Notes: In addition to Fa'Diel being the same as the Mana series, the Rito are a race of anthropomorphic birds from The Legend of Zelda; since I've written Fa'Diel as a hub world connecting multiple realms, I'll be bringing in other magical/fantasy-based creatures, such as the Rito, who came to Fa'Diel from Hyrule.
The Rito named Hasn is a very specific in-joke to voice actor Sean Chiplock, who voiced two important Rito in Breath of the Wild/Age of Calamity. It was because of Sean highly recommending the Mana series that I decided to check it out last year, which, as you all know, highly influenced my 13 Ghosts fics, so this is my little shout-out/thanks for that.
Daphne didn't know what to expect as Vincent teleported her and the others (Shaggy had decided to go with her after all for morale); he was wearing his emerald pendant—meaning that they would be hopping dimensions to get to Fa'Diel.
Her first sight of Fa'Diel was a hillside with dry, pale grass and with a willow tree growing up on top of the hill. At the base of the tree, covered over with withering vines and willow branches that had descended down over it, was a small cottage.
Vincent let out a quiet sigh upon seeing it.
"Well, it'll need some fixing up, but I'm surprised to see it's still intact after all these years…"
"Is this where you stayed during your training?" Shaggy asked in surprise, pointing to the old cottage.
"Yes, my old gang decided that, with our talents, we didn't need to stay in tents like the rest of the class," he mused. "Our instructor, upon seeing what we'd done, had conjured another for herself and the others—I think she was annoyed that she hadn't thought of it herself. She got rid of it after our training was complete, but ours was in such an out-of-the-way spot, we couldn't bring ourselves to get rid of it."
With a wave of his hand, he moved the vines and branches away from the door and opened it to allow the others entry. A hoard of birds and small mammals, the likes of which the others had never seen before, scrambled out of the way.
"Would you look at this!?" Daphne exclaimed. There was a small, low table in the middle of the room (a dining table, she assumed), near a fireplace (where a highly confused fire lizard was still slumbering until Scooby's sniffing around startled it into fleeing, as well). There were a few more doors—one in the back that also led outside, and a door to the side that led to a smaller room with four bunks.
"That's where Voudini, Byron, Boris, and I stayed," Vincent explained. He indicated a small staircase that led to another floor. "Miranda and Alisa commandeered the upstairs for themselves—it's yours now while we stay here, Daphne. I can modernize this place easily enough, but I'll leave any further accouterments of the upstairs to you."
"Great—what's the spell for a good wi-fi hotspot?" she asked.
Vincent suppressed a snark.
"That falls under general conjuring," he said, as the boys chuckled. "Like so…"
His hands glowed and, as he snapped his fingers, the piles of dust all around them now swirled around, re-forming into a small generator, light fixtures, and—Daphne presumed—wiring inside the walls.
"Rhwow…" Scooby commented.
"So you transmogrified the atoms in the dust into all this?" she realized. She glanced upstairs, eager to try it.
"Yes, and you'll get your chance in a little while," Vincent promised. "For now, I believe you wanted to try elemental spells?"
"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. That, of course, was the priority for her.
"Then we'll work on the rest of these renovations later," he said. "There's a beach nearby which will serve as a good practice ground." He paused. "I must ask all of you again to stay close to me. As Voudini and I told you yesterday, everything you see will be very real. If you have any doubts about staying here—"
"I don't," Daphne promised. "You keep us safe. It doesn't matter what we find here; I know you'll protect us."
"Yeah, uh…. Well, you know—what she said," Shaggy agreed, shrugging in response. "Like, it wouldn't be my first choice to be here, but…"
"Ras long as rhou're here, we're fine," Scooby finished.
"And you know that I'm ready to explore every inch of this place!" Scrappy exclaimed, his tail wagging in anticipation.
"And that goes for me, too, Vince!" Flim-Flam finished.
Vincent's expression softened, and he nodded, leading them out and down the hillside path that lead to the beach.
