So that was why she had seen such sights in her dreams. The dancing flowers were the people, and the stars were made of the same jewels she saw adorning the city. It all made sense now. Sularia was truly a city of flowers, in all aspects of the word. "My home is Karkhata, but I know not how I came to be in this place. Could you tell me where it is? My teacher Rashaad will worry about me when he learns I am gone. He may scold me, but I know he means well. He is tall like you, but his skin is of a different color and his beard is black like jet. If you have a piece of parchment and ink I can draw him for you."

Gale did her best to describe her mentor to Delanac, but from his reaction it seemed a more thorough explanation was needed. Pictures could describe things much better than words sometimes, for those whom had never seen the subject in question before. Though she was far away from home she did not seem afraid, and merely wanted to find the way back. For most they would become anxious at this knowledge, but Gale's heart was at peace. If she searched long enough, she would find the answers to her questions. That was what she had learned as a dream-walker, and her dreams had rarely proved themselves false. At times their meaning was obscured and only revealed their true purpose after something had happened, as was common for all dreams.

She had spent her entire life in Karkhata before arriving here. As far back as she could recall she lived with Master Rashaad and several other students. After he chose her to be his apprentice, she lived with him and studied under his tutelage. She had never left the trading city's walls, and had been content with her life there. Perhaps once she was older Master Rashaad would allow her to travel with him, but that was meant for the future. She had never met any of Rashaad's former pupils that he had trained before he chose her, and Rashaad himself spoke little of the subject. Gale had assumed that was not for her to know until the time was right, and did not continue asking him further after the first time. Sometimes it was far better to allow people to speak on their own time than to request for an answer. Patience was a virtue she had learned to implement in every aspect of her training and so she did in life. 

Tall, with a black beard, and likely human. That was an awfully vague description of a man he had ever heard of. There was no way he could narrow down his search with only that to go on. When Gale suggested to draw a caricature to better depict her teacher, Delanac obliged. Tearing out a piece from his journal he pulled out a quill for her to write with. He watched as she drew a surprisingly accurate depiction of the face of a human man in his late thirties, with a full beard covering most of the lower portion of the face except the mouth. Serious eyes were placed above an aquiline nose, all below a piece of cloth secured by a circlet of rope. From the neck below he seemed to be wearing robes of some sort, and it was shocking how frighteningly detailed her drawing was–down to the crow's feet at the ends of the man's eyes.

Once the drawing was complete, she returned the quill and paper, and he stared at the inked face looking back. With this, there was no doubt they could find the man should he be within the walls of Sularia. "How did you–It looks just like a real person!" Delanac exclaimed, while the girl looked on with the same placidly curious expression. If she ever decided to become an artist, she would have no trouble making portraits. He was sure this would impress the craftsmen back home in Yovaesh. And the speed at which she recreated the image was phenomenal! It was as if she simply traced an image showing through from beneath the paper. "Well then, this is much better. With this we can ask the guards around if they've seen your master around here. They watch everyone who goes in and out of the city, so they should know if he's passed through."

Gale had drawn the face of Master Rashaad from memory. It took only a moment after she had closed her eyes to see the lines that made his face. Once her drawing was done, she returned the quill and paper to Delanac, and watched him look at it with surprise. She had never given her drawing a second thought; she was simply drawing what she saw in her mind. What seemed mundane to her was amazing to another, and she had never wondered why. She quietly nodded, agreeing to Delanac's choice of action. They finished their beverages and he paid for both as he got up. Following him, she walked down many streets and alleys until they reached the gate out of the city. Two women with beautiful, yet dangerous weapons kept watch over the exit and were on alert. Delanac then approached them, and inquired if they had seen a man resembling the drawing.

Gale had been standing far away enough that she could not hear what they were saying, but from how they acted it appeared the answer was 'no'. If the guards said they did not see him, then perhaps he was elsewhere. She was a bit disappointed, but it didn't come as a surprise. If he had been in the city he would have searched high and low until he found her. Gale looked down at the ground and traced invisible lines on the ground with the toe of her boots. So was she really here, by herself? How did she come here, and why? 

"Excuse me ladies, but have you seen anyone who looks like this come through here? I'm looking for him. He's someone's guardian." Delanac had to muster his courage before approaching the Rosenite guards watching the single entry point into the city. Even though he was much taller than them, those glaives they were holding weren't for show. Rosenites were also fierce fighters, willing to fight tooth and nail for the sake of their city and country. This made them far more terrifying than bandits, as they had a serious motivation behind their actions. One of the guards eyed the drawn image closely. "No, we haven't seen such a person. In the past few days there were no men wearing headscarves depicted here with these features."

"Oh, uh thanks. I'll be going now." He walked away scratching the back of his head returning to Gale, who was looking downcast. He felt bad seeing the lass like that. Being all alone in a strange place, without knowing where your parents were was something no child should have to experience. He tried to soften the blow the best he could as he told her. "So I asked the guards about your master, and it seems like they don't recall seeing him. Maybe he's lost in another city? Do you know where else he might be?" He didn't want her to feel as if she had been abandoned. That would just be too sad.

