It was a great city, one the likes she had never seen before in the waking world. Its walls were high and it was free, while energy of the world flowed through it. Although she had seen Sularia, it still was not home–despite how many similarities it shared with Karkhata. To find one's path, one must first gain understanding. To gain understanding one must have knowledge. And so it was clear that she must go to where knowledge flowed freely and hearts were willing. The dreams told her of a place, in whispers and she grasped the name: Iria.

A long journey later through wakefulness and sleep, the dream-walker apprentice had arrived here. This would be the place where she would perhaps find the way home. The city of lights amidst a long shadow borne by the broken pillar of strength. The place was vast, and unlike the dreaming world one must walk with purpose to reach where they sought to go. So she found herself standing before the walls of a grand building known by the inhabitants as the Mage Academy. Looking up at the doors, she did not go in. Instead she found a place beside it and seated herself, closing her eyes to drift off into a dream. She was in no hurry, and time was irrelevant in the world of dreams. 

Beautiful lights, dancing and of many colors in darkness. They formed images and they changed shape as they came in contact with each other. Some lights were brighter than others, but they all moved to their own rhythm, their own pace. Around them was a glass boundary, which sheltered the lights from crackling bolts of lightning and miasma without. The miasma was turbulent, writhing as if in pain and the electricity crackled against the sphere, shrieking. The sphere was being held up by a pedestal, with its lower half having been broken. However it still held the sphere up, dutifully in spite of the lightning and miasma's raging. The two were locked in a never-ending conflict, with neither side losing or gaining against the other. Whenever the lightning struck, the motes of light within the sphere would dance together in unison and reverberate in harmony. The continuous cycle of cacophony and symphony.

But to the outside world, she was still there. A girl with fair skin like white sand and hair like fire, sitting by the wayside, dreaming. 

Ah, Iria. The place was like her second home, though much more crowded than her little home in Nisshoki. In the crowd there was a short figure ducking and darting about saying: "Excuse me! Coming through! Ow, sorry about that!" Holding onto her hat, Myouga used her wand to make a path through the sea of tall people. Being short really was a bother at times, particularly right now. It was rush hour and the crowds would keep getting worse until everyone was home. She frowned when she was back at the mage college's gates again. "Aww…all that work and I just went in a big circle. When are the enchanters gonna make flying carpets for sale?"

Pouting she sat down on a bench to rest her feet. She could buy a magic broomstick, but those weren't comfortable to sit on and hard to steer. The flying clouds weren't much better and were way beyond what she wanted to spend for a glorified floating chair. She could try to enchant a cushion with levitation, but it wasn't like she could do that at home or here at the college ever since they banned her from coming within ten feet of magical reagents. "They really should make them, I mean how hard is it to buy half a hundred rugs from Abed? With those the college wouldn't need to worry about funding. Such a great business opportunity too…"

Myouga had finished all the business she had with the college, and there wasn't any paperwork left to do since she went on extended leave. Not many people were requesting classes on dead languages nowadays, and since she couldn't teach hands-on classes anymore that left her with almost nothing to do. After visiting the same museums and collectors every month she was getting bored. There weren't any new groundbreaking discoveries from what she'd heard, and there weren't any crises to solve. Leaning back against the back of the bench she swung her legs impatiently. "Uuuugh, I'm so bored."

While lounging about she spotted a girl sitting nearby, sleeping while sitting up. Huh, that was weird. Was she waiting for somebody? Hopping off the bench she skittered over and slowly waved her hand in front of her. When she did not react, Myouga stood beside her and blew in her ear. "Hey, hey! Are you sleeping? Blink once for yes and twice for no."

Gale had been drifting off into a deep slumber when she heard a faint voice ringing beside her ears. Nearly slumping over as her head had drooped down, she returned to consciousness and sleepily rubbed her eyes. "…Hmm? Yes? What is it you wish to ask of me?" Before her was what she thought to be a girl around her age, in a white dress wearing a hat that reminded her of a fluffy pillow. The girl backed away and did a little dance shifting from one foot to the other. Her hair was like charcoal, and short. Even shorter than her's. She also seemed to be holding a stick of some sort, as she waved it about like a baton. 

