I released a slow breath, feeling every muscle and tendon in my body as well as I could control the tips of my fingers, and turned to face the others. Mom and Bernar were both standing there with their jaws wide open, while Ysevel's eyes were widened to their fullest extent with a bright smile on her face.
Kanarin, however, seemed shaken.
"T-Thoma," she stammered, taking a half-step back, which caught me off-guard. "W-What? Did I fail the test?" I asked, already fearing the worst. Thankfully, Kanarin shook her head and scoffed in surprise.
"N-No, not at all. I was just surprised you managed to cause a ripple in the dome itself. I have only ever seen that happen a handful of times by the hands of some of the top students in the Academy," she replied, staring up at the dome momentarily before returning her attention to me.
That's a good thing, right? I wondered silently as she examined the dome's ceiling.
She huffed once and shook her head again, blinking once or twice as she did so. "Impressed as I may be, I hereby welcome you as a graduate of Polarion Academy, Dauthridem," she said the title with a smirk, prompting me to well with a sense of confusion and pride simultaneously.
"Thank you, Director Kanarin," I bowed humbly before turning to face the others. Bernar rushed over to me and threw his arm over my shoulder to tousle my hair. "That was genuinely impressive. I can't believe you nearly tore through the dome. Where the fu-... I mean, where were you keeping all that power during your fight with Mediator?" He corrected himself, while the others were forced to stifle their laughter.
"Heh, I wish I knew, honestly. I feel like Mediator would have been proud to see that, too, but I still don't think it was as impressive as Ysevel's breath attack. Where did you learn that, anyway?" I asked her, but she raised a finger to her lips. "A woman never reveals her secrets," she said with a wry grin.
Until you read through my memories, that is, she sent me with a chuckle just before sending me mental images of Mediator teaching her how to do it.
I felt my eyes go wide in pure shock at the sheer density that move required. And you managed to do it on your first try? I asked, still reeling from the surprise. Mediator told me that anger and rage can be powerful tools when used correctly, she shrugged, nearly making me chuckle.
I suppose they are, I thought, recalling all the times where I'd been forced to use them over the years.
Before I could think about it any further, Kanarin gestured for us to gather before her while Vauv worked the dome's controls. She'd brought our armor from storage and quickly put up a few walls of mana, which provided us a bit of privacy to get changed.
"Now that you have all passed your final exam, there is one final thing to discuss that Ryfon mentioned," she began, while the rest of us continued to don our armor.
"Instead of Caegwen, I will need one or perhaps two of you to return to Vareluth. Erumon has determined the Thran who reside there are growing increasingly agitated, but he could not determine the source without alarming the Eyes," she said with a slight hint of worry beginning to grow on her face.
That makes sense, since we still don't know who to trust with them, Mom sent, getting a nod of agreement from all of us, including Kanarin.
"We could have asked the others who are already present in the realm to go, but they have yet to conclude their training since their dome isn't as efficient now that the barrier surrounding that realm is gone," she sighed, knowing that the choices were limited at best.
Ysevel immediately turned to look at me and gave me a nod. "Go with Bernar. I'll see to my parents with Siraye and do what I can while we're there," she said, already making the decision for us. I opened my mouth to give her a rebuttal, but she held her hand up and shook her head after having read my feelings on the matter.
"I know what you're going to say, but the risks of all or none of us going are almost equally as bad. We'll be fine, but we know the Thran's capabilities. We cannot afford to risk Tason'Gare, especially not while the others have yet to complete their training," she began, taking a step closer to me while Bernar pulled away.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" I asked with a sigh. "Of course. Ryfon said my father was already in recovery, but with my mother focusing on his and Anwill's recovery, I need to do my duties as Princess of Caegwen, after all," she said, leaving me no room to argue.
Thoma, her logic is sound. I'll be sure to protect her if anything happens, so you two can do what needs to be done without needing to worry about us, Mom sent me with a nod, which was confirmed by one from Ysevel as well.
"Just promise me you'll be careful," I sighed, knowing she was right. "Of course we will, but we all need to go now if we're to stop anything else from happening," Ysevel said, offering the others a glance as well.
"Here, you will need these to get back to Kavrass once you've completed your mission there," Kanarin said, offering Bernar and I two coin-like tokens roughly the size of my palm. "Thank you, Kanarin, but how do we use them?" Bernar asked before I could.
"Think of where you need to go and imbue the coin with mana. Just ensure that you hold it a short distance away from you when you do so, much like how we do with our portals," she explained briefly.
Well, at least we have one each, I thought, having never had the opportunity to use such an advanced piece of Polarion's technology.
"Now, then. I will open a portal to return you both to Caegwen. Thoma, try to create a portal to where this Tason'Gare is located, since you have a much better understanding of it than Bernar might," Kanarin said with a gesture.
Straight into the fire, huh? I thought as I held the image I had of Kalia's home in my mind.
I imbued the token as instructed and held it out in front of me. Just as Kanarin said, it created a portal just about three meters away from me, with my Wraith mana circulating its edges.
"We'll be back with the others as soon as possible, my love," I said, pulling Ysevel to me and giving her a kiss. "I know, but be careful; we don't know what Mideia might be plotting. I love you," she said, pulling me back to steal one last kiss before turning to follow Mom to their portal.
"I love you more," I said, just before Bernar stepped forward. "We'll be fine! Stop being so mushy, you two. See you in a little while," he said with a wave, trying to lighten the mood. I caught a glimpse of Ysevel's smile before we stepped through our portals.
However, instead of the usual infinite pathways and stars lining the Twilight Sea, we were immediately brought to the top of a mountain that overlooked Tason'Gare, catching me by surprise.
"Hah! That was much better than using one of Ardrin's," I noted as I surveyed my surroundings and put the token into a pouch. "Uh, Thoma?" Bernar asked with a curled eyebrow as the portal closed behind him.
"Y-Yeah?" I asked with visible confusion. "You realize we're still a bit far from Tason'Gare, right?" he asked, pointing out in its direction. "Oh, I know," I said, walking past him and looking over the far edge of the small cliff we were on. The Vexing orb in the sky only provided about as much as a full moon's worth of light, but with my enhanced vision, I could see everything as clear as day.
Trees that were once dead were just starting to grow leaves, loosely reminding me of the tail end of a long winter, while the creatures that roamed the land still kept to their preferred regions of activity. The rivers and streams were still riddled with bodies, but the draft coming up from the mountainside was nowhere near as foul as it could have been.
I continued my search for any indication of the Thran that eventually led me to notice a large cloud of ashen dust being kicked up a few kilometers away. The bulk of the dust cloud was hidden behind a long chain of smaller mountains and hills, but it was still large enough to notice it.
I based the trail of the cloud's trajectory on knowledge I'd gotten from Kalia regarding the largest Thran city, if it could even be called that, and knew that it could only mean one thing.
Just in time, I thought to myself.
"So, then what are we doing up here?" Bernar asked, the sound of his voice indicating that he had gotten a bit closer. "That's what we're here to prevent," I replied, pointing out to where I was looking, prompting him to follow my extended finger. "Oooh?" he asked, allowing a wolfish grin to shine on his face.
"Let's go pay them a little visit, shall we?" I asked with a wry grin.