Chapter 5: Roadside Introspection
A Manticore's cry was one of the most eerily inhuman sounds Mia had ever heard despite coming from a face that closely replicated human features. The great beast stood in front of Mia and her other adept friends in the mouth of a cave where it was sheltering itself from the insane heat of the Lamakan Desert.
Now awakened from its slumber by the presence of the adepts in its desert home, the manticore seemed agitated and upset. Mia could feel psynergetic power emanating from the the beast as she prepared for combat with Isaac, Garet, and Ivan. Gripping the smooth wood on her staff with her hands, the surface slick with sweat, she prepared to cast an offensive ice spell at a moments notice if the manticore made a move.
The faintest wisps of a cool breeze moved past Mia as she stood in the sweltering heat of the desert, providing only a hint at the sweet relief that awaited the group in the cave beyond. With how unbearable the desert was, even that meager promise was taunting enough to intrigue the adepts and fill their heads with thoughts of escaping the desert.
Isaac and Garet fanned out slowly to flank the manticore, avoiding the use of their weapons due to the metal absorbing so much heat that even the handgrips could not protect the wielder. The manticore made the first move, claws glowing a deep reddish hue as fiery explosions blossomed in the air around the adepts, knocking them back with the force of the blast.
Though she had avoided most of it, the surprise on Mia's face was evident. They had fought Saturos and Menardi atop the Mercury Lighthouse and had to contend with psynergy attacks and spells from the pair, but fighting humans with psynergy was much more predictable than a wild beast. Raw, primal, unrefined… Those were the words that came to Mia's mind as she observed the way the manticore used its powers. There's barely any warning before it uses psynergy...and that makes this creature dangerous.
Glancing around at her friends, Mia noted that none of them had any serious injuries from the surprise attack and decided to go on the offensive. Calling back the spell she had prepared before the blast attack threw her off balance, Mia shot shards of ice toward the manticore in retaliation. Gaining the beast's attention, she backed off as it finally left the mouth of the cave and began to move in her direction, its scorpion like tail flicking back and forth like a cat.
Mia knew the dynamic of this fight would be different than usual since the use of weapons would only burn their owners. Normally I would never intentionally grab the monster's attention like this… Mia mused as a surge of adrenaline ran through her while watching the manticore approach. Without weapons to defend themselves, Isaac and Garet are much more vulnerable on the front line and cannot continually occupy the attention of our enemy like normal.
All the adepts recognized the issue at hand and were attempting to cope by adjusting their fighting style. Ivan left his sword on his hip as he unleashed a torrent of devastating lightning that arced across the manticore's body as it roared with pain. Leaping towards Ivan in a flash, the beast took a swipe with its wicked looking claws, but the blonde boy deftly dodged out of the way to avoid the blow.
As the monster was occupied with the two mages, Isaac moved around behind its back and took the opportunity to glance into the cave system the manticore came from. Quickly formulating a new battle plan, knowing it would be difficult to defeat a mythical beast with just psynergy, Isaac called out to the other adepts. "Get into the cave! We can fight more effectively inside!"
Taking the initiative to allow Ivan and Mia to get past the manticore, Garet ran forward with a crazed war cry, firing a powerful blast of flame into the monster's back at point blank range. A swipe of the tail swiftly brought an end to Garet's attack, as he dropped to the scorching sand to avoid the tail's trajectory by mere centimeters.
Getting right back up again before the manticore could turn to face him, the Mars adept avoided prolonged exposure to the burning sand and escaped without injury. Mia and Ivan took the opportunity, running towards the cave where Isaac was channeling a quake spell he could use to manipulate the sand beneath the manticore's feat and slow it down to allow Garet to disengage.
As Mia stepped past Isaac and into the cave, she was hit by what seemed like a wall of cool air as the slight breeze from earlier picked up and provided relief from the infernal heat of the Lamakan Desert. This has to be the way to the exit, she knew, letting herself get distracted from the ongoing fight for just a second as she realized that such a breeze of mild air could not be from the desert itself.
The light inside was dim, but Mia could see the entrance to the cave open up into a large cavern with plenty of space to spread out and combat the manticore inside, away from the glare of the harsh sun. Ivan looked relieved for a moment as well, wiping away the sweat on his brow with his hand. Isaac released a burst of Venus energy behind them as Mia and Ivan ventured further into the cavern and turned back toward the fight to see what was happening.
Garet ran through the entrance, not pausing at all like Ivan or Mia and straight into the large cavernous area. With another inhuman roar, the manticore followed, bouncing after him, revenge for the fiery blasts in its eyes. Not noticing Isaac in its rage at Garet, the beast ran past the blonde boy, razor sharp claws glinting with a thirst for blood.
Isaac was ready for that moment though, and used his psynergy to send massive spires of stone careening into the manticore, sharp pointed rocks digging deep in its flesh. An ear splitting cry of pain shook the cavern as the manticore stopped, bleeding from gashes on its torso due to Isaac's attack.
Something clicked within the creature and it eyed the group warily, knowing it wasn't dealing with normal humans unfortunate enough to wander where they did not belong. Treating the group of adepts with more respect, the manticore paced slowly, sizing up the group once again.
Mia saw Isaac hover his hand over his sword during the brief respite in battle, but drew it away again after feeling the heat still emanating from the hilt, the burn from earlier still fresh in his mind. There was a glint in the eye of the manticore and Mia had a feeling that the encounter was about to get a lot more serious. I think it finally regarded us as intelligent beings…
The adepts spread out around the cavern a bit to give the manticore more to pay attention to as it slowly turned to keep its eye on each person. The hard stone floor had traces of sand across it, especially near the entrance, but was much easier to find footing on and was a smart place for the adepts to stand and fight.
Suddenly the manticore moved. Whipping its tail around in the blink of an eye, the beast shot two green hued bolts directly at Isaac. Dodging the first blast and tucking into a roll to avoid the second, Isaac emerged unscathed as the bolts hit the walls behind him, chipping of small pieces of stone that dropped to the floor with a clatter.
