Ardi patted the old bay horse on the neck, checked to make sure his bedroll was securely tied to the saddle, and tightened the laces of his cloak. In the prairies and steppes, the most important thing was not to rely on the warmth of the sun and to ensure that you always had dry and warm clothing ready in advance.
"They should’ve been here by now," one of the mbers of the unit muttered nervously. Ardan hadn’t caught his na, and aside from his cross-eyed gaze, the man didn’t stand out from the group.
"Calm down," Yonatan said curtly, calmly rocking in his saddle. Unlike him and Gleb, everyone else had dismounted. "It’s been a week of rain. The ground is soaked, and the coaches are moving slower. We can wait."
For four hours now, they had been riding along the edge of the prairie. Just as Cassara had warned him, Yonatan was indeed obsessed with punctuality. You could practically set your clock by him. Every thirty minutes, he would reach into his pants pocket, pull out a watch on a long chain, click open the cover, and then jot sothing down in a travel notebook.
He was likely keeping a log. Or maybe a diary. Or perhaps...
Ardan shook his head. He was trying to occupy his mind, which felt starved after a month without puzzles or magical seals. And Gleb, who was riding annoyingly close to Ardi, was unlikely to loosen the bag with the prisoner’s books and staff that was tied to his saddle.
And so, the few belongings Ardan currently possessed consisted of two sets of seasonal clothing sewn for him by his mother and packed into saddlebags strapped to his horse, a leather travel cloak and a wide-brimd hat given to him by the unit — so he wouldn’t stand out, apparently — a pair of work boots that were still sturdy but would soon require so maintenance, a wallet with a handful of exes hidden in his boot, and an old work knife.
Around his neck hung a leather cord with Ergar’s fang and a small oak figurine on it, and on his wrist was a bracelet of black silk with white Sidhe runes woven into it. Whenever the sleeves of his jacket rode up, exposing Ardi’s wrist, he could feel Gleb’s watchful gaze on it.
In the past month, Ardan had exchanged at least a few words with every mber of the expedition. They were a diverse group, varying in age and even gender — besides Cassara, there were two other won in the unit — but they all shared one thing: a complete indifference to their prisoner/cargo. Only Gleb had shown Ardi open hostility mixed with sothing that could only be described as greed.
"Just hold on a little longer," Ardan whispered in the language of the beasts, stroking the horse’s mane. "Soon, we’ll be on our way, and you’ll be able to stretch your legs."
"Food," the bay horse replied, nibbling on grass and flowers. "Tasty. Calm. Run… run. No run, food!"
Ardi smiled. He wondered if he had sounded like that to others when he’d first tried speaking the Imperial language. Unfortunately, dostic animals didn’t quite understand the language of wild beasts. It was like speaking the sa language but different dialects. It sounded similar, but the details were hard to grasp.
Ardan double-checked that the girth was still tight and gave the stirrup strap a tug — if the seams split, it would be the most botherso part of the saddle to repair. And yet… he couldn’t resist and turned back to look.
There, to the north, rose the familiar mountains that tightly embraced his ho. Their mighty peaks lood like ancient warriors, guarding the life he had left behind. He’d known that this sight would awaken a mix of lancholy and longing in him, threatening to consu his soul entirely, but he still couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Once again, he was overwheld with deep regret for all the monts he had missed, for the tis he hadn’t hugged his mother or shared in his brother’s joy. These fleeting monts, flickering in the depths of his consciousness like the last glimrs of a dying star, had once seed like a given to him, but now they were the most precious things Ardan carried with him.
Suddenly, above the peaks, among the stately clouds, an eagle appeared, soaring effortlessly against the azure sky. Their eyes t, and the lord of the skies cried out, his call echoing through the air like a plea for Ardi to return to where he belonged. But Ardi only turned away and averted his gaze.
He couldn’t go back… Now his path lay onward, into the uncharted expanses of the prairies and steppes.
With a heavy heart, Ardi turned away from the mountains, and the weight of that simple, fleeting gesture settled on his shoulders like the yoke of a thousand sorrows. In that mont, he felt the very concept of "ho" dissolve into the realm of mories, becoming an elusive phantom.
The pain of realization hit him like a sledgehamr. Pure and unclouded, it spread through his chest, threatening to tear it apart. And yet, sowhere within that agony, a small cub that had once crawled over the rocks of Ergar’s cave in search of water let out a short, but fierce growl. A growl full of determination to carve out a new path and start a new life, even as the cherished mories of ho faded into the mist of days gone by.
