A Short Flying Cut Away

Verida coiled through the sky, the warm sun of the Kingdom pleasant as it shone on her scales. Old memories, not her own, came unbidden to her mind. An older forest stretched out below, with grand trees reaching up towards her, several of them grown into houses for those she protected. As a cloud drifted over the sun, that memory turned, the forest rotting away, leaving only dead husks and ghosts.

Verida shuddered and those phantoms faded away, leaving her floating above her forest, her Kingdom. Pruzonia, not Amarlis. Not a place long stricken with an incurable blight.

“You alright?” Aeolia’s voice sounded oddly distant as she lazily flew in an arching pattern to keep close to Verida’s head.

“This flight dragged up memories imparted on me by my mother,” Verida responded. “It is nothing to worry about.”

“Sure sounds like it should be,” Aeolia said as she floated down and landed on top of Verida’s head. “Could be a sign of something you need to do. Just like me saying that is a sign I’ve spent enough time around John and Vivian for some of their smarts to rub off on me.”

Verida let out a brief chuckle. “It’s good that you’ve grown from your relationship. But I believe there is no sign about what I am supposed to do in these memories. Just a byproduct of godly reproduction. Mortals bear physical similarities, gods carry echoes of their progenitors. But, while I don’t think I have some defined mission, I can’t help but feel there is something at play with me being here. But whatever it is remains just out of reach.”

“Maybe it’s something that will come to you once we build up the Kingdom?” Aeolia suggested. “John’s powers make things weird and all this happened because of them in one way or another.”

“True,” Verida intoned. “Perhaps we’ll get a sign once the Golmerk’s village is properly established. That seems like it’s taken precedence.”

“Sounds like that could be it,” Aeolia said. “Don’t know much about games, but I do know there’s quest progression. Got to do A to get to B.”

Verida hummed in agreement. “I apologize that our flight has become marred by such nebulous and dour thoughts.”

“It’s ok,” Aeolia assured the goddess. “We still had a good long flight before all this stuff came up. Was nice to see more of the world.”

Verida smiled as best she could in her draconic form. “Yes, seeing more with my own eyes is far better than vaguely knowing where things are. And it’s far more enjoyable to share it with a friend.”

Aeolia let out a hum. “You know, one friend is nice but a few more would be more fun. And that lake we found looks like it’d be a good spot for lunch.”

“I think I see what you’re getting at,” Verida said, an upbeat note to her voice. “Perhaps a closer look with a few more discerning eyes is in order. It wouldn’t do if we took its suitability at a glance.”

“Let’s go get those ‘discerning eyes’ then,” Aeolia cheered.

“Hold on,” Verida advised before she twisted her body back towards the clearing. It was impossible for her to not know its location; the world tree was a beacon that she felt as sure as she could her limbs. To a lesser extent, she could sense all the plant life in the Kingdom as well as the animals and odd cases like the gnoshrooms, but only when she focused on them. But the world tree was always there and she was afraid of what its absence would feel like.

‘Where did that come from?’ she wonders as the forest below rushed by, Aeolia letting out a whoop of excitement from her speed. She had no reason to feel the tree was in real danger. The way to the Kingdom was tied to her mind and she could prevent any unwanted entry so there was little risk of Phantom Reach launching an attack, so why was there a sudden fear gripping her.

‘Is this some sign, Mother?’ she thought as the emotion faded away ‘That there may be some forces around that can break in and bring ruin to this Kingdom?’

It was a sobering thought for the young goddess, that a disaster like the one that befell Amarlis could happen here. She wanted to think it was a far-off threat, one unlikely to happen, due to the Order keeping vigil, but she knew they weren’t perfect. They were mortal, and even with large numbers, could make mistakes that could allow their enemies to move about freely.

‘No, I can’t let old fears control me,’ she thought, banishing those dark thoughts to the recesses of her mind. ‘We know what we face, and are vigilant. To dwell on them while we should be focused on building up is nearly as bad as losing to them.’

Verida slowed as the clearing neared and Aeolia let out one last whoop.

“Man, flying at that speed is great,” she said. “I’m kinda jealous you can just do that whenever.”

“I think you could achieve these speeds if you dive like a falcon,” Verida remarked. She cast her mind out over the clearing. While Beth and Kiera weren’t native to the Kingdom, and therefore were beyond her purview, they didn’t go unnoticed by the plants and animals around them, and through them, Verida was able to quickly find the pair. While she could have used her link to Kiera to do much the same, she felt it was far more appropriate to leave that untouched for privacy’s sake.

“It seems our friends weren’t content just running today,” the goddess said in an amused tone as she pointed to one side of the clearing.

“Well, we can’t sit around while John and Vivi are bashing in whatever they’re facing,” Aeolia remarked. “What are they working on?”

Verida paused, trying to parse their activity as best she could with her limited input, but ultimately shook her head. “I think it would be better to actually see what they’re doing. My perception of them would not do it justice, I feel.”