The attack signaled the restart of the battle as Garet quickly fired off two fireball attacks in quick succession. Ivan channeled his psynergy and wind began whipping around him at a fast pace, his clothes and hair fluttering rapidly in the maelstrom. Sensing the psynergy behind him, the manticore turned around, using its powerful tail to keep Isaac and Garet at bay as it looked toward the Jupiter adept.
"Oh no you don't!" Mia called out now that they had freedom to speak in an environment that didn't burn their lungs. Unleashing a torrent of water, Mia drenched the beast with a deluge strong enough to stagger it and prevent it from reaching Ivan.
Done channeling his spell, Ivan unleashed the fury of his winds, sending razor blasts of wind flying at the beast, opening gashes on its wings, face, and torso as the Jupiter power impacted against the creature. Unsettling howls of pain accompanied each blast, echoing in the large cavern and amplified by the acoustics of the walls.
Feeling a primal surge of psynergy born of rage, Mia saw the eyes of the manticore glow bright purple and suddenly her mind was assaulted with a searing pain. Instinctively closing her eyes to block out her senses, she staggered back to the wall and used a hand to support herself as she grasped her face with the other. What...is...this….magic…. Mia struggled to think through the effects of the spell. The pain subsided, but her mind still felt wrong, and when she opened her eyes, she wasn't sure what to make of what she was seeing.
Mia's mind was spinning and trying to look around showed the whole room blurring in and out of focus. Trying to take a step forward resulted in her falling to her knee as she tried to understand her surroundings. There were two Isaac's making their way toward her and Mia looked back and forth between them, trying to overcome her delusion and shift back into reality. She reached out her hand to one of Isaac's outstretched hands, but felt nothing there until the real Isaac grabbed her hand.
"Snap out of it Mia!" Isaac's voice echoed in her head as he helped her stand up again. The manticore was not sitting idly by toying with them any longer and followed up its attack with another blast of Mars psynergy that exploded nearby, sending the two adepts flying apart. Ears ringing from the burst close by, Mia picked herself up from the floor again, determined not to lose the fight to a psynergetic trick.
I need to help the others, Mia told herself, scanning around the room, her vision still blurry, but no longer seeing double. She saw Isaac laying on the ground against the wall he was thrown into as well as Garet and Ivan across the room where they were slowly getting to their feet.
"I was not expecting that…" Garet said with a groan as he found his footing again.
Prioritizing the blonde boy still on the ground, Mia called upon her psynergy as she made her way over to Isaac and pressed her hands to him. Releasing her pent up healing spell, she watched as cerulean psynergy materialized from her hands and flowed like water into Isaac's body.
Isaac grimaced in pain, but reached up to grab her arm, silently letting her know it had been enough and he would be okay. Ignoring him for a few more seconds, Mia pumped additional psynergy into Isaac to ensure she fully healed his injuries. Always so stubborn about things… Mia mused as she pulled away of her own volition, annoyed by Isaac's tendency to only accept the minimum amount of healing needed.
Knowing she still had to help Garet and Ivan, she looked away and over to the ongoing battle as Isaac stood up to fight again. Though he didn't look in great shape, Ivan had managed to conjure a wall of wind that Garet was contributing a stream of constant flame to in order to hold back the manticore. The result was a barrier of swirling fire, buying time for Isaac and Mia to recover.
As Isaac returned to the fight, Garet and Ivan dropped the spells, having expended a large amount of psynergy to maintain them after the delusion. Mia's head felt clearer than before and she started casting one of her newest spells, channeling her healing psynergy into her staff. The wooden staff began to glow brightly as the power of the spell coalesced near the head, before she banged the bottom of the staff against the ground with a wooden thunk, and the psynergy exploded outward towards Ivan and Garet, healing both boys with its power.
Feeling reinvigorated, the boys blocked two quick slashes from the manticore's claws using their psynergy and counterattacked with their own spells to throw the beast off balance. Mia finally checked herself for her own injuries, glad to see the rest of the adepts back in fighting shape. Her psynergy reserves were running low and she could feel her power weaker than it had been before, but used a small part of it to close a few cuts and gashes she had sustained from the blast psynergy.
A sharp rasp of steel stood out among the sounds of their psynergy battle and caught Mia's attention as she turned to see a smiling Isaac holding his sword in one hand. He's going to burn himself again! Mia's mind screamed out, remembering the desert from earlier and how she had to heal his hand with the herbs she found.
As Mia's mind caught up to her instinctive response and processed the situation, she looked dumbfounded. He can hold the sword without burning himself because it's cooled down since entering this cavern! Mia realized. Her mind flashed back to Isaac's hand hovering over his sword shortly after stepping into the cavern. The reason he wanted to fight in the cavern...did he have this planned all along?
Mia couldn't help but to marvel at the tactical genius Isaac displayed sometimes in the heat of the moment. Isaac's smile gave his plan away, and the other two boys quickly got over their surprise and drew their weapons as well, happy to be back at full strength and not be relying solely on psynergy.
It was obvious to Mia that they had been struggling to keep up in the fight before, but the tables had turned now that the boys could use their weapons again. Her vision was continually improving, and the glint of Garet's blade reflected light from the entrance of the cavern as he blocked two claw swipes with loud clangs of metal.
Mia made her way over to where Garet was fighting and the redhead backed off, letting Ivan and Isaac take over for a moment as he knew what she wanted to do. Mia tapped into her psynergy again and felt the energy well up within her. Releasing another healing spell, she cured the rest of the gashes and injuries he had sustained that Mia's first spell was not able to fix.
Good as new, Garet swung his arm in a circle to test it and thanked Mia for her ever present healing prowess. Moving back into the thick of the fight, Garet allowed Ivan to take a step back and retreat so that Mia could repeat the healing process on the remaining adept.
Isaac and Garet were now able to stand toe to toe with their foe, no longer relying on quick reflexes to dodge every attack when they could block or deflect the strikes of the beast using their weapons. Back in their element, Isaac and Garet relentlessly attacked, keeping up the pressure on the beast. Though they were not natural swordsmen, each boy could read the other's movements and react accordingly to follow up on each other's attacks.
Mia observed the dance of steel as she healed up Ivan, watching as the other two boys took the upper hand and started pushing the manticore back. As Ivan's wounds closed, Mia stepped away to focus back on the fight and give the Jupiter adept room to make use of his powers as well.
