{The summoner is here!}
{Let’s have him play with us!}
{Let’s fight his dragons!}
I heard such calls from the younger dragons all around me as I opened the canopy of my Victory Viper.
“I’m sorry everyone! But I can’t play with you now! I promise I’ll come play later!” I yelled at them, using Language Comprehension (draconic). Sure most of the older dragons understood the standard human language, but the young ones don’t.
I didn’t wait for them to respond, as I know they’d likely complain. I just jumped out of Victory Viper, unsummoned it on the way down and landed in front of the cave belonging to Lady Janina. I didn’t see her outside, so she is probably in here.
“Hello! Lady Janina! Are you home!?” I called out. I didn’t want to trespass too far into her cave, as I really didn’t feel like being attacked by her. While I did change my set cards into something that can stop her for a few seconds, I’d rather it not come down to that.
I heard some movements inside the cave, so I decided to just stay where I was and waited.
And soon enough, the ginormous dragon form of Lady Janina became visible.
{Ah? Brian? What are you doing here?} She asked, before her body was engulfed in light, as she transformed into her human form.
I waited for her transformation to finish, before I answered. “I have a problem. I was using the Factory VR with Cailie, but when we returned, her soul was lost.”
“... what?”
“As I said, we were using the Fac…”
“I heard what you said. I just wondered how that is possible.” Lady Janina said. “Tell me everything. Actually, just take me to her body.”
“I can do both.” I offered. “Do you mind if I teleport us?”
“That is fine.”
“Alright.” I quickly pulled up Dungeon Founder and HomeBase’s emergency teleport feature. It will take me straight to HomeBase’s true core and from there, I can teleport to anywhere on HomeBase. “... I need to hold your hand, so…” I said, as I offered Lady Janina my hand.
“Are you that shy about holding the hand of an old lady?” She teased.
“... I don’t think anyone would ever dare to call you old.” I said, as she took my hand.
I then teleported us before this got even more awkward.
As soon as the teleport to HomeBase was done, I moved us to where the Factory VR device was.
“Wilma, I’m back.” I said to the dwarf.
“Welcome back. Lady Janina, thank you for coming.” Wilma said, while she bowed.
“Don’t do that. This is Brian’s domain. He is the ruler here.” Lady Janina said. “Now, let’s see if I can find her soul.”
“... do all strong people live on a mountain?” I asked, when I looked at the green mountain before us.
“No, but about half of them do. I think it is something about being higher up makes them feel even more powerful. But there are those that also don’t like it. I know Earth lives deep underground and Water lives deep in the ocean.” The greater nature spirit answered. “Besides, Wind doesn’t live on this mountain.”
“... then where is she?”
“In the clouds!” “In the clouds!” Few of the intermediate and lesser spirits that were with us answered.
“... Clouds? … How do we … get there?” I asked.
“Walk on them.” “Walk on them.” Was the answer.
“... But … you can’t walk on clouds. Brian told me so. … and I’ve rode a dragon into the clouds… you go straight through them.”
“You are letting your established knowledge get in your way.” The greater water spirit said. “Don’t forget, the rules here and where you are from are different.”
“So … we can walk on the clouds?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“... then… why the mountain?”
“How do you think those that can’t fly will get to the clouds? The mountain is like a giant ladder to the clouds.”
“Can’t everyone here fly?” I asked.
“Yes, but also no. Some of us just don’t like flying.” The greater nature spirit answered. “Like myself and other nature spirits. We want to stay grounded. That isn’t even mentioning superior Earth and the other earth spirits.”
We made our way up the mountain. Some of the water spirits with us wished to fly, but I wasn’t confident enough, so we walked. I still struggled, but with the spirits helping me keep my balance, I managed to walk up the mountain.
A bit over halfway up, we began running into green spirits, wind spirits. They were asking why the two greater spirits were here, and after the explanation, they began to follow me.
Then when we took a break about ¾ of the way to the top, the wind spirits asked to hear me sing, so I performed a simple song for them.
It turned out to be a great thing, as the wind spirits really liked it, and offered to carry me the rest of the way to the superior wind spirit. So with the help from the nature spirits, they made a swing chair for me that the wind spirits would carry.
