Chapter 1: A Legacy To Last The Ages

Lunar Emblem
Chapter 1: A Legacy To Last The Ages
I
I’m not a historian by nature, but an explorer. I love to discover different locales and peoples to soak up the culture and languages that are musically resonant to my ears people speak and communicate and cajole and playfully trick and try to outmaneuver one another in their relationships.I fight and slay various monsters and record their attributes in the monster glossary and bestiary that Cassius, one of my crew members on my beloved ship, carefully records and draws for our next ventures. We go through ancient temples and recover precious relics and artifacts from within them, we travel mountains and landscapes fighting bandits or villains or creatures of all kinds. To be honest, it’s a life very much worth living, and I’ve always wanted to be an explorer and venturer who traveled the four corners of the world. Ever since I was a boy traveling on the merchant ships that Selkie parents would sail across the ocean and trade wares and goods from all exotic places, from the Northern and Southern poles and the seven great seas that have unexplored islands and countries in between them. I’ve been on various adventures and I’ve gained so much experience from it. So now I’m settling down and I’m going to tell you my world-weary travels. I have countless experiences to recall. I don’t know what compels me to write down these words and these adventures. Self-catharsis? A record for my ancestors to keep so that they can move forward into the future? Who knows?

I’m a man of action. My name is Raziel de Lioncourt, a rag-tag Selkie rogue who eventually became part of the noble Court intrigues which commissioned adventurers from all around the world to harvest materials and rare artifacts from ancient worlds and civilizations that lay buried underneath the oceans and desserts and sometimes in floating castles in the e sky. I come from a merchant family, you see, and we traveled the entire world by ship and saw lots of places and people. Unfortunately, the tempests took my parents and only left me surviving the calamity when I was thirteen, but I managed to sustain myself and survive. I bore it with a grin because my parents wouldn’t have wanted me to wallow in depression over something that couldn’t be changed. The power of a smile can make you believe that things are possible, even when the heart is grieving inside. It may not bring back the dead, but that smile I bear on my face bears the memories of many family meal times and tender moments between mother and father and son who wants to do his parents proud. I wonder if they’re smiling up at me in heaven if there is such a thing as an afterlife.

I eventually formed an adventurer’s guild so that I could make my dreams come true. Seeing all the world and the secrets it had to offer. Living a legacy that will be heard throughout the generations. That sort of thing. There were some very interesting people I met on my journey, and I will never forget them. Though the ones closest to my heart were Rowan Lynch, also known as “Kit’ in the Underworld, Luna, Claire Burvelle, and Cassius. They’ve aged beyond their youthful days, though we still hold a camaraderie like no other. I suppose eI wanted to write these pages for them, the people I care about. So let me begin one of my chronicles by putting to paper my thoughts…

Let’s see..

It began like this…

II
A golden-haired Selkie with vivid blue eyes stared across the seascape that stretched on for miles, a wide grin on his face. He wore a blue tunic with embroidered golden insignia at the edges along with a white undershirt and white breeches and soft brown boots that didn’t have a splash of water upon them. His leather gloved hand shielded his eyes from sun’s glare, and he could see the sun glinting off the waters and waves caressing the shoreline that slowly shrank in the distance. The Selkie, Raziel, departed from the port town of Ronan Cruach and headed towards Belleshire. Raziel thought that his legacy would begin there, and why wouldn’t it? It’s a Royal City that was full of mystery, intrigue, and adventure, and they would commission him to record dangerous monsters exotic items, and different cultures while on his seafaring journey. He liked the sound of that.

The tang of the salt water, the smell of fish, the briny depth of the waters swirling and frothing at the ship’s prow—everything about this seafaring vessel meant that she was sturdy and strong for long trips, and they had enough food rations in their ship to last them months with preserves and salt. Raziel chewed on a fish head that was mostly eaten to the bone, suckling on it and twisting it in his mouth as he savored the succulent flavor. Sometimes they would roast fish over a campfire and eat it with a light sprinkling of salt along with a vegetable stew of sorts, though Raziel never really cared for the taste of vegetables and always wanted to eat fish. Some would say that his love for the fatty fish was borderline obsessive, but as long as he he a fish bone in his mouth, Raziel was satisified with these small things in life.

