18. A Prefect Image

The carriage rode down the path that led north, narrowly avoiding Eslaf Retnec.

"What now?" Crimwal asked Raymond as they rode along.

"Well, in a nutshell… we're in trouble. The order knows I'm alive, the apocalypse might happen tomorrow and my son has a girl he likes." Raymond said as he took a sip from his waterskin.

His armour had long disappeared so he was back in his comfy winter clothes.

Crimwal shivered and felt something cold touch his nose. He crossed his eyes and saw a snowflake melting on his sniffer.

He sighed he gazed into the carriage window, inside he saw Eevana, but she had returned to a more human-like form.

He remembered how truly awe struck he was when he saw her other form.

Her dark horns, black eyes and silky gown made her look quite beautiful.

"Anyway, where to?" Crimwal asked.

Raymond looked at the city with a golden heart, Eslaf Retnec.

In Kalosýni's vision, it was destroyed yet there it stood. Like a mirage.

"Carimae is only a few more hundred kilometres away. We ride ceaselessly." Raymond said.

"What about Estella? I don't know how, but I feel like the time is coming." Crimwal said.

Raymond narrowed his eyes.

"If the time comes, Eevana will take care of things," Raymond said.

"But isn't she-" Crimwal stopped himself.

"Yes, but saepenar are also extremely surgical in their deadlines. I wonder what'll happen if we give her the chance to use her powers to bring a life into this world, rather than taking one out." Raymond said as a cool wind blew past his face.

Meanwhile, Estella was receiving curious glances from Peeta, Kalos and Eevana.

Her face was beet red and her breathing was rather frantic.

"What?" She squealed.

"Are you ok?" Kalos asked.

"Who? Me? I'm great!" She squealed. Her face sweaty.

Kalos, Peeta and Eevana exchanged glances.

"Dad! Umm… can you stop the carriage." Kalos yelled before he heard the sound of liquid spilling.

He looked at Estella's frozen face, before popping his head out of the carriage window.

"Dad!" Kalos yelled.

Raymond quickly stopped the carriage and jumped out of the driver's seat.

"Peeta, get out. Kalos, form a magical bubble around the carriage and stay out of it with Crimwal and Peeta." Raymond instructed.

Kalos did as he was told and formed a grey bubble around the carriage as the winds grew stronger.

"Dad, I think a storm's coming!" Kalos yelled through the solid bubble.

Raymond popped his head out and looked into the sky.

"I see... Kalos, I want you to imagine the inside of your bubble like one of your flasks. Heat it up gently. It needs to be warm and stable in there ok?" Raymond asked before his head disappeared.

Kalos looked at Peeta, who merely shrugged in confusion.

Kalos did as his father instructed, but then the storm suddenly intensified. The winds grew harsher and colder as rain and hail cascaded from the skies.

Raymond popped his head out of the matte grey magical bubble.

Kalos and the others saw that he had dead eyes and a sweaty forehead.

"Great job boy, but could you lower the temperature slightly. Otherwise, you'll cook us. Oh and siphon water from the rain into the bubble." Raymond said before disappearing again.

Kalos sighed as he did his best to direct water from the rain into the bubble even though he couldn't see what was going on inside.

"Hey, Kalos!" Crimwal yelled over the rain.

"What?"

"When that kid arrives. I'll be an uncle, right?" Crimwal asked.

Kalos thought about how much Crimwal meant to him, how much he meant to the group and smiled.

"Yes," Kalos said as he pumped more magic into his bubble barrier.

He made sure that the bubble went underground as well so that its entirety would be stable.

"Me too! Uncle Peeta, woo!" Peeta said but was met with frowns from both Kalos and Crimwal.

"Oh, come on! How long will it take before you trust me?" Peeta cried, but Kalos and Crimwal looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

Kalos then noticed that the bubble rippled, so he stopped laughing and returned his focus to his task.

The minutes passed by, those minutes then turned into hours and at some point, Kalos and his fellow bubble guards had grown sick of the rain and cold.

"Kalos! Pump as much magic as you can into the bubble without changing the temperature. Hopefully, that'll maintain it." Peeta suggested.

"What? I can maintain the bubble regardless. I just thought we looked cool in the rain." Kalos said as he lowered his hands.

Crimwal's hand accidentally slipped and he smacked Kalos on the back of the head.

"Why didn't you say so?" He asked as he jumped into the bubble. His heart had frozen in terror at the thought of angering Kalos, but still…

Peeta jumped into the bubble as well after clicking his tongue loudly.

Kalos sighed before entering the bubble, there he saw Estella sitting on a blanket that was placed on the warm, dry grass.

The bubbles interior was dark, so only a few candles illuminated the magical scene Kalosýni's eyes fell upon.

There, on the comfortable-looking blanket, Estella held her child within her arms.

Sure, she was half asleep and Eevana had serval probes sticking out of her fingers, which were embedded in Estella's skin. And yes, Raymond's face was pale as he sat like a ghost in the carriage interior, but the image of the baby in Estella's arms was perfection.

