Ah yes… Hawk does show up in this chapter. Sorta *hides* Please be patient, it'll take a couple of chapters before he returns. To make you readers happy I can gladly announce that the chapter following this will be pure action :)
Chapter 28, Ancient helpIt was dawn when they finally reached their destination. The first sunrays lit up cracked walls built by human hands, the whole city built on a huge platform on top of a lower yet steep mountain. If the platform was natural or carved was hard to decide since the whole creation had been battered by weather and winds throughout the millennia that it had been abandoned.
A small river floated around the buildings, filling up the lower parts of them and cascading down the mountainside towards the ocean far, far down. But where the water came from was also a mystery, there weren't any melting glaciers above the ruins. Maybe some kind of mountain springs…
The Mana stone was easily spotted, on it's own terrace below a rather long stair on the western side of the town.
So finding the stone was no big deal. And the birds could easily land on the stair above it, so that was no problem either. And Wisp showed up just as Lise and Kevin touched the ground, gladly calling with a big chunk of relief that he had been waiting for them. No troubles there.
Well, that was a nice exception.
"Luna told me everything," the white flame with the big, kind eyes told the travelers as they stood on the terrace, "together we might be able to protect the stone from Jagan."
He looked down and kindly but puzzled asked:
"What's up with him?"
Kevin and Lise looked down at the first's backpack. The half blood had taken it off after Lise had lifted Karl out of it, and now it was on the ground. And full of wolf. Nervous whimpers came from inside and a tail flickered by the opening.
"Hey…"
The prince sat down and put his hand on the cloth. Karl whimpered again and Kevin made a smooth, growling sound far back in his throat before straightening up again.
"Too light," he said and shook his head, "he's not used to it. Be fine in a while."
The friendly softness in his eyes fell away and he turned to Wisp again.
"Can you tell us about Jagan?" the half blood asked.
"Of course," the holy elemental grimly said, "sit down for a while, it's a bit of a long story."
He cleared his throat (doubtlessly only symbolic) and began to tell the tale as his guests took their seats on the stair.
"About a thousand years ago this place was a shimmering land, where magic thrived and flourished," Wisp began, "everything had been at peace for a long time and the Mana goddess chose to call us elementals to the Holyland to meet with her and discuss any possible problem. However, as I left my place here the troubles began."
His bright eyes were now filled with sorrow.
"The crown prince accidentally killed his own mother with a miscast spell, and even though it was an accident nobody believed him because of the normal security of that one magic. People started calling him the 'Dark Prince', and everyone feared and hated him for what had happened. In my absence that lasted for over two years due to the length of our meeting I could not defend him, since I was oblivious to what was happening. It was a horrible mistake and the goddess of course decided never to hold another council like that. When I returned it was too late."
He heavily sighed and shook, bitterly.
"The prince had given up hope of any exoneration… one night demons visited him and offered him to be their king, in exchange for his soul and the destruction of his unfaithful kingdom. In his despair and anger he agreed. I returned to find only dead bodies and ruins…"
"You couldn't know…" Lise soothingly said, trying to comfort the elemental as his voice trailed off.
Wisp tried to get a smile back in his eyes, but it didn't work very well.
"Thank you, princess," he said, "however I shouldn't have left my post… the goddess never ordered us to come, it was by own free will and…"
His voice trailed off again and he shook before starting to speak again.
"In any case, what's done is done. Now then… the Dark Prince is now one of the many demon kings in the Underworld, and Jagan in turn is one of his finest warriors. A dangerous enemy, I have to warn you about that."
"Understand," Kevin grimly snarled, and Lise nodded.
"Good. Hmm…"
Wisp looked concerned and turned to the princess once more.
"There is another thing," he gravely said, "there is one more general of the demon army in this world, but she was once a human."
"She?"
Lise blinked.
"You mean Bigeau?!"
"Yes," Wisp grimly nodded.
The two warriors exchanged vexed glances, thinking of the same thief.
"Oh goddess, Hawk…" Lise harshly said.
"What hawk?" Wisp said, puzzled.
"He's a thief from Navarre, he escaped Bigeau's spell that controlled everyone else," the princess explained, "we lost him after Rolante was freed…"
"Blue haired, thin?" the white flame asked.