While Raziel checked his compass, an unnatural maelstrom started to form across the waters and drew his ship into it. He spit out the fish head that he had been sucking and chewing on overside the boat, a wide grin on his face as something treaded underneath the water toward their ship. The merriment never died out of his eyes as Raziel found himself plunging further into the storm, excited that something exotic was happening. He lived for the bold and adventurous, and this was a once-in-a-life opportunity, he was sure!

“Forward into the storm!” Raziel said with delight as the torrents and waves and winds crashed and clashed and banged against the ship with battering blows. “Good day for adventure, eh?”

“You are utterly insane!” A white-haired youth with vivid blue eyes said, grabbing on the railing to support himself as saltwater splashed him directly in the face. “D’you think it’s all right to expose children to this kind of lunacy? You’re gonna get us killed!”

“I trust in Captain Raziel,” a black-haired woman said, with blue-green eyes that held mysterious depths to them. She stood tall and proud on the deck, not wavering once despite the winds and waves and rocking motions of the ship.

“I trust Raziel too!” a young brunette girl said, with a cherubic little face and vivid blue eyes that were wide with merriment. “But I’m also scared half to death! I don’t know which voice I should listen to—Raziel, or common sense!”

“Raziel defies all kinds of logic, Claire,” the white-haired youth, named Cassius, said. “Don’t expect him to know common sense.”

“Hahaha, everything will be all right,” Raziel said as he steered the wheel of the ship and maneuvered swiftly through the water despite the rhythmic rocking and the jagged stones that jutted out from the ocean’s depths. “Oho! Onto adventure, we go! We’re going on a royal mission to explore the wild lands to discover a new species of creature that emerged from the great Eclipse!”

“Raziel, you better have an escape plan,” Cassius said as he gestured towards a giant sea serpent that emerged from the sea and started to wrap itself around the ship. “Because there’s a twice-damned Sea Serpent holding the ship!”

“You know what to do, Cassius,” Raziel said with a smirk as he invoked the wind enchanter’s blessing into his feet. “Oh enchantress of the winds and sea, lend me your divine protection and defeat this cursed snake!”

With that, Raziel’s feet were propelled by glowing green winds and he leaped towards the giant sea serpent’s head, giving it a solid kick underneath the chin. Slaver rolled out of its mouth and it’s eyes rolled back from the impact before the sea serpent unwrangled itself from the ship and started frothing the waters in a rage.

“You just pissed it off even more!” Cassius said while holding onto the railing and looking like he might hurl.”Sea serpents…why did it have to be a Sea Serpent??”

“At least it wasn’t a Hydra!” Raziel said cheerfully as more Sea Serpents started to gather around the ship, opening their wide maws, snapping their jaws with sharp-lined teeth that were as thick as a man’s arm.

“Goddamnit!” Cassius said as he nocked an arrow into his bow and shot a sea serpent straight in the eye. “Who thought it was a good idea to take Claire on this mission? It’s obviously too dangerous for her!”

“I-I’m fine, Cassius,” Claire said, though she held her staff and looked afraid of the numerous sea serpents. One of them launched its head towards her, though Claire’s Staff projected a blue aura that formed a shield around herself so that the impact wouldn’t hit her or the ship.

Meanwhile, Luna was concentrating on something. She put a hand on the ship, before she started muttering an incantation. “O gods of the tempest and storms and calamity, lend me your divine power and smite these serpents with lightning from above.”

A great tempest brewed over the Sea Serpents up ahead, before the broiling clouds ejected massive bolts of lightning upon the Sea Serpents. The Sea Serpents jerked sporadically as the lightning coursed through their bodies, though a single stray bolt almost singed Cassius’s hair from his head. He jumped, obviously displeased, before an open scowl toward Luna indicated his mood.

