11. Aether and Waves

A small girl runs down a mesmeric gem-studded path. Two lights stream beside her and make the gems flash hundreds of multi-colored lights. The effect would dazzle and distract some, but Titania had a mission.

Queen Liliana had spoken to Titania telepathically, asking her to discover the origins of the falling object to the west. Titania was excited that she was picked for this mission by the queen herself. Liliana was not one to take chances and always applied the right amount of force to the situation.

"What do you think it was?" A soft male voice asked in Titania's mind.

"I'm not sure. Lily didn't say much. She just said that the magic network picked up a falling object at a height to slow to come from The Expanse." Titania said out loud to Verta, her lime green nature Shyft. Her other Shyft flew beside Titania silently; Sora flew as light blue butterflies.

The scene began to change as the Eastern Gemhide Forest opened up. In front of her was a tear in the ground. The massive gouge in the land stretched from the north gap to the cliffs of the south sea. Below, the land cascaded with waterfalls that covered the valley.

As Titania neared the edge of the forest and cliff, She took in a deep breath. The feelings of summer and the sky filled her with joy as she leaped off the edge. As Titania jumped, Sora and Verta became one with her, and she began to change.

Titania became covered in light blue light and delicate wings like a butterfly formed. As this happened, details of lime green ran around her arms and legs. The green also became thicker near her face, creating a type of goggles over her eyes. These allowed Titania to identify biological magic sources within a specific range.

As the goggles became functional, they immediately registered a golden object traveling fast. The color and origin of the speeding target made Titania almost sure it had to be a disciple of The Three King. Once Verta was able to decern the trajectory of the newcomer was her estimated impact site, Titania was sure.

"Target is Male and registers as having only one Psuedo-Shyft of The Kingdom of Hallen-Gra. Target is young with blonde hair and is physically fit. Approach with caution; he also will have identified you due to our DWave Fluctuation," Sora spoke telepathically to Titania.

DWaves or Dimensional Waves are the energy that Shyfts draw from the Aether. DWaves send ripples in the Aether wherever the change happens, and others that can Shyft can feel them within a specific range. This range is dependent on the strength of the Shyfters and the observer—a strong Shyfter sense, even a weak Shyfter change from miles away, and vice-versa. Though a weak Shyfter would need to be close to another, that was not strong to sense the difference when it happens.

"If he is just a birdman, then I shouldn't have to be too worried," Titania spoke as she headed towards the estimated impact site.

"Don't become careless, Princess, all races have two sides," Verta chided her through their mind-link.

"I won't. This recon mission is to discover what fell and possibly recover whatever it is, then return," Titania said as she came close to the projected impact, but something was off.

"The area has no signs of a crash or impact," Sora reported to Titania as she began to so down and descend into the valley.

As she did, the golden light crashed into the impact zone. The light briefly expanded, then shrank until a man with golden wings was all that was left. He was down on one knee and slowly stood up, taking in his surroundings. When his gaze finally fell on Titania, and their eyes met, her breath caught.

His eyes were like flames that danced and had an almost cosmic background. His eyes began to narrow, and he stretched his right hand out to the side. A long and golden sword materialized into his hands.

"Woah Woah Woah," Titania cried out, putting her hands to the side to show the golden man she was un-armed at the moment. As she descended slowly, the man called out to her.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose here?" Liam asks, letting the sword dematerialize. His posture is stiff and guarded as he looks at the small bright blue and green Fae. Her manner seems non-hostile, but Liam's training keeps him wary.

" I am Princess Titania, sent by my Queen Liliana to discover what fell from The Expanse," she said, finally touching down on the grass in the bottom of the valley.

She breathed out, and the colorful energies evaporated off her and flowed back to the Aether. When all the DWaves had been absorbed back into the Aether, Verta and Sora took their respective forms and floated beside Titania. Sora streamed around her in a flit of butterflies, and Verta casually crawled as a vine through the air.

Liam's eyes lit up, and the flames began to dance unnaturally. Almost as if his eyesockets alone could not contain them. Titania took an involuntary step back, and Liam immediately realized why and dropped down to one knee and bowed his head. Titania was shocked by the sudden change and was about to speak when she heard him begin to stammer.

"My dee-epest apolo-ogy," he began, but stopped and cleared his throat before continuing. "I should not have drawn my blade, Your Highness. I am Enlightened from Hallen-Gra sent by The Three King with the same quest as you, Your Highness. My name is Liam."

"It's alright. There is no need to be formal. Call me Tita," She said, stepping forwards and stretching her hand out, palm up.

"If you insist. Your Highness. I will make an effort, I come from a lower part of the Hallen-Gra society, and we learn to treat royalty with reverence when we become disciples," Liam said to Tita. He stood up and reached for her hand to give the sign of greeting while also letting out a breath of DWaves. As the waves evaporate, Liam's form became revealed.

Tita gasps and turns around, covering her eyes. Her face has become very hot with a fiery blush that threatens to swallow her entire face. She had not expected him to be naked underneath the golden energy.

Liam also realizes that he had not taken the time to clothe himself before being hurdled across the continent. In the startled panic of a deer facing oncoming traffic, Liam tried to breathe Sigil back in. At the same time, he takes an involuntary step backward and catches his heal. Sigil comes back to him and covers his body just in time to help stop Liam from falling. Liam's face has also become very red, and his eyes seem to have a mind of there own, dancing like bonfires.

"I am so sorry," Liam began, as he tried to regain his composer, but sounds of laughter made him stop. The princess was now rolling on the grass, clutching her stomach. She is gasping between fits of laughter, but Liam notices something peculiar.

Titania has thin lines running down her face that looked tattooed in beautiful patterns. What made them stand out to Liam was how they began changing a rainbow of colors as she laughed. He was astounded by how the colors changed to the same rhythm as her laughter and found himself staring at her, getting excited. Realizing this, he quickly turned away to hide his eyes, which had to be blazing, considering the excitement he felt. Liam heard her laughter stop, and his pulse quickened.

"You don't have to look away, and I'm not scared. Your eyes just surprised me. I've never seen anything like them ever," Titania said to him.

"I'm sorry, I too have never seen someone with a feature so different like my own. The tattoos you have light up like a rainbow when you laugh; it's beautiful and mesmerizing. It's also a relief that my eyes don't bother you. Many of my people do not feel the same way," Liam said with his eyes cast down.

Titania was about to say something comforting when she received a telepathic message from Sora.

"Massive DWaves spikes are coming from the east. Unregisterable readings, it's too much for it to be only one signature—approach with caution, Your Highness."

Titania turns to see Liam had a glazed expression, and then his eyes began to blaze again as he turned to her.

"Did you feel that?" Titania asked.

"Yes, I think everyone on the continent felt that wave. Can we call ourselves allies for now? Whatever this is, it's far more then either of us can handle on our own," Liam asked her while extending his hand to complete the greeting he had spoiled earlier. Titania smiles and extends her hand to touch his. As the two hands touched and glide across each other, small DWaves roll off them, resonating with each other.

"I agree. Let's go quick, the waves will attract others," Titania said as they headed towards the source of the DWaves.