Alma was sitting in the front end of the new ship and singing: “Devlun us imu godb tir ske oden vah onh klhi snari…” (Gods had promised me, this day will come full of freedom…). It was an old Utrikat song written in an ancient Utrikat language, speaking about liberation like many Utrikat songs have. New ship made for them in Zurihu was actually typical Sulutapi wooden ship in the shape of a triangle whose two sides were bent inward, making it hydrodynamic and suitable to be pulled by lizards. One hundred of these creatures were harnessed in four rows at the point of the triangular ship. Sulutapi were assuring them this vehicle would have no problems moving in the snows of Land of Moving Hills, same as it had no problems with mud of the big swamp. Lizards were moving really fast covering vast expanses of land in a short time. Rest of our company was holding on to iron handles protruding from a ship in order to keep passengers from falling out. Alma’s blond hair was fluttering in the wind. Schnew used his entire mental power not to look at that restless gold and the whiteness of the neck shining under it. He also didn’t dare to look at Lillium’s stern face, so he was looking at the top of his boots, occasionally glancing around just to quickly turn his gaze back to his boots with discomfort written all over his face. He hated Alma for taking steering position in the ship, leaving him at the back with Lillium and her judgmental look. Lillium wasn’t speaking with two of them since the “incident”. Somehow she found out how he got the fire moss and this ship, probably one of those annoying children, he thought. He made it even worse trying to logically explain his actions. All she could see now was betrayal. Their task was insignificant now when he was losing her. His only hope was time, which heals all wounds. Maybe someday she would understand. And maybe when all is over he can be happy again in her arms, under the condition he survive her silent treatment. Dot of light in the fog surrounding them startled him from the darkness of his thoughts. He reached for it like a drowning man reaches for a piece of driftwood. Few moments later he recognized it and started to yell: “Hey, it’s one of those birds from Bebuli’s cave!” A bird landed on the ship, he caught her and detached bag hanging on her leg. Inside of the bag was another smaller bag and note written on the piece of paper:

"Subito drink powder you will find in this bag mixed with water. You are invited by another god to learn secrets of fighting, but you will need to visit the lands of the dead. While you are there, your body would look like it was dead, but don’t be afraid you will come back as soon as effects of powder wear out. Schnew don’t eat my bird

, Bebuli"

Schnew turned the paper over and scribed:

"I have not eaten your bird."

He returned paper in the bag, and attached it back to bird’s leg. Then he released bird to fly back home. Subito opened smaller bag and poured its contents into the glass of water, white powder from the bag colored water purple and gave it a smell of rotten pumpkin. He mixed it with his index finger in a circular motion and drank it all at once. His head was light, and then all of the sudden it was so difficult to move. He had a feeling like enormous rock was laid on his chests, and it was difficult to breathe. Every inhale took ridiculous amounts of mental and physical strength, and it was wearing him down. He didn’t have any strength left for another breath, he was choking and wheezing. His body flagged, he wasn’t breathing anymore. But he felt no need to breathe either, floating higher and higher he could see Lillium catching his stiff body before it fell and lowering it gently on the deck. Alma stopped lizards. They were waiting for him to wake up, but he had to go. Ever moving up, soon he was above the fog. Above his head was gray, stormy sky and below his feet was gray fog. Surrounded by grayness he was waiting. Flocks of ravens covered the skies, enchanted by the movement of their black wings he started to follow. They were flying, it could last for a moment or for a centuries, he didn’t know. Darkness has fallen and he couldn’t see them anymore, but he could hear the sounds of their wings moving and he was following that sound. Somewhere deep in the dark, he could feel warmth, it was calling him. With sadness in his heart he left his flock and descended downwards. There was a circle of light surrounded by darkness. A small fire was burning in the center of the circle. It was some kind of orchard. Branches were heavy with fruits. He sat next to the fire and immediately fell asleep.

When he woke up, darkness had gone and all around him were endless rows of trees. He was slightly dizzy so he took some of the fruits to calm his hunger. It was so calm here. He took some time to enjoy scent of fruits on the branch above him. Sudden voice startled him:

“Welcome, fellow warrior.” He turned to see a man sitting with his legs crossed. They watched each other in silence for some time. The stranger was bald, large man clad in a pale blue tunic and matching pants. Even his eyes were pale blue and cold like ice. On top of his chin he had a stump of short beard, pearls were attached to it. Left sleeve of his tunic was covered with leather, making his left arm look significantly larger. Subito knew it was probably intended as a shield in a sword fight. His tunic was opened at the chests showing that his torso was covered with tattoos. Next to him was an ancient sword in leather sheaths. The sword was long, straight and thin, with handle made of bone and his pommel was largest ruby Subito ever saw.

