Chapter 22: To The Frozen North
Mia felt a shiver run through her body as the cold breeze picked up slightly, misaligning strands of hair as it blew gently past. The Mercury adept crossed her arms and held them closer to her body to maintain their warmth, thankful for her thick Imilan robes that were designed to stave off the winter chill.
The farther north the adepts sailed on their path to the Mars Lighthouse, the more noticeable the temperature change was becoming. It had started slowly but quickly became more rapid as arctic breezes betrayed the harshness of the environment they were heading into.
"I'm glad we planned ahead and picked up warmer clothes for this trip," Isaac commented to nobody in particular, pulling the fur coat he had bought more tightly around his shoulders.
Sheba nodded in agreement at him from her position wrapped in a blanket she brought up from below deck. The blonde girl was holding her hands out towards the crackling fire in front of her that Jenna had quickly set up utilizing her psynergy as the temperature plummeted. The dancing flames radiated relief from the cold as it burned away within the stone basin protecting the rest of the ship from catching fire while its architect quietly observed.
Jenna was sitting a short distance from Sheba, arms around her knees as she too leaned towards the flames for the warmth and comfort they silence was only broken by the occasional lapping of waves or creaks from the wooden ship as they slowly navigated the calm seas, passing by small chunks of broken ice sheets floating by.
Mia found herself wanting to scoot closer to Isaac and borrow his body warmth as a heat source, but the cerulean haired girl was keeping her distance out of respect for Jenna's presence and feelings. It had been almost a week since Isaac's rejection of Jenna, and while it was clear the Mars adept's feelings hadn't changed, she did have some time to help herself work through them and reconcile them with Isaac's own.
It wasn't hard for anyone to see that the relationships among the group had changed since joining together, and those who didn't already outright know for certain what happened between Isaac and Jenna still had a good understanding of what was going on. It was one of the unspoken things that everyone did their best to be conscious of, especially around Jenna, in order to allow her to come to terms with things between herself and Isaac.
Jenna was being much more subdued with her actions around Isaac over the last few days as she began to realize being too persistent would just annoy the Venus adept instead of having the desired effect. The result was the current situation: Four adepts sitting around a fire with nobody really sure what to say.
Recognizing the awkwardness was most likely her fault, Jenna broke the silence. "Those robes of yours must have been made for weather like this," the redhead commented, looking over in Mia's direction with a half smile.
Mia was mildly surprised at Jenna striking up a conversation with her, but it wasn't an unwelcome gesture. Isaac glanced Mia's way as she gave Jenna a friendly smile in reply. "I'm not sure they were designed with this kind of cold in mind," she answered, taking the opportunity to elaborate further. "Imil winters are certainly cold, but they aren't quite like where we're heading," Mia added, indicating their surroundings with a wave of her hand. The creaking of a passing iceberg synchronized with the movement of Mia's arm emphasized her point.
Sheba took the opportunity to keep the conversation going. "What is Imil like?" she asked, being the only one of the four that had never actually been there.
"Imil is…" Mia hesitated, pondering how best to answer the question. "It's a beautiful town," she settled on saying. "The winters are cold, but we also have mild summers that aren't too hot. The beach and ocean nearby are a wonderful place to visit in summer," the cerulean haired girl explained.
"The people are all kind as well," Isaac interjected with his own comment. "When we went, everyone we met was very welcoming I thought," he added, looking to Mia for confirmation.
Mia nodded. "I love the community there as well," she agreed.
Jenna smiled. "When I passed through with Saturos and Menardi we didn't really get to see much, but it certainly sounds like a nice place," she commented. Sheba agreed with her assessment as well.
Mia paused for a moment. "You know…when this journey was all over I was hoping to convince my companions to come visit Imil and see it properly," she said, looking over at Isaac to see how the blonde boy would react. Isaac gave Mia a nod to indicate he was interested in the idea. The joy in her face from Isaac's acceptance was plain to see.
Jenna watched the interaction with a flicker of sadness in her smile, but did her best not to show it to the others.
Mia turned back toward Jenna and Sheba. "You two should come as well," she offered. "I'd be happy to show you around."