"This is Madora Beach—if you follow it for a few miles, you'll find a harbor…" Vincent trailed off, frowning as he saw that large portions of the shallows had withdrawn from the normal shoreline. "…Odd…"
"Rhat's wrong?" Scooby asked.
"I don't recall low tide ever being this low," he said, noticing some fish skeletons and empty seashells. "Granted, it's been a great many years since I've been here, but by the looks of this, this is a rather new occurrence."
"Oh, no—look!" Daphne exclaimed. She was pointing to a large, orange fish that had inadvertently gotten itself beached upon the sandbar and was feebly flopping in a vain attempt to get back to the water. "The poor thing…!" She touched her necklace, transforming it back into a staff again. "Levitate!"
Quickly but carefully, she raised the fish and guided it back into the water. The fish greedily gulped the water past its gills for a moment, glanced at Daphne with an almost grateful look, and then disappeared beneath the surface.
"And you did that automatically, without even thinking about it," Vincent noted. "It really does look like coming here was exactly what you needed. However, before we begin, let's see if we can figure out what's been going on." He picked up one of the large, conical shells and studied it, and then glanced out at a ship that was traveling along the shore to reach the harbor. He took a few steps to the water's edge, put the shell to his lips, and blew a loud, shrill note from it, much to the surprise of the others.
The others watched in interest now as a number of figures gathered at the side of the ship to see the source of the noise. They seemed excited the moment they spotted Vincent, and the youngsters all gasped in wonder as one of them took off from the ship, flapping giant wings, and flying over to the beach.
The creature was a large bird, clad in trousers, mostly black-feathered with light blue feathers on his face and abdomen—wearing a scabbard for a cutlass on a belt around his waist, and gold bangles around his ankles. The bird landed on the beach, giving a polite bow as he addressed Vincent.
"What say you, Wizard?" the bird asked, speaking though a sharp, eagle's beak. Daphne noticed the numerous talismans the bird was wearing around his neck, and she recognized them as translation talismans.
"To whom do I have the honor of addressing?" Vincent asked.
"I am Hasn of the Rito," the bird answered.
"And I am Vincent Van Ghoul of the Athenian mages."
Hasn nodded and cast a glance at the others.
"You're here as an instructor?" he surmised.
"I am," Vincent agreed. "It has been a long time since I've been here—yet it seems to me that the shoreline has receded significantly, and relatively recently. What can you tell me about this?"
"The lands have been plagued by a severe drought over the last several months," Hasn explained. "It's forced those of us who travel by ship to seek new paths to the harbor, lest we run aground on newly-exposed sandbars. And I hear tell in the towns where we sell and trade our goods that the situation is just as dire inland—wells are practically empty, streams and small ponds have almost run completely dry, and even larger lakes and rivers have drastically shrunk in size."
Daphne frowned, recalling how dry the grass had looked on the hillside; it clearly wasn't getting enough water.
"I see…" Vincent said, also frowning. "Are there any suspicions as to the source of this drought?"
"The current belief is that it is of a magical origin, for even the rains have ceased," Hasn sighed. "Not a drop of water has fallen since nearly a year. Those with mana have been casting whatever spells they can to force the rain, but they lack the power of a proper mage to sustain the rain and try to find the source of the problem. …I don't mean to impose upon you, Great Mage, but if you could provide us with some relief, or find the source of this problem, the entire realm would be in your debt."
"I will certainly look into the matter," Vincent promised. "You may relay this to the rest of your compatriots, Hasn, and thank you for bringing this to my attention."
Hasn bowed again before flying back to the ship where the other Rito sailors were waiting.
"So, like… what was that all about?" Shaggy asked.
"Weren't you paying attention?" Daphne asked. "There's been a drought that might be of magical origin—"
"No, I got that part. I'm talking about us looking at a boat full of bird sailors," Shaggy said, indicating the ship.
"Rheah—rhat bird talked!" Scooby exclaimed.
"Yeah, imagine that!" Scrappy agreed.