Kevin and Lise looked rather surprised at him and nodded.
"Ah him," Wisp said, calming, "don't worry about that one. Salamando told me about a thief that helped the fairy's friends save the Flame Kahn's daughter from being killed for the Fire stone. Dunno what he's doing now, though."
"Jessica?" Lise thoughtfully said with a relieved smile, "so, is the Fire stone safe?"
"Well… sort of."
Wisp grunted.
"It's safe in the terms of being done with," he grimly said, "Bigeau used two ninjas' souls instead."
"Wh-what?!" Kevin and Lise exclaimed.
"How many stones left?" the prince asked, frowning.
"Mine, Luna and Gnome. So we need all help we can get."
Lise hugged one of her knees and rocked a little back and forth as she asked in a concerned voice:
"What would happen if all the stones' powers are released and the Mana sword is obtained by the Dark Prince or Deathjester?"
The elemental sighed and reluctantly spoke.
"Then the Mana tree will definitely die, and so will the goddess. The god beasts will be set free and Mana will leave this world… but…"
He "straightened up" and a sparkle of warming hope came to his eyes.
"That mustn't mean the end," he continued, "the fairy and her chosen warriors are destined to battle such a disaster in need. And, even if the tree and the goddess should wither, it won't be over. The goddess took the form of a tree and trees bear fruit that can become a new sprout."
Lise let out a deep breath of relief.
"So there's still hope?" she said.
"There's always hope, as long as there is life."
Wisp suddenly chuckled.
"What are we saying?" he smirked, "we have all meet Duran and company, haven't we?"
That even got the two warriors to smile again.
"That's much better," Wisp kindly said, "now… maybe we should make preparations for the more creepy guests."
"Yes," Kevin said and turned grim again, "but what is Jagan? Demon?"
"No, not really," Wisp said, "though he's got demon blood… if that's the proper pick of words since he's a vampire."
"Red eyes…"
The half blood gravely nodded. Lise suddenly found, much to her surprise actually, his arm around her shoulders and chose to lean at him as the situation was offered.
"I don't know when he'll get here," Wisp explained, "but I'd say he'll prefer nighttime since that's more of his element. And it wouldn't surprise me if he brought company too, so we can expect a couple of demons."
"Can we really fight those?" Lise asked, frowning.
"They are actually overrated," Wisp called, "slow and not too smart, at least not the lower ones and those are what we probably can await. Besides, if I bless your weapons they'll be twice as effective against those ugly fellows than normal equipment."
"Me fight with fists, claws at night," Kevin pointed out and absentmindedly bent his fingers.
"Sacred claws it is then."
"Maybe we can make a surprise attack?" Lise said, glancing around.
The terrace was in a pretty open area, but on the other side of the not too wide river were lush shrubberies and trees. The princess pointed.
"Look, I think we can wait there and leap up to the stone," she said.
"That would give us an upper hand," Wisp agreed, "come to think of it you better not hang around here too close to the evening, because if we're going to surprise them we can't have Jagan and his cretins feeling the smell of you."
"They as well, huh?" Lise said and nudged Kevin's head with her own.
He smiled at her and then stood up.
"Let's check the bushes," he proposed and picked up Karl to bring him over.
Sometime during Wisp's tale the pup had managed to overcome his fear for the strange light and come out to sit by Kevin's right side.
"Alright."
Lise picked up her friend's backpack and climbed over the wall of the terrace, following the half blood and the wolf.
Behind the green wall was an unexpected clearing, it seemed like the "forest" around the ruins only was a couple of feet thick in this area. Cliffs shot up on the other side of the field, cutting it off and offering shadow for the moment. But that would surely change as the sun moved. Still, it was a good place for laying low and waiting.
Kevin put Karl down and called upon the birds while Lise went to put down both their packs by one of the trees. She turned to find Wisp thoughtfully looking towards the greenery, at the almost hidden ruins behind the short but thick forest.
"Something wrong?" the princess asked.
The holy elemental came out of whatever he had been pondering with a start and shook a little.
"Wait here for a moment," he said, "I need to take a look at something."