Jenna and Sheba both looked at each other with Sheba shrugging as if to say 'why not?' They were both a bit surprised by the offer, but Jenna nodded. "You should come see Vale too then," the Mars adept said, looking back over at Mia.
It was Mia's turn to be surprised again, though it was clear neither Isaac nor Sheba expected that response either. The cerulean haired girl recovered quickly though, glad at the opportunity for a positive interaction with Jenna despite everything that had happened recently.
"I would enjoy that," Mia answered simply. "It's always felt weird to me that I've traveled with Isaac and Garet for so long and yet I know very little about where they're from," she continued. "I have to admit it has made me a bit curious about their lives back in Vale," the Mercury adept added.
Jenna laughed. "Well I have plenty of stories about that…" she smirked, glancing over at Isaac to see the blonde boy with a wary look on his face.
"Don't go telling her anything weird," Isaac commented with a sigh. Jenna held her hands up innocently to ward off his words.
"The weirder the better!" Mia answered with a laugh, feeling herself on the same wavelength as the Mars adept.
Isaac brought his hand to his head, shaking it slowly with a grimace on his face. "Maybe merging groups was a bad idea after all…" he muttered despite quietly being happy that Mia and Jenna could get along.
The three girls had a laugh at his expense. "I'll have to save them for another time when we don't have Isaac right here listening," Jenna followed up.
"I don't even want to know," Isaac shot back. "I can leave right now if you want," he emphasized, making a show of standing up.
"No, no," Jenna waved her hand. "There's no need to do that," she said. Jenna didn't really want Isaac to go as it was nice for her to have a chance to interact normally with him again.
Isaac shook his head and sat back down, never having intended to leave in the first place. "Very well," he said, utilizing a reluctant tone.
As the conversation died out Mia suddenly became conscious of their cold surroundings again and felt a shiver run through her body. It didn't go unnoticed by Isaac, who started to pick his arm up in order to shift towards Mia, but stopped once he realized what he was about to do. He caught Jenna's gaze and tried to disguise the action as him adjusting his sitting position, but it didn't fool the Mars adept.
The resigned look on Jenna's face said everything for her. "You don't have to hide it you know," she commented.
"...Hide what?" Isaac tried to reply after a moment.
Jenna waved Isaac towards Mia with her hand dismissively. "Just sit with her if you want to."
"You're like an open book sometimes," Jenna said. "Spending time apart can clearly cause some things to change, but it's not like I've forgotten how to read," she added as way of an explanation.
Knowing it would be useless to try to deny his intentions further, Isaac accepted and hesitantly moved himself next to a nervous looking Mia before putting an arm around her shoulder to help the Mercury adept warm up a bit.
Jenna gave the pair a pained smile. "I can't deny that it hurts a bit to see, but the dishonesty about it hurts even more," she commented. "You wanted to do that earlier as well didn't you?" Jenna asked, locking eyes with Mia who was only able to slowly nod in response.
Jenna shrugged with a sigh. "I mean, I sort of knew this was the case already," she commented, looking out towards the water instead of Isaac or Mia. "I got rejected so clearly," she lamented with a slight laugh.
Mia could feel the pressure from Isaac's hand increase slightly at those words, betraying the fact he still cared deeply for Jenna. Meanwhile Sheba reached out and put a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder, knowing it was a difficult thing for her to talk about.
"It didn't take much observation after that to realize why," Jenna commented, bringing her gaze back to the adepts opposite the fire in front of her. Mia felt as if she was being completely seen through, even though the Jupiter adept was the one next to Jenna.
"Jenna-" Isaac tried to say, but stopped as she raised a hand to indicate she wasn't finished.
"I'm touched that you're trying to be conscious of my feelings and I appreciate the gesture, but please just be honest with me at least," she requested, this time looking directly at Isaac.
The Venus adept gave it a moment to make sure she was done before speaking. "Sorry for hiding it Jenna," he apologized sincerely, not making any excuses seeing as she could already tell it was for her benefit.
Jenna nodded her acceptance and closed her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath to help control the emotions threatening to well up within her. "It's okay," she said, unsure if she was forgiving Isaac's deception or trying to convince herself things were fine this way.
