“We thank you for your hospitality,” the Watayurk hunter said, shaking Mayarrack’s hand. “I am Hamanur of the Watayurks. Please, tell us where the wyverns have gone.”

Shaden listened from the outside of the tent while the people inside—Mayarrack and the seven hunters—began to eat from the bowls that the servants had brought. The desert was a harsh place, and Eshel had told him that there was an unspoken rule about treating visitors to a meal, even if they were not on friendly terms with their host. But the Watayurk hunters were respectful.

“I am Mayarrack, head of the Jakhar Kishaks. We encountered three of them around midday today,” Mayarrack told them, pouring them some tea while they dipped their bread into the traditional cheese and milk soup that was served. “There was a loss of two sheep, one injured, but one of the wyverns was captured.”

“Secuana! They are fierce beasts. How did you bring it down?”

“Each family has its secrets, no?”

The lead hunter nodded. “Then I will ask no further. What will you do with the captured beast? Surely you do not plan on breeding them. It will be expensive to feed and troublesome to tame. But I have heard of your abilities.”

“And yours as well! Surely you are not the Spear That Penetrates the Sky?”

“You have heard of me?”

“Oh, through many years I have heard your name. You are very kind to the tribes.”

“I do what I must. It is the responsibility that we bear. But do tell me, where did the other two go?”

“To the northwest, in the direction of Kava Nur. What brings them this far?”

“There has been unrest to the east, and the northern migration of the wyverns have begun. But there are some that head west.”

“The migration! So that is why there were three.”

“There were seven, and four remain with the others that came with us, who have headed back west.”

“I am surprised they made it past the Wall of Arrows.”

The hunter’s face hardened. “They came in flocks, and a handful of the ferocious ones made it through. But materials will be plenty this year.”

“A bountiful harvest!”

“A bloody one,” Hamanur pointed out. “Already, eighty-seven are dead. Much more wounded. We called upon the healers of the north in exchange for wyvern hide, but they are slow to come.”

“Are not the Royal Savants enough?”

“His Majesty emphasizes keeping Anafar and its citizens safe,” Hamanur said. “While there is assistance, it is not as much as we need. The men grow tired. Ah, if you have someone who can heal, they will receive a good sum if they assist in the west.”

They talked some more, and around the time Shaden thought that Mayarrack had forgotten about him, the hunter mentioned the captured wyvern again.

“It will be dangerous to let it live,” Hamanur told him, “and I say this for your people’s safety.” He leaned closer to the old man and whispered, “Not to mention, your abilities hold too much power. Surely you did not forget about the Royal Decree?”

“I remember it.”

“They will raise questions if you have one in your midst.”

“But it is not the Jakhar Kishaks that have possession of the beast,” Mayarrack stated. “Shaden, come inside.”

Finally, Shaden headed inside. Hamanur raised an eyebrow when he saw him, and he wasn’t a nice-looking man. A deep scar cut through his left cheek, and his hard eyes were those that had been weathered by the sands. Unlike the prior politeness he had shown, the hunter reminded Shaden of a bandit.

“A boy?”

“Yes,” Mayarrack said, placing a hand on Shaden’s shoulder. “The wyvern is in his control.”

Hamanur narrowed his eyes, looking at him. Slowly, he stroked his short beard.

“Will the responsibility fall on him?” Hamanur questioned with a doubtful look.

“The responsibility will be on our heads if anything happens,” Mayarrack stated, “but he will be the one who holds ownership of the beast.”

Mayarrack clapped, and a servant came into the room. After hearing something from the man, the servant went out and briefly returned with a piece of parchment and a fancy-looking pen along with a small bowl of red mush. Hamanur took the parchment and pen and began writing on it, whatever it was.

“I hereby transfer my responsibility of hunting one wyvern to the Jakhar Kishaks, as decreed by the Royal Code, and state that every and all damages done by the wyvern will be on the Jakhar Kishaks, not the Watayurks. The ownership of the wyvern goes to—”

“Shaden,” Shaden answered when the man looked at him.