"Shh," Eevana said as Kalos and his comrades approached.

"Well?" Peeta asked. His voice laden with nervousness.

"They're both perfectly fine," Eevana said with a gentle smile.

"What are you doing?" Crimwal asked.

"I'm giving her the nutrients she needs. That and other chemicals that are helping with any pain or discomfort she may be feeling." Eevana said as she ran her hands through Estella's hair.

"Oh, and Kalos, she said that she wanted you to hold little Keema as soon as you returned," Eevana said as Kalos approached.

Kalos was about to take the little bald human, but Estella selfishly clung to the child.

Kalos pouted before stepping away.

He then used light magic to dry the clothes of him and his wet comrades. He approached his father, who sat in the carriage with a pale face.

Kalos sat down next to Raymond with a plop.

"Hey, dad." Kalos greeted, snapping Raymond pit of his self-induced trance.

"Hey." Raymond greeted.

The two then sat in silence for a while.

Estella recovered inside a dozen or so blankets, Eevana continued playing with Estella's hair while Crimwal and Peeta had strange conversations about what it really was to be an uncle.

"We did it," Raymond said.

"What?" Kalos asked.

"We had our adventure. Just like in your vision. I… I can't tell how you just how scared I was." Raymond said as his voice trembled. Its low pitch shook the carriage, along with Kalosýni's heart.

"When Aluin… when your mom left us, I didn't know what to do? Take care of Kalos. That's all I did subconsciously, yet you've taken me… you've taken all of us on a wonderful journey." Raymond grabbed his son and pulled him closer.

"If you hadn't brought along Eevana or Crimwal… or Estella. I feel like I wouldn't have experienced half of all this. So, thank you Kalosýni. Thank you." Raymond said before the sound of crying broke the silence of the bubble barrier.

Raymond ruffled his son's hair before hopping out of the carriage.

Everyone gathered around Estella, who had awoken and didn't need Eevana's probes anymore.

She gracefully cradled her little girl as everyone sat around her.

"Here. Say hello to little Keema." Estella said as she raised Keema towards Kalos.

Kalos took the little bald girl and held her close.

Keema hadn't stopped crying, which Kalos found confusing so he sent particles of light to his eyes and made them glow blue, only to get smacked by both Crimwal and Raymond.

"No magic around the baby! At least, not yet." Raymond said.

Kalos then looked at Crimwal making the small man tremble.

"What Raymond said." He said while looking away.

Kalos then passed Keema to Raymond, who held it carefully.

"I…" Raymond struggled to speak as the Keema wept away in his arms.

Keema was then given to Eevana, who held her as gently as everyone else had.

Keema opened her eyes and Eevana's eyes accidental returned to their fully black states.

Eevana was shocked as Keema continued crying just as it did before.

This made Eevana wonder if Keema didn't mind her eyes.

Eevana then passed Keema to Crimwal who slowly rocked the child, who continued crying, but this made Crimwal's face light up for some reason.

"Aww, it thinks I'm it's uncle." He said with a higher pitch than usual.

"No. Pretty sure it's just crying." Peeta said with narrowed eyes.

"Hello there, little person. I'm uncle Crimwal and I'll protect you forever." Crimwal said playfully before handing Keema back to Estella.

"Hey!" Peeta exclaimed, but everyone ignored him as Raymond and Kalos erected a rent. They then moved Estella and Keema into the tent before closing it. Allowing the two to spend some more time alone.

"Peeta, check if it's still raining," Raymond instructed.

"Yeah, but I want to hold the adorable brat after, ok?" He said as he poked his head out of Kalosýni's protective barrier.

His face was instantly drenched by the rain that came from the storm that persisted even though hours had passed since it started.

Peeta returned to the carriage with a soaked face.

"Still raining. Now can I hold the brat?" He asked.

"Goodnight everyone," Raymond said as he snuck into his tent.

Everyone did the same as Peeta watched.

"I- ugh, never mind," Peeta said as he begrudgingly set up his tent.

He eventually found sleep in the warm silence of Kalosýni's bubble.

.

..

Raymond and the others awoke to the smell of good food a surprising amount of light.

Raymond looked around and saw that Kalos was sitting over a large campfire on top of which sat several pots.

Raymond looked around and that Kalosýni's bubble was now transparent. Beyond its dense magical wall, Raymond could see that it was still raining pretty heavily, but what confused Raymond was how bright it was inside the bubble.

"Umm… Kalos. Just how are you lighting this place up?" He asked as he sat by his son's side.

Estella was still sleeping soundly in her tent so they were free to converse with a reasonable level of loudness.

"Mmm? Oh, I just thought about how light worked as I slept. It's strange how you and I harness it and use it as particles yet it also has another aspect to it. Ah well, I then wondered what would happen if I freely released light from a single point that wasn't myself and just like that. A Light source." Kalos said as he pointed upwards.

Raymond saw a point of light that resembled the sun.

He then sighed deeply.

