Getting to Know Her part 2

“Old Age?” Alara thought to herself. The woman before her did not look a day over 19. Plus she moved faster than most people, probably faster than Alara herself. There was no way she was ancient, but to humor Thalia, she decided to ask about her age. 

“Ok, how old are you actually? There is no way that you are ancient, you look and act too young.”

Thalia smiled, “Didn't anyone tell you, age is just a number? If I'm being honest, I'm not exactly sure how old I am. I know I was around several centuries before mankind, but the concept of time in years was not even a thing when I first came to be. In fact, I'm so old that mother Elis calls me her first child.”

Now Alara was annoyed. “Mother Elis? You mean Elis the Goddess of creation?”

“Yes. That is my mother. I have no parents in the traditional sense, but when I was naked and without knowledge, Elis was my guide, she cared for me and taught me all about the world and about how to use magic. I taught many generations of dungeon people what Elis taught me. I appear to be human in many ways but for whatever reason, I do not age. I have been trapped in this body since I can recall, and for but a few, fleeting moments I have been without a true companion. It's actually quite a lonely existence to be worshiped and to watch everyone you know grow old and die. The common person believes I am above them and avoids close interactions with me outside of religious gatherings. Others are just scared of me once they see how powerful I am. In fact, the last time I saw my mother we fought about my loneliness. All my siblings had been given their fated mate but me. I alone was unpaired. I even begged her to take away my immortality but when she refused a rift was formed between us. I have not visited her since” Thalia looked sad beyond words when she talked about how lonely she felt. The liveliness and youthful glow evaporated from Thalia's otherwise youthful face and her eyes became hollow and dull for just a moment. She recovered quickly and regained her youthful appearance.

Alara could relate to her more than the Priestess probably realized. For some reason, she felt the urge to share details about her life with Thalia, “You know, I can relate to that. Not the ancient part, but the part about being lonely. People in general are afraid of me because of how powerful my lightning is and intimidated by the fact that I am a royal. I can't think of a single friend that I have in the world. My own family has ostracized me because of this stupid mark on the back of my neck and no one will even tell me why.”

The two looked at each other and Thalia pointed to herself in a ridiculous action pose, “Do not fear. I, the great and powerful Priestess shall shed light on the mysteries of the mark. That is a rune of Elis. It is a mark given by the Goddess of creation to very few individuals who are bound for greatness. I have never seen one of those before on a mortal such as yourself. Many surface dwellers see symbols such as yours as a reminder of your true origin. The Eldis clan came from the dungeon just as the Isaz. This history was altered by the second Elding king as a way to justify using the Isaz to harvest mana crystals, but that is a story for another time. You seem to be in much better shape now that you've eaten. Are you ready to begin our journey through the dungeon?”

Alara looked nervously at Thalia, and slowly nodded her head. She was not looking forward to the troubles she thought they would face as deep as they were in the dungeon. She had confidence that her lightning would protect her but it still wasn't safe down here. Not for humans anyways. 

“What's the plan anyways? Like how are we getting back up?”

Thalia gave a smirk, “We are gonna go down to get back up.”

Alara’s brow scrunched, and she appeared to be doing complex calculations in her mind. After a few seconds, she gave up. “What are you talking about Thalia? Wouldn't it be faster to go back up?”

Thalia frowned, “No. Remember when I told you that the dungeon was getting sick? Well I know for a fact that the first 15 floors are completely corrupted now. That means that every single creature on those floors will be hostile to anyone that enters. Basically meaning we will be attacked full force immediately. By myself I wouldn't be as worried. But there is no way you can produce enough mana to fight through all of those levels.”

Alara looked down at her boots. She found it hard to believe that any of this was true because despite all his failings, she felt her father had more compassion than allowing the dungeon to rot just for monetary gain. If what Thalia said was true and the Elding also originated from the dungeon, why wouldn't they care about how it fairs? If the Elding king would not put a stop to this, then Alara herself would have to take matters into her own hands. The Elding people respected her and she was sure they would honor a royal decree to stop farming mana crystals at such ridiculous rates. 

 “How long will it take?”

“There is a portal to the top on floor 100. So, give or take about a year. That's if the portal is still functional.  Then I can send you back up. I Have to check on mother Elis. I haven't received messages from her and she isn't responding to my attempts to send her telepathic messages. I fear that if the dungeon is sick, so is she.”

Alara let out a deep breath, “I'll help you. It is sounding like this is my family's fault and I am indebted to you for saving me. Consider me your personal assistant for this voyage,” the princess kneeled and put her right fist to her chest which was a sign of fealty in Alloria.

“Get up Alara lets's get going.”

“What about the supplies for cooking?”

Thalia shrugged her shoulders, “Leave it for the next guy,” Thalia pulled on her robe but left the hood down this time. Yotaro changed into a small blue frost lizard and jumped into Thalia's hood. 

The pair started walking into the cave opening that Yotaro appeared in. It wasn't lit like the tunnel where the mushrooms grew. 

Thalia instructed Alara, “grab a mana crystal and let some of your magical energy into it.”

With a confused glance, Alara did as instructed and watched the crystals of the cave turn a light pink color that lit their dark path gently. Mana crystals didn't glow different colors after they were harvested, so she was pleasantly surprised.

“Huh,” whispered Thalia, “I may have misjudged you. Those with pink mana are kind-hearted and gentle, I took you for a brazen, brute.  You continue to surprise me princess,” Thalia teased.

Alara blushed, “Well show me the color of yours then.”

Thalia grinned, “I hope you can see well in the dark,” she lightly tapped the mana crystal and like dominos the mana crystals one after another turned a deep, dark violet that was nearly black.

Alara looked around at the darkly lit cave, then walked up to one of the crystals and put her face up to it. “Woah. Is this black or purple? Also what does it say about you.”

Thalia got that depressed look on her face again, “Those who have violet mana are the most sensitive of all, they feel pain more deeply than others and tend to care greatly about living things. The reason mine is so dark is simple:pain. Every time I lost someone I was close to it darkened. And each time I was driven to kill it changed drastically.”

The princess could almost see Thalia's expression turning more and more sad over the years of loss, mana darkening until it became this dark shade of purple. Her heart ached, the only loss she had ever experienced personally was the death of her grandmother and that had torn her to pieces. She couldn't imagine the burden that the little priestess must have been carrying all on her own. 

Alara rested her hand on Thalia's shoulder and was surprised to feel the priestess's warm hand resting on hers soon after. Thalia looked over her shoulder at Alara, and their eyes met. The sparks between them were nearly palpable as the two looked at each other for an awkwardly long time. To ease the tension, Alara poured her mana into a crystal and the cave lit up with a pink glow. 

Alara retracted her hand and Thalia straightened her robe, both blushing. “While I'm here, I can be your guiding light,” the Elding princess declared.

With a genuine smile, Thalia replied, “Thank you. I'd like that very much!”