"…I know." Gale softly replied as she traced an invisible shape on the ground. "I suspected something like that would happen…" She stayed quiet for a while, before sitting down again. After a long silence she continued. "At first, I thought I was dreaming. I was in a great and majestic garden, with every kind of flower and tree imaginable. Then, as I entered a light I was here. Sooner or later, I believed I would wake up and I would hear the sound of the vendors hawking their wares and children playing in the streets. Master Rashaad would be sitting next to me, asking if I had a good dream." She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"But every time I close my eyes, I open them to find myself here. After you spoke to me, I have come to realize…that this is not a dream. I really am no longer in Karkhata, and now Master Rashaad will be looking for me. He will be worried, and I am not able to tell him that I am alive and well, or where I am. I know not how or why I came here. All I remember is I was walking in a dream." Resting her head on her knees, she concluded. "…I want to go home."

"Hey, hey now. Don't get yourself discouraged already…" Delanac sat down beside her. He wasn't the best when it came to talking, so the best he could do was give her emotional support. "You did the best you could, and it's not your fault. So you say you came from somewhere else after falling asleep did you? Proper strange. How about this, I know a place where you might be able to find someone to find your teacher even if you don't know where he is. There's a place called Iria in the next continent over. They've got plenty of mages there, and one of them's bound know how. Now let's see here.."

Pulling out his map he unfolded it then brought it over to let Gale see. "This here's Canelux, the continent we're on now. Sularia's right around here-" He said pointing to the area left of Horae Island. Then he pointed to the peninsula right of Abed. "-And Iria's around here. This here continent's called Parvpora. We'll need to sail across the Nyella Ocean before we can reach it, or take an airship. The first's much cheaper but more risky, while the latter's a wee bit safer but more expensive. Say, have you even been on a ship before?" When she shook her head, he rubbed his chin. "Hm…well there's a first time for everything ain't it? I think you'll like it quite a bit." He gave a quick check in his pouch to see how many crescents he had. He wasn't planning on letting her travel all by herself. And besides, he was thinking of visiting the hobbits in Komiteia for the food.

Her spirits had sunk upon learning the truth behind her situation. Homesickness filled her mind, and in one of the rare occasions in her life, her heart was not at peace. Delanac's words of encouragement helped ease the sadness. Although he himself was not able to help her, he told her of a place where she could find those who could. From what he said, it was very far away and across an ocean. Gale had never seen the sea, but she knew that places across an ocean must be very far apart. Looking at his map Iria seemed so far from Sularia, but there were ways to get there. She shook her head when he asked her if she had ever been on a ship. Karkhata was not a seaside town even though it was a center of trade. Around the city was rocky ground and desert, occasionally spotted with oases. Karkhata flourished because of the fact it was built on one, and the wells were replenished every autumn when the rains came. It was not so dry that all became sand, but the sun was merciless in the late summer.

"Have you been on a ship, Delanac? What is an airship like?" She had never heard of ships that traveled through air, only ones through water. How did they sail in the sky? She imagined a great big boat, being rowed by sailors in a sea of clouds while the wind blew behind them filling the sails. They must be very light for ships, if they could fly through clouds without sinking. They must have great pinwheels and banners streaming from the masts like the lanterns in the Full Moon Festival, in all sorts of colors and sizes. Drifting through the clouds, seeing the sun first thing in the morning and the moon at night…it seemed like a beautiful thing to see. She had always wanted to know what it was like to experience it in the waking world, and not just in dreams. The heaviness in her heart lifted, flying away like a released lantern into the evening sky. "Is it really alright for me to come with you?"

It was good to see her eyes light up again. Seeing her happy brought a smile to the orc's face, as he answered her questions one at a time. "Yes, I've been on one a few times. They weren't fancy, but I know what it feels like. Sometimes when the sea gets rough the entire place feels like it's rocking like a wee babe's cradle! And once you get back on land, your legs wobble until they get used to it again. Travel by sea's sometimes tough for some folk, to the point where all that rocking makes them dizzy. But that's not a problem on an airship most of the time." He tucked away his pouch as he went on to describe an airship to the young girl: "An airship's not that much different from a regular ship. Just think of it with a bunch of big old spinners that keep it afloat and help it steer."

"What makes them fly? Do they have wings?" She asked him. "Well, some of them do, but not like bird wings mind you. They do have sails that look a bit different from the ones one the sea. As for what makes them fly, who knows? Probably by magic or somewhat. If you want, we can take a ride in one–then you can see it for yourself. I think I have enough on me for both of us to get seats on a small one." Motioning for her to come along, he walked to the docks. Passing the schooners and galleons, he arrived at the place where the airships would land for repairs. There were many of them, all splendid and shining in the sun with banners flapping in the breeze. They came in all shapes and sizes, just like the ones in the water. Each captain had their own boarding price, ranging from high to moderate.