“Watch it, Luna!” Cassius called out to her, before he slipped another arrow into the bow and released his fingers. It landed straight through the skull of one of the Sea Serpents, which slithered away and sank underneath the waters.

Then it seemed that everything calmed, the Sea Serpents started to slither away, hissing as they went.

“It looks like they went away!” Claire said, wiping a hand across her brow and looking relieved.

Cassius looked green.

“I wouldn’t celebrate yet Claire. It l-looks like there’s a H-Hydra…coming this way!”

Sure enough, the eight-headed monstrosity of a Hydra emerged from beneath the waters towering over even the leviathan-like Sea Serpents. All eight heads had their gills shudder and then secrete a nauseating amount of miasma from their poison breath and bodies. Claire tried her best to keep the blue Aura shining so that the Hydra’s poison didn’t reach any of them. The Hydra, however, kept on spewing its poison breath, and Claire started to run out of energy.

“I don’t know how long I can keep this up!” Claire said while her hands trembled against her staff, “We can’t let that poison touch us!”

“Claire, I’ve got an idea,” Raziel said.

“Cassius groaned.

“More like you’re planning to suicide, aren’t you?” Cassius snapped at Raziel. “That’s what all your crazy schemes lead to, don’t they?”

Merriment twinkled in Raziel’s eye. “I’m going to kill this Hydra in one fell swoop. Just watch me.”

“That’s crazy talk!” Cassius yelled before Raziel leaped out of the blue barrier that Claire provided, asking the wind to surround him in a small barrier that repelled the poison fumes from his body. Raziel smirked as one of the eight heads snapped towards him, easily swallowing him whole. Claire gasped, and Cassius yelled in rage towards the Sea Serpent.

“You fucking bastard! You ate him! Stupid Raziel, why’d you go ahead and do that?”

Luna, however, remained calm. “I trust in Raziel.”

Then, all of a sudden, a greenish aura emanated from inside the Hydra’s body and the monster howled in rage and pain. Raziel used his wind magic to choke the monster from the inside out, and its soft innards exploded into vast many pieces that blew every which way. Raziel then emerged, unscathed from the Hydra, bits of slime from the Hydra’s entrails caught in his long golden hair. Raziel jumped back onto the ship, and Cassius looked astounded.

“Where…Where did the Hydra go?” Cassius stuttered in disbelief, while Raziel pointed left, right, up and down, and every which way.

“It went that way, that way, and uh, that way. In other words, I blew it to bits. How do you like that, Cassius? I told you that I could get rid of it in one fell swoop.”

“Only you would try something as crazy as that,” Cassius spat at Raziel. “What were you thinking? You could’ve been killed! What if your wind magic failed you inside the Hydra?”

“You’re too concerned over the little details, Cassius,” Raziel said absentmindedly before he grinned toward his group. “Good job, everyone! This mission was officially a success! Now to return to Belleshire and celebrate!”

“I don’t think that we should celebrate,” Cassius said with a groan. “We’re in debt, remember? We still owe the guild another four billion crowns for causing damage to the surrounding environment and ruining a local historical landmark. That costs a lot to replace, you know? Hey, are you even listening to me? Why are we always destroying anything and everything that we come across?”

“True, we may be in debt,” Claire said, though she grabbed onto her staff and smiled widely. “But I completed my very first mission! Isn’t that great, Cassius? I can go on more missions and help you guys even more!”

“Oh no,” Cassius groaned. “I don’t want to bring Claire on another mission. At least not with Raziel. The guy is a madman!”

Raziel presented a flask of Hydra Venom to Cassius in a small vial that he kept on his person. “See this? This is highly prized and coveted in alchemic workshops. We succeeded in a dangerous mission that few have rarely come back from. We’re survivors, that much is clear. The guild keeps on issuing more and more impossible missions for us, but we’ve managed to conquer them all, eh? So cheer up, Cassius. You’re growing character.”