Opening her eyes again and seeing the pair of Isaac and Mia together proved to be too much to handle though, and Jenna found herself making an excuse to walk away from the group for a bit. Understanding the way she was probably feeling, nobody had the heart to attempt to make Jenna stay any longer.
Sheba ended up apologizing for the ensuing awkwardness. "Sorry guys," she said. "Jenna's been having a rough time of it after looking forward to seeing Isaac again for so long. I think this is her way of trying to get over it," the blonde girl explained. "It's…just a bit of a shock for her."
"Not at all," Mia answered. "I'm sorry for inadvertently making it harder on her, especially knowing how she must be feeling to some extent," she added.
Sheba gave Mia a questioning look after the second part of the Mercury adept's statement, prompting her to elaborate further.
"There were times that I felt like Isaac loved Jenna and that there was no way he could reciprocate my feelings," Mia voiced. "When I think about how I felt in those moments…"
Sheba nodded, not needing Mia to say anything further. "I see," she answered, standing up from where she had been in front of the fire. "Well, I shouldn't leave Jenna alone I think so I'll be leaving for now too," the blonde girl explained.
Isaac and Mia nodded. "All right," Mia said.
"Please take care of her for me," Isaac requested, looking up at Sheba. "She's still important to me…but I'm not sure I can help her with this…" he added.
Sheba smiled and nodded back. "I know," she answered. "Jenna understands that you care too…she just needs time I think," the Jupiter adept said. "Talking about it in front of you was a big step forward though."
"Thanks for being there for her," Isaac replied with a small nod of appreciation.
Sheba gave him a smile before departing after Jenna. As she left, Isaac found himself taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh.
"Well…that was unexpected," Isaac stated for the only remaining adept to hear.
Mia had to agree. "It blindsided me completely when Jenna suddenly pushed the conversation in that direction," she said. The cerulean haired girl glanced behind her to make sure Jenna had disappeared and then scooted herself over to sit directly next to Isaac by the fire. "That's better," she smiled contently as she closed her eyes and rested her head gently against Isaac's shoulder.
A warm arm reached out and wrapped around Mia to hold her close. The two adepts sat together in silence for a time, just enjoying the presence of the other as they warmed up from the fire. Mia could feel the therapeutic effect Isaac always seemed to have for her as the stress in her body slowly melted away. Despite her surroundings and destination, she was warm and cozy on the inside.
"I suppose it's a little late for me to confess that I love you now huh?" Isaac suddenly asked.
Mia chuckled, looking up to meet the deep blue eyes of the blonde boy. "It really is," she replied. "I already know," Mia added. Though she spoke calmly, the expression on her face betrayed how happy the words made her regardless of how late Isaac was to finally say them.
Mia placed her head right back where it was before on Isaac's shoulder and the Venus adept leaned over slightly to plant an affectionate kiss on the top of Mia's head before speaking again.
"Well, I just thought I should let you know," he said.
Mia snuggled up to Isaac even more in response. "It does feel nice to hear you say it though," she admitted. "I don't think I've ever outright said it either, but I love you too you know" she added.
It was Isaac's turn to laugh. "It took me a long time to figure it out for sure, but I know that now," he answered. "I think you've made it abundantly clear."
Mia found herself satisfied with that answer. Though the situation with Jenna's feelings was still a bit murky, not having to guess what the nature of her own relationship with Isaac was had been a refreshing change after months of uncertainty.
Another voice interrupted those thoughts though. "You two sure look cuddly today," Garet commented, walking up to the fire with Ivan in tow.
Ivan raised a hand in greeting as he and Garet joined Issac and Mia by the fire. "I hope we aren't interrupting?" the younger blonde boy questioned with a smile on his face.
Mia opened her eyes to see Garet and Ivan, but left her head resting right where it was on Isaac's shoulders whereas she would have felt the need to immediately put some distance between them in the company of others not too long ago.
"No, not really," Mia replied with a smile of her own as the Mars and Jupiter adept sat down.
