Chapter 10.5
Kemitopia is a conservative country wherein elegance is the top priority. Demeanor composure is a characteristic that every Kemi on the land should have. Not until Kita, Hana, Yuna, and Lulu arrived.
When Kita's group reached the land, Hana hid her talent. At first, it was an instinctive decision, but when she heard Lisa talk about the land's view of the Runes, Hana never used her talent.
Eventually, the truth came out. The maids, as well as the Princess, know that Hana has the talent to manipulate water to her will. At least only they knew about it, other Kemis might react differently.
Even so, there are still other Kemis who continued studying the Runes behind everyone's radar. King Luke was actually the first one to do so, the father of Princess Grace. When the Princess figured out her father's secret, she joined him in studying the said artifacts. Which leads to meeting the other Kemis who have the same passion for it as well.
After the sudden disappearance of King Luke, alongside some of his followers, the Princess decided to slowly let the public know about the truth. Hence the movement about the usage of the Runes occurs. Though they still cannot release the whole story, they do not know what truly happened that night. The only argument for it is if the Runes are responsible for their sudden disappearance, then it is also the way to find them again.
Currently Kita, Yuna, Hana, and Lulu participate in the Royal Guards' training. The schedule is usually every other week. For instance, they will stay at the Royal Palace for this week, then they will work at the cafe the following week. This setup is indeed tough but it's beneficial for them, building their stamina in the process.
Honing the group's potential is different. They are allowed to visit a place called Hidden Den every night. Which means the schedule is whenever they are free. The Hidden Den is the place where multiple scholars teach them how to look within themselves, so they can be ready to use the Runecrystal. The scholars are also the reason why Princess Grace knows that the Runecrystal belonged to Kita. She's been waiting for someone to trigger the artifact because she cannot do it herself. Seeing Kita be able to do it made the Princess believe that the group was the answer.
While Kita, Yuna, and Lulu undergo multiple sessions, Hana is on a different type of training. She does not have to do what the others do since she already fused with a Runecrystal. Therefore controlling her talent to its full potential is the focus for Hana. It took time but with the help of the scholars, they eventually figured out that Hana can manipulate water to a certain extent. Redefining its molecular structure allows Hana to heal wounds through the water. Though tons of practice is still needed.
On the other hand, scholars predicted what talent Kita, Yuna, and Lulu might have. The writings inside of the Runecrystal give them at least a clue. In that sense, it means that Runes are entirely different from each other. As per predictions; Kita might be able to create ice, Yuna might have telekinesis, and lastly, Lulu might be able to control Mimis, not just communicate with them, but influence their thoughts. But still, all of these are hypothetical. No one can accurately read what the scriptures inside of the Runes means.
As time passes by, their progress is a bit hard to determine. On the physical aspect, they all tremendously grew. The group mastered basic self-defense with their prepared weaponry: Kita and Yuna wield a spear, while Hana and Lulu aim with bow and arrow. The idea is to freely defend themselves from a distance without charging in. Bow and arrow is a long-range weapon that needs accuracy, and spears are medium-range weapons that help them to create some distance.
It looks like the group can now venture toward the next island safely. But as impressive as it may seem, looking within themselves has been an individual struggle for all of them. Hana is not yet a master in healing wounds, while the rest cannot understand what the scholars are telling them to do. "Surrender to the Runecrystal," Kita, Yuna, and Lulu kept on hearing those words but they didn't know how to do it exactly.
The scholars believe that the Runecrystal is the one who decides if they will fuse to a Kemi, even though they are not a living entity. The said belief is similar to Strigi's idea, the Tribe Leader from the Seashore Tribe. That also explains why Hana and Maiko fused with a Runecrystal at a young age, while the others could not achieve the same feat. There's an idea that if they can trigger the Runecrystal, the Kemi should be worthy of it before fusing with the artifact. But it is still a vague idea that no one can answer at the moment. Basically, there is no definite way of fusing with the Runecrystal. At least, that's what the Kemis on Kemitopia, as well as those in Riverania, believed.
As the story continues, Princess Grace wants to make sure she can communicate with the group at least once a week. With that said, she assigned the fastest messenger on the land to be their personal messenger. His name is Tridae, an Eagleman Kemi. Tridae will deliver the message to Kita's group whenever the Princess wants an update. Tracking the group would not be a problem because Tridae is an expert in this field. He can definitely locate the target recipient even though they are traveling to different places.
To test how fast Tridae is, Kita's group crafted a message to be delivered to Maiko. The challenge will surely test Tridae's ability since Maiko is currently roaming around Riverania. Aside from the place that she leads, there's no further clue about Maiko's whereabouts. After they gave Tridae distinct characteristics that would help him in finding Maiko, the messenger started his first mission.
A week later, Tridae came back. The only problem that he encountered was the fear of approaching Maiko. Her strong character plus Byakko, definitely made Tridae think twice. He then reliably delivers Maiko's response to the group. Maiko was indeed shocked about the update. In her case, she managed to form an alliance with the Maple Tribe and the Merch Tribe. It will surely take more time before she accomplishes her goal. Maiko also wished for the group's safety as they ventured to Zenshin.
Eventually, The 2-month agreement finally comes to an end. It's been a productive one and it feels like Kita, Hana, Yuna, and Lulu are entirely different Kemis than before. The time that they spent in the Land helped them to understand a lot of things. Experiencing an entirely different culture taught them how to adapt to the environment. It helped them to mature in the process. With that said, It's time for them to finally say goodbye as they continue their journey. Kita, Hana, Yuna, and Lulu must now voyage to Zenshin.
End of the Special Chapter