We are expected to reach the border of the Vole tribe by nightfall. My escorts claim that all the beastfolk tribes are friendly and welcoming towards strangers, and to seek shelter with them is not an imposition or considered rude. If anything, turning away from them could be considered insulting, and perhaps reasonable grounds for conflict should the offense be deemed large enough.

The days are becoming longer, and each sunrise reminds me of my darling fiancée Lavinaia, her golden hair streaked with orange and pink. My father approves of our union, as does her mother, and I could not be more grateful to the Mother that neither of us are nobles, or we would surely face issues in our upcoming wedding. Only another year of travelling and scouting out suitable locations for outposts, and then we will be wed upon my return.

I expected some teasing about my upcoming marriage from the beastfolk when I broached the subject, but not outright pity or disapproval! Both the baboon and hyena tribes we crossed paths with claimed that every capable man should have multiple mates, or else he wouldn’t be considered a real man.

I respect their strength of arms, but in matters of the heart, I must vehemently disagree with them. The love between my darling and I is like an eternal, ever-burning –

Sighing, I closed the book and put it back into my beast space.

Turns out I could do that now with just a thought, without having to manually call out any of its residents and get them to courier it inside. Just another aspect of my ability that tempted me to rage in frustration at times.

But I was slowly getting better at managing that feeling. Case in point, I would ignore thinking about that any further and focus on my most recent acquisition.

The merchant’s diary that I had purchased from the bookstore was entertaining. Parts of it read like a horny teenager, with the author listing out all of his fiancee’s qualities and debating which one was the most entrancing, while the other part was what I had actually bought it for.

Descriptions of the beastfolk tribes in the southern continent, their customs and appearances, their general lifestyle, the central pillar of their culture being martial might. In fact, the beastfolk had a tournament that seemed similar to the one being held now for the Founder’s Festival. Granted, theirs was called ‘The Thundering’, so named for the sounds of continuous blows landing, and it was held every ten years instead of annually, but the fact that there was even any similarity suggested some persuasion on the part of the beastfolk lineage founders.

What was more captivating was the description of the elven lands.

While I hadn’t fully read through the entire diary, the beastfolk lands could be considered normal, or at the very least, resembled biomes I had heard of. The majority of the continent seemed like a grassy plain, with a notable desert in the southeast and a few mountain valleys that held isolated communities. There was also the archipelago in the ocean between the beastfolk and elven continents that contained waypoints for teleportation formations as well as supplies for those unfortunate enough to lose their vessel at sea for any reason.

The elven lands, though, seemed to meet my expectations of a fantasy landscape.

Flying islands that acted as enormous nests for either dragons or dinosaurs.

Forests filled with enormous trees that were literal treehouses which could shelter entire settlements.

An extensive cave system that was almost another world in its own right, as it contained multitudes of different subterranean species.

Not to mention the Wall of the World. It was a more recent addition, being constructed after the diary was written, but it was the equivalent of the pyramids in Giza or Machu Picchu, a wonder of the world.

Unfortunately, while it was no doubt an impressive feat of skill and worth seeing, the only way I would be able to see it was if I were fighting. A surprising number of my instructors at the academy had been there, and all of them attested that the view was apparently not worth it. A field of black as far as the eye could see. The concentration of voranders there was apparently so high, their presence had affected the terrain permanently, making the battlefield treacherous. Pits of poison, fog that could blind you if you carelessly entered its domain, areas of pure blackness where you would be robbed of all your senses.

Needless to say, it wasn’t my first choice for a tourist destination.

But apart from the Wall, I was looking forward to seeing what the other continents had to offer, both in terms of environments, cultures, and peoples. It was something of a global misconception that humans were an offshoot of one of the monkey tribes, when in reality, each of the races were descended from ancestor races that had since gone extinct.

According to a legend described by an elven elder in the diary, elves were descended from sprites, essence that had somehow gained sapience in addition to a physical form, humans were descended from giants, and the beastfolk were the descendants of dragons.

Stolen story; please report.

Of course, nothing during my time at the academy corroborated any of that. More likely than not, it was either a conspiracy theory to give the modern people a bit more oomph in their ancestry, or it was the honest truth and time had effortlessly changed the fact into a myth, as it was prone to doing.

I shelved my thoughts on the diary and decided to get ready for the day. I made my way to the communal bathroom at the end of the hall and washed up before others could intrude on me, putting on my fresh clothes after bathing.

I ate breakfast in the ground floor lobby, grateful that there were chefs who could make academy-quality meals here as well, while I waited for the rest of my friends to get ready. I carefully took the diary out of my…well, ‘beast space’ was no longer appropriate, but I took it out anyway after meticulously ensuring no one could see me doing so, and gently held it open so I could read it while eating.

I secretly sent some of my food to Spearmint for him to chew on while I remembered, having received some less-than-happy comments from him about the frequency of receiving actual meals.

