“I promise,” Sayhas said, bowing his head with a hand to his heart. Lightning struck in the distance like some unseen force just witnessed the event.

“Wait.” Mizu reached out towards Clive, “Need help ferrying the rest?”

Chains fell from behind Clive. They arched upwards like tentacles, menacingly overlooking the three. Gently, they snaked around the mares with deft precision, lifting them off the ground. Show off Sayhas thought, admiring Clive's control over his chains. “I’ll manage,” Clive said, smirking. His remaining chains dug into the ground, lifting Clive up into the air.

“Boss, catch.” Oldum threw his load at Clive who skillfully caught it with several thick chains. He spun the hunk of meat around, appraising it.

“Why do you need a mammoth head?”

“Mizu wants to cook it,” Sayhas answered for him.

“Why?”

“Have you ever eaten a soul-spliced mammoth?” Mizu asked.

“Yes,” Clive said bluntly.

“Have you ever eaten a spliced mammoth that I’ve cooked,” she tried.

“Yes.”

“Really? When?”

“Yes, years ago,” Clive said blowing a strand of his long black hair. It had fallen down to his chin during Mizu’s tirade. Clive rarely let his hair grow so long.

“Really?” Mizu said, facing Sayhas and Oldum.

“Yep,” Oldum said, stroking a tiny stubble on his chin, “it was bad.”

Sayhas thought about it. He smiled when he remembered, “It was so bad. Up… up in… um… Kharanath. Yeah, that one.” He shook his head, “You definitely put something foul in it.”

“Kharanath. Kharanath. Oh.” Mizu flushed, red blooming on her cheeks as she remembered something unsavoury. “That time.” She looked up, eyes darting around so fast they threatened to fall out. She zeroed in on Clive.

“Yes?” Clive asked, meeting her eyes.

“Eww, your hairs so long,” Mizu chided, changing the subject.

Clive arched his eyebrow. Sayhas schooled his features into a neutral position; she’d be a nuisance if he laughed. Luckily, he was good at controlling his face, especially when Mizu was involved.

“I know,” Clive said, patting his hair down, “haven’t been able to find a good barber with us being in the middle of nowhere and all.”

“We’re in the Yelendor Plains right?” Mizu asked, looking at the sky.

“Yes,” Sayhas said dryly, “what gave it away, the Splinters which can only be found in three places, two of which are across the world. Or this vast expanse of nothing,” Sayhas said gesturing outwards, “which is—”

“Oh, put ash in your mouth,” Mizu cut off, shooting him a glare. The glare meant: I will make life a living hell for you for a little bit until I get bored. “We should go to Jyn. They have nice barbers,” She suggested.

“Hmm, I was actually thinking of going there myself,” Clive mused. “But we’ll go to the Dungeon of the Sun first.” A thin chain scratched Clive's scalp as he hummed to himself, “Yeah, we could do that too…”

“Do what,” Sayhas asked.”

“Bah, he’s not going to tell you,” Oldum said.

Clive smirked, and leveled his gaze with Sayhas for a few wordless, eternal moments. Sayhas rolled his eyes; Clive always had an eye for theatrics. “Hmm, you’ll see,” Clive said, “be safe.” Like a spider, Clive crawled down the Yggdrasil Spinter.

Sayhas watched until he could no longer see him.

“How long has it been?” Sayhas asked, relishing the feeling of a light evening breeze. His duster billowed back and forth and he tilted his head back slightly.

“Since?” Mizu asked.

“Since it was just the three of us doing a mission.”

“We were children fumbling in a playground,” Oldum said with a grimace.

Mizu smiled, showing her teeth, “Directionless and ridiculously powerful children doing our best to not screw everything up as we tried to help.”

Sayhas shook his head with a rueful grin, “Not much has changed.”

“Old habits die hard,” Oldum said.

