“With this Easterner’s help, and now that we have finally formed a true horde. We shall show the Allied Front’s forces what true havoc is,” Chief Praett in an address to the Horde the night after they sacked the coastal town of New Pass.

Aki frowned and looked at the man and then at the horse. The escort brought a horse for Aki to ride, but Aki pretended not to notice. He had never had luck riding horses. Instead, he hopped on the back of the horse with his escort. The man said nothing. He seemed indifferent towards Aki riding with him. They just rode through the pop up town the horde constructed. Towards the front and now the inner of the encampment, they were setting up tents and little areas where different families would live while they were here.

As they moved further to the middle, the little camps and tents got bigger and more spread out. They opened up to the large center of the horde. They had set rocks and built a large fire pit in the very center of the horde, and the chief now stood there with his arms crossed, looking over it. Around him were the other elders, twelve including himself and the chief stood around the fire.

The chief was now dressed in bearskin clothing. Chaps made of bearskin over the leather pants he was wearing before. The bare chest he had before was now covered with a vest that matched the chaps. On his head was a great bear's head hat. The bear looked like it was a mighty beast with a scar over its right eye and its mouth open in a growl.

The rest of the elders had various animal skins as well, a couple of wolves, and some sort of predator cats. There was even a couple that covered themselves in feathers and instead of wearing an animal head as a hat, they made a hat from the animal's feathers. One of them had a necklace of what Aki thought might be crow skulls.

The ones that stood out to Aki was one man wearing rough leather that was bumpy with wrinkles. Unlike the others who wore vests that buttoned and closed in the middle, this man's vest was one solid smooth piece that was a lighter green than the others. The leather was all a sort of dark green besides the vest which must have been the animal's belly. It was a lighter color and Aki could make out the patch that must have dragged along the ground when it walked. On this man's head, was an animal Aki had never seen. Its snout was long and narrow and was just opened enough to show scattered sharp teeth. Aki would later find out this was a crocodile.

There was another that had some kind of reptile skin. Aki supposed it was some kind of snake skin. Mostly brown with black patterns all around it. Aki supposed it was most likely some sort of snake, and he quietly wondered if this person used poison at all when they fought. He decided he didn't want to find out.

"You, you fight like a hawk, you know that? You move like the wind and strike with precision. You must, to do the sort of punch you did on Hinto," the chief burst into Aki's thoughts and then laughed once more. Another of those loud laughs, that if it was coming from someone else, Aki would think it was forced. He was sure that this was the chief's natural laugh. He was a large boisterous man, and it made sense.

"You do not have the animal spirit like we do, do you?" The chief narrowed his eyes on Aki now. "But you are powerful. Not as powerful as me though eh?" He continued and then relaxed his stare and laughed once more, advancing towards Aki.

Aki wasn't sure what to say or how to respond. So he just stood there. His weapon was gone. They had taken it from him after he passed out and hadn't seen it since. The chief advanced on Aki now, still laughing. Aki took a step back and moved in a defensive stance. This made the chief laugh harder, and then the warrior wrapped his arms around Aki in a mighty bear hug.

Aki gasped and grabbed at the man's sides as the chief clenched his arms around Aki. The chief was laughing the entire time. "No need to fight, brother. You are one of us. You defeated Hinto, took his spot in the circle, and claimed your bitch!"

The chief tightened his grip on Aki's midsection now. Aki had to cycle mana through his channels to his ribs and midsection to stop his body from caving in under the man's pressure. The man was beyond Aki's own strength, by far, and Aki wondered where he'd fall rank-wise. Finally, thankfully, the chief let go of Aki, and he clapped him on the chest with a heavy hand.

"Now you will sit with us, an elder of the Glorious Sun Children. You will sit at the fire and share knowledge, and we will gain power, which means the tribe shall grow power," the chief said. He was now holding onto Aki's shoulders with a grip Aki didn't think he'd be able to match. His dark eyes were staring into Aki's with a seriousness he hadn't yet seen in the chief.

Aki frowned. "Chief, I…" He had said, but the chief had already let go of him and walked away. When Aki talked, the chief just lifted his hand and waved it off. He then used his hand and motioned for Aki to follow him, never looking back.

Aki sighed. He stood there a moment, watching the chief's back as he walked away before he followed. They left the other elders and walked along in a big circle around the fire in the center of the camp. All around them there were nomads moving and unpacking and setting up tents. Some just concentrated on the fire pit, filling it with wood they were getting from various carts and wagons that pulled up.

"I know that where you come from, the people who have power have power in the elements. Do you have power over fire?" The chief looked at Aki when Aki stood next to him in the large fire pit.

"No. Like you said, I move like the wind. I got my power from one of the Kami, Misumi. It's still uncommon even in my lands to have power directly from one of the Kami," Aki said, looking at the chief. "Chief, I'm so…"

He had started once more, but the chief interrupted him. "Kami? I do not know this word. What is this Kami that you speak of?"

People were lighting the fire now, and the chief's grin grew.

