With Flea's help, Zarya better understood how his magic worked beyond what she had learned to copy. There was a subtle change to the spell with each form, not unlike the changing the order of letters to make new words. It didn't take long for Zarya to learn the shape of the runes that made the difference between Flea's human forms and his Daemon forms. With that knowledge in mind, she set to work etching the runes into the stones, using tools she had taken from the ruins.
As she carefully etched the symbols into the stone, Zarya hummed along to her music box that Oren had made for her. Humming helped her focus on her work. Finally, she finished the set of stones. Meanwhile Flea watched silently, wondering if Zarya would succeed.
Hopeful of her work, Zarya handed one of the stones to Flea and asked him to 'change back', so she could be sure the spell worked on an non-enchanted person. Flea frowned at the idea of assuming his true appearance but he knew it was necessary to ensure Zarya's efforts would work.
After shifting back to his original appearance, Flea asked Zarya for the next step. Zarya told him to rub the stone on his hand. Flea felt like such a step seemed too simple but he obliged. The familiar chilling sensation of his shapeshifting washed over him and Flea looked down to see his form seemed to be unchanged. Before he could say anything, Zarya handed him his mirror.
His dusty-rose hair was now reddish-black and his ears were rounded, just like a human's would be. Opening his mouth to examine his teeth, Flea noted the lack of fangs. His eyes were still a dark maroon color, perhaps dark brown in the right lighting. The stone, however, had kept him female in appearance.
"Change back the same way," Zarya declared.
Flea nodded and rubbed the stone again. The shadowy magic of his spell washed over him and he was back to his original form. He handed the stone back to Zarya and accepted a second stone she abruptly offered.
"This is so Yemi can be a Daemon too," Zarya explained.
Flea eyed the stone. He was skeptical that it would change his appearance much since he was already a Daemon but he had promised Zarya he'd give her experiment a try. As it was with the first stone, Flea felt the effects of his spell and it seemed as if he was unchanged. A quick check in the mirror showed a form similar to the human one but with dark crimson hair, pointed ears, and wine-red eyes.
After undoing the enchantment of the stone, Flea shifted back to his preferred appearance. He smiled at Zarya who was flapping her hands excitedly and bouncing in place.
"Feeling proud of yourself, huh?" he asked with a slight grin.
Zarya nodded affirmatively. Flea smiled but was quick to remind Zarya that they still needed to make sure the stones would work for Yemoja. Zarya nodded. Flea had a point but the fact the stones worked for him gave her hope.
~o~O~o~
Zarya could barely contain her excitement when Yemoja was able to visit. She wasted no time fetching the stones and bringing them to Yemoja. Before Yemoja could ask, Zarya explained the function of the stones, showing Yemoja the runes on each stone and practically shoving them into her hands.
"Just like Ylenia, Umbria and Flea," she declared proudly.
Yemoja smiled. Looking at the etched gemstones in her hands, she asked, "And if I want to be myself?"
"Rub the stone you used again," Zarya answered. "Off and on. Really easy."
Yemoja let out a breath. Her heart was racing with anticipation and fear as she looked at the blue stones in her hands. Zarya seemed confident that her efforts would work. Flea voiced that the stones had worked for him, but his assurances did little to ease Yemoja's nervousness. She held the stones in her hands for what felt like forever before she offered a silent prayer to the Great Fire and rubbed one of the gemstones between her finger and thumb.
She shivered as the magic took hold. It felt like she was standing in the middle of a winter night. Then, she felt a gentle breeze, but it was different. She felt a hand gently take hers into theirs and she opened her eyes to see Zarya beaming brightly.
"How does Yemi feel?" Zarya asked.
Looking down at her hands, Yemoja was speechless as she looked at the rich brown colored skin that replaced her white fur. Turning her arm slightly, Yemoja could see paler splotches on her skin that mirrored where the spots on her arms would be. She reached up to touch her own face. It was strange not to feel fur or whiskers. Even her ears felt foreign to her, now simple rounded ears like Zarya had once possessed.
