Chapter 5: Direction

Zephynn woke up with his back leaning against a bookshelf. A few books had fallen across his lap. He pushed them off and stood up, stretching his arms and legs out. He looked over to Janice. The girl was asleep on the bed. He walked over to her. She was in the same condition she had been in when he had met her.

"I bet you're glad that he was around here," a voice came from behind him, "I know I couldn't have done that." He turned around, startled. A woman was standing in front of the bookshelf he had been leaning against, looking into a book. She wore a long, light blue dress. Her hair was long and light blue as well. She looked up at him. Her eyes were rather gentle. She shut the book and walked towards him. His instincts told him to back away. Though trembling, he swallowed his fear.

"Who might you be?" he asked firmly. The woman smiled.

"My name is Flora," she said, "I am a magic spirit in service to my lady, Hecate. You are Zephynn, son of Phyra, correct?"

"How does everyone around here know my name?" Zephynn asked, almost sounding annoyed.

"You're well-known in the divine world," said Flora, "I would think you would know that after braving such a journey as the one you did for the sake of the gods." Zephynn shook his head.

"I don't want to remember that," said Zephynn, "I would appreciate it if you didn't bring it up." Flora nodded.

"I understand," said Flora, "Would you care for something to eat?" Zephynn nodded. Flora snapped her fingers. A stone table appeared in the middle of the room. On the table were all of the stereotypical breakfast items of the time; bacon, eggs, and the like. Zephynn's stomach growled just at the smell. He hadn't eaten since the temple of Palutena the morning of the previous day, and this seemed to taste just as good as the Oracle's.

As they approached the table, there was a stirring behind them. Janice rolled over on her side. Zephynn and Flora watched as her nose twitched. Her eyes cracked open. Theseus suddenly crawled over her from behind. Her eyes shot open.

"Monsters!" she yelled scrambling to her feet, "Where? Let me at 'em!" She tripped over her own feet and hit the floor. Zephynn and Flora sweatdropped. Theseus ran up to her to make sure she was okay. Janice pulled herself up and sat on the floor.

"I'm okay!" she confirmed, "What are we eating?"

All of them had a very filling breakfast.

"I must be getting better," Flora said as she swallowed a bite of the food, "The last time I tried doing this I burnt half of the food and didn't cook the rest long enough." She giggled a little at the thought.

"So you're all magical and stuff?" Janice asked, "How do you manage all of that power? I mean, it's got to take a lot of energy right? Can you use it to fight? Can you teach me to use it to fight?" Zephynn almost laughed himself. Even though he had known her only for a day, he could tell she was back to her usual self.

"Aw man!" she cried suddenly, "I lost my sword! Stupid monsters… must've happened in the fight… what happened after I was knocked out? Did you do your wind thing and wipe them all out?"

"Quite the energetic one aren't you," said Flora with a little smile.

"And annoying…" Zephynn mumbled under his breath.

"What was that!?" Janice yelled at him. Zephynn keeled over.

"Nothing!" he squeaked. Janice retreated and continued to talk to Flora. Zephynn sat up again and sighed. He chose to get up from the stone table and walked over to one of the bookshelves. Looking up and down the bindings, he found that half of them he couldn't read because they were in an ancient language, and the other half didn't appeal to him. He noticed that one book was leaning over against another. He felt in the crack. A book had been taken from its spot. He looked down at his feet. A book with a blue binding lied there. He bent down and picked it up. Looking at the cover, he saw that it said "Lost Treasures of the Sea."

"Hmph…" he said. He thought about Raven. Perhaps she would like a book like this. He shook off the thought to avoid stirring up more memories and prepared to put the book back on the shelf. Janice's voice stopped him.

"What's that?" she asked. Zephynn stopped and looked over at her.

"Well?"

"Oh it's nothing," he said, "Just putting it back where it belongs."

"Oh, that's a shelf for fiction," said Flora, getting up from the table, "Isn't that book you're holding history?" Flora reached him and took the book, looking at the cover. She nodded.

"Silly little thing," she said, "How'd you end up over here?" The book floated out of her hands and chattered, its bindings clicking back and forth. Flora giggled. The book floated down to the table and landed on top of it. It opened itself to a certain page. Janice and Theseus both looked down upon it. Zephynn walked over curiously and looked down as well. Depicted on the page was an ornate staff. The hilt was adorned with gold and blue stripes. The head of the staff had three prongs that curved upwards around its blue orb, the source of its magic.

"The staff of Osimi…" Janice read, "A staff that was once wielded by one of Poseidon's greatest warriors, Osimi, a rare breed of the human race. When she passed in battle, not too long ago, Poseidon, in a fit of grief, buried the staff beneath the ocean. Its location is all but unknown." On the next page was a depiction of Osimi herself wielding the staff. Waves surrounded her as though she was in the middle of a hurricane. Her long auburn hair flowed over the whipping water around her. She wore full blue, yellow, and white battle armor and carried a shield on her right arm (she wielded the staff with her left hand). Her eyes were a dazzling blue. She looked familiar to Zephynn. He shook off the thought for fear that it was a memory from the past journey.

Janice continued to stare at the page.

"Wow…" she said almost breathlessly, "She's amazing."

"Was," said Flora, "I knew her personally. She was a very kind and sweet woman, unless it came to battle. Then she was all business. It devastated me to hear of her passing…"

"I want to find this thing!" Janice exclaimed suddenly. Zephynn was taken aback.

"Wait, what?" Zephynn questioned.

"I want to be like her!" Janice exclaimed, "Osimi! She looks so brave and powerful!" She began rambling on to Theseus how powerful she was going to be. The little dragon skittered around excitedly.

"Quite the character isn't she?" said Flora with a little giggle. Zephynn rolled his eyes.

"Say," said Flora, "I've heard that strange things have been going down in the ocean north of here. There is unrest out there somewhere. Perhaps this is destiny?" Zephynn's mind suddenly went back to his objective. He had been heading north. There was a trial waiting for him there. And if strange things were happening…

"That can't be a coincidence," said Zephynn, "Come on Janice. Theseus. We're going to the ocean."