“I have enough character for a lifetime, thank you very much,” Cassius grumbled. “Besides, why did you ask for Claire on this mission with you?”

Raziel paused for a moment, before saying, “I have faith in her abilities. And you know what they say. Sometimes you gotta throw a child to the wolves to see them grow up.”

“I’m f-fine, Cassius,” Claire said, even though she was now seasick and drained of mana from fighting against the Serpents and Hydra.

“Oh dear, I think she might be a little anemic,” Raziel said, and Cassius snapped at the golden-haired Selkie.

“I wonder who’s fault is that!” Cassius said, and Raziel simply shrugged. He took a flask from the various bandoliers on his belted torso and gave Claire something that tasted syrupy and sweet.

“Medicine, my own make. Tastes sweet for children. It should help make you feel better,” Raziel said with a smile.

Thank you, Mister Raziel,” Claire said with a smile, and Raziel smiled back and ruffled her hair. He then turned to Cassius.

“Cassius, you worry too much, I would never put this crew in real danger. I knew that I could handle it.”

“One of these days, you’re really gonna regret it,” Cassius said darkly. “If you continue to barge around and act like you’re invincible like a goddamn god. Sure, you may have the blessing of a powerful wind Deity, but--”

“Ah, but that’s the beautiful thing about it, isn’t it?” Raziel said with a grin. “Onward! To Belleshire we go!”

Once they arrived at the Guild, Lunar Emblem, Raziel placed the Hydra Venom in the hands of the Guild Master, who examined it closely.

“Fresh Hydra venom, this will work well in our alchemy workshops throughout Belleshire,” The Guild Master said. “You will be gifted with ten thousand crowns each. Good job.”

“Ten thousand crowns,” Claire said with astonishment. “Wow, I’ve never had so much money in my life before! I could buy so much candy with this!”

“Keep your innocence, Claire, “Raziel said with a smile. “Never change. Also…that wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

“Are you crazy?” Cassius interjected. “We could’ve gotten killed!”

“Reflecting back on it, I did kill the Hydra, didn’t I?”

“You need to stop dragging Claire on these missions, she’s only twelve years old and you expect her to keep up with your shenanigans?”

“Cassius, I’m going to be a woman next year. I can handle myself.”

Raziel ruffled Claire’s head. “That a girl. Cassius, she’s capable of more than you think.”

“I’m not saying that Claire can’t do it, I’m more like giving a realistic assessment of what someone should properly handle!” Cassius sputtered. “Going against a horde of Sea Serpents and a Hydra…that’s a little overkill, dont’cha think?”

“So what do you think of the Guild, Claire?” Raziel asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“I love it!” Claire said as she clasped her hands together. “It was great and it opened my eyes to a lot of things! I think that with this Guild, I will be able to become stronger, explore the world, and go on adventures! That’s the best part!”

Cassius grumbled. “The lunatic is brainwashing poor Claire. I have to do something about it, or else my conscience won’t forgive me.”

Raziel patted Cassius on the head. “There, there, Cassius.”

A red-haired woman approached them, her arms crossed around her voluminous chest, a slight frown on her sultry lips. “Cassius has a point, you know. You’re rather impulsive, Raziel, and I won’t forgive you if anything happens to little Claire or Cassius.”

“What about Kit?” Raziel asked innocently, and Sorcha scoffed.

“That idiot can take care of himself. Probably went gambling or something. You know, we could use the expenses more wisely, but you’re only fueling Kit’s gambling addiction,” Sorcha grumbled.

“Speak of the devil, he’s here in earshot of you,” Cassius said, and indeed, a man with a long flowing mane of red hair tumbled down his back, wearing a green bandanna on his head.

“Was my sister saying something about me?” Kit said cheerfully as he tossed a few coins up in the air and caught them nimbly. “Penny for your thoughts, Big Sis?”

