In response to Dala's enthusiasm Siris gave a small smile. After being trapped in a nightmarish realm in isolation for ages, seeing her excitement at riding a flying sword brought back old memories. Shiloh opened a portal back to Kwama, and soon they began a gentle ascent into the skies. Above the great city upon the beetle, the weather was clear without a cloud in sight. The temperature was cooler the higher they rose but Siris kept them low enough to stay well below the cloud layer. From their current height, the plains below stretched as far as the eye could see.

The giant beetle looked the size of a normal one from up here, and everything else was so tiny. It was a panoramic view from the perspective of a bird. Siris took care to fly slowly, taking in the sights. Ages ago he wouldn't have thought much of something like this, but now there was a newfound appreciation for what he once took for granted. To the morthwest the colorful Welayta mountain range stood out from the light golden plains and rivers ran across the land like lines on a map. The increase in density of foliage marked Mamjaku in the east and the Tuareg Sea was a deep blue beyond it.

For most of his life as a human, he had only seen the valley where the Solstice Temple now remained. His life had been dedicated to training, memorizing, and meditating over ancient texts. Once the valley became cut off in the advent of the great calamity, little had changed. If it hadn't been for Shiloh, he would still be trapped beneath that crimson sky for eternity. There was a sense of irony that he would remember the simpler things in life due to the influence of a rather secular deity, but fate worked in mysterious ways. 

"Are you still feeling alright?" He asked Dala, looking behind. Although he didn't see Shiloh anywhere he was sure she would keep her word on keeping an eye on them. "It's been a long time since I've controlled a flying sword with a passenger."

For a moment Dala was a little nervous, though she'd never admit it. She had flown before on a dragon but this was just a sword with very little walking room. However, the woman was able to focus on the sights instead and quickly forgot about her impending doom if she lost her balance. The sky was so big and empty, looking vastly different without a giant reptile to block her view. Her eyes tried to capture everything as she carefully looked at the beautiful scenery below her. There wasn't a cloud in sight and the blue sky was endless. Dala couldn't help but smile like a big idiot as she saw the giant beetle turn into a tiny beetle as the flew higher. Then she spotted the gorgeous Welayta mountains that sprawled across the land, decorated in blue rivers and golden plains. 

"The mountains look so cool!" She exclaimed, "Oh and there's where Mamjaku starts! Is that the Tuareg Sea?! There's a flock of birds… wait that's normal."

The thrill of such a flight raced with her mind as she looked everywhere she could. There wasn't a sight she wanted to miss, after all she wouldn't get another chance to see the skies without some massive mount blocking her view. It was like flying with wings but with a sword! In her opinion a flying sword was always cooler than a pair of boring old wings. The freedom of flying was something she didn't appreciate as much, rather seeing it as a form of transportation. Was this how birds and dragons felt? 

"Yes! This is amazing!" Dala responded to Siris, "Thanks. You've no idea how much I love this." 

Maybe she would have to make her own sword someday? When she wasn't busy with taking care of the village or working on her own adventures. Dala watched as they passed through the air and across the lands, noticing how small the world looked from this high up. She also wondered what other crazy inventions Siris would come up with. If he was anything like miss Shiloh, he would create many things at the determent of his health. 

"I'll make one suggestion. Try flying at night and see if you can touch the stars." Dala said with a goofy smile, "I know its probably impossible but never hurts to try, right?" 

For any normal person this would be a metaphor, for Dala who knew nothing about the practicality of flight, it was literal. 

Shiloh was still watching them from a distance through a remotely controlled flying spider drone, however she wasn't close enough to pick up what they were saying. Siris and Dala soon circled back towards Kwama as he saw how excited she was at everything. "I'm glad to hear that. If you'd like, I could try making a flying sword for you. Oh, but I suppose I'd have to teach you how to properly control it first." He had a feeling that Shiloh would immediately deny him from making another flying sword so soon, and he did realize he was putting the cart before the horse. "Doing so might take some time however." He added, to remind that it wasn't as simple as he had made it look. Dala's next words caught Siris completely off guard with a thought that had never occurred to him. On the surface it appeared to be a childish fantasy like jumping onto a cloud, but in its own way it was also profound. 

Never once had he thought of trying to touch the stars. Others would have laughed it off knowing such a thing was impossible, but Siris had never considered it. "I suppose so…" After a long pause, he answered. "I'll keep that in mind and attempt to do so sometime." Those words also seemed like something Shiloh would say judging from what he knew from his time with her. For humans and most creatures, flying was nothing more than a fantasy. Flight was not something that came naturally, and so achieving such heights through the use of tools or magic made it seem like a miracle. 

