In the dead of night, a hooded figure kowtowed before a glowing crystal in the ruined coliseum of Moscus.
The outline of bones could be seen along the center of the black cloak, as if it were draped over a skeleton.
If there were any one to hear his small quivering voice, they would not believe it was the great and terrible Vladimir, the Necro-King.
"Great Dragon, your return is imminent. Your servant begs you to make good on your promise to bring back my mother."
The voice of the Dragon came loud and strong from the crystal, causing its light to flash bright as he spoke.
"FOOL. How dare you come before me asking for a reward for a task not yet complete."
"I may be weak, but I still have enough power to eradicate an insignificant worm like you."
Vladimir trembled like a leaf in the wind at the sound for the Dragon's voice.
"I…I'm sorry, my Lord. I thought since your victory is all but assured, you would be gracious enough to do what you promised."
"Worm!" The Dragon boomed. "It is not my victory that is in question. Who among the living can stop death? It is your task you should be worried about."
"I gave you all the information you needed to perform this simple spell. If your paltry magic can release me from this prison then all will be yours.
"Until then, do not offend me with your presence again,"
The crystal went quiet and its light returned to a dim glow, leaving Vladimir trembling, alone, in the dark.
Raymond sat at the edge of a canyon studying the map he got from the Magic Association library.
It had been an entire day since leaving the Green Dragon's oasis. Raymond now didn't just call on the elements, he commanded them.
To that end, he and his party could sit under the shade of a cloud, with a cool breeze despite there being no moisture in the air at all.
They all sipped cold water from cups made of ice while they tried to divine where they were.
The canyon was massive, both on paper and in real time. It stretched the entire length of the map, and likewise into the horizon in both directions.
It made pinpointing their position difficult to say the least.
There were places on the map where they could walk across, but no one could tell how much of a detour that would be.
Flying across was a last resort. The canyon was so vast that it was difficult to see the other side from where they were.
Motion caught the corner of Raymond's eye. He looked to find Una fidgeting and pacing nervously.
"What's with you?" he asked.
"I hate this canyon. The whole thing is a giant pit of death. If the fall doesn't kill you the river will."
"If not that, then the river sharks, the rock worms, the day bats, the cave bats, or the Harpies."
Alecia and Nikki perked up. "Harpies?" they said in unison.
Una nodded. "They have nests all throughout the canyon, and a Stronghold in the center. Those overgrown chickens are extremely territorial."
Nikki laughed at the insult.
Alecia's face darkened. "So that's where they went." She muttered.
Raymond sensed there was a deeper story there but decided not to pry. He just reached over and rubbed Alecia's back.
She gave him a half hearted smile. "I'm fine." she said. "Family drama."
Raymond nodded and smiled. He figured she would tell him when she was ready.
Ray took a spyglass from his magic bag. He looked over the edge, down the river then at the opposing canyon wall. He had an idea.
"Well, I could use earth magic to create steps. We can just walk down this side, cross the river, then walk up the other side."
Samantha and Nikki looked at him confused for a second.
"That's surprisingly simple." Nikki said.
"Yea, why didn't you think of that sooner?" Samantha teased.
"Hey, genius takes time too, besides, I thought you girls needed a break." Ray laughed.
Sammie rolled her eyes and gave his arm a playful shove. Ray made a show of pretending he was going to fall in the canyon, causing sammie to grab his arm in panic.
"Don't do that!" she screamed, pounding his meaty arm with her fist when she realized his "im falling" shouts had turned into obnoxious laughter.
The other girls started lightly throwing small rocks at him. They had also been duped by his little act.
It wasn't long before they were all rolling on the ground laughing while the girls piled on him, pretending to beat him up for his "dumb joke".
After a few minutes, Ray was finally able to subdue the girls by giving each one a kiss on the cheek.
All except for Una who backed off blushing as soon as the kissing started. Ray looked at her with a smirk and winked, causing her heart to pound in her chest.
Ray stood and clapped the dust off his hands before raising the Double Dragon.
A platform about three feet wide shot out from the cliff face. Ray stood on it testing its sturdiness.
