Feeling the early morning crisp winter air in our enclosure on my cheeks, I pulled my fur cover over my head and shivered. "Ota, let my journey lead me south, where the warmer weather is waiting for me." I begged whispering to myself.

"Wouldn't that be a treat?" Asked my father.

I pulled the fur off of my face and looked at the three of them huddled around a hot morning fire, warm. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Sigurd smiled, "You needed the break." He gave me a wink.

"At least there's no snow, right?" My father asked. I nodded agreeing.

"I would be happy waking up on a nice hot beach, in a distance land." Sigurd said. "I can second that one, Sigurd." I agreed with him

The four of us had a chuckle.

After we had all finished our morning meal, the remaining of our bread, my father suggested we do some hunting as we travelled this morning.

"Are we close to the river Sigurd?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes, we should be there mid day if our travels go well."

I would do what Aadi told me. I wont hold back anymore. Thinking about this, I held my hand out in front of my and thought 'Ignis", a flame came to life in my hand, but it was no bigger then my usual flame I could produce.

I focused in the flames licking the air, flickering against my hand, I thought 'altus ignis'. The flames got high and hot, I held them out slightly admiring them. I smiled and closed my hand, killing the flames.

I had forgot about the other three around me preparing to leave. All three of them cheer for me. "That was great, Kay!" My father said excitedly.

I nodded, "I was given some advice, last night." I stood up and walked over to my horse and started to strap in my gear.

I was strapping on a rolled fur when Bellator came up to me, took my hand and turned me to look at him. "Want to try some more of that later? I want to see what you can do." He smiled, giving me a quick kiss and mounted his horse.

"Lets go get that stone." He said.

Making sure my bow and arrow were available for a nice fat rabbit, or something larger. I would even settle for some fish right now. Sigurd said the river was fed by the sea, so maybe we can get our hands on some larger fish. We can spend the night smoking and drying it on a fire.

Lost in thought of hunting, I was listening to the forest.

"Sigurd? How do we create the blood stone?" I asked him.

"Through sacrifice. Give to get." He told me.

"Ok, you said we need red coral?" I wanted to know what we had to do in complete detail.

"Yep, we do." He said.

"Sigurd, won't you just tell me what the process is?" I asked in a huff.

"Yes." He said.

"Now.?" I was wondering if I was wasting my time.

"No." he said to me, and he pulled his horse a little farther ahead of mine, ending the conversation. Yep, I was wasting my time.

I felt like Sigurd was hiding something from me. Something he wanted to keep for himself.

I nudged my horse forward to follow him, not today Sigurd. I was determined.

"What about the tooth? What is that about?" I insisted.

"It's a memory." He said.

"That's what you said. Wont you tell me about it?" I asked.

At first he didn't say anything. He just stayed silent. Then he sighed, "I don't see why not."

"I was a boy when I got this." He pointed to his bag. "The tooth." Then he stopped talking again.

"And?" I asked impatiently.

"Well, that's it. I got it when I was a boy. When I lived in that village." He said.

"Oh for Ota's sake man, you are going to drive her insane, not to mention I want to know as well." My father joined in.

"Here, here!" Bellator added in.

We all laughed, but I wasn't going to give in.

"Seriously, Sigurd. What's it about. Did you wrestle a wolf and tear it out of its mouth with your bare hands?" I fooled.

He smiled. "It was a gift from the seer of my village , LaBeth. He was my mentor before he was killed. I learned to deal with things on my own, obviously. I became a wanderer. Yanna gave me this when I was younger. Before all my tragedy. He helped me as a child when I had... you know." Sigurd trailed off

I left it alone. I was sorry I brought it up.

We only had enough luck to catch two conies, before we reached the river.

"Just there," Sigurd pointed through some trees, "The river."

You could smell the sea water as we got closer moving through the trees. The burbling and splashing of the water was guiding us towards it. The river was wide, and there was a rocky shore on either side, the water was clear and moving at a slow leisurely pace. It was full of life, the fish swimming in schools, and the red coral reef stood out well. At least it wasn't going to be hard to find.

"Concerns?" I asked anyone willing to answer.

"Blurbos are common finds in these waters." Sigurd told us.

"Blurbos? This far inland?" My father asked.

Blurbos were larger seal type of creatures. Except instead of small webbed flippers, it has larger webbed flippers the same size of its body. They have a couple of rows of sharp teeth and are carnivorous, so they probably wouldn't hesitate to try us out for their supper.

"They like the easy fishing." Sigurd explained.

"I'm not swimming with blurbos." There was a limit to what I was going to get into the water with, under water death traps was where I drew the line.

Considering the abundance of fish here, that made sense.

"Lets set up here for the night anyways, then we can work on your stone as well, Kaida." Bellator suggested.

"Good idea." My father agreed.

"The stone with take a few days, we will need to break the coral down." Sigurd informed us.

"Okay, then we stay here until it is done." Said my father.