He tossed a gold piece in Sorcha’s direction at lightning speed, while Sorcha nimbly caught it with a single hand and didn’t look impressed. “Honestly, we need to have a serious discussion here, all of you, about what we’re going to do about the Guild.”

II
“We’ve made preparations for a bigger project,” Raziel said as Sorcha leaned in and looked at him curiously while Kit grinned, white teeth flashing and flaming red hair flowing down his back in long, silken locks. The blue bandanna he wore over his head carried the Selkic insignia of a stylized dancing Selkie paying tribute to the moon and waves, and Raziel knew his brother would never be seen without it.

“What’re you thinking about, partner?” Kit said, to which Raziel bumped fists with the red-haired Selkie.

“Oh, just a few things here and there,” Raziel said. “I was thinking of going after the Lunar Emblem, actually.”

“The treasure that’s never been found?” Kit said with open mouthed awe, before he grinned and put his hands against his cheeks. ‘You’ve got some guts, Raz. I like that.”

“The Lunar Emblem,” Sorcha said as she let out a sigh, though there seemed to be longing in her eyes when she heard about the treasure’s name. “Tell me you haven’t given up on that childish dream, have you?”

“Nope,” Raziel said.

Claire clutched her staff closer to her chest, looking at the exchange between the adults. She heard about the Lunar Emblem before—mostly everyone has. Especially in the Adventurer’s Guild, it was an elusive treasure that was scattered into nine pieces across the continents in unknown regions of the world. No one has found a piece of the treasure yet—and many live have been lost in the attempt. She wondered if Raziel was trying to defy death and luck once again, going against the impossible odds.

“You’re crazy,” Cassius muttered, to which Claire turned an tried to placate the black-haired boy.

“But this is the first time in several months that we’ve all been together, haven’t we?” Claire said.

“Just one last adventure together,” Raziel said. “And let’s make it a grand one, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’m not sure if I like the idea of this,” Cassius said with a frown. “But you know what, I gotta stay in and make sure Raziel keeps out of trouble. And to protect Claire.”

“Aw, Cassius,” Claire said with a blush, and Raziel grinned.

“Hey you know,” Raziel said. “I wanted to catalog some monsters and such on my seafaring journeys. There’s more monster activity going about, and I wanted to gather some alchemical recipes from those creatures to make an ultimate solution that cures everything.”

“My dream was to sail the sea and bring back a treasure for my family,” Claire said self consciously while she looked down at her feet. “To show proof that I could actually go out in the world and…and do something.”

“Tch,” Cassius said. “I like hunting monsters and I guess going on adventures with you guys is okay sometimes. But I’m only around so that I can make sure that you all stay out of trouble, someone needs to be the common sense and brains behind the operation.”

“Well,” Kit said. “I always wanted to go on adventures as a little boy. Raziel and I have been together through thick and thin, and there’s no way that I’m going to let him down, eh?”

“And I’m here to put my brother in line,” Sorcha said with a stern voice of disapproval.

“Are you going to pay in damages that you cause the Guild at times?” a bishounen man with long violet hair said as he propped his glasses on his nose.

“Eris,” Raziel said with a grin. “Don’t worry about it, we’ve got everything covered. With this treasure, we’re going to pay you back in full plus more and have some left over for ourselves. Won’t it be grand?”

“According to my calculations, the likelihood of you finding any of the Lunar Emblem fragments is about 20 percent. The chance of you surviving is less than five percent.”

“That’s what makes it so exciting, no?” Raziel said with a grin, before he put his arms around Cassius’s neck and Claire’s and hugged them together. “Look at you two. Growing up so fast. If this adventure doesn’t force you to grow up and become adults, then nothing will! So, onward!”

Eris shook his head.

