Rumerra - The Journey Begins

Chapter 20 - Interlude

After a few days, the Magornis had come to an end, and it was time to part ways. Velvet, Arianna, and their new friends were standing in the port to bid each other farewell.

"The sad day is upon us," Christopher said, trying to lighten the mood. The others were not so keen on joking right now, however.

"I'm going to miss you," Fernando spoke, sadness in his voice. "I hope I can see all of you again someday. And even if not, I want you to know it was a pleasure to meet you!"

"Chances are slim," Loretta replied honestly. "I might just get offered up for a wedding in some distant land and none of you will ever see me again."

"Don't be so grim." Velvet nudged her. "I'm sure we'll see each other again someday!"

"I hope you're right," Arianna said. "I liked spending this time at the Magornis with you all."

"We can just be glad we're not those two," Christopher pointed to the dock, where on the edge, two elves sat in each other's embrace, crying. "That's rough."

"Zephyr and Warina really connected in these last weeks," the princess sighed. "This is very hard on them both. I hope they can find some way to stay together at least."

"There are always letters!" Velvet smiled, remembering the time when she and Arianna were apart for nearly two years. "They can just write to each other!"

"That's true," Fernando said, his face lighting up a bit. "You guys can write me too!"

"I sure will, buddy!" Christopher ruffled his hair. The two of them had become good friends during their trip and the Magornis. They spent a lot more time together than either of them did with Arianna since she was always studying or preparing.

"We'll stay in touch too!" Velvet told Loretta. "I'm going back with you anyway!"

"Wait, what?!" the blonde girl in the white dress jumped up in surprise. "Aren't you coming back to Ardor with me?! I thought that was always the plan!"

"Nope! I still have something to do in the elven lands!" the energetic girl announced.

"What do you have to do in the elven lands?" Loretta asked her. "I thought you just came here to study in Eldar and learn water magic from Priscilla. And you did both of those so..."

"I did. But I didn't do it well enough. After seeing Fumina in action, I realized my water magic was not nearly at the level I wanted it to be. So I am going to find another, even better teacher!"

"So you're leaving me alone again?!" Arianna sounded appalled. "You never get tired, do you? From one adventure right to the next. You truly are turning into Thoracc!"

Velvet smiled in turn. "Don't worry, this one won't take long, I promise! A year at most!"

"A year?!" her friend recoiled in disgust. She didn't like the sound of that at all.

"And don't count on any letters this time," the young adventurer rubbed salt into her wound. "I don't even know where exactly I'm going, so it will be hard to write to you. I'm telling you this in advance, so you don't panic. I'm only going to send a letter if there's something urgent."

"You really want me to get gray hair by the age of twenty, don't you?" Arianna crossed her arms and turned away while the others laughed, along with the culprit herself. As she turned around, she saw the flame empress walking toward her ship.

"Keep that medal safe for me, airhead!" she shouted from a distance, grinning widely. "One day, I'll challenge you to a duel and take it back from you, so don't start slacking now!"

"You're never beating me, hothead!" Arianna shouted back, smiling and waving. When she turned back to the others, they were staring at her like they saw a ghost.

"You're friends with that crazy barbarian now?!" Christopher exclaimed, shaken to the core.

"I learned that she's not so bad after all," the girl replied. "She is rather crazy, though..."

After hugs were exchanged, words of gratitude spoken, and more tears were shed, they finally started boarding the ships. Christopher and Fernando went on a smaller one, headed toward the port of Symmar. At the same time, Loretta boarded the great Princess Cadenza together with the two lovesick elves, letting them sail with her so they could be together for longer.

"Are you coming, Vel?" she turned back on the bridge. "We'll be leaving soon."

"Give me a minute!" the girl with the pointy hat shouted and turned to her friend.

"Here we go again," Arianna sighed. "Another goodbye that will last for at least a year."

Velvet took her hands and squeezed them tightly in hers. "I just want to say that you are the best friend a crazy adventurer like me could ever ask for. Even when I am away for so long, you keep working hard toward our goal, as if I never left. And that medal around your neck proves you can achieve whatever you set your eyes on. You're an inspiration for me, Arianna. If this Magornis has taught me anything, it's that you and I can do this if we work together! We're going to found our own academy one day, you'll see!"

"I always loved your speeches," the champion smiled. "It's been four years since we set ourselves this goal, though. And it doesn't seem like we are getting any closer to it."

"That's what you think," her always optimistic friend replied. "Maybe we don't have any teachers besides you and me yet, but we do have quite a few new friends who can help us find them. I am a tier-three, and you are a tier-two. And we have enough money to buy a small mansion together with what you've won for second place. Wouldn't you call that progress?"

"You always manage to find something good in everything," Arianna pulled her in for a hug. "Fine. I admit, that is progress. Why don't we ask some of our friends to be teachers, though?"

"Remember," Velvet said, breaking their hug and shaking her head, "for teachers, we are looking at extraordinary people in their respective magic type. While our friends are pretty good, they sadly do not fall into the extraordinary category. Kirara did. Too bad she declined your invitation. Loretta has the potential but still needs a few years to get there. She's also a princess, so I'm not even going to ask her. I would just get the same answer you got from the flame empress. Which means we need to keep on looking."

Arianna nodded. "I'll keep my eyes peeled then once I get back to the academy." "ARIANNA!" her headmaster shouted from the deck, an elf hanging around his neck. "Come on already! I can't wait to slap that medal into the face of our doubtful Ralphie boy!!"

"Is that Miss Pampleton with him?!" Velvet cocked her eyebrow.

"No, that's a different elf," her friend said. "Which is actually even more concerning..."

"Argus, get this damn elf off my ship!" they heard king Matthew's voice yell in the distance and giggled to themselves.

"Well, I better get going before they set sail without me," Arianna hugged her again. "Stay safe, Velvet, wherever your journey may take you. I hope we see each other very soon."

"Don't worry," Velvet squeezed her tightly. "I will be back before you know it."

The blonde girl took a few steps back before finally averting her eyes and running onto the ship. Guards were just escorting the elven woman off it while she blew kisses back at the old man who grieved the loss of his lovely new companion.

"Velvet!" she heard Loretta's voice calling her. "They are raising the anchor already! Come!"

"Go ahead!" the young witch shouted back to her. "I'll catch up to you!"

"What do you mean you'll catch up?!"

Velvet closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, whispering a spell on exhale. Her clothes turned into feathers and she took on the form of a harpy, launching herself up and soaring across the port. She saw her friends on their ships and flew close by before taking to the skies, where true freedom awaited her. Magic. What a wonderful gift bestowed upon her. She relished in the cool breeze as she dived back down and flew side by side with Loretta's ship, which had just set sail. The vast ocean awaited them, and after that, endless new possibilities on land. She wondered where her path might take her next. What kinds of people will she meet and what wonders will she see? There was no way to tell where her journey would end. But that was exactly what she loved about it most. For her end goal was merely a guideline to prevent her from veering too far off track. What she really lived for was the journey itself. What she truly loved was the adventure. She was not Thoracc, the light wizard. She was Velvet, the light witch.

Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it!

This is not the end of Velvet's journey. Stay tuned for book two of the Rumerra series!