Alternating between spells and the blade, the adepts did not let up the pressure on the manticore. Though it continued to conjure primal bursts of psynergy in addition to swipes from its claws and tail to counterattack against the adepts, the manticore's attacks were getting noticeably weaker.
Another roar echoed in the cavern as Isaac's blade found flesh again with a spray of blood. The manticore reared up on it's hind legs, spreading its wings and putting more power behind a retaliatory strike from its talons. Isaac dodged out of the way, not wanting to take the full brunt of the attack head on. A loud cracking noise resounded in the room as the enraged manticore slammed its feet into the ground where Isaac stood a moment before.
Mia wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity and reaction, hurling razor sharp shards of ice towards the unfurled wings, piercing the membrane and punching holes straight through. The beast made its pain known again as it retreated, pulling its wings back into its torso.
Another flare of primal psynergy hit Mia like a wave and she stumbled backward along with her friends as she suddenly felt weaker than before. The impairing psynergy was enough to dissuade Isaac and Garet from closing in on the injured creature, the weakness preventing them from being agile enough to dodge any surprise attacks.
Noticing this, and not wanting to give the manticore any time to recover, Ivan shot off a ray spell to zap the monster and attempt to stun it to buy time as the effects of the impairing psynergy waned. We should end this sooner rather than later, Mia knew, conjuring the last of her power in her hand. I have so little psynergy left between healing and needing to use more offensive spells than usual in this desert…
Though her psynergy reserves were low, Mia came up with a creative use for it. Casting another spell to drench the manticore with water, she used up the last of her psynergy. The spell did not have the same force as her previous spells, but succeeded in her goal of coating the beast in water.
"Ivan, finish it!" She called out to the Jupiter adept, hoping that the water dripping from the manticore's mane would help conduct electricity and allow Ivan to end the battle. Grinning at the idea, Ivan called violet light to his hands before unleashing a torrent of lightning, continually firing of ray spells that sparked up upon contact with the soaked creature.
Mia observed as the flashing light of the lightning continued to zap the manticore and sparks began to jump across its entire body, taking its toll. Ivan did not let up and the other adepts looked on as Mia's idea worked and a combination of steam and smoke from the vaporized water and scorching electrical burns sent the manticore into death throes.
Convulsing wildly from the electrical current, the creature could no longer express its agony until it finally shuddered and lay still on the rocky ground. Ivan stopped his psynergetic assault and the rest of the adepts waited with baited breath, looking for any sign of life from the now smoking corpse of the manticore as small sparks of lightning continued to arc across the body.
Waiting long enough and seeing no movement, the group all dropped their guard and Mia breathed a sigh of relief. She regarded the crumpled creature with a sad look, knowing that its aggressive temperament was likely a consequence of the events surrounding their quest, just another example of what was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. The more she traveled, the more Mia saw the same thing in different places and the more monsters like the manticore kept appearing across the land.
There was no avoiding battle with the monsters though, and Mia knew it. No matter her thoughts on the matter, conflict was inevitable and she would have to continue to defeat and kill many more monsters on their journey as needed. This manticore probably would have attacked us anyway, even without the influence of that elemental storm that sparked everything. A lot of these creatures were already aggressive before and just became overly so after the storm...but a number of them are victims of circumstance...being driven to madness or insanity by the power of the elements being disturbed. I can't help but to feel remorse in those cases…
Looking at the body of the manticore splayed out on the solid stone beneath their feet served as a reminder to Mia of all the normal wildlife and creatures that had also become twisted and evil from the evolution of their world. With a sigh at all the senseless suffering created by Saturos and Menardi as well as Alex's actions, Mia pushed her feelings aside so she could be useful to the rest of her friends as they proceeded to the exit of the desert.
The group of adepts were worn out from the fight but relatively unharmed thanks to Mia's healing psynergy. It had also helped immensely to fight inside the cavern as opposed to outside in the sweltering heat. Isaac and Garet sheathed their swords and Mia glanced around the cavern to get a better idea of what they walked into now that the fight was over. The rocky walls rose high above them before tapering into a ceiling far above. The size of the place was massive, which explained why the manticore decided to use it as a resting place. The cool breeze blew past the group again, still in sharp contrast to the heat of the desert crossing.
Mia turned toward the source of the slight wind and saw that the cavern continued on down past where they were just fighting. The area was all lit up by the sun leaking inside from both exits of the open space they were in. "I think this might be the exit to the desert," Mia said hopefully, indicating the short passage to the other adepts.
Despite being exhausted, Isaac, Garet, and Ivan looked somewhat reinvigorated at the idea of leaving the desert behind and eagerly came to join Mia at the path onward. Leaving the cavern behind, the group made their way through the wide tunnel area, perfectly sized for trade caravans to make their way through. Upon stepping outside, back into fresh air and onto a dirt road, the group noticed the temperature drop immediately as they were no longer in the scorching desert.
"Thank Jupiter," Ivan praised as he felt the cooler air against his skin, no longer burning up from the heat. The sense of relief was mirrored among the rest of the adepts and Garet promptly lay down on the grass nearby, showcasing his exhaustion from the trip.
Mia shivered, unused to the cooler temperature. It's not even that cold, Mia knew. It's my perception of the temperature that is off after spending most of the day in heat far beyond what any human should be in… Looking around at their surroundings, the amount of green surprised the Mercury adept. Though she remembered the world had a lot more plant life than what she was seeing while in the Lamakan Desert, she found it hard to remember much more than a faint image of the beautiful mountains around the Lama Temple from the day before.
The heat must still be messing with my head and I haven't quite recovered yet, Mia decided, pinpointing the reason for her surprise. In reality it had only been a few hours in the desert, however the all consuming nature of the place had pulled at their minds, making minutes seem like hours and hours seem like days.
"We should call it a day," Isaac suggested to the rest of the group, knowing they would not have a lot of energy left to continue their journey after the taxing effect of the desert. "According to Ivan, it's still about a day until we reach Kalay anyway which is perfect."
