The caravan departed the next day, leaving the town of Cliffside behind as they ventured back onto the open plain. From the town, it was a little over a two week journey to the edge of The Northern Plateau, where they’d arrive at their destination.
Corrin was excited to get back outside and resume the journey. Cliffside had been a great stop, but from what he’d heard it couldn’t compare to Precipice—the only city on the entire Northern Plateau. He’d been careful not to let the traders reveal too much about it, as he wanted it to remain a surprise, but he knew it was large, containing more people than he’d ever seen in his entire life. Even more than that, he would get to see The Grass Sea, something he’d been hearing about all his life, a sight on par with The Windfall Mountains. In his mind, it was there, leaving the plateau, that his journey would truly begin.
Still, it was weeks away, so in the meantime he continued to work on his mana control. He and Wyn’s miles-long race through the valley had been illuminating, revealing several things he hadn’t known about mana and how it worked. Namely, it hadn’t exhausted him like his fight in Straetum had. He didn’t know exactly why that was, but he had a few working theories.
The one he thought best was that channeling and using mana strained his channels more depending on the rate and force of use. In escaping the dungeon and fighting the leviathan, he’d been burning through the mana at a rate that would now leave him drained in only a few minutes, which he figured was like carrying a heavy rock.
In the run to catch the caravan though, he’d used much less at any time, using it at the same rate he could take it in with his breathing, and not circulating mana to any particular body part. In that way, he’d been able to keep going for hours, while also lessening the strain on his channels. He compared it to walking, something he could do for hours without feeling a thing. Doing so, he wasn’t much faster or stronger than without channeling, but he was still enhanced.
If it worked like a muscle, then he figured the best way to train it would just be to use it and let it recover naturally. Thus, he’d taken to sprinting up and down the length of the caravan, circulating as much mana to his legs as he could while he did until he ran out. Still, he hoped he was getting something out of his training. Assuming his muscle analogy was right, it would take time to see the results, but he hoped it would either result in increased capacity, or greater power.
Part of the issue was that the air was so thin with mana, it took forever to recover afterwards. In Straetum, the tomb, and even Cliffside, he was limited not by the amount available, but by his own channels. Here in the plains though, he found that the amount of mana available was scarce.
After running as much as he could, he stumbled onto the nearest cart, drained and out of breath. It was strange, there was a base level of mana that he couldn’t breathe from his body, the effects of which he couldn’t even feel without channeling it to a specific area. But if he exhausted himself via activity, it would be used just fine, and he would be left tired, just as before he’d learned of mana.
Just one more mystery. He thought to himself.
His stomach rumbled furiously. Lunch had been hours ago, and dinner couldn’t come fast enough.
A voice whispered from his left, disrupting his panting, and distracting him from the grumble in his stomach. “Um, what are you doing? Er—my lord.” Kei looked over at him from her seat, looking confused and clearly a little grossed out.
Well, I am covered in sweat, so maybe that’s fair.
“Please, I’m begging you to drop the ‘My Lord’ thing,” Corrin wheezed, taking off his shirt. Kei blushed and looked away. “I’m not a lord, it just sounds weird. And honestly, I’m too tired to put up with it right now.”
“You’re a Spirit Knight in training!” She protested, “I should refer to you with the respect your station deserves. Also, please put your shirt back on. You’re sitting too close.”
“Great, then you can respect me by dropping the title. And I’ll have to pass, it’s drenched.” He did scoot a little further away to be polite.
“What would you have me call you then?”
He stared at her. “Corrin. Just Corrin. That would be perfect.”
“Corrin.” She nodded
“See? Much better!” Corrin settled into the bench across from her, “I’m just gonna sit here for a bit, that run took it out of me.”
“I understand.” Kei looked extremely uncomfortable, which Corrin found kind of funny.
“So, Kei, you’re from the capital, right?”
“Yes, I am. Why do you ask?”
She was a bit warmer at dinner. He thought to himself.
“Well, I wanted to know what it’s like.” He paused, “Actually wait no, don’t tell me, I wanna see for myself. Just tell me a bit about yourself instead.
She glanced over, her eyes calculating. “Well, I come from a small merchant family in Taravast, and I—”
“So then what brings you all the way out here? Does it have something to do with that magic stone from the other day?”
“Not really. I was sent out here— I was sent here to look for someone, apparently my father used to know them. But I didn’t find them. That stone was a happy accident, so at least the trip wasn’t a total waste.” She sighed, placing her chin in her hand.
“Damn, that sucks. So how’d a girl like you get roped into this? I mean, no offense, but you don’t seem like the type for a long journey.”
Kei sputtered. “Wha—ba—I volunteered to be here. It was me or my brother and he’s needed in Taravast…far more than I am.”
Corrin’s opinion of Kei rose a little higher at that. She was the kind of girl that would go outside of her comfort zone to achieve a goal. From his view of her so far, he would’ve thought she was far too pampered for such a thing. In this at least, he could respect her. “So your brother then, he’s important?”