Those simple cantrips that adepts saw as trivial in the eyes of others were viewed as something otherworldly and divine. Even flying slowly on what he considered a less than third-rate spiritual weapon brought so much joy and wonder to Dala's face. He recalled the times he and Shiloh had argued over philosophy, how she would challenge his views on enlightenment and transcendence. If he hadn't spent his entire life as an ascetic among others with similar beliefs, would he see the world as she did? Their flight drew to a close as he gradually lowered their elevation until they came to hover a foot above the ground in a wide open field on the outskirts of Kwama. 

Siris offered to make another sword and Dala thought for a moment about it. Although she would love one of her own, she also didn't want to make Shiloh pull out her hair in stress over prices. Maybe one day in the future, when Shiloh's finances have recovered. Dala was glad that Siris didn't laugh off her suggestion. She knew it was a bit silly and one of those things that only a child would think of but during her travels she found that keeping her inner child alive was a good way to keep the world as fun and interesting, instead of dark and depressing. So she would ask these questions and simply hope the listener wouldn't laugh her off. Luckily, Siris seemed to take her request seriously. 

Eventually their trip had to end and they began lowering back down through the sky towards the beetle city. They were a foot off the ground but Dala stayed on until they got closer to the city, not wanting to walk the entire trip back. Once they were a bit closer she hopped off the sword. Part of her wished to go with them and see what they would be up to next but she had her own responsibilities. Those sheep dogs still needed to get bought, if they were still open, and the village would grow worried if she was away for too long. Responsibility was severely overrated. 

"Thanks for the trip!" She said to Siris, "That was awesome. I can't believe you get to do this kind of thing all the time!" 

It was probably for the best that she didn't have time or resources to make flying swords, else she'd get an arsenal. Revaliir would never recover. Dala grabbed a small map from her pocket and handed it over to him. The map was of the Bohar Plains but a horribly drawn hut was in the hills area where the rivers flowed. The name above the drawn house read *Cardawen*.

"It's the village I'm in charge of. The pebbles you guys bought earlier came from the nearby rivers. If you want, you guys are free to come visit any time." Dala said to both Siris and Shiloh. 

He had kept his promise, the flight had been safe and Dala was unharmed. Looking over the hand drawn map, Siris memorized the details and planned to compare them with another reference later. "Cardawen, so that's its name; I'll be sure to remember. Perhaps the surrounding area might have notable accumulations of elemental aura." He was curious to study the environment in detail in hopes of understanding the cause for the formation of those low grade aura crystals. Typically the higher quality crystals would condense in areas normally untouched by human settlement. There also was the fact that areas with high elemental aura were unfit for ordinary people to live in unless they possessed innate resilience or affinity. The same could be said of animal populations as well. He waved goodbye as she headed off. "Perhaps we'll met again soon."

He had more than enough time, especially since time was all he had. As Shiloh reappeared he put away the spiritual blade into his storage box while the deity opened up a portal back to the storm-struck valley in Parvpora. The two didn't say anything once they were back in the stark-white halls of Antikythera. The silence was awkward, but Shiloh and he went their separate ways. Unless it was deemed necessary, she didn't speak much and it was something he hadn't gotten used to. Whenever it seemed she was just a person of few words, he would see how fluently she handled strangers with a smile that felt somewhat too real. Siris assumed she wasn't a bad person, but often he was left wondering sbout what he did know. She was reclusive, until she wasn't. She was terse, until she wasn't. It was as if she was a walking contradiction. 

With a sigh, he went to the small library that Shiloh had put together for her staff's recreational use and found a current copy of a world map. He could simply fly around until he found Cardawen, but it'd be best to narrow down the search area first.

With an enthusiastic wave goodbye, Dala ran off to go finish the rest of her chores that the village originally sent her for. The girl ran to the stall with the sheep dogs and made it just before the stall closed up shop. The two dogs jumped up and down with excitement as the stall lady counted the coins. The price was exactly right. The lady begrudgingly handed over the dogs and gave Dala a quick set of instructions on how to control the dogs. Travelling with sheep dogs was surprisingly easier than traveling with the cows or the sheep they had brought to Cardawen. The journey was cut considerably shorter when she asked someone to send her home via a portal. After a few more days she finally arrived home with the dogs in tow. The villagers were very happy at her victory though they complained about the time it took. After the lecture, Dala gave the young boy the leftover silver as his payment for the stones. Everybody seemed to be satisfied. Except for Dala who had to do some makeup paperwork from the extra travel days she took.