Spurred on by these thoughts, he abruptly lifted his head and boldly t Gleb’s gaze.
The mage didn’t manage to look away in ti and couldn’t pretend that the mont was just a coincidence.
"What do you want?" He hissed through clenched teeth.
"?" Ardan pointed to himself. "Nothing. You’ve been glaring at like a wolf for a month, though."
At the ntion of wolves, the man grimaced and tightened his grip on the reins. Thanks to Cassara’s slip, Ardan had known he would react this way.
"Back off," Gleb snapped.
Ardan might have wanted to follow this command, but sothing told him that if he did, nothing good would co of it in the future. Fully aware that an Imperial mage, especially one with three Stars, was no re troll, Ardi nonetheless stepped forward.
Imdiately, a dozen pairs of eyes turned in his direction. Cassara opened her mouth to speak, but Yonatan shook his head.
"You have my books and staff," Ardan said firmly.
"And?"
"Give them back."
Gleb snorted, then glanced at his superior. Yonatan just shrugged.
"We agreed that they’d stay with for now, kid," Gleb’s tone was haughty, but his gaze was hungrily fixed on the bracelet around Ardi’s wrist. "So, I’ll tell you one last ti —back off."
"We agreed it was only for the ti being," Ardi insisted.
Their gazes locked, but Gleb didn’t flinch. Not even when Ardan, out of habit after arguing with cowboys for so long, bared his teeth slightly and squared his shoulders.
"And what was that supposed to be?" The mage nearly laughed. "Kid, you seriously think you can scare ? I’ve kicked the asses of creatures that would make you piss yourself just hearing about them. I’m sorry to say that you wouldn’t even make it onto the waiting list to et them."
Ardan knew this well enough — after all, he was facing a mber of the Second Chancery. But still…
"Give them back," he repeated.
"Again, we agreed-"
"A month has passed," Ardan cut him off and approached his horse — an aging gray mare that the man was riding.
"Ti is a flexible concept," the rider shrugged. "I’ll give them back when we get to tropolis."
Ardi narrowed his eyes. Just like when he’d stood next to that stream before the five wolves, or in that gorge where he’d found himself alone with the troll, Ardan knew he had encountered soone out of his league. And if he were to strictly follow Ergar’s teachings right then, he should retreat. Prepare. And only then should he attack. But there were exceptions to this rule, and his teacher had taught him that Ardi would know when it was right to break the law of not attacking soone stronger than himself.
Maybe Ardan was making a mistake. Maybe none of this was worth it. But that staff and those books were part of his mory of ho. Part of what connected him to his mother, father, great-grandfather, and brother. And he couldn’t allow soone else to take control of his light.
"For the third ti, I’m telling you to give those back. They’re mine."
"A third ti? Am I supposed to be convinced by that? I am telling you to back off before I explain it to you in a way you’ll understand."
Only Cassara, upon hearing this, cursed and shook the folds of her cloak so that her hands could easily reach the handles of her revolver and saber.
Ardan placed his hand on the mare’s neck and spoke briefly in the language of beasts: "Throw him off."
Unlike Ardan’s horse, which Yonatan had bought for him the day before they’d set out, all the other mounts had belonged to their riders for a long ti. If the bond between the mare and Gleb had been stronger than just that of owner and animal, the trick wouldn’t have worked. The mare simply wouldn’t have hard her friend. But this animal had no affection for her rider.
A wild neighing rang out as the mare reared and jerked from side to side. Gleb, clearly not expecting this, was thrown from the saddle, nearly getting tangled in the stirrups, and tumbled to the ground amid the laughter of the group.
Ardan, stepping over the recovering mage, approached the horse, patted her mane, and began untying the bag of books from the saddle when his instincts made him duck. He couldn’t avoid the blow entirely, but instead of the iron-capped staff striking his temple, it rely tore a strip of skin from his head and, after grazing his ear, bounced off the saddle itself.
Ardi leaped aside, and drew his knife with a swift motion, growling nacingly.
"Filthy animal," Gleb spat, raising his staff. Made of iron and nearly two ters long, it was topped with a clawed hand clutching a murky Ley-crystal. "I’m sure command won’t mind if we bring you in without your eyes and ears."
"They might not," Yonatan suddenly interjected, "but I would."
That last word was spoken with great emphasis, and Gleb hesitated slightly.