She turned her face against the breeze, eyes closed. It blew her hair every which way. “We always do,” she replied. “Sorry girl, you’ll have to wait a little longer.” Mizu jumped off Dreamis, “Enough with the sappy reminiscence, let’s hunt.”

Sayhas patted Alouette, murmuring an apology, before joining Mizu. Unlike Mizu, Sayhas didn’t bother tricking his horse. They could easily spend days following this sketchy trail. But if they found it, it’d all be worth it. She understood that. They’d come back; it just might take a while.

She turned her face to the side, showing both him and Oldum her grinning profile and a gleaming hazel eye, “Deadweight buys drinks.” She turned as if to run, but stopped abruptly and turned her head around to face Oldum. “Where are we going,” she asked.

Oldum shifted his eyes towards his shield—an unnecessary action but probably habitually rooted. He jerked his head, “That way. Probably still a ways off or Sayhas would hear them.”

They ran in silence along the edge of the forest. A chilly mountain breeze pushed them along. A black blur raced towards Sayhas who barely dodged in time. It whistled a hairsbreadth above his ears, sending nauseous reverberations into his eardrums. Instinct took over, as the next salvo came.

Sayhas found himself in a bush, heart frantically thumping in his chest. He rapidly checked his body for any wounds and bleeds, finding nothing. Convinced that he wasn’t in mortal danger, Sayhas surveyed his surroundings, finding cracked pinecones littered on the ground. Laughing filled his ears—Mizu—he stalked out of the bush, plucking dry leaves from his duster.

He put on a frown and glared at Mizu. “What was that?” he snapped.

“Eliminating the competition,” she replied. Oldum was looking to the side but Sayhas could still see the wild grin on his face.

“Kana’s scared she might lose,” Oldum said, still looking the other way.

Mizu glared at Oldum, raising a pinecone

“It’s not that surprising,” Sayhas said loudly, adopting a whimsical tone, “you did do the same thing as Bella.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Mizu froze, a blush redder than her hair bloomed on her cheeks. “Wha—I—I did no such thing,” she said, only remembering to act abashed at the end.

Sayhas chuckled—so did Oldum—and they broke off into another run.

“Do you guys miss those days?” Mizu asked after a while. No doubt she was still thinking about the old days. Sayhas was too. “When we could do whatever we want. No rules. No setbacks. No foreseeable consequences that we couldn't handle. Do you miss those days?”

Sayhas answered first, “Of course I do. I miss the freedom and the mindset. I miss the impulsiveness of our life. But then Clive Alvera came along.”

“And we were charmed,” Oldum said.

“Yep,” replied.

Despite being free and uncontrolled. Despite being allowed to be savage one day and gracious the next. Despite being able to do whatever he wanted. He used to be lost. Until Clive came. He gave him purpose, direction. He shaped the freedom into something smaller, but so much better. Clive is an almost perfect being. He lives for others, he chases far, distant dreams and encourages others to do the same. He is a bulwark that will lead anyone who chooses to follow to greater, previously unattainable heights. Clive is his king. There is little Sayhas treasured more than Clive’s ideology. The ability to cage a dog by setting it free, that was Clive.

“I miss those days. I get nostalgic. But to trade my current life for that one? I would never,” Sayhas said, breaking the silence.

“Never?” Mizu asked.

Sayhas looked her dead in the eyes. Of course, he wouldn’t. This life was better in almost every way. He tried to discern what the cheekily smiling woman was thinking. Oh. Maybe. He shook the thought out of his head. “Never.”

Mizu stopped abruptly. More questioning? “Is anyone tracking right now?” Sayhas and Oldum both shook their heads. Mizu facepalmed, “Burn me to cinders.”

Sayhas brought his hand to the side, an outstretched arm, shoulder level. Maaier Speal fell into his hand, white aura flaring a little bit. It was weird, the entire thing was made of a nigh-indestructible metal but it weighed no more than a normal scythe.

“Like usual I assume.” Sayhas pointed Maaier Speal forwards.

