Tales Of Pristinia

I saw my father and the other villagers again. We caught up and they wanted to take revenge on the human bandits but I bade them not to and explained that the humans were under a spell. Thankfully, my father believed me and persuaded the villagers to believe me. My father and I talked about going home. I wanted to but I cannot, for I have a quest to quench. The villagers again thanked me and the mysterious "generous" girl, as what they called her. I bade my father good bye and let him ride the equinne. I saw them as they went back to Virere, where the forests start, where Mistwood trees start to stand mightily high.

"Why didn't you go with them?" The mysterious girl asked.

"Because I have a mission to fulfill," I replied.

"Oh, really!" she exclaimed.

"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves properly. My name is Lance Foris, class mage, race elf. What about you?"

"My name is Marze Duazer, class lancer, race mermaid, affinity water."

"You're a mermaid?!" I shockingly asked.

"Yeah, I am." She replied.

"But I thought mermaids are serene, while mermans are somewhat serene." I answered.

"I'm completely serene!"

"And merpeople have tails and they live only in water."

"Oh, we use this bracelet to exchange our tails for legs."

"And what is an affinity?"

"Hahaha, you're supposed to be a mage yet you don't know what an elemental affinity is. Well that is the element you are closely associated with. For example, my affinity is water, which means water-based attacks deal lesser damage to me while the element opposite to water deals the greatest damage to me."

"I wonder what my affinity is." I looked at the mage's symbol on my hand.

"That's pretty easy. Since you're a mage, your elemental affinity should be the strongest element you can use while the weakest is the element opposite to your affinity. Why don't you try it out?"

"Maybe later, Marze." I sat down the soft shining sand. "I'm too tired from the last battle and my magic energy is about to run out."

"Maybe you're right," she sat beside me.

"Have you always lived here in Fluere?" I asked her.

"Yes, we usually live underwater. All our cities are underwater," she replied.

"How are you able to breathe underwater?" I asked.

"We have gills." She showed me the appendages behind her ears. "Well its my turn to ask questions."

"Lance, when did you have a dream about Erian, the goddess of light?" She asked.

"The night before yesterday," I replied. "And she gave me this." I showed her the leaf-shaped crystal.

"Yours has a leaf-shape," she touched the crystal sticking to my c.h.e.s.t. I screamed because of pain.

"Wha...what?" She stuttered.

"My c.h.e.s.t was burned, this crystal kept getting hot as the spell Incinerate. It usually does that everytime, someone with the other necklaces are near," I answered.

"Oh, sorry about that," she replied.

"What for?" I looked at her hazelnut brown eyes.

"For burning you, if I was more careful, I could've prevented you from being burned," she looked down.

"Don't worry about it," I held her face up and we had eye contact again. "We were fated to see each other, and I was fated to be burned."

She blushed and held my hand.

"I heard mermaid songs can heal the body and rejuvenates the soul," I looked at the sea.

"Yeah, they can do that," she replied.

"Why don't you sing for me?" I looked at her.

"I...I...I.....I....I don't sing," she looked down.

"Why not?" I answered. She remained quiet. "Why Marze?" She still kept quiet. "Why?"

"Look its none of your business okay? So stop bothering me and leave me alone!" She ran off to the sea.

"Wait," I tried to stop her but she was very swift. She jumped and I saw her regained her tail. She swam underwater and vanished.

"Ughh, I'm such an idiot," I beat the soft shining sand.

It was almost sundown and my magic energy was still not replenished. I started to meditate since it was the fastest way to refill my magic energy. I meditated and by the time I was finished. It was already early night. I tried to look for shelter but everything as far as the eye can see was sand. Tons of soft shining white sand.

I cast Light and tried to practice that spell the human enchanter used against me. I tried to visualize the process but I just cannot seem to do it. Then I saw a whirlpool, it was swirling and the water was in motion. I tried to recreate the conditions in the whirlpool in the sand. After several tries, I managed to cast Sand Trap but in a whirlpool manner. The Magus Regalia opened and recorded the spell. It said:

"Spell recorded -- Sand Trap, level one spell. Create 100 spells for class upgrade."

"What," I was shocked. I never knew class upgrades would have such difficult requirements and that there would be another level one spell. Perhaps the spells that they teach at the academy are not all the spells in Pristinia.

Anyways, I am currently interested in two things. One learn my affinity and two develop a spell that will enable me to breathe underwater. I cast every level one spell and they seemed to have an equal amount of strength. Then I noticed that there wasn't a nature element spell in level one, so I cast Sprout, but it had the same strength as the other spells. I thought it weird.

I stopped discovering my affinity and instead poured my time and energy into developing an underwater-breathing spell.

First I cast Douse and retained its shape in mid-air. Then I attempted to remove the water inside the water bubble. First I used Gust, then Fire, then Frost, but they all failed.

Then, I just had an idea. I cast Douse again and retained its shape but this time I tried to clear the center of water by focusing the water outside. And I did it!

Now all I need is to test myself and to test it underwater. The first try failed, second try failed, third try another failure. I removed my mage uniform and hanged it to dry. I just wore my u.n.d.e.r.g.a.r.m.e.n.ts and continued to develop the spell. The fourth try was close, the fifth closer, but the sixth ended in total failure. But at the seventh, I got the hang of it! I did it! I called it Water Veil.

Next, I tested it underwater and voila! I managed to do it. Then the Magus Regalia opened underwater, it was magically dry, and said:

"First spell created -- Water Veil recorded, level two spell. Create 99 spells for class upgrade."

It was late at night when I finished but I was determined to find Marze! I swam in the Fluerian seas. When I went deep underwater, I saw her, I saw Marze! I quickly headed into her direction and as I went closer the crystal was acting up again even when I was underwater. I was losing consciousness because of the heat and fatigue. The last thing I saw was her swimming towards me and everything went pitch black.

I regained consciousness. I was laying down the soft sand and I saw Marze tending to me.

"Marze!" I sat down. "Don't run off like that again!"

She blushed and whispered into my ear:

"I have a high pitch."

"What?" I asked.

"I have a high-pitched singing voice and everytime I sing, I break different things. My voice is different from the other mermaids' their voices are perfect," she looked down again.

"No one is perfect in Pristinia, Marze."

"What?" She looked at me.

"Do you know that all elves have blonde hair and blue eyes?"

"Yeah, I noticed."

"But I have silver-colored hair and green eyes, which makes me different from the other elves. Yet I don't consider myself imperfect, for I am what I am, I was perfectly created to be this way. In the same way your voice is perfect!"

Tears slowly streamed down her face.

"Let me heal you," she said.

I laid down. She bared my c.h.e.s.t and touched the burn. Then she started to sing the most impeccable song that I ever heard in Pristinia. Her voice was perfect and the waves danced with the rhythm of her song. Her hand felt cool and I can feel the burning pain fading away. I felt rejuvenated and healed. The burn disappeared and my skin returned to normal.

"So this is the healing power of a mermaid," I thought.