Chapter 11: What Curious Cosmic Energy
Nymph was grinning ear to ear, a sight that unsettled most of the dragons who knew her as she usually only wore that expression before executing a particularly nasty battle move. This time however, it was in response to a ship, and Ganya couldn't help but smile to see her friend so happy.
The airship before them was docked at one of the ports extending from midway up the tower. These ports were made up of many floating platforms, and were lit by lanturns. The ship itself was large beautiful. It was sturdy, slightly slim for easy manoeuvring, and had several cannons on the deck, as well as many points where an archer could fire shots at threats. There was even a plank, in case anyone wanted to be dramatic.
"So you like it then?" Colm asked.
"Like it? Oh Colm, it's perfect! Where did you ever find it?" Nymph's white eyes gleamed in awe and hunger.
"You said you needed a battleship, I used my portmaster connections to find you a battle ship." Colm explained, a satisfied smirk crossing his face.
"How much does it cost?" Nymph asked, extending a hand to stroke the smooth finish on the wood.
"Well, the value of the shop is about 500kt, but the dealer was a good friend of mine, and he owed me a favour, I managed to haggle it down to about 350kt. For you, I'd say about 275kt." Colm said. "We can do the payment in installments, if you wish."
"That sounds great." Nymph smiled. "Ganya, do you want to take it for a spin with me?"
"I'd love to!" Ganya said, grinning nervously.
"It's all yours!" Colm said, beginning to untie the rope that held it to the port while Nymph and Ganya flew on board. Nymph took her place at the wheel so she could steer the ship, and Ganya took to running to each side of the ship, peering over the edge and contemplating the cannons.
Just as Colm was undoing the last loop of rope, a pink energy streaked across the sky, glowing beneath the starlight. All three dragons were entranced in awe, then Ganya had an idea.
"Let's follow it!" She suggested excitedly, forgetting her nervousness. "See where it's going!"
Nymph nodded excitedly, and as she cranked the ship away from the port and higher into the sky, she waved at Colm down below. Ganya raced to the front of the ship, so she could feel the wind through her feathers and admire the light through the stars.
"Thank you!" Nymph shouted, as loud as she could over the breeze. Colm simply waved back.
Feeling a sudden sadness, Ganya turned and went to join Nymph at the wheel. Her friend's eyes gleamed with excitement, reflecting the pink that trailed through the sky.
"If we ever had to go off to battle, we could get Orkeck up here, helping us." Nymph suggested. Oh, we could be unstoppable in this thing! How many of our enemies have anything like this?"
"Nymph." Ganya said, not really wanting to interrupt her friend's excitement, but needing to talk. "I just wanted to ask: what's going on between you and Colm?"
"What do you mean?" Nymph seemed surprised.
"Well, it's just-" Ganya struggled to find the words. "Colm making a deal like that? He never reduces prices for anyone. Ever. And I saw you two fly past my window when there was that snow..." She trailed off. Nymph had gone unusually silent.
"I don't know." Nymph said. "I think I like him, and I think he likes me. I'm not sure if it'll ever go anywhere. I'm too wrapped up in our training and making sure our clan is safe against any potential threat, and he's busy running the ports and making sure travellers stop in and leave safely. He's a good friend though."
Ganya wanted to be happy for her friend, but she couldn't help but feel a little down. Nymph was her only friend, the only dragon she felt comfortable enough around to be herself. If she was going to be spending extra time with Colm, where would that leave her?
"Look, you're still my best friend, no matter what, okay?" Nymph said, noticing Ganya's silence. "No guy is ever going to change that."
"Alright." Ganya said, feeling a little better.
"I mean it. I'll rip off the wings of anyone who comes between our friendship, got it?" Nymph growled playfully.
"Yeah," Ganya said, laughing a little.
They flew over the Sea of a Thousand Currents, enjoying the beauty of the night and the reflection of the water. By the time the sun had risen, they found themselves over the Tsunami Flats. Both Ganya and Nymph were getting sleepy after having stayed up all night, so they made way to dock down on the cliffs of the Sunbeam Ruins.
Just as they were trying down to a rock, Ganya caught sight of two dragons approaching. One looked to be a snapper, and the other was a mirror, face covered in a veil and trailing a sort of black smoke around her.
Nymph startled at the sight of the mirror. She flexed her talons, preparing for a possible fight.
"I'm warning you!" She growled. "If you take one step closer without stating your intentions, you are in for trouble!"
"Please don't hurt us!" The snapper cried out, halting in her tracks. "My name is Maggie, and this is Schism, and I don't know what's going on with her and we need help! We only just made it out of the Hewn City alive thanks to-" Maggie gave Schism a look of fear, as if whatever the mirror had done to aid their escape had terrified her.
"Come along then." Nymph sighed, untying the ship again. "We know exactly where to take you."
I am so so excited for the Bounty of the Elements, you have no idea!!!! I'm so excited for the new lore posts too!!!
I don't know exactly where this is going to go, now that I'm done the elemental posts. I'm guessing something updates will be snippets of day to day life, whereas others will be made to further plots more. When the Bounty of the Elements does actually start, I'll probably do an update for that.
