Origins (Book 4 of Alfireán age)

Manicore

Dark clouds thundered and cracked overhead as Valarinnia and the others neared the ancient mining town.

Adjusted her flight path, the princess flew closer to the ground and away from the approaching storm. She gazed off into the gloom, where the hazy outlines of tall buildings and the dim light of street lamps barely pierced through the thick veil of fog enveloping the area.

Manicore, she thought, slowing down.

Suddenly, a long strand of lightning snaked out towards Valarinnia and yanked her towards the flashing clouds. Instantly, dozens of tendrils of lightning eagerly reached out, trying to capture the princess and drag her into the dark sky.

"Oh no, you don't!" she roared, and with great effort, Rinnia pulled away and shot towards the safety of the ground.

"KARRRAAAW!"

The world thundered as Valarinnia crashed into the soggy earth. Strands of lightning sparked and danced, igniting bushes and small trees and casting an eerie glow in the surroundings.

In a blur of green, Rex swiftly darted from behind her. Brandishing his blade, he cut the trees and bushes off at the ground, then used his feet and wind magic to quickly snuff the fires out.

As Valarinnia transformed back into her human form, Drakovian nodded approvingly at Rex before turning his attention to her. "Why are we stopping?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, while Alf scanned the area for any threats.

Rinnia leaned over and gasped for breath. "Because I can see Manicore from here," she wheezed. "And it would not be wise to charge in blindly. Besides, the storm has made it too dangerous for me to continue flying any further."

"Dangerous?" Olivia asked as she pulled water out of the damp ground.

Valarinnia took several more deep breaths. "The ground is hot," she explained. "The air is moist, and the atmosphere is cold. These conditions lead to sheet lightning within those storm clouds. If I had the time or a death wish, I could attempt to control them, but it's best to leave them be."

"Understandable," Drake said and turned to Zaphaniea. "Could you scout ahead with your visions to see what awaits us in Manicore?"

"Nah," the grand champion replied with a dismissive wave. "I've learned the hard way it's best to save my energy for when one of you inevitably does something stupid. Olivia's got this one."

"I do," Olivia agreed, forming an ice crystal in the air. "May I have one of your spheres, please."

Rinnia activated her zikarôn while the grand champion cast a spell and waved her hand at Olivia. The kingdomless princess thanked Zaphaniea and finished forming her ice crystal around the invisible object.

Valarinnia smirked. That was the fifth time her zikarôn had managed to catch the champion forming her mysterious spheres. The device had indicated it was an extremely complex spell, but Rinnia was certain that with enough data, the zikarôn could reverse engineer the spell. It was just a matter of time before the mysterious spheres wouldn't be so mysterious anymore.

"Thanks," Olivia said as her crystal cast a dim glow in the murky gloom. "I need two more. Once you send the spheres out over the city, they should be able to relay what the first ice crystal sees."

Zaphaniea sent the glowing crystal soaring into the sky like a shooting comet. "Yep, I know," she said, conjuring more of her invisible spheres.

"Wow, your zikarôn lessons seem so useful," Rex muttered, leaning over and scooping up a handful of mud while Olivia worked her magic.