32.1 Second Departure

General Summary

Day 484

Andstella sees off our little party with much less fanfare than the Imperial delegation. It is proper and intimate; she gives both me and Liliales bracelets of Grove wood twigs to keep watch over us.   Travel feels slow even though I know that Jaeril, Trillium, and Liliales move at perfectly reasonable paces. The speed with which Kaide and I can move alone has spoiled me! The air is humid and hot as night falls and we settle down near a pool that Kaide enspells to help drain the air of water. Between all of us we produce sort of a bubble of cooler, drier air in which to sleep. Before bed I begin showing Liliales how to create memory paintings - Ipthina and I have begun ferrying letters between him and Wayin and I am hopeful that the two youngsters will be able to share their memories and experiences while we travel.  

Day 485

The next day takes us to the edge of the Sea and travel becomes more bearable. Jaeril observes that the local grass carries a sense of return with it. The land itself feels like the water of the Sea was always meant to be here and it is grateful for its revival. Everything here is returning to how it once was.  

Nothing reborn is ever completely new, always both new and old together.

  And the lights in the air are just as beautiful and heart-wrenching as I remember. Kaide and I explain it as both a physical manifestation of the Osyr Longing and a visible, intense magical essence. Whenever there is such intense magic in an area it threatens to spill out into the area, into other creatures, even manifesting a will of its own.   It is easier to sleep here by the coolness of the water. And just before we sleep I receive a remarkable letter. It is from Tira, dated one day after her delegation left. She writes that they are within the Barrier and she is writing as a test! I write back with the date and how long it took for hers to arrive; I am hoping against hope that this means we will also be able to send letters across the entire Barrier.  

Day 486

On our third day of travel we keep the coast in sight as we move. This means that we are well positioned to spot the living person swimming in the Sea. As we draw closer they become clear - a very fall humanoid upper half with a long yellow-brown snakelike lower half patterned with diamond markings. They greet us warmly, donning elaborately patterned robes edged with unfamiliar runes. As is expected when friendly travellers meet, we share a camp for the evening.   His name is K'savi and he tells us of his people - the Nik'den. Before the storm they lived in the cliffs in the Desolation and found safety in the lack of magic there. When the caves began to fill with water they fled to caves in the hills instead and now he has come back to see if they might return to their sacred spaces once again. The water doesn't reject him and he is hopeful that his people might visit their places of worship again, even if they cannot live there. The others of his kind who have touched the water have been changed as well.  

Humans say their gods give them things in exchange for prayers but the great one-eyed serpent has never done this. Our faith has never wavered, but now those who have touched the water have new powers. The great one-eyed serpent has not abandoned us.

  We spend the evening sharing cultural stories and swapping tales of others we have met. He has seen fae and humans, a few elves, and asks curiously about the elvish Empress. I have a very good time encouraging Kaide and Trillium to answer his questions about the Empire despite Trillium being 'newly hatched' when she crossed over. K'savi is surprised when I tell him that I am the most senior elf amongst us and the only one with clear memories of the Empire and our Empress - I describe how I was born an elf but have become a fae as well.   In exchange he tells us about the Nik'den. He himself is a shaman, and quite old amongst his people at the age of 150. Their young choose names when they have reached the age of five as the majority of young die before then. But perhaps it doesn't have to be that way now that the Desolation has changed, I hope.  

Day 487

The next day we part with K'savi and I send him towards Dreamfall to meet Andstella. He is interested in learning from our people and in investing in the sort of infrastructure that might bring us closer together.