When he was satisfied he lifted the weapon again and another platform, about an inch thick that the last, shot out just below the first one.
Ray stepped down to the new platform and nodded to himself. He looked up at his party and said simply. "Let's go."
As he led the way down the cliffside, new platforms would slide into place just in time to catch his feet.
The ladies kept an eye on the surroundings as they followed him down knowing Ray needed to concentrate.
The canyon was lovely in its own right. The walls were striped with wavy patterns in different shades for tan and brown like fabrics lined up in a store.
Gem and mineral deposits glimmered in the sunlight at different points, teasing riches for anyone greedy enough to brave the canyon.
Vigilance turned to pure awe as they looked around. It was a wonder anything so beautiful could exist in such a desolate place.
When they reached the bottom, Ray knelt by the river, watching the rapids. It was wide and crystal clear, only leaving a few feet on either side to stand.
He caught Una's eyes and beckoned her over with his head. She came and crouched next to him, curiosity on her face.
"We're going to do this together," he said. "You will never get any better at magic if you don't use it."
She nodded and he took her hand and pressed her fingers into the soft dirt on the river's edge.
"Close your eyes," he began softly. "First find the magic inside of you. It will feel warm and hard inside your belly."
Una blushed slightly at his words and the feeling of his breath on her ear. She turned her awareness inward and found the sensation deep inside her.
"Now, coax it out through your hands, into the soil."
Una nodded as she felt the warmth spread through her body, up her arms, and out of her hands.
"Good, now tell the soil what you want it to do. Be firm, be specific."
Una thought of what she wanted the bridge to look like and pushed that image into the dirt.
At first, nothing.
She concentrated, pushing more of her magic into the dirt. She felt it begin to stir around her hands, but still nothing.
Frustrated and impatient, Una forced a flood of magic into the dirt, grunting with the effort.
The ground trembled as a wide, flat pillar of dirt and rock rocketed out of the ground and ached through the air. The force of the eruption knocked both Ray and una on their backs.
It stretched about a quarter of the way across the river before plunging into it, anchoring the small bridge to the bottom.
Ray stared at the bridge for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh.
"Not bad! Not bad at all for your first try!"
She also got a spattering of applause from the girl watching. UNa blushed as Sammie moved to kneel next to her.
"You did good. The style of magic Ray is showing you is easier than memorising spells, but it requires a lot of focus, willpower, and patience" she said emphasizing the last word.
"It's called 'Arcane-menta' or magic of the mind. You are basically trying to bend the elements to your will, it is not an easy feat."
"Standard magic, which I practice, requires spells, is called 'Arcane-ora' or magic of the mouth. The greatest mages do both, there's not always a spell for everything."
Samantha's voice was smooth and calm like a teacher talking to a student. She smiled softly as she spoke, her whole being exuding patience.
Una shook her head and grumbled under her breath. "Is there a spell for stretching a bridge across a giant river?"
Samatha hopped up still smiling, and held out a hand to help Una up. "Nope, so we're counting on you."
Una sighed and grabbed Samantha's hand as she got to her feet. She walked over to Ray and looked up into his smirking face.
"OK big guy, how do we fix this?" She gestured to the inadequate bridge she created.
"We don't," he said matter of factly. "We just keep going." he gestured for her to follow as he climbed to the apex of the bridge.
Once at the top Raymond crouched down and put his hands on the bridge. "We're going to make another section come out of the water and connect to this one."
Ray closed his eyes and concentrated. The water began to churn as another slab of dirt and stone rose up, arched over and connected to the top of Una's section.
The bridge was now twice as long as it had been. The pair walked over to the apex of the new section and looked at it.
Naturally Ray's section was cleaner and smoother than Una's.
Una crouched, laid her hand flat on the bridge and began to concentrate.
Ray stood next to her, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
She felt her magic travel down the bridge and into the river bed. She imagined what she wanted and began to push.
She heard the water begin to churn but something was off.
She hadn't felt the dirt rising, and the churning sounded like it was coming form the wrong direction.
She opened her eyes, confused, just in time to see a mouth full of teeth coming right for her.