“Sha-den,” the man spelled out. “For as long as the wyvern remains here alive, so will the responsibility. To revoke your ownership, you will have to bring the wyvern or its head to the Wall of Arrows. Do you understand?”

Shaden nodded. The man didn’t seem satisfied but went on.

“Now, excuse my lack of a seal.”

The man put his thumb into the red mush and pressed it against his signature. He then handed the pen over to Shaden and pointed next to his name. Shaden signed the document and put his fingerprint on the paper as well.

For Mayarrack, the family seal was brought out in addition to the signature and fingerprint. After everything was complete, they created another copy and did the same.

“May your friendship with the wyvern be eventless and peaceful,” Hamanur said, tucking the document inside of his cloak. The other copy, Shaden kept for himself with a warning from Mayarrack who told him, “You will have to kill the wyvern if you lose it.” Shaden placed it inside of the pouch that held the small golden plate he’d received during his time at the Great Library.

“Now, your beast officially belongs to you,” Mayarrack told him. “It will be branded with the family seal to avoid confusion. Do you want to accompany us? I can handle it if you do not want to see it in pain.”

Branded? But of course. That was how they’d keep track of which wyvern was his. “I’ll come,” Shaden said, and they got up to head over to the wyvern.

There were plenty of fires around, and apparently, branding was a common practice because a servant brought over a long stick with the Jackhar Kishak crest on it—a roaring face of a feline. It took around a minute for the iron to heat up.

“There is a chance that it will lash out,” Hamanur warned, inspecting the wyvern. Noticing their presence, it had raised its head. Shaden’s bond with it had never really disconnected because of his limitless mana, and he let the wyvern know of his feelings, and it looked at the heating iron.

“It says it can handle a tickle,” Shaden said. Hamanur looked at him like he’d said something dumb, but Shaden ignored it. Only Mayarrack seemed to know what he was talking about.

Before anyone else could take the iron, Shaden picked it up and approached the wyvern.

“It’s perfectly fine,” Mayarrack told the wary hunter when he tried to take the iron away from Shaden. He didn’t seem convinced but held back with his arms crossed.

“The lower side of the right wing is preferable,” Hamanur called, “for at least three seconds!”

The wyvern spread its wing when Shaden approached. Taking in a deep breath, he signaled the wyvern before he pressed the heated metal on its skin, making a sizzling noise. He felt pain coursing through the wyvern, but it remained still.

Unlike its scaly skin, the wyvern’s wings—while thick and tough—were vulnerable to fire. When he lifted the branding iron, the flesh had turned red and brown from the damage, smelling like roasted meat. The wyvern squawked but remained still.

“That must hurt,” Shaden winced, promising to heal it later. “Is that good enough?”

Hamanur was still frowning, though it was more from surprise this time. He nodded, clapping his hands.

“Incredible. Is the wyvern drugged? No—I sense the movement of mana.”

“He is a prodigy,” Mayarrack said.

The wyvern was hurting too much, though it didn’t show it outwardly. Shaden went ahead and applied healing magic to the wound, making sure the pattern of the brand would remain after the recovery was done.

“What!”

Hamanur raised his hands, turning to Mayarrach with wide eyes. “The boy can heal?”

“It seems so,” Mayarrack replied, equally as astonished.

“Isn’t healing common?” Shaden asked, returning after completely freeing the wyvern of its pain, who snuggled on the floor. “It’s basic stuff, right? Just chant it and it’s done.”

“Only those who have dedicated themselves to the craft can mend flesh so quickly,” Hamanur told him, “and I’ve never heard of a child in this country who could tame wyverns. The beast seems calm, and I’ve rarely seen such calm wyverns before after a branding. Who is this boy? The color of his skin—is he from the Empire?”

“He is a relative from far away,” Mayarrack said.

“Of course.”

