The next day, all the remaining members of the family were found surrounding their dining table. By the looks on their faces, none had slept well, if at all. The heavy aura in the room prevented any words from being spoken, and they just sat there in silence.

Minutes passed without anyone saying a word, until the patriarch thought it was enough.

“Boys, pack your things. We are going to Artemis' home to give her a proper goodbye,” Dalton said.

“We leave in one hour for the Warrior Clan. Remember, it takes ten days to get there by bird, so grab a couple of clothes,” he instructed and went away to notify their close friends of the departure time.

###

An hour later, their group of close friends was all gathered beside their house, ready for their short journey.

Along with Dalton and his kids, Jason, Saulo, and Sarah were waiting with their respective families (for those who had one). After a short nod to his friends, putting his fingers in his mouth, Dalton whistled, followed shortly by the others. The sound echoed through the mountains and was answered by some eagle cries from very far away.

In a few moments, a group of majestic creatures was spotted descending from the Eagle Mountains in the south. Barely flapping their wings, the beasts slowly glided to their masters and friends down on the ground.

Nearing the ground, they made a few flaps to adjust their landing, as they had done so many times before. Dust was spread in all directions, and finally, the giant birds were standing on their own two feet.

“Hey, Chick, we are going to the Warrior Clan, okay? No need to go fast, just take your time and fly safely,” Dalton instructed his bird.

Despite no indication of the bird having understood, Dalton started setting things on its back without care, strapping Artemis’ sword and armor along with the bags so it didn’t fall. He trusted his mount, and if one were to look closer, the bird's eyes showed intelligence beyond common beasts and that it had understood his mission.

With everyone up and ready on their birds, it was time to go.

Tapping twice on the eagles’ back, they took to the sky. Strong wings measuring fifteen meters from tip to tip flapped over and over again until they reached a comfortable altitude to enter 'cruiser mode.' The eagles transitioned from flapping their wings nonstop to only occasionally, surfing the air currents with minimal effort.

If one word could describe the trip, it would be uneventful.

They spent the whole day in the sky, descending only to sleep. Saulo handled all the food, having stored enough for everybody in his space pocket, and Jason sniped any unlucky air creatures that tried to mess with them from kilometers away.

During the nights, they slept in their familiar pine forest, with large, similar trees everywhere and a soft layer of snow on the ground. As agreed beforehand, some adults kept watch at night while the kids and the birds slept.

Dalton’s Chick and Jason’s Stormie (the eagles' names) were especially fond and protective of the children, sleeping almost on top of them to keep their bodies warm and safe from the cold winds. As creatures used to living in a permafrost peak, the eagles had a very comfortable body heat, and the kids gladly welcomed their soft belly feathers.

To protect the perimeter, Dalton was always in charge of defending one side, while the duo Jason-Saulo guarded the other.

Hours before the sun appeared in the sky, they took flight again, and the old friends took their chance to sleep a bit, leaving Sarah in charge of the group.

During the trip, the travelers enjoyed the time exchanging stories and passing the time, with Saulo teleporting them from eagle to eagle so they could talk, following the rule of 'four people per eagle at most.'

Despite the warm interactions during the trip, Dalton and his kids mostly abstained from such conversations, each for their own reasons. They simply didn’t feel like talking right now, and their friends respected that.

###

Day after day, they followed the same routine, and some parents took the opportunity to teach the young ones some geography.

“So, who can tell me what direction we are heading?” Jason asked the three young kids sitting in his eagle, Stormie.

“We are heading northwest because of the sun!” Marlon readily answered.

“Well, given Saulo’s dreams, I’m not surprised he taught you some ways to locate yourself. That's correct, boy,” Jason congratulated him.

“Given that we are flying northwest for a few days, what can we find if we fly under the clouds?”

“Depends a lot, Dad, and you know it. Stop making trap questions!” Cindy complained. “We are not flying exactly northwest. It's just the general direction and not the precise one.”

With a big smile, Jason agreed. “Okay, you got me. Now suppose we are heading exactly northwest, what will we find?” he asked again, correcting his question.

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Cindy and Marlon started looking at a small map they brought on the trip to get the correct answer, but Jess simply replied without a care, with a bored tone in her voice, “No need to look at maps, I guess we will find the same boring pine forest we have been seeing for the last three days. It's just everywhere.”

Facepalming, Jason answered his daughter. “You can do better than that, Jess, and you know it. Anyone else?”

“If we go down, we will be able to see the ocean on our left and the blizzard mountain on our right,” Cindy answered.

“And very far ahead, we will have the haunted forest!” Marlon completed.

“You two are correct again. Right now, we are still a few days away from the haunted forest, but the ocean and the blizzard mountains are just a day's distance away, so very good!” Jason said.

“You know what more we can find down there? The tamers,” Jason said, in a bit more serious tone.

“I don’t like them,” Marlon said.