"I'm glad to see you two have figured things out finally," Garet commented a bit more seriously as he indicated Isaac and Mia together. "It's been a very long time coming," he added with a sly smile.
"Thanks Garet," Isaac answered for both of them, sensing the sincerity of his friend.
Mia shifted herself upright so she could more easily talk as well. "It's thanks to both of you as well," she replied, looking between Garet and Ivan with a smile on her face. "I do appreciate you both being there when I was feeling unsure of things."
"Well you know…vested interest and all that," Garet winked at Mia, trying to downplay his assistance. Mia just shook her head in amusement.
"I'm always here for you guys," Ivan commented, looking at both Mia and Isaac in turn.
"Thanks Ivan," Isaac nodded at the one with the more serious response out of the two.
"What, no thanks for me?" Garet asked, acting insulted. "Come on, you didn't honestly forgot about all the times you spoke to me about Mia and-"
"Garet!" Isaac quickly exclaimed to cut him off as the redhead started laughing at the frantic response.
"I still have to keep it all a secret even now you two are finally being honest about your feelings?" the Mars adept questioned, getting his laughter under control as he indicated the couple sitting next to each other.
Mia glanced over at Isaac with a raised eyebrow and sly smile. "Don't cut him off! He was about to say something interesting I think," she expressed to the Venus adept next to her as she joined in on the teasing.
Ivan stifled a laugh as he looked on. Garet understood Isaac well and knew exactly how far he could push him. "Yeah, Mia wants to know your thoughts about that night in Tolbi…" he trailed off on his own, knowing where to draw the line.
Isaac just bought a hand up to his slowly shaking head with a grimace on his face and let out a long sigh.
Mia could feel her face going red as the teasing she was participating in suddenly backfired on her spectacularly. "You told him about that?!" she exclaimed, trying to make eye contact with Isaac to confirm how Garet found out about it.
"Yeah, he knows…" Isaac admitted, embarrassed.
Mia glanced to Garet and then Ivan. The Jupiter adept's lack of reaction or confusion clued her in on one more thing. "Ivan knows too doesn't he?" she asked with a defeated look.
Garet gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry Mia, the 'wife' part was too funny not to share," he said, doing his best not to laugh again at her expense.
"I thought it had to be a joke at first," Ivan spoke up. "It seemed more like a story than something that could actually happen," he added, confirming his knowledge of those events.
Isaac felt the need to clarify to Mia how all of this came about. "I talked to Garet about my feelings a few times," he explained. "...Including the night in Tolbi," he admitted.
Mia shook her head. "Well…that's embarrassing then," she said, not trying to hide it anymore. "It just sort of happened that way…it wasn't intentional," the Mercury adept tried to stress.
Garet looked over at Isaac as a way of asking permission to elaborate and the blonde boy replied with a shrug, raising his hands a bit as if to say 'it doesn't matter anymore.'
Garet nodded and turned back towards Mia. "That was just the funny part that makes it more memorable, but what Isaac actually wanted to know then was what you coming to see him like you did meant," he explained. He smiled as he looked between Isaac and Mia again. "Honestly, as your friend, the process of you two discovering your feelings for each other was enjoyable to watch," he added.
"We tried not to do anything that would interfere too much though," Ivan contributed with a smile. "That said, Garet and I did discuss you two sometimes," he admitted.
"You guys had it figured out for so much longer than I thought…" Mia mused.
"I'd be willing to bet we knew what was happening before either of you did," Garet commented, laughing a bit about it. "The fact something so normal like you two falling in love could occur despite the absurdity of our journey at times was refreshing to see," he added.
"I'm glad we could be a source of amusement for you then," Isaac replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he grinned at Garet and Ivan in front of him.
Mia leaned up and overtly gave Isaac a quick peck on the cheek as a message to Garet and Ivan that their fun had come to an end. "It worked out in the end though, so don't fret the details," Mia told the blonde boy so he wouldn't dwell on the entertainment value of their relationship.
Garet laughed, receiving the Mercury adept's message loud and clear. Ivan just shook his head with a smile. "At the rate you two were going I never thought I'd see something like that," he commented, referencing the kiss Mia had just given Isaac.