“Roger that,” Aeolia remarked before taking to the sky. “They’re a bit in the woods, yeah?”

“Indeed,” the goddess replied as she floated down to the ground, the trees making it impossible for her to fly directly to the others, not without ruining the treeline. Just before she hit the ground, she shifted to her humanoid form, landing softly on the grass. She quickly strode towards Kiera and Beth as Aeolia landed behind her.

A moment later, they came across the pair training in the shade of the trees. They stood a few meters apart, Kiera’s arms transformed as Beth threw practically anything she could at the bluenette. In front of Kiera, a small number of sticks, small rocks and water bottles floated, bobbing about as if suspended in water. She moved her arms in a series of circular motions, catching the rock Beth had just thrown at her in an unseen current.

Aeolia whistled. “Now that’s something cool.”

Kiera let out a squeak of surprise at their sudden appearance and her magic faltered, the captured bits of random projectiles falling to the ground. Aeolia grimaced at her mistake and hastily said, “Sorry.”

“N-no, it’s o-okay,” Kiera stammered out. “I should be better at this.”

“With a power you only just developed?” Verida stepped in, drawing closer to the timid girl and putting a hand on her shoulder. “There’s no shame in still learning about it.”

“Yeah,” Aeolia said. “I lost count of the number of times I got my knuckles or shins wacked for not paying attention while training. You just have to reset and keep at it.”

“Al-alright,” Kiera muttered demurely.

Aeolia turned to Beth and grinned at her. “And look at you, going into trainer mode.”

“Hey, got to do what I can, right?” She grinned back. “Don’t know shit about fighting stances but I’ve got a mean arm.”

Aeolia let out a laugh and moved to give Beth a quick kiss. As the pair expressed their affection, Verida felt Kiera shift next to her and saw a longing in her eyes.

‘I wish I could help you with that, Kiera,’ she thought sadly. ‘But I have no guiding memories that can be of assistance. The only thing I can do is to try and build up your confidence so you can make the jump yourself.’

Aeolia and Beth had separated, though they still stood very close to each other, Beth’s arm casually draped over Aeolia’s shoulders.

“So, Kiera,” Aeolia spoke up, causing Kiera to jump slightly, “you want to keep working on this barrier thing or do a redo of the spear training? Actually, just what were you two trying to do anyway?”

“Well, I had a thought. Yes, I know, a shocker, one coming from me, but I figured Kiera could make, like, a shield that could trap things,” Beth explained, stopping when Aeolia lightly tapped her head for self-deprecation.

“It’s a good idea,” Aeolia said before frowning in thought. “And it’s given me one.”

“Oh no, it’s spreading!” Beth cheerfully exclaimed, earning another light tap. “Hitting me in the head isn’t going to make me smarter, you know?”

Verida watched the fight, if it could be called that, with a soft smile. And she didn’t need a connection to Kiera to know what she was feeling. Deciding to speed along their conversion for Kiera’s sake, both romantically and in terms of what idea Aeolia had, Verida asked, “What is your idea, Aeolia?”

“I was thinking that maybe you could use a spear or staff to project your aura effect out,” Aeolia explained. “Like, instead of only being able to block stuff at arm’s reach, you can do it like a meter or two away instead. Ugh, I’m sure Vivian or John could explain it better, but that’s the basic idea.”

“I get what you’re saying,” Kiera said. “I think I’d like that better than trying to use just my arms. Um, and I was thinking about this earlier, but I’m not too sure about using a spear. M-maybe when I’m more comfortable but…”

“You don’t need to justify your reason, Kiera,” Aeolia cut her off. “Everyone has stuff they’re comfortable with. If you don’t feel like the spear’s for you, then don’t use it and we can find something that does.”

“Or we think up another way for you to fight, if you still want to,” Beth added.

“T-thanks,” Kiera muttered, but her smile was bright and Verida found herself thinking about how she could aid in this training endeavor. Suddenly, she was far away from the clearing, in a part of the Kingdom she had only done a cursory glance at given its distance away from where everything else was happening.

A forest of trees of dark wood, situated over a leyline flush with water-aligned mana, grew tall and strong. More than that, the influx of that mana caused all that grew there to develop potent magical qualities. While she couldn’t put into words what each sort of plant could do, she could feel that Kiera’s new talent would pair well with wood from the dominant tree.

“I believe I may have an idea to supplement yours, Aeolia,” Verida spoke up. “There’s a stretch of woods that has trees with properties that may pair well with Kiera’s abilities. It is a bit of a flight, but I have no qualms with ferrying everyone over.”

“Y-you don’t have to,” Kiera quietly protested.

“But I want to,” Verida gently said, lightly squeezing Kiera’s shoulder. “I’m going to want to go over there eventually, and it’s far better to do it for a friend’s benefit than just basic housekeeping.”

“Like going over to look at a whole ass forest is basic housekeeping,” Beth muttered, drawing a barely held-back chuckle from Aeolia.

