Her smile was glued to her face even as her heart sped up. Stay calm, she warned herself. Its Somara's brother, Somial's son. They can't know. He saved your life. Somial is here to protect you. It's going to be ok. She licked her lips and waited for him to speak first.
"Karigan, it is so wonderful to see you, and looking so well. Our Lord Somial has truly excelled in the healing arts as you look radiant. I am grateful that he was able to perform this deep work with you." He stepped forward and gently clasped her hand in his, looking into her eyes softly. Karigan believed he meant his words, she just also believed it when he said he couldn't control himself around her and now here he was. In her space. Which was a silly thought as she was an emissary in his home yet for some reason she felt like it was her home now and he was the intruder. She forced her breathing to quiet and felt for the empathy she had had towards him when he was the reason she was alive.
"Enver! I'm surprised to see you as Somara told me you were travelling. I have spoken to Somara of the care you took to save my life. I am very grateful that your father invited me into his home and for his exceptional care of me. I have been here some months and have slowly recovered a lot of my condition, which I did not expect. I look forward to joining my people in the near future now that I am recovered."
She heard the words come out of her mouth and made a decision quickly. If Enver was staying, then she wasn't. She might be grateful but she wasn't stupid and a physical boundary between them was the safest solution. She was the guest and she must be the one to leave.
Somara beamed at both of them and invited them into the tree to enjoy lunch. Karigan couldn't stomach much and chose to drink tea and broth. She didn't contribute much to the conversation and mainly listened as Enver discussed his entry into Eletian from the Southern side, describing to his sister the plants that were in bloom and the animals nesting that he had surveyed. Lunch ended and Somara made to stand but Karigan quickly placed a hand on her leg.
"Somara, you have not seen your brother in a long time. Please stay with him and talk. Somial and I can manage practice fine on our own as I am barely using the warding now so he can sustain his energy. We'll be fine, you catch up."
Somara assented gladly. She thought she detected the faintest hint of a shadow cross Enver's face and bade her farewell, exiting quickly.
This was the right decision although now it had been thrust upon her, she felt a deep pang of sadness. I don't want to go, she thought as her eyes welled up. She brushed a tear away. She hadn't realised how much she had come to love living in Eletia. It wasn't so much the place as the way their culture had grown to honour the environment they were in. They took such care of all that grew around them, and placed a deep significance on manifesting the beauty in the natural world in their own lives and living in harmony with it. Their way of living centred on the beauty of life and paid homage to the health of their bodies so they could live with radiance and vitality, and it felt incredibly natural and nourishing to live like this. To return to the world of roughness and slog seemed a bleak prospect to her now, but it appeared she had no choice with the return of Enver.
She reached the clearing and was surprised to find that Somial was not present. He had always arrived first and she felt even more bereft as she found herself alone. She had been hoping that jumping into her practice would distract her and she also had the uneasy task of ending her formal stay. Sighing, she sat and waited, fidgeting at the grass tufts that lay in front of her. She picked leaves distractedly before flinging them away and after a while stood to pace. This didn't relieve her tension either. He was very late and she began to feel a bit annoyed as he hadn't spoken to her earlier of a change in plans. She stopped at the steaming pond, hands on hips, contemplating what to do next. Forms, she decided. I'll just do it myself.
She stomped into the centre of the clearing, feeling off centre. She drew her staff up in a horizontal line in front of her and immediately felt her mind calm as she began her drills. Soon enough the feelings washed through her and a sense of calm and purposefulness descended over her mind. She concentrated on the drills, ignoring the pinches and pulls of her back and revelling in the feel of the warm air on her skin and the beads of sweat on her forehead. Her breath came lightly and life coursed through her veins. A soft smile replaced her frown as her delight in her recovery flashed through her mind. She chose to extend the forms that were her favourites, arcing the staff around to end in a fighting stance and feeling the movement of muscle as it warmed. She was not stupid enough to extend outside her realistic range in a training pitch but she loved the feeling of testing that edge and feeling the improvement. She came to a standstill and stood lightly panting, feeling her muscles settle themselves. She was in a much better state of mind, alert yet relaxed. She looked around; Somial was still not there. With a shrug, she sat herself next to the pond and watched the steam rise off the surface for some minutes before she settled in her seat and closed her eyes, removing her patch.
Instantly she was transported into the world of flowing grey energy and she quickly found her golden core thread. With practiced ease she took hold of the energy and held it lightly, waiting for images to form as she played with the tension. They had been increasing with force for some time now and she received two images instantly, the same ones that kept reappearing. A volley of 1000 arrows arced into the sky and descended in front of her but before they could land the next image sprang forth and she saw a copse of trees with a faint haze hidden within, people dying all around her. The vision ceased abruptly and nothing further appeared so she loosened her hold and the energy continued to flow in a grey current. She passed her hand over a brooch and concentrated, looking for the patch of white. In but a moment it appeared in her periphery and she let herself be absorbed by it into the white world. She sat and waited. Clearly Seastaria had more important things to do because she didn't appear for a visit. Karigan squinted, trying to see if there was something slight in the distance but if there had been a flash of colour, it was now gone. She waited some more before shrugging and coming to a stand. Mustn't be anything to do here today. She realised with a start that she had stopped coming to fear the white world, now she knew how to enter and exit at will. Good, she thought with satisfaction. Wouldn't be such a bad thing if the gods couldn't trap me here every time they needed help with something. She unwrapped the tiny thread of gold tied to her waist – a little trick she had devised to prevent losing herself – and wandered back out of the void and into the light of spatial awareness.