Hamanur’s hard expression had shifted. When he approached Shaden, his gestures were careful, and he bowed, raising his hands in front of him respectfully.

“Young prodigy from the Jakhar Kishaks. If it wouldn’t bother you, I pray that you travel west to the Wall of Arrows and help my people,” he requested firmly. “It will not take four—no, three days from here. People are dying, and we need all the help we can get. You will be rewarded handsomely.”

Shaden looked at Mayarrack for assistance.

“It is your choice,” the old man told him.

He hadn’t even stayed a week at the settlement, and he had already been given an opportunity to travel. He didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but there was one thing he’d learned during his travels with Lytha and Eilae. Traveling was fun, and new, exquisite foods were always welcome.

“Is the food good there?” Shaden asked the hunter.

“Of course. We have the finest wyvern meat that you can obtain, as well as special spices that only grow in the east. Healers are treated with the utmost respect.”

“How long will I have to stay?”

“The migration lasts until the tenth month.”

“So around three months.”

“If you won’t mind, will you leave us alone for a while?” Mayarrack asked the man, stepping forward. Hamamur nodded and returned to the tent where they’d come from, and the old man pulled Shaden aside to talk to him.

“It is very dangerous in the east,” Mayarrack said, “especially during the migration season. While Nafar is protected by the Wall of Arrows, there is always the chance of something going through.

“Like the wyvern I caught.”

“Yes. And others too. But—I’ve seen you handle yourself. The people there are rough and strong, and while Hamamur is a fine man, others can be forceful. That is what I am worried about.”

“Oh.”

“There is another reason as well. You will take it with you, no?” Myarrack said, pointing to the wyvern. “The people there frown upon those who have wyverns that are not those from the Royal Family or the Watayurks. And with a good reason, as there have been many massacres due to the beasts’ uncontrollable nature.”

Shaden scratched his cheek. “Did that happen with your family too?”

“Us?” Mayarrack let out a soft chuckle. “Of course not. No one is better than us at taming beasts.”

“Then why don’t you raise wyverns yourselves?”

“It is illegal to breed them,” he answered. “Or rather, it is illegal to have both a male and a female. One is okay.”

“That’s a weird rule.”

“It is to preserve order. Being so apart from one another, separated by endless stretches of sand, strict laws for peace are necessary. It is not like we need wyverns. We also have plenty of other predators.”

“But none of them are stronger than wyverns.”

“None of the stronger ones can fly.”

“You should accept!”

Both of them turned towards Eshel, who appeared from the shadows. Her father raised an eyebrow.

“I will make sure he is safe,” Eshel confidently stated, putting a fist on her chest. “Shaden, if you go, we can go through the capital as well! The Wall of Arrows is a great place to hunt game, and I’ve heard that the buildings there are unlike anything we have here. A giant structure of solid stone! Imagine that.”

“Eshel—”

“Father, Sister will have to take her usual trip to the capital, will she not? And she will leave within a week’s time.”

“Yes, but you are going to the Wall. Not the capital.”

“They are close enough. Just a few days apart.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“You simply wish to see the capital again.”

Eshel shrugged. “I’ve never seen the Wall before. This will be a good experience.”

“It is not for you to decide,” Mayarrack scolded, smacking his daughter on the head with a stick that had emerged from his robes. “It is his decision.”

Eshel looked at him with eager eyes while rubbing her head.

“Give me some time to think about it,” Shaden told them. “It’s too sudden to decide.”

“Very well.”

“Just say your answer before Sister leaves,” Eshel urged, “which is in five days.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Father, I actually came here to invite Shaden to our meditating session. Will that be okay? Even Auntie accepted him as family now.”

“He knows how to bond! Get it through your thick skull,” the old man said to her.

Eshel slapped her forehead. “Oh, right.”

Yanking him by the arm, the girl dragged Shaden towards the tent where her siblings were meditating. Eshon and Keyga glanced at them when they entered, but closed their eyes and remained silent while sitting cross-legged, their hands on their knees.