How did he think up all that in a single night? Raymond wondered as he ran his hands through Kalosýni's hair.

"Ok. I can understand how you created the light, but how did you make your bubble transparent? As a light magic user, I can say that it is hard enough to make a perfect bubble in the first place and those ones aren't transparent." Raymond said as everyone else joined them by the campfire.

"Well, I realized that my bubble was grey because of the mixed nature of my magic. So, I drained all of the darkness from the bubble and pushed it further down into the bottom half of the bubble and you're right. What remained was a pure white bubble. However, after playing around with the light within the bubble, I arranged all of the magical particles in such a way that they allowed light to easily pass through." Kalos said as he stared into the campfire.

"And what about the smoke from the fire?" Raymond asked.

"Well, it's being absorbed into the bubble. Actually, the outside of the bubble should have a dark appearance. Oh, and just to be safe, I'm also absorbing fresh air from outside."

Crimwal leaned closer to Raymond.

"It's safe to say that there's a god among us." He said with a yawn.

Raymond nodded in agreement.

Peeta stretched his arm as he approached the group.

"Good morning." He greeted and everyone greeted back. He looked around in wonder as he sat by the campfire.

Everyone soon ate away and Kalos stored what he could in his special containers. He did all this after giving Estella the healthiest meal he could offer, but she went on and on about wanting fresh fosberries even though they only had a few dried ones.

It was then that Kalos realized why fosberries were so popular.

They were rare and delicious. It would seem as though the town of Silves was sitting on fruity gold.

"So, how long are we going to wait before getting back on the move?" Peeta asked.

"Until Estella, Keema and Kalos are ready. Until then, you're gonna have to stay put or…" Raymond looked outside the bubble.

"You could go somewhere else. Our destination is set and our pace is entirely dependent on the health and safety of each member of this group." Raymond said.

Peeta nodded his head in understanding.

"Although I understand what you're saying, we're still a bit too close to the Royal capital for-" Peeta stopped.

Raymond looked at the path where they'd come from.

In the distance, he could see several horses approaching. The horses carried men who were dressed in brilliant silver armour looked rather epic in the rain.

Peeta and Raymond exchanged glances before standing up.

"Kalos-" Raymond was about to speak, but Kalos had already stood up and nodded.

"Ok, protect the bubble. I'm not sensing eminence what's-her-name so it's probably just a messenger or something." Raymond said as he lightly stretched.

Peeta did the same as they left the bubble which Raymond noticed was still matte grey on the outside.

"Mmm… looks like you were right. Maybe I didn't need to curse myself." Peeta said as he looked at the grey bubble.

The horsemen eventually came to a stop near the bubble.

Their horses nervously cried as Raymond and Peeta released some of their aura.

"Treacherous Raymond, you are to have an audience with Evon Breetus, advisor to Emperor Yel Run the fourth, within the next twenty-four hours. It would serve you well to remain where you are until then." One of the knights said before he and comrades all turned their horses. They then returned from where they came leaving Raymond and Peeta to blankly stare at each other.

"They could have sent one," Raymond said.

"I agree," Peeta said as he returned to the bubble.

"They just wanted to talk." Peeta told Kalos who approached him.

"That's a relief," Kalos said as he exited the bubble.

"Hey, Kalos. You wanna spar?" Raymond asked.

Peeta's eyes widened. He quickly turned around to leave but was caught by Raymond's large hand.

"You too. I fear that whatever's coming is going to require us to be in our best shapes." Raymond said.

"Easy for you to say, you look like how you did when we first met. I may have aged slowly, but you didn't age at all." Peeta mumbled while summoning his Eexel.

Kalos had noticed that his father was indeed de-ageing and was beginning to look like he was a few years older than himself.

Kalos didn't mind though. He covered himself in magic and created his grey armour. Raymond created his white armour while Peeta doused himself in darkness before creating his own armour.

"What are the rules?" Peeta asked as he stepped away from Raymond and Kalos.

"If your armour is shattered, you lose," Raymond said as he walked away from Kalos and Peeta.

Kalos placed his hand on his bubble, making sure that it was properly reinforced before stepping away from it.

Raymond was using a normal fosblade, which meant that Kalos was wielding Reu.

"Hey, Raymond. Why don't we just leave? It's not like we owe the order anything. Well, I don't." Peeta yelled.

"Let's just say I'm curious. Something tells me that they know more about the dark prophecy than we do and I think they're either looking to capture us or cooperate with us." Raymond yelled before realizing how unbalanced the playing field was. He walked up to Kalos and yanked Reu away from him before returning to his position.

"Hey, not fair. That's like two Eexel's in one!" Peeta cried.

"Yes, but who would you rather wield it? Me or that guy?" Raymond said while pointing at his son.

"But doesn't that put him at a disadvantage?" They all heard a voice ask.

They saw Eevana in her pure saepenar form as she walked towards Kalos.

She stood by his side and channelled darkness into her hands.

"This seems fairer." She said before the crack of thunder signalled the beginning of their battle.