Chapter 6
This simple Levitation Spell made the little girl float slightly. However, Xerath picked her up directly and when they walked out the door, she said, "You can go and see my collection. I'll go dress her up."
Virgil whistled. The collection in the archmage's house would not be inferior even compared to a dragon's hoard, let alone the scroll that Xerath sold to him at a discounted price.
"If you're bored, you can go outside for a walk. But the storm usually calms down at midnight. If you want to sleep first, you can go back to your room by yourself."
"Oh, I really gave you a fun toy."
"Virgil," said the archmage with gray eyes, "I spent the money."
Virgil shrugged and raised his hands.
Wizards usually liked to add rooms to the top of their mage tower. Xerath's room required climbing five more floors. She carried the feather-light little girl back to her own room, with Hyectra following behind. Hyectra asked, "My lady, should I prepare a scroll for the Holy Light spell?"
Xerath thought for a moment and said, "I think she might just be too hungry."
"Then she needs some liquid food, what do you think, my lady?"
Xerath nodded and placed her on her wide bed, then paced restlessly in front of her wardrobe.
"Hyectra, are my childhood clothes still here?"
Hyectra floated over and opened a hidden door next to the wardrobe. "I kept them all as you never said to throw them away."
Behind the hidden door was a storage room, with neatly arranged boxes on shelves. The craftsmanship had a distinct dwarven style.
There were dates written on the boxes. She pulled out the oldest box and said, "Hyectra is indeed the most reliable butler… Thank you."
"It's my honor to serve you, madam. Do you need any help?"
Xerath threw a piece of clothing on him, it was a shirt, so old that even Hyectra would start to miss it.
"Madam, you were only ten years old back then."
"Yes, it was the first time I summoned you," Xerath found a pair of linen-colored pants from the box. It seemed that there was still a tie pressed at the bottom of the box, but Xerath thought about it and put it back.
She closed the box, waved her hand, and the box flew back to the shelf on its own. The secret door closed behind her. As she passed by Hyectra, she took all the clothes off him.
The little girl was still asleep. Her body, washed by the water elemental, was not as dirty, but she was wearing either animal skins or tangled strips of cloth. Xerath lightly flicked her fingers twice, and invisible wind blades cut open the only connection of the clothes on her shoulder. She pulled with force, and the bundle of patched fabric on her body was ripped off.
The joints were bony but still strong. There were some old scars on her body, some large and some long. Xerath held her in her arms and slowly dressed her in her own old clothes.
"Madam, it fits quite well."
Xerath gently squeezed her hand and whispered, "Unbelievable, she's so soft and fragile, yet she can cause such large-scale elemental chaos."
Hyectra gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and said warmly, "You too."
Holding the tiny child, she leaned against the bedside, lost in memories. Occasionally, she would chat with her loyal water elemental about things from the past, all of which were old, yellowed stories, at least a decade old.
Suddenly, she felt the child in her arms move. Xerath held her tightly, raising a hand to cover her mouth. The child struggled, and Xerath whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid, no one wants to hurt you."
Perhaps it was her calm voice that gained the girl's trust, or perhaps it was the abundant surrounding elements that made her feel safe. She stopped struggling and let out a soft whimper.
"My name is Xerath, can you tell me your name?"
The child didn't answer.
"This is my home, Aimekotes, Elemental Gate. Do you like it here? Do you like the elements?"
Her eyes looked up at the water elemental, a gentle giant who smiled kindly at her.
The two of them were now closely snuggled together, and this little one felt soft and warm. The touch of this person, who only existed in memory, made Xerath smile and say, "I'll take you to dinner later."
The water elemental kindly reminded her, "Miss, maybe she doesn't speak the common language."
"Maybe," Xerath switched to a language popular among the Southwest tribes, but the girl didn't seem to react.
Considering her ability to call upon elements, Xerath cautiously switched to a language deeply connected to spells - the Setis language.
Unfortunately, she still seemed unable to understand.
Xerath gave up trying to communicate with her. The little one nestled in her arms, and the two of them quietly faced each other. Outside the window, a huge storm raged, with lightning trying to strike the mage tower but being blocked by a wind barrier surrounding it. Xerath watched with interest for a while, then suddenly spoke, "I remember, I remember you."
Her voice was slightly hoarse, so the gentleman in deep blue quickly gave her a water ball, which she ate without hesitation.
"Can you speak? Do you understand the common language, hmm?"
Xerath felt the girl nod.
"Good child." She was not good at communicating with people and had very little experience with children, so she had to let everything fall silent again.
Fortunately, the girl continued speaking, "That person, once caught, me, you, at that time, there."
"That person? Who? Virgil?" Xerath let go of her and made a gesture as if shooting a bow and arrow. She felt the child nod.
"No, I wasn't there, I've been in the mage tower, here all along."
"No, you, at that time, you, shouted them away."
"Them? What are they?"
"Wind." She thought for a moment and added, "Same as just now."
It had been a long time since she had spoken, with long pauses between words, as if she was thinking about how to say them. The word "wind" that she used was not the commonly used "wind" in the common language, but the root word for "wind" in the ancient Saiti language. In many complex spells related to elemental magic, 'wind' was a commonly used word.
"'Wind,' very good, you can say 'wind.'" Xerath guessed that she sensed the command attached to the scroll's spell. The effects of scroll spells were no different from casting spells themselves, and advanced mages could even recognize the identity of the writer from the spell's effects. It was astonishing that this child, at such a young age, was so sensitive.
"Wind," "earth," "water." She spoke in the ancient Saiti language, using these enchanting words to make the water elementals around her restless. Hyectra grabbed a water sphere that suddenly appeared in the air, preventing them from becoming aggressive due to their uprising.
"Fire." As she spoke, a small fireball appeared in front of her. Xerath quickly waved her hand to freeze the fireball, causing a large amount of white fog to form when the ice and fire clashed. The fog enveloped them, but Xerath raised her hand to dissipate it.
She excitedly jumped up, but her actions caused some commotion that Xerath quickly settled with her magic. The source of the disturbance was in her arms, so she held the girl tightly and covered her mouth.
"Calm down."
The girl nodded obediently, quieting down and curling up in her arms.