Before Lise could even open her mouth to ask, he had disappeared with a small flash.
"What?" Kevin grunted.
"I have no idea…"
Frowning Lise crossed her arms and leaned her back against the nearest tree.
"What do you think?" she said with a concerned look, "can we really handle demons, even with Wisp's help? It's not that I don't trust him, I just don't know… it's demons we might face for heaven's sake!"
"Yeah…"
Kevin rubbed the back of his neck, causing the whole mane to sway.
"Don't know, Lise. Never fought full blood demons."
His eyes darkened by the last line and he let out a low, deep growl. Lise clenched her teeth. Even though Rakadra was dead as a rock he kept haunting the beastman.
Perhaps when more time had passed, when the pain and fear was forgotten… but she had a feeling that wouldn't ever happen.
Shaking her head she straightened up and walked over to him, putting her hand on Kevin's cheek.
It felt so releasing when those simple touches finally was allowed and nothing could hold her back anymore. Not even Duty, or Moral. Or even Shyness.
"Don't think of him," she said in a low voice.
Kevin shook his head hardly noticeable.
"It's just…"
He rubbed his neck again, frowning.
"I get mad when I remember."
"Of course you do, I feel the same. He hurt you so horribly and…"
Lise sighed as she ran one hand down over the tiny scars on Kevin's arm, left after Rakadra's torture on the ship all those weeks ago.
"But in the end you were the stronger one."
"Don't know."
The two words leaving Kevin's lips startled Lise and she looked up at him with a frown. He clenched his jaw and turned away, ignoring Karl as the pup whimpered and worriedly scratched at his leg.
"Called Wisp to heal and brought him off balance," the half blood grunted, "without help, might have failed and then we'd be…"
Lise opened her mouth and closed it again. She wanted to say it was nonsense, but he did have a painful point.
"But the main thing is that you didn't loose," she finally said, catching herself.
"Could have."
"You didn't!"
Kevin shook his head again.
"Thing is," he grimly said, "I won more by luck than strength. And Jagan is Rakadra's master… you right, I don't know either."
Resolutely Lise walked around the half blood to be able to face him as he refused to look around.
"Alright, I give," she grimly said, "Rakadra used enough dirty tricks, again, to get the upper hand. He divided us and used me to weaken you with that needle thing he did, and he could have won just because of it. But there won't be anything like that this time, we'll fight together."
Kevin looked down, clenching and unclenching his fists as he listened to and watched her. And Lise sternly looked back into his yellow eyes.
"Alright?" she ended.
For a moment they just glared at each other, until the half blood sighed.
"Gah… worried, Lise."
"Now that's my job…"
She stepped closer and kept looking up at him. Some runaway thought was amazed at how tall he really was, she hadn't really considered it before. But, he was often crouching a bit on the other hand. Now in his frustration, Kevin straightened up properly.
"Don't feel that way," she said in a low, soft voice, "we're both here, and Karl too. Rakadra couldn't defeat you and we will give his master a hard time."
And with that she leaned forward the last few inches and placed her cheek against his shoulder. After a moment the strength of his arms pushed at the leather of her armor and one of his hands came to the back of Lise's head. Another heartbeat later Kevin's cheek carefully touched her forehead, staying there.
The princess closed her eyes, a small smile of relief tickling her lips.
"Um…"
The couple looked up at a very embarrassed Wisp, who had a slightly pink color of his flames.
"What?" Kevin said, not unfriendly.
"Sorry to interrupt," the elemental said, fighting to keep his voice calm, "but there's somebody that might help us further in this upcoming battle."
He waved towards the ruins with a sparkle of holy fire.
Kevin and Lise exchanged glances.
Following Wisp the two warriors made their way up the stair behind the Mana stone and walked towards the northwestern corner of the ruins. Karl happily trotted beside Kevin.
"What are you going to show us?" Lise asked, looking up at the huge, slightly cracked building before them.
"Don't worry, it's a surprise," Wisp said and added with a grin; "Jagan will hate us all even more for this... if it works, which I have no doubts about."
They entered the ruin and walked up another stair.
"If an elemental has a strong connection, let us call it friendship, with a human," the white flame softly said, "it is possible for us to bring that human's spirit back to the living world if we need their help with something."