She nodded. “He’s head of the family in all but name lately. Our father is si—indisposed, so most of the day-to-day operation of the company has fallen to him. It’s fine though, my brother is incredible. He’s intelligent, charismatic, a good leader, and he is even known for being a good duelist. In fact, I’ve heard he’s one of the best duelists his age in the capital, and he’s been helping run the family since he was only six.”
And suddenly, she’s chatty?
“Oh? Now that’s interesting,” Corrin mused. “If he’s a good duelist, I think you’ll have to introduce me when we get to the capital. I’d love to spar with him.”
Kei made a face. “I suppose… If you don’t mind my asking, why were you running around like that?”
“Oh, I’m just trying to train my mana, I don’t really know of an easier way to burn it out quickly.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know much about it myself,” Kei said. “Cidus knew more; he was a channeler. But since I never became open, I never bothered to learn.”
“A channeler huh? Is that what we’re called? What’s the difference between a channeler and a Spirit Knight?”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Other than an ocean of power, I couldn’t say. You would probably know more than I.”
Corrin laughed. “I doubt that highly. I only found out about it a few months ago myself. I’m just guessing on most of this stuff.”
“You—you’re just guessing?” Kei exclaimed. “Didn’t your master teach you anything?”
“Master? Wyn and I are mostly self-taught, we had some mentors back in our village, but neither could do the things we can.”
Kei leaned back like she’d gotten dizzy. “You mean to tell me you got this strong on your own?” Her eyes looked at him appraisingly, like she was reassessing his worth. They seemed to grow more piercing in that moment, like she’d taken on more life. For the first time since he’d met her, he actually believed she might be a big-shot merchant. He felt like a piece of fruit getting checked for ripeness.
Just as Corrin was starting to get uncomfortable with the look she was giving him, there was a commotion from the front of the caravan, “Spirit beasts to the west! A whole herd!” One of them called out.
Corrin glanced westward, squinting away the sunlight. He didn’t have a spyglass like the spotter did, but he could see the distinct outlines of large creatures out in the distance.
“What kind of beast do you think they are? I can barely see anything from here.” Kei asked.
Corrin got a great idea. “Wanna go find out?”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“Do you trust me?” He held out his hand, grinning.
“Of—of course I do…” She took his hand hesitantly. Then let out a high-pitched yelp as Corrin scooped her up and leapt out of the carriage, taking off towards the herd. She was surprisingly light.
“What are you—let me down!” She yelled as she hit him in a panic, but she couldn’t get much force from her position, so he kept going.
Slowly, the herd drew closer as the wind rustled in his hair. He’d sucked in as much mana as he could, but he’d been drained, so it was already running out quickly. Just as they drew close enough to get into view, he ran out and came to a stop on top of a rocky outcropping, setting Kei down next to him.
“Please don’t ever do something like that again—” She started, but her breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of the majestic creatures, the nearest of which were now only about a couple hundred feet away. Even from the distance, their size was breathtaking. They looked like normal bison—but they were almost twice as large, with fur of silver and gold. Occasionally, one would leap into the air with grace that defied their size and build.
Corrin watched as one leapt, and landed in the air, prancing around through it as if it were normal ground. Its short horns trailed golden light as a variety of spirits spun in the air surrounding it.
“Incredible…” It was all he could say. If he had to guess, any one of them was at least as powerful as a single deep-floor monster from the Founder’s Tomb, and this herd had thousands of them, all peacefully grazing away from any traces of civilization.
“Aren’t spirit bison supposed to be rare?” Kei breathed; eyes transfixed on the sight.
“They are.” Corrin turned at the sound of a new voice, but it was just Wyn, walking up with an exasperated look on his face. “There might be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of normal bison on the plateau, roaming in herds even larger than this one, we passed one last week actually. But this might be the only herd of spirit bison in the entire northern half of the continent, and it’s certainly the only one on The Plateau.”
“I’m sorry, spirit bison?” Corrin asked. “That’s the laziest naming I’ve ever heard. Also, we passed a normal herd last week?”
Wyn sighed, “I didn’t name them, that’s just what they’re called. It’s accurate though. And yeah, there just wasn’t a big commotion about it, do you not talk to anyone? Regardless, you’re an idiot. What made you think running towards a herd as fast as you did was a good idea?”
“Uh,” Corrin didn’t know how to respond. “I thought it would be cool.”
“You’re lucky they probably don’t see us as a threat. And they’d be right.” He glanced at the herd, and once again Corrin found himself appreciating the sheer number of spirit beasts before him. Compared to this, even the number of monsters in the dungeon flood seemed miniscule.
“You seem to know a lot about spirit beasts,” Kei said. “Where’d you learn all that?”
Wyn shrugged. “I read a lot.”
Corrin wondered how much of that came from reading and how much from Wyn’s little friend, but he still hadn’t seen the damn thing, so it was impossible to tell. Still, Wyn read obsessively when they were younger, and information on The Northern Plateau was the easiest to come by, so it wasn’t that surprising.