The other adepts agreed, not prepared for more traveling, as well as looking forward to the idea of extra downtime. Though they did not expect to see other travelers on the road, especially after their experience in the desert, the group moved off the road a little bit to set up camp.
Used to the silence in the desert, the adepts worked quietly to pitch tents and set up an area for a fire where they would be able to cook their food that night. The patch they chose was a perfect resting spot, the blades of grass providing a soft ground perfect for relaxing on and still short enough to avoid any difficulty setting up tents.
"Whose watch is it first tonight?" Isaac asked, looking at each adept in turn as they finished setting up the tents and moved on to making a small fire pit.
"I think it's mine," Mia stated, trying to remember back to the last time they had camped out on the road before Altin.
"Mia, Isaac, then me I think?" Ivan asked for confirmation from the rest of the group. "I'm pretty sure it's Garet's night off tonight," he added.
"That sounds right," Isaac replied as he walked over to a nearby tree and snapped some branches off of it for kindling with a cracking sound. Mia got up to help and gathered an armful of smaller twigs and branches for use in starting the fire as well, arranging them in the makeshift dirt area Garet had cleared in the grass.
"I'll grab some larger logs," Ivan said before heading a little farther from camp to get some more wood for the fire.
Isaac turned to Mia. "Hey Mia, since we're all way more tired than usual today it might be a little much trying to stay up late into the night with no rest. You should rest a little bit now before dinner so you don't overwork yourself going straight from the desert into first watch."
The explanation and reasoning was logical and a tired Mia wanted nothing more but to accept his proposal, but there was still work to be done. Finishing arranging the kindling, she looked back at Isaac and declined. "Thanks Isaac, but I still need to help make dinner and set up camp."
"Nonsense Mia," Garet chimed in. We can handle it and we know you'd do the same thing if one of us was in your position.
Isaac nodded, his concern for the cerulean haired girl etched on his face. "It's not good to try to push ourselves too hard and get worn out to the point of being unable to travel." Mia looked to him, knowing that he once again had a good point. I want to be doing my part in everything at least, Mia thought to herself, despite knowing the boys were both right.
"Let Garet and I make dinner," Isaac implored Mia. "I will wake you up when it's time to eat okay?"
Mia shook her head in defeat but smiled at the two adepts. "Very well...I know you're just thinking of what's best for us," she admitted.
Ivan walked back to the group with some larger pieces of wood in hand, dropping them by the makeshift nest of twigs that Mia set up to start the fire. "These should last us the night," the younger blonde boy said, indicating the wood.
Garet grabbed the wood and held out his hand to the kindling, sparking it to life with his psynergy. As the flame slowly grew and consumed the pile of twigs, he gently laid the first log nearby to catch fire and begin their campfire for the night. The crackling noises and sparks of flame that flickered up let the Mars adept know the fire was burning strong.
"All right then, see you at dinner," Mia told the others as she retreated into her shared tent with Isaac to take a quick nap and rejuvenate before watch for the night. Grateful for the reprieve, but not wanting to sleep too deeply and have a hard time staying awake for watch, she laid down on top of her bedroll for a quick rest.
Despite all that was on her mind from the crossing of the desert, Mia knew she would have no problems falling asleep due to her exhaustion, and she would have time later to reflect on events while looking over the camp at night. She was completely right and it was only a matter of minutes until Mia's eyes closed and she fell into a light sleep.
…
Mia stood still as the wind blew past, causing her to shiver from the cold. The world around her seemed dark and dreary with the exception of a brilliant cerulean light shining upon her matching hair. Looking up into the light and shading her eyes from its glare, Mia made out the outline of a lighthouse, a familiar silhouette on the outskirts of her hometown.
The beacon was lit as she could plainly tell and she bathed in its light, opening a fresh wound and reminding her of her failed duty to protect the sacred place. She wished she could go back in time, pay more attention, take more notice of what was happening, and have another chance at stopping it from being lit. She knew it was impossible. Her job now would be to protect the rest of the lighthouses to atone for her inability to protect this one.
The group of adepts that had helped her in the Mercury Lighthouse when she wanted to investigate the light had explained that the other lighthouses across the land were also in danger. The means to light them had been stolen from a sacred resting place and they were in pursuit of the perpetrators to prevent exactly what had just happened at the Mercury beacon.
It was her duty to go. Mia knew that she could protect the other lighthouses and help atone for her failure to protect Imil. The three boys had accepted her aid on their quest so she would travel with them. They seemed to have a positive outlook on everything despite the events that had transpired, which was something Mia took comfort in. The three boys were standing, talking to each other as Mia packed some things she would need for the journey. The taller blonde boy...Isaac was his name...laughed at something one of the other two said. Mia could feel genuine happiness from his laugh despite the situation they had all just been placed in, and glanced over at him, allowing Isaac's infectious smile to improve her mood.
...
The surroundings changed and Mia found herself sitting under the shade of a tree. The cold and sense of failure was gone. Something here was different, a snapshot of what could have been or what could yet be. She was by the ocean, the even rumbling of the waves crashing into shore evoking a feeling of peace and serenity. This world was much more warm, she could tell just by being there...but deep down she knew it was not her world and instead a reflection of what she wished it could be.
She heard the same laugh as before, looking over to see a blonde boy sitting next to her, spiky hair messy and unkempt with a yellow scarf fluttering gently in the breeze as he looked at Mia with a smile on his face. His brilliant blue eyes reflected his happiness in the moment and Mia felt the weight of his hand in hers as they sat together, enjoying the sense of serenity found in this place.
'Mia,' the boy addressed her by name. Looking over at him, Mia felt like she should reply, but for some reason she was unable to speak and instead the silence lingered until the boy repeated himself...
"Mia?" a voice said softly and Mia could feel a small amount of pressure on her shoulder as her body gently rocked back and forth. "Mia?" The voice asked again as the cerulean haired girl rolled over, hearing her name called out in her mind. No, no...Five more minutes, Mia told the waking voice, subconsciously wanting to continue the dream she was having.
"It's time to wake up," Isaac's voice said gently, trying to rouse the sleeping girl back to reality. Mia yawned as she gave in and opened her eyes to the blurry shape of Isaac sitting over her. Rubbing her eyes with her hands to fix her vision, Mia squinted up at the blonde boy in an attempt to make out his features as she woke up.
