Amaro and his siblings didn’t get very much out of their father about what it meant for a new godslayer to be born. All Amaro could surmise is that it was one more threat to Kadmus’s power, even if it was an overall good thing for the world. Before the new godslayer had been born, there were seven in the world.

Even if the number tended to get higher or lower depending on the era, that number always inevitably lingered on seven. It was the same number of elements xiozians could be born with. Fire, water, earth, air, metal, life, and lightning.

Amaro could guess that whatever the birth element of the new godslayer was, he was currently threatening another godslayer with the same element.

His father didn’t seem too worried about being overthrown, though. It was likely more to do with the chaos that a new godslayer might bring to the status quo. Amaro could understand why, as well.

Only someone with the blood of Atriux Xirxus could be born with the lightning element, and having xirxus blood wasn’t even a guarantee. Those factors alone made it exceedingly rare and unlikely for Kadmus or any of his predecessors to have their godslayer status challenged.

Kadmus was probably more worried about Deka taking his spot than anyone else.

Having eight Godslayers in the world was said to be an omen of great change to come. Nine was the sign of a new age. And Ten was said to be the end of days.

All of it just sounded like the Godslayers didn’t like too many people having their level power to Amaro. He wouldn’t have been surprised if that omen had been invented by the Godslayers themselves to justify keeping the number as low as possible.

Amaro knew first hand the amount of power and influence that came along with being a godslayer. Not just money or land, but entire armies were at their command. Yvian might have a king, but it was Kadmus who truly owned it along with the neighboring territories.

For matters of protection, legislation, and well being of the common folk those duties fell upon the king. When it came to matters of war, it was always the godslayer the soldiers answered to. Not to mention, if any legislation was passed by the king that a Godslayer of the lands did not like, the Godslayer could simply veto it without a retrial.

Godslayers had all the power with none of the responsibility. And yet his father always loved to complain about the weight he carried on his shoulders.

There was at least some part of him that considered he might not know everything, though. A part of him which had grown just a little louder since his encounter with Kaara.

Either way, once their carriage had hit flatter ground, Amaro took the opportunity to nap. He didn’t remember dreaming anything. He was in a lucid state for most of the trip, fading in and out of consciousness as they blazed a trail through the wilds of the Altix.

Sometimes he even pretended to sleep just to avoid any conversations he might have with his father. It was best to pass the time undisturbed, and his new life as a tribesman could not come quicker.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It was when the carriage began to slow down that he truly decided to wake up. It always meant they were approaching their destination, or at the very least, taking a break to stretch their legs.

Amaro would have been satisfied with either. He woke up with Sancta leaning on his shoulder. His own head had sagged with his neck being its only support. Even if his carriage was luxuriously padded, his butt was numb and his legs were stiff. The air was still cold in the cabin.

He looked off to the side, seeing that the blinds had been shut. Everyone else was stirring, though it didn’t look as if his father had slept. Amaro peeked under the blinds, his eyes hurting from the radiant white light outside.

It was early morning and they were surrounded by and ocean of snow. He couldn’t stare at it for too long before he had to look away or close his eyes. The more he opened the blinds, the more his siblings whined in protest.

“Close the blinds!” Sancta grumbled, elbowing him.

“We’re nearly there, you’re not going to get much more sleep than you already have,” Amaro said.

Sancta dug her face into his shoulder in an attempt to block out the light. When that failed, she sat up and checked her hair by combing it with her fingers.

“We will arrive in about ten minutes. The snowfall was rather deep overnight, and the sleipnir are up to their necks in it right now,”

“Incredible that they can still pull us in such weather,” Anitus said offhandedly.

“Oh, Sleipnir are incredibly strong and enduring creatures. There’s no terrain they cannot pull a cart over,” Sancta said in her teacher voice, “Ever since their introduction to the lands of Itaro, they’ve been preferred over any other land animal for their incredible abilities to traverse difficult terrain. They are the main reason Bat Drakes have fallen out of favor with trading companies and warbands too.”

“If only the snow outside wasn’t blinding me. I would have been able to discern who asked for that information,” Anitus said smugly.

Sancta kicked him in the shins, earning a laugh from Anitus.

“I think it’s interesting information, Sancta,” Amaro offered.

“I don’t need your pity!” She huffed, “But thank you.

Maybe pity had been the right term for it. Maybe not. In the past few months he had spent quite a lot of time with Sancta deep in the libraries beneath their estate. Seeing how much she cared about learning had motivated him to learn more too.

“Isn’t it also true that Wyverns are still favored overall as transport?”

Sancta nodded, “Well yes and no. Wyverns have the advantage of flight, and they can carry quite a bit, but Wyverns are also rather rare, and there’s a limit to how much you can load onto them. Sleipnir, and to an extent bat drakes too, always have the advantage of a cart or wagon that allows them to pull more freight than their bodies could otherwise handle if we strapped it to their backs like we must do with Wyverns.”

“And then there’s the occasional vagabond who just lugs their belongings themselves,” Amaro added.

“True, xiozi of suitable strength and speed can outpace most load bearing animals, but sleipnir and drakes are far more common and easily available to the peasantry and mercantile classes.”

“You said we had ten minutes until we arrived? I feel I’m going to be put to sleep for the next hour by this conversation,” Anitus rolled his eyes.

Amaro chuckled, looking out the window. It was fun to annoy Anitus every once and a while. His grin faded, spotting something swinging in the wind over the branch of a tree.

His heart plummeted into his stomach, and jumped into his throat. It was far away, but he recognized it by that shock of red in the wind.

Kaara was hanging from a tree by her neck.