Shaden felt the flow of mana in their bodies. They were circulating.

“I’m sure this won’t be easy for you,” Eshel said, motioning him to sit down before her, “but with practice, you can control your body so it won’t be affected by the desert heat.”

But he’d already done that.

“Do you know how to flow your energy?” she asked.

“Do you mean circulating mana? Yes.”

“Same thing,” Eshel shrugged. “Even if you know how to do it, I’m sure I can teach you more. I’m the best out of us three, after all.”

“I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to, sister,” Eshon yawned, falling on his back.

“He’s younger than Keyga.”

The guy didn’t bother replying, as he was busy playing with his cat now. Eshel rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her knees.

“Ignore him. I’ll let you know that I can make my energy flow for three hours,” she stated proudly, puffing up her chest. “And that’s when I’m doing it strongly.”

“I just keep it on,” Shaden told her. “I’m circulating even now.”

Eshel crossed her arms. “Are you? Perhaps you are mistaken.”

“No, really.” Shaden glanced at the others. “Is there any way you can tell?”

Eshel leaned forward and placed a hand on his chest. “I don’t feel anything,” she told him.

“That’s because I’m circulating weakly. How’s this?”

“I feel it now. Is this the best you can do? In that case—”

Becoming slightly annoyed, Shaden exploded his rate of circulation, causing Eshel to yank her hand away with a yowl. She rubbed her fingers, looked at them, looked at him, looked at her siblings who were looking at her, then groaned, slamming the ground with her fists.

“Fine! I’m going to go take a walk.”

Getting up, she stomped away outside. Shaden could feel her circulating as she moved away from the tent. Not sure of what to do, he turned to the other two who were still inside of the tent.

Eshon was circulating, and surprisingly, his cat was too. While subtle, Eshon was clearly helping its cat meditate, though outwardly, it looked nothing more than playing around. Shaden had not known that such a thing was possible, so he was curious to learn about it. Getting up, he walked over to the guy and sat down before him.

“Need something?” he asked, keeping his eyes on his cat. Its name was Proody, Shaden remembered.

“How do you do that?” Shaden asked.

“Do you mean flowing energy inside of your bond?”

Shaden nodded. “I’d like to learn that too.”

“I suppose my sister isn’t available. Where’s that girl when you need her?” Eshon muttered, getting up. “I’d like to tell you to bring your bond here, but I don’t think a wyvern would fit through the door.”

“Wyvern! Sure it would,” Keyga blurted, suddenly interested. “I forgot about that! Hey, is it true you tamed it?”

The boy was never energetic during mealtimes, so Shaden was surprised when he suddenly began to stare at him with wide eyes. Shaden scratched his cheek.

“Yeah. I did.”

“That’s so cool. Isn’t it? Eshon, we need to bring it in here. What if it runs away? I’ve never touched a wyvern before.”

“But the clean floor will—fine, as long as it doesn’t get on the beds,” Eshon relented, not being able to win against his brother’s plea. “You’re cleaning up afterwards if it becomes dirty, yes?”

“Mmmmmmeeeh.”

“Then I guess it can stay—”

“Okay, okay!” Keyga exclaimed, grabbing onto Shaden’s shirt. He pulled him towards the entrance with urgency. “Let’s go, let’s bring the wyvern!”

Keyga was apparently the loudest of them all when he was excited. Not wanting to disappoint the child, Shaden followed him to where the beast was and beckoned it to come out of the fence after they were near. Keyga squealed in delight as the creature fluttered out of the enclosure, spreading its wings and letting out a low growl—a signal of obedience. It wanted Shaden to know that it liked its new mark because it set it apart from the rest.

“Glad you liked it,” Shaden smiled, patting its head. It blinked and smelled him with its tongue.

“Cool. Does it have a name? Is it a he or a she?”