Ah...it's Isaac… Mia thought as she drowsily recognized the boy. He's here with me...that's nice… Shifting again, Mia subconsciously reached out to the hand Isaac was using to rouse her and took it in her own, pulling it close to her and using it as a pillow as she closed her eyes again. I was having a nice dream too… Mia's mind told her as she tried to remember what it was about.
Isaac's face turned red with embarrassment at the not quite awake adept's actions, completely clueless on how to respond for a few seconds. Mia had never done something like this before, and even if she was not awake, it was too strange for Isaac to comprehend. Pulling his hand away from her, Isaac shook the cerulean haired girl more insistently. "Mia, you need to get up. You can't go to sleep on an empty stomach after such a long day," he explained, even though he knew it would fall upon deaf ears.
Mia didn't understand the words, but the sound of them combined with the shaking finally did the trick. The Mercury adept groaned as she woke up with another yawn. Pushing herself up to a sitting position, Mia looked over at Isaac questioningly, as if asking why he was there.
"Dinner's ready," Isaac explained again, keeping it short in case she was still half asleep and would have trouble understanding. "You should come eat with us," he added, glancing at the hands that had just held his own, then away from Mia with a tinge of pink still in his cheeks.
Mia looked confused by his seemingly strange reaction, unaware of the events that had just transpired. "Are you okay?" she asked the blonde boy, mistaking his embarrassment for concern.
Isaac shook his head with a smile and turned back to Mia. "I'm fine," he stated simply, amused that she did not have any recollection of the past few minutes. "You were just harder to wake up than I expected," he explained, giving her part of the story.
Mia shrugged. "I guess I was tired. It's been a long day after all...and I need to have energy for my watch tonight."
"I could take your watch for you if you need to rest," Isaac tried to offer helpfully.
Mia quickly turned him down, feeling her energy coming back after the nap. "No need for that," she explained. "I feel much better now and you need your rest too since you have second watch."
It was Isaac's turn to shrug. "I can manage," he replied confidently. "I can't have my friends collapsing from exhaustion if they aren't getting enough sleep after all," he added as a joke.
Mia frowned instead of laughing. "You can be so stubborn sometimes you know?" she asked, surprising Isaac with a more serious answer. Mia sighed, but smiled. It's just part of his personality...I know it's just how he is. "I appreciate how you always try to put our wellbeing over your own, but you do need to take care of yourself sometimes too."
Isaac smiled, seeing that she wasn't about to get angry at him and appreciated the concern that the cerulean haired girl gave him in return for his own.
Mia brushed the hair in her face out of the way, tucking it behind her ear as Isaac followed her hand's movement. Seeing that Isaac was taking her observation well, Mia decided to follow up with a bit of a joke. "I'm glad I was able to come on this journey with you all," she declared. "After all, someone needs to ensure you eat and sleep. I'm not 100% sure that you would sometimes if I wasn't around to make you," she added.
Isaac made a dismissive snort but had no rebuttal to her comment, joke or not, and he changed the topic. "Well Mia, we did make some dinner and save you some, so why don't we go eat before it gets cold?"
Accepting that as his surrender, she smiled and agreed to go get some dinner. Following the blonde boy out of the tent, she was greeted with the smell of fresh food in a pot near the fire. Garet was portioning out some soup and rice for each person, handing a warm bowl to Mia as she sat down nearby. "Glad to see you're awake," Garet commented as Mia took a look at the food he had just handed her.
"We thought you might just sleep through the entire night," Ivan added, accepting his bowl from Garet as well. "I totally get why though after that desert trek," the Jupiter adept said, continuing to speak to Mia. "Hell, I feel like passing out for a day or two right now as well," he joked.
Mia shook her head. "Maybe, you're right...If Isaac didn't wake me up I might have just kept on sleeping all night," she admitted with a smile. Taking a sip from the soup, Mia found herself surprised at the taste. It's good! Her mind told her, not sure what to expect from the efforts of the three boys. Though she had tasted thier cooking before, more often than not the group ate more basic and easily prepared food while on the road and better meals were saved for stays in town.
Taking another sip of the broth, Mia found herself enjoying the flavor, impressed by the ability to make something so tasty on the road. She could feel the boys staring at her as she ate and looked up to meet their gaze, freezing her hand holding another spoonful of soup halfway between the bowl and her mouth. "What?" she asked curiously, looking to each adept in turn before Ivan chuckled and Isaac looked back at the pot of food.
Not catching the joke, Mia remained confused for a few more seconds, finishing her bit of food as Garet took pity on her and explained.
"Isaac was curious if you were going to like it," the Mars adept said, indicating his own soup with his spoon. "I thought it was a pretty good job myself," Garet added, eating another spoonful and glancing sideways over at Isaac.
The blonde boy dodged Mia's gaze for a moment as she looked over at him to confirm the truth. Isaac made this? She asked herself.
He saved Mia the trouble of asking by looking back to her and speaking up, ignoring Garet's comment implying Isaac wanted to see Mia's reaction in particular. "I just figured that after such a tough day we should have a nicer meal than normal even though we're still out here," Isaac said, explaining his reasoning.
"Well I definitely appreciate it." Mia gave him a smile of thanks. "It's quite good. I didn't know you could cook like this," she added, complimenting his food. Making good soup like this with limited supplies on us is actually pretty impressive, Mia thought to herself as she stirred the bowl to see what all he had put in it.
"Thanks Mia," Isaac replied with a hint of embarrassment, not expecting any sort of praise for his cooking skills.
Ivan wolf whistled quietly at the exchange, much to the amusement of Garet who could not hold back a laugh. Mia raised her eyebrow over at the pair as if to ask 'Really?' however they were too absorbed in their own joke to notice.
Isaac ignored the obvious bait and spoke as a distraction from their antics. "It was just my mom and I for the last few years back in Vale. I learned to help cook among other things during that time," he gave as way of explanation for the soup.
"Ah yes...that would explain it," Mia remembered back to when she was first learning about her new companions and events leading up to the Mercury Lighthouse. It makes sense that he would know how to cook if you look at it like that...I'm just surprised I never really noticed before, Mia thought.
