They were partly fused together so if one of them died, the other would quickly follow. Yet from their eyes, it was clear that they still couldn’t decide whether to prioritize survival or put an end to their struggle once and for all.
“What do those things mean?” Friya asked, impressed by her own appearance under Soul Vision.
“I don’t know.” Aalejah replied. “No bloodline ability comes with an instruction manual and those are your real natures, not mine. You are supposed to know. Maybe, if I was still bonded with the World Tree, I would be able to understand their meaning, but I’m on my own now.”
“What if we shapeshift?” Quylla asked. “Some of our true natures, like mine, make no sense. Maybe we could disguise ourselves as elves or Dewan.”
“That’s impossible.” The elf shook her head. “Someone’s appearance under Soul Vision is fixed and the Fringe is a closed environment. The elves know each other and all werepeople look like your friend there.”
She pointed at Nalrond and projected the image of the beast and the human fused together.
“The same stands for the Dewan. They know every member of their tribe and even if you disguise as elves, your smell will give out your human identity. I could go to their village by myself but to what end?” Aalejah shrugged.
“There’s no point arguing.” Lith said. “Negotiating with the elves was Faluel’s idea so I’m certain that she has a plan in mind. We just need to wait until she wakes up.”
***
While they waited for their friends’ recovery, Lith and Solus alternated working on tier four Void Magic, Creation Magic, and Forgemastery.
The good news was that just like during Nalrond’s first homecoming, they could use Mogar’s reaction to their spells to understand what the major mistakes of the various procedures were.
The bad news was that it didn’t give them any clue about how to fix those mistakes. It required a slow and tedious trial-and-error process since Mogar would give suggestions only once they had gotten close enough to the solution on their own.
Friya used that time to research dimensional and Gravity magic while also looking for a way to break through and reach the deep violet. Quylla and Aalejah worked on Light Mastery, exchanging tips and trying to find their way to materialize hard-light constructs.
“Do you mind?” Morok snapped his fingers to have their attention. “While you eggheads only worry about yourselves, Master Ajatar and I are the ones who kept guard until this moment. Now it’s our turn to rest.”
“Morok his right.” Ajatar’s gaze had been fixed on the horizon just because he was lost in thought while working on Spirit Fusion with Mogar’s help.
His goal was to master the flow of the individual elements and move it to his eyes in order to achieve Soul Vision. He had been so engrossed in his work and the unique opportunity with which the Fringe presented him to forget about the rest.
“He, I mean, we have pulled our weight already. It’s your turn now.”
The Drake used his breathing technique, Foresight, on Faluel, pretending it was just a routine control instead of the first time he checked on her condition in hours.
“I agree.” Lith felt like a jerk for ignoring his wounded friends for so long, but at least he was in good company. “Solus and I will be next. You guys take some rest or do some experiments. You deserve it.”
Morok went straight for a nap while Ajatar simply closed his eyes and Hushed himself, pretending that his work required great focus while he kept experimenting with fusion magic.
Lith checked on both Nalrond and Faluel, discovering that the Rezar was the one faring better. Friya had kept taking care of him, prompting him to shapeshift from time to time so that both his life forces recovered at the same rate.
The gesture was kind and affectionate but Lith couldn’t help but picture her like someone flipping a burger on a grill, making him hungry.
Faluel’s wounds had already healed for a while and her body was in tip-top shape. The problem was her mana core. The poisoning from the rampant world energy had degraded it to deep violet and disrupted most of her auxiliary cores.
Only rest and the steady flow of her mana could purge the lingering foreign energy and turn the chaotic vortexes into spheres again.
“Gods, I’m such an idiot.” When she regained consciousness, Faluel was back from deep to violet.
The abundant world energy in the Fringe was also much richer in Mogar’s willpower than the one she was used to and it worked akin to constantly sprinkling salt on her open wounds.
“I was so excited at the idea of gaining enlightenment that I threw caution to the wind like a hatchling. I should have started by researching one subject at a time, not seven!”
“There’s no point crying over spilled milk.” Ajatar consoled her. “More importantly, what’s the plan? We’ve been stuck here for hours.”
“First of all, how’s Nalrond?” She asked. “No matter how I feel, if we can’t leave the Fringe, I’m not putting us at risk.”
“I’m fine, thanks.” The Rezar had already fully recovered and his life forces were now stable. “Just remember that I can’t take out more than one person at a time. Two if it’s the last trip and we are truly desperate.”
“That was well within my calculations.” She nodded. “Before we go anywhere, I need to tell you about something called Soul Vision.”
“Been there, done that.” Ajatar explained to her everything while Lith projected a hologram of the various images that Aalejah had shown them to not burden Faluel’s mana core with a mind link.
“Interesting. My educated guess is that Ajatar somehow has the potential to reach Dragonhood or at least reach an intermediate stage past the Drake. He just doesn’t know how. As for me, it seems that my true nature is that of a mother.” Faluel said with a chuckle.
“What about us?” Friya and Quylla asked.
“I have no clue. We should ask Raagu. She’s the expert about humans.”
“How do you know about Soul Vision?” Aalejah sighed in relief, her guilt for revealing the elven bloodline ability lessened.
“Because Guardians have it as well and Grandfather shared its effects with me on multiple occasions.” The Hydra replied. “About the plan, I collected as much information as I could from the Council’s library before coming here.
“I’ve studied elvish lore, protocols, and everything that we learned about them during the War of the Races. I also know that the ritual is bound to release massive spikes of world energy so my intention is to always split us into two teams.
“One will go to perform the ritual with one of our Guardian candidates.” Faluel pointed at Lith and then at Solus. “As the complications upon entering the Fringe have confirmed, they have a privileged channel with Mogar.
“The connection should be stronger, safer, and with a little luck, the planet will be less inclined to smite them. Who knows, maybe Mogar might even give our golden duo a simpler test than the one reserved for us mortals.”
