~ ⋆˙⟡ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𓆩⟡𓆪 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 ⟡˙⋆~

~ Second Turning Point ~

“One day you’ll see the Northern Lights, but until then I won’t tell you what they are. It’s best for a child to discover, then learn again. Else, read, instead of explore,” her father said whilst I gorged on bowls of clam. When we were alone, I asked her if she wanted to travel with me. She said she wanted to be at the heart of the world, that Eversil had all the magic she wanted to embrace.

When the season of my birth dawned, I left in the month of Laheria, gliding alongside the resting Clouds and the migrating birds. The books were left in the hands of Salileya, and for grandfather, various amulets and animals shaped from luminescent enchanted wood.

I held tightly onto a couple sets of clothes tied in rope. My hair was braided now, and I had a few shiny bracelets on my wrist.

For my departure, the innkeeper gave me a small pouch that strapped on my shoulder and hung from the waist, a small “compass” inside, that would always point to this place

Below they sang in unison, as tradition to appease the Harvest Goddess. Before I’d left I visited a temple priest, who touched once on my forehead and once on the back of my left hand. This was inspired by another book I read, where Vinyl had the blessing of a saint before becoming lost at sea, surviving 3 months of cold before miraculously, the waters sent him home. According to his heirs, on the third week their father woke up to a fish with broken wings flopping vigorously on the deck, which he consumed as nourishment.

In another instance two kids drew the emblem of the Goddess on the town’s pet rabbit, and overnight the residents reported multiple break ins and ravaged kitchens, only to find the animal was now the same size as a boar, with bits of lettuce on its cheeks.

I clung to the bottom of a cloud when my mana flow was exhausted, and managed to climb on top.

It was my first time riding on another creature. There were questions, many. “Could it feel my weight? Could I steer it? Would interspecies communication magic work? Was it asleep already, and drifting by the wind?” Far in front of us from a crevice in the sky was an army of light rays, striking down in amethyst to mauve. It could only be described as a rift, that crack in the deep blue.

Fantasy stories often portrayed a merging of worlds, where gates were mediums for the descension of outer existences. I’d seen the appearance of a few of these, occasionally from adventure scrolls, but otherwise in my dreams during the months of snow. They started as sharp whispers or ear ringing, then gradually became presences: entities that were there, but at the same time unproven and unobservable.

Well maybe- now wasn’t the time to be lost in that memory.

They watched from the mirrors of the world, veiled by walls of sky.

Surrounded by an unfathomable darkness. A deep well.

One blinked, and another followed.

Limbs? Dozens of extending horrors, without a connected form or body.

[Myrinth, Reisol, Elimia. The girls carried baskets of fruit over their shoulders while Rei wore a bear like a scarf with its arms around his neck. It dragged dumbly on the ground like a dress, but he looked so honest about his game that we didn’t poke fun at his fashion. Underneath the benign green glow of a giant mushroom, the others gathered to prepare stews and roasts. The leftovers were offered to undeveloped irregular entities, in hopes that they’ll grow to protect our future offspring.]

“Hedge magic changes forms to substitute for an absent element to complete a reaction, or as plain energy to activate a simple spell. True magic overwrites the world’s will in a casted area, temporarily overwriting the laws of physics before...”

Outside the classroom were passing towns floating in the sky. We were in the train’s third chamber, a room designed to replicate the magic institutions of the kingdom. Incantations and runes hung on banners and remnants of mana scattered on tables. The window- now was shattered by an intense yellow glow, a violent eye of more than 5 meters in diameter, surrounded by unending blue scales.

I stopped dreaming, a second before my head hit the ground. 

Thus, this journey that'd begun a day ago ended abruptly with "death."

A golem encompassed by olden vines, with subtle cracks exposed on its arms, pushed aside the heads of trees and obstructed the sun with its enormous body.

Contrary to the icy winds dancing around ankles, sending shivers as if a feather brushing their spines, a warm light wrapped the air tentatively, like a coat of vitality. For others who were looking forward to the cold, they leapt to higher ground, where the passing glow would not bother them.

A dove fitted within the palm of an elf’s hand chirped ecstatically at the new arrival, hinted by a pair of cyan ears poking out from behind the shoulder of Asherynth that appeared to resemble a fox’s.

The one holding this dove was a girl in a plain white dress which flowed upon the earth, seemingly immune to any stains of dirt. Upon her head were two lunar glass horns with a subtle shade of magenta, engraved with polychromatic twists similar to strands of DNA.

Having accustomed to the obscurity of time, she spoke sheepishly, as if still questioning their familiarness. Before the one who’d returned from their journey stopped in front of her, she turned around, just enough to pretend-inspect some imaginary flowers. “Welcome home… did your pack decide to combine as one? Your form has changed since you left.”

“It made traveling easier,” she laughed. “I didn’t want to look like I was leading a raid or something. Did you miss me?”

“It’s easier to fall asleep without all the noise.”

“Mulo says you seem to have stolen some merchandise.” The elf hurriedly added.

“Does the bird get visions in his sleep??”

“Were you wanting to keep him hidden? Even I can see that much.”

“Mmmh. Some noble’s caravan was lopsided below a cliff when I ran by, and I couldn’t say no to such a discount. Mother has her own unique way of spoiling her children, and I think I’m her favorite this time! Here, you can have a fourth. I was going to share some of it anyway…maybe as a bribe or two.”

“Of the boy…?”

“Oh- no not the little spawn. And they’re not really either gender.”

“…”

“Wait, it's not as bad as it sounds! I had to know in case they were a witch of some sort and I admit maybe there was a tad bit of curiosity on-”

“…Just set them down.”

“...I’ll uh, entrust this to you then. Let me know when it’s time to eat, and don’t worry over the contents too much!” She walked off into a tent, hiding something behind her back while a few others followed to ask about her expedition.

Rynth, technically Kaslana now, garnered much of our affection as a sort of mini idol.

The girl was still a bit of an idiot, even after the intelligence boost from her merge. Or maybe it was genetic..?

Regardless though, she deserves some credit for having found her way back alone this time.

When lifting the boy out of the fruit basket, something at the bottom glistened. Underneath the endless well of pears, citruses, suspicious mushrooms, and odd looking berries were luxury pillows and extravagant looking costumes. Heck, there were even boxed pastries.

She definitely stole these on her return trip…

Some caravan was sent from above and advertised itself as a dessert shop in this weather? As if.

“The worst.” She mumbled, chuckling afterwards.

Then the winter passed, and the sun kissed the surface of the river. She saw her lemon colored reflection smiling back at her, as well as the familiar pair of arms that snuck up over her shoulders. For those months, they made up stories to tell at night, and some told of journeys that hadn’t yet happened. Sometimes they held little rites, and palm sized birds were asked to play the role of bright beacons, lighting up the festivals atop a branch of the World Tree. Aeoria, those who wished to see the myriad personalities of the world, often departed by rotation during these celebrations. The ones who saw to their departure either wrote or drew little wishes, placing them into various colored paper lanterns before cutting their strings. Inexplicably, some Aeoria who ventured into outer realms tended to return with relics, life-sized artifacts that perfectly matched the wishes of a favored few.

{In the world of finite probability, the side of coincidence is usually favored over luck}

This may apply outside of this story.