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.
The ship pulled into the harbor, and we docked with no problem. Braum said he would take care of the Gem Hearts and get us our cash at the guild, but I asked for directions to the dungeon.
"Getting pretty late don't you think?" Braum asked me.
"Unless you feel like lending me every drop of your blood, I need to go and clear at least one room of the dungeon. Plus, I have all this build-up of Mana, I would really like to see what I can do with it besides the spells. I have seen Mei use her Mana when we fought Healia and monsters in the dungeon," I said, but all the color had drained from Braum.
"Head up the road, and once you get to the center cross street where all the vendors were, take a left and follow the path out of town. You were kidding about taking all my blood right? You just want to go and train, right?" Braum asked hopefully.
I smiled, trying not to make it seem too villainous, but it was really hard. I had this big man as white as a ghost, but sailors were superstitious people by nature.
"Don't worry, I don't need to take your or anyone else's as long as I can get to the dungeon," I said with a smile and turned to the others. "I would like to go alone, so I will walk with you, but then I will see you back at the Guild."
"No you aren't," Lesha said with the finality of a door closing.
"Listen, I just," But she cut me off again, grabbing me and pushing me roughly ahead.
"No, I will be going with you, the other girls will take our stuff back. Then you can buy me a sword on the way, and use your fancy Mana to protect me," Lesha said, pushing me forward.
The rest of the girls were remaining silent, and Corbit and Tim had already disappeared. This woman, I wanted to be mad at her, but I couldn't find a real reason to be. I had told her I was going alone, but she obviously thought she knew better. We might have to talk about this.
I started to walk forward, but then Lesha waved the girls off and then walked into an alley. I guess the talk would happen now, but when I got into the alley Lesha looked like she had just been whipped.
"K, I am really sorry, I don't know what came over me. I can't be acting like that in front of everyone, but you can't just leave me behind when you go to do dangerous things! That is no excuse for my behavior and I am sorry. I am just worried that you are taking more risks now because of your new strength, but we still need each other, okay? Please don't ask me to stay behind," Lesha said taking my hand, looking up into my eyes.
I stared into her blue eyes for a moment, letting myself feel her words. She wasn't wrong, but as Lesha had just said, that was no excuse for doing something like that. There are many ways that could be a lot more effective, but I had been leaving her out of things since Healia.
"I understand your feelings, and I will not deny you the option to come with me, but I think we need to figure out better ways of dealing with things, both of us. We also need to work on these outbursts and my red eyes, but let's get going and talk on the way."
I leaned in and kissed her, and she kissed me back. I took her hand and walked out of the alley with her.
I hoped the boys would stay with the girls, I should have been more specific. That would be the last thing that we needed right now is for them to get captured and I have to tear the city apart.
Luckily, when we got to the market, the girls were still there and Tim and Corbit were both with them. I let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the group that was ordering some meat skewers.
"You caught back up fast, but there is a smith just around the corner, and he knows your coming and there is a blade waiting. I paid for it already so you just have to pick the one you want from the three I convinced him to sell me at the same price. It will save you time, and we will have some meat from you to take with you one your way back from the smith," Time said with a grin.
"Thank you, that means a lot to have you on top of things like that. Excellent works," I said with a smile, but Tim turned away with a small grin.
I would have liked to tease him about it, but that would defeat the purpose of him getting things lined up. I grabbed Lesha's hand, and she followed me around the corner that Tim had directed us.
The smith was called… you have got to be kidding. The two of us looked up at the sign, and Lesha started to giggle.
"Do you think he knows? I told Gastbo that it wasn't a unique name! I wonder who had it first?" I pondered, about to walk into the shop when a little man appeared.
The man shared a striking resemblance to Gastbo, except this man was in a lot better shape. The man gave us a warm smile after looking us up and down.
"Gats will already say that he came out first and that he picked his shop name first, but the only person that believes him is our mother! So you are the Infamous Kiada, Leader of the Crimson Legion Guild. The woman who single-handedly took on half a guild of muscle heads. Did I mention you had one hand tied behind your back while you did it, also doing a handstand? The stories of you are already running wild and growing longer by the day! I'm Crass, Gastbo's twin Brother!"
"Great, can we get the sword? We are in a hurry, sorry," I said, feeling a bit bad to have to leave after such a glorious intro.
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