Editing Eldramin (section)

== Chapter 9 ==
''Fannara''

I was right. We had completely forgotten what was happening the next day. ''Field trip''. After a few weeks of looking into different theories about the Eldra and all related to it, Dr. Kortsus had announced we would be going to, “Tthe Cave of Burning Waters,””, whatever that meant. 

Half-awake and with a roaring headache, I stumbled through my classes leading up to History of Eldran magic. I was going to miss the Healing Forum and a literature class because of this field trip; I was hoping it would be worth it. 

As I trudged down the hallway to the room where our history class met, Ari sprang on me, jumping and swatting my back with her hands. I yelped and swung around.

“What was that for?” My heart was beating faster than it had been after the nightmare. 

She began giggling uncontrollably. “To get your blood pumping!” I gave her a confused look until I realized what was going on.

“So either today’s the day you and Lindin were going to meet up, or you get really hyper when you’re sleep-deprived.”

“Correct on both points!” She bounced up and down in the hallway. This was weird. Ari cackled again and began dragging me to the classroom. Then she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. “I should get more coffee before we leave.” 

“''More''?! No wonder you’re going crazy,.” I sighed and took my turn dragging her to the room,. “If you drink any more, you’ll give me a migraine.”

“First off, I was already crazy, and second, fiiiiiine,.” Arienna groaned dramatically on the last word. 

I finally pulled her into the room and to her seat. She flopped into it and moaned. 

“Why were we up so late?”

I sat in my seat next to her and laid my head on the desk. “Lots of reasons.” 

Dr. Kortsus walked into the classroom right before a large crowd of boys entered. In her strange state of mind, Ari visibly grimaced at their entrance. She sat up in her chair and sighed again. 

“I’m going to fall asleep.” 

I laughed. “You were just bouncing in the hallway; how are you going to sleep?”

She gave me a very serious look. “Don’t underestimate my powers.” I snorted at that one. 

More people filled in and eventually the bell rang, officially marking the beginning of our "adventure" as our professor insisted on calling it. 

"Class," he began. "Today we are going on an important journey of knowledge. Today we will discover why so many believe the Eldra sits at the bottom of a lake. ''Today''," Dr. Kortsus paused for dramatic effect,. "We go on a field trip." He obviously knew how ridiculous he sounded, but he kept up the act and we played along. A few students let out dramatic gasps when he finished, quieting their giggles as he continued. 

"The transport is outside right now. First ones in line get the top floor!" A mad scramble for the door left me trapped in my seat as classmates stampeded each other for the seats. 

I didn't care. I wanted to sleep on the way there. 

I obviously never made it to the top floor of the bus. My legs groaned, or perhaps that was my stomach, in agony as I walked down the hallway. Once I had exited the building, I had to confront the massive bus which students had begun to file into. I had to settle for the bottom floor. I did so eagerly, sliding my feet into the seat and letting out a sigh. My head latched onto the window next to me. I felt someone talking to me, but I couldn’t figure out who or where it was coming from. For now, I immediately slumbered.

Half an hour of rest was what I needed, even if the ride to the mountain was bumpy.

I woke up towards the end of the trip. Light streaked past as the bus continued to move at speeds that were hard to comprehend. Having just woken up, my surroundings looked blurry before I finally closed and opened my eyes again. I felt the bus slowing down as the mountain was in sight. When I had finally finished waking up, the bus had already stopped in front of a small campsite. Ari began to freak out over how the surroundings looked. Now, I finally stepped out of the bus.

Fast-forward half an hour and we arrived at tThe mountain where the lake was supposedly located was impressive to look upon. I didn't see any rivers as I squinted up at the steep side of the mountain. But if it was magical, who knew. 

We were significantly closer to the Shifter border than we were in Elquar; not so much as to make me nervous, but it was noticeable. 

Instead of climbing up the mountain, or finding some other mode of transportation up the thing, Dr. Kortsus led us to a cave entrance. 

We followed him into the cave and collectively gasped. I was in awe. 

