I had overlooked.

It’s disheartening to watch her go, not because I’m scared or sad that she’s leaving me, I’m happy about that since it means she’ll be safer, no what I’m sad about is how frail she looked jogging away.

Turning this sadness I’m feeling into resolve, I stride towards the small cave.

Standing guard just outside of it, if any Rovers want to continue pursuing her, they’ll have to kill me.

A task which they were becoming increasingly more skilled at but there shouldn’t be any elites like that monster hunting my creator and her fellow escapists down.

If there were, I doubt that I would have ever been summoned by her again.

Gazing intently at the treeline and peering into the shadows cast by bulky rocks, I wait patiently.

But as the minutes stretch on, I start to lose my attentiveness. I just can’t help but consider if now is the perfect time for me to try to do magic.

I mean, there’s no one around and I’m guarding the pathway my creator and her team went through, perhaps there are other pathways but as far as I know this is the only one.

I briefly wonder if I should move away from this cave, so that way the pursers will get misdirected but I don’t actually know how they’re tracking my creator.

It could be magical, in which case it’s in my best interests to continue to guard this pathway since misdirection won’t work, the Rovers have just gotten too competent for me to risk it.

On that note I shouldn’t really be trying to do magic but if I don’t do it then how am I going to keep my creator safe?

Physical might isn’t enough anymore and for all the effort and resources put into that ritual, I still have yet to see any physical improvement.

I want to think that the closer bond we have now is only one of the boons and the others have yet to reveal themselves but I can’t hold onto what may well be false hope.

I need to get stronger, I need to figure out how to use mana for more than just repairing my damaged body.