Not really sure what else to say, both adepts turned back to their food along with Garet and Ivan. They enjoyed the meal in relative silence, occasionally speaking up about a memory from one of the towns they visited or complaining about their trip through the desert earlier in the day.
At the mention of the Manticore they faced, Mia noticed Isaac get quiet and more thoughtful, making a note to herself to ask about the fight again and strategy they used. As the group wrapped up eating, Garet and Ivan helped clean and pack up the bowls and utensils before retiring for the night in their tent.
Glad to have taken the short nap she did, Mia understood the exhaustion of her fellow adepts and was surprised when she saw Isaac pick up his sword and draw the blade instead of heading to bed like the other two boys. Eyeing the sharp steel, Mia watched curiously to see what the blonde boy was planning to do.
"Hey Isaac," she called out to catch his attention before he got too distracted. Turning towards Mia, Isaac re-sheathed his sword and walked over to where she remained sitting by the fire.
"What's up?" the Venus adept asked, sitting down beside her. The flames flickered in front of them, casting orange light onto the pair's faces as the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon.
"What were you planning to do with that just now?" Mia asked, nodding toward the recently drawn sword lying next to Isaac. "I figured you would go to bed like the others...especially considering you have a watch tonight too," she added.
Isaac shrugged. "I might be a bit tired, but a lot happened today so my mind has been active and probably won't let me sleep anyway," he replied in explanation. "I figured I would get some practice in before bed."
The sword reminded Mia of Isaac's injury from earlier in the desert and she glanced over at his hand, which seemed to be fine thanks to the fast acting burn relief she made up at the oasis. "Your hand seems much better," Mia commented, prompting Isaac to raise it up and look at it. "You seemed to be able to fight with your sword against the Manticore with no issues."
Isaac just shrugged. "It's a lot better thanks to you. I wasn't 100% sure when we faced the Manticore how it would turn out trying to wield a weapon, but it held up nicely with minimal irritation, especially considering how it was before."
Mia smiled, getting a better glance at it as Isaac let the Mercury adept take a better look. It's all healed… Mia realized, surprised at the unexpected speed of the burn recovery. "Well, I don't know what to say," she said, taking her eyes off his hand. "It seems absolutely fine now."
Isaac smiled. "Yeah...I'm definitely relieved that wielding a sword won't be a problem for me. That whole desert crossing pointed out a glaring flaw in my fighting style and reliance on a weapon in combat." He looked thoughtful again, but Mia could tell he wasn't quite finished so she stayed silent and waited for him to continue. "It was worrisome while actually in the situation, but now that we're outside the desert, I'm kind of glad it happened. If we didn't come across that situation, I might not have recognized the need for me to expand my skills before it was too late," Isaac explained the logic that made him come to that conclusion.
Mia thought back to the oasis where they had briefly spoken about the same thing after the burn on his hand. Me too...I've been learning and improving my offensive psynergy at a good pace, but my physical combat skills are lacking. "I think I understand what you mean," she replied, considering her own shortcomings when it came to combat. "I was only ever a healer in Imil, so while I knew how to use offensive psynergy, it wasn't something I was particularly adept at. It wasn't until I left for the journey with all of you that I really began to get better at fighting with my psynergy in addition to healing."
Isaac smiled at the cerulean haired girl. "Your psynergy has come a long way in such a short time. I was never a match for your healing, even from the very start, but all of your combat spells have far surpassed my own as well," he admitted to Mia.
Mia nodded, accepting the praise without argument, but decided to bring up a different point. "I think that I see myself with the opposite issue as you. My psynergy use in combat is continually getting better, but I rely on it even more than you rely on your sword. When we fought the manticore today, I briefly considered what I would do if I was in your situation but could not cast any spells instead of being weaponless."
Isaac thought about the theoretical situation for a few second, absorbing the logic behind Mia's thoughts. "It wouldn't end well I don't think," Mia said with a humorless smile. "I need to learn how to keep up in physical combat as well."
Isaac paused before saying anything further. "I guess that's just really what it comes down to in the end," he stated. "We need to encompass all aspects of our psynergy and combat powers to be the most effective we can be instead of just focusing on a single part."
Mia agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment and nodded her head to indicate she believed the same. "We've all done a great job up until this point of playing to our strengths and covering up our weaknesses by working together, but you're right that we need to improve our weaknesses and turn them into strengths instead." It was Isaac's turn to nod in agreement. Mia continued her thought. "It's fine to rely on each other I think...and I'll likely always prefer psynergy over physical combat, but I know I need to be able to fight effectively independently. I can't always rely on someone being there to hold monsters off as I cast my spells or on someone to be able to help me if we get into a tough spot."
"I will always try to be there for you," Isaac replied. "I do think knowing how to handle ourselves even in a disadvantageous situation is a good idea however," he added. "That's why I'm going to practice my psynergy and learn when and how to use it better and more effectively so another day like today doesn't happen if I am unable to use a weapon for whatever reason."
The mention of weapons again caused Mia to glance down at the sword by Isaac's side. "Speaking of weapons...you planned fighting in that cavern didn't you?" she asked. Before the blonde boy could answer, she clarified exactly what she was getting at. "It wasn't just to avoid the sand and heat outside...you knew that if you bought enough time for your sword to cool down that you'd be able to use it didn't you?" she asked.
Isaac smiled, giving her the answer she was looking for. "I did," he answered briefly. "I just wanted to make sure we held it off long enough until we could get the advantage with my weapon back."
Mia shook her head in amazement. "I knew it…" Isaac has a tactical genius that the rest of us just can't match. How he is able to think that far ahead and plan for that one moment while under the stress of battle in those conditions… Mia looked up at the stars that had emerged during their conversation. "I originally thought you were thinking about drawing your weapon regardless of if it burned you again, but you were just testing to see how hot it was and if it had cooled down enough to use," she noted her observation from the battle.
Isaac frowned. "If it really came down to it, you're right. I probably would have drawn the weapon and fought with it regardless of the pain if it was our only escape."
