Chapter Five
Divinities Own
Rouge. The place where all elements seemed in harmony, earth met sea, sea met sky, and wind caressed everything with a gentle kiss. Vast golden, sandy beaches stretched for miles, a lush emerald tangle of trees and colorful plants edging closer to the cerulean waters, all were stunning sights, but Dart had other things on his mind.
He'd been sitting in the same sandy alcove for nearly five hours, never once straying from the task he'd set about to do. One hand held a delicate pointed rod with an ever slightly hooked end, and in the other nestled in his palm was the Divine Dragon Spirit. Five hours of total painstaking carving, each stroke a feather light touch that barely seemed to make a blemish in the radiant orb, but at the drawing end, there was an intricately wrought pattern of a single rune, its lines interconnecting and never ending.
"Very good," breathed the ancient Wingly woman that had never left his shoulder for the entirety of the carving. "Speak the call name of the spell."
Call name? In all the intense concentration needed for the carving, he'd completely blanked a name for the thing. Charle Frahma gently took the rune-rod from his hand and replaced it in the numerous folds of her dress.
"The call name will lock the rune in place until it is needed, then, when cast, it will forever be a part of the spirit. So be sure it's proper."
Dart frowned. Sandy blond bangs snaked into squinting eyes, no longer held at bay by the bandana. The process of spell-carving had been preserved entirely by Charle, and it was definitely time-consuming, which Dart had been surprise when Miranda had been the first to complete. The Sacred Sister was one of the last people he'd expected to sit still long enough to finish the rune.
"Divine…" Yes, that was the first; the spell shaping was next, thinking of the spell itself. For the entire time. Only the spell. He would be seeing it in his sleep for days. Less powerful than the summons (Gods forbid that the day come when he had to call forth the Divine Dragon) but significantly more complex than the innate magic that had been part of the package to begin with. Then, almost as if urged by the gently glimmering spirit, it filtered into his mind. Fitting, it seemed, as he breathed the last word, "Retribution."
In a single stunning instant, the spirit flashed in a heart stopping wash of power. The rune filled with what looked to be liquid shadow, gleaming darkly and then slowly seeped inward, taking the rune carving inside the core with it, where a miniature whirlpool of colors was birthed.
"Good," The silver haired woman patted his shoulder affectionately. "Now let it settle before you go blasting something with it, a few days should be good enough for a spell of that nature."
Dart wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead and gave a dry grin under tired eyes. "I feel like I just ran five miles in the Death Frontier."
Charle laughed, a full-throated musical sound not dimmed with age. "Then you're better off than most. Poor Albert, your illustrious king was asleep for a day and a half."
The Divine Dragoon shook his head and rose stiffly, dusting sand from his pants, pocketing the dragon spirit. Rouge's wooden structures jutted out from the cliff it rested beside, silhouetted by a lowering sun and turning the blue water a silvered gray. "Think dinner's ready?" he asked hopefully.
The Wingly woman shrugged, the gentle silken rustling of her out-of-place dress mingling with that of the eternal wash of surf that caressed the beach. "Shana had prepared a lunch, but she didn't wish to bother you. I told her to save it."
"Good." Extra emphasis wasn't needed. He was starving. He now knew why Miranda had only bothered with one rune spell; one was plenty enough, for sure! He flexed his fingers as they walked, absently gazing out to see, to the clouds that crowded the dipping sun and the dying golden that sprayed the beach warmly. Serene. Beautiful. Perfect.
In the far distance, the dark dot of a passing ship, its sails pushed out elegantly with the last hopeful winds of the day.
Divine Retribution? What had made him think of that? It clashed with the feeling of tranquility that had descended in the last few months, suggesting that something was going to happen that would require swift reprisal. He shrugged away that dark thought, rolling his shoulders and wincing at the sharp pinch of sunburn. Bah. He was getting paranoid.
The main building, a conglomeration of platforms and walkways that connected the different floors of the small village, grew closer, and the flurry of feet from the cliff side training area was audible from their position.
"Maybe we'll swing up to Mille Seseau before we head to Serdio." Dart mused aloud. The sand began to give way to hardened clay, then the packed dirt of the trails that ran around the lush foliage of Rouge. "See what Miranda's up to."
Charle made a nonsense noise that declared that she didn't care either way. She was along for the ride, to see Endiness, to see the world that had changed so drastically.
Dart's legs brought him to the small walkway that connected the beach and the rest of the wooden sprawl. "Yeah, go see what…" The hulking behemoth of a Mille Seseau warship slid past him, its broad dark sides dwarfing him in its shadow as it slid towards harbor. "…Miranda…is…doing…"
Charle raised a argent eyebrow. "She works fast."
Dart sighed. A warship and the Sacred Sister's sudden appearance in Rouge was a sign he didn't want, the beginning of the unease he'd been feeling. The reason the urge of creating a new spell had taken him.
People began to gather on walkways and out of windows, watching as the gangplank dropped roughly and a familiar blond woman half-ran from the ship. Her oceanic blue eyes alighted on him in tired confusion.
"You're here to?" She jogged closer, ignoring everyone else in her haste. Dark rings under her eyes, a haggard drawn look to her lean face. "I came for Haschel and Kongol."
Dart's stomach sank as a thousand possibilities whipped through his mind. She must have read the look on his face, because her own hardened, and with her next words, the Divine Dragoon knew he was going to need that spell sooner than he thought.
"I'll explain later, grab your gear and let's haul ass."
^_^ A shortie chapter, but it works out that way. La de da. Don't make me sing to Doom Song. I had the need to put Dart somewhere other than Seles and it's just easier in the long run to have the majority of the characters in a single place for simple pick-up and delivery. Like the new spell name? Now if I could only find some target practice…~looks around~ Dang it. And the thing about the carving new spells was just a thought, ~shrugs~ Just an explanation for the inexplicable appearance of a new spell.
And Aya, since the …ahem…THING would not let me review chapter 6, I'll tell you now. IT ROCKED! Bring on chapter 7!
