The ancient sentient spring of the Brati
Ardyn exhaled deeply as she finished her soul talk with Varric. Before she even opened her eyes, three soft melodies began to softly whisper. The whispers grew into an intense, deep harmony.
They were Ardyn's Songs of Breath, Calm, and Nature.
They wrapped around each other, braiding into an intricate harmony of healing. The harmony quickly moved over to Atina and calmly engulfed her. Ardyn's songs, along with the healing tonic that Atina took, quickly healed Atina.
Atina calmly watched as her arm began to regenerate. The pain did not faze her much, but the complexity of the magic moved her to a deep inner awe. No emotion could be seen on Atina's face.
Ardyn opened her eyes as the resonance of her song changed – telling her its work was done – and nodded in satisfaction when she saw Atina's healed arm.
Atina stretched her arm and fingers, rotating her arm around – testing the new limb with quiet admiration. She nodded with satisfaction and looked to Ardyn. She bowed deeply.
"Thank you, My Lady."
Ardyn looked off into the distant mountain range—the Savoie Mountains—as if she were listening to someone speaking to her. She smiled gently.
"Atina, you are my sister. How can I face our teacher if I don't help you to my fullest capability? Come, the Spring is calling to me." She frowned. "I think I need to get closer to fully hear what is being said."
Atina nodded. "Your power is growing rapidly, but maybe this is your current limit. As your power grows, the range of your perceptions will grow as well."
They moved quickly, being led by a song coming from deep within the Savoie Mountains. Ardyn paused as they passed a barrier. It was a barrier of sound, magic, and nature, and it resonated within her being. An inner barrier was broken, and the voice came through crystal clear.
"Please. Help me. Help me. Hear me."
It was a soft, sweet song of pleading pain. Tears welled up in Ardyn's eyes as she listened and felt the song. She nodded as information streamed into her being, and she almost simultaneously understood it all.
"I hear you. I am coming." Without a word to Atina, Ardyn flew forth, using her vine staff, understanding she was hearing the spring and that it was a sentient being named Salina.
Ardyn now understood the details of the separation and that both Salina and the Brati are dying due to it. Ardyn stopped deep within the Savoie.
She dove down into the mountain chain and found a cave system. Salina's song seemed to blare within Ardyn like a booming woofer pressed to her back.
Ardyn and Atina moved – without hesitation – into the cave system. The smell of minerals and deep woods washed over them as they reached an immense cavern. A large, deep spring, the color of golden amber, sat placidly in a deep depression within the cavern.
As the two warriors neared the spring, a beautiful being materialized before them. Her entire being was muted blues; her soft blue hair flowed into her silky, blue, flowing robes, and her pale blue skin seemed to shine like mineral ore veins in ancient rock.
Salina bowed to both Ardyn and Atina as they lightly landed before her.
"Empress of Sidus Serpens." Ardyn was startled by the title, an odd, trilling sensation flowed through her being.
"Thank you for coming." Emotion filled Salina's voice, and Ardyn pursed her lips and frowned. She bowed to the ancient being but didn't speak a word; she immediately began to understand what needed to be done.
She meticulously searched for a way back to Bratinus.
Below Salina's calm amber waters, she found an odd cave system that sang to her soul. Ardyn's Calm and Protection Songs encompassed her and then moved forward into the system. Her Nature Song detected that the system was not natural but made by an ancient being long gone.
Ardyn nodded. Her songs were telling her she would need to use this system to return to Bratinus. But she didn't understand how.
Ardyn looked to Salina. "You will need to trust me, My Lady."
"You are the child of my sibling. I trust all that you are and that you do."
Ardyn smiled. "Atina, please stand guard. I need to cast my song down this cave system to understand where we are to go." Atina answered by fading from sight and casting her vast Shadow magic throughout the cavern.
Ardyn closed her eyes and reached out to Varric. He was with her instantly, and their magic came together as if they had never been apart.
Together, they were going to find a way to connect Salina to Bratinus.