"That's just the way it is now I guess," Mia replied with a nonchalant shrug. Isaac smiled as he leaned closer to her to indicate his agreement.
"Well, let me just say again that I'm happy for both of you," Garet said with a more serious smile on his face before glancing around to make sure nobody else was nearby to overhear. "How is Jenna taking it though?" he asked, instinctively lowering his voice a bit. "I noticed her walking away from here a little bit ago," the redhead added, a hint of concern evident in his voice.
Isaac sighed. "That's the one remaining wrench in things that I'm not sure how to solve," he answered.
"We've been trying to be conscious of how she feels by not being too obvious around people," Mia explained.
"Sheba was just mentioning Jenna would need some time to come to terms with Isaac's feelings," Ivan commented, glancing towards Garet to see the redhead's reaction.
Garet sighed. "I figured as much. I doubt anyone was as keenly aware of Jenna's feelings as I was…at least before we all got separated and left Vale," he voiced. "I know how raw those emotions will probably be for her for a while now. There's no avoiding that I think," Garet added.
Mia shifted her gaze onto the Mars adept, showing a hint of surprise on her face from the unexpected comment.
Garet just shrugged as he noticed the look Mia was giving him. "My feelings aren't really a secret among the four of us either," he explained. "Sure, I avoided talking about them directly to Isaac for the longest time when I was unsure about his own, but he knows now."
Isaac smiled and chuckled briefly. "I knew long before then," he spoke up, referencing the point when Garet had finally come clean. "I pretended not to since it was clear you were trying not to show it back then," he added with a shrug.
Garet sighed and shook his head as an amused Ivan and Mia looked on. "I shouldn't be surprised I suppose," he mused. "After all, it wasn't exactly difficult to see through the two of you," he said, indicating Isaac and Mia. "There's no reason to expect that it wouldn't have been the same in my case…"
His three friends shared a laugh, and Ivan took the opportunity to nudge Garet with his elbow. "Well, I can think of at least one possible solution here," the Jupiter adept commented with a joking grin, making his implication clear for everyone present.
Garet gave the blonde boy a sad smile in response and shook his head. "No," he stated clearly. "Jenna doesn't need that right now. What she needs is her same old friend that was there on the day we were separated in Mount Aleph, not another long tangled mess of unrequited emotions and feelings to deal with," he explained.
"But surely she would still appreciate it if you-" Mia started to say before Garet cut her off.
"Would you have accepted it in her place?" the Mars adept asked sharply, knowing that Mia already knew the answer within her own heart. "If Ivan or I approached you in that way the day you thought you had lost Isaac to Jenna, you would not," he stated for her in a firm voice.
The cerulean haired girl stayed silent, understanding the wishful thinking in her judgment and being unable to deny the truth of Garet's words.
Garet's voice softened. "I know you're only trying to think of a way for everyone to be happy, but life doesn't work out in a way," he explained. The redhead sighed. "You're a kindhearted person Mia," he added to nods of agreement from Isaac and Ivan. "...But there's not always a path available that prevents people from being hurt," Garet surmised.
Isaac gave Mia a gentle squeeze with the arm he had around her in a gesture of comfort as all three adepts waited in silence for Garet to finish voicing his thoughts. The Mars adept looked away for a moment, glancing out across the deck absorbed in his own head before coming to a resolution.
"So no," Garet finally repeated. "For now my role is to be the same Garet Jenna has always known. I want her to understand that even if some things change over time, there will always be more that remains the same as well," he declared.
"That you would do that for her…" Isaac reflected, lending his voice to the thoughts of both Ivan and Mia as well.
"I think my respect for you has grown," Ivan commented after a moment, placing his hand on Garet's shoulder and giving it a friendly shake. A nod of agreement from Isaac and Mia confirmed their shared view on the matter as well.
There was a moment of introspection among the four as they sat together in silence, accompanied by the crackling of the fire and gentle lull of the ship slowly cutting through frigid waters.
Garet didn't let it last for too long however, and made an effort to shift the topic off of himself. "It would seem we've all had something to deal with recently," he mused, allowing his gaze to move towards Ivan as he was the only one that hadn't been brought up yet.