The ones with more than one passenger deck were out of the question. He knew he didn't have enough to even get in himself. Browsing the smaller aircraft, he tried to see which one would be reliable and less painful to his pocket. The captains sure liked to dress their vessels up–some of them had even fancier masts and figureheads than Capt. Blackwater's 'White Mare', though less gaudy. He whistled as he passed one with a golden lion's head and red lions on the sails. Even the pirates in Vilpamolan would be jealous of this one. After much pacing, he settled on a medium-sized craft with a white bird spreading its wings grasping a pistol and lightning bolts in the talons. The side of the airship read: "Thunderbird". 

"You looking for a lift stranger?" A man with an odd set of spectacles and his hair combed back stepped out from the ship's shadow. "That I am. How much for two passengers?" Delanac asked, assuming he was one of the crew. "Fifty silver crescents per person, without luggage. If the luggage exceeds a maximum of thirty pounds that'll be double. If it's under, then only twenty plus the basic boarding fee. Where do you plan to go?" The man polished one of the brass pins on his coat, eyeing the orc. Delanac wrinkled his brow at the price. "We're planning on going to Iria. Think your vessel can take us there?" The thought of a hundred and twenty crescents leaving all at once was not a pleasant one, but he had asked around and so far there weren't any better offers. He wondered if there was a particular reason why, and hopefully it wasn't a bad one.

"Hm… I think the ship can manage. We can leave straight away, or should you have other business to attend to we'll be staying here until three in the afternoon." The man responded. He was already eyeing them as potential customers, and Delanac was having second thoughts. It wouldn't hurt to know more about the ship's reputation before making a decision. "So, what can you tell me about this ship here? And who's the captain of the vessel?" 

"The Thunderbird? She's a hardy flyer, capable of weathering gale-force winds. She's flown head-on into a thunderstorm twice and lived to tell the tale. Don't let her size fool you, she's far superior to those bloated albatrosses over there. Her engines and steering are first-rate and second to none. Nothing, and I mean nothing has been able to bring her down." The bespectacled man grinned proudly, twirling the end of his thin mustache. "I see…so what about dragons?" Delanac asked sarcastically.

"Hm, never ran into one before above the cloud layer. But I'm sure she could outrun the scaly lizards without breaking a sweat." The man's boast elicited a snort of disbelief from the orc.

Gale watched as Delanac spoke with the man with the funny lenses sitting on his nose. The airship was beautiful, just like she imagined. She was surprised that it didn't have wings, and really was more like a ship that sailed through water. There was a bird of prey at the front of the ship, below the pointy part that stuck out like a needle and its large wings flanked the post it was mounted on. The tail feathers trailed off into curls resembling how people drew the wind in pictures. The flag was a dark blue with a white bird, and the tail feathers were exceptionally long. It was a pretty one, and from what she overhead between the man and Delanac–it was a 'thunderbird'. 

She had never heard of a thunderbird before. Were they like a phoenix, but born from storm clouds? What color would be be? Perhaps they were blue and white, or with feathers of gossamer? Phoenixes were the color of fire, according to Master Rashaad. He had never seen one before but he said that was what they looked like. From the airship's appearance, they must be fairly large if they were to be majestic birds of the sky. A small thunderbird didn't seem right to her.

Hearing the mention of dragons she asked innocently, "Will we see a dragon? I've never seen a live one before. The ship must fly very high if one can see them." The man with the spectacles chuckled, coughing a bit. "Is this your first time flying in an airship, little lady?" Gale nodded to him. "Yes, efendi. I have never seen a ship that flies through the air before. How does it fly?"

"Well we'd be here all day if I told you, so I'll give you the short version in layman's terms. In the ship, there's these machines that use a magical stone that gives them power. That power makes the propellers spin, and also makes the ship float when needed. If I want to lower the ship, I just turn some of the machines off. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?" She nodded again in agreement. "But what happens if the stones don't have enough power? What happens then? Do you replace them with new ones?" 

"Right you are, little miss. Though I can't bring you in to see them, that'd be far too dangerous. You can see the rest of the ship when you come on board with your friend there." The man gave a sly wink at Delanac, who grumbled while taking out his crescents. After checking the amount of money paid was not a single silver less, the man pulled out two slips of paper shaped like tickets. The text on them were in fancy letters and within the border it read: 'Admit One - Thunderbird Express'. There was a small drawing of the ship below and a compass rose. "Here you are, and right this way. We'll be taking off in the next half hour if no other passengers come on board." 

She took the ticketed and held it up to the light, fascinated. Gale wanted to keep this to show Master Rashaad when she reunited with him again. She boarded the airship with Delanac, walking up the gangplank once it was lowered.