Nobody spoke after that for a while, they just enjoyed the sight as the herd grazed, moving at a glacial pace across the grasslands, but Corrin supposed they weren’t exactly in a hurry. Slowly but surely though, the caravan was moving on without them, so after dragging Kei away from the top of the outcropping, they headed off back towards the train.
This time, Kei made no complaints when Corrin scooped her up, eyes still glued to the herd behind them as he ran. Eventually they reached the caravan, and he set her down by her cart. Trell walked over to them as they arrived, favoring his right leg—it seemed his injuries still hadn’t fully dissipated.
“I bet that was one hell of a sight,” He chuckled.
“You have no idea,” Corrin started. “I don’t know if you could tell from here, but they were huge, at least twice my height, like the size of one of the covered wagons…” When he finished regaling Trell with his descriptions, the older man whistled appreciatively.
“Wish I could’ve gotten the hide from one of them, it looks incredible and is far tougher than normal leather. Even a single hide can sell for a gold mark at Precipice.”
Kei gasped. “That’s terrible! How could you want to kill a creature like that? They were just grazing, it’s not like they attacked us!”
“That’s the way of the world princess,” Trell said, raising an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a merchant? You should know this. The regular ones get killed in the thousands for their furs, and a herd like this gets thinned at least once a year by larger groups. Trust me, companies like yours will do more damage to herds like that in a month than I could do in a lifetime. Not that I could kill one if I wanted to.”
“You couldn’t?” Corrin asked, “I’d think you could with a little time and a plan, even if you couldn’t kill one directly.”
Trell grunted, “Maybe, but the expense involved for someone like me to kill one safely would likely outweigh the money I’d make from it. Spirit bison are shockingly smart. That makes them harder to kill, and far, far, more dangerous. Plus, since they roam in herds, any plan that could take one, needs to be able to survive a stampede from the rest in the worst case. You’d do well to remember that. Most normal herds are hunted by guiding the group in a way that benefits the hunters. Spirit bison on the other hand, are much more resistant to being herded by humans, and they’re smart enough to avoid simple traps. Combine that with their tough-as-steel hide and the fact that the damn things can basically fly, and they’re almost impossible to kill for normal people.”
“Wow,” Wyn said thoughtfully. “What incredible creatures.”
Corrin agreed with the sentiment, though he was a little bummed he wouldn’t be able to fight one. He didn’t want to kill them, but he would’ve liked to know how they stacked up to the monsters on the deep floors. Still, it wasn’t worth risking a stampede so close to the caravan.
“Well, glad you kids got to see them up close, glad you didn’t get trampled.” Trell laughed, walking off towards the front.
Wyn left soon after to go help pull one of the carts that had gotten stuck in a rut. Corrin figured he wasn’t needed, and he was still tired from his running, so he stayed behind to relax more. He sat next to Kei again, who seemed oddly more reserved even compared to normal. It didn’t bother him too much though, a gentle breeze was blowing across the caravan which just felt great in the fading heat of the setting sun, so he leaned back and closed his eyes, thinking of the recipes he wanted to try out for the next dinner.
Wait, next dinner… the setting sun?
He opened his eyes and shot to his feet, causing Kei to jump in her seat. “Crap! I wanted to help make dinner tonight!” He jumped off the cart and started towards the front. They’d be stopping soon, and he wanted to see if the wives in the caravan would let him help in their cooking. His own stews were great, but he needed to branch out. He’d even gotten some advice from Farris he wanted to try out. Not to mention some new ingredients. Ah the joys of having carts to store food in.
“Hey Corrin, wait!” Kei’s voice called out from behind him.
“What is it?”
She stumbled slightly over her words, speaking softly. “Uh… Thank you. For, you know, taking me with you.”
Corrin snorted, before shooting her a grin. “You don’t need to thank me for that. We’re friends, aren’t we? If you wanna pay me back, just come try the food I make tonight and tell me what you think!”
Her eyes widened a little at that, but Corrin was in a hurry, he couldn’t let those old bats decide on the menu without him. He took off, leaving Kei in the dust.
***
To Kei, the whole experience with the spirit bison had been a bit surreal. Living a “pampered” life in the city, she’d never been so close to such large spirit beasts in her entire life, and it was a breathtaking sight.
But as she watched Corrin dashed further up the caravan and out of sight, the spirit bison were the furthest thing from her mind. In fact, she’d almost forgotten about the event entirely. Yet still, she sat there, frozen and unsure how to respond to his simple declaration.
She touched her fingers to her lips as she thought about what Corrin had said. She remembered feeling something like it before. It was a sickening type of nostalgia, like being poisoned by her favorite food.
We’re family, aren’t we?
The words she loved most of all. And the words she hated more than anything. She thought she’d killed the part of her that craved to hear them. But she couldn’t help it: in a small corner in her heart, one she didn't want to admit existed, the words made her happy.
“We’re not friends… and we won't be,” she muttered. She had to convince herself. She needed to hate those words.
Still, she resolved to go try his cooking that night. After all, it was the least she could do to pay back her debt. And if it was good, then all the better.