The next day found Krysha, Man, Seika and I having breakfast together and discussing our next steps. Even though Seika hadn’t planned on abandoning her studies, she was a firm believer of acting based on facts so she didn’t complain about her predicament at all. On the contrary, she became invested in our journey and even offered to try and identify some of the magical items that Krysha was struggling with.

The first item she identified the magical powers of was that of my angelic blades.

Name : Archangel Xiphi

Type : Dual Swords

Rarity : E Grade*

Physical Attack : 38

Magic Attack : 21

Special Ability : Divine Mana Absorption

Attack Speed : Normal

Durability : 1200/1200

Weight : 980st.

Description : A couple of perfectly balanced, feather-gold blades used by archangels of The Divine. The blades were forged by the sheer, untamed mana of the greater deity, giving it abilities that scale with the skills and mastery of the user. E-grade mastery grants the swords with the ability to absorb certain amounts of spell targeted at them. The only spells that the blades can absorb are those using mana that is also from The Divine. Additional abilities might unlock upon greater mastery levels.

“Is this why there is an asterisk next to its rarity?” I asked Seika.

“I think so,” she replied. “All weapons I’ve seen so far have had a single rarity but this one seems to be adapting to its user. And so do its special abilities.”

“This makes sense, considering the archangels would have been able to handle at C-grade equipment,” Krysha added. “This is a great discovery. What should we next?”

Of course, Krysha could not be more pleased that she would be working side by side with Seika. Man was also more than happy to answer all of my sister’s questions about the port we would reach on the other side of the Endless Sea, as well as the customs of his people.

He seemed to enjoy talking to her a lot, but I imagined it was nice to have someone new who was around his age. After all, he had been dealing with teenagers and children for so long.

We spent most of the day making alterations and modifications to the tower according to Seika’s instructions who was amazed at how lucky we had been to find something like this in Nara.

It was great to have her with us on our journeys, and her presence greatly boosted our morale.

***

The days passed without any major incidents. In the beginning, people looked forward to their turn visiting the ship’s deck, since a maximum of ten people were allowed at a time by the captain. Soon, however, the thirst to watch the ever-moving waters of the sea were replaced by short reluctant walks in fear of seasickness.

Everyone had their jobs to occupy their time and we made it a point that all should train in using a martial weapon once per day. This made time fly even faster, since the physical exhaustion from the practice helped ensure that we slept easier.

On the dawn of the twenty-sixth day, we reached the port of Zakara and capital of Leka An. Man was welcomed with a caravan of at least ten carriages, as the king had been informed of our arrival by the captain before we’d even reached port.

We jumped into the carriages and took a road that looked as though it led to the castle which sat on the top of a hill and was visible in the distance.

The city itself did not look that different from Leskia, with stands selling food and drinks in the same fashion as everywhere else. The people, on the other hand, seemed completely different. It wasn’t that they looked very different to us, but rather the way they moved and acted was much more energetic.

They were lively and their faces looked rough but happy. Or perhaps it was just me seeing things that weren’t there, because I was happy just to set foot on land again. I couldn’t see much of the city from inside the carriage, but I managed to spot many taverns or other drinking establishments that had the majority of their tables outdoors, their patrons enjoying the sunny day.

I also noticed that there was no uniformity in the colors of the buildings and houses we passed by. There was rather a uniformity of variety where one house might be orange, and the one next to it would be cyan, and this went on for all twenty minutes that we traveled through the city streets.

Man practically provided us with a mansion to live in, and a host of servants to take care of all of our needs. I knew he meant well but it made most of us feel deeply awkward as we’d gotten used to taking care of ourselves and not relying on others.

Things became less awkward when he explained that these people were being paid for their help, and that it was common in Leka An for people to be paid to provide such services. Their customs and society seemed so different to ours, probably due to the fact that they didn’t need to factor in the unequal distribution of mana among the population.

***

We spent the first night in Leka An in the mansion, even though most of us preferred to sleep in our own beds in the tower, so only a handful of us really occupied rooms in the building that was offered to us. Man didn’t stay with us as he needed to consult with the king and his court but said that he wanted to talk to us on the next day, right after breakfast.

I made sure that everyone knew about this and all of us had our breakfast in the large dining halls that were provided to us. Man arrived right on time and sat opposite me, his face smiling but focused. He politely denied the food being offered by one of his personal servers and without really greeting me, put his right hand on my left shoulder and looked me straight in the eyes.

“What is it you want to do here, Adel?” he asked. “These people trust you to lead them. Have you thought of what you are going to do from now on?”

At first, I was surprised by his question but not even for a moment was I unprepared. I had given it a lot of thought, and made sure to talk to everyone in the tower during our time crossing the Endless Sea. Many people still felt lost, or were fine with someone else taking the decision for them, but there were two things that came up in almost all of our individual discussions.

They all wanted to stay in Leka An and amongst people that lived their lives without mana. And they all wanted to find out what happened during the liturgy. Thus, I had made what plans I could around those two notions.

“First of all, we are grateful for all the help you have given us,” I began. “And we’d love to stay in your country if that is not cause for trouble.”

As the other slowly realized that Man and I had engaged in discussion, silence spread through the large dining room and people began flocking toward us.

“Trouble, you say? That is something that neither I or you can control,” he replied, taking his hand away again. “A magical doorway filled with hundreds of people is not something that can be easily hidden, and we are not the sort of people that like hiding things. Apart from that, you should know that word has been sent by all three of the Order’s archons that, should we come across any witnesses of what happened in Nara, manaless not native to Leka An, or an individual named Adel, we ought to seize them immediately and transfer them to their custody.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I tried to stay calm in light of the new developments, but after the experiences I had over the past few weeks, I didn’t want to assume anything. “What are you going to do?”