She opened her eyes, blinking the daze away for a few seconds. She turned her head to the left and right, stretching it as she looked for Somial. Still not here. Hmmm. But she was looking forward to his return now, excited to tell him how she had managed through the practice by herself. She got to her feet and stretched, feeling the prickle of her muscles protesting as they grew stiffer, since she had been sitting still and had cooled down. She walked over to the pond and shrugged. He might have been delayed elsewhere but that shouldn't stop her enjoying her training soak now should it?!
She de-robed and dropped into the water carefully. Since she was alone, she let herself float on the top of the water, her feminine centre exposed to the sun and her ears muffled underwater as she listened to the slow, silent laps echoed underneath. Her hair floated and tickled the edged of her neck. She had always loved floating like this in the ocean when she was a child and it was much better in the warm mineral pools of Eletia. She floated for a while longer and then arose, washing herself. She turned and swam to the edge of the pond, feeling her muscles loosening even though it was a short swim. She turned to come back and started, surprised to see Somial sitting in his usual place with his healing oils in front of him. He smiled warmly at her as she swam up and exited the pool, towelling herself.
"Karigan, you did very well to transition into the visual energy and into the white world. Today was the last test so to speak, to see how you would do without my warding and at a time of your own volition. I am impressed."
Karigan blushed at the compliment. She thought about being annoyed but it did kind of make sense; she needed to do it herself some time and it seemed like a good way of testing her. Instead she decided to speak of her experience.
"It was not too bad. The energy was really easy to detect today and I managed to go between without issues, which is sort of a surprise seeing as I was a bit off my game."
"Why is that?" he asked her as he prepared his oils.
She faltered. She didn't really want to discuss the Enver thing and she could cover for that. But how to discuss returning home? Hmmm, tricky.
"I guess because I was expecting you and unsure of what was happening. Obviously when I trained in the sword master program it is assumed that you would be able to fight at a certain level in unexpected situations, since that is the purpose of training, and elements of surprise were brought in periodically. I sort of forgot that we were doing the same with our afternoons here since I haven't specifically come to Eletia to learn how to fight, so it not following our routine threw me off."
She paused for a moment as he began rubbing oil into her prone body and willed her body to relax. However the tension crept back in as she realised she had a perfect opening and formed the words in her mind.
"Speaking of which Somial, do you think it's time we discussed my return? Initially I thought I was here just to observe the culture of Eletia to improve our ties, although now I suspect I was brought here to learn magic, for which I am eternally thankful to you for. But I will need to return home and I would like to do so soon. Have you any thoughts on that?"
She waited for his reply with trepidation. His hands never ceased their rhythmic flow over her back and she felt a deep calm and presence flow into her as he worked. Her eyelids were beginning to droop before he spoke.
"You are correct concerning both reasons. It was for the strengthening of ties between our people as much for an opportunity for our people to offer you healing in return for all you have done for us. You may choose to leave at any time, though I must admit to hope that you would stay with us for as long as you can. I find your company intriguing and pleasant and have enjoyed our time together."
Karigan was struck with awe at the idea of an Eletian enjoying her company! She was at a loss for words and was relieved when he began chanting since it gave her time to craft a response. He finished her healing with a soft rub down her arms and she shivered. She sat up and clothed herself self-consciously as he collected his oils and poultices. She tied the cotton pulls and turned to face him, bowing.
"Somial, I have no words for what you have done for me," she said quietly. "You have given me life. There is no greater gift on this earth and I can never repay you for your kindness. And I truly would spend my life here if I could so choose to, however there is a war that is about to begin in my home and I must play my part."
He nodded gracefully in acknowledgement.
"It will be a hard slog but hopefully we can succeed. Whilst I am astounded to have this level of activity back so I can take part in the fight if I'm needed, I suspect my role could be more magical than not, especially if they have anything to do with it." Unwittingly she emphasized the reference to the gods and rolled her eyes. He smiled at her endearing trait of being so flustered by her role as the Avatar, the highest honour that could be bequeathed to an earth dwelling creature.
He walked before her and steadied her shoulders with his hands gently, feeling the heat of her skin and the movement of her breath under his touch. She held her breath.
"I do understand and if you would consent to stay for another week, I would personally be in a position to escort you back outside of Eletia, although I would not be able to accompany you directly onto your next path."
Strange way of wording that, she thought, but any puzzlement was swallowed by the relief of being permitted to leave Eletia gracefully. She honestly had no idea if she would ever have been allowed to return home and had spent many days mulling over this risk before she accepted his invitation to join him at the lake below the palace, all those weeks ago. She hoped her relief was not palpable but he was an Elt, so she assumed it was.
"Thank you, Somial," she whispered and gave him an impulsive hug. She felt warm arms around her and safety flooded into her being. She could have stood like that forever. His warm embrace all of a sudden made her think of King Zachary and a pang of forlornness passed over her. He was always there at the back of her mind and she felt saddened that her time here had not truly dulled her longing although it hadn't been long. Her tummy took that as a signal to rumble, protesting the lack of food she had taken that day and Somial suggested they walked to dinner. They chatted amiably about the beauty of the late evening and met Somara and Enver in the evening food parlour. This time Karigan felt more comfortable about being in Enver's presence. Somial did not leave her side, which was unusual for him. She began to suspect he might be aware that something was not quite right between her and Enver, especially as Enver kept a healthy distance from her.