“Was it fun?” “Was it fun?” The wind spirits asked when we landed.
“... yes. … but also a bit scary.” I answered. “I thought I might fall off.”
“... We’ll make a better one.” One of the intermediate wind spirits answered meekly. They didn’t seem happy that I thought that the flying swing chair was scary.
“N-No! It … it is fine. … you don’t have to … change it.”
“We’ll change it!” One of the lesser spirits yelled.
“Can do it!” Another one added.
“Have time.”
“While you wake up the great Anemoi.”
“A-Alright. If … if you want to.” I just couldn’t deny them again, hearing how enthused they were.
I then turned to the two greater spirits that were acting as my guide.
“... where is the superior wind spirit? And how do I wake her?”
“Right there.” The greater water spirit answered, pointing at a circular formation of clouds. It looked almost like an egg, but made of clouds.
“Why … why does she sleep in a cloud egg?” I asked.
“I think she likes it. The superiors are strange in that way. Mother nature sleeps inside this great big tree. You’ll see.” The greater nature spirit told me.
“A-Alright. … So how do I wake her?”
“You need to sing.” The greater water spirit said. “But not just sing. Your song has to reverberate throughout the clouds. That is how you awaken the Wind.”
“... I … I’m not sure … I can sing that loud.”
“No. Volume isn’t how you do it.” The greater nature spirit said. “Your song. It has to be free. Free like the wind. Free like the clouds in the sky. That is how you do it.”
Free? What does that mean? Does my song need to be about freedom? I guess I’ll try that.
I thought back on the songs I heard while I was a singer. Many of them were about freedom, adventure and excitement, so I decided to sing one of them. They weren’t something I ever performed, but I had learned the lyrics. Just a shame I won’t have the melody to go with it.
I sang like I always do, but despite me putting my all into it, I didn’t feel or hear any reverberations in the clouds.
“... I’m sorry… I can’t do it.” I said.
“Don’t give up yet.” Water told me. “You didn’t do it because you weren’t free. You are staying in pre established songs. You need to sing something new. Something free. Think about it first, then when you feel ready, try again.”
“... but … We’ve spent so much time already!” I called out. “We … I can’t just sit around and think!” I yelled.
“... sorry. I … I didn’t mean that.” I quickly apologized.
“Don’t be. It isn’t your fault.” Water said. “My children brought you here, with no clear path back home. And then we forced you into this. We should be the ones apologizing.”
“B-But … this is important. So … I have to do it.”
“No. If you feel like that, you will never succeed. You can’t feel pressured, as pressure will force the wind to go a certain way. You can’t feel like this is your task to accomplish, as wind doesn’t do tasks. Do it because you want to do it. Do it because you are free to do it. And do it because you want Wind to be free.” Nature said. “With that in mind, be free and sing.”
“... I … I’ll…”
“Take as long as you need. Be free.” Water added.
“O-Okay!”
That conversation led to a long time of me doing what I wanted to do. I still felt a bit of pressure about all the time I was wasting, but I think I finally understood what I needed to do. I needed to get all the other pressures off of me, and only leave the one that I couldn’t get rid of left. My pressure to impress Brian, Lucia and Alice. That is a pressure I can never get rid of, so at least I can get rid of everything else.
And it starts off by learning how to walk. The spirits were a great help, always by my side. Helping me keep my balance when I walked, helping me up when I fell. And in what felt like both an eternity and no time at all, I had learned how to walk.
I then moved onto running. And then to flying.
Flying was both the hardest and the easiest. I think I’d never have learned it if I didn’t have the help from the wind spirits.
It was so much like swimming, but … free. The freedom to swim where there was no water. The freedom to go to where the wind leads me, or where I guided the wind.
With all that in mind, I now think I’m ready to try again. This time, I have the freedom to wake up the superior wind spirit, because now, I know what it is like to be free.
“... wind spirits… I want you to join me. Sing with me, make sounds, dance, do whatever you like.” I asked of the wind spirits that floated all around the egg made of clouds.
“Okay!” “Will play!” “Will sing!” “Will play!” I heard calls from the spirits all around me.
I realized I couldn’t force them to help me, but I knew I alone would never do what needed to be done, so I asked them to help. Maybe with all of our freedom put together, we can do it?
