The early morning light slowly warmed the city of craftsmen. The sun and forges began heating the town with lively bustle.
As Sigmis walked the streets he listened to the chatter of the townsfolk. The talk of the town was centered around the twin belfry that stood where the old one once was. They were practically near completion.
Sigmis chuckled to himself when he realized what Terbius was up to last night. As soon as he'd passed by he could sense their mana infused all throughout the structure. So much so he could see it relatively clearly without expending any of his own mana to coat its surface.
He didn't linger very long, he had to find Zephyr to put the frantic Wind Spirit’s mind at ease. Tracking him in a sea of unfamiliar mana wasn't difficult as he committed his new companions' mana to memory as they descended the mountain the day before.
"Sigmis! I need your help!" Zephyr spotted the tall Celestial amidst the busy street. Sigmis heard the panic in his voice.
"The imminent danger Aliya was facing has passed for the time being, you needn't fret about it anymore," Sigmis explained. The news put Zephyr’s pounding heart at ease, he sighed in relief.
"Erik found her a new tether in time, that's good, I guess. Knowing him though he stole it." Zephyr crossed his arms in annoyance.
"Actually, he became her tether himself," Sigmis informed him. "They are currently resting back at the inn."
"What?!" Zephyr dropped his arms and clenched his fist. “There’s no way she would have agreed to that!” He began to run back to the inn but Sigmis grabbed him by the collar before he could run past.
“Time was not on our side to obtain an alternative. For the time being they are resting so let them be.” Sigmis couldn’t understand why these two siblings were so against the idea when neither of them really explained it, but he wasn’t one to pry. If they were willing, they would open up about it.
“I don’t like this,” Zephyr huffed and eased up on trying to leave. “Her old tether explodes which is already unnatural, the only one to see it is a shifty thief who is now her tether.”
“From what I can tell, Mana is in a constant state of flux with her abilities as a Celestial Kinbound.” Sigmis explained his analysis of Aliya‘s wellbeing. “Whatever abilities she is receiving from the Celestial she is bound to cannot be contained in a static tether. It’s why I suggested it when we first met. It’s likely for that reason the tether exploded rather than breaking or disintegrating when a Spirit outgrows it.”
“She was a lot stronger since I last saw her.” Zephyr placed a hand on his chin. “She never really told me that much about why she went to Azurius. I thought it had to do with her historical research. Maybe there’s more to it.”
“Perhaps it was some sort of deal they made. Personally, the Kinbound I kept were very trusted so I’m not sure I can really speculate on that matter.” The spite Sigmis felt towards the Kinbound who betrayed him rose up for a moment but he kept it to himself. A thought occurred to him. He felt leery to take anymore Kinbound, himself because of one. He couldn’t help but wonder if Aliya and Zephyr’s circumstances were similar. Curiosity was getting the better of him. “Forgive me if this is a sore subject, feel free to withhold an answer, but why is it you and Aliya don’t like to tether with humans?”
“The last time we tethered with a human we trusted,” Zephyr took a sharp breath. A dark shadow casted across his face. The air around him that was normally a warm pleasant breeze quickly grew stagnant and cold. “He betrayed us, enslaved us and stole something incredibly important to us. He had no indicators of ill intent, no matter how much I wrack my memory. Even after we broke free and buried him, we never got back what we lost and Aliya was never the same.”
“I understand,” Sigmis hung his head. “There are humans that act far crueler than most Demons that don’t emit a shred of Darkness, that is by far one of the most terrifying beings in this world.” Sigmis paused and tilted his head back toward the direction of the inn. “Even so I don’t think Erik is like that. I may not have known all of you for long but I believe he is the right fit.”
“Why, though?” Zephyr tilted his head a bit confused why Sigmis was vouching for Erik so much.
“He may act like he cares about only himself but his actions betray him. He spent the whole night looking for an object that she could use as a tether before he offered himself. All the while he was depriving himself of sleep, pushing past a basic human limit.” A soft but proud smile graced Sigmis’s lips. “What more do you need for him to prove his worth?”
“I guess you’re right,” Zephyr sighed bitterly, looking defeated. “I know I tend to be overprotective when it comes to Aliya. I should talk to her first before I try to jump to her defense. Right now I don’t think we will be able to find an object she could even use. I spoke with one of the Craftsman Guilds and they said earlier this week the Water and Fire Legions bought out all the weapons in town of their relative element to bolster their forces. If we had a Water Rune we could have one crafted, but you’re right, Erik is the only option whether we want to change it or not. I’d feel more comfortable if I had Regulus back or if it wasn’t in their hands.”
“Regulus? That is the living weapon Erik relinquished to Aliya, correct?” Sigmis recalled the strange mana signature coming from it. Not only did it have its own mana but it also was drawing in mana from its surroundings much like how Spirits and humans draw in mana subconsciously to replenish their own. He never witnessed any sort of magic arte like that, but he could tell it was a complex mixture of High Magic Artes.
“Living weapon, huh?” Zephyr nodded, “I guess that’s a good way of putting it. It's incredibly powerful and dynamic in the right hands, not even its creator could fathom its true potential. No one knows what it’s fully capable of. It can do a lot of things, but the one thing that it can do that nothing else can is break the bond to a tether.”
“I see, you want it in the event history repeats itself,” Sigmis crossed his arms. “Currently it resides in the room they are resting in, if it concerns you so much you could go in and take it.”
“No, as tempting as that is, we made a deal. It’s for Aliya to decide what to do with it,” Zephyr scratched the back of his head. Albeit a bit late, he processed the rest of what Sigmis said and his annoyance flared back up. “Wait! They are in the same room?!”
“Yes, their mana has yet to stabilize after all, he did not want to risk distance breaking the fresh bond.” Sigmis was confused as to why he was getting so irritated again.
“You left that womanizing punk alone with my sister?!” Zephyr raised his voice.
“Zephyr, I assure you, they are sleeping,” Sigmis was growing annoyed with Zephyr’s mistrust of Erik. “Expect him, or even both of them, to be out for a whole day, if not more, given the nature of Aliya’s mana. Even when they do it may be two or three days before they actually stabilize enough to travel. Your time would be better spent finding something else to occupy your time rather than worrying.”
Sigmis started heading back in the direction of the inn. Zephyr quickly followed just a step behind. As they passed the belfry, Zephyr took a double take.
“Wait a second! I’ve been running around town most of the night. When did this happen?!” Zephyr stopped, looking up at the nearly completed identical structures.
“Apparently, Terbius was also rather busy last night,” Sigmis smirked in amusement.
“Is that why there’s two now instead of one?” Zephyr laughed.
“Excuse me!” A woman called out to them from the designated construction zone. “Did I hear correctly? You know who did this?” She approached the two Spirits with the blueprints in hand. She had a fervent curiosity in her eyes. Despite her serious expression she didn’t look angry.
“Possibly,” Zephyr voiced with hesitation. Mildly concerned given that Terbius was an Earth Spirit as well as being pursued by a group in the Empire. He didn’t want to get them in trouble.
“Please! I need to meet them!” She grabbed onto Zephyr’s hand a sudden desperation in her expression.
“What for? Isn’t this structure near completion?” Sigmis shared Zephyr's concern. “They may have saved you time but can’t you complete it on your own?”
“No, it’s not like that!” She eased up and opened the plans. Zephyr looked down at them, seeing there were only plans for one tower. “I redesigned the structure based on the original with an upgraded internal mechanism. Whatever Fae built this structure, took my design and duplicated it.” She rolled up the designs and bounced with excitement as she turned her attention back to her only lead. “It’s brilliant though, the mechanism I originally had in mind was more complex, I had to dumb it down. I want their help modifying the designs so the Iron Heart Guild can make the appropriate pieces for the mechanism since it can now be split among the two. I want to know their thought process behind it and what inspired them. Also, I have to thank them!”
“You are quite passionate about this,” Sigmis smiled warmly at her. It warmed his heart to listen to others excitedly talk about what they love doing. It was one of his favorite things in the world to hear. “We will discuss it with them. The situation of our party is a bit delicate right now, but we will do our best to arrange a meeting later today.”
“Wonderful! Thank you so much!” She bounced with a cheerful grin on her face. “I’ll likely be here, if not ask the workers about me.” She stopped and gave an apologetic smile, upon realizing she had been babbling on but they didn’t even know her name. “Oh, I’m sorry I never introduced myself. I’m Erissa Lynn. If they’d rather meet in private, I understand. Just name a place and I’ll be there.”
The two Spirits made it back to the inn. Sigmis went and retrieved Kindle, who was still reprimanding Terbius, while Zephyr went to get Breyze and Pree. Zephyr really wanted to peek in on Aliya and Erik but Sigmis was already standing in his way.
They all settled in the lounge area of the lobby. Zephyr did most of the talking as he explained what happened last night as much as he could. When he finished everyone was silent as they stared at him with shock on their faces.
“She didn’t even say anything...” Ter voiced quietly in disbelief. Terbius felt upset they didn’t notice when she talked with them.
“We didn’t even notice anything was wrong,” Bius said as they both hung their heads.
"Did that really happen last night?!" Kindle placed her hand over her mouth. She had no idea Aliya was in so much trouble while she was just drinking the night away. She quickly grew annoyed considering no one told her. She smacked Sigmis’s arm as hard as she could, though he didn’t even flinch she still reprimanded him, “You knew this whole time and you didn’t tell me?!” She grabbed Zephyr’s collar and pulled him down to her level. “You too! You should have brought me into this the second you found out!”
“I’m sorry, if I thought about it I would have!” Zephyr winced at Kindle’s strength. “I only had one thing on my mind after Erik told me.”
“Next time someone of this team is in trouble you need to tell all of us,” Kindle let him go and crossed her arms in a huff. “We’re all supposed to look out for each other.”
“Argh!” Breyze who was silent this whole time shouted in frustration and started tugging on her hair. “I can’t believe I missed so much last night! That was prime observation material!”
“What were you doing last night?” Ter leaned in over her shoulder.
“Yeah we didn’t see you all night,” Bius leaned in on the other side.
“She wanted to try sleeping,” Pree voiced from atop her head. He was amused by Breyze’s reaction.
“Aliya does it so often and I never have because I don’t want to miss anything. I wanted to understand what it was like,” Breyze pouted.
“Aliya’s always been like that ever since she was born,” Zephyr laughed. “She’s a bit odd in that aspect. She’s more human sometimes.”
“She’s a Siren, correct?” Sigmis inquired, thinking he might know why.
“Yes,” Zephyr confirmed, a bit taken aback at how he simply picked up on that.
“Her voice is always laced with mana,” Sigmis explained. “Every time she speaks she’s expending mana. She likely needs to sleep because she doesn’t pull in enough mana subconsciously to compensate. Quicker mana regeneration is the main benefit Spirits can get from sleeping after all.”
“Yeah, when you put it that way it does make sense,” Zephyr nodded. “I don’t know why I never thought of that.”
“So her voice always influences people then?” Breyze clicked what Sigmis was implying.
“Yeah, that’s why she tries her best to be careful with the way she phrases things, it’s also why she’s really good at her short casting too,” Zephyr confirmed.
“Oh, you know now that I think about it she was very careful about the way she talked about finding people to help her with her mission.” Kindle thought back to when she first ran into Aliya in the alleyways of Gaylette. “She could have been really underhanded about it but she wasn’t.”
“She’s always been good with words, but she never wants anyone to feel like they are forced to help her. She wants it to be your choice.” Zephyr smiled with pride. “She’s especially hesitant to use it on her friends even if it would benefit them.”
“She’s so cool!” Terbius said in unison.
“I need to go have a word with her now!” Kindle was annoyed with the fact that she didn’t immediately come to them for help rather than her handling it on her own. She started marching towards the hall that led to the rooms.
“Hold it!” Sigmis placed a hand firmly on her head, effectively stopping her in her tracks. “Let them rest. If we disrupt their recovery then Erik’s body might reject her, then we’d be back at square one with no back up.”
Kindle huffed and put a mental pin in it to yell at her about later.
“Do you think we should try to find her another one?” Ter tilted his head in concern.
“Just in case it doesn’t take,” Bius finished his twin’s thought, doing the same head tilt mirrored as they always move.
“I’d like to but we won’t find anything in town right now thanks to the war,” Zephyr crossed his arms and pouted.
“It’s true, I’ve not been able to detect a suitable vessel in this town,” Sigmis had been searching the area when he was following Zephyr’s trail. His expression warmed as he shifted topics, “I have something far better to occupy our time for now, well at least for Terbius anyways. It would seem that the architect was very impressed with what you did last night, even though it wasn’t exactly to her specifications.”
“She was really stoked to meet you two,” Zephyr beamed at them. “She wanted to say thank you and ask some questions about your idea behind it.”
“Awe, hell yeah!” Terbius cheered in unison. They were happy their work impressed someone. They were more than happy to talk to the architect.
“Wait! Does she know they are Earth Spirits?!” Kindle hissed, getting protective of her brothers, worried it might be a trap.
“Well she didn’t say,” Zephyr shrugged, his expression dimming, understanding what she was thinking.
“She did say it was possible to meet in private,” Sigmis suspected that in some way the architect understood it was an Earth Spirit when she offered to do so. After all, anyone could deduce that much work could only be done by an Earth Spirit in such a short amount of time.
“Well that would make me feel a little better...” Kindle knew she couldn’t completely deny the boys, especially if this woman was genuine. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve come across some people grateful for Terbius.
“Zephyr, you’d be faster, why don’t you go arrange something with Erissa,” Sigmis suggested, he figured it would be a good distraction for Zephyr as well.
“Sure thing,” Zephyr nodded. He shifted his attention to Kindle, “Should we meet here or do we want to go somewhere else?”
“Well just in case why don’t we go somewhere else,” Kindle was grateful Zephyr was being considerate of her paranoia.
“There’s a tavern on the corner,” Zephyr pointed in the direction the tavern was in. “How’s that sound?”
“Works for us!” Terbuis cheered in unison. They skipped out on the drinking last night and were ready for a round after hearing all that went down under their noses.
“Sweet, meet us there and I’ll bring her if she’s not too busy,” Zephyr smiled as he left.