"They're like…." Aki wasn't sure how to answer. The most relatable thing this man would know was gods, but Aki knew the Kami as something more than just gods. Aki frowned and put his thumb and finger to his chin in thought and sighed.

"They're kind of like gods, I guess, but they're more than that. They embody different things in the world." Aki explained.

The chief nodded his head. "Yes, we have gods as well. Well, there is only one god we pay attention to. The rest are lesser gods. If the goddess chooses us, our spirit becomes one with the world, with the animals."

The fire was raging now and was quite large thanks to all the wood and kindling everyone was putting on it. Night was also setting, and Aki looked up to the sky and took a deep breath in, closing his eyes. He felt the furious fire on his face in the warm night air. He never understood why people would sit in front of fires in the summer when it was already hot out. Sure, to cook, or boil water to clean it or something, but just sit there? Aki shook his head in confusion.

The other elders had now gathered with the Chief and Aki. When Aki opened his eyes, he realized he had his back to the circle of elders, all dressed in their animal skins, and he turned around. A couple of the others glared and guffawed at Aki, while some of them just ignored Aki entirely. The chief gave a warning glance to the ones who seemed offended.

"I know some of you are angry with our new member here, and angry about what happened to Hinto…" the chief had started.

"He doesn't belong here. He is from the east, and no brother of ours," the woman in the snakeskin spoke up glaring at Aki. She even spit at his feet.

The chief glared at her and advanced on her. She met his glare and took a step towards him, puffing out her chest. She was slim, almost too slim, with what looked like a small agile body. While it would be interesting to watch the large powerful man go against this woman, Aki spoke up.

"Chief, she's right. I have things I must do. I can't run with your tribe. I have my sect back home that I'm here representing," Aki said as he took a step towards the two squaring off.

The rest of the elders just watched, disinterested. They looked like this was a common thing, the chief and this woman going head to head. Everyone ignored Aki.

"Oh gods, Chief. Knock it off. You know Hurit is correct. While this man may be powerful and a bit of an oddity, while we know you like that, he's not a member of the tribe. This fool used a trick to beat Hinto. He does not have the animal spirit given to us by Isana, the Goddess. He's an Easterner. They have different powers." An older man spoke up, wearing a wolf's head as a cap. His hair was darker than the rest and kept shorter, showing some gray. He even had more of a beard that was salt and pepper colored.

"He said he belongs to a group already. Gods, he may be part of that little group that's looking for that old relic in the sands. Stupid legends." The older man continued with a snort. "I'm just surprised it took them this long to hear about the legend and come looking for it."

Aki perked and looked at the older man now when he spoke about the little group. Would it be that Axel character that ran away from this tribe with his two companions? Had these guys run across them while they were running away. There were so many questions Aki had now. Then there was what they were even talking about. A relic? Here? For cultivators? Aki narrowed his eyes, looking at the older man.

"Kaga, my friend, I know you are wise. I look to you for advice and your knowledge of the world. In the end, though, what I say is final." The chief spoke up now and looked over to the older man stepping away from the snake woman. "I'm sure there are a great many things we can learn from him, and him us."

The chief lowered his head and sighed. "You all have brought shame on the great fire this evening. We were supposed to welcome Aki to our tribe and discuss what to do from here, but no…. Go on, go back to your camps. We will stay here tomorrow, send some hunters in the morning to find food for the camp. This I have commanded. Now go," the chief said. He waved his hand to the group of elders before walking away, hanging his head.

This left the rest of the elders standing there, confused. Most of them shrugged and walked away. Only the woman, Hurit, and then the older man Kaga were left still standing there. Hurit glared watching the chief leave before sharing the glare once more with Aki before she wandered away. Aki then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about her. She may puff out her chest and speak strongly, but in the end, she is a snake. She will do nothing to your face," the older man Kaga said.

Aki looked at him, and Kaga was giving a wry smile. "So, I just need to watch my back and check my bed, then."

Kaga gave a soft chuckle and nodded his head. "Yes, perhaps, but I think if anything happened to you, the Chief would suspect it was her. He has already shown he's not afraid to strike down tribe members." Kaga gave a soft sigh. "Come, I will show you to your camp. Your lady should be there waiting for you, setting things up."

He had already let go of Aki's shoulder and had turned to walk away, leaving Aki standing there by himself for a second, looking in the direction the chief left. Aki then looked off in the opposite direction from where Huritt walked off. He took a moment then to look at the fire. It was turning into a large great fire.

The men and women were the first of the tribe to gather around the epic bonfire in the center of the camp. They were laying out blankets so the children could play. The women had skewers of meat they cooked over the fire.

"Coming?" Aki heard the voice waking him out of his thoughts. He blinked twice and looked over. The older man was waiting with a soft smile, one arm behind his back, the other reaching out, gesturing in the direction he wanted Aki to go.

Aki nodded his head and moved towards Kaga. "Yes, sorry."

Kaga just chuckled and walked along with Aki, explaining the life of their tribe. They were always moving, stopping rarely to take a break like they were for a day. When Aki asked him about raiding towns, Kaga just kind of sighed and shook his head. "It's an unfortunate thing. The armies of these lands from the various cities have been pushing in and eliminating different tribes. It's retaliation."