Flea stepped forward and offered her his mirror. Yemoja cautiously took it into her hand and lifted up to see her face. Her eyes were still cyan-blue, but her face was the same color as her arms and dappled with more pale splotches that mirrored where her spots would be. Her hair was black, peppered and streaked snowy-white, still plaited in braids.
Yemoja let out a soft chuckle and lowered the mirror. She smiled and said, "It feels strange… Almost unreal."
The moment of truth. Yemoja closed her eyes and rubbed the rune on its surface once more to dispel the enchantment. She felt a the same cold sensation came over her and when Yemoja opened her eyes, she was back to her true self.
Yemoja nearly dropped the stones as Zarya leapt to hug her, proud that her efforts had worked and happy for Yemoja. Then she asked Yemoja to try the other stone. Yemoja found having pointed ears and being Daemon as strange as being human. The subtle difference of the Daemon form was that her hair and skin-tone had a cooler hue to them, but was otherwise identical.
Changing back to her true form once more, Yemoja thanked Zarya for the gifts. Zarya happily declared that Yemoja was welcome before remarking that they needed a way to carry the stones so Yemoja didn't drop them. Yemoja examined the small blue gems and smiled. She assured Zarya she might have a solution to the problem before handing them back and asking Zarya to keep them safe for the time being.
~o~O~o~
While Zarya waited for Yemoja's next visit, she turned her focus back on the original reason she had set out to learn enchantments. Now that she had figured out what it took to enchant a stone with a specific spell, she had a better idea of how to approach her problem of creating a sword summoning spell.
As it was with the shield enchantment, any attempt to draw the runes in the air caused the magic to disperse and the spell to fail. Zarya realized that it wasn't as simple as commanding the magic to 'make a sword' or summon the one she already owned. The rune for sword was too vague to work on its own.
Zarya knew she would have no choice but to use the stones that remained. She read through the handful of Melchior's books once more in search of a solution. Clearly there was something she had missed before.
It would be a couple weeks after Esen's departure when Zarya found a solution. After reading the books again, she found a paragraph on infusing metal with dreamstone to strengthen an enchantment on an object. She looked over at the small collection of dreamstones. Some were too small to use for enchantments on their own but maybe if she crushed them into a powder, the combined amount would be enough.
The next morning, Zarya set to work creating a forge. Flea emerged from his room to see her arranging stones in a pile and asked her what she was doing, noting they already had a hearth in the kitchen and fireplaces in their rooms.
"I'm making a forge," Zarya answered.
Flea eyed the pile of rocks and asked Zarya why she was making a forge. Zarya replied that it was for her sword and that she didn't want to bother the smith in town.
"Do you know anything about blacksmithing?" Flea asked, still skeptical of Zarya's actions.
Zarya nodded. She happily declared that her 'Papa Taban' and her mom knew about using a forge and that she had watched them use one from a safe distance before. She added that she had read 'Grandpa Mel's books' and that he was also a blacksmith so she trusted his advice.
"I feel like watching someone do something or reading about it is a bit different from actually doing it yourself," Flea remarked. "Your grandfathers and your mom have had years of experience…"
"Grandpa Mel is a family friend," Zarya declared in that tone that told Flea she was reciting a sentence taught to her.
"My point still stands," Flea retorted.
Zarya nodded, but continued in her task. She understood enough that a forge was basically a very hot fire that could melt metal. She didn't want the sword to melt but if she could heat it up the blade until it glowed, she could mix in some powdered dreamstone and infuse the metal with the stone's properties. Or at least that's what Melchior's book said.
Once the forge was created, Flea asked Zarya what her plan was. Zarya told Flea she was going to add dreamstone to the blade.
"Aren't you going to need blacksmithing tools, like a hammer or something?" Flea asked. He had no idea how blacksmithing worked beyond hitting hot metal with a hammer.