Though disturbed by the idea of Isaac burning his hand again, Mia could understand the sentiment behind that decision if he was forced to make it. "That would be...unfortunate," Mia considered, envisioning how the manticore fight could have gone differently and forced the use of his sword much sooner.
"I instinctively picked up my sword," Isaac said, thinking aloud for Mia's benefit. "I was thinking about getting some training in, and just did what was natural again by relying on the sword even though I've been talking about how I really need to practice my psynergy…" He looked disappointed in himself.
Mia understood. "Reliance on your sword is a habit you already have in place. It's hard to break those habits sometimes so don't feel so bad about automatically picking up the blade to practice with it," she said. "You still need to train your strengths so that they remain your strengths," Mia added with a smile, calling upon a healing spell for Isaac to see in order to illustrate her point.
"That's true," Isaac replied. "You keep up with your healing practice quite often thanks to our injuries," he chuckled. "However, I do want to learn more about how to fight using psynergy as well."
Mia smiled. "That's something I think you'll find you have less issues with than you think once you try it more often," she said. "Take it from me, an ordinary healer...I picked up how to fight using psynergy pretty quickly. Sometimes it's less about attacks and more about the effects of your psynergy and the outcome of your actions than anything else."
Isaac called upon his psynergy instead of replying, gathering the power of the earth in one of his hands and reaching out to a nearby rock, levitating it off the ground with his lift spell. As Mia eyed the rock floating in midair, Isaac spoke. "I think fighting with psynergy is all about finding a creative use for it," Isaac explained, thinking back to how Mia soaked the manticore in water to increase the effectiveness of Ivan's lightning spells. "Take this rock for example," he added, indicating the rock floating in the air in front of them. "What is there to stop me from combining the use of my psynergy to throw it at an opponent?"
It was a rhetorical question and Mia waited for Isaac to give his own answer. "It's not the intended use of the lift spell, but I believe it can be effective nonetheless," Isaac explained. "I got the idea from your use of water to amplify Ivan's attack," he added, attributing the credit for the idea to the girl next to him.
Mia considered his outlook on psynergy as Isaac slowly lowered the rock back to the ground, careful not to disturb the adepts sleeping in one of the tents nearby. You just have to use it creatively… Mia mused, thinking over the blonde boy's words after he finished talking. "I see what you mean. I've been doing that as the situation required without really thinking about it," she replied. "You mentioned the manticore, but even back in the mines I froze the floor to make the monsters chasing us slip," Mia added, remembering another time she used a spell that way.
Isaac smiled. "I forgot about that one, but that was good too," he said. "It's like second nature to you, which is amazing."
Mia smiled at the compliment, glad to know Isaac saw her as more than just a healer. "I need to learn how to do that," Isaac continued speaking. "I can sit here with you and come up with another use for my psynergy like this...but doing it in the heat of battle like you...that's totally different. It comes so naturally to you since that's how you normally fight." Isaac looked over at Mia to catch her gaze. "I need to reach that level with my psynergy and then I can say with confidence I could fight as well as you without my weapon," Isaac said with conviction, calling some psynergy into his hand before balling it up and letting it dissipate.
Mia looked over to her staff, eyeing the sleek, polished wood. She had a hard time picturing herself fighting with just the staff to ward off foes. I should show the same determination as Isaac while developing my martial combat skills… "I think that of all people, I have faith you will be able to figure out your psynergy and advance it to the next level," Mia said. "It's not something that can be taught...merely experienced. You can teach someone to use psynergy, but you can't teach them HOW to use it," she emphasised.
Isaac nodded. "I think those were the words I was looking for," he explained. "I know how my psynergy works, but I don't always know how to maximize its effectiveness. That's the most concise way of looking at it that I can think of," Isaac said.
Mia smiled. "You taught me the basics of combat when we first left Imil, knowing I would need it some day. I might able to defend myself for a while or even attack using my staff, but I don't understand any technique or effective ways to fight with it because I'm not at that next level like yourself or Garet," she said. "Though I don't think I will reach the same level as you, I do want to be able to reliably flight in hand to hand combat even if I continue to focus on psynergy."
Mia leaned back and looked up at the stars. "You know...I was actually going to ask you about training," she commented. Isaac gave her a curious glance, prompting her to continue. "If possible...could you help me learn more about melee combat?"
Isaac seemed slightly surprised by the request, but recovered quickly and smiled. "Absolutely," he accepted simply. "I'd be happy to help." Isaac watched as Mia picked up her staff and held it in her hands, assuming she was thinking about how else she could use it for combat. "It's a bit late for that tonight though…" Isaac said, not sure of Mia's intentions.
Mia laughed suddenly due to Isaac's notion she might want to train right then and there before quickly silencing herself with a hand over her mouth. Despite him reading the situation completely wrong, Isaac couldn't help but to smile at the glimpse of merriment in Mia's features. Putting the staff down again so as not to confuse the blonde boy any further about her intentions, Mia replied. "I know...I know…" she said. "I didn't mean tonight. Just whenever you have time."
Isaac shrugged and leaned backward on the palms of his hands. "Just join me for one of my training sessions then," he suggested nonchalantly. "It'll give me a chance to try some new strategies I've been working on anyway," Isaac added with a smile.
"It's a date then," Mia joked, still riding on a high after Isaac's misunderstanding from her picking up the staff. Isaac's face went slightly pink as he fumbled his reply before composing himself.
Deciding to take the path of least resistance, he played along. "Sure, it's a date," Isaac answered with a sidelong glance at the Mercury adept next to him, amused by the playful personality that had decided to make an appearance from her.
Isaac is usually so calm and collected, Mia thought. It's funny to see him flustered and out of his comfort zone just a little bit, she realized with another grin. "Ahh…." Mia sighed as she too leaned back in a relaxed position against a nearby tree stump and allowed her mind to reset after having teased Isaac enough for the night.
The two adepts sat together in silence, Isaac having abandoned any notion of sleep before his turn for watch. Both absorbed themselves in their own thoughts until Isaac decided to break the silence again. "You know...I noticed something back in the desert," he commented with a serious tone of voice. Not waiting for Mia's reply, Isaac said, "If anyone else noticed...it would probably be you. Remember how we talked about the world changing ever since the elemental stars were taken?"
