"Where are we going to train?" I asked standing up and pulling my hand from Lesha's.
"Over on the deck, don't worry you can wear a coat to keep the rain off you, but this way I don't need to throw things at you, the waves and rain will be more than enough," Braum said with a big face splitting grin that made me feel very uncomfortable.
"Are you coming with me?" I asked Lesha looking down at her.
"No, I am starting to get a headache so I think I will go lay down. Plus, it's miserable out there, I don't even know why you are going. You should come take a nap with me!" Lesha said with a suggestive smile, but for once I had to be the tease.
"No, I have had plenty of rest over the last few days, and learning how to control my Mana will be important for everyone in the future. Plus, you said before that we will be home later so...AWK!"
The witch grabbed the sides of my waist and dug her fingers into me, making my left that horrible squawking noise. So much for trying to play the tease, and I tried to round on her, but she was already out the door.
I looked over at the men, and they all were trying to look away from me. I could see them trying to hold this laughter back with their eyes bulging, and I sighed.
"Go ahead laugh it up before you all hurt yourselves," I said, and on command, the three men start to laugh like wild animals.
"K, what kind of bird call was that? I have never heard a bird make that noise," Mei said giggling.
I walked over and took her by the hand and then glared at the men, letting my eyes heat just a little bit. They glowed from my anger, and if I only let a bit out I could control them, but it was hard, and all the men shut up right away.
Braum looked a bit troubled by my eyes, but time spoke up right away.
"It's part of her power, when she gets mad, they glow and that was barely even lit up so don't worry. If the room turns blood red, well you're probably already dead, but you're a friend. Miss K is just telling us to stop pissing around," Tim explained to Braum as he stood up, patting him on the shoulder. "Just stay on her good side, it's a pretty good place to be if you get in a pinch."
"Well, I see and learn something new every day, but those are some scary eyes you got there. I will do my best not to bug you too much, but when we get up top, I'm gonna need you to listen to me, because this won't be fun. I just don't want one of those red eyes glares out there in the storm with the other men around. The sea has far too many myths and legends, and the damn sailors buy into every one of them," Braum explained.
"I understand and I wouldn't want them to think I was some kind of ghost or night terror. I will keep my anger in check, I am sorry if I frightened you," I said walking up to the door with Gloria and Mei behind me.
Mei was looking a bit better, but the more extreme movements of the boats were not helping here. Gloria was still mothering her, but that was her chosen job, and they looked cute together. Candi and Trinity were in the corner talking about something that I couldn't overhear.
The six of us headed out in the hall and back out towards the center of the ship. Braum stepped up beside me and we slowed down to grab coats off the wall. As Braum stood beside me, handing out coats, he spoke low so I could hear.
"To be completely honest, your eyes gave me a chill. Far worse than I have ever had before, and I am man enough to say that you scare me with something fierce. La Khomtep; when you get back to the Guild, I'll show you a book."
That was all he said before handing me a canvas coat like the one Leash and I had shared before, but this one was smaller. I wonder what he was talking about?
The thought left my head as we walked out onto the deck and Into the torrential downpour. The sea still bucked and poured waves over the deck, but the wind had died down. We had to watch our step from all the rushing water, and it was hard to even see with all the rain.
"Over here!" Braum called to me from the center mast.
He was sitting and putting one of the diving belts on, and I could see other belts attached to a chain that ran around the base of the mast. Braum waved us over, but he had to yell out the explanation for us to hear.
"Everyone has to take a belt if you're out here or you will get pulled overboard. Once you're hooked in, the once with Mana need to concentrate and find the source of your Mana inside of you. Once you have it, you need to hold that state, no matter what happens."
Everyone got belted down, and I took one of the belts close to Braum. Mei took the other side with Gloria, while the boys sat between us.
I was already regretting changing, but it was too late to worry about that. We had already been half-drowned but the waves were just trying to get buckled up, so I wasn't sure how I was going to do this.
"This won't be easy, but the more comfortable you get with feeling that energy during stressful or distracting situations, the better," Braum said through the rain, right before another massive wave came over the side of the ship.
I settled into myself and caught my breath as the wave passed over me, the raincoat stopping none of it. It was going to be hard to find that point, the direct downpour might have been relaxing, but it thundered down on the deck.