"You mean that you've brought someone here?" Lise asked, lightly said surprised.
"Why yes."
Right then they finished the stair and turned left into a cracked hole after a door, entering a huge, almost empty room. Strange patterns were on the walls, just like there were all over the ruins. These, and the ones on the floor as well, had been mostly saved from wind and rain throughout the millennia however.
And in the middle of the room a transparent woman stood.
She was dressed in a white, loose dress with wide sleeves that nearly reached down to the floor. The cloth carried fine silver and gold embroideries across the chest, sparkling in the sun that shone down through a hole in the roof. The only accessory she wore was a smooth gold tiara in her warmly blond hair.
The ghost was truly very beautiful, but her eyes shone with sadness that not even eternity could mend.
She pressed her palms against each other and bowed her head in greeting.
"Blessed be in Wisp's light," she said in a low, soft voice.
"Queen Iloa, the last queen of my kingdom," Wisp said, an edge of sadness in his words.
Kevin managed to swallow the astonishment first and nodded.
"Luna's peace," he said, his voice like an echo of Iloa's.
The princess by his side glanced at him with slight surprise. She hadn't ever heard him say something like that, less believed that the beastmen had such a greeting. But, come to think of it something like that felt proper when meeting an ancient queen. So Lise let the little training she had needed in court behavior kick in. She placed her right palm against her armor's chest and bowed in the old amazon show of respect.
"And Jinn's protection," she softly said.
"I can't say how that warms my spirit," Iloa said with the shadow of a sad smile, "to hear those phrases again and see people from your countries in this very room…"
She fell silent and grimly nodded, catching herself from continuing to live the nostalgia she obviously experienced.
"In any case," she took on, "I let Wisp know that I perhaps can help you in your battle against the demons."
The way she said the last two words made it very clear that she was pained beyond compare at her son's fate. Her guests silently agreed on mercifully not show that they recognized it.
"We're grateful for any help we can get, so truly thank you," Lise said with a second bow, this one of the appreciation she spoke of.
Being the princess of Rolante and leader of the amazons she seldom bowed to anyone, she couldn't even remember when she last had done so. However, Lise instinctively felt that Iloa deserved all respect and she would therefore bring that.
The queen almost smiled again as Kevin silently nodded agreement.
"Please," she said, "I am the one who should take you for fighting to protect the last remaining part of my kingdom against the demons. Now then… back when I was alive, the kingdom of Light was the center of the human civilization. We had the finest warriors of the world, that all fought to protect all people against the hordes of monsters and dark beasts that always have plagued this world."
She gravely nodded.
"And those warriors were from all over the world, even beastmen were among us as friends."
"What happened?" Kevin asked as the queen fell silent.
Iloa sadly shook her head.
"Times change," she said, "evil forces worked against all that was good in the world. For some reason the godbeast of Darkness was released as well, and against that the humans, even the elementals were helpless. Eventually the beast, Zable Fahr, simply disappeared. And nobody knows why. But even though that threat left the elemental of Darkness, Shade, had vanished as well. Without him to control the dark forces of the world demons slowly managed to establish securer entrances to our realm and grew in strength. So ghosts, vampires and zombies began to be common and the people of this planet were split."
She straightened up again.
"However, that is all in the past," she resolutely said, "ahead lies the future you are to fight for, and I'll help you as good as I can."
As she continued to speak she walked closer until she stood just a couple of feet from the two warriors.
"As I said we had the finest warriors in the world. Many came here to train, and eventually they all received the goddess' blessing through the Mana stone of Light."
"Classchanges?" Kevin said with a small, thoughtful frown.
Iloa nodded.
"Yes. And also… the most trusted men and women were granted a divine item, each one special for each individual. Those items allowed the above all determined and pure hearted a second classchange, that otherwise would have been sealed because of its great power."
With the shadow of a smile she reached forward and placed her fingertips along the sides of Lise's head. Gentle warmth spread from the ghostly touch and the princess' eyes slowly shut by themselves. It felt as if she was being wrapped up in a cocoon of peace, similar to what she had felt during her transformation by the Wind stone.
"There…" Iloa's voice whispered.