“What’re you thinking, Raziel? I know that you’re the heart and soul of the Guild, but…”

“Don’t worry about it, Eris,” Raziel said with a grin. “We’re going to be just fine. “We’re just an adventuring crew that takes on dangerous jobs all across the world, anytime for our clients! Adventurous and bold is in our names.”

“More like reckless and daredevil,” Eris said with a sniff, though there seemed to be a small hint of affection on his face. “Well, you do you, Raziel. I’ll be waiting for my share of the profits off the treasure.”

“Cassius,” Claire said as she looked towards the white haired Selkie youth with wide blue eyes. “What do you think this time? Do you think that we’ll find the legendary treasure?”

“Mm…” Cassius mumbled, a bit flustered. “Maybe, Claire. I don’t know.”

Claire wrapped her arms around Cassius’s neck and Cassius only became more flustered as he said. “Get offa me! Jeez, you’re such a handful, Claire. But anyway, I think that we should listen to the treasurer very carefully. He might know a thing or two about the Lunar Emblem expedition.”

“I’m versed in lore throughout the entire world,” the treasurer said with a grin as he took out an ancient and dusty tome from the Guild Library. “Anyway, what it says in this obscure text is that there’s a legend about plant monster that resides deep in the Verdant forest…”

“The Verdant forest?” Cassius said, before frowning. “Don’t the mushrooms spread fumes that make you hallucinate strange things?”

“That is you’re not prepared,” Eris began, before Claire paled.

“Are there…going to be bugs there?”

Cassius frowned before saying, “Claire…”

“I’m…I don’t like bugs!” Claire protested, before Cassius let out a sigh.

“Don’t worry, I don’t like em either, especially the over-sized ones. So that’s why we gotta kill them all,” Cassius declared. “I’ll kill them all for you, Claire.”

Claire immediately brightened and she leaned closer to Cassius, who became even more flustered than before.

“Well, it looks like that’s asettled then,” Raziel said, before he said in a cheery voice. “Oho! Onto the Verdant Forest we go!”

“That’s just a fine and grand old time,” Kit said with a grin, before he put an arm around Raziel’s shoulder and hugged his buddy close. “Hey Raz, why don’t you and I go to town and go gambling and drinking a bi—”

Sorcha grabbed her brother by the ear. “Oh no you don’t! Be more responsible, Kit! And I’m not going to have your bad influence turn Raziel into a womanizing sleaze.”

“Haha,” Raziel said as he watched the two siblings bicker with one another while the rest of the guild looked towards them in awe.

“What?” Kit said as Sorcha then nearly pounded the table into splinters.

“Don’t you do that to me, Rowan “Kit” Lynch!” Sorcha said.

“Jeez, Sorcha, who are you, our mother?” Kit said as he tried to placate her, but Sorcha simply grew more irritated at her brother.

“Our mother didn’t raise such an irresponsible son!” Sorcha said. “You’ve got our father’s bad tendencies! Being a gambler, a womanizer, a drinker, and a thief! What Raziel sees in you…”

“Kit is my best friend, Sorcha,” Raziel said with a grin, before Sorcha rounded on him.

“And you! You always take his side, don’t you, Raziel?”

Luna shook her head before she ruffled her long black hair. “Pointless.”

Kit gestured to Luna. “Don’t you agree, Luna?”

“Luna!” Sorcha said in frustration. “Why are you taking the men’s side? Is it because you have flowers in your head for Raziel?”

Luna rolled her eyes, before saying meaningfully. “Tiresome.”

Raziel laughed. “Let’s all agree that we’re all a great team together and that we all need one another, okay? We’re…closer than siblings!”

“Believe me, you don’t want an actual sibling,” Sorcha said as she glared at Kit and Kit merely laughed at her.

“Hehehe…”

“Mr. Kit,” Claire said, before Kit ruffled the head of the young brunette with affection.

“What is it, Claire Bear?” Kit said with a wink, before Claire smiled.

“I want to go on an adventure with everyone!” she said with a great big grin. “I’m looking forward to seafaring and meeting monsters and chronicling the events in my journal…I want to write a book about all the things that I’ve seen and witnessed and make history!”

