The water held no warmth, but within the protective glow of the telekinetic sphere, Umbrielle felt a heat blooming from deep inside her bones.
?For as long as she could remember, she had carried the weight of a body that never quite fit. Now, standing among her companions deep beneath the ocean’s surface, the heavy gold belt—forged with the potent rune known as the JABERWOK—unlocked a truth she had kept hidden inside her soul. The magic worked relentlessly, a hammer shattering internal cages. Beneath her shell, her anatomy shifted and refined. Her heavy, hooked beak softened into smooth, hydrodynamic lines; her thick claws shrunk into delicate aquatic edges; and her scales blended seamlessly into a fine, shimmering mail that caught the ambient light of the deep.
?She caught her reflection in the conjured mirrors hovering nearby. Gone was the clumsy frame of her past; in its place stood an elegant tortle, built for the sea, her eyes glowing like spun gold against a unique back-shell patterned with exposed bone and intricate vertebrae.
?”So… is that what a girl tortle looks like?” Mongo asked, scratching his head.
?Before Umbrielle could answer, Rumble jabbed her elbow hard into the warrior’s ribs. “It’s obnoxious to ask, Mongo.”
?Umbrielle offered a gentle smile, feeling lighter than she ever had. “It’s alright, Rumble. I understand it isn’t easy for someone who isn’t a tortle to know the differences. Thank you, but I am too happy right now to be offended.”
?The Mistress stepped forward, her expression softening as she pulled Umbrielle into a deep, warm embrace. “Do you feel well, Umbrielle?”
?”I’ve never felt better, Mistress,” Umbrielle whispered, returning the hug. “Thank you for this wonderful gift. I will do all I can to aid your cause.”
?”I would never send you away to earn something I could grant you now,” the Mistress replied, her voice echoing in the sphere as it sank deeper into the endless blue abyss. “That belt holds an underground military weapon—it will always be a part of you now.”
?The sphere descended into a dark, silent chasm, finally coming to rest outside the ruins of a massive submerged structure. Around them lay the calcified remains of a grand tree cottage, its ancient wood caked in flat green coral and draped in waving ribbons of kelp.
?Goldie raised her staff, conjuring four floating globules of warm light that pushed back the oceanic blackness.
?”What is this place?” asked Eldilove, looking around the eerie underwater sanctuary.
“Consider this my old haven and establishment,” the Mistress said softly, a trace of old sorrow in her voice. “Long before it was called Brisbane, this was my home.”
?The Mistress reached into her robes and produced two slender silver packages. She handed one to Eldilove and the other to Umbrielle.
?Eldilove carefully unwrapped hers to reveal a breathtaking weapon: a Rusulka Blade, thin and dense, spiraling like hardened sea-glass with delicate cutouts that made it almost weightless. She stepped back, testing its balance in the confined sphere with swift, practice strikes.
?”This is a mystic artifact known as a Lexicon,” the Mistress explained. “In my culture, it takes up to five years of rune-crafting and metal-folding to forge a single one. It cuts deeper than standard steel, it can be thrown thirty feet through water and return to your hand, and most importantly—it allows you to call forth a rune in less than a second, bypassing the manual reaving steps.”
?Eldilove traced the intricate metalwork of her new blade. “Thank you for your kindness, Mistress. I will draw it only when I must, and always in your service.”
?With a quick thought, Eldilove focused her intent through the Lexicon. Instantly, without the complex somatic gestures Rumble had taught them, a shimmering Shield rune burst into existence before her, humming with protective power.
?The Mistress turned her gaze toward the vast black chasm beyond the cottage walls. With a wave of her hand, she cast a powerful illusion over the abyss. Suddenly, the darkness gave way to a memory: massive green palm trunks ten feet thick, intertwined with spiraling blue vines and towering bamboo dwellings that reached toward an ancient sky.
?”You cannot guess at everything that was taken from me,” the Mistress said quietly, watching the phantom city flicker in the deep water. “Brisbane scoured these lands when it was founded. And soon, you will be invading it—the capital nation of the Hierophant.”
?She turned back to face the group, her eyes resting on the newly transformed paladin.
?”Umbrielle. This will be a long swim, and you have only just step into your true self. Are you ready for what comes next?”
?Umbrielle adjusted her maul, her gold eyes reflecting the illusion of the lost world outside.
“I am ready.”
