Ruby and the Blue Flames

Chapter 12: Illuminating Ionstail

As she took her step, an enormous ounce of energy surged around her which quickly vanished as soon as she walked through the portal. The immediate change of scenery was evident, from the sweet aroma of flowers to  the scent of salty sandy waters.

Callon stood in front of her motionless. Confusion hit her as she slowly approached the group. Standing side by side with Callon, Eris could finally see the unusual tension that was plastered on his face. His eyes narrowed to his front as if readying himself to charge at the unseen threat. Slowly, he raised his arm to block Eris, protecting her from any sudden attacks. 

"What is going on?" Eris whispered.

"Upon entering, Daxton smelled the scent of blood." Callon replied, mimicking Eris's soft voice.

Eris glanced towards Lady Aleina and Aubery who stood the furthest amongst the group, they appeared calmer than both Callon and Daxton, who was tense, rapidly scanning the area for any anomalies. 

Lady Aleina whispered, "They are quite rowdy tonight." She stepped forward, extending an arm to the horizon. Her palms faced outward as it began to glow, indicating her casting a small spell. 

Looking at the rare bright light, Eris recognized the spell as a locator spell. It was mentioned on one of the books she used to read when she was young. Although her memory was vague, she recalled a few facts about the spell and the most important one was that it could locate an unidentified presence nearby.  

"Aubery..." Lady Aleina whispered as her hand extended to gesture towards Eris, Callon and Daxton to stay back. 

Aubery stepped forward, glancing around the surrounding area as he waited for his mentor's cue. And as soon as the locator spell beamed brighter, Aubery pointed at the direction which suddenly activated his ability. A surge of orange aura enveloped his figure as gravity began to charge towards the bushes, immediately bursting into nonexistence. 

Aubery's ability was the manipulation of gravity, a rare technique in all of Zyral which only a few managed to inherit. The information of such an ability were quite limited due to the possessors being outside of any allied nation. 

Aubery, being a manipulator of gravity, was the only one who lived within the walls of one of the four allied nations. The orange aura enveloping him, was the result of the Crystal which he possessed—the Citrine. 

"...the scent... is gone." Daxton announced to the group, his voice gradually returning to a normal volume, relaxing without anymore tension. 

"The spell is also no longer locating anything anymore." Lady Aleina mentioned with a smile. Her announcement added a more confirming cue for relief to the group.

"Gravity, huh?" Callon jeered. "Impressive, never assumed you'd be the type."

Aubery retorted, "Is that so, ser knight?" He turned towards them, his eyes narrowing while his lips twisted to a smile. "And you? A blacksmith with such slender figure? Why bother?"

"You haven't seen what amazing physique I have, Aubie." Callon argued back, followed by a small snicker. 

"Shut up!"

As the two argued in the background, Eris and Daxton were joined by Lady Aleina. 

"Welcome to Ionstail, my dears." Aleina cheered, holding both her hands open like a free eagle.

Both the young-uns bowed in response, thanking their mentor.

"May I, Lady Aleina?" Daxton asked as he leaned towards the Lady of Ionstail. 

"Sure, darling." Aleina responded, her tone gentle and proud. "What is it you'd like to ask?"

"When Aubery activated his abilities... his scent suddenly became... unclear." He said as his wolf ears twitched.

Eris glanced at Daxton, impressed by his ability to sense such a change despite being void of the sense of sight. Although one aspect of himself was missing, he was able to balance his capacity by improving the others. 

"Was it caused by the unusual orange aura that surrounded him?" Eris asked, filling in the gaps of Daxton's question. 

Aleina smiled at them both, showing her proud expression to her protegees. "Well, that is a technique Eris will learn soon enough. But you Daxton, should already know."

Eris and Daxton equally looked confused. Eris gave Daxton a glance who seemed to slightly comprehend what Aleina said. 

"The crystal?" Daxton asked. 

