Elias loved the feel of the ocean spray sweeping against his cheeks. One hand held the high collar of his robes closed, covering his gills. Wind wiped his robes and hair around. Despite having pulled his silver hair back in a loose bun, the strands still lashed against his face. He inhaled the aroma of the salt, reveling in the vast seas he once called home.
"Oh Goddess."
Elias glanced to his right. Ross leaned over the side, his eyes closed. If it weren't for his medium-brown skin masking the effects of his sea sickness, Elias was sure Ross would be green from head to toe. It took him time to adjust seeing Ross in his Goddess given form, and not as Rosie the eccentric owner of Firnlans finest—and only—adult entertainers. A Changeling potion was Ross' best friend, allowing him to become anyone and anything he desired, but still Elias knew him only as Rosie, even in his multiple male forms he'd always been Rosie.
Ross groaned and heaved more of his breakfast into the water parting at the speed of the boat, lapping against the wood hull. Even as they neared the shores of Ardorn, he hadn't gotten his sea legs, and Elias knew he was partially to blame. Under normal conditions, it would've taken almost three months to cross the southern seas into the island territories of Ardorn. Elias had cut that down to a month by doing what he'd sworn he'd never do again.
He swam in the ocean.
Once the open waves of the vast seas touched his gray-green skin, his magic returned in force. Under cover of night, he used it to propel the ship forward, giving it perfect conditions for their travels. Even during raging storms in the middle of the ocean, Elias kept the ship on a steady course. If the sailors knew who was the cause of their swift journey he wasn't entirely sure they'd be grateful for his meddling. Sailors were a superstitious lot and didn't like magic interfering with their ways, even when the magic was well intentioned.
"We should be there by days end," Elias said, raising a hand to shield the sun from his eyes. The orange-gold shores of Ardorn rippled like a mirage in the clear blue horizon.
"Thank the Goddess." Ross winced. "Am I allowed to say that in Ardorn?"
Elias chuckled. "Yes. Unless you mock their three-headed God, you're allowed to practice and believe in your religion. You also could've continued to use Changeling potions."
"Ardornians consider it a great sin to use magic to change ones self." Ross retched, covering his mouth in case he puked again. "We are meeting their future King. I thought it would be courteous to represent as I was born."
"Eloy will be grateful to the respect you're showing his people. But he is aware that your beliefs don't change just because you enter Ardorn. It's only if you start to force your belief on his people that he'd have issue."
"Goddess I forgot how sweaty these things get." Ross grabbed his crotch, adjusting himself. "Is it always this hot in Ardorn?"
"It'll be worse. Right now it's masked by the ocean winds."
"Or the Aquantian generated ocean winds." Ross' lips twitched. "Don't think I haven't noticed you vanish every night. Is it strange to be back in the sea?"
Elias shrugged. Strange isn't how he would describe it. Surreal didn't cover it either. There wasn't a word that completely summed up how he felt the first time he disrobed at the stern of the ship and lowered himself into the water with a rope. When his foot first touched the waves, it was like greeting an old friend. He hadn't entered the ocean since Siobhan was younger, when he took her to the Aquantian kingdom. The same day he forever shunned his people in favor of serving the Draygon royal line.
His elders begged him to stay and seed that years egg harvest with his power, gifting more of his bloodline to the Aquantian people. But Elias had already fallen in love with a Draygon child from the moment her tiny hand twined around his fine silver hair, or at least what passes for love in his eyes. The smile on her face, and white eyes wide with curiosity, locked him in a sort of trance he couldn't escape. She was the only child he'd ever need and he couldn't bear the thought of not being there to raise her. He couldn't have both land and sea.
Now, seeing the destiny growing before Siobhan, he wondered if it was the Goddess herself who'd plucked him from the sea's and placed him in the hallowed halls of Draygon. He was there when her mother died. When a fire nearly claimed her life, Elias was there to free her from the ashes covered in snow she created. Elias was there when someone framed for her father's murder. Every significant event in her life, Elias was there. It pained him to leave her behind as she was finally going to clear her name and return to Draygon, but Elias knew whoever framed her wouldn't go quietly.