“That sounds like an exciting ambition,” Raziel said as he too ruffled Claire on the head. She really was adorable, wasn’t she? “I think that we’ve all got our dreams and motivations for going out in the world as adventurers. It’s my greatest ambition to collect all the artifacts that I can around the world and collect them all. I’m a historian and explorer of sorts, and I have Claire as my little chronicler of our journeys and what we’ve done and seen and witnessed.”

Claire blushed. “I don’t do much, I just write what I feel while getting the local feel of the places that we’ve been and whatnot.”

“So, our order of business is this,” Raziel said as the group huddled around one another and talked about their plants for their next great adventure. “The Lunar Emblem is said to be scattered throughout the several continents, and the greatest explorer that ever lived found two pieces of the missing nine, but those two pieces have constantly been in the demands and holds of different groups and people. It is said if you gather the Lunar Emblem and all nine pieces, you will have a wish granted to you by the Goddess of the Moon herself, but really, what I want is the sense of adventure and gathering the pieces and performing heists and cons for these things. It’s the journey itself that I’m mostly after, not the wish that the Lunar Emblem would probably grant. Besides, isn’t it up to me to grant my own wishes?”

“Some adventurer you are, Raz,” Cassius said, though there was a kind of grin on his face while he said that. “You always loved the adventure more than the things that you’ve gotten on your adventures. That’s not a bad thing.”

“Of course!” Raziel said with a grin. “The grandeur of setting off on a journey with no particular destination in mind except for the adventure itself—who knows what kinds of things you’ll discover on the journey? There might be a series of serendipities that you haven’t intended to find that come to fruition along your journey, and it’s these little serendipities or incidents of luck that I live for. I’m said to be blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, after all, and Luck has always been kind to me. I will keep on going wherever the winds and gods may will me, and perhaps I will find that things that I wanted all this time—a grand legacy that people will remember me by, to tell their children and grandchildren from generations to come! I want to explore the world and study the history of the world and cultures so that other people may learn from those mistakes and think of better ways to innovate towards the future! What is the best thing about this world is that we leave this place a little bit better for the next generation of explorers who night want to follow our legacy, eh?”

“I like the sound of that,” Claire said dreamily, before Raziel ruffled her head again.

“Of course, little dreamer,” Raziel said.”You have a sense of adventure and a love for the exciting things in life as well, Claire. We will venture forth, all of us, and I promise that under my care you will have your wildest dreams and adventures manifest before you! Isn’t that exciting!”

“Just don’t pull the stunt with the Hydra again, Raz,” Cassius said, before he put a hand dramatically over his chest. “’Course it would be your own damn fault if you didn’t survive, but still, you gave me a heart attack!”

“I wish I could’ve seen it,” Kit said, before he tapped Raziel on the arm with a playful punch. “So you’ve acquired the funds that you needed by killing that Hydra, right? I don’t think that Sea Serpents will be spawning in those waters anymore, for sure.”

“Exactly,” Raziel said with a grin. “I think that the merchants that were traveling along that route should be able to send their supplies safely. Though Cassius, did you get a good look at the Hydra? Do you still remember it? You need to log it in your monster glossary, of course.”

“’Course I remembered,” Cassius said with a huff. “I already drew a picture in the logbook of the creature, including it’s anatomy and such, though to be honest, you were the one who had the most close up and personal look of its insides than me…”

“Well, luckily,” Raziel said cheerfully. “You didn’t have to experience it yourself, though they say that an artist has to immerse themselves completely in their work and experience things that other people aren’t willing to experience to truly know and understand what it is that they’re studying.”

“No thanks, I’ll just take your word for it, Raziel,” Cassius said, before he showed a picture of the Hydra. “The thing is, though, you blew it up to bits with Wind Magic and I couldn’t get the more detailed sketch that I wanted to remember it by.”