Sweat pouring down my face and hands latched tight around the bar, I pulled myself up again.

To my pleasant surprise, the guild ship was pretty well-stocked with equipment to keep myself moving and busy over the span of the trip. Which, if I thought about things, made sense. The seahunters might have blue tags and blue flags, but they were still hunters. They still had auras they needed to boost and new marks they wanted to earn. All of which meant that I’d been able to keep myself busy in a productive way.

Which was fortunate, considering we were now two agonizing weeks into the voyage. Never again would I complain over the jaunt from Feinwer to Deldynne. That had been a cakewalk, a sail down Aradhen’s coastline before nipping across a narrow strip of open water to the forbidden isle.

I hadn’t seen land in a week straight. I hadn’t felt land in longer. For once, I was thankful my treant blood was so weak. The sensation of being land-deprived was annoying, and uncomfortable, but not to the point of actual unpleasantness. Yet. We still had another two weeks to go, so…time would tell, I supposed.

So I worked, and sweated, and watched my tag for every aura point that ticked upward. It wasn’t the most pleasant way to spend the trip, but I had a lot of ground to make up for after I’d taken Grove Warden.

It wasn’t until I heard someone make a startled noise that I realized I wasn’t alone anymore. Letting my arms go slack, I dropped from the bar mounted into the side of the superstructure, tumbling back to the deck.

When I straightened, Ysandre blinked back at me, her eyes round. “I’m- I’m so sorry to disturb you, Hunter Trellin. I-”

“Please,” I mumbled, tugging my undershirt straight. “I’m covered in sweat and I’m sure you could smell me from across the deck. If ever there was a time for me to be just Trellin, it’s now.”

“Oh,” Ysandre said. A slow smile spread across her lips. “I…suppose so. Yes. Trellin, then. I just…You were already out here when I left to fetch our meals this morning.” She glanced up to the sky overhead—and the sun, which was well on its way to its apex. “Surely you haven’t been out here this whole time?”

It had been a good few hours. I glanced around the deck, taking note of the seahunters here and there. Kevin sat in the shade across the way, Nella sprawled across his lap with her wings flapping aimlessly against the air. He had an aura- plate in his hand working on something, but had to stop every few seconds to pull it away from her exploratory bites. Korinn…her feet were visible over the edge of the ship’s structure, where she lay sunning herself. And beneath her, I could see Myles watching from the shade.

“It’s a pretty good day for it,” I said with a smile, looking back to her. “I could sleep like them, but…eh.” I shrugged. “I need to stay busy. I got…” I stroked the back of my hand, where the faintest prickle of itchiness lingered. “I got a new mark before we left, one that was a bit more expensive than I planned on. I’m fine, but I need to make back a bit of aura before we get to Talmarn.” I gestured toward the ship’s deck. “So…I need to work. If I can’t fight fiends, letting my body fight itself is the next best thing.”

“And that’s enough?” Ysandre said. Her eyes were still perfectly wide, gleaming green-brown against her dusky skin. “I’ve heard that Aradhen’s magic is strange. That’s why we’re here, after all. But…even still, I have to say I’m curious.”

“Our magic?” I said, blinking. “Strange?”

She chuckled, crossing her arms to crease the dusty blue of her tunic. “Where is your flowgem?” At my confused look, she paused. “The source of your abilities? Is there not-”

“Oh,” I said, nodding. “Yeah. I mean, kind of. It all comes from here.” I held my hand up, showing her the diamond inked on the back—and the new symbols around it. “It’s my hunter-mark. That’s what lets me generate and regulate aura. And then…” Twisting, I showed her my wrist, the one with thorns curling around and around it. “These give me specific abilities. So like, this one-”

Tapping my finger against the black ink, I let my aura simmer to life. Across the way, Myles sat up, frowning at me.

Forest’s Embrace (Olivine)

Ability Activated

A wooden wall shot from the deck, rising to block out the sky. Ysandre shrieked, shying back, but looked up when it didn’t move farther.

I couldn’t help it. I snorted, a laugh building deep in my chest. My head shook as it finally bubbled out. “This is Forest’s Embrace,” I said, reaching out to tap it. “I’m a Prote- I’m a Grove Warden. That means I’m the team’s defender.”

“I see,” Ysandre said, circling the wooden wall. She leaned in to examine it, eyes gleaming. “Then-”

“Oy!” one of the seahunters hollered, carrying a heap of nets past us. “No foolin’ with the ship, lad! Stick it back as it was, properly.”

“O-Oh,” I said, cringing back. “Oops.”