Eris glanced at her mentor, awaiting a reply, her curiousness growing at the passing second. 

"Indeed." Lady Aleina replied. 

"I haven't sensed the Aquamarine do such a thing, though?" Daxton replied, his ears dropped flat on his head. 

Then Aleina sneaked a quick glance towards Eris. Her eyes indicated a the sense of knowing, as if Eris knew the answer. 

Looking back, it was a question posed to Lady Aleina by Eris before. It was when she and Daxton fought in the Elemental Festival in Mikhaulia, Eris noticed the unusual glowing embedded on Daxton's chest which Lady Aleina claimed to be one of the crystals. The aura that they saw a moment ago was merely another feature of the crystal, granted that it helps on empowering its vessel's ability, the unusual transitions to something normal.

"No, Daxton?" Aleina emphasized. "Then... maybe it is still under the ways of improving. You've come far by controlling the crystal, but have never actually taken the initiative of grasping its abilities."

Daxton momentarily began to ponder, he's head turned low and his tail wagged slightly, his mind was now deep in thought. 

A matter of seconds has passed and Eris came face to face with Lady Aleina. She glanced up at her mentor, barely being able to look her directly in the eyes as per their differences in height. "What was it that Aubery attacked earlier?" Her question seemed a bit late, but it was more pressing than what she had initially thought. Thinking back, she had never seen Lady Aleina in such a serious demeanor. Thus, it rendered both confusion and curiosity in her mind.

However, Lady Aleina only gave her a vague reply. "You will see soon."




~




"Ha, I never thought that such a high ranked knight such as you would be so slow!" Aubery bantered as he flew past multiple tree branches, using his ability to float him off the ground, leaving a trail of orange aura behind him.

Callon, on the other hand, relied solely on physical strength. Avoiding the trees as it would've caused him a disadvantage, he stayed on the ground running, avoiding the many obstacles on the round such as bushes and huge boulders. 

Daxton also used his ability, temporarily transformed himself into his wolf form, he was able to easily replace Callon's place in their little race. Having his vision also temporarily restored, nothing was holding Daxton back. 

Eris and Lady Aleina ran together behind the group. Eris panted as she reflected back to how the race was started, which was by Aubery. He argued that he could easily defeat Callon, so he challenged him to a race from the shore towards the city of Ionstail. The first person to arrive would be deemed the winner of both the race and of the best physique...

It was a ridiculous banter, but Lady Aleina took the chance to challenge her students into using their abilities. Thus, other than winning the race, she proposed another prize that will only be known once the winner was declared. 

What puzzled the teacher, however, was the low efforts Eris placed on their silly challenge. She ran slowly, calculating her breath, inhaling slowly, then exhaled after a few moments.

"Not interested in winning?" Lady Aleina asked without so much as a crack in her voice nor a pant in between her words. 

Eris, however, couldn't even reply. She was only able to shake her head.  

"Determined, then?" Lady Aleina asked. "I would really to see you efforts, Eris. Using your abilities would not only show me your capacity, but also what you need to improve." She said, determined. Her eyes flickered with anticipation as Eris nodded her head. 

Eris knew of her mentor's intentions, and is also not holding herself back. Her slow pace was only a way for her to gather her energy to create a larger burst of control in her ability. At this point, she was well aware of her own capacity and control. However, what she wished to do was to focus her energy in one part of her body—her legs, helping her to gain more speed.  

The only thing remaining for her to take into account, was an opening. If she chose to burst her ability in that moment, she would've been incapacitated by the side effects of her technique. If she chose it to burst later, the amount of energy she had conjured up may be accumulate too much. Thus, she needed the right time to strike. Her eyes, then, focused at the horizon, eyeing the proximity of her distance towards the city gates. If she were close enough, then it would be her cue. 

The city wall cleared in her view. 

Just 30 more steps...

then 25...

20...

Then 15. That was her cue. 

