The Runic Artist Chapter 21: Chapter 339 - Risen Tide

Read chapter 21 of The Runic Artist by Ellake on NovelPedia.

Chapter 339 - Risen Tide The gentle swirl of water, loud screams of adulation, and shimmering shower of petals captivated Nate as the boat drifted down one of the waterways of the home world of the Eternal River Sect. After returning from the newly reclaimed Deep Blue, The Eternal River Sect had decided to fete the members of the Risen Sun Sect, largely driven by Lady Ocean’s regard as the world she was born on rejoined the fold. Standing next to Nate, the blue-haired, elven woman waved to the crowds gathered along the side of, and floating within, the water way. She was receiving just as much celebration from the denizens of the Eternal River as Nate and Kiri. Kiri stood at the front of the ship, wearing blue and green leather pants with a loose white blouse. Nate was still working on fixing her armour, the Severing Concept that had cut it in half still lingering in the black dragon scales, likely drawn towards them as Nate thought Severing could be viewed as a part of the Destruction Concept. Nate just hoped it was the last they had seen of the Severing Blade Sect. His sister waved back to the crowds, a wreath made of a sweet smelling purple seaweed decorating her head. Nate smiled at the sight, happy to see that his sister was being recognised as a hero by these people. A long time wish being fulfilled for her. As for himself, he was less comfortable being the centre of attention but was putting up with it for the sake of Kiri more than he was doing it for Lady Ocean. In light of that difference, he had opted to make his Regalia a white and yellow robe, in honour of Luci and the Risen Sun Sect. The little dragonling had been banned from participating by Ankh’aris for some reason, along with the rest of the Risen Sun members who were being put through rigorous training to progress their development of a Divine Vessel. “What do you think of our fair city?” asked Lady Ocean as she continued to wave to the crowds. Nate took the time to fully appreciate his surroundings before answering. Islandic, the name of the Capital City of the Eternal River Sect home world, was built for breadth, not height. Buildings capped out at ten stories, and even those were few and far between. Instead, the entire city floated in the middle of an inland sea, with mountains and islands off in the distance. The floating city was connected by thousands of walkways at varying heights, with waterways running between them, and Nate could sense an enchantment within the heart of the city that controlled the weather. The buildings themselves were as varied in material as they were in colour. Wood stood next to stone only to be supplanted by coral and other more exotic materials dredged up from the deep or collected from the lands in the distance. The cacophony should have appeared disjointed and chaotic. Instead, the merging and swirl of colours and materials had a kind of rustic beauty to it. Coupled with the salt air, gentle winds, and slapping sound of lapping water, it combined to make for a picturesque city. One that Nate could have easily seen himself living in, with plenty of inspiration for art and creation on display at every corner. The people that lived in Islandic were as varied as the architecture and materials. Humans, dwarves, elves, blue goblins, and orcs moved alongside mer who seemed to make their homes beneath the city, like some kind of inverted world. Among the sea dwellers were octopod-like beings that shared similarities with both fish and octopi. There were also crocadillians, harkainians (which were some kind of humanoid shark) and then a smattering of less frequent but often far weirder denizens. “It is a cacophony of colours and shapes. I love it,” admitted Nate quietly as he smiled at a group of orcs who hooted and hollered when they noticed his attention. “It seems the city loves you back. Though, how could they not? You’re a hero to them, to us. The slayer of Khar’a’kan, the Terror of the Deep. They’ve lived in fear of him comi