Looking around it seemed she had only dozed off for a few minutes. She had still yet to meet anyone from the college who could help her find her mentor and her way back home. Was this girl in white a student? Perhaps she could ask. "Do you know where I should go should I need to find someone? I am looking for them, but I know not where they are. Here, he looks like this." She pulled out the drawing she had made of Master Rashaad and opened it, showing it to the girl. "He is taller than me by three heads or more, and his skin is darkened like the color of my boots."

When the girl awoke, she took her time shaking the sleep from her eyes. Was it that comfortable to sleep here? Personally Myouga would've liked it better with a large pillow or blanket, but everybody's idea of comfort was different. She tilted her head from one side to another as she inspected the visual depiction of a man in his late thirties or early forties. "Hm…looking for someone are you? I think I can help you with that. I've never seen this person before but I know the best way to find them. Come with me! She might still be open, but if we wait too long she'll go home for the day." With a hop, skip, and a jump she waved for the red-haired girl to follow.

Asking around and bothering the city watch would get them nowhere. That was why she was taking her to somebody who knew how to find anyone right away, if they weren't in an area where magic would suffer interference. "This way, this way!" She called over her shoulder as she strode down the streets. From afar she saw the bright magenta and purple of a small tent with a yellow crescent moon on the entrance curtain. Hopefully Mishva was still there, or else they would have to come back tomorrow morning. Stopping in front of the diviner's tent, she turned around and spread out her arms and presented it to her companion. "Ta-da! Here it is! Let's go see if Mishva is still inside. For new customers, the first time is free."

Gale followed the girl in white, down winding streets and alleys. Where were they going? She wanted to ask but decided to wait until they got there. Would she finally meet someone who knew where Master Rashaad was? These questions and more passed through her mind as they came upon a brightly colored tent. She had seen such tents before back home in Karkhata and knew unmistakably it belonged to a fortune-teller. Although one may assume that she would be familiar with such folk, in truth dream-walkers and fortune-tellers had little in common. While diviners looked to bones, cards, or talismans for their guidance–dream-walkers merely interpreted the truth they saw within people's hearts. They were oft easily confused together, but distinctly different. Gale did not hold any animosity towards practitioners of the craft, however. She was only here to ask for help.

As her new friend beckoned her to enter, she pulled the curtain aside and ducked her head below the strings of beads hanging behind it. The heavy fragrance of incense saturated the room with a smoky vapor as the edges of the tent's interior were lined with various exotically patterned cushions and throws. There was a low table in the middle and a veiled woman with a bowl of water before her. This woman likely used that bowl as a scrying device. Gale had heard of such diviners, but they were rare. She gave a bow out of courtesy to Mishva, and took a seat beside the girl in white on the rugs. "If I may be so bold, could you search for my master?" She gave the woman her drawing of Master Rashaad as reference. "I hope this will be enough to allow you to find him. This is all that I have, I am afraid." 

Myouga plopped down onto the rugs and made herself at home. Mishva's tent was cozy, but the incense reminded her of those sticks burned at shrines back in Ataiyo. The diviner was an Abedi woman, dressed in a colorful sari of red and saffron and a matching red veil. Her hair was a rich brown and golden bangles hung from her arms. "Welcome, welcome. You wish to ask me to scry for a friend, I see." Taking the drawing, Mishva's bright amber eyes studied it carefully. "Can you do it Mishva? Normally you ask for one of the person's possessions or a lock of hair." Myouga asked her, wondering if it would work. 

"It will be more difficult, yes–but not impossible. Should the attempt succeed, it will show me where this man is in the world. Allow me to begin." Mishva took a handful of powder and sprinkled it into the scrying  bowl. Upon coming in contact with the water it dissolved, turning it a murky purple. The diviner then sprinkled a glittering dust over the mixture and began to work her magic. The colored water swirled and shimmered like a glowing whirlpool and began to change. It took on hues of pinks and blues, and then settled. Though it was not apparent due to her veil, Mishva was puzzled. She stirred the water slowly with her index finger and waited for the ripples to ebb away. Myouga sensed something was off and asked her friend. "What's wrong? Did it work?"