The fingertips slipped down across Lise's cheeks and then disappeared. But there was a low clinking sound and she felt a sudden, mild weight against the foundation of her neck. Opening her eyes she lifted her hand and felt an uneven, hard surface over the highest part of her armor. She carefully took a hold of it between thumb and pointing finger and held it up for inspection.
It was a necklace, she could feel the thin chain move against the back of her neck as she lifted the heavier part. Thousands of tiny links created a thin half moon carrying tiny pearls and red jewels.
A miracle of craftsmanship.
Its beauty was breathtaking, even for Lise who never had cared much for accessories.
"What…" was all that got past her lips in her fascination.
"It is the Briesingamen," Iloa softly said, "the necklace of an ancient goddess of love; Freya. She and her friends lived on this world even before the Mana goddess, however circumstances forced them to search out a new world to protect."
"And let's see…"
Wisp floated up beside Lise's shoulder and inspected the divine gift.
"It'll help you become a vanadis," he said in a soft voice, "do you know the title?"
Lise had blinked as she heard the word, her memory kicking backwards.
"What is?" Kevin wondered and tilted his head.
There was a bit of concern in his voice, obviously he felt his princess' mind jump.
"It's an old title the amazons used," Lise blankly said, "so rare it hardly was used and it hasn't been worthy anyone for centuries…"
She realized that she sounded like a confused history book and gave a slightly sheepish grin.
"I'm sorry, I was just surprised," she quickly said.
The metal softly buzzed in her grip, sending warm streams through her skin and to the rest of her body.
The belonging of a goddess… of love?
'Is that really meant for me…?' Lise thought, her belief in that wavering.
'What do you think your half blood friend there thinks when he looks at you?' Wisp's voice gently whispered to her mind.
Lise wasn't very startled by that, however she had to restrain herself from glancing at Kevin. If she had, she knew for sure she would have blushed like a girl.
'See?' the elemental softly smiled.
'Oh, stop it… you're embarrassing me!' the princess thought.
'And you feel so happy at the same time?' Wisp warmly pointed out.
'Heh…'
"And now for you, then…" Iloa said and carefully buried her fingers in Kevin's mane.
Lise couldn't help a sting of defensive jealousy as her companion slowly closed his eyes by the soft, tender touch. The princess knew it meant nothing, but she just couldn't do anything to stop the childish anger from being born and itch her chest. But reason halted its growth and pressed it back before it had a chance to grew enough for Kevin to smell. Now that wouldn't be pretty…
"Here we are," Iloa warmly said and removed her touch from the half blood.
Without opening his eyes Kevin cupped his big hands below the queen's. Between her palms an orb of pure light appeared, quickly growing until it reached her ghostly skin. Then it flashed and took the form of a peculiar medallion. It was made in a strangely red-brown metal, perfectly smooth. Not like a coin, but a ribbon of hard material fondly bent and formed into a heart's shape. Iloa carefully placed it in Kevin's hands; it filled up his grip. He opened his eyes and looked down at what he held.
"It's an ancient treasure," Iloa said in a low voice, "among the beastmen warriors in our kingdom there once was one named Tarek. He was a great warrior and also pure hearted. Before his death he magically created this artifact and placed his skills and strength of mind in it, hoping that one day it would help somebody else to reach his heights. Since he was called the Golden werewolf, that which you now hold became known as the soul of the Golden Wolf."
The queen glanced at the approaching Wisp with the shadow of a smile.
"I believe Tarek was bestowed with the title God hand, so I trust in that that would be the appropriate path," she said.
"Let's see…"
Wisp reached out a tentacle, then he waved back and forth a bit; a nodding.
"Yep, right you are, Iloa," he smiled.
"Thank you," Kevin gravely said, bending his fingers over the relic in his grip.
"Yes, thank you very much," Lise agreed.
Iloa sadly smiled.
"I am glad to help. If I could I would help you further, but this is all I can do."
"It will doubtlessly help a lot," the princess said and smiled a little.
The queen turned to her.
"All I can tell you further is that your brother still is alive, but I only know that since he hasn't entered heaven yet. Your parents are still searching for him, but we all fear that the presence of demons will cloud their vision."