. . .

The sun rose above the snow-filled mountains in the east. Although it had been hours since the morning light lit up the sky, it was only now that the sun could crest the splinters mountain range. Sayhas slashed the sharp foliage before him. He had to be careful of the thorns in the bushes. His duster was already relatively battered; he intended to preserve it as long as possible. The morning fog, however, didn’t help his cause in the slightest. They had spent the entire night walking. Sayhas was lucky he got off with only a few scrapes to his duster. He wanted to stop when it got dark, but he wasn’t going to tell Mizu that.

Fortunately, late last night (or early this morning) they stumbled upon wolf tracks. To untrained ears, the tracks may have looked like a normal wolves paws. To Sayhas however, they were the tracks of an ash wolf.

Obviously, they would seem like normal wolves, an ash wolf is still a wolf. The only way to distinguish between soul-spliced creatures and normal creatures was by listing to there DIscord. Luckily, Sayhas was phenomenal at detecting Discord; his hearing was among the best. Mizu and Oldum weren’t slouches but they were a far cry from him.

Sayhas led them through the forest. While Oldum was there primary navigator—he had a shield that could map out terrain—Sayhas was their tracker due to his hearing. Despite them being hours away from where they started, the forest looked the same. The same type of trees with the same type of leaves surrounded by the same dull grass and the occasional mossy stone. Eyes were deceiving. Ears, on the other hand, were honest and true. Originally the trees rang with a soothing verdant vibration. As they walked, it didn’t change much. Just minute little changes to tell the world that they were different than other trees. A display of individuality.

Perfectly normal.

A small branch snagged his boots. Luckily it wasn’t his duster. His boots were made of wyvern leather. If a thorn could damage it visibly it wouldn’t be wyvern leather. Still, the paranoia in Sayhas caused him to check. No scratches.

His Inner Discord churned as he sliced at the branch with an ethereal aspect of Maaier Speal. It was thanks to his hearing that he could use his scythe to such efficiency. The ethereal blades of Maaier Speal were invisible to the naked eye. Most trained in hearing Discord would be able to detect the blades, but only someone with Sayhas’ ears would be able to tell the exact composition of it and have a visual image of the ethereal blades in there head

Neither Mizu or Oldum would be able to use it. Well… maybe Mizu but definitely not Oldum. That wasn’t to say they had bad hearing. No, they do have bad hearing, at least when compared to Sayhas. But to their credit, they do have the excuse of never needing a better hearing.

Oldum simply needed to expand his shield, he didn’t need to hear anything. Mizu had to know which side the blade was in her daggers, but she isn’t the type to use projectional aspects anyways. She would rather be nice and close to her targets. Sayhas needed to be able to listen well. Because if he didn’t Maaier Speal would be as useful to him as a stone with a sharp edge.

Sayhas slowed that pace, listening. “Stay alert,” he grumbled.

The trees here were completely different. The sound was light and flowing, as if listening too hard would cause it to fly away. Still, Sayhas was able to listen to it, and he heard something cunning and sinister. Not evil. Not kind. Not something in between. Mystery. This sound possessed a peaceful unnerving quality that Sayhas had only heard twice in his life. The wolf prints they were tracking. And the wolf prints of the first ash wolf he ever saw.

This sound was stronger than the one all those years back. That time, it was unsettling. Like hearing a stinky sound. But now, the world reeked of something. Something not good. His instincts told him to run.

Yet, there was a second reason why Sayhas was unnerved. It wasn’t the sounds the forest gave off. It was the sounds the forest didn’t give off. It was quiet, almost lifeless. Birds didn’t chirp. Insects didn’t click. And no matter how hard he strained, he wasn’t able to hear the rhythmic footsteps of large game nor the heavy footfalls of predators. Even the wind itself seemed afraid to move. As if an enormous invisible blanket had snuffed out the forest and locked it from the outside world. The forest still looked like a forest, but, at an intrinsic level, it wasn’t. It was foreign. And though Sayhas didn’t want to admit it: The forest was terrifying.