Forest’s Embrace (Olivine)

Ability Deactivated

The wooden wall shot back down, melding into the deck. I ran my foot over it surreptitiously, smoothing out any miniscule ripples left behind. “S-So, that’s it!” I said, turning back to Ysandre and clapping my hands together.

“Smooth,” I heard Myles say from the shade.

“Shut up.”

“Don’t break the ship, Trellin,” Korinn called, lifting her foot to wave at me.

“Shut up.”

“That’s…similar to Talmarnan magic, and yet so different,” Ysandre murmured. She raised a hand to cradle her chin, nodding. We were silent, watching. Finally, she looked up, then jumped. “Oh! How rude of me.”

She pulled a cord from beneath her tunic. A silvered cage hung from the end, with curved bars that left enough of a gap to press a finger against the grey-brown orb within. I leaned in, curious. It looked like rock, but it…wasn’t. The colors within churned and swirled, pulling me deeper. I exhaled, leaning closer. I could swear I felt the soft touch of something against my skin, drawing me in and-

“Woah,” I said, stumbling away. My hand rose to cradle at my temple. My head spun.

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“T-Trellin!” Ysandre said, stiffening. “Are you all right? You-”

“I’m fine,” I said, holding a hand up. “That just…okay, that didn’t feel good. Not messing with your necklace again, that’s for sure.”

“Strange,” Ysandre said. Her brow furrowed delicately. “This is my flowgem, my magical source. It’s usual to face resistance when investigating another’s, but you shouldn’t be hurt by it. You’d be able to read the magic within, that’s all.”

“Oh, I could read something there,” I said, jabbing a finger at it. “It just didn’t like me much.”

“Perhaps because you’re an Aradheian mage?” Ysandre mused, her gaze dropping to the orb. “That sounds like a rejection, but like none I’ve ever heard of. But it’s been said often enough that hunters are…different, from those of the other lands.” Glancing back to me, she jumped, her dark cheeks warming. “I-I mean no offense, Master Tre-”

“It’s still just Trellin,” I said, spreading my hands. My thoughts whirred away, though. So we were different. If they had contact with other nations, then they’d have enough of a sample size to know if every country’s mages were different, or just us. Right now, it seemed like the latter was the winning answer.

The sound of boots against wood clunked out. Kevin crept closer, looking at the orb with newfound curiosity. Nella pranced at his heels. I mumbled a cruise at the sight of her rising almost to his knees. There was no hiding it anymore. She was getting bigger.

“Is that your herocore?” Kevin said, his eyes gleaming. “Uh- An artifact or magical heart that you’ve developed a symbiotic relationship with.”

“Sounds like,” I said, taking pity on him as Ysandre’s expression went befuddled. “Apparently that’s how Talmarnan magic works.” I paused, chewing on my thoughts as Kevin leaned in for a better look. I…did have a lot of questions here, and given what was happening with Aradhen, it did seem relevant.

“We were just talking about how hunters seem…different from mages of other countries,” I said, putting just a hint of emphasis on the word. “I just…don’t understand why we’d be so different. Except that we have fiends, and other countries don’t.”

Kevin nodded, pursing his lips. “Well…hmm. It’s one of the things I’ve been researching during my time here, to be honest. And it’s true that you guys are definitely on the odd side so far as things go.”

“Are you not a hunter as well?” Ysandre said, her brow creasing deliciately.

Kevin flushed red instantly, waving his hands. “W-Well. Yes, but also…I’m not a hunter like them. I just study things.”

Ysandre’s eyes lit up. “Really? And your guild allows for you to spend your time on such matters?”

“Um…yeah,” Kevin said, with a nervous laugh. He rubbed the back of his head, leaning over a little. “They’re not entirely thrilled with it, all the time, but knowing how things work is important too.” His gaze turned back to me. “And as for your question…” He took a deep breath, then-

Ysandre shrieked, leaping back. I looked down, finding Nella stumbling away with a sad croon. Confusion and dismay flashed through her mind. She’d head-butted Ysandre, I realized. Looking for a scritch, of course, but…she had spikes. Her attempts at attention weren’t always painless.

She darted back toward me, and I scooped her from the ground, stroking her gently. “There, now, you just scared her, that’s all,” I said. Already-sore from the day’s work, my arms were starting to protest. I looked to Ysandre, feeding a steady line of calm and quiet through my bonding band. “She was just trying to say hi,” I said, a bit weakly. “Sorry about that.”

“T-That’s quite all right,” Ysandre murmured, brushing her hair back into place. “I just- I was quite surprised. Talmarn has small reptyne, but- but nothing like her.” A tiny smile pulled at her lips. “But she’s quite remarkable.”

