When Yuriko woke up, her aunt and Riley were already up. Layla cooked breakfast, the rather familiar Imperial Ration Stew. This time, the woman added a packet of spices and the scent made her mouth water.

‘This is the way to eat ration bars,’ Yuriko decided.

It was a wonder since the things took any flavour packet easily. She’d tried using spice packets on other foods and it never quite tasted as good as when she used it on ration bar stew.

The sun was already halfway to its zenith. Yuriko rubbed the crust off her eyes and gravitated towards the stew.

“Good morning!” Layla chirped.

Yuriko replied the same but her attention was clearly on the food. Layla chuckled and gave her a bowl.

“Thank you.”

Riley was already deep into his bowl when she came to the campfire, but Aidan was still snoring.

Yuriko nodded towards the sun, “We got a late start today.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Layla chuckled. “We’re not travelling today. Not by walking anyway.”

“Huh?”

The woman fished out a small cylinder from her satchel. There was a bluish crystal on one end and it was...blinking?

“What’s that?”

“It’s a beacon for the Ebon Horizon. And the response means that they’re already on their way here.”

“Oh.” Yuriko was lost in thought for a moment before she grew more excited. “Does that mean…”

“Yes, we’ll be able to leave the plane soon,” Layla grinned. “In case you were wondering, the beacon can pierce through Chaos interference.”

“Huh, how?”

Yuriko was still rather groggy and it took her a couple of moments to understand what Layla meant. Long-distance communication via Animus techniques were limited in the sense that only methods backed by something powerful could weather the ambient Chaos from decaying the patterns. It was the reason why messenger cranes had limited range. Crane towers made up for that by recharging a crane’s Animus supply, but that meant a chain of towers must stretch the physical distance.

So how did a small cylindrical thing, which barely registered to Yuriko’s Chaos Sight, do it?

Layla grinned.

“An entanglement technique!”

Then she spewed out a veritable torrent of technical information that Yuriko only understood a word out of every three.

A few minutes later, when Yuriko staggered away, Riley said under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear, “That’s why we don’t meddle with Aunt Layla’s craft.”

“It’s…”

“Dry, boring? Confusing?”

“No, it’s actually a bit interesting, if only in small doses,” she admitted.

“Ah, well.” Riley shrugged. “Here, you can wash the dishes.”

Yuriko tilted her head, “Why?”

“You woke up last so every other chore is done.”

“Oh. Er, isn’t Aidan still asleep?”

“He woke up earlier and helped prep the food.”

“If you say so,” Yuriko said doubtfully.

“Yup.”

Layla handed Yuriko her bowl, too. “Stream’s over that way,” she added, pointing vaguely southeast.

“How long before…”

“Probably close to noon. The Ebon Horizon is quite quick.”

“I see.”

Yuriko took the bowls, which included Aidan’s, now that she had a good look, and the pot and ladle. She grabbed her toiletries, too; since she was headed to the stream, she might as well do her morning ablutions.

The water was cold, almost like ice. It numbed her hands when she dipped into the clear water. The stream was barely a pace wide, and only four inches deep in the middle. Little silver dartlings swam with the current, a few came close to her fingers and nibbled. She shooed them away with a splash, chuckling all the while. As for the bowls, she used deft Anima manipulation to cover the bowls’ surface and pushed the residue off then she rinsed them in the stream.

When she came back, Riley was cleaning his Plasma Caster, Aidan was still asleep, and Layla had her nose in a book. The label read Schematics for the Avid Runeer. How many books did she bring along? The tome was at least twelve to fourteen inches long and at least a couple of inches thick. Layla muttered to herself every now and then.

As for Yuriko, since they weren’t going anywhere, she did her morning exercises, the ones she hadn’t done since Rumiga.

When she started on the sword dances, Layla looked up from her book and stared. Back in the dormitories, she had often been observed by the girls so Yuriko didn’t mind an audience. But for some reason, Layla’s intense stare made the back of her neck prickle.

“That’s Flowing Water, isn’t it?” Aidan suddenly asked when she finished a sequence. “But I’ve never seen those exact forms before.”

“It is Flowing Water,” Layla answered, “but I can vaguely sense your Animus flowing. How strange.”

“It’s something I learned from my Facet,” Yuriko explained. “Though the Flowing Water Style came from Da.”

