There were many events that led to this moment, but he liked to think that what truly pushed him here went far beyond his loyalty to Angela.  Despite the ups and downs the two had been through, he felt a love for her that was almost indescribable.  Many a time it felt like a betrayal to his own mother, and he hoped beyond hope that none of it ever had to do with the spite he couldn’t help but feel towards her.  He loved the woman, nothing would change that, and he’d forgiven her in time for the decades long lie she had kept, but a small childish part of him couldn’t let it go.
 
Feeling that flaw strengthened him, it made him feel similarity to how he had been while mortal and he clung to that.  Especially in times like this where one had to show true selflessness, it was nice to know that there was a contrast against it: proof that there was a part of him that was selfish to begin with.  If nothing else he owed it to Angela to help for all she had done for his wife, their healthy children. 
 
He had only seen the soul stream once, while Angela was trapped in her childlike body after he had believed her to be dead.  It was unimaginable, beautiful yet terrifying and while he was eager to help, he still felt reluctance at going towards such a powerful force.  Dalanesca grasped the other end, and he still didn’t trust the goddess after her outburst…But his love for Angela greatly outweighed his annoyance for Dal.
 
With that thought strong in his head, he stepped into the bath sized marble scrying pool in his throne room.  Once on the other side he dropped about ten feet…and then stopped all of a sudden.  Floating in midair he looked around him, seeing a world turned upside down.  Curious…And then it all came tumbling down; his body spun right-side up and he fell the rest of the distance down to soft purple grass.  Air escaped him with a groan and he rubbed the back of his head as he sat up on one elbow.
 
Not exactly how he had wanted to start off, but the pain was dulling quickly and he stood up.  Nothing here was like anything back in Revaliir: floating islands hovered around him, some greater than Tarishitar in size and his lips slowly parted.  If it weren’t such a terrible happening then he might have stayed to enjoy it, but he had a job to do.  A great mushroom could be seen in the distance, standing out against everything else…so obvious that it was either a trap or had a point. 
 
Jewel scaled fish swam in and out of his vision, splashing through waterfalls that dropped an impossible distance.  Even as he approached the edge of the island he was on, he felt instant vertigo from being unable to see the ground below.  Puffy clouds drifted beneath him, suggesting he was higher up than he had previously thought. 
 
This was more unsettling than he had expected, but there was no time to waste.   How to get to the mushroom…Gate travel likely wouldn’t work the same way here, a place that was seemingly made of nonsense, and he trusted light travel even less.  Hopefully he would be able to focus in on something close enough to be able to reach it.  For now, all he could do was walk.

Lucielle had enjoyed her time in the temple of light. She had attempted to pronounce it time again, and was generally greeted with a smile or annoyance at her failed attempt. The God Naota always smiled. He was gracious. Patient. A true deity of light. His light, however, was what she enjoyed most. It was something that reminded her of her past… well the echoes of the emotions of her past. He felt like family member that she had known as a child, and is now meeting as adult; a link bonding two people but no real history. 

In her time at the temple, she had gotten used to areas, and had wandered through every corner that she had been allowed to explore. It was truly grandiose. Today, however, was different. As she was making her normal route through the crystalline grounds, she happened upon the deity of light. Had she the capability, she would have smiled at his visage despite the fleeting nature of such and expression. She was unsure of what he was doing today, or if any followers had laid claim to his time, so she decided not to intrude. 

She stepped away, with every intention of returning to the neutral grounds, but before her eyes moved away from the god, he disappeared. Not in the blinking flourishes of his normal magick, but something different; a strange foreign magick. Worry touched her as a soft glow began to surround her. What had happened to the deity of light?

She moved towards his thrown room, an intrusion that she would not undertake under any other circumstance, and rested her palms on the rims of his scrying bowl. The water shimmered in ways that she had never seen and somehow, it made her uneasy; yet intrigued. There was a power coming from the reflection that she had not felt before. Perhaps there was something there worth seeing? Perhaps there was a power that she could see on the other side.

Slowly, calculatingly, she dipped her fingers into the water. The water was not wet as she expected, but breezy. This was a spell of travel. Or at least something similar. The magick didn't feel as though it had come from a deity, but no ordinary denizen of Revaliir could generate something like this. 