“Would you like to hold her?” I said. The request wasn’t entirely charitable, and if I’d been a better diplomat, I probably wouldn’t have rushed that particular benchmark onto her. But, ashes, my arms hurt.

Ysandre blanched—but when I inched forward, she nodded faintly.

I leaned forward, dumping Nella into her arms. The hatchling’s thoughts changed from fear to joy in an instant. She wriggled closer, sniffing at the woman’s hair and clothes with unbridled interest. Ysandre only giggled, going stock-still.

“I don’t think we can ignore the role that the matriarch’s presence had on Aradhen,” Kevin said, more softly. He ran his hand down Nella’s tail, teasing the end between two fingers. “When I first arrived in…in Aradhen, I poked around a little. Hunters who stray from the country for too long…” He shook his head. “Their powers fade, Trellin. Their aura goes quiet and dead. And when they return, it comes back, as though it never left at all.”

“I’ve heard a little about that,” a slightly-rasping voice said.

I looked up. Myles strode closer, brushing the dirt from his pants. He nodded to Ysandre, putting a smile on his face, but looked back to Kevin and I. “I spent a little bit of time abroad,” he said, his voice low. “For, uh. For-”

“For your shadowing,” I said, recognizing what he was getting at. He couldn’t exactly broadcast his identity with our current troubles, after all.

Sure enough, Myles nodded. “I was warned,” he said. “Hunters get…about a year away. Maybe a little more, or a little less. But once a year, they have to come back.”

“It’s actually kind of a party,” Kevin said, chuckling to himself. “All the old retired hunters, the expats and blades-for-hire working in other lands…they all come back for a spell and refresh their aura. They make a bit of a mess, actually.”

“Huh,” I said. “We never had anything like that in Mersali.”

“Inland city,” Korinn called from her perch on the rooftop. “No one’s going to go there.”

“But it makes sense, is what I’m saying,” Kevin said. “Something about Aradhen is doing that to them, Trellin. Something specifically about that country is the source of hunter’s magic.

“What is it, then?”

I flinched, remembering for the first time we weren’t totally alone in this conversation. As one, we turned to Ysandre—who still cradled Nella in her arms, tolerating the hatchling’s rubs and nudges. At our looks, the woman shifted, her smile fading. “I…I mean…I don’t mean to presume, I merely wondered-”

“We don’t know,” Kevin said, his eyes softening. “I wish I had answers for you, mistress. But now, with fiends appearing in other countries, we just might have the chance to find out.”

I nodded, and from the edge of my vision, I saw Myles following suit. Outsiders didn’t need to know about the matriarch. They definitely didn’t need to know about the sort of primordial being the matriarch was, or what that meant for Aradhen. This was my first foray into politics, and I was not spilling all our secrets on the first go.

Ysandre’s expression darkened, though, fresh worry appearing in her eyes. “Yes,” she said, more softly. “I hope there’s something that can be learned from our current challenge. I hope to find some sense behind it, something to be gained.” She squeezed Nella more tightly, nudging the krytir’s head with hers. “I’m worried how far the situation will have degenerated by the time we return.”

“We’ll make it,” I said, making my smile as reassuring as I could. I…worried a little about that too. Even a small fiend or two could cause a lot of destruction if no one was around to stop them. “Don’t worry, Ysandre. We’re halfway there already. Just a little more, and-”

“Ysandre?” I heard a man call. Aron strode from one of the hatches, his hair afly and ink staining his sleeve. “Ysandre, have you seen the maps? I need to finish writing the proposal, and I cannot find my-”

“Coming!” Ysandre called, rolling her eyes. She flashed a grin my way, stepping forward to deposit Nella in my arms. “Thank you for the talk, Trellin. I’ve learned much.”

“Thank you,” I said, inclining my head. “We’ll talk more, I’m sure. And please try not to worry.”

She nodded, looking down, and hurried off toward her helpless charge.

I watched her go for a moment. Nella chirped, squirming in my arms. I sighed, looking to Kevin. “Well…Time to get back at it, I guess. Want to join me for a run?”

“Can’t. Busy.” Korinn said from her sunning spot.

“Suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” Myles said, perking up.

I glared at him. “Not you. Silvos would gut me. Kevin?”

As Myles drooped, Kevin made a face. “Want to join me in separating and identifying every wavelength of Nella’s aura-signature?”

“Never mind,” I said, dumping Nella into Kevin’s arms and backing away. Hurriedly. “See you guys at dinner.”

Bringing my aura up again, I angled toward the ship’s railing and started to run.