By this time, all of our people were gathered around us, listening to our conversation in absolute silence.

“That’s what I was called to discuss with my father. Neither my father nor our people like dealing with ultimatums. We are merchants. We like discussions and coming into mutual agreements. Elysia may be a powerful nation because of its spellcasters, but it’s in a state of turmoil since no new sorcerers and sorceresses will be joining its ranks in the near future.”

“So… you’re saying that you are not afraid of them,” I observed.

“We never were, Adel,” Man admitted. “But there is much more to gain from friendship than from enmity. We are granting asylum to all manaless, or as we would say, to all people.”

A wave of relief rippled through the faces of our now captivated audience, and I was probably the one that was most comforted by the king’s decision, though no doubt Man’s involvement had played its role as well.

“Of course, the Order will not like this,” Man continued, “and even though they would not do anything stupid, they are in a really precarious position. Their way of life had been taken away from them and they want answers. For this reason, we invited Archon Simeon to visit us as a token of good faith.”

“This is extremely dangerous, Man,” I said, my relief being taken over again by worry. “You don’t know how powerful archons are. The three heads of the Order aren’t selected by vote, neither do they inherit the position from their parents. They are the pinnacle of the Order’s spellcasting abilities and their mana capacity is second to none. My parents were extremely skilled but were only two of eighty-one archpriests. They were not strong enough to become cardinals, let alone archons. Even my brother, who is probably one of the most skilled battlemages to ever live, is only a paragon to one of them.”

“We are aware that they should not be taken lightly, Adel, but this is not a competition,” Man responded. “We honestly want to help your people, but we will do it our way. And you do not need to worry about us. This will not be the first archon to visit Leka An, or Zakara for that matter. We are adept at dealing with spellcasters.”

Everyone seemed troubled with the way that things had turned out and so was I. But I would not let the looming presence of the Order bring us down.

“Then teach us how to deal with them, too,” I said.

“You want me to teach you how to handle wizards?” Man replied with surprise. “I suppose that would be a good idea… If only we had a trained sorceress among us to help…”

As Man started to smile, I realized that he wasn’t looking at me anymore but rather behind me. I turned and saw my sister trying to hide a smile by bringing her cup to her mouth, as if she was drinking something. A quiet giggle sounded from all directions and I tried to get her out of the spotlight by turning back to Man.

“So, what else do you have planned?” Man went on with his initial line of questioning.

“We want to know what happened in Nara,” I replied decisively, and sounds of confirmation echoed around the dining room walls. “We want to find Myriam and Kai, and we want them to answer our questions.”

“Which reminds me,” Man said. “A pirate ship appeared on the horizon some days ago. The ship was in mint condition because it was magically enhanced, but the inside was burned, and there were charred bodies in it, Adel. This was a spell attack.”

“You mean to tell us,” Kard exclaimed from the back of the hall, “that Myriam and Kai crossed the Endless Sea?”

“It sure looked similar to what happened in Nara, and this is not a time of coincidences. There was no sign of either of them though.”

“We need to find them and have them explain what happened,” I replied. “In the meantime, we’ll conduct some research into whether something similar has ever happened before.”

“We may not be people of spells, but we do value knowledge,” Man replied. “We will provide you with any books and intel we come across that might aid your quest.”

“We are grateful to you and your people, Manal Im,” I said, in a more serious tone while everyone nodded at him appreciatively.

“Now, there’s no need to be all formal with me,” Man said, smiling at first but then his face turned very serious once more. “I was standing beside you on that day, and even though I did not lose a loved one, I saw what you went through and I will do everything in my power to help you. I am of you and you are of me.”

At that point, the conversation ended, with people pushing forward to hug and thank Man. He stood there, receiving our gratitude in a manner that held no hint of pride but rather seemed like dutiful acceptance.

***

We spent another day in the dormitories provided to us until Man informed us that we had been given permission to move our carts into an unpopulated area in the eastern part of the city.

The place where we set up camp was often used as festival grounds for small scale festivities and so could easily fit our four carts and large tent. The transition was easy, and by now most of us could set up camp as fast as any other manaless.

Apart from the fact that we were not traveling anymore, our life was pretty much the same. The same people were taking care of the daily operations of our community, while some new routines were initiated for many of the rest of us.

Seika took the role of teacher once more, though this time it was with the help of Man or other select warriors of his guard. We were taught how to defend ourselves against Seika’s devastating spells, as well as how to use an array of mana nullifying devices.

On top of that, each and every one of us trained with a weapon of their choice. Shield and sword, bow, ax or battlehammer, lance, and the greatsword were the most popular choices. I, on the other hand, continued practicing with the dual swords that I had procured from the angel squadron leader but I was almost disheartened at how slow my progress was compared with Krysha’s natural archery talent and Kard’s almost uncanny dagger throwing skills. It seemed to me that he must have practiced for hours every day since he realized that he would probably never be able to make his dreams of meeting with dragons come true.

The outskirts of Zakara were brimming with monsters of all levels and daily XP parties were more than welcome by the merchants who saw an increase in the safety of the routes they were using. This of course meant that on top of XPing our classes, we were also taking care of small quests from locals, something that boosted our XP gains even more.

***

A few days later, Man informed us that the archon had accepted the invitation and that we had little more than a year before the mission arrived at Zakara.

This meant that we had little more than a year to train for whatever was coming.

Little more than a year to decide what we wanted to tell them.

Little more than a year to find Kai and Myriam.

Where are you, Myriam?