Manus Pluma Volantis

3 - Askerius

Callum and Rayla sat in a tight, heartfelt hug. Harrow smiled. It was nice to see his step son- no. His son happy. His son... in love. As they pulled away from their long hug, they smiled at eachother. They were okay. They always feared death, but it wasn't that bad. They had eachother.

He didn't want to let go. He loved her so god damn much. He loved her to the moon and back. He chuckled. That suited them. He forgot Harrow was there. He was lost in her lilac eyes. He kissed her. She gladly reciprocated. She didn't know Harrow was there from the start.

Harrow wasn't surprised. He may be dead, but he wasn't brain-dead. He knew he was in love the second he heard the worry in his voice when he asked about her. He was not surprised at all. As Rayla pulled away, she saw Harrow, standing at the doorway, smiling. Her cheeks, nose, and the tips of her ears flushed a bright red.

"Oh, right. Completely forgot you were here. Rayla, this is Harrow. My step-" He inhaled. "My father." She scrambled out of the cloud-like bed she was still lying in, and took a bow. Knowing Callum was a prince, this man, Harrow, was a king. "You don't have to bow. I know you. I have been dead, but I saw your journey through the harsh lands of Xadia. I respect you. I see your "true courage" and "big heart," he said smiling at Callum.

Rayla's shocked face quickly faded to irritation. He was talking about the night in the oasis. She smiled internally, though. She secretly loved that moment. She loved to finally show him how she felt. But she never told anyone that, and she never planned to. Harrow led them out of the mysterious room. He said that was where new souls went. They woke up and already had a house waiting for them. Callum asked where his was. Harrow beamed. "You two are the first dead human-elf couple. You two share a house right on the border."

Callum didn't know how the heck their house was right on the border. It was one solid wall. Harrow led them to their house. Callum smiled at it. It had books of magic, magical orbs and even more. Rayla smiled, too. It seemed to be filled with memories. She nearly cried at an image of her parents. How? "It has already been customized for the both of you."

Harrow opened a door to reveal a king sized mattress, magical items, books, wooden daggers, beautifully carved ones, too. It was amazing. Rayla eyed the daggers carefully. They looked exactly like her butterfly blades. Callum paid little attention to that, though. He thought all the daggers looked like that. She would have to ecucate him a little.

Callum ran his hand across the many, many books on the shelves. Each seemed to have something related to magic. He smiled in awe. They soon both realized that Harrow had left. They found him in their living room, reading. He noticed them, smiled, and plopped the book down on the couch. The book seemed to disintegrate into thin air. Callum smiled at the wonders of Askerius. Harrow led them outside.

He pointed off to a house way off in the distance. "Sarai and I live there," he said. "Mom?" Callum yelled. He darted toward the house. He knocked sharply on the door. Sarai answered. She smiled from ear to ear upon seeing him. Her smile faded when she remembered where she was. The land of the dead. He was dead.

"What happened?" "Oh! Right. Soooo I kinda.... jumped... off.... the Storm Spire." "What?!" "Hey, listen! Rayla had to jump first. To kill Viren. I jumped after her. I thought I could save her. I thought I knew a spell. I didn't." "Spell? Who's Rayla? Oh.. don't tell me... you didn't..." She took a deep breath. "Callum. About the spell. I don't want you learning magic." "No, it's different. Here." He drew a rune in the air. "Aspiro," he said. A gust of wind blew through Askerius.

Sarai's eyebrows furrowed. "What was that?" "I'm a sky mage," he beamed, proudly. "Oh! And this is Rayla." Rayla waved a four-fingered hand at Sarai. Sarai was shocked. She didn't know what shocked her so much, though. It was weird. Rayla reached out a hand for Sarai to shake.

She hesitated for a moment, then proudly shook her hand. She was glad she took down that arrogant beast of a man. Callum had tried to save this elf. But why? Now, as a mother, she was determined to find out. Callum didn't quite know how to tell her. "Alright. One more thing... Rayla and I..." Rayla began to worry. What if she doesn't approve? What if she doesn't like me? "To summarize, we might... just be... a little.. more... than friends," he struggled to squeak that last part.

Sarai was taken aback by the statement. Her face softened seeing Rayla nervously glancing between her and Callum. Sarai placed a hand on Rayla's shoulder. "You deserve someone as special as him," she whispered. Rayla laughed under her breath. Callum didn't catch what Sarai said, but he heard Rayla laugh. He smiled. It had to be something nice, right?

Sarai invited them in. They sat down in the chairs by the fire. It felt odd to Callum. She and Harrow were royalty. Shouldn't they have a nicer home than this? They seemed happy, though. They seemed content. Sarai offered them warm tea and cookies. Callum excitedly picked two up and handed one to Rayla. She gladly took it and bit into it. It was an upgrade from weapons-grade baguettes.

She missed Ezran and his silly determination to eat one of those baguettes. He would constantly bite into it, struggling to sink his teeth into it's rock-hard crust. Callum missed him, too. Once he got a piece off, but chewing it was worse than biting it. Eventually he had to spit it out, but he never stopped trying to eat them.
The look on his face when he would bite into time and time again. Time and time again.