Mia didn't answer right away and Isaac looked over for confirmation that she was listening. "Yeah…" she answered slowly, thinking back to the insane heat that was unnatural to the area as well as the effects of it. The image of a lizard they fought came to Mia's mind, its scales discolored in some areas and around the edges. Something bothered me about that back then but I never really had the chance to think about it much, Mia mused.
As if reading her mind, Isaac brought up the same memory. "There was that lizard Garet roasted before we found the last oasis..." he started to say. Mia gave a start as the blonde boy echoed her thoughts. "Did you see how the scales were charred black after Garet finished it off?" he asked.
Mia looked over at Isaac with a grim expression. "I think I know where you're going with this...you noticed it was already discolored before we fought it as well didn't you?"
"So I'm not the only one that saw that…" Isaac replied with a hint of relief that she might have been thinking the same thing he had.
Mia sat up fully, no longer lounging in the relaxed position she was in previously. "Yeah, that was bothering me, but I haven't really had a chance to think about it yet. I feel like it's probably another one of these environmental side effects from the elemental stars," she said.
"That's what I was thinking," Isaac stated. "The scales looked like they were already scorched around the edges and in certain places on the top."
Mia thought about that observation and compared it to her own memory. "I remember that…" she said. "I feel like the changes reported in the desert since the elemental stars were stolen that caused the extreme heat is pushing the limits of living things being able to survive there. Those lizards normally burrow underground to escape the heat right?"
Isaac considered what she was implying. "You think that because the desert and sand above the lizard when burrowed has becoming so much hotter than before that it actually damaged its scales?" he asked.
Mia shrugged. "I'm obviously no expert on desert ecology," she said with a humorless smile. "I think that is is a pretty good explanation for what we saw though," she added.
"This rate of environmental change is alarming…" Isaac shot back. "If the consequences of the elemental stars being stolen and the lighthouses being lit includes changing the environment to the point where life can't survive…" he trailed off.
Mia sat there with that sobering thought in mind. That really sheds light on the importance of our quest. It seems like we continue to come across more evidence at every turn that proves disturbing the elements like this is a bad idea no matter how you think about it. Why would Alex-
"I wonder if that's what The Wise One meant…" Isaac wondered aloud, cutting off Mia's though on her former Mercury Clan member. At mention of the Wise One, Mia turned to the blonde boy to see what he was thinking about. Based on what Isaac told her, she knew The Wise One was the guardian of the elements who had originally shown up in Vale to task Isaac and Garet with stopping the lighting of the lighthouses and saving the world from destruction.
"The destruction he foretold...does he mean this environmental change will continue to worsen until the elemental stars are returned to where they belong?" Isaac asked trepidatiously. "If things continue like this, how long will it be before it affects our ability to live in this world?"
Now that's a sobering thought, Mia mused. The image of the Mercury Lighthouse popped into Mia's mind and she shivered as a cold feeling came over her. With a sense of dread, Mia voiced the concern that caused her to freeze up. "What if we can't stop the changes now since one of the lighthouses was already lit?"
The image of the lit beacon continued to taunt Mia's mind as Isaac adapted a hardened expression. "That's something I wondered myself shortly after your lighthouse was lit," he said. "I had no idea back then what the effects might be...but now that we're seeing them, I'm worried that we might not be able to fully stop it anymore like you said."
If there truly is nothing we can do now but slow the effects of this disturbance... Mia didn't really want to think about the possibility of the world coming to an end. Unfortunately she was left to her thoughts as Isaac let that last statement hang between them. Mia imagined Isaac was envisioning a world slowly drifting towards destruction as well and how inhospitable some of the environmental changes they had seen so far could make it.
The Venus adept was looking up at the stars, a lot on his mind from their conversation. Despite the gravity of what they had discussed, the events of the day were catching up with him and he stifled a yawn with his hand over his mouth.
Mia could tell Isaac was extremely tired and exhausted from the trip as well as from staying awake and talking to her throughout her watch. There's no way he's going to be able to keep this up throughout his own watch as well, she realized. "You look tired," Mia commented, breaking the silence between them once again and getting Isaac's attention.
Isaac shrugged. "I suppose it has been a long day," he replied, sitting up straighter in an effort to keep himself more awake.
Mia shook her head with a smirk on her face. "Here you are trying to push yourself too hard again," she replied. "You really need to get some sleep."
Isaac leaned backwards, resting his head on an overturned log behind him. "I know...I know you're right. I should have gone to sleep already before my watch."
"I'll take your watch, so go get some rest," Mia offered, knowing that he needed it much more than he was letting on.
As stubborn as ever, Isaac refused. "Thanks Mia, but I have to do my part too so I'll be fine," he insisted.
No you won't, Mia knew with a defeated sigh. Isaac...you have a lot of amazing qualities and you're good at everything I see you do...but I do have to admit it's kind of interesting to see you like this making a poor judgment call about your own health. I suppose it's a reminder that you're human too and can make mistakes, She thought with a smile.
The cerulean haired girl found that even though she was sometimes frustrated by Isaac's stubborn nature, she was still fond of the Venus adept and wanted the best for him.
"How about this?" Mia asked. "There is still some time left before your watch so at least take a quick nap to rest your eyes a little bit," she suggested.
Mia could see Isaac's mind working through the proposition and she felt relieved when he finally agreed. "I suppose that couldn't hurt," Isaac admitted, knowing he did need to get some rest at some point, and welcoming the idea. "Make sure to wake me up when it's my turn for watch," he told the girl sitting next to him as he closed his eyes and tried to let himself fall asleep.
"Sure," Mia replied and looked down at him with a kind smile as she watched his features relax, satisfied by her answer.
He's not going to like it when he wakes up and finds out his watch is over, Mia thought, amused at how quickly he appeared to be falling asleep. She stood up and walked over to the tent they shared and grabbed a blanket before walking back and draping it gently over Isaac's resting form. Wow...he's fast asleep already, she realized with amazement, recognizing just how exhausted he must have actually been.
With no intention of actually waking Isaac back up, Mia settled in for her second watch of the night, this time with a crackling fire and sleeping adept at her side for company.