“I’ll start.” I said. “... if you want, join in.”
I then started to sing. It wasn’t a beautiful song set to a melody, but a chaotic mess of lyrics that didn’t didn’t really flow, but it somehow still sounded good. The spirits began joining in one by one, their added lyrics, the howls of wind they caused, and the little dance steps they performed all joined the winds my song was letting out.
The song and everything else around it then began to gather, almost like it was forming a large storm cloud.
No. I don’t want that. Let’s gently guide the song away from the storm.
I changed the lyrics on the fly, and with them, the storm began to calm. The howling winds quieted, and the hastiness made way to calmness.
With the dying of the winds came the end of my song. And with the end of my song, an eery silence descended onto the clouds, almost like there was no sound.
Until something broke that silence. A loud whistling sound, almost like a huge pressure being released through a tiny hole.
I looked at the cloud egg, only to see a geyser of air bursting out of it. Did we do it? Is the superior wind spirit waking up?
I waited until the wind geyser died out, and then slowly approached the egg. I saw large cracks on it, and just before I reached it, the egg split in half revealing …
Nothing? Why is there nothing inside the egg? Where is the spirit? Wasn’t it inside the egg? Did … was all I did for nothing? Am I really that useless that my song killed the superior spirit?
I turned to look at the greater spirits of water and nature, ready to apologize for wasting all that time, but I stopped when I saw them smiling, while looking up to the sky. So I also turned my face to the sky and saw something majestic flying above us.
It was a large … bird-looking creature with eight wings. It flew a few circles above us, before coming in for a landing. And as it landed, the large bird creature turned into something much more humanoid.
It still had its eight wings, but otherwise it looked like a human. In a way, it looked like one of Brian’s Fairy monsters.
“Ah. Young child. You have come such a long way in so little time. You really do know what being free means.” The superior spirit spoke to me. “In the name of the superior spirit of wind, Anemoi, I extend you my gratitude.”
“T-Thank you.”
“No. Don’t thank me, child. I am thanking you. Your song recovered my strength. And thus, I shall share a bit of it with you.” She said. “If that is what you wish.”
“I … Yes. I will accept.” I agreed, even if I wasn’t completely sure what I just agreed to.
“Good. Now, young mer-folk, you shall become one of my children. Free as the wind and strong as storm.” As the superior spirit said that, a ball of energy began to form in her hand.
She then handed the ball of energy to me, and I received it with both of my hands.
“... what do I … do with this?” I asked.
“I cannot tell you that. Remember, wind is freedom. You are free to do as you wish.” She told me.
I … I think … I feel like I should hold it to my chest, so that is what I did. And as I did, I felt energy flowing from the sphere into my chest.
“Well done, my child. From now on, you, Cailie, are worthy of carrying the name of the wind. So from now on, you shall be permanently synchronized with that spirit of the wind, and you shall carry the name Cailie Zephyrus.” Anemoi said.
“NO!” I cried out.
“... what?” Anemoi asked. “Do you refuse?”
“Yes! I mean no. I mean … I accept the first part.” I said. “... but I cannot accept the name. It isn’t the name I want. The name that I feel belongs to me. … so I’d like to refuse the name.”
“... if that is your wish, it shall be so.” Anemoi said.
“Yes. That is my wish.”
“Then so be it, my newest child. But I do wonder, what name would you prefer over the one I wished to give you?”
“... the name of the one I love.” I quietly said, but I’m sure Anemoi heard me.
“Ah. Love. Truly the most interesting emotion. Always so far away, but when you find it, you simply must chase it. Be it to the depths of the earth or high to the sky, beyond what the winds can reach. I do hope you can reach yours.” Anemoi said. “May I ask for their name? As your mother, I do wish to help you reach for your love.”
“It … It’s …” Before I had the chance to answer, some ways away from us, something enormous burst through the layer of clouds we were standing on.
A huge snake-like creature covered in golden scales. As it spread its wings, I recognized the being. And riding on her back was someone I will always spot, no matter how hidden he is in the crowd. No matter how far away he is. No matter where he tries to hide.
Because the winds will always guide me to him.
“BRIAN!” I called out.
nro_8 Brian just casually mastering the skill of perfectly timed, dramatic entrances.
