Chapter 11
Her clothes were torn and tattered, with small scars from being grazed by the wind blades. Her hair was filled with a lot of sand. She simply took off her obstructive robe and went back to the room, holding onto this ferocious little wild beast.
Aimekotes stood on the desolate Elemental Gate wasteland. This is the place where the boundary between the real world and the Elemental Realm is the weakest. The violent elements turned this place into a barren land. The wind barrier outside the mage tower never ceased, protecting the tower from erosion by sand. If the storm breaks through the wind barrier, it will look like how Xerath looks now.
Magic emanated from Xerath's fingertips, creating swirling vortex clouds out of thin air. She passed through them, and all the sand on her body was sucked into the clouds. Hyectra caught the sandball that settled at the bottom of the swirling clouds. The combination between them was good. The sand became a heavy ball after being moistened by water. Hyectra opened the door and threw it out. The sandball hit the wind wall and shattered.
After entering her own room, the archmage said to Hyectra, who followed behind her, "What a mess today. I actually forgot to use the Levitation Spell."
The gentleman with a deep blue aura smiled and a fountain sprouted from his head. This child was not light, and the archmage was so frail. Without the Levitation Spell, she actually managed to climb a flight of stairs.
However, she ultimately didn't use the Levitation Spell. She just sat back on the sofa, holding onto this little wild beast that she had finally managed to clean. The weather outside was still bad. Xerath gazed at the lead-gray clouds and murmured, "I thought Virgil would bring back a... a real beast or something."
"Yes, my lady, the cages were all ready. We were supposed to go buy the feed today."
"A beast... being locked up would be fine, but she... she's a person..."
"Madam, what do you plan to do?"
Xerath said uncertainly, "I think I should talk to her and get her consent."
Hyectra squinted his eyes, "Are you sure? I don't think she can speak well."
"I can explain."
Hyectra put away the fountain and whispered, "Although it's not good to judge others behind their backs, I still have to suggest this, madam. You can use some harmless tricks, like what Mr. Virgil usually does. Children often can't tell the difference and they unknowingly get deceived... Even if it's true, it might have been distorted in their minds. What do you think?"
"But I think it's not right. I will talk to her when she wakes up."
Hyectra shrugged his shoulders. His mistress was always so stubborn and naive. In Hyectra's many years of observing human society, children who had experienced the loss of a mother and confinement by non-humans almost always had dark thoughts, and time couldn't purify them. Although this child seemed intelligent and innocent, she was wild and untamable - and most importantly, she had the ability to turn Aimekotes upside down.
But Xerath held the child, leaning back against the bed, with a thick book floating in front of her, slowly turning the pages herself.
The weather outside was still dreadful, like someone had dropped ink into a glass of milk. The entire cloud layer quickly turned black, and large bolts of lightning began to leap between the clouds, like a rope entwining powerful cumulus clouds, only revealing its shape when the cumulus clouds tried to break free.
The loud sound kept hitting against Aimekotes' thick stone wall, but it was very quiet when it reached her ears.
The child in her arms moved again, and the books in front of Xerath fluttered like wings and fell onto the bedside table.
"Sylas, are you awake?" The archmage's voice was clear and gentle, yet steady. This rational voice has tamed countless wild elements, perhaps it would have a special effect on this little elemental envoy too. Hyectra was awakened by Xerath's voice, hopeful in her thoughts.
"Xerath, why won't you let me go outside?"
"It's dangerous outside. You'll be blown away, it will hurt, and you could die."
Sylas nodded vaguely, her eyes blinking as she looked out the window. With a thought, Xerath's fingers traced in the air, leaving behind a faint trace of magic. She drew something that looked like a feather, the seal of the Levitation Spell. If it were a lower-level mage, they would need both the seal and the incantation to work perfectly - just like writing clearly with each stroke at the beginning. But higher-level mages often omit one of them and still effortlessly cast spells.
The small child became light as a feather. Xerath carried her towards the window, looking outside through the glass. Sylas indeed pressed her entire body against the window.
Xerath made her sit on the windowsill and softly asked, "Do you also think the outside looks beautiful?"
Sylas nodded gently, saying, "It looks very beautiful, 'extremely fascinating'."
"'Extremely wonderful', who taught you to say that?"
Sylas turned around and said with a smile, "Mom." Xerath knew her mother was already dead, most likely killed by someone. Maybe the process wasn't very cruel because there was no hint of darkness in Sylas's smile, as if this thing had happened a long time ago. Xerath didn't know how to ask further. The archmage was not very good at dealing with others, at least when it came to the wizards there was no big problem communicating because they used the same language system. But when it came to children who could barely speak...
However, while she was lost in thought, Sylas stopped looking out the window and stared at her without blinking for a while. Xerath found it a bit strange and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me?"
"It's very pretty."
Xerath burst into laughter. Many people had praised her beauty before, some out of politeness, some trying to flatter her, some with hidden intentions, and some just wanting to strike up a conversation. But none of them were as pure and direct as Sylas.
The storm outside was also pretty, and so was Xerath. Sylas probably just thought they were both beautiful in a simple way.
The archmage didn't feel offended. Instead, he pointed to the storm outside and asked, "Is the outside prettier, or am I prettier?"
Sylas looked outside, then looked at her, then looked outside again, and then looked at her again. Slowly, she said, "Both, pretty." She pointed outside and said, "'Extremely wonderful'," then she pointed at Xerath and said, "'Extraordinary and unique'."
"I'm honored..." Xerath exclaimed in surprise, widening her eyes and murmuring in response. When she first saw Sylas, this child was as dirty as a beast living in a terrible condition. But this was already the second very elegant word that Xerath had heard Sylas use. She recalled herself at... 8 or 9 years old, or maybe 10 or 6, but she couldn't think of a situation where she would use these words voluntarily. What kind of family would teach these words to a child?
Sylas smiled cutely and seemed satisfied with her answer. Then she turned and quietly leaned against the window, watching outside.