"Who, me?" Ivan questioned, unprepared for the attention as he saw everyone looking in his direction.
Isaac nodded at the younger blonde boy. "With everything going on recently I know that I at least haven't really checked in to see how you've been doing as much as I should have," he admitted, offering a bit of an apology to the Jupiter adept.
"Is this about my sister?" Ivan replied with another question, taking a moment to read the concern in Garet and Mia's faces as well.
Garet confirmed with a nod as Mia spoke up. "That's true," she said. "I know you were managing all right early on, but how about now? I feel like you've never really had the opportunity to properly mourn," the Mercury adept elaborated.
Ivan shook his head. "You don't need to worry about that," he answered, though the concern in his friend's gazes didn't disappear. Realizing he was not going to get off with such a simple answer, he sighed.
"Of course it still hurts that she's gone…" Ivan admitted, saying what everyone was waiting to hear. "It hurts….but it's also made me focused," the Jupiter adept followed up with. He looked into the fire as small sparks crackled and floated up and away into the sky above, reminiscent of the psynergy escaping Hama's body as she lay dying in Ivan's arms.
A sadness creeped into Ivan's expression as he recalled those events, but his voice remained steady as he spoke. "What my sister's actions have taught me is the seriousness of our journey and what's truly at stake. If anything, she's given me the resolve to properly see things through, and a reason to keep pressing forward no matter how difficult the path becomes," Ivan explained. He paused and hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"I…have not had a chance to properly say goodbye, just as I never had the chance to properly get to know my sister…" the blonde boy admitted. "I will take my time to grieve properly when all is said and done, but for now we have a job to do and I will not be the one to waver in my conviction and let her actions be for nothing," Ivan resolved. "I will see that final lighthouse lit…in Hama's name."
Isaac nodded, having been thoroughly convinced by the strength of Ivan's words. "This time we will make sure the lighthouse is lit…no matter the cost," he echoed, wanting to right the wrong of their original opposition to this very goal.
"Cost?" Garet picked up on as he turned towards Isaac slightly. "Why must there always be some sort of cost?"
Isaac shook his head slowly. "That is just the way things have been so far," he replied. "Don't you remember the devastation the lightning of the Venus beacon caused?" Isaac questioned. "The destructive earthquake…the tidal wave and flooding…the shifted continents…" He looked to each adept in turn. "Many people paid the price when we failed to stop Saturos and Menardi from lighting that beacon," he answered as Garet fell silent in contemplation.
"Jupiter too," Isaac added. "If it wasn't for Master Hama's actions, who knows what untold havoc could have been unleashed had the seal on Anemos Sanctum not been maintained," he said, leaving the rest to his friend's imaginations. Isaac turned to address Ivan directly. "Your sister gave her life to protect countless others from what could have been."
Ivan nodded his agreement, understanding the point the older boy was trying to make. "So that means…" he started to say before trailing off.
Isaac nodded. "It's almost like a warning left to those who would light the beacons, maybe even from Weyard itself," he voiced. "As we head for the final lighthouse even now with the intention of unleashing the power of the Mars beacon and alchemy as a whole, we have to bear the burden of whatever the consequences of our actions might bring upon ourselves…and the world."
Isaac's words hung heavy among the four as they sat together in trepidation, pondering the possibilities that lie ahead.
"Such a grim thought," Garet commented after hearing the explanation out.
"Don't dwell on such things with the final lighthouse close at hand," Mia spoke up in an attempt to prevent everyone from following the path to more depressing thoughts. "Whatever obstacles arise, we will face together as we always have," she added, trying to raise morale again. "We have overcome everything in our path before, and this time we have more allies on our side as well," the Mercury adept commented.
Isaac nodded at Mia and gave her a smile. "Of course," he replied. "Please don't pay my own musings too much mind," he requested of the three sitting beside him. "It was not my intention to bring negativity into our quest, and Mia is right that together we can overcome anything," Isaac nodded.
"Then let's plan to do just that," Ivan agreed, giving Isaac and Mia a smile to show he was not discouraged in the least.