The fog cleared with a much-needed breeze, assuaging Sayhas’ worries for a moment but the wind quickly fled—as if scared—and Sayhas' unease settled back into the dark corners of his mind. But in those few moments, he was able to finally get a good look at the forest. Not that that actually helped. Everything looked the same; relying on your eyes only lead to failure. Except this time, aside from the malevolent noise growing, the mountains were a lot closer now. And every one of Sayhas’ applicable senses screamed at the mountains. Both Oldum and Mizu could pick up on it too.

Oldum, wisely, slowed his pace. Taking great deliberation as to whether or not they should go forward.

Mizu, on the other hand, was fearless. No, she was probably blinded by the prospect of an ash wolf prize that her usual instincts betrayed her. Not wanting to be left behind, Sayhas chased after her. Albeit with a groan, Oldum did so too.

The trees thinned out as they approached. Eventually, along with the grass and dirt, the trees faded entirely. Trees changed to boulders, grass to stone. The wolf prints had faded but they weren’t needed anymore.

For perched upon a dominating cliff face, was an ash wolf.

It looked down on them, yellow eyes narrow and discerning. It was large. Black wisps rose from its fur like smoke from a fire. The wisps stretch and unravelled, travelling around the wolves body. In the span of seconds, the ash wolf was gone. wisps of thin smoke too thin to see with the naked eye.

No matter, Sayahs could hear it. In those brief moments he had analyzed the wolves Discord, he’d be able to find it no matter how far it ran. He put Maaier Speal in front of him, parallel to his body, blade barely above the ground. An ethereal scythe shot out hooking onto the cliff edge. It pulled him towards it, allowing him to crest over the cliff with ease. The ash wolf was close enough to be seen. Mizu’s realm dagger flew past him. She appeared mid-air, caught the dagger and threw it again before landing on the ground. Sayhas wouldn’t let her beat him, lurching himself forwards with renewed vigour.

They were faster than the ash wolf. Chasing it into a narrow passage, they gained on the wolf. Sayhas could hear its heartbeat, it’s breath. It was scared, terrified even. The passage opened up to a clearing of sorts. It was open to the sky but they were surrounded by steep cliffs, the only visible exit is the one they came from. At the edges of the clearing were numerous white rocks dotted a quarter up to the cliffs, wider than he was tall. Right in front of Sayhas was an indomitable blue rock, three times taller than Sayhas himself. The whole place looked like an arena.

He heard them before he registered seeing them. They howled when Sayhas landed in the center of the arena. The ash wolf jumped onto the important rock and whimpered, whilst prostrating deferentially. An ash wolf showing respect? Oh no.

“You think we were to hasty?” Sayhas whispered into Mizu’s hair while warily eyeing the wolves as they crawled out from the shadows of the rocks. None of them were too much of a threat. But together?

Ash wolves were pack leaders. They weren’t supposed to be underlings. Yet the ash wolf was clearly submissive to the alpha, a humongous white wolf. Crystals of ice protruded from its back and joints. They glistened and shivered as the wolf snarled at the pair.

That wolf was the reason why his hearing was all muddled. Its Discord signature had enveloped the whole area, dampening Sayhas' senses.

“I won by the way,” Mizu whispered back, snapping Sayhas from his thoughts. She eyed the white wolf warily

“Do you guys ever think?” Sayhas nearly jumped at Oldum’s outrage. “Bloodhounds. Shiners. Winter wolves. Horn hounds,” Oldum listed off as he scanned their surroundings, “As if an ash wolf wasn’t enough, two red runners. And turn the immortal tree upside down because we can’t forget the ice wolf. They actually exist,” he said in utter disbelief, shaking his head.

"Cinders," Sayhas spat, the weight of there situation finally setting in. I can't die yet.