Verida smiled at the good-natured ribbing. It was nice to have friends and not followers that treated her like something so far above them. A lingering sadness stood out to Verida as memories from her progenitor neared the surface of her mind, but she was able to keep them from subsuming her. She had current matters to attend to.

With only a few more words of encouragement, Verida led the girls back to the clearing before changing back to her dragon form.

“No need to be shy. Hop on!” she cheerfully declared, excited to get back in the air, this time with a greater purpose than just enjoyment. Beth was quick to clamber on her back, just behind her head, and Aeolia followed her, keeping in her full size to minimize issues related to the vast difference between her at her smallest and Verida at her largest. Kiera climbed on last with hesitant movements, born more from fear of the unknown than not wanting to visit the distant woods.

‘Be at ease, my friend,’ Verida consoled Kiera through their link. ‘I will let no harm or discomfort come to you.’

The honesty in her vow settled Kiera’s nerves and she issued a heartfelt thanks. With everyone settled, Verida began to float upwards, slowly so as to not upset anyone.

“I will be going at a steady pace, so it will take us around a half hour to reach it,” she informed everyone. “Here we go.”

She flew away from the clearing, slowly gaining speed until the ground below them was a blur. Most of the land in Pruzonia was woods and grasslands, but a number of lakes, rivers and wetlands dotted the landscape between the world tree and dark wood forest and Verida made a note to visit them at some point in the near future.

The flight passed with little conversation, and before long, Verida landed in a small stretch of open grassland and let the girls slide off her before resuming humanoid form.

“I hope that wasn’t too uncomfortable for anyone,” Verida said.

“Nah, it was fine,” Beth quickly attested, stretching out her spine by bending backwards, the action emphasizing her chest. Verida saw Kiera hastily look away after staring for a long moment and decided she should get things moving for the bluenette’s sake.

“I don’t believe we need to venture into the forest to get what we need,” the goddess declared, stretching an arm out towards a nearby tree. Her mind then knew everything about it, which wasn’t much given the recentness of the Kingdom’s existence. She knew how the rich water-aligned mana flowing through this area made the trees supple and caused some to easily gather water on their leaves even during the heat of the day.

Smiling, Verida willed the tree to grow, her mana flowing into it seamlessly and one of its limbs began to grow at a truly astonishing pace, twisting towards them. As it did, Verida imposed her will upon the limb, directing its growth so that no offshoots formed and that it remained straight.

Once she had it grown to a length she felt would work for Kiera, Verida let her power fade before reaching up to the branch. She shifted her arm into draconic form and used her claws to cleanly cut the branch free.

“I think this is about the right length for you, Kiera,” she said as she handed the staff to the bluenette. “It’s a bit rough I’m afraid.”

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen a more straight stick,” Beth remarked as Kiera took the staff and held it close to her chest.

“I’m sure John could run it through his crafting skill and clean it up,” Aeolia said. “He made the healing staff that way. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Need to see if this works. Give it a swing, Kiera.”

“O-okay.” Kiera nodded before she took a breath. Her arms shifted into dragon mode and her face scrunched up in a way Verida found cute as she flexed her magic. “I-I can move my aura through the whole staff!”

She excitedly began to swing her staff around, the air around the far end distorting very slightly. “It feels like I can spread it out a lot more this way. And it doesn’t feel like it’s taking any effort.”

“Could be because of how the tree moved the water mana from the leyline,” Verida speculated. “I wonder how large an area you can affect.”

“One way to find out,” Beth cheered as she squatted down and began to mold balls of dirt, her ability allowing them to hold their shape. “All at once or one at a time?”

Kiera bit her lip as she contemplated the question, then as a look of determination settled on her face, she said, “A-all at once. I-I want to see how wide I can make it.”

“One spread shot coming up!” Beth declared, a wide smile stretching her lips as she made some distance between herself and Kiera.

“You are having way too much fun with this,” Aeolia remarked, a grin of her own gracing her features.

“I get to throw shit and help test out Kiera’s magic, what’s not fun about it?” Beth asked as she wound up for the throw. “Ready?”

Kiera nodded resolutely and Beth threw her ordnance. Kiera swiped her staff before they could reach her, the air behind the tip of her staff rippling as if it was water. And when the dirt balls hit the distortion, they stopped just like before, suspended in a wide unseen mire. Then Kiera began to move her staff freely, dragging the field of her magic, along with everything trapped inside.

“Now that’s an improvement,” Beth gleefully said. “It’s like a super net. Think you can keep it going for a while?”

“I think so,” Kiera replied softly. “It’s really easy to use my magic with the staff.”

“We’ll have to get John to hit it with Observe before we see what he can craft it into,” Aeolia said. “But we can get some more practice with it before he and Vivian get back. Really dial in just what you want for the finished product.”

Verida watched as a determined grin worked its way across Kiera’s face and she smiled herself. It was nice to see the girl coming out of her shell. Her time to flourish was now and Verida looked forward to seeing her bloom.

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.