He asked, “Who are you?”

“I am your teacher. You came here to learn, haven’t you?”

“Yes, that’s what I was told.”

“Shall we start?”

“Sure.”

The teacher brought wooden swords and fight has begun. At first Subito was feeling silly for wielding children’s toy, but soon he became grateful swords are not real. His teacher could have killed him a thousand times during that day if the swords were real. His skill was tremendous, he never explained anything, he just repeated the same move till Subito was able to repeat it, and then he would teach him how to parry that move. At the rare occasion when they were resting, he would produce pheasant meat, cheese and wine and they would eat. When night finally fell Subito was covered with bruises from head to toe, he had trouble falling asleep since everything was hurting him. He twisted long time to position himself in a way not to irritate his wounds. Teacher smiled and spoke after a whole day of silence:

“Bruises are good. They will make your skin harder, your bones thicker and your muscles stronger. Pain is just a weakness leaving your body. Pain is your annoying best friend. Now let me tell you about the way of the warrior. Every warrior can choose between two paths: path of the butcher and the path of the knight. Butcher relays on his strength and fear he induces in others. Knight on the other hand, relies on his skill and his honor. No one can always follow just a one path, each of us need to find his own middle path. There are also two types of warriors. First one is day warrior who conquest with his body. His bird is an eagle, his strength lies in his eyes. Second type is night warrior who conquests with his mind. His bird is the owl, his strength lies in his ears. Day warriors are divided according to their protective elements. Air is an element of the archer. It carries arrows they fire. Earth is an element of the knight, warrior with the goal who acquires his skill through hard training. Same as knight earth is reliable. Water is an element of the rider, including sailors who are riders of the boat. Water is uncertainty, it reacts to the wind with waves. Men on the sea relay only on stars to show them the way, there is no women on the sea. And finally the fire is an element of the tribal warrior who is wild same as fire. He relies mostly on his natural talent and rage unlike the knight who relies solely on his training. Elements of night warriors are elevated same as the mind is elevated over the body. Wind is an element of the scout. Wind can enter anywhere, and he knows everything, on the sea his breath leads boat to the safe harbor. Smoke is an element of the warlock. He relies on the natural magical gift. On the other hand stone is the element of the wizard who studies magic in other to gain powers. And finally ice is an element of the assassin, both have no traces of warmth left in them.”

Tomorrow they were fighting with long wooden staffs, everything else was the same. Third day they were using wooden swords again, only this time small stone weight was added to the hilt of the sword. During a meal Subito broke the silence:

“My friends will be worryed about me.”

“Time is different here. We could be here for years, and it will seem as hours in your world, or we could be an hour here and centuries will pass there.”

Subito nodded and grabbed his sword. Soon he lost track of time. Stone weights were getting bigger and bigger and every night he was lying to sleep less bruised. He was getting better with the sword, he was learning. Sometimes he would fight for hours without receiving a hit.

Finally one day he knocked his teacher of his feet. With a smile on his face, he raised his sword to give final hit. But his teacher pulled a small knife out of his sleeve and hit him in the stomach. Surprised Subito glanced up to discover knife was still sheathed, he groaned. The teacher laughed and Subito joined him.

“Best weapons are surprise and speed. Never hesitate when you have a chance to finish fight in one stroke. Best warriors let their enemy destroy himself with his own weaknesses. One who knows his own possibilities, advantages and flaws are very difficult opponent. One who is not sure of his own victory had already lost. It is easier to defeat better opponent than an opponent who is similar to you. Better but a different opponent, can’t be good in everything, you just need to find out in which aspect of a fight he is weaker than you. After that, you just exploit his weakness and he is defeated. You need to know yourself. All secrets you need to know are locked in you. I can see thirst in your eyes, thirst for more, but my springs are dried up, I have taught you all I know. But what is more important I have directed you in the way of knowledge, just follow that path and you will find new answers to satisfy your thirst. I hope one day you will be better warrior than I am, I taught you how to be same as me, but I can’t teach you how to be better. Only one final test is in front of you. You need to learn about your weaknesses and strength, you need to know yourself. Follow me.”