"My… par…?"
Lise's voice choked up and she stared blankly at the queen with a thick lump in her throat.
"I am sorry," Iloa quickly said, "I didn't mean to shock you."
"Are they… alright?" Lise managed to whisper.
"Yes, they are fine," the queen kindly nodded, "and watching over you. As your mother also is, prince Kevin."
She turned to the half blood for the last sentence, but since he had stepped closer to Lise and put a hand on her shoulder it wasn't a wide turn for the queen. He looked up by her words and managed a smile before he turned his gaze to Lise's slightly pale face again.
'I can't be like this!'
Lise mentally slapped herself and straightened up.
"Could you tell them… I said hi?" she said in a voice which hardly kept calm.
It sounded so stupid but it was all she could manage.
"Of course."
"And to my mother," Kevin murmured.
"I will," Iloa promised with another weak smile.
She began to dissolve and bowed her head.
"Fare well now, and good luck," she said as she faded.
"Good bye," Kevin, Lise and Wisp replied.
As the spirit softly floated into nothingness the half blood turned Lise to him with care. She met his gaze and shook her head, managing a smile.
"I'm fine, Kevin. She just surprised me a bit, you don't have to worry about me."
"Gah… alright."
She knew him well enough by now to know that "gah" meant that he wasn't convinced, or that he was nervous. In this case it was doubtlessly the first, his voice spoke for itself. But she didn't have the nerve to argue for her state of mind right then.
Before she had time to propose it herself, Kevin spoke out the suggestion she had planned.
"Let's try classchanging," he said, straightening up but not removing his hand from her shoulder.
"Alright," Lise nodded.
Karl jumped around their feet with excited barks as they left the building, glad that his friends finally went back out into the nice, warm sunlight.
As they reached the Mana stone Kevin turned around and sat down in front of the ecstatic wolf youngster.
All that Lise heard was a series of low growls and whimpers being exchanged by the half blood and the puppy. Whatever it was, Karl obviously made something of it. That was the conclusion due to his way of obediently leaping up on the stone wall surrounding the terrace and then jump into the river with a happy bark. He swum over to the other side and disappeared into the greenery.
"Don't want light to scare him," Kevin explained and straightened up.
Lise silently nodded agreement, meeting his gaze as she clutched the Briesingamen in her left hand while reaching out for the stone with her right. But Kevin caught her hand in his own with a faint smile, holding the soul of the Golden Wolf against his chest.
The princess smiled back and together they pressed their hands against the turquoise, glowing surface. They closed their eyes.
Wisp would have held his breath if he had been able to do so.
Slowly the wind subsided. The sound of the flowing water fell away. Even the birds' chirping disappeared.
Everything turned still and peaceful as the force of the goddess began to assemble.
And the whole ruin began to shake.
"Come on, you're almost there!" Wisp shouted above the noise.
The earthquake merely lasted for a few seconds, then it fell away as Kevin and Lise turned their faces towards the sky without opening their eyes. Serene, small smiles were on their lips.
The rainbow of heavenly light swept over them.
It was different from last time. Last, he had felt as if the whole world sent him pieces of strength, and he had just gained it without doing anything apart from accepting it once he had opened the path.
But this time he was training.
He couldn't recall anything specified afterwards, just a blur of moving. Hours, days and months of training, freedom of concentrating on one single task with nothing else occupying the mind.
Apart from… Lise was there, too. Where ever "there" was, he couldn't remember any landscape at all. But as he sent out his legs and arms, stretching his muscles again and again with growing power and fury he could see her whirl past. Her hair was like a golden wing behind her as she swept forth and back, moving faster and with more power all the time. The spear was almost impossible to see, she mastered it past every border for each "day" passing. More complicated attacks, higher leaps into the air to attack and dispose of the training material. The exercise equipment was some kind of semi-hard pillows for pure strength and images of monsters for speed and "live" tests.
He improved too, of course. It seemed as if he could transform at any time when in this training dimension, so he trained in both his werewolf and human form, training in techniques he had never heard of before but now was whispered and explained straight into his mind.
At some point, when he and Lise where resting for a moment… somebody proposed that they perhaps should try sparring with each other.