“I didn’t name it yet,” Shaden told him, bringing the wyvern along to the tent. “It’s a male.”

“You didn’t name your bond? Isn’t he your first bond?”

“I think so.”

“You need to name it,” Keyga insisted, his eyes never leaving the wyvern’s body. He seemed like he wanted to touch it, stretching his hand forward, but the wyvern’s grunts didn’t allow him to do so.

“I will. Do you want to touch it?”

“Can I? Will it bite?”

“Nope.”

“Okay.”

Keyga let out a gasp of awe when his hand moved over the wyvern’s scales, feeling its rough skin with his fingers.

“This is amazing, no? I always heard that wyverns would tear your face out before you got close enough to do anything.”

“Will you?” Shaden asked the wyvern. It made a gurgling noise with its throat. No, apparently. Shaden patted it and smiled. “This one’s a gentle one,” he reassured.

“Any animal is gentle after being bonded,” Keyga stated, admiring the wyvern. “You’re special, aren’t you? That’s why they all went to meet you.”

Shaden guessed he meant the celebration for his birthday. “I don’t know. Maybe I am,” he chuckled, causing Keyga to raise an eyebrow.

“I am special too. I can tame animals better than anyone,” Keyga said.

“Yeah,” Shaden agreed, not wanting to argue with the boy. They entered the tent, and Shaden made sure the wyvern’s sharp claws didn’t scratch the doors. It was funny to see the wyvern all bundled up as it tried its best to wiggle through, but it made it past the flaps without much difficulty. Once inside, Shaden tapped on the floor at the center of the room, and the wyvern lied down, putting its head on the carpet. Seeing them arrive, Eshon got up and moved towards them while his cat stayed at a distance, glaring at the wyvern with wide eyes.

“Okay,” Eshon began. “You will have to teach your bond how to make its energy flow.”

“I can’t use my mana to make its energy flow?”

Eshon shook his head. “The mana of yourself and your bond are different, no? It will not do anything if you use your own mana. It would rather hinder it.”

“Ah.”

“You must share your senses with your bond. It comes automatically when you are connected, but you must increase the exchange of feelings until it understands. That is why it takes much care and bonding to allow your animal to flow its energy—you must become its close companion. But you cannot force it. You must wait until it is able to learn. You are merely holding the torch as it makes its way through the dark road.”

“Mhmm.”

“Once your animal is able to flow their energy, you will be able to learn from their flow. It is different for each animal, and through using their techniques, you can discover things you have never known before.”

Now that sounded cool. Shaden nodded, eager to learn.

“Is there anything you’ve learned from your cat?” he asked, looking at the feline. It had mustered the courage to near the wyvern and was punching its tail now. The wyvern didn’t care.

“Many things. For one, the lazy flow, I call it. It is the technique of meditating while being comfortable.”

“So that’s why you were lying down.”

“Yes. It is convenient. Though my sister says that it’s not very effective.” Eshon shrugged. “Everyone has their own ways. I think mine is great.”

“Can your bond learn from you too?”

“If it is intelligent enough. Though, Proody here, smart as she is, is too lazy and old to try.”

The cat hissed as the wyvern twitched its tail, and it jumped back weakly. Then it sat down and began licking its paws.

“For now, continue to flow your energy while you are connected with your bond,” Eshon instructed. “Let it know what you are doing. If it is bright, it will try to do the same. If not, it will require some patience.”

“I will have you know that I have taught twenty-three animals to flow their energy,” Keyga proudly stated, puffing out his chest. “More than fifty if you count insects.”

“You can tame insects?”

“Yes,” Eshon sighed, “but what point is there in bonding with something that will forget you seconds after?”

“You could tame a whole colony of wasps.”

“You could try. But even Father can only stay bonded to six animals at once.”

“I can do thirteen!” Keyga piped up.

“Yes, but your connection is weak,” Eshon said. “But yes, my brother is talented in that area. The only problem is that he refused to study or do anything else—”

“I won’t need it. You guys can do it while I take care of the animals.”