Taking a bite of a meat-filled pancake, I picked up where I left off, skipping through a few paragraphs detailing Lavinaia’s features.

The hometrees of the elves were a sight to behold, with entire families in one tree large enough to encompass them all, but the tents and caves of the beastfolk have their own charm as well.

Naturally, this is an almost unfair comparison, as the elves are far more gifted at utilizing Mother’s Breath than the beastfolk or even humans, but the beastmen have their own methods for creating homes.

The most common form is of course the tent, held up by poles and complicated knots and a cloth covering the top to keep out rain or dust. I would say all beastmen know how to use tents, as the majority wander for a time before settling down in their tribe’s lands.

Next are, unfortunately, caves. When natural caves are available, the beastfolk will check and make sure that there are no predators or other dangers within before claiming it for themselves. Caves are temporary resting stops, the equivalent of an inn in human lands.

And finally, the most rare of beastfolk dwellings: the ash houses.

From what my beastfolk acquaintances have told me, an ash house is only capable of being built by the strongest and most skilled of beastfolk, the last one being made over fifty years ago. It is a point of pride for the creator and their entire tribe when an ash house is made, and rightly so.

As I understand it, an ash house requires the beastman to accumulate essence, continuously and without rest, for one entire week. At the end of that week, they will vent the collected essence deep into the ground by unleashing the strongest punch they are capable of, such that a pillar of liquid fire shoots out into the sky, and the land itself shatters, turning the surroundings into a crater. The erupting fires from the depth shoot out, and the beastman must ensure all of it stays within the perimeter of the crater. They must quickly use their bodily strength to harden the ground fire before it liquifies, using it as a base. After the eruption of fire, ash and other gases will follow, and the beastman must achieve perfect control in order to combine their remaining essence with the ash and gases into a protective dome, covering the crater entirely.

They say that to see a true ash house is breathtaking, as the ash and ground fire merge to create an almost impenetrable dome that can house at least fifty people, large for a family or three, but small for a tribe. It is not the size of the building that draws attention, but rather its existence itself.

For one to create an ash house demonstrates control, awareness of himself and the environment, and unassailable judgment. While it is true that the beastfolk revere martial might, anyone able to form an ash house is lauded just as much as the most accomplished warrior, for control is just as significant as power in their eyes,

I closed the book, the thump of its pages thudding together reminding me how much of it I hadn’t read yet. I discreetly put it in my inventory and finished eating, taking a sip of a sweet herbal tea.

An ash house seemed…impractical to me, but who was I to criticize beastfolk traditions? Granted, it did seem implausibly difficult to create one, not to mention both the strength and control needed to pull it off. And the lava! At least, that’s what the ‘ground fire’ seemed to be referring to. People actually…created miniature volcanic eruptions and lived on top of the blast site? While it was an enormous feat, I would think that the gases and lava and other debris would render the area inhospitable at best. Then again, as I had learned repeatedly, I couldn’t count on my knowledge from Earth to be true here. Different world, different rules.

But one thing was for certain.

I was definitely exploring both of the other races’ continents once I had graduated. Maybe even as soon as the third year ended; the fourth-year full of research and socializing didn’t seem all that worth it to me, not to mention that ticking time bomb in my soul that was counting down even as I pondered its existence.

I was pulled out of my musing by Riddis and Orddis sitting down next to me as they plopped down trays piled full of food. The conversation was light as they scarfed down breakfast, and more members of our little entourage trickled in over time. As the food gradually faded, we finally started talking about our upcoming events.

The fourth, third, and second years had all finished their mundane events, and now it had circled back around for the second-years’ magic events.

The other magic events were about what I expected. Tests of concentration, seeing who had the highest mastery and innovation for each element, as well as combat prowess. The blood magic events for the upperclassmen had shown me new avenues to explore, not to mention I had some ideas which were inspired by the glut of media that I once revolved my life around.

I was looking forward to the taming event. The competitors were presented with a list of objectives to perform, and they had to use the available creatures to perform said tasks. The winners also got to keep whatever they had tamed at the time of the final event, Naturally, there were some advanced techniques the upperclassmen showed off that I wouldn’t try to emulate any time soon, like merging with their beasts or sharing senses, but that wouldn’t stop me from getting first. I was never a particularly prideful person, but I doubted there would be anyone close to my level in taming.

I couldn’t say the same thing for nature magic, unfortunately, but hey, you can’t win them all.

“You ready?” Teroa asked me with a smirk, bumping her elbow into the side of my ribs as she did so. The fact she was talking to me again of her own volition meant she was, mostly, back to her normal self again.

“Of course. I got this,” I replied confidently, smacking my hand onto my chest in a gesture of assurance.

Rolling her eyes, she responded, “Alright, no need to get a swelled head about it. Everyone, let’s head out!” she yelled back at the rest of our group.

Time for me to see how I stacked up on a public stage.