At dawn, Ruisu, the massive crimson-scaled dragon, awaited them at the edge of Pyrespire. His wings stretched nearly seventy meters across, flames licking his spine as if alive.
Sandora wore her ceremonial travel dress—white with volcanic orange trim. Yuwen had armed himself with dual daggers and scrolls of foreign dialects.
> "You're sure Iskyn speaks an entirely different tongue?" Qingsai asked.
Yuwen snorted. "You think fire was hard? Try understanding merfolk sarcasm."
As they soared over the continent of Furnastra, the molten lands gave way to oceans of clouds. Ruisu's great wings thundered against the sky as they left the Land of Fire behind.
They crossed over the Heartsea, a massive spiritual ocean where light shimmered in six colors. Qingsai meditated midflight, feeling the shift in spirit currents. His fire whispered in restraint as the water spirits stirred ahead.
> "Lucentia quiets. Naira wakes," Yulanis murmured in his soul.
By twilight, the air cooled. The ocean below darkened to deep blues and silvers. On the horizon appeared the glimmering reefs and mist-wrapped towers of Iskyn, capital city of the water nation—Corathal Reef-Court.