Magic Discovered

Chapter 26

Even though the air in the temple hadn't been stale, the outside seemed completely refreshing and wonderful. James lay back down on the steps of the temple with a thud, not really caring about much now that they were going to be alright. The sun shone in the sky and James realized with a jolt that it was nearing the end of the day. They had left the Ikirian city near dawn and apparently had chewed up most of the day freeing themselves from the temple.

James' friends were in the same state as him, lying on the ground in relief and happiness.

"Children, you are out! The temple released a truly enormous amount of energy earlier, and I was afraid you were done for!"

The rumbling voice shook the ground and the friends popped up to see Captain Foh flying out of the jungle. He stopped where the Void energy dissipated and beckoned them over.

"Come, now, you know that I cannot venture closer. Tell me, have you learned anything relating to our problem?"

"We did," Lydia said as they got close. "Inside, there was a map of all of the Void rifts and we discovered..."

"Hold," Foh said. "This obviously is information most severe. It is not for someone of my standing to hear. Climb onto my back, and I shall return you to the Queens."

He bent a tree like before and they flew away from the temple. James looked back to see that it was completely silent, made all the eerier now that he knew of the dangers that lurked inside. He shivered. It was necessary to solve the issue of the Void energy plaguing the planet, but the temples and outposts of the foreign dimension were far above their league, and would never have been visited otherwise by any sane person. And to top it all off, they hadn't even faced a real creature of the Void, just a bunch of mist and shadows instead.

Foh didn't rendezvous with Aur this time, instead flying them straight to the tree that held the Queens. As there weren't any convenient trees to use, the guards helped them down, after which Foh gave his salutations and took his leave. He was much too big to fit inside the tree anyway, and he had many other matters to attend to on other parts of Dorian-5.

The group emerged from the trunk back into the enormous room with the dome made of leaves. The light emanating from them was much more comfortable than the harsh tones of the temple, and the friends took a moment to all bask in the silver and gold glows.

The voice of the Queen snapped them back to the matter at hand. "It is good to see that you are all back alive and well. The temples are not usually frequented by mages and young as yourselves, and as such, we worried for your safety."

"Um, yeah," Delta said. "We almost died. On multiple occasions. Thanks for the warning after the fact."

"Delta, be nice," Algon mumbled to him. "They might have known that the temples were dangerous, but obviously couldn't have told us anything more. And it was a mission that was important to both of us."

"I know all of that, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. Or agree with it."

"We acknowledge your issues, Delta, and apologize." the Queen said. "As a sort of early gift, know that your friend is almost completely cured at this point and is close to waking. You may freely visit her when we are done today."

He signed and calmed down a little. "Thanks, I suppose."

"Now," the Queen said, looking at Lydia. "Captain Foh informed us that you had valuable information relating to the matter of the Void energy."

"We found out something," Lydia said. "And it wasn't good. Underneath Rioyda is a massive gateway to the Void. They call it the Omega Rift and it was used to allow Lord Iter's army into Reality."