Garet shook his head slowly. "If thoughts like that were enough to stop us, I don't believe any of us would be sitting here now," he answered. "Cost…no cost…it doesn't matter. In my mind, nobody's resolve here can even be questioned," he said to make his own stance clear.
"And I'm with you all until the very end," Mia spoke up again, feeling it was appropriate to lend her voice to the group's consensus as well. "Whatever burdens need bearing, I'll be sure to do my part," she added.
Isaac smiled and let out a slight laugh. "I have an amazing group of friends, you know?" he commented, breaking the tension that had been building up from such serious conversations. The four were able to share another laugh together again for a brief moment before they were interrupted by Piers.
"Hey guys," the Lemurian called out as he approached to get everyone's attention. "It looks like it's time," he said simply.
"To use the wings?" Ivan asked as he jumped up quickly to look over the bow of the ship at their surroundings.
Piers nodded. "Felix is grabbing Sheba and Jenna right now, but I think we'll need everyone to make this work," he explained.
They had finally run out of water in the ocean. In front of the ship lay a vast expanse of ice as far as the eye could see. The glistening reflection of the sun's bright rays bouncing off the endless plane caused Mia to shade her eyes with her hand the best she could as the others joined Ivan and glanced out at their surroundings.
"Time to see how well this is going to work then I guess," Garet commented, betraying the hint of skepticism he still held when it came to flying a ship.
"Come on, it'll be fun" Ivan replied, giving the Mars adept a slap on the back in encouragement. "How many people can say they've traveled in a flying ship after all?" he asked rhetorically.
Garet just shook his head and followed Ivan's lead back toward where the wings were positioned on the sides of the boat. Mia chuckled at the perfect example of a typical interaction she had come to expect between the two boys and then turned to Isaac. "Well, shall we join them?" she asked with a smile on her face.
"Sure," Isaac answered, glancing around to make sure nobody was watching before leaning in to give Mia a quick kiss before following their other companions.
Jenna and Sheba made an appearance on deck as well, following behind Felix as they made their way over to join Piers near the wing on the right side. Sheba was holding Jenna's hand and gently pulling her along with only a hint of redness around Jenna's eyes betraying the tears she had shed out of sight.
There was no time to dwell on that fact however. Isaac, Mia, Ivan, and Garet all stood together on the left side of the ship, ready to feed psynergy to the wings as Piers took one last look around to make sure everything was in place before they all began.
"Let's start slowly," Piers instructed, looking back and forth between the two groups of adepts. "Start channeling your psynergy and let's see how it works," he called out.
Mia glanced over to see Felix, Sheba, and Jenna holding their hands out toward the wing on their side of the ship before she did the same along with her friends. As psynergy welled up within her, she directed the raw power of it out towards the wing in front of her, feeling the ancient artifact react and greedily soak up the trickle of energy she was providing.
As everyone contributed and slowly increased their psynergy output, the wings began to faintly glow with a psynergetic light. Perhaps it was just her perception, but Mia could have sworn she felt a little lighter standing there on the boat.
"So far so good," Piers called out. "Try increasing the power a little more…easy does it…"
As the adepts slowly contributed more and more of their energy towards the Wings of Anemos, the glowing light got brighter and wisps of psynergy began to radiate off of the wings, being emitted as the ship shifted in response and began to rise out of the water below.
"It's working!" Garet exclaimed as the ship continued to slowly increase in altitude. The ship shifted to the left suddenly, becoming slightly uneven and almost throwing the adepts off balance as Garet's concentration slipped.
"Stay focused!" Isaac quickly said, increasing his own psynergy output temporarily as Garet immediately channeled his own psynergy again and helped stabilize the ship.
"Be careful," Piers warned everyone, though it was now abundantly clear that any slip ups in the process could have disastrous results.
With renewed focus all of the adepts channeled their power to raise the ship above the water. It was an awe inspiring sight as the sea itself ran off the hull like giant waterfalls back into the ocean below. If there were any onlookers to see the event they might have wondered what manner of miracle they were witnessing, however the adepts were very much alone on their journey to the frozen wastes.