She'd need an army and Elias was hell bent on getting her one. His eyes cast toward Ardorn, watching the sand dunes grow larger the closer they came. Last time he saw Eloy, the young heir was chasing Siobhan's brother Cion around one of Draygon's many courtyards, both covered in mud. His twin sister Emilia played the part of diplomat far better than the boy born three minutes earlier, earning him the right to rule Ardorn. Emilia eagerly joined Siobhan for her lessons, fascinated with Draygon lore, often more eager than Siobhan who'd rather sneak off and join the boys. Elias didn't know what to expect now that the boy had come of age and was set to take over the rule.
When he left the High Mages in Raiven they warned the unity between Draygon and Ardorn was no longer strong. All Elias could do was hope Eloy remembered his kinship with the Draygon heirs. If there was any who'd believe Siobhan didn't assassinate her father, it would be Eloy.
Elias sighed and turned away from the oncoming Ardorn shores and descended below deck to gather his things. There was only one way to find his answers at that point. He only hoped his journey wouldn't be in vain.
***
The thick sandstone archway curved over the canal feeding into the largest Ardornian island. Ross gasped as he tilted his head back to peer up at the orange stone chipped away with wind and time. Elias also couldn't help but marvel at the construction of the archway. Ardornians didn't use magic to aid them. Their hands, including the faded carvings of their ancient language engraved into the stone, built everything. Despite the fact the archway stood high enough to clear the tip of the ships masts with significant room to spare, the stones were still massive and dwarfed the ship in their shadows as they drifted underneath.
"You do know how to read and speak Ardornian, right?"
Elias nodded without looking to Ross. Aquantians understood any language, it was a gift given to them by the sea. It was as if the waves themselves appeared in their ears and translated the words. Siobhan had struggled with learning Ardornian as a child and had often questioned why Elias could speak it as fluently as any language. Learning wasn't her specialty, she was far too impatient for it, and learning a language she'd only use once a year wasn't high on her list of priorities. The only time Siobhan enjoyed his lectures was when she found personal benefit in the session.
Ross leaned over the ship, looking into the canal water. "Are those Aquantians?"
"Aye. They're controlling the ship and guiding them down the canal. At this point the captain and crew do nothing but stow their sails and ready to dock, Aquantians do all the work."
"I thought Aquantians who live in service of others can't be in the water?"
"They aren't in service of the Ardornians. It's a trade. There's a sizeable Aquantian nest not far from the big island since the waters are warmer here. In exchange for no ships or swimmers going to that patch of water, the Aquantians help with traveling the canal to the port and getting waters through the aqueducts to the cities."
Ross shook his head. "They could've just built the port on the ocean like other civilizations."
"They do on the smaller islands. On the big island the shores are far too rocky for there to be a proper port. It took a lot of Aquantian aid to build this canal." Elias leaned down to grab his satchel waiting by his feet. He tossed the strap over his head, adjusting the satchel to rest against his back.
Ross grabbed his bedroll and bag, following Elias to where the crew readied the plank to disembark the ship. Already heat was burning through Elias' robes, warming his skin. It would only get worse as they went further inland toward Terra Gale, the Ardornian capital. Ross waved a hand, brushing air against his face as he watched the crewmen remove a portion of the ships rail to slide the plank toward the doc floating on the water.
"How are you going to survive this heat?" Ross asked.
"We'll meet with Master Trayvis. He specializes in Aquantian travel on the islands and Rufus gave me coin to barter passage."
The aptly named Terra Porta wasn't the same as the Crestborne port they'd departed from in the lowlands. It wasn't bustling with an endless waves of ships docked to unload their wares, nor was their towering buildings of stone and metal shading them from the sky. It wasn't as crowded, circular buildings spread out among the sands, none of them raising more than a story tall. Elias liked the peace of the Ardornian port compared to Crestborne.