In barely a second, Eris's eyes glowed bright red, her breathing deepened. And the next second, a gush of crimson propelled her forward, immediately passing Callon, Daxton, and finally Aubery. 

The gates of the city drew closer as she prepared for impact. She felt her body flowing rapidly down, closer to the ground and then, thud! 

Aubery hovered safely down to the ground whilst the orange aura dissipated. Daxton came right after Aubery, then immediately transformed back to his human figure, leaving behind a dust of blue aura caused by the Aquamarine.  

Lady Aleina and Callon came through together, none sporting a disappointed look. Lady Aleina, especially, seemed pleased at what she saw. "Amazing..." She said. "I thought that you could only crystalize your blood, Eris... I now see that is not the case."

Callon chuckled as he approached Eris. The latter steadied herself on the ground, still disoriented at the sudden use of her ability. 

Callon extended his arm, offering her aid for balance, which Eris accepted without hesitation. "Are you alright?" Callon asked.

Silently, Eris nodded, mentality, she questioned herself if the decision she made was the right one considering she felt quite dizzy. However, in her heart, she felt proud. Proud of herself. 

Daxton and Aubery both smiled at her, sharing in that moment of happiness for the young girl.

As Eris finally stood straight, a distant applause slowly approached them from the gates of the city. 

The group quickly turned to face the unknown stranger, a man whose dark orange hair fell until his shoulders. His green eyes glistening under the moon, as he strutted towards the group. His broad shoulder indicated for a stable and strong physique.

"Good evening." He greeted with a gentle smile. "Welcome to the city of Ionstail." 

Although his voice sounded encouraging, Eris couldn't recognize the identity of the man. And yet, he continued to speak as if her were familiar with the group. 

"Everyone." Lady Aleina announced. "Meet my husband! The Lord of Ionstail, Rapheil Brycg."
She explained with enthusiasm as she walked cheerfully towards her husband, giving him a soft peck on the cheek.

It explains many things. 

"A pleasure to meet all of you." Rapheil said. "Although I do admit... my... surprise. You must be Alphaline's daughter?" His eyes landed on Eris, panning his vision towards her with a soft smile. 

"Yes." Eris replied.

"Do remind me of your name, dear?" He asked.

Eris nodded. "Erisalyn."

"Ah." He exhaled. "Of course. His firstborn. You look like him." His remark was light-heartedly delivered with a gentle expression. Afterwards, he turned towards Daxton. "Bernard's boy? I see you've returned." He glanced at his wife for confirmation, which Aleina acknowledged with a nod.

"It is wonderful to be back and be graced by your presence, Lord Rapheil." Daxton responded. 

"Of course." Rapheil then stated. "Although if I may be honest, young lord, it appears as though you never left, seeing as though Zaleira never stopped talking about you."

Daxton's face, all of a sudden, reddened. His  ears dropped, but his tail uncontrollably wagged. For sure, Daxton felt flustered. 

Leaving Daxton to his bashfulness, Rapheil turned to both Aubery and Callon. "Back again as well, Ser Callon?"

"It is an honor, my lord." Callon nodded, a short bow of respect to one of higher authority. 

"I and my wife, but most especially Aubery, are glad that you have returned." He snickered, taking a quick wink at Aubery, obviously teasing the poor man who couldn't seem to escape the banters.

"Why are all ganging up on me?!" Aubery complained in the background. 

Lady Aleina slowly came up to Eris and announced. "As you are the winner. I will give you your prize soon."

Eris turned to her mentor, seemingly proud of herself after her accomplishment, but the vertiginous in her head remained. She staggered to stand, but Aleina was able to support her. "Dizzy, aren't you? It's alright, sleep. We will start all our lessons tomorrow."

Lady Aleina's voice slowly became shaky and her vision gradually blurred. And the next second, everything turned dark.




~




The next morning, Eris awoke to the sound of the seas clashing to the shore. The sound of vendors and children cheering on the streets while the birds sang their morning songs.