“—he doesn’t understand,” Eshon sighed again. But he smiled when Keyga jumped on his arm and clung to it. “I hope you will teach him the importance of knowledge,” Eshon told Shaden quietly while Keyga tried to twist his arm. “I’m sure you would know.”

“I’ll try,” Shaden replied.

“I don’t need to be taught by someone younger than me,” Keyga laughed as he attempted to lock his brother’s arm in his grip. But Eshon was too strong for him. The boy screamed when Eshon retaliated and began tickling him, kicking his feet in the air as he helplessly tried to protect his sides.

Ignoring them, Shaden faced his wyvern, who blinked.

“I’ll have to name you first, won’t I?” he said. “I wonder…”

The wyvern tilted its head, twisting its neck. Then it opened its mouth and growled as if trying to say something. Through the connection between them, Shaden knew that the wyvern wanted to be called a series of precise throat and teeth noises that Shaden didn’t understand.

“Grakararagrar?” Shaden snorted, trying to make sense of the wyvern’s noises. Even with his innate ability to understand all languages, he still couldn’t understand animal sounds.

The wyvern twisted its head again, then said another phrase Shaden didn’t understand.

“That sounds different from before,” Shaden complained.

The wyvern blinked. Frankly, it didn’t care about names. Its kind identified each other through smell. It went ahead and said another name Shaden couldn’t make sense of.

“Right.” Shaden scratched his cheek. “I guess I’ll call you Grak. Do you like it?”

The wyvern snorted, placing its head down. Now that the matter was over with, it wanted to do the exciting activity that Shaden had had in mind. Shrugging, Shaden sat down next to the wyvern’s long neck and took in a deep breath.

“Okay, now try to do what I’m going to do,” he told Grak. It blinked in response.

Shaden increased the flow of his mana so that the wyvern would clearly notice it, and it inspected him with curious eyes, intrigued by the surge of power.

“Think you can do it?” Shaden asked. The wyvern closed its eyes.

Apparently, not right away. Grak was trying his best, but he wasn’t quite understanding the concept of mana. As talented as Shaden was, he guessed that he couldn’t force another living creature to circulate.

“Is there any way to speed up the process?” Shaden asked, turning to Eshon, who’d managed to wrestle his brother away.

“As you are inexperienced, there isn’t much you can do,” Eshon said. “You must understand how to teach. Tell your animal how to flow its energy. Once you both understand the process, it will become easier to teach another, but you must have patience in the beginning.”

Shaden nodded. Not everything was going to be easy, after all—though this was the first time he’d run into a wall.

“How long does it take?” he asked.

“I did it in just two weeks!” Keyga said with a grin.

“Normally, it would take an hour of practice for a month or two each day,” Eshon told him, “but I took four, so take your time. But with your abilities...hmm. I wouldn’t be surprised if you achieved it within a week. Or a day, now that I think of it.”

“Maybe. I’ll have to try.”

Shaden continued to meditate while the wyvern watched him. He wasn’t quite sure how this would work, so all he had to do was wait for the wyvern to understand. If a cat could do it, so could a wyvern.

After a while, Eshel barged into the room, telling everyone that it was getting late and that they should sleep. So Shaden returned the wyvern to the pen while he returned to his tent to sleep for the night.

As he lay there on the bed, he thought about the events the day had brought. It had been a day packed with incidents, starting from the horse race to the appearance of wyverns, to taming one and hearing about the east from the hunters.

He loved having his life filled with action and fun—much more so when he was Shaden. Here, with all the power he had, he could do everything he wanted without paying for the consequences. So far, nothing had posed a threat to him.

He could afford to be a little foolish. Eshel had wanted to go as well.

“The Wall of Arrows…” he mumbled.