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Without a word Subito was walking after him. Teacher pointed at the hole in the trunk of the tree which was growing nearby. “Go down in this hole, and good luck.” Subito hugged his teacher and crawled into the hole. Narrow passage was leading deeper under the ground. Firstly he was moving on his stomach, but soon opening was wide enough for him to stand up. Opening was ending in the cave illuminated by torches attached to the wall. Opposite from the entrance of the cave was a big mirror.

Subito reared in bewilderment as his reflection stepped out of the mirror throwing him a sword. Apparition attacked immediately. They were fighting for hours, on each of his attacks apparition had ready parry. Drenched in sweat he could barely hold his sword. Two exhausted opponents were slowly circling around the cave, their swords dragging in the dust. Both of them were ready to call it a draw, when sudden determination sparkled in Subito’s eyes. He lifted his sword for a final attack. Apparition parried and launched a counterattack. But Subito wasn’t even attempting to parry, instead he extended his arm going for the heart. It was a game of chicken. He saw despair and fear in apparition’s eyes, which were his own eyes. With a shadow of doubt crossing his face, apparition stopped her strike and tried to push away Subito’s sword, but it was too late. Pierced apparition fell to the ground with a sound of breaking mirror behind him. Exhausted Subito sat on the cave floor, breathing heavily. He was so sleepy. In half-dream he saw the wolf walking toward him through the shards of broken mirror. The wolf was speaking:

“Poor, poor child, point of this test was for you to see you can’t defeat yourself. That you can only know and control yourself.” He was licking his hair and cheeks and Subito felt like a baby protected and careless. “Your power is bigger than you know. I hope you will be able to defeat yourself again, when the time of great decision comes. I hope you will be able to show mercy when you realize the full extent of your power. I have always trusted in humans, I always have loved them. Wisdom of the man and his ability to learn are limitless. That’s why I was teaching them, that’s why I have given them technology of the gods. With that technology man received power to change the world. And the gods were in fear what will he do with that power. Because man has free will, and with a free will, he can bend the rules and make new ones. And man has the desire to rule and to own, he has a hunger for power and knowledge. With free will and power he can bring destruction and chaos, destroying everything in his way which he sees as unnecessary or threatening. I have always trusted in man, same as I trust in you. Just remember, if you can walk around the mountain don’t tear it down.”

Subito smiled: “I will remember. Are you a Poet of which Lillium has spoken? Are you a wolf god Kashavinraj mentioned?”

“I have many names, and those are two of them.”

“Then the warrior, which has trained me, must be Tir Ksai?”

Teacher emerged behind the wolf: “My mother used to call me that way, names have no meaning here. I believe you will choose wisely whatever choice you make.” He trusted his sword in Subito’s hand with a wink: “It’s a gift.” Subito fell asleep.

He was awoken by splashing sound in the water, his friends were around him.

“How long was I sleeping?”

Schnew sighed: “About an hour. You were lying there like dead. I was really worried.”

“It was a lot longer than an hour.” Disoriented, he was searching for something on the deck. Puzzled Schnew glanced after him. Suddenly he lurched toward the water and put his hand in it, searching the bottom.

Lillium screamed, “What are you doing? Something will bite your hand off!”

With a smile he pulled out ancient sword with bone handle and rubby for a pommel. Blade was in one piece, unlike the Ulan swords. It was covered in copper lethers. Inscription was a puzzle: "Dug out from the grave, I am reborn through water and fire, to give glory or death". He knew answer was a sword.

He turned to his astonished friends and comanded, “To the Land of Moving Hills!”

Few hours later they were leaving the swamp and moving to the higher grounds. In the next couple of days they were always climbing up, mountain was in front of them.

***

He could hear the music from far away. She was leading him through the forest toward the camp of the kings. Glass musicians were around the fire in the center of the feast. Instruments were glasses filled with water to various degree. To produce music they draged their fingers over the edge of the glass. There were no drums in a band only two guys with bowls of water, attached to big horns to intensify the sound of drops of water falling in. They gathered water in narrow tubes and let them fall back into bowl, giving rhythm to others. All around them were members of King’s Guards. Both kings were among them since it was a tradition for kings to share a meal with their guardsmen. Silk sheets were spread over the meadow and covered with all kinds of food and large quantities of suind and spirit mushrooms. He noticed wild boar crisped in mint and matasart meat baked with sour leaf. But it was not the time to think about his hunger. Food was served by guardsmen. No Utrikat servants were ever kept in king’s clan house. He could see clan houses hovering some two hundred feet above them. Both houses were painted white, Brig of Peace King had silver chains wrapped around his neck, while the Brig of War King had gold one. Melessar came to the outskirts of warrior cycle and waited there silent for king to address him. Trevan the Peace King did it first:

“Please join us young priest, you can take the place of your sword brother, he was a member of the Guard.”