Mishva shook her head. "This is the first time my scrying bowl has shown nothing. Even if the person were to be in the nine circles of Infernos it would at least show something there. I'm afraid I am as confused as you are." Myouga rested her head on her chin and thought a bit. "Say, where're you from miss? I forgot to ask for your name earlier, silly me." The girl who had come with her said that her name was Gale, and was from a place called 'Karkhata'. Myouga had never head of the name before, but she then had an idea. "Oh I see! Why didn't I think of it before? You're an other-worlder aren't you? I bet that's why Mishva couldn't find your master. Wherever you came from, he's probably still back there. So that'd explain why he didn't show up in Mishva's scrying."

This was exciting news! The arcanist had never met an other-worlder before. She'd heard tales of how people from other realms and dimensions would suddenly appear out of nowhere in Revaliir, but it seemed to be a one-way trip. Eager to get an interview of the girl's experiences, Myouga scooted closer with her eyes shining. "So, where'd you appear when you first came to Revaliir? Oh that's the name of this world by the way. You probably came from somewhere else if you heard about Iria."

At the news, Gale was both worried and relieved. Master Rashaad was safe, but she was still here in a strange land among strange people. She did not have much time to contemplate her situation as the white-garbed girl who had brought her to the water diviner was peppering her with questions. The world she was in was called Revaliir, which had two continents. They were surrounded by a sea called Nyella, and the city she was in was called Iria. These were the things she knew so far, and they had been committed to memory. In response to the first question, she started from the beginning.

"When I first opened my eyes I was in a place called Sularia. It was warm, and temperate like Karkhata but boasted more opulence and vegetation. I wandered there for a while, and met a new friend who helped me come here across the sea in a flying ship. He said if I needed help in finding my master, I should come here. We parted ways, and I found the gates of a great building and waited. Then, you found me." Folding her hands, she had finished telling all that she knew of her time here so far. The other girl seemed satisfied with her answer, but looked eager to ask more. However she did not press Gale further for more as she was given a disapproving look by Mishva. "Ooh that's amazing! Incredible, spectacular! I bet riding on that airship was really fun, right? I can only imagine what the view was from that height! Maybe one of these days I'll go fly in one myself. Sure it's not as fast as using a gateway, but it's on my list! Gotta try it at least once in my life!" 

Nodding in agreement, Gale inquired politely: "Is there anything else you wish to ask of me?" The girl tilted her head to the side as she thought, and then shook her head. "Nope. That's it. No good being too nosy anyway." she said looking at the diviner out of the corner of her eye. "Sooo, what do you want to do now? Have any places you want to go? There's lots of neat places to visit all over Parvpora. That's the continent we're on right now, but you probably knew that already." Gale pondered the question for a while, then gave her answer. "…I'm sorry, but no particular place seems to come to mind. Perhaps it will come to me as I go along. Thank you two, for all that you have done for me. My heart is now at ease knowing Master Rashaad is in a safe place. Although I cannot tell him now, I wish to let him know I too am in safe hands." She bowed to them, as she stood up from her seat. 

As Gale thanked both her and Mishva, Myouga nodded in return. "If you ever want to go food sampling or need any help, you're always welcome to find me at the mage's college here or my house in Ataiyo. And if I'm not at my office here, just leave a note with the prefects and they'll forward it to me. Stay safe!" A bit disappointed that she wouldn't get the chance to show the girl around her favorite snack stands, Myouga waved as the girl left the tent. "She's a nice kid. I bet her parents raised her well. It's so rare to find people so polite like that these days." "Speak for yourself." Mishva retorted. "You're not exactly one to talk, you know." Clinging to the diviner's arm Myouga squirmed as she whined, "Aww Misha~ How can you say that? Aren't we frieeends?" She often called her friend that whenever she wanted to convince her to do something, and sometimes it worked.

The diviner turned her head to the side looking away. "Don't even think about trying that on me, Myouga. Contrary to how you look, I know I'm the younger one out of both of us here." Seeing that she was getting nowhere, the arcanist relented and bid her friend good night leaving the diviner to close up shop. Wit h the streets mostly cleared out, Myouga cast a spell, creating a magical gateway sending her back to her home in Nisshoki. Maybe one day she would get her enchanted carpet. But until then, using portals to travel would suffice.