Runia ?? Me ?
She glared at her reflection in the glass.
A ruby was embedded in her forehead.
Real. Unmistakable.
Then another reflection slipped into view. The man seated across the table.
The amethyst embedded in his forehead pulsed faintly, threads of violet light crawling beneath his skin like restrained nerves. His posture was relaxed, almost careless, but his gaze was fixed on her bag.
Not her face.
Her bag.
Runia's fingers tightened around the diary.
Amethyst. Navigator.
Path Resolution.
So he wasn't lost.
He had arrived exactly where he intended to be.
She swallowed.
The sapphire lamp on the wall knocked once. Soft. Precise.
The amethyst holder smiled, slow and knowing, as if he'd heard something she hadn't.
Then the sapphire began to thud violently against its glass casing, jerking and pointing toward the glass wall.
Chaos erupted outside.
Runia shoved her belongings back into her bag and turned.
The white-haired man from before came flying through the air, hurled from the direction of a woman floating above the church across the road. She hovered effortlessly, long navy-blue hair trailing behind her, an amber gemstone blazing in her forehead.
He didn't fall. He stabilized himself just outside the bookstore's glass wall.
The air around them warped, high currents tearing through the street. In seconds, it was empty.
The man looked toward Runia.
His eyes were completely white, distorted clouds of shifting color swirling within them, mirroring the opal in his forehead.
Runia froze.
The amethyst holder seized her hand and dragged her out the store. The glass wall shattered behind them.
"Sir—"
"Vyth."
"Sir Vyth, where are we going?"
"Where no one finds us." His voice was firm.
Runia chuckled breathlessly. "My trust is in you, Navigator."
And she meant it.
They rushed over cobblestones, cutting through the fleeing crowd, until they slipped into a dark, quiet alley. Vyth pulled out his utility gemstone.
"Averith," he murmured.
"Læver the light for thine vessel."
The crystal-shaped amethyst floated from his palm, dissolving into aubergine-colored dust. It spread outward, forming the outline of the entire town, enclosing the space around them.
Runia stared.
Water surrounded the city. Almost every direction.
"It's an island," she whispered.
"Sir Vyth—"
"Vyth, Runia."
He knows my name.
"Vyth, where are the floating islands?"
He smirked and flicked his fingers.
The next moment, she was flying.
They shot upward toward the clouds at a speed so fast her senses lagged behind. When they reached the clouds, everything slowed.
"Hold on to me," Vyth said.
He rode the amethyst dust, now crackling like lightning beneath his feet. Dark liliac clouds spiraled around in the sky.
Runia was awestruck, but she didn't let it show.
Vyth glanced back at her. His dark blue eyes held something close to concern, relief softening his expression.
Oh. Someone's head over heels.
If only I could read minds. She thought to herself.
The thought of Aether flickered through her.
"Vyth—"
He pulled her closer, gripping her other hand. They faced each other as the clouds parted. Their clothes swirled as they descended slowly.
Runia looked down.
Below lay a vast lagoon like water body but fil dotted with scattered, interconnected ring-shaped floating islands. The water shimmered under the setting sun, encircled by towering green mountains . It looked deprived of human settlements.
Runia's golden eyes sparkled.
"These are the floating islands of the Emraldis" Vyth said.
They stepped onto a central, thick ring of marshy land. The surface was soft beneath their boots. The water enclosed within the ring flowed inward, pouring down into a hollow at its center.
"The cart driver asked me to find him here."
"That must have been Eerie."
"You know her?"
"Runia. You can say that to me. Not to her."
Runia smiled quietly.
Eerie had short, dull green hair cut almost boyishly, and sharp red eyes. She was an emrald holder indeed.
Runia wandered toward the outer rim. The water there was shallow, barely reaching her ankles. She leaned closer and saw the sky reflected within it, spiraling around a distant object high above.
Her focus drifted to her own reflection.
Crimson ruby. Golden eyes. Short dark hair brushing her neck.
She dipped her hand into the water. It reached her elbows, but when she pushed further, she felt… nothing.
No water at her palms.
"There's space below," she murmured. "That's insane."
Curiosity won.
She lowered her head to look.
"Now that you've done it," Vyth said, stepping closer, "you might as well."
She slipped.
Runia fell—and grabbed Vyth with her.
"Hey—wait, you idiot—
Averith!" And he flicked his fingers.
They halted mid-air.
Below them lay an ancient city carved into the depths. The central ring above continued downward as a hollow pillar, a thin veil of water enclosing the inner cavity. A reverse V-shaped portion of the pillar was missing, revealing the water veil descending to the ground. The rest was covered with pillar's land. The water dripped downward, feeding a canal system that threaded through the city.
Figures in hooded cloaks moved below, gold jewelry glinting in the dim light.
Runia sneezed.
She was in Vyth's arms. Both of them were soaked.
Emraldis have taste, she thought. The floating islands above cast shifting shadows into the depths, like a false surface of water.
Night had fallen by the time they reached the ground near the foothills. Fire lamps lit the streets.
"Runia."
A voice echoed from within the water veil.
Her blood ran cold.
The opal holder emerged.
"See?" Vyth said calmly. "I brought her. The rest is yours."
Runia stared at him, disbelief hollowing her chest.
~ Info fragment
The land of emeraldies :
A limiting law imposed by the emerald deity caps downward motion within a defined zone. Within this zone, gravity exists and weight is felt, but descent cannot exceed a fixed limit. The floating islands and the suspended water remain stable because they cannot fall beyond this boundary, while the city below lies outside the restricted zone and experiences normal gravity.
An emerald crystal fixed deep within the ground, enclosed by the Holy Veil, maintains the law continuously. Above the crystal, the law thins, allowing water to descend slowly, forming controlled veils rather than collapse. Air passes freely through the veil, regulating pressure within the city. Authorized individuals may enter and exit through these thinned zones without destabilizing the system.