A light dusting of sand coated the animal hide roofs, blending the buildings in with the sand dunes surrounding the port. Elias loved how the Ardornians built their communities to be ready to be broken down and moved at a moment's notice. Little about their lifestyle felt permanent. He admired that. So many in the lowlands treated the planet with little respect, they scarred the soil as if it were nothing but a slave to their whims. It was refreshing to see Ardornians value the land.
Sand even created their pathways within the cities, hardened to near stone but soft enough for time to wither it back into the land. Their masonries kept busy with repairing the paths until they left the cities. After that, travelers were on their own to traverse the rolling dunes and mesas of Ardorn.
"At least now I know why Ardornians have such dark skin. The sun burns them!"
Elias chuckled. "Wasn't one of your ancestors an Ardornian?"
"Checking up on my family lineage, have we?" Ross winked and purred. "I love a man who is curious about me."
Elias smiled and tucked his hands into his sleeves, but didn't respond. Though he gave Ross credit for trying, flirting with an Aquantian was as useless as trying to move a mountain with bare hands. Aquantians had no sexual urges and didn't couple up the way humans did. The women laid eggs and the men fertilized them with their magic. That was the extent of their family bond. If he'd stayed among his people, he'd be one of the elders now, the one to guide the youth to continue their species and pass down their knowledge.
Maybe someday he'd return to his people, but for now he liked life on the surface. So few of his kind appreciated the world above the seas.
He narrowed his eyes to shield them from the sun glare reflecting off the fine sand. His boots ground against the stone, slipping on the sand coating their surface. Hues from the setting sun ignited the sky in a blazing fire, coating the sparse clouds streaking through the void. At least once the sun set the temperatures would drop. Nightfall was when most Ardornians traveled to avoid the scorching, relentless heat of their desert islands.
Elias pulled a folded parchment out of his satchel, unfolding it to show the crudely drawn map Rufus gave him. His eyes lifted from the jagged edges of the sketch to the buildings surrounding them. Terra Porta wasn't massive, but Elias had never set foot on the shores of Ardorn before. His entire arsenal of knowledge came from books and word of mouth.
"Oh I want that dress!"
Elias glanced to Ross whose eyes widened at the woman walking past them. Her loose fitting dress swished with the dance of her hips. Dark purples mixed with bright golden flames twisting along the shiny fabric.
Elias shook his head. "We're not here to shop."
Ross sighed. "I know." He sighed, turning his head to watch the woman vanish inside one of the buildings.
"Master Trayvin's should be this way." Elias folded the map back into its compact square, but didn't return it to his satchel. Ross continued to coo and sigh at each passing brightly colored article of clothing, both male and female.
Elongated shadows crisscrossed along the sand covered pathway as Elias followed the map to Master Trayvin's, teasing the oncoming nightfall that now seemed too far away for Elias' liking. Even just a few minutes in the scorching sun, the salt of his skin was drying up, sticking to his hairless arms in scales. He resisted the urge to itch and kept his eyes focused on the path before him. Water to him was as necessary as air was to a human. His tongue dragged over his lips, trying to keep them as coated as possible. Spots speckled his vision, sliding through his eyes any time he moved them.
Elias rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to clear them. He'd misjudged the heat. All the books in the world couldn't have prepared him for how hot Ardorn was. Even warning Ross to expect worse than what they felt on the boat had seemed more a formality then fact. Now Elias felt as though he were stuck on a spit, roasting like a bore. Shaky hands unfolded the paper, the lines of the map blurred into one large ripple.
"Elias?" Ross grabbed his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. "You're turning green and I mean literally green."
He closed his eyes as Ross' voice screeched in his ears. Under normal conditions and Aquantian could go half a day without needing to drink or coat their skin in water. Elias thought there'd be enough time to get from the docks to Master Trayvin's travel emporium without needing to carry an extra bladder of water just for him. Both ends of his lips tried to lift to a smile as he pictured Siobhan leaning over him, calling him a moron the way she regularly called Wren one.
In that very moment, Elias was a moron.