She pressed deeper into the pool and before she knew it, she was tumbling into a world of new adventures. Her thoughts slipped to her past. A tumble that felt eerily similar to this. A fall that left a great deal more pain. A new world to emplore, whether she liked it or not. 

A light glow of protection surrounded her as she finally entered the realm that awaited her through the looking glass. She was met with a swirl of azure hues and a breeze that held no real originating direction. She moving through the air at an alarming pace, but had somehow moved in such a way that she was able to land on her feet with little effort. 

Her eyes moved from one direction to the next; taking in the frighteningly foreign landscapes that now surrounded her. Gigantic islands with roaring rivers. Foreign clouds and vibrations of spirit. And she thought Revaliir was strange.

She moved forward slowly, feeling as though there was something in the air that she needed to be aware of. She was certain that the northern light had come here as well, but she had no way of tracking him. If she had started her journey from the same surface that he had, surely he could not be that far away. Right?

"Lord Naota?" she said flatly, her tone betraying her concern. "Are you here?"

After only making it to the other edge of the island, he sensed a familiar presence.  Pausing, he looked around him.  Everything seemed peaceful, as much as it could be anyways for a place so bizarre.  Still he couldn’t shake it, and started to walk back the way he had come, though much slower and with a more careful eye.  This went beyond feeling out light, this was his own light or at least it was someone or something carrying it on them like a fading perfume.  And then he heard the familiar monotone voice of Lucielle.  How the…?  His steps picked up and soon she came into view.
 
She looked as she always did, but seeing as it had only been a couple of minutes and she was on the same landing he had come on it all led to one conclusion: she had followed him through his scrying tub in his throne room.  He wasn’t upset, though he was extremely surprised at such a bold move.  Then again this was Lucielle and boundaries and common practice were both things she was still learning.  Still, her respect for him proved to be great so far, so he doubted going into his throne room alone was a regular occurrence.  No matter how many times he told her it was permitted.
 
He stopped just short of her and sighed, “Lucielle, what are you doing here?”  The little ball of light was strong no doubt, but this wasn’t something he would have wanted to drag her into.  He wasn’t an egotistical person, but there was no hiding that she was here because of him.  “This is venturing into Angela’s soul stream, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unfamiliar to it…”  True that he himself had only been in its presence one time before, but one visit was better than none at all. 
 
He looked away from her, his eyes seeking out some way for her to go back the way she had come, or at least a way for them to get away from his particular island, “To be honest I’m not all that sure how to get back, but since you’re here we should try to get away from this island.”  He rose an arm up, pointing to the enormous mushroom in the distance,
 
“My sights are set on that, right now I’m walking the perimeter.  Come with me…”  It was less a command and more of an urging request as he started back towards the edge he had been at previously.  He wanted to make it to one of the rivers that fell over the side, water always led to somewhere after all.  This place was made of nonsense but there had to be a rhythm to it and he was keen on finding it.

For a moment, she could have sworn that he was displeased with her; the normal internal glow that made the northern light dimming for a fraction of a second. Something stirred within her. Something foreign. Something people of this realm called emotion. She wasn’t a fan. She felt guilty for making his light dim, and for a moment, her own shone brighter in this realization. 

”You disappeared. And though I realize that you are more than capable of handling yourself in battle situations, I felt it was appropriate to follow. I apologize if this causes you any ill will.” She spoke rapidly, having kept track of the god’s words as he explained the direness of the situation and the danger that was this land. Any other person, as that is the closest term she could think of to describe everyone in this scenario, would have moved forward and tried to draw attention away from their blunder. But she thought it was important to own up to her mistakes. If for no other reason than to show that she was learning.

She stepped forward; her neck craning in the direction that the God motioned. It was a huge mushroom. Larger than anything she could remember seeing. Her eyes stayed on the mushroom as she ran over every possibility that would have caused the fungi to gain so much height before finally deciding it was magick and not worth the brain power she was investing to figure it out.

”Besides its stature, is there something special about that mushroom, or are we going to be using this to keep track of how we are moving?”