Flim-Flam looked as though he was about to point out the irony of two talking dogs marveling at a talking bird, but decided against it.
"I'm guessing there's a lot of interesting folks around these parts, huh, Vince?" he asked instead.
"Yes, the Rito are just one of many races that either inhabit or pass through Fa'Diel—you'll see plenty that will surprise you," Vincent said. "Even that fish that Daphne rescued earlier is no ordinary fish. If you're lucky, Daphne, you'll see the full extent of that fish's gratitude someday, and it will be a sight you won't soon forget."
Daphne blinked.
"Well, I'm admittedly intrigued, but are we going to do anything about this drought? Investigate and see if there is a magical cause? This sounds like a mystery—and I can't think of anything better to help me with my magic skills than trying to use them to solve it!"
"We will investigate in just a little bit," Vincent promised. "However, I want for you to try at least one elemental spell before we do—one that will bring some relief to the immediate coastal area."
Daphne exhaled in realization.
"…A water elemental spell?" she asked.
"Yes—Aquara," Vincent agreed. "Ordinarily, I'd have you start at the first level, but with the state of the drought, we need to step it up. There are two ways to cast this spell—the first summons torrents of water from around you to use against your immediate surroundings. And you once saw me use the second way—to condense water vapor in the air to form rain clouds. Now, it's your turn."
"Um… with stakes this big, don't you think you should be the one to do that this time?" she asked.
"Daphne, you asked me to bring you here because everything would be real," Vincent reminded her. "This is as real as it gets. As a mage, you will get requests for any number of things—many of them frivolous, but some of them serious, such as this one." His expression softened. "I believe you can do this, Daphne—I'll even guide you through the steps, if you wish."
She glanced at the others, who silently cheered her on again, and then looked back at Vincent with a nod.
"Aim the staff skyward," he instructed. "And, just as before, hone your focus."
She closed her eyes, focusing on the mana all around her and in the staff.
"The strength of your will affects the strength of your spell," Vincent reminded her. "And if I know you as well as I think I do, your wish to aid everyone affected by this drought is strong—channel that feeling as you focus."
Still keeping her eyes closed, she could feel the power swirling around her. She was only vaguely aware of the others commenting in awe—and Vincent gently shushing them to allow her to concentrate.
"Now," he instructed. "Once you're sure you've honed your focus and your will, recite the incantation."
She focused a bit more, and then—
"Aquara!"
She opened her eyes now to look up and see if it had worked, staring as a stream of energy shot upwards from the staff and into the sky. As she continued to watch, a grin formed on her face as thick rain clouds formed overhead, spreading outward.
"It's working!" she exclaimed, looking back at Vincent. "It's…" She trailed off, staring blankly as she saw him standing now with an umbrella he'd conjured in his hand.
"Yes, I never had any doubt," he said, pride evident in his voice. "And there's an unintended lesson you're about to learn, as well—remembering to be mindful of the full effects of your spells."
He'd barely said it before the downpour started; Shaggy, Flim-Flam, and the dogs all scrambled to try to join Vincent under his umbrella, and Daphne just stared at him with an indignant look as she stood there, getting soaked—until she suddenly aimed her staff at Vincent's umbrella.
"Aero!"
Far from the unimpressive puff of air she'd conjured two days ago, a sudden gust of wind blew from the staff—taking the umbrella right out of Vincent's hand, and leading to loud complaints from the others who had just sought shelter under it. Vincent now put his hands on his hips, trying to look annoyed as he, too, got soaked—but his façade crumbled as he saw Daphne's look of joy increasing at her second successful elemental spell.
She ran over to them, practically dragging all of them into a joyous hug, and any annoyance vanished, replaced with pride and laughter. Offshore, they could hear Hasn and the other Rito sailors on their ship, cheering as they danced under the much-needed rain.
And Vincent, in spite of any earlier doubts he might have had about bringing Daphne to Fa'Diel, realized that he had, indeed, made the right decision.