But he declined at once, couldn't even consider such a thing. Whether training or not, he wouldn't attack Lise. The thought was so intruding, he almost wanted to attack that instead.
She just smiled and hugged him, he could feel the strength she already had assembled.
And they would go back to training again.
And…
At the end of each "day" they slumped down on the suddenly soft and warm ground beside each other and fell asleep. To awaken in a fond embrace, filled with new energy.
Days, weeks, months…
"And that's all. Congratulations and good luck, my warriors."
A warm smile.
And the light faded.
Kevin slowly lowered his head, his fingers closing up around Lise's strong but fine hand and thereby bringing it away from the stone.
It took him a few moments and deep breaths before he opened his eyes. And another handful before he almost tentatively turned to Lise.
Because of his length she had to look up at him, but somehow it felt as if they were at the same level even there. So, she would never be physically equal, very few would. In everything else they were alike, matching each other's souls.
'We are the same, no matter my blood… I…'
There was still more in his mind than fit on his tongue. But it didn't really feel important right then.
How long had they magically spent there, together in the dimension of growing power? Not much time for talking, it had been enough to just… be there. Feelings like loss hadn't been able to exist.
Not then.
The Briesingamen sparkled around her neck, seemingly using its own magic from the love goddess to fulfill Lise's being. She was smiling a bit, still partly caught up in the serenity left behind by the Mana power. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she met his gaze. Those blue-green eyes, like drops of water on a leaf. And the flood of sunlight falling down her shoulders and back, surrounding her beautiful face, a sparkling stream of gold.
Hadn't she taken the final step to revealing their feelings back in the Moonlight forest, Kevin knew that he hadn't been able to keep back any longer right then. Even if he would have been shy beyond compare.
But the shyness was pinned to the ground in that moment, not even that could fight his burning wish to stay with the vanadis forever.
The soul of the Golden Wolf slid down into some pocket he had forgot he had, and he carefully let go of Lise's hand.
As his fingers tenderly nearly encircled her head, Lise's hands caressed their way up his arms and disappeared in his thick hair. The touches felt so new, each one something he hadn't ever experienced before. Thrilling their sensation through his skin, flesh and bone to the very core of his soul.
Wisp swept away into the bushes to allow the two warriors their privacy, feeling like an intruder in his own lands. But very happy at the same time.
This is our peace.
A very soft and tender kiss, yet sparkling with the love and longing they both had been hidden from during all the magical months of training.
Kevin never ceased to amaze at how smooth and soft Lise's skin felt. It seemed to melt the violence his own body was capable of, even if she could be just as fierce during battle.
We'll win, together.
Truly.
For a long while even after their kiss had floated off to just live on in their memory Lise and Kevin remained in the same position before the Mana stone, no words or even thoughts necessary.
Peaceful.
Finally they silently moved again, leaping down into the river and walking over to the other side to rest for the possible, approaching battle.
Jagan would be facing serious trouble when he showed up.
And now for a quick look at our other heroes again…
"Aren't we there yet? This ocean breeze is horrible for my hair!"
"You can jump in and swim by yourself if you'd like that better, princess!"
"Give me one reason to why I shouldn't push you off the turtle, peasant!"
"You know, if you weren't a lady, I'd… hey, watch it!"
"You wanna fight?! Come on, I'm not as weak as you seem to think! You should watch your mouth considering that you tend to have troubles with mages, Duran!"
"Dammit, that's it!"
But while her older allies kept arguing, Carlie sat still and silent on Boskaboo's back. They were going to the Lampflower forest, and she felt rather hesitant about that. Her grandfather had said that she'd been born there… and she didn't know what to feel about it.
However, with her bouncily optimistic personality and due to the fact that Angela managed to knock Duran off their friendly transportation she soon got other things on her mind.
And what might Hawk be doing, you ask?
Well, he's simply sleeping after having watched Jessica's desert fever for one day and two nights in a row, so I can't leave any interesting reports on him. Sorry.
*Ducks* Please! I swear I wrote this chapter weeks ago, Chibi!! *runs away*
Erm, I'm not so sure about that moment just after they exit the Mana stone so to speak. Is it too romantic?