Reverie of the Fallen Deity

Chapter 6 - A Trace to Follow

The two sat there for a while, before Azzaran hesitantly suggested something. "In the absence of any real answers, we do have one option. You aren't going to like it though." Alistaria simply gazed up into his eyes, her heart quivering from the weight of what she had gone through. "What do you suggest? I don't have anything better to offer." Her voice shook slightly. "They haven't found out we defected yet. The information won't reach Ashh Dorei for a few days at the soonest, we are basically cut off from the rest of the Ascendance. That's why the Legion is here. We could always check the Liphera Archives for information."

Alistaria wanted to snap at him instinctively, her raw emotions and the sheer shock of the suggestion hitting her. But he was right. They had no plans. The only suggestion she would have offered would be to go to the monolith in person and find Maleris, but there was no realistic chance that he was even there. Even if he was, what were the chances that she could even defeat him before the end of the world? She didn't even have a weapon she could use to fight. There was every chance that he was stronger than the Carran they fought in the streets. "Okay. How do we make it back faster than they can. The news would beat us there, wouldn't it?"

Azzaran grinned. "You never really learned what form my mana naturally takes, did you? Let's get to the port and I'll show you what I'm made of." The two cautiously made their way through the city, towards the grand port at the northern end of Akava. The outpost bordered the ocean already, the only port on the west side of Atrisea. The only other such port was on the other side of a large mountain range that separated the wastelands from a section of tundra.

When they finally arrived, the moon was beginning to dip down over the horizon. The dawn would come soon, the colors of twilight blanketing the skies. "We won't have much time at this rate. We will have to go with plan B while it's still dark." Azzaran took off in a dead sprint towards the coast, stripping off his armor in grand motions and motioning for Alistaria to do the same. She was unsure, but she trusted her companion at any cost. The heat from the sun lessened as they removed the pieces, until they were both very close to nude.

At the edge of the ocean, Azzaran held out one hand to the waters and wrapped one arm around her waist. Alistaria felt herself being dragged towards the water like a magnetic pull, as the sweat no longer seemed to move down her body. It clung to her like it did him, heeding the waters call. It was physically moving them to itself, before finally the cool fluid embraced both of them like an old friend.

As soon as they entered the water, Alistaria instinctively gasped, expecting the water to try and flow into her mouth or nose. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn't. The water formed a shell around them, shaped like a bullet. Azzaran seemed to be focusing, streams of mana flowing through his skin and his tendrils. It flowed through his palms, before being shoved into the shell around them. Before she was ready, the shell began to accelerate through the water at a supersonic pace. The acceleration grew so rapidly so quickly that large shockwaves were formed around them. Alistaria watched in awe as the foundations of the Akava docks were out of sight before she could blink.

Alistaria then began to be aware of the fact that he hadn't told her about his true mana type this whole time. Every mage on Alaris had one, a kind of magic that came so naturally to a mage that it was as if they were born to wield it. The only ones that lacked one were mages with low aptitudes for magic in general. Alistaria had one, though lacked much mana to use it. Her lack of mana reserves were the reason she never excelled as a magic user.

This whole time she was so convinced that Azzaran was a lightning mage or an illusion mage of some sort, because she had never seen him with any serious aptitude for water magic. "Why haven't you told me?" Alistaria asked him simply, more impressed than upset. It was so wild that such a massive secret had been hidden for many years. "You never asked." He replied with a hint of humor in his voice, despite the large degree of concentration.