My father and I were unloading the canvas we brought for our enclosure off our horses, Bellator set to the task of collecting fire wood, Sigurd wandered down to the river.

"Think he's okay? Seems off to me." I asked my father.

"Seems off? Kaida..." He just looked at me.

I rolled my eyes, "I just mean, I like Sigurd, he's a good man. I worry about him is all."

"He's lucky to have you in his life, Kay." He told me.

I nodded. "I'm lucky too. Come on, let's go get some poles."

We headed into the forest in search of some trees we could use, piling a few felled branches, and some long twigs for other use.

"Father? When you decided to step away from Magus, did you live in Perifrey?" I asked him.

"No. Kai and I grew up in the awakened City of Theramill, beside the sea of Fara." He told me.

"Across the sea? What was this scroll you said Kai had? Where did he find that? On the island?" I asked.

Theramill was on an island in the sea of Fara, not far from the mainland coast. It was well protected, and would usually be where the Magus and council would reside. Which is why I never expect Kai to be in the village of Perifrey. There are much grander places for the Magus to live then a village in the woods, at the base of a mountain.

From our family farm it would take several months, closer to a year. Perifrey was incredibly close to Duskenhills compared.

"Yeah, he found the scroll in some cave we used to explore as boys. I don't know what is on it though, Kay. I didn't care to ask him then." He admitted.

"I understand. Do you think that scroll was how he found Amaia?" I was curious if there was more on that scroll that could help us with our mission.

"Yes. He was obsessed with it. Always studying the text, trying to make sense of it. He told me the scroll spoke to him in ways no one could understand. I don't know. He changed after he found it. By the time I left and knew what he was going to do, the scroll was far from my mind." He explained.

I nodded. I don't think my father would have much information about the scroll, but Aadi might. Maybe I'll try to commune with him after we were done.

"Did you chose Duskenhills?" I asked my father.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Not really chose it. More like ended up there. Your mother and I traveled a long while before we settled on the farm. It was pure chance. We found out your mother was with child, and were offered the farm by a man I was helping for work." He told me.

"So the valley of Gweiadur is supposed to be a short trip from here, right?"

He shrugged, "That's what Sigurd said. We will ask him again when we get back. Why all these questions?"

"I need to know things." I told him, laughing.

"Well, stop talking and help me cut this tree down." He said to me.

Bellator had set up a fire with the two rabbits we caught cooking on a spit. We decided to collect coral in the morning and took the afternoon to prepare for our stay.

We we finishing up the tent, and Sigurd had returned with am arm full of salmon.

"Lets have a feast!" He said happily.

"Fresh Salmon? Sounds good to me." My father chimed in.

We got to work cleaning, and cooking fish, talking about whatever happen to come up. I took my opportunity.

"Sigurd? How far to the valley from here?" I asked him. My father rolled his eyes at me.

"About three days south east from here. We will have time to do what we need, I promise." He smiled at me.

I nodded.

"Sigurd?" I had another goal I aimed to hit before we retired for the night.

"Yes?" He asked me.

"Do you want to play nine men's moriss?" I asked as I pulled out a small travel board from my side bag.

We all laughed, and Sigurd agreed.

Sigurd insisted he was the lighter color each time, he said it matched his Aura better. There were two colors, each of us nine men. The goal is to get three of your own men in a row before your opponent. It has always been my favorite game, and so my father and I made this board to keep us busy on long travels.

We ate, and played, and laughed. It felt right, I knew the gods had gifted me two people in my life, and those two people were special to me.

Sigurd finally went to sleep, my father as well leaving Bellator and I to finish the fire.

I wanted to enjoy the night a little longer with Bellator.

"Why do you never talk of yourself, Bellator?" I asked him.

"What do you want to know?" He smiled.

"What of your family?" I don't think Bellator has ever mentioned family.

"My parents both died in battle, much like others. I was to young to remember them. My family consisted of Vala. She found me, and took me in, until I was old enough to be on my own." He thought for a moment. "When Kai came to Perifrey, She had me enroll as a soldier to gather information."

I moved closer to him, "I'm sorry." I said.

He nodded. "I will have my revenge on Kai for Vala's death, Kaida, by supporting you."

We eventually fell asleep by the fire, I didn't want to make things worse by prying open healing wounds.

The next morning came fast, and after being lectured by Sigurd about collecting the right kind of coral, and not to disturb the rest of the reef to ensure they lived a long healthy life.

"If you kill the reef, you kill thousands of lives. What would the gods say then?" Was exacatly what I was told at least a dozen times.

"What are we using to get to the reef?" Bellator asked Sigurd.

"We can drag up what we need with a net. But please, Don't disturb..."

"The rest of the reef, they need to stay healthy!" I interrupted him, with a smile. "We wont mess it up."

Sigurd threw the net towards a larger group of the red coral. It really did thrive in this River, it was everywhere. However, when he pulled the net in there was a single piece of coral.

"Sigurd, I think your net may have some holes." My father said.