She truly believed that both options were valid. Using a large object as a point of direct on the horizon was a tactic that she had used a hundred times during her travels in this land. However, it was just as possible that the mushroom in the distance held some sort of mystical property. 

She knew she would follow him regardless of the answer. The fact was that he felt like her family, and even though she would be slain far before he would even be touched, she felt it necessary to accompany him. It was an odd sort of inclination. She imagined it was something close to the reasoning behind children standing in front of their parents for defense. If someone is important to you, no matter the reason, you feel the need to protect them; even if that’s not something that you are readily able to do.

”Either way, let’s be on our way. If I have forced my presence upon you, I would rather not be a hindrance.”

His eyes softened as he began to walk and lead her, “Your presence certainly doesn’t cause me ill will as you put it.  I just worry…We should be fine though, so far I’ve met no threats, but with us being in the same realm as the enemy I’m sure this peace won’t last.”  His eyes looked out, searching for any sign of anything that could aid them in making it to the giant mushroom.  It was strange for him to be using walking as his primary mode of transportation during such a time sensitive situation, but with how topsy turvy everything here was, he didn’t trust his body to come apart and come back together in the right order.  Maybe in an emergency should the need arise, but that would be a last resort.

“I’m hoping there’s actual use to it beyond that of a landmark, but the silver lining is that it can be used to keep our directions straight if that’s all it’s good for.”  He paused, thinking for a moment before continuing, “Nothing that obvious means nothing in a place like this.  Best case scenario it helps further us, worst case it’s a trap.”  His tone was casual, he knew the risks that came from entering here and was ready for them.  As they walked the perimeter his eyes narrowed.  Something was in the distance, butting up against the grass.

“What is that…?”  He spoke to no one really before quickening his pace, having to physically restrain himself from flickering closer.  They drew nearer and his eyes lit up, literally: “A boat…It’s a bit on the nose for a ‘soul stream’, but we take what we can get…”  Perhaps it was an aid left by Angela for anyone that decided to help her: it wasn’t floating away like everything else here after all, as if in wait.  He untied Torinasu from his hip and held it out, gently nudging the edge of the boat, but all it did was sway from the touch.

“All right then…”  He pondered it a few seconds longer before stepping in, expecting to feel the dip that came with a usual vessel on water, but it stayed at its elevation.  Somehow that made it even more disorienting, “I don’t trust my light travel at the moment, this seems like the quickest way…”  Which was saying something for him: to admit to someone that presently he felt any lack in his ability towards light.  Honesty would keep them alive.

It was a relief to know that the god did not resent her for her actions, but she could not help but to rededicate her thoughts and actions to his will; a habit that had stayed with her from her last life. He moved with certainty though it seemed that even the god was somewhat disoriented by this land. It was interesting to see him move as a mortal; somehow endearing. It reminded Lucielle that at some point in his life, he had been mortal. It was a reassuring thought.

”Lord Naota, I have never travelled by boat. Is there a skill or—“ She stopped short as the god stepped into the vessel. It didn’t dip like the boats she had seen in the past, in fact it almost behaved under the limitations of a land vessel. Things were becoming rapidly more out of the ordinary; even for a realm as well versed as this one.

The god spoke of his worry about his light magick in this realm; pulling the girl from her thoughts. Though her face had little change, Lucielle found herself worried. How could someone as powerful as Naota worry about the way that the environment could impact his command of light? Perhaps this soul stream of which the gods spoke, and the land that grew around it, was did not act or exist like a normal liquid.

For the first time, she allowed herself to look into the stream and was instantly encompassed in thought. There was something about the water that was extraordinary. Not only was it beautiful to the eye, it radiated a kind of power that she had not felt before. Something akin to the gods, but somehow individual.

”Is the stream safe to touch?’ She stepped into the boat with ease; her reservations about the vessel a distant memory in the wake of this water. She wondered if it was cold. The water in the scrying bowl had been cold for a moment when she passed into this realm. Was that the same water? She had been so panicked about seeing her god vanish that she had paid little mind to the circumstances of her transport.

She turned her head to meet the god’s and awaited his permission. It was an odd feature of her personality, but this realm was not meant for her, and somehow having the permission of a god, that is able to traverse any land he pleases, made her feel less invasive.