“Thank you.”

He sat next to the king and took some of the delicious boar meat. He was hungry, but eating was amongst last of his concerns. He was anxious to be addressed so he can make his request. Finally War Queen Melessara spoke up:

“Kings will hear you.”

“As you know my sword brother…”

“Yes we know your sword brother,” Trevan interrupted him, “and we know why you are here. But sending another army is out of the question. We can’t do that with hordes of Utrikats all around us. If Lorantides attack us, we will defend better on terrain we know, in our own land. Your own land is always the best fortress.”

“But he needs help. We can’t leave the Land of Moving Hills and our brothers in slavery.”

“When our situation improves we will help. You can’t help your brothers and leave your children unprotected. They have chosen their way. Our children need our advice and protection, not them. They are grown up and can make their own decisions. We have a duty as parents, and kings are parents of the whole nation.”

“In two years Lorantides will grow in numbers again.”

“Let them grow, if they come here, our forests will swallow them. Behind every bush there will be a Ulan warrior with sharpened scythe waiting for them, unless of course we send them away to die in foreign lands.”

Noticing the desperate expression on Melessar’s face Melessara added:

“Your brother was my best guardsmen, I love him too. Not as much as you do, but I love him. When the time comes we will go there and revenge him and our friend Aenead, but under these circumstances wise thing is to wait. If my sleeping chamber could speak, she would tell you how many sleepless nights have I spent in rage, with only one wish in my heart: revenge. My brother Trevan rules in peace and it is his call to decide. Our duty is to respect his decision.”

Trevan smiled wickedly: “Don’t you think we don’t know about your uncle’s actions and Bolki gathering. He will answer for treason. If my sister Melessara wasn’t against it, I would keep you as a hostage. Thank her for your freedom.”

Knocking against suind barrels turned all heads toward an old man in a long ragged mantle. It took some time for Melessar to recognize High Priest Sabator.

Trevan jumped up enraged.“How had he entered our camp? You call yourselves guards? Someone will pay for this!”

Sabator smiled, calm as air before the storm: “Have you forgotten priests of the Voice have right on a meal in any clan house? That includes clan house of the king. Don’t you remember Voice knows everything, Voice hears everything, and the Voice is everywhere? And more than in any other place Voice is in our hearts. Listen to the Voice in your heart and offer me a meal that belongs to me. Your soldiers don’t deserve punishment, they listened to the Voice. They did their duty, and your duty is to judge righteously.”

Trevan sighed.“Have a meal with us. Why have you come?”

Sabator took his time to sit next to the Melessar, resting his hand on young man’s shoulder. Then he slowly choose a good piece of meat. Trevan was red in the face, his nostrils shaked and his eyes were like two pits of darkness.

“Like I said, I came to eat my meal and to make a trade.” He pushed a bag of btaris toward Trevan.

“What kind of trade? What are you talking about?”

“Is it too little? Give me a hint how much is on your other pile.”

“What other pile? Are you insinuating I was bought off?” Trevan was on his feet again shaking in rage.

“I am not insinuating anything, and I will not speak to you since you have ignored the Voice. I expect you to make pilgrimage to Temple of Voice and repent for your sins. Soldiers pray with me.”

All of Guards stood up on his command.

“…Lack of fear

Lack of fear is the worst thing which can happen to a warrior. In such a condition he would not be alarmed to react when it is needed. He wouldn’t be afraid to die, so he would certainly die. Without fear you can’t see the need for resistance, you are just letting things happen to you. Don't try to kill the fear, tame it and ride it to battle as the best of your dogs.”

Trevan had to join the prayer, Sabator continued, “Always fear Voice my children, even when you are not afraid of men. Voice knows everything about you, every one of your weaknesses and dark secrets. Melessara our mother shed same blood when she born us, she fed us with the same milk. What are you going to do?”

Melessara was ashamed and avoided to look him in the eyes: “As a war queen I declare a war. We will leave for Land of Moving Hills before the sun rises three times.”

Trevan furiously turned and left the camp. Melessara followed him with her gaze.

“Be careful brother, we just got very powerful enemy, one which will never forgive. What was that with money? Was he really paid by our enemy?”

“I heard some rumors he was dealing with Utrikat pirates.”

“And I thought he is concerned about kingdom’s future. We should watch him really carefully.”

“We will…”