The east of the Wall was a dangerous place filled with numerous creatures and vegetation he hadn’t seen before. Wyverns had been a pleasant surprise, but he couldn’t help but yearn for more. He’d waited this long—he’d seen enough culture and eaten enough dishes. What he wanted was to put his powers into good use, to wave his hands and take down a thousand enemies in one blow, to show off a bit if he could.

But this was a peaceful world. There were no wars or internal disputes that threatened to tear countries apart, no rampaging demon lord who wanted to take over the world. The most powerful people he’d met had been residing in a library, focused more on knowledge than anything else.

He wanted something more.

Turning on his bed, he bid Grak good night, who snorted in response. Maybe keeping the connection on while he slept and circulated would do the trick. He was good at keeping his magic active while he slept since his aunt had drilled it into him during their time together. He was grateful for that.

I’ll go east, and I’ll take down some wyverns, he decided. He had the power to save people. It would be a shame if he stayed here without doing anything.

Feeling content with his decision, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

“Remember—we are going there as tourists, not as reinforcements.”

Shaden nodded after Shaya had informed him about how things would proceed. Eshel and Keyga were laughing in the background, animated from going out on a trip to the capital. Their grandparents lived there which they hadn’t seen in a long time. They were people who likely knew his grandfather—and his father before him.

It had always struck him strange that he’d only had a grandfather and not a great-grandfather. Through circulating, a person’s life expectancy would increase dramatically, and reaching a hundred years of age didn’t seem too difficult. But despite that, he didn’t have great-grandparents. Or great-great-grandparents.

Even if their abilities were supreme, were they not that great at circulating? That didn’t seem right. His grandfather proved against that. The old man possessed a mana flow that surged like a violent river.

He’d ask if he had the chance.

I haven’t seen my grandparents in a long time, he thought.

As Demund, it hadn’t been common to visit his grandparents. They lived far away, and his parents hadn’t really been fond of traveling due to their old age.

“I must ask—do you have to be covert?” Shaya asked him, breaking him away from his thoughts. “Given the nature of your family.”

“I don’t think so,” Shaden replied. They hadn’t really been hidden when he’d traveled around with Lytha and Eilae. “But please don’t go around announcing me.”

“Excellent. Now, stay with Eshel if you will. It would be dreadful if we lost you.”

Shaden nodded and went back to rejoin the siblings, who had gotten on their kevali. Shaden was impressed to see Keyga riding alone, and he could feel the faint connection between him and the animal, soothing it. So faint that even he would have missed it if he hadn’t concentrated. The boy was good at controlling his flow of mana.

“I hope Grak won’t be too stressed,” Shaden said, getting on behind Eshel. “Maybe I should have let him fly.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Eshel reassured. “We are a wealthy family, no? We can afford to take a hundred wyverns with us.”

“But the servants are doing the work.”

“They are paid for it,” Eshel stated. “Besides, the kevali pull the carriage, not the people.”

“Your bird is free.”

“She is a bird. You are saying weird things. Isn’t that right, Shan?”

The hawk squealed in response.

Since he could feel the wyvern’s emotions, Shaden felt bad for keeping it inside of a caged cart when it deserved to fly around freely. But the people in the capital wouldn’t be as understanding if they saw one flying around, and Shaya had told him that unless he kept Grak from flying, he wouldn’t be able to bring it.

He couldn’t leave it either. Well, he could, but everyone else was bringing their bonds along. And Grak had been sad to see him leave, so he had to bring him with him. Not to mention that Grak was very close to circulating properly. He wasn’t quite there yet, but he was learning.

If things became boring at the capital, Grak would keep him occupied.

“Set march!”

The numerous members of the caravan echoed the command and set out towards the east, their mounts and carts filled with goods to sell and gold to buy supplies with. At the head of it all was the first daughter of the Jakhar Kishaks, Shaya with her snake around her neck. Her responsibility was a great one, and she had both the ability and the prestige to achieve everything she needed.

And at the back was Shaden, an excited, lighthearted boy who was eager to fight some monsters.