"Its enchanted to only grab a single piece at a time. This way we don't take more then we need." He explained as he tossed it back out.

Nodding my father was examining the coral. The arms reaching out like a jellyfish tentacles.

"What does the red coral offer, Sigurd? I understand the color and the appeal of it. But, why this coral?" Bellator ask Sigurd.

"The coral connects with the life force of the one who needs the blood stone. It will help Kaida balance her magic between herself and Aadi." He told us.

"I see." Was all Bellator said.

While Sigurd was tossing the net out for a third time, I asked, "How many would you like to get for the stone, Siggy?"

I should have done some hunting while he was collecting. I made my self busy by gathering a few herbs that were growing along the end of the shore. I also found some wild roots, they will make a good change with our meal tonight. As I was stuffing the roots into my side bag, as I noticed something looking back at me from beyond the bush I was crouched in front of. I stopped moving, and looked back into the eyes of a brownie. Little pest was probably planning on harassing me. I reached down and pulled out another smaller orange root, passing it over to her hoping she would take it and leave.

She was dressed in clothing made of leaves, her short hair hiding underneath a small daisy for a hat. As she reached for the root, she smiled showing her pointed teeth.

In the smallest, voice she said, "Evil is in our forest. It's followed you here." She looked at me for another second and them hopped off disappearing into the thick of bushes.

"A brownie warned us of evil?" My father asked me unable to believe it happened.

"There's a number of evils that have probably taken to looking for us. Amaia's influence stretches far beyond just awakened." Sigurd said.

"Let's set up the camp with a few extra protection spells, we can sleep two at a time." My father offered as a plan.

As it was we had our three red coral pieces, so we climbed back up the shore towards the camp.

"Okay Sigurd, teach me the next move." I asked him

"Yes, we need to dry the coral and then we will break it down into piece." He said with a smile.

I followed him to the firepit, we tied the three piece to some leather and hung them on a long stick. We then attached it to the enclosure front nearest to the fire and left them.

"Over night?" I asked Sigurd.

"Exactly. Now for some other important work. Training!" He said happily.

I sighed, I knew he was right though.

Standing up I found a tree close to me for a target. I will avoid chucking fire, if I could even conjure a strong enough one to use.

"Tempestas percutiens." I whispered holding my hand above my head, imagining I was pulling lightening out of the sky, like I did at the farm.

I gripped the air and threw my arm down towards the ground.

It started to rain lightly. I looked at Sigurd who burst out laughing beside me.

"Are you...Are you laughing at me, Sigurd?" I asked him.

He didn't stop and put his hands out to the catch the light rain. "Indeed I am, We are supposed to be drying the coral not watering it!"

He waved his hand around and the light rain disappeared. "Try again! But this time use your sword."

Creasing my eyebrows wondering what that was going to do, I pulled my sword out.

I thought of the same spell, I held my sword out against my opposite forearm above my head, aiming for the lone standing tree, then I swung my sword around above my head, concentrating I sent my magic into my blade. As the blade went straight in front of me, a lightning bolt exploded from the tip into the tree, creating a burned hole.

My three companions cheered with excitement. I allowed myself to celebrate a little as well. That was the most I have ever channeled through my weapon without runes.

For the next hour, Through my sword play, I destroyed the tree by tossing spells at it like a child who just learned they had magic. Wind, fire, and more lightning, some of them were strong some not so great. I tried to channel the water from the river as well. It didn't go well. My father ended up getting a personal spring shower.

I was becoming tired however. My body felt like I was working out my muscles intensely. I was weak, and felt dizzy. I went to kneel on one knee. Sigurd put his hand on my shoulder.

"When we have the stone, you will pull magic from Aadi, you are exhausting yourself because your body does not hold enough power to keep up with your new magic. It will be a better balance. Let's rest." He took my arm and we walked over to the others. They were preparing a mid day meal, and this was something I could use. More fish, and some washed roots. I would feel strong soon after a good meal and rest. Then I would train more.

I crawled into my pile of furs and covered my face to block out the sun that made it through the walls of the the enclosure.

I slept for the rest of the afternoon with no dream visitors, awakening to find my group around the fire eating rabbit. Someone must have gone for a hunt while I was out.

I joined them and sat beside Bellator and my father. My father and my new family members, because that's who they were, Bellator and Sigurd. They weren't really just friends to me. They were more then that. Bellator had found his way into my heart, and Sigurd is the friend I never really had, someone I could trust to guide me.

I leaned into Bellator silently and he embraced me. We enjoyed our fire cooked rabbit, and some baked tubers while we chatted about old stories.

A ghostly screaming wind started to rush towards us through the woods, all of us standing pulling our weapons. We stood quiet, not daring to move.

Another wind from behind us coming from the river, and again from the right side. We were surrounded.

Bellator raised his hand towards the sky, casting 'Illuminatio', a beam of light flowing from his hand and splitting into three directions lightening up the surrounding area. There were three dark figures standing on the tree lines.

Ravagers.