Back to the Beginning

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The argument that ensued between the four hrafthi after Ahsch’s statement lasted for over an hour. Dahil was staunchly against her children visiting the Draconic Goddess of Magic a second time, at least not without explicit invitation. Ariin, while more moderate, agreed with her mother that the risks of interacting with Phashak again were quite high - high enough that they should give her brother pause, even with his immunities and reincarnative immortality. Rwnil, meanwhile, was firm in her belief that the goddess wouldn’t smite Ahsch over something as minor as a visit, especially not when it pertained to matters of such importance.

Ahsch himself was split, though he found that he leaned more and more towards Rwnil’s side of the argument, though for different reasons. He found his mother’s instant dislike of the idea to be a bit of an overreaction, though in all fairness, she _had _already lost him once before, and even if she now knew that it wouldn’t be permanent, the emotional pain she had experienced and the fear she now bore were difficult to see through, let alone overcome. And while he agreed that being killed _again _was a bad use of his time (seven months was a long time to be reset once again, especially with everything else that was going on - not to mention his promise to his wife), the overall risks were fairly minor, and he agreed with Rwnil that Phashak was unlikely to kill him over this.

Though he couldn’t be certain, he admitted.

There were also numerous opportunities that could come from the visit. As far as he knew, Phashak watched him from afar, or received reports through her daughter, so meeting her in person to demonstrate his growth, however limited, may gain him some points in the ancient goddess’ favor. Additionally, meeting her now that he was more properly a divinity - if not quite a god - might have unforeseen benefits, and she might potentially be willing to give him some insider secrets that the other gods of the Kingdom were either unwilling or unable to.

And there was also the fact that he and Kirasiel could find out if the goddess’ opinion on the royal had changed.

Almost an hour and a half after Ahsch had uttered Phashak’s name, the four hrafthi finally came to a conclusion, unhappy though two of them were about it: Ahsch, Kirasiel, Mahat, and Aena would visit the goddess. Dahil and Ariin wanted Rwnil to escort them, but the ascendant refused, stating that her entering the territory of a deity would likely be viewed as an encroachment of sorts, and for all her power, Rwnil was far outclassed by the ancient draconic goddess.

As for when, they decided that right away was the best time. Which was how, within another three hours, the designated four had visited the guild, been updated on the beast movements and other threats on their route, and had set off into the woods.

Right away, the experience was strange. After all his development in the months since he had last been in Sarvas, the woods felt less imposing. With his various new and combined senses, which recently included his bond sense, Ahsch was easily able to spot, analyze, and avoid signs of danger, so even the short sub-minute pauses that he had previously been **** to take now only took a handful of seconds if he needed to physically interact with whatever he had noticed. The one time that a prowling beast had started stalking them, he had easily been able to divert it by altering the bond between the creature and their party, changing the relationship from ‘predator stalking prey’ to ‘predator on the trail of other predators.’ It was so quick and easy, only Mahat knew anything had occurred.

As such, their pace through the woods was rapid and uneventful, and they were quick to arrive at the precipice of The Canyon, the same point where months before, Kirasiel had led their past group off the trail and into danger. Standing at the edge, peering over, Ahsch frowned, then turned to Aena. “I want you to fly down into the Canyon and cast a spell - something minor, please. I want to know if the Mana Burn effect has been reinstated here or not. Just don’t hurt yourself.”

The angel gave a small bow of acknowledgement. “Understood, Creator. Please wait.” Sprouting glowing wings, she hopped into the void and practically floated down, landing at the bottom, where the remnants of the fallen rocks from Ahsch and Kirasiel’s first trip down still rested, undisturbed. After quickly glancing up and down the Canyon, Aena lifted a hand an ignited a flickering flame in her palm, paused for a moment, then extinguished it. She leapt into the air and took wing again, spiraling up to land before her Master less than a minute later. “I believe The Canyon is safe, Creator,” she stated. “I experienced no Mana Burn from either my presence, nor the spell I cast.”

Ahsch nodded, then looked down the drop, thinking for a moment. “Aena, carry Mahat down. I’ll use Float and Spirit String to get Kirasiel and myself down.”

With a round of agreement, Ahsch began to cast his spells, within a minute, the hrafthi and royal were gently tugged down through null-gravity while below, Ahsch’s angel and familiar secured the area. Though, given the lack of drake roars, or any other sign of beast habitation, Ahsch wasn’t much concerned about a welcoming committee.

The walk was much the same the last time, except that it was even less remarkable due to the said lack of illusory pursuit, not to mention all being hale and healthy, unlike Ahsch and Kirasiel’s last trip with broken bones. But eventually the massive temple came into view, small in the distance against The Canyon’s end. Like last time, it grew and grew as they approached, soon seeming to rival R’sath in sheer scale, though they all knew the Tower of Starlight was by far the taller of the two. Still, this temple weighed down on their perception, monolithic and ancient as it was, and filled, Ahsch now recognized, with the weight of old gnosticism.

The doorway was the same as well, massive and empty yet filled with the directionless glow of condensed Mana. On a whim, Ahsch inspected the portal for bonds… and instantly doubled over and dry-heaved at the splitting headache he received for his trouble. After a minute to explain and reassure his companions, he realized that tampering with the artifice of a being as old and powerful as Phashak would likely result in such, given the sheer amount of Mana and the complexities of the magic woven by a goddess like her.

Maybe in a few years, he consoled himself. …Or decades.

Each of them glanced at the others, to reassure each other and themselves. “All together?” Ahsch asked, holding out a hand to Kirasiel on his right, and Mahat on his left. Nodding, they took his hand, Kirasiel reaching out to take Aena’s hand as well.