"He attacked ," Gleb said more calmly. "I am an officer of the law and-"
"We’re not on an official mission," Yonatan quickly reminded him.
"Damn it, lieutenant!" Gleb shouted. "Whose side are you on? Mine or this animal’s?"
Yonatan swore and adjusted his hat.
"I’m on the side of common sense, mage," he spat on the ground. "We’ve got at least a month of the prairie and then a train ride with this kid ahead of us. I have no desire to worry about you two trying to kill each other the whole ti."
"Trying?" Gleb’s eyes flashed with contempt. "What’s there to try? He’s as good as dead right now."
There was the click of a cocked revolver. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Cassara’s, but Yonatan’s.
"Here’s the deal, Davos," Yonatan said smoothly, like a predator ready to pounce. "You’re from high society, right? So, let’s settle this the way you fine folk do."
"What are you suggesting, lieutenant?"
Yonatan tapped his hat and winked.
"Normal folks call it a brawl," he said. "In your circles — demons only know what it’s called. A duel or sothing."
"A magical duel? With this beast?"
"Are you hard of hearing, mage?" Hissed one of the won — a seasoned warrior with a scarred face who carried a long rifle with a telescope mounted on top. "The boss already explained it to you. Either you settle things with the boy now, or we leave you here."
"Yeah," soone else chid in. "No one’s interested in dealing with this. We’ve got enough problems already."
Gleb swore, then looked at Ardi, and suddenly, he smiled widely. It was a nasty, arrogant smile.
"Untie your staff, pup," he sneered. "And take your book."
"Davos, you-"
"Shut up, vampire," Gleb barked, muttering to himself under his breath. "Just what I needed in my life — being forced to listen to a dead thing. Damn scum… if it weren’t for that bastard major, I wouldn’t have to put up with your lowborn ignorance."
It was unlikely that anyone else besides Ardan heard this, but at that mont, he wasn’t concerned with the finer points of the relationship between the mage and Yonatan’s unit. He was trying to maintain an outward calm while untying his staff from the saddle and retrieving his grimoire from the bag.
Thanks to reading a lot of Atta’nha’s books and scrolls, he knew of Aean’Hane duels, but they rarely involved combat. The contests usually involved giving the competitors a single na or word, and the one who could hold on to their power and maintain concentration the longest would win.
But sothing told Ardi that this would be different. And there was no turning back now. He had started this himself, but…
"Damn it!" Gleb shouted, thrusting his staff toward his opponent. "He doesn’t even know what to do! Lieutenant, you’ve lost your mind if you think-"
"Your problem, mage," Yonatan interrupted in a calm tone. "You took his trinkets, so now explain what to do. And don’t damage my cargo. You’ll be held accountable."
Davos cursed for a while, then closed his eyes and began breathing steadily, trying to calm himself. Regaining control, he opened his eyes and looked at Ardan with that sa, silent mockery from before.
"How many?"
Ardi was prepared for anything but this question, so he hesitated.
"How many rays in your Star, whelp?" Gleb clarified. "Two, three? How many?"
Ardan glanced quickly at Cassara, who gave a barely perceptible nod.
"Seven."
Soone whistled, others clicked their tongues, and there were even a few restrained claps, and Yonatan himself raised an eyebrow slightly as well. Only Gleb looked as if he had stepped in a cow pie.
"According to Imperial law," Gleb began to say reluctantly through clenched teeth, "if no lethal satisfaction is declared in a magical duel, which is prohibited without seconds appointed by the Magistrate, then the duel is conducted as a shield contest."
Ardan understood about as much of this as… nothing, really, but he kept his composure. At least he hoped he did.
"You conjure a shield, and I either break it or shatter it," Gleb rolled his eyes. Was that gesture not exclusive to human won? "Then I conjure a shield, and you break it. And so on and so forth until soone runs out of energy. The use of any ans to restore our rays is prohibited."
Ardan began flipping through his grimoire. Sowhere in the middle, a few pages were devoted to one of the few combat spells he’d found in the unknown Aean’Hane’s textbook.
"And how long am I supposed to keep waiting, kid?" Gleb shouted. "In the ti you’ve wasted, I could’ve already made you rot from the inside and shit out your guts!"
Ardi paid him no mind. Finding the necessary seal, he scanned the runes and description of it:
[Star: Any
Number of Rays: 2 or more
School: Defensive/Elental
Elent: Universal
Maximum rune combinations: area/height/density/absorption]
"A simple universal shield."
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