“Me too, they just invaded our territory like it didn’t have an owner,” Cindy agreed.

“But I can’t find them on the map, Dad…” She said, searching their location.

“That's because we just recently discovered them, so the maps we give you at school don't have them. Also, sooner or later we will take them away from there, so there is no need to change our maps…” Jason answered, with a hint of anger in his tone.

###

The first four nights they slept in the familiar pine forest. It could be found in all of the Mixers' territory, and they were used to it. But from day five onwards, they started sleeping on the border of the haunted forest.

Rivers of melted snow were everywhere. Small in volume of water at first, but as they merged, a respectable river was formed, running down to the north and straight to the haunted forest.

The trees started getting smaller and in a greater variety, and the forest as a whole started getting a bit darker.

“Fear not, kiddos, that’s just because of the volcano further north. The ash cloud it releases affects the vegetation, and only the trees and creatures adapted to it thrive in this place. As a consequence, everything becomes a bit darker because of the ash in the air,” Saulo explained the wicked biome.

Being that far from the Clan village for the first time, Cindy, Jess, and Marlon really hoped to see some different creatures, but in the end, they were utterly disappointed.

Since they spent most of their time on land sleeping and the rest setting up to fly, the most they found were a few weird bugs in the three nights they spent close to that ecosystem.

Leaving that dark forest behind, they finally entered the Warriors' territory. Vast plains stretched in every direction they could see, covered completely in short grass and small trees. Large and heavy animals could be seen traveling in packs on the ground, followed by some solitary predators at a distance.

Their details couldn’t be seen clearly due to the distance, which made the kids beg for them to fly lower, to no avail. They had a schedule to follow and could stop for sightseeing on the way back.

They flew the rest of the trip unimpeded. Being the biggest air predator by a large margin in the plains made the eagles fly without a care, and Jason didn’t even need to scare the other birds anymore. They instantly fled by themselves.

###

For the last time, Dalton gave the signal, and the eagles started losing altitude.

It was the beginning of noon when they arrived. The sun was shining high in the sky, punishing the group for the last few hours, just as it had in the previous couple of days. This far north, the climate was way hotter, allowing for different fauna, flora, and culture from what they were used to.

Having prepared beforehand, appropriate measures had been taken, and the group had brought clothes suitable for the situation: long sleeves and hats to protect from the sun, but very light to keep as cool as possible.

Down on the ground, a reception party was already waiting for them, as expected. There was no way a scout from a clan focused on physical augmentation would miss four giant wind eagles flying straight to their village.

The Warriors Clan's main village was different from the Mixers in every way possible. The Warriors chose to place their homes close to the sea, with a large beach adorning their village and a port positioned in the rocks. Signs of higher technology were everywhere, showing the discrepancy between the two clans. From the large boats to the well-engineered structures, from the fine clothes they wore to the wagons they had, every detail in the village showed how they were ahead in science and development as a community.

But again, that was expected, since the Mixers Clan only truly solidified their place under Dalton’s leadership. Before him, they were only considered a bunch of nobodies, assembled together by the need to survive. It was true, but at the same time, it wasn’t. It wasn’t a very accurate assessment of the situation because the Mixers always had a few hidden experts. They never cared too much to develop technology, since their troubles could be solved by sheer power, and they always had someone with a dream to solve every kind of problem. Variety is power. But despite all that, they were always underestimated and simply ignored, since they lived in the far south, in a land so cold that the other clans just didn’t want it. But then things changed. A teen so powerful that made clan leaders worry about their future appeared and made his clan well known throughout all of Taknoa. Dalton happened.

###

Up in the sky, they could already see the group that came to receive them. The kids didn’t care much, still in awe from the village built completely on white rock. Houses made of solid rock and four times bigger than theirs and metal chariots caught their attention.

The adults, on the other hand, were studying their reception committee. Large, well-built warriors, side by side, armed with top-notch weapons, formed a corridor to receive them. They were all dressed in red, prepared to send away a warrior who fell in battle.

Opposing the Mixers' usual free behavior, they all stood as one, showing the characteristics of a well-trained army, led by a smaller party. Alexander, the Clan leader, his son, Artemis' older brother, and his grandchild stood in front of the impressive corridor, ready to greet them.

By the time they landed, Dalton could already see the midget by the side of Chick. Of course, he wouldn’t waste time and wanted to see his grandchildren. Looking at the small, old grandpa, Dalton remembered as clear as the water, their first meeting.

At four and a half feet tall, Artemis' father was standing there. Disproportionately huge metal flip-flops were found on his feet, and a kids' version of Dalton’s armored leopard kimono was worn by his body. Silver hair and beard adorned his face, making him look like a slim dwarf, when added to his height.

But Dalton wasn’t deceived. Under that kimono was a monster hidden, and that old grandpa standing right there hugging his kids was by far the most dangerous creature he had ever seen in all his life. Death beasts included.