{The summoner is here!}
{Let’s have him play with us!}
{Let’s fight his dragons!}
I heard such calls from the younger dragons all around me as I opened the canopy of my Victory Viper.
“I’m sorry everyone! But I can’t play with you now! I promise I’ll come play later!” I yelled at them, using Language Comprehension (draconic). Sure most of the older dragons understood the standard human language, but the young ones don’t.
I didn’t wait for them to respond, as I know they’d likely complain. I just jumped out of Victory Viper, unsummoned it on the way down and landed in front of the cave belonging to Lady Janina. I didn’t see her outside, so she is probably in here.
“Hello! Lady Janina! Are you home!?” I called out. I didn’t want to trespass too far into her cave, as I really didn’t feel like being attacked by her. While I did change my set cards into something that can stop her for a few seconds, I’d rather it not come down to that.
I heard some movements inside the cave, so I decided to just stay where I was and waited.
And soon enough, the ginormous dragon form of Lady Janina became visible.
{Ah? Brian? What are you doing here?} She asked, before her body was engulfed in light, as she transformed into her human form.
I waited for her transformation to finish, before I answered. “I have a problem. I was using the Factory VR with Cailie, but when we returned, her soul was lost.”
“... what?”
“As I said, we were using the Fac…”
“I heard what you said. I just wondered how that is possible.” Lady Janina said. “Tell me everything. Actually, just take me to her body.”
“I can do both.” I offered. “Do you mind if I teleport us?”
“That is fine.”
“Alright.” I quickly pulled up Dungeon Founder and HomeBase’s emergency teleport feature. It will take me straight to HomeBase’s true core and from there, I can teleport to anywhere on HomeBase. “... I need to hold your hand, so…” I said, as I offered Lady Janina my hand.
“Are you that shy about holding the hand of an old lady?” She teased.
“... I don’t think anyone would ever dare to call you old.” I said, as she took my hand.
I then teleported us before this got even more awkward.
As soon as the teleport to HomeBase was done, I moved us to where the Factory VR device was.
“Wilma, I’m back.” I said to the dwarf.
“Welcome back. Lady Janina, thank you for coming.” Wilma said, while she bowed.
“Don’t do that. This is Brian’s domain. He is the ruler here.” Lady Janina said. “Now, let’s see if I can find her soul.”
“... do all strong people live on a mountain?” I asked, when I looked at the green mountain before us.
“No, but about half of them do. I think it is something about being higher up makes them feel even more powerful. But there are those that also don’t like it. I know Earth lives deep underground and Water lives deep in the ocean.” The greater nature spirit answered. “Besides, Wind doesn’t live on this mountain.”
“... then where is she?”
“In the clouds!” “In the clouds!” Few of the intermediate and lesser spirits that were with us answered.
“... Clouds? … How do we … get there?” I asked.
“Walk on them.” “Walk on them.” Was the answer.
“... But … you can’t walk on clouds. Brian told me so. … and I’ve rode a dragon into the clouds… you go straight through them.”
“You are letting your established knowledge get in your way.” The greater water spirit said. “Don’t forget, the rules here and where you are from are different.”
“So … we can walk on the clouds?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“... then… why the mountain?”
“How do you think those that can’t fly will get to the clouds? The mountain is like a giant ladder to the clouds.”
“Can’t everyone here fly?” I asked.
“Yes, but also no. Some of us just don’t like flying.” The greater nature spirit answered. “Like myself and other nature spirits. We want to stay grounded. That isn’t even mentioning superior Earth and the other earth spirits.”
We made our way up the mountain. Some of the water spirits with us wished to fly, but I wasn’t confident enough, so we walked. I still struggled, but with the spirits helping me keep my balance, I managed to walk up the mountain.
A bit over halfway up, we began running into green spirits, wind spirits. They were asking why the two greater spirits were here, and after the explanation, they began to follow me.
Then when we took a break about ¾ of the way to the top, the wind spirits asked to hear me sing, so I performed a simple song for them.
It turned out to be a great thing, as the wind spirits really liked it, and offered to carry me the rest of the way to the superior wind spirit. So with the help from the nature spirits, they made a swing chair for me that the wind spirits would carry.