"Let it become the background noise, only focus on the blue flame. You have to be able to do this during a fight, and the more you dig the more you will learn about your power. This is all new to me, but I have gotten quite skilled from doing countless hours of training over the last two months," Braum called out beside me, but I could still barely hear him.
Another wave came, but this one was only at my breast, so I closed my eyes and sought out the blue flame that Braum was talking about. I knew what he meant, I saw it when I used the Mana.
It always seemed to be there when I needed it, but I had never had to use the Mana while fighting, always before to bless or after to heal. What he was trying to say is that if I could learn this and dig deeper I would get stronger, and that's all that I need to know.
I centered myself, letting the thunderous rain drops fade into a constant drum. I let the waves run over me like I was sitting on a beach, the feeling becoming relaxing.
Burning brightly, the blue flame appeared, but looking into it was not hard on the eyes. Instead, it was like my world was opening up to new truths that have been once forbidden, but they now were free to enter the world.
Shield/Dleihs!
The command washed into me as another wave rolled over, but I couldn't be bothered by it. My eyes were open now, in more than one way, with memories of the sea and now these, Truths. I felt like I was slowly starting to get a feeling for what was actually going on, but at the same time, I felt like I had no idea.
There was more than just this world, but I already knew as much. Healia had told me, but what did that mean for me? And Lesha? Just how far did our lives stretch?
I still held the flame and I unbelted, the rain was slowing down and I could see the blue sky up ahead. Soon, the storm would be passed, and we would be bathed in the warm sunlight.
I took the jacket off and when over and stepped into the hall to hang it up. I was starting to get a bit of that unnatural chill, and that meant I would need to still go to the dungeon.
The day was getting on, and the sun was already starting to make its trip down into the sea to light it on fire before sinking away. Then finally casting the world into the final grey twilight before darkness.
That was one of my favorite parts of the day, and I had countless memories of watching those same scenes in countless lives. Some the same, but different somehow, it was hard to make sense of any of it.
The others were getting up now, and Tim and Gloria looked miserable, but both Mei and Corbit looked filled with zeal. The rain had just stopped so I walked back out just as the sun peeked over the cloud.
The feeling I got when the sun hit me was more intense than I had expected. I was still holding the blue flame, but the second the sun hit me, the flame started to get brighter. The blue turned to white, and my skin began to softly glow with a white incandescent.
"You just don't stop do you?" Braum asked, coming to stand beside me. "First you look like one of the cursed depth walkers and now you look like a gilding maiden. I can't make heads or tails of you, woman."
"Don't worry, you aren't the only one," Lesha said sleepily, letting out a long yawn as she slipped her arms around me from behind, softly kissing my neck. "Glowing? This is new, but Braum is right, you really need to decide where you are going with your look? Are you the queen of darkness or a princess of the light?"
"I will just settle for being me, and honestly, I have no idea what is going on. I am still holding the flame, and when the light hit me, the blue turned white and I started to glow. Something feels different now though like I know more, I am not sure what it is that I know more about," I said leaning into Lesha.
We could see the port up ahead, and I smiled, putting my hands over Lesha's and turning to kiss her cheek.
"How are you still holding it? I have been doing it for a while now and I can't just walk around with it. I have to use the training to summon it quickly and use it, but if I try to hold on to it, I end up losing very quickly," Braum said while looking me over.
"Should I not be holding on to it? Will something bad happen, or am I wasting my Mana?" I asked, a bit worried, but I still held the flame.
"Hmm? No, hold it for as long as you can. That is a very valuable skill you have; I am going to guess that you use light magic?" Braum asked.
"Yes, I can use Bless, Heal, and now Shield," I said, and Braum gave me one of those looks that said, you have got to be kidding me.
Braum threw up his hands in the air, and turned up the stairs, to go see Captain Nobby. I was a bit confused, but Tim as usual, came over to dissect the unspoken word.
"By the look he just gave you, your powers are pretty stacked, and I agree. For a tank to be able to heal, bless and shield while also just casually overflowing with Mana, it seems overpowered. Honestly, I am a bit envious of you myself, but you're my Guild Leader. So I expect you to awe me from time to time, but honestly, you should chill out," Tim said with a big grin.
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT