It was…two, probably close to three weeks after I unlocked all of this magic stuff that I had gained the ability to kind of shift myself between that form with the horns, blue skin and everything to how I usually look and opening/closing the doorways between the city and Pearlbay, both of which gave me a bit of confidence to go out to explore Pearlbay myself.

              I walked down the pier of the city, the surf much rougher and harsher than how I’ve seen it before, the large rocks and stones do serve well to break up the waves, there were all sorts of strange looking buildings that boggled my mind in terms of…there was no possible way they should physically be standing, disregarding the floating ones, I’m talking about ones that were full pyramids, but balanced on their top point, full spheres, donut shapes or ones that were in shapes that the concrete, steel and glass they were made of shouldn’t allow. Far ahead of me, the looming, elegant monolith of Harmony Gate glowed in scintillating pearly light that softly pulsed and flashed with other colors and tones. My boots were quiet on the concrete slabs below them as I folded my hands in the pockets of my cardigan, the air was crisp and cool, not enough to make one’s breath show, but maybe it’s just because of that weird magic I have that makes that cloud hang out above me, my breath did show and quite heavily too. The afternoon sky this miasma of color that I could only describe as if a pot of watercolors tipped over: oranges, reds, corals, pinks, yellows and colors that the sky shouldn’t be like greens, purples and metallic tones that rippled like auroras and the sun loomed high and bright, the warm light felt…missing or lacking on my skin almost.

              The pier curved as it swirled along and around the coast, it expanded and shifted as it opened into an exceptionally large circular park: the sprawling gray pavers adorned with uneven, organic shaped planters and patches of colorful flowers, low shrubs and tall reaching trees with expansive canopies, a massive fountain central of…a massive, coiled serpent. I walked over into the park instead of continuing along the coast, as I grew closer…the stone of the serpent almost seemed to shift as if the serpent breathed, but it was just adjusting and shifting around the massive crystal sphere that served as the fountain’s core, the serpent at least ten or so feet thick and if the serpent was extended, at least a few dozen or so yards long; the massive clover shaped basin filled with softly gurgling water with large lilies resting on its surface with lowly glowing white, pink and orange tinted blooms. The gray stone of the statue was adorned with golds, silvers and other metallic tones, studded with pearls, sea glass and various precious stones with glowing yellow stones as its eyes.

              “Varga” I whispered as I turned the corner to face the serpent, also obvious by the large gold plaque mounted on the front of the hip high basin wall, off the huge head of the statue were these almost coral branching antlers of solid pearl, a massive diamond shaped pearl was set in the center of the forehead and as the water gurgled out of the sphere and over the stone, it seemed to softly shimmer in tones of blues, greens and blacks. It was a gorgeous fountain, but I couldn’t help, but take note of the collection of shells that lined across the top of the basin walls. It reminded me of…offerings, like how people leave coins or small trinkets or food on the bases of statues of guardian statues or shrines. There was text along the wall that was in a script I couldn’t read nor was it any form of character I recognized.

              “I see why you offer you protection to this place” I whispered as I looked up to the statue, knowing it wasn’t him nor would the statue answer anything. “Pearlbay is…it’s amazing, I’m glad to be part of it” I added as I nodded softly before starting to walk again.

              I breathed deeply as the sea air was fresh and clear in my lungs, each breath feeling my lungs and body with a clarity that the low-tide scented air of the city just never seemed to carry, it was nice…how a city this thick and this large could still have the sea smell so fresh and so untainted. I looked up as still above me, maybe thirty-fifty feet above me…lingered that cloud, as I walked through other paths or routes it would follow me, it got closer as I walked outside till it had reached that point, but I think it was growing closer still.

              The loud buzz of something made me look up as twenty-thirty-foot-long dragonflies serving as a ride-share of some-kind darted between and around buildings as people were seated on their backs. Across the choppy surf were all sorts of boating vessels, people with all sorts of wings or other forms of locomotion moving about the city with ease, there was almost a sheer…lack of traffic sounds like cars: there was an absence to car sounds that made the city’s size and density feel more palpable because of how people are out in droves: trollies were far, far more numerous than in the city, buses were magical creatures and from what I could tell…the sheer bulk of people used every other type of movement possible: walking, flying, teleporting or whatever else they could use. There were even canals that people of aquatic races swam through that dipped in and out through buildings foundations.

              “The school should be this way, right?” I heard a voice ask, a bit louder than I was expecting as I saw two figures appear from between two buildings, looking…very, very lost and by how they were dressed and acting, newer to Pearlbay too, not in terms of new to magic, but new to the city and based on what I could tell by their voices, how they were acting and things of that sort, maybe newer to the US as well: staring down at their phones, looking entirely lost with their eyes never landing somewhere as if they were looking for landmarks or something to give them a clue to where they were. The fact that they were looking for the school, which based on how they looked, they could only mean Mystic.

              The first person I saw was a more petite woman, ivory skin with some sparce freckling, soft features with a slight animal-like shape to certain aspects like her nose and mouth by the bow of her upper lip, a shoulder length black bob with an elongated pair of…rabbit ears atop her head ending in big white puffs, matching white cotton tail and rabbit legs that faded to black, dressed in a ruffled white skirt, a tucked in white blouse with a pale pink sweater overtop with a string of pearls and a bow around her throat, a white heart shaped crossbody bag and very slight makeup.

              The second figure was a more me-sized man with very warm tanned skin with a large pair of feathery wings off his back that were a burnt orange/red color that faded to pure copper as the flight feathers, rather lion like legs and clawed hands, a long peacock like tail in bright red, burnt orange, bright green, gold and cobalt, a long black lion’s mane of hair, cat like features with neon green/yellow eyes with slit pupils and as he spoke, shockingly sharp teeth. He was dressed in just an incredibly open dark purple shirt tucked into higher waisted black trousers cut above his ankle, every inch of skin covered in gold jewelry and a black bag resting on his hip with his paw like hands wrapped around the strap.

              I thought a little before smiling softly, I was still going to be my usual person at Mystic, but I can’t help myself when I see someone in trouble or something, plus…a friend or two would probably be good for me, regardless of the magic, a magical friend would probably be the best good for me at the time.

              “I’m sorry, are you looking for the Arcane Institute of Mystic Raven?” I asked walking over