“Was it fun?” “Was it fun?” The wind spirits asked when we landed.
“... yes. … but also a bit scary.” I answered. “I thought I might fall off.”
“... We’ll make a better one.” One of the intermediate wind spirits answered meekly. They didn’t seem happy that I thought that the flying swing chair was scary.
“N-No! It … it is fine. … you don’t have to … change it.”
“We’ll change it!” One of the lesser spirits yelled.
“Can do it!” Another one added.
“Have time.”
“While you wake up the great Anemoi.”
“A-Alright. If … if you want to.” I just couldn’t deny them again, hearing how enthused they were.
I then turned to the two greater spirits that were acting as my guide.
“... where is the superior wind spirit? And how do I wake her?”
“Right there.” The greater water spirit answered, pointing at a circular formation of clouds. It looked almost like an egg, but made of clouds.
“Why … why does she sleep in a cloud egg?” I asked.
“I think she likes it. The superiors are strange in that way. Mother nature sleeps inside this great big tree. You’ll see.” The greater nature spirit told me.
“A-Alright. … So how do I wake her?”
“You need to sing.” The greater water spirit said. “But not just sing. Your song has to reverberate throughout the clouds. That is how you awaken the Wind.”
“... I … I’m not sure … I can sing that loud.”
“No. Volume isn’t how you do it.” The greater nature spirit said. “Your song. It has to be free. Free like the wind. Free like the clouds in the sky. That is how you do it.”
Free? What does that mean? Does my song need to be about freedom? I guess I’ll try that.
I thought back on the songs I heard while I was a singer. Many of them were about freedom, adventure and excitement, so I decided to sing one of them. They weren’t something I ever performed, but I had learned the lyrics. Just a shame I won’t have the melody to go with it.
I sang like I always do, but despite me putting my all into it, I didn’t feel or hear any reverberations in the clouds.
“... I’m sorry… I can’t do it.” I said.
“Don’t give up yet.” Water told me. “You didn’t do it because you weren’t free. You are staying in pre established songs. You need to sing something new. Something free. Think about it first, then when you feel ready, try again.”
“... but … We’ve spent so much time already!” I called out. “We … I can’t just sit around and think!” I yelled.
“... sorry. I … I didn’t mean that.” I quickly apologized.
“Don’t be. It isn’t your fault.” Water said. “My children brought you here, with no clear path back home. And then we forced you into this. We should be the ones apologizing.”
“B-But … this is important. So … I have to do it.”
“No. If you feel like that, you will never succeed. You can’t feel pressured, as pressure will force the wind to go a certain way. You can’t feel like this is your task to accomplish, as wind doesn’t do tasks. Do it because you want to do it. Do it because you are free to do it. And do it because you want Wind to be free.” Nature said. “With that in mind, be free and sing.”
“... I … I’ll…”
“Take as long as you need. Be free.” Water added.
“O-Okay!”
That conversation led to a long time of me doing what I wanted to do. I still felt a bit of pressure about all the time I was wasting, but I think I finally understood what I needed to do. I needed to get all the other pressures off of me, and only leave the one that I couldn’t get rid of left. My pressure to impress Brian, Lucia and Alice. That is a pressure I can never get rid of, so at least I can get rid of everything else.
And it starts off by learning how to walk. The spirits were a great help, always by my side. Helping me keep my balance when I walked, helping me up when I fell. And in what felt like both an eternity and no time at all, I had learned how to walk.
I then moved onto running. And then to flying.
Flying was both the hardest and the easiest. I think I’d never have learned it if I didn’t have the help from the wind spirits.
It was so much like swimming, but … free. The freedom to swim where there was no water. The freedom to go to where the wind leads me, or where I guided the wind.
With all that in mind, I now think I’m ready to try again. This time, I have the freedom to wake up the superior wind spirit, because now, I know what it is like to be free.
“... wind spirits… I want you to join me. Sing with me, make sounds, dance, do whatever you like.” I asked of the wind spirits that floated all around the egg made of clouds.
“Okay!” “Will play!” “Will sing!” “Will play!” I heard calls from the spirits all around me.
I realized I couldn’t force them to help me, but I knew I alone would never do what needed to be done, so I asked them to help. Maybe with all of our freedom put together, we can do it?