Zarya opened a bundle to reveal some tarnished blacksmithing tools before clarifying she found them in the ruins before Flea could question if she had 'borrowed' them from town. Flea watched as Zarya slipped on some leather gloves and apron. When he commented that he was surprised leather had lasted in the ruins, Zarya cheerfully declared she had borrowed those items from town.
"I'll return them when I'm done," she said reassuringly.
Flea thought to scold Zarya for 'borrowing' the local blacksmith's belongings but he knew this was his doing. He had been the one to tell her that stealing when needed was okay, so it was no wonder that Zarya had followed his example. So instead of lecturing Zarya about not stealing, he smirked and told her he'd remind her to return them later.
~o~O~o~
To Zarya's credit, she had made a decent forge. Having already engraved the runes into the blade, she heated the sword in the glowing embers and stones until it was white-hot. She took the mortar filled with powdered unrefined dreamstone and dusted the blade with the fine red dust. The dust melted and filled in the grooves of the etching Zarya had done to the blade.
As she focused on her goal of creating a stone that would summon her sword, Zarya focused on letting her own magic flow from her into the sword and into the refined dreamstone she held in her hand against the hilt. She wasn't sure what would happen, but she made it her current dream to make this enchantment, to make the gemstone summon her sword just like her father's shield. If she could invent an enchantment, she knew that she would open the Gate.
The stone began to feel warm, like sunshine on her skin during a hot summer's day. The stone and the blade began to glow, softly at first but it quickly became blinding. Flea and Zarya had to close their eyes to shield them from the light coming from the gemstone. When the light faded away, Flea was the first to open his eyes.
"Where did the sword go?" Flea asked. All he saw in Zarya's hand was the blue stone, etched with runes.
Zarya opened her eyes and stared at the blue stone in her hand. There was a warmth to the stone and she felt a sort of tingling sensation, not unlike the warm and tingling feeling of her dad's shield when she held her fingers just above the gem's surface.
Curious if she had succeeded, Zarya gave the stone a quick swipe as she would with her father's bracer. A trail of white fire and shadows that almost looked like a bird emerged from the stone and manifested the sword in her hand. It looked different from before, its blade was now more like the sabre that Esen used, yet its guard and hilt remained in the same style although it appeared the metal and fabric had changed in color. Zarya examined the sword closely and noticed the guard of the blade was now a white gold-like metal, embossed with stars whereas it had been previously been more brass-like and embossed with swallows. The hilt's grip was now more of a deep purple rather than a burgundy-red as well.
Flea jumped back as Zarya began bouncing in place and accidentally waving her sword around, overcome with joy that she had succeeded. Zarya swiped the stone again and the sword vanished into the trail of white fire and shadows which was drawn back into the stone. Resuming her bouncing and happy sounds, Zarya proudly declared, "I did it!"
Zarya repeated the words several times, elated that she had created such a special enchantment. Her joyous thoughts turned to Esen and how-
She stopped bouncing and gazed sadly at the gemstone. Flea noticed her expression had suddenly softened, looking almost pensive, and asked her what was wrong.
"Esen would've loved to see this…"
Flea sighed, sharing the somber mood with Zarya, and nodded. He smiled weakly and said, "Yeah… He would've loved this..."
Clearing his throat, he asked Zarya what she had planned next. Zarya looked at the stone in her hand. She didn't want to have it loose in her pockets or have to carry the stone in her hand to summon the blade. She knew she would need to make another bracer and voiced this to Flea who told her he had no idea how to make such a thing.
"Maybe Roshan?" Zarya asked.
Flea shook his head and replied, "His family makes beer and ciders… but maybe he knows who can help in town."
Zarya nodded. She took off the apron and gloves before declaring she was going to return the items and go ask Roshan for help. Before Flea could say anything, Zarya had already teleported away.
Flea let out a sigh and followed Zarya. After all, it had been a while since they had visited Umbria and Roshan.