“Ah, yes. The one that showed you new techniques right. Hmmm, I’ve thought about it and those weren’t actually new, just rare. I think I’ve read about it in Ulmira’s Sharom Academy. I think it’s called Dynamic Inlaying,” Layla mused. “I didn’t try it then, seeing no purpose to doing so, but since you’re a user, I find myself suddenly interested.”

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“Dynamic Inlay?” Yuriko repeated.

“Yes. As opposed to static ones.” Layla cleared her throat and went into lecture mode. She pulled her shoulders back, straightened out her posture, lifted her chin so she was subtly looking down her nose, then continued. “Static inlays are what’s normally used in the Empire which involves carving the pattern into the Anima. Dynamic ones create the pattern of the technique by moving the Animus in specific ways. There’s nothing permanent about dynamic inlays, which is its advantage, in a sense, but the trade-off is that it takes a while to get going.”

“But it takes me less than a second to activate it,” Yuriko protested.

“Yes, as compared to the fraction of a second that a static inlay allows. The difference doesn’t mean much now, but when you progress to Knight and beyond, that fraction of a second can mean life or death. Still, there are proponents for Dynamic Inlays in Ulmira, and definitely Realmheart, where there are fewer blatant dangers.” Layla shrugged. “But we Davars don’t normally stay in safe havens.”

“Anyway,” Layla continued, “I’m curious as to how you utilise yours. I haven’t met anyone who uses dynamics, mostly. The few I know aren’t that good with it, certainly not to the point of using it in combat.”

“Uh, what are you asking, exactly?”

“Well, it would help sate my curiosity if you describe, demonstrate, and teach your, er, methods,” Layla said with a smile.

“Oh, sure, I don’t mind. I’ve tried to teach my friends but they didn’t have the necessary control.”

“And what do you mean exactly by that?” Layla asked as she put away her book and whipped out a notebook.

“Well, the sword dances I use require at least an Animus strand division of five. Simultaneous control.”

“Uh huh, five…five strands?”

“That’s high,” Riley observed. “I can only manage five myself and only when I reached Knight. You’re telling me you can control five already as a Journeyman?”

“Er, ten, actually. Seven while I was a novice.”

There was a moment of shocked silence before Layla cleared her throat.

“It must be your Mishala blood.”

“What is the normal progression?” Yuriko asked curiously.

“Strand control normally increases by one each level of strength,” Layla explained. “Though that’s only the average. Some never progress beyond controlling a single strand. It doesn’t mean they’re weak, but that it’s harder to use more complex techniques. Though static inlay makes up for it.” Layla smiled. “As long as the inlay is complete, a single strand is more than enough to activate it. It doesn’t matter how many strands a technique requires when used dynamically. Although it means the static inlay would take longer to create.”

“Oh.” Yuriko nodded. “Well, do you need me to demonstrate? Uhm, I don’t know how to show the circulation pattern. We never got that far before.”

“Right,” Layla muttered as she rummaged into her satchel. “I’ve an empty skill cube here. Well, I’ve the beginnings of a technique recorded, but it is of no matter. Here.”

She handed Yuriko a cube that was an inch long on all sides.

The sight of it reminded Yuriko of the skill cubes she owned, one from her Da, and the other from Master Alfein.

“I don’t know how.”

“Chaos, I forgot. This isn’t something taught to the first-year students.” Layla muttered. “Well, I don’t think I can teach you enough to do it in a few hours, why don’t you explain it to me instead?”

“Alright,” Yuriko agreed. “But I’ll continue my practice if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead.”

Yuriko nodded and created a couple of animus blades on either hand. They were still attached to her fingers as opposed to the sunblade which was a fully formed weapon. The blades reached up to the extreme of her Anima flare, at twenty-nine inches.

“There are three basic sword dances that my Facet revealed. The first dance is to find weakness in an enemy, force them to reveal it, and strike. The strands are divided into equal parts and this is best used with a weapon on either hand…” Yuriko continued, describing how she circulated the strands and what kind of Intent she imparted into it.

She continued with the second and the third, but stopped there. She didn’t tell Layla and the others how she fused all three dances into one, though not because she wanted to keep it a secret. Well, there was that, too, and she distinctively felt Damien start to protest when she was about to mention the fused dance. No, the reason she stopped was that she saw something above the canopy.

“What?” She gasped as she pointed with her Animus blade.