“I’ll start.” I said. “... if you want, join in.”
I then started to sing. It wasn’t a beautiful song set to a melody, but a chaotic mess of lyrics that didn’t didn’t really flow, but it somehow still sounded good. The spirits began joining in one by one, their added lyrics, the howls of wind they caused, and the little dance steps they performed all joined the winds my song was letting out.
The song and everything else around it then began to gather, almost like it was forming a large storm cloud.
No. I don’t want that. Let’s gently guide the song away from the storm.
I changed the lyrics on the fly, and with them, the storm began to calm. The howling winds quieted, and the hastiness made way to calmness.
With the dying of the winds came the end of my song. And with the end of my song, an eery silence descended onto the clouds, almost like there was no sound.
Until something broke that silence. A loud whistling sound, almost like a huge pressure being released through a tiny hole.
I looked at the cloud egg, only to see a geyser of air bursting out of it. Did we do it? Is the superior wind spirit waking up?
I waited until the wind geyser died out, and then slowly approached the egg. I saw large cracks on it, and just before I reached it, the egg split in half revealing …
Nothing? Why is there nothing inside the egg? Where is the spirit? Wasn’t it inside the egg? Did … was all I did for nothing? Am I really that useless that my song killed the superior spirit?
I turned to look at the greater spirits of water and nature, ready to apologize for wasting all that time, but I stopped when I saw them smiling, while looking up to the sky. So I also turned my face to the sky and saw something majestic flying above us.
It was a large … bird-looking creature with eight wings. It flew a few circles above us, before coming in for a landing. And as it landed, the large bird creature turned into something much more humanoid.
It still had its eight wings, but otherwise it looked like a human. In a way, it looked like one of Brian’s Fairy monsters.
“Ah. Young child. You have come such a long way in so little time. You really do know what being free means.” The superior spirit spoke to me. “In the name of the superior spirit of wind, Anemoi, I extend you my gratitude.”
“T-Thank you.”
“No. Don’t thank me, child. I am thanking you. Your song recovered my strength. And thus, I shall share a bit of it with you.” She said. “If that is what you wish.”
“I … Yes. I will accept.” I agreed, even if I wasn’t completely sure what I just agreed to.
“Good. Now, young mer-folk, you shall become one of my children. Free as the wind and strong as storm.” As the superior spirit said that, a ball of energy began to form in her hand.
She then handed the ball of energy to me, and I received it with both of my hands.
“... what do I … do with this?” I asked.
“I cannot tell you that. Remember, wind is freedom. You are free to do as you wish.” She told me.
I … I think … I feel like I should hold it to my chest, so that is what I did. And as I did, I felt energy flowing from the sphere into my chest.
“Well done, my child. From now on, you, Cailie, are worthy of carrying the name of the wind. So from now on, you shall be permanently synchronized with that spirit of the wind, and you shall carry the name Cailie Zephyrus.” Anemoi said.
“NO!” I cried out.
“... what?” Anemoi asked. “Do you refuse?”
“Yes! I mean no. I mean … I accept the first part.” I said. “... but I cannot accept the name. It isn’t the name I want. The name that I feel belongs to me. … so I’d like to refuse the name.”
“... if that is your wish, it shall be so.” Anemoi said.
“Yes. That is my wish.”
“Then so be it, my newest child. But I do wonder, what name would you prefer over the one I wished to give you?”
“... the name of the one I love.” I quietly said, but I’m sure Anemoi heard me.
“Ah. Love. Truly the most interesting emotion. Always so far away, but when you find it, you simply must chase it. Be it to the depths of the earth or high to the sky, beyond what the winds can reach. I do hope you can reach yours.” Anemoi said. “May I ask for their name? As your mother, I do wish to help you reach for your love.”
“It … It’s …” Before I had the chance to answer, some ways away from us, something enormous burst through the layer of clouds we were standing on.
A huge snake-like creature covered in golden scales. As it spread its wings, I recognized the being. And riding on her back was someone I will always spot, no matter how hidden he is in the crowd. No matter how far away he is. No matter where he tries to hide.
Because the winds will always guide me to him.
“BRIAN!” I called out.
nro_8 Brian just casually mastering the skill of perfectly timed, dramatic entrances.