As enough psynergy was fed to the wings to empower them fully, the stability of the ship noticeably increased and the concentration required to keep it that way was much less intense, allowing the group to relax slightly and look around.
They were high up in the air now, well above the frozen ice below them and the ship had begun to move forward as well, crossing over the previously impassable terrain below.
"Wow," was all Ivan could comment as he looked out at their surroundings in disbelief.
"It's incredible," Mia added, admiring the view from the sky.
Isaac leaned against the railing and glanced back behind the ship to watch the deep blue of the ocean gradually moving away from them as the ship continued onward.
Even Felix couldn't help himself upon seeing such a sight. "This is insane," he contributed in an incredulous tone, getting nods of agreement out of Sheba, Jenna, and Piers over on his side of the ship.
The distraction of being on a flying ship seemed to have helped redirect Jenna's thoughts as well as she shared her excitement with everyone else. "I seriously can't believe we're flying a ship," she commented while taking in the vast expanse of ice below.
Piers was more interested in their heading, stepping back to the helm to try to check the direction they were traveling. "I think we're pretty close to on course for Prox based on what you told us Felix," he commented, getting the attention of the Venus adept. "...Though we might need to make some slight course corrections" he added, tentatively resting his hand on the wheel of the ship.
"Do you think it'll work?" Felix inquired, indicating the wheel as they both realized they had no idea how to steer a flying ship.
"Only one way to find out," Piers replied with a shrug and gently turned the wheel a bit to see what would happen.
The ship turned slightly in response, even more fluidly than it would have in the water. "You can steer like that?" Garet asked, having come over to join them near the helm as Piers and Felix worked on navigation.
"Looks that way," Piers replied as he moved the wheel back and the ship leveled out, traveling straight once more.
"That's a relief," Garet commented with a sigh. "I was thinking we would have to steer by adjusting the psynergy channeled to each wing like what happened with me," he added.
The other adepts had all made their way over in time to join in on the conversation too. "I'm just glad Garet didn't kill us all by getting distracted," Jenna chimed in as she arrived, shooting a glare at her fellow Mars adept.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?" Garet apologized as gazes all turned in Jenna's direction before she burst out laughing.
"I guess I can forgive you this once," she said with a smile. "Come on, we're on a flying ship after all!"
Seeing her enthusiasm was infectious, even if it was masking other emotions beneath the surface, and the other adepts all shared a celebratory moment after managing to get the ship airborne together.
"Jenna's right! Focus on the flying ship guys," Garet responded, getting a laugh out of everyone as he redirected the mention of his earlier blunder.
"At least it's easier to maintain once it's flying," Sheba brought up.
"Good thing too, since it looks like we're going to need to fly the rest of the way," Mia chimed in.
"How far is it to Prox anyway?" Isaac asked Felix.
Felix just shrugged. "Hard to say. The ice has probably expanded quite a bit since I've been here last and I'm not quite sure how fast we're flying either," he answered.
"Fair points," Isaac conceded.
"If I had to guess I'd say most of the day…" Felix added after the fact, giving the best estimate he could come up with.
Ivan shook his head. "No matter when we get there, we need to be ready. Though the end of our journey draws near, we should not go on unprepared," he commented.
"That's true," Piers added. "It seems that we can maintain the flight of the ship for a while without everyone present, so it might be a good idea to take turns getting all of our things together to scale the final lighthouse," he said, turning towards Felix to get his opinion.
The ship continued to glide silently through the frosty air as each adept took a chance to look out in the distance ahead of them towards the place where everything would come to an end.
"It's settled then," Felix said simply. "Take turns packing what you need to bring. The final lighthouse awaits."
A/N: It's taken longer to get this chapter out than some of the others recently. I ran into a little bit of burnout churning out almost half of the entire story to date in the span of just a few months, with some cramping in my fingers again for the same reason, and my life has been getting busy in general as well, but I'm still working on this fan fiction when I can & feel inspired to.
I probably won't be doing updates every couple of weeks like before, but it's certainly still in my mind to finish out the story as we get closer and closer to the end.
I appreciate your patience with the chapters coming out and thanks for reading!