Layla and the others looked up and squinted. What Yuriko saw was a blurred something that moved across the skies faster than a hawk. One moment, it was merely a black spot beneath the clouds, but the next, it grew to the size of a ball, then a horse.

“Heh, it looks like the captain couldn’t wait any longer.” Layla chuckled, “That’s the Ebon Horizon, Yuriko.”

The blurred figure eventually revealed itself as a barge-like shape, not unlike the river boats Yuriko saw in Rumiga City, plying the Rivers Kliss and Sadama. It had a flat bottom, was relatively narrow, and had backswept wings on either side. It halted in mid-air fifty paces away from their shelter and lowered itself until the keel was no more than five paces above the road. A muted hum filled the air, and Yuriko felt her ears pop.

The hull was black, though glowing runescript lines wan along the side. There were several people on the railings top side, and she could see a few of them pointing in their direction. A minute later, the floating ship lowered closer to the ground until it was only a couple of paces from touching the dirt, but that still meant the upper deck was twelve or so paces above. A rope ladder, with wooden rungs was lowered down the side of the hull.

“Come aboard!” someone yelled.

“Gladly!” Aidan yelled back. “I missed my bunk.”

“Hah! You miss your huggy pillow, you mean?”

“Hey! Did you try to use it!”

“Of course not, ew!”

The one who spoke was a frizzy-haired woman with bronze skin, nearly the same shade as Heron’s. She didn’t seem to be carrying weapons, though maybe the bandolier across her ample bosom had throwing knives on them.

“Hang on, you guys came earlier than expected, we’re not finished packing up.”

At Aidan’s words, several young men and women shimmied down the ladder and hurried to the camp. They glanced curiously at Yuriko as they came close, and maybe they only intended a glance, but as one, all five of them froze and stared.

Yuriko shifted her feet and frowned. When she did, they flinched, and looked down, before hurrying towards the bedrolls and camp supplies. They packed up the scattered belongings and gave her furtive glances. All the while, Layla pursed her lips while shifting her gaze between Yuriko and the others.

“You’ll have to reign it in,” she said as she sidled up to Yuriko.

“Huh?”

“Your enthralling aura.”

“My what now?”

Layla stared at her in stunned silence, before she cleared her throat. “Your aura. It’s affecting everyone around you.”

“Uh, do you mean my Anima flare?”

“No, that’s your Protective Field, isn’t it?” Layla shook her head. “Your aura causes people to look at you and…er, are affected by the desire to, uhm,” Layla grunted. “Urk, I really don’t know since I don’t have one. But it's making others attracted to you, in one way or another.”

Yuriko tilted her head. “Really? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She drew in her Anima until it was banked under her skin. “Does that help?”

Layla frowned. “No, not really. Now your skin looks positively radiant. It catches the eye, still. Though not as obvious as a glowing flame around you. No, you’ve still got that aura on.”

“So it’s not my Anima?”

“No, why do you keep saying Anima instead of Field?” Layla asked.

“Uh…” She felt Damien twinge in her mind. “I can’t explain.”

Her aunt eyed her strangely, then shrugged.

“Well, I guess that’s as much as we can hope for. You’re untrained, after all. Now, come on.”

She grabbed Yuriko’s wrist and brought her over to the ladder. Aidan had already ascended, but Riley was keeping watch. He nodded at her to proceed.

Yuriko climbed up after Layla, and when she got up to the deck, a middle-aged woman wearing a blue long coat with white lace ruffles spilling out of her neckline and sleeves, stood just a couple of paces away.

“Captain Mitchell, good of you to come,” Layla snarked.

The captain smirked at Layla, then shifted her stare to Yuriko. For a moment, she felt the woman’s sharp gaze take in everything about her, from her worn-out sandals to the filthy hem of her hakama, and the rough edges of her dougi.

“So this is our giant bounty. Welcome aboard.”

Yuriko gave a polite smile and a short bow. But she couldn’t help but feel as if she were a piece of meat at the butcher’s, and the woman was wondering what kind of dish she’d cook. With the toothy smirk and the avaricious glint in the captain’s eye, Yuriko felt a shiver run up her spine.

“Well then, make yourself comfortable. It will take near a dozen weeks to get back to Realmheart.”

With that, the woman spun on her heels and gave the man beside her a quiet word. Such was the captain’s presence that Yuriko didn’t even notice the man, despite him towering over the captain and Layla.

Wait, Realmheart?