The cavern had a high ceiling, dotted with glowing crystals and bioluminescent plants. A waterfall similarly surrounded by light flowed from the corner behind the entrance down into the depths of the caves. The ground on which we stood was shockingly smooth and layered like a giant's staircase. 

The echoing of the cascading water didn't overpower our voices, it merely bubbled in the background. 

Dr. Kortsus led us into the lower areas of the cave. His voice echoed as he spoke. "When the first settlers arrived on Lathra IV, they made contact with the Shifters who warned them of this place, Falleng-Achat{insert cool sounding Shifter word} Burning Waters." He stopped walking and turned to look at us. "At this point, the water is perfectly safe." He walked over to the stream and stuck his hand in it, gesturing at us to do the same. 

It felt good, what I would consider the perfect temperature to swim in. We continued our walk. 

"The Shifters had steered clear of the mountain, claiming it was cursed with the Touch of HellFire. Now, this was a bit of an exaggeration on their end. The water isn't deadly, even farther down, just painful. No one knows for sure what it even does." Dr. Kortsus made a strange noise in the back of his throat. "Most experience a reddening of the area that makes contact with the water and sharp pain. It is one of the few known ailments that cannot be healed, not with Eldran magic at least." 

He looked back at me when he said the last part, and I could almost see what he was thinking. Would I, an Alithosi healer, be affected by the water? I wasn't sure I wanted to find out, but I had a feeling I would. 

We reached another large area of the cave where the Professor stopped. The stream that ran from the beginning of the cave collected here in a large pond (pool?).

Something far below the water was glowing brightly, but differently than the crystals and plants from earlier. There was something...off about it. It was rather warm this far into the cave. 

Dr. Kortsus fanned out his arms at the water. "Go ahead, try it. I know you want to, and it won't harm you, it'll just hurt." That felt like an oxymoron, and slightly off-settling. 

Ari, who was standing next to me, just shrugged and started walking to where the stone we stood on met the water. 

I looked at her, rather bewildered. "You're just going to touch it?" 

"Why not?" The ride had mellowed her up a bit, but this felt like a bit much. 

"I think that anything described as being 'touched by HellFire' should be avoided." 

She sighed. " Well, yeah, but when are you ever going to have a chance like this again?" 

I was about to respond when Dr. Kortsus resumed his lesson. A few of the more gutsy people had already stuck their fingers in and gotten them...burned? 

"Some believe the water burns because the glowing down there is in fact, the Eldra, and the water is so full of raw magic that our bodies cannot handle it. Others believe similarly, but that the water burns to protect the Eldra. A few think the water's just cursed and stay clear, but we're going to focus on the Eldra aspect." 

With that, Ari pulled me with her to the water, whispering, "That's why we're going to do this, because you might be in close contact with another race's magic source, and that's just cool." She stuck her index finger in and quickly pulled it out, giving a little yelp as it began turning red. 

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. But I complied with my friend's whims. Neither of us was Eldran, so if one of us did it because of that fact, the other had to as well. 

I carefully stuck my pinky in the water, bracing for a shock of pain. It didn't come. Someone gasped. I furrowed my brow and stuck more of my hand in, moving it through the water to see if I had missed something. Nothing happened.

I turned to Ari and shrugged. "I guess Alithosi magic just works differently." Most of the class was staring at me at this point, making me rather uncomfortable. I began pulling my hand out when the pain suddenly came, clear and sharp like a wrong note. 

I let out a small yell and yanked my hand the rest of the way out of the water. The tips of all the fingers on my left hand were turning red. 

From the back of the group I could just barely hear someone say, "I guess it doesn't." Moren. 

I growled and stood up, dragging my right hand up my left, healing away the redness. More gasps came from surrounding classmates. I ignored them.

“Well, class, we-we should keep going,” stammered Dr. Kortsus. We followed him silently out of the cave. I kept my eyes locked on the ground, but could still feel the eyes on me. Then the whispering started.