Aki stopped and looked at Kaga. "Those people did nothing to you. You raided and razed the town, slaughtering innocent people."

Kaga looked at him blankly. Nodded his head. "Your camp is this way." He said it with a sort of finality that told Aki it wasn't really up for debate. Kaga felt like this was something the tribes that remained had to do.

Aki stared at him and frowned. Kaga lowered his arm and turned to face Aki with a soft smile. His eyes were hard, though. He stared at Aki with a steel gaze, and that soft smile. It unnerved Aki a little, and he wasn't sure what to do besides go with him. Aki walked once more and decided he should change the topic. "The thing you said that group from outside the town was looking for, what is it?" Aki asked him as they started walking once more.

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"Ah yes. Well, I'm not sure exactly to be honest with you. It's an area we don't travel to. There's something about the aura of the place. It's off. Our animal spirits react badly to it," Kaga explained his tone once more, taking the soft, kind tone. "But from what I understand, it's some sort of ancient relic. Not sure what exactly, supposed to give the user great power. It was left here when your people were just discovering your powers and arts. They said it was a gift from your gods, or kami, or whatever you call them."

Aki walked with Kaga and listened. If it was something of great power, they may look to use it to tip the scales of power back in the Empire. Maybe they could use it to get Elias, their patriarch, to the rank of celestial? Aki wasn't sure if it really mattered if it was The Akutamori, or someone from one of the different sects, to be the first to ascend. No matter who did it, it would prove it was possible for all cultivators. At the moment, it was something that they just thought was possible. His own Elder back home swore it was possible for mortals. Just because no one has yet, just meant that no one has figured out how yet. They were battling the Heavens in order to do this, so it made sense it would prove difficult.

After several minutes of walking in silence with Kaga, Aki in his own thoughts, they walked to a small area that had a triangular shaped tent. He found Endra over a small fire, roasting some skewered meat. Her son Liam was playing with a small boy in the middle of Aki's and another campsite next door. She was kneeling on a small blanket, turning the meat in her hand, and looked up when Aki and Kaga approached.

"Good night, Elder," Kaga said. "Get some rest. Tomorrow you will tour the camp and learn about some people. Then there are the Elder meetings where we plan." Then Kaga nodded his head and turned and walked away.

Aki thanked Kaga and looked back to Endra, who looked up at him, concerned. "Is everything alright?"

Aki nodded his head and moved closer to her. Kneeling next to her. "I think so, but I'm not sure we're going to get away soon. While the other elders don't want me here, it seems the Chief is dead set on making sure I become one of them."

Endra handed over the stick to Aki. "The food is from the woman who was Hinto's wife. A few small rabbits and some rice I have in a pot cooking in the fire. Eat. We'll figure everything out. I don't want to become a nomad."

Aki took the stick and sat back on his butt, taking a bite of the small rabbit. It didn't taste bad, and had a nice charred flavor to it. There was garlic and some other flavors he didn't quite know, but it was tender and juicy and put something in his stomach. After his first bite, his stomach growled out, demanding more.

Endra smiled at him, and he gave a soft chuckle.

"Thank you, and yes. We will figure this out. We're going to have to get away from these nomads, set you up somewhere, and I need to figure out what exactly this relic is that Axel is after. We may have to play the long game. Bide our time," Aki told her, growing serious.

She nodded her head. "Until then, I shall be your bitch."

Aki rolled his eyes. "Don't say that."

"Why did you come back for me? I mean, I can never show you thankful I am. I don't know what would have happened to me or Liam if you hadn't come..." Endra trailed off and stared off.

Aki wasn't sure how to answer her. He couldn't tell her he had a hunch about who her father was. That she was the daughter of the man who ran the sect he was trying to spy on and possibly stop. He stared at her and changed the subject.

"Do you have any more paper?" He asked her with a wry smile.

She frowned at him and ate a small rabbit from another skewer she had cooked. "I don't. I wasn't able to get anything from the inn before we were taken away. Why are you avoiding my question?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

Aki gave her an uneasy smile and took a bite of his dinner. She just glared at him. "Tell me."

He lowered his skewer and stared at her. "So, of course I don't know for sure, but judging by your last name and your story. I think you're the daughter of the Patriarch of a powerful sect. They're not a bad sect, but the Patriarch is the advisor to the Emperor. He is one of the ones stopping cultivators from learning of the Kami and all the different elements they could have. Power from the Kami isn't more powerful, but me and my group feel everyone should know the truth about the world."

She took a bite of her dinner, unsure of what else to do. Liam came over and distracted them both from the current topic to show his mother some rocks his new friend had given him. They were colorful and round and smooth. The boy had found them somewhere in the desert during the tribe's travels. Aki finished his meat and set the skewer by the fire, looking into its flames. It was a few minutes of Endra speaking to her son before he went off again to play, and she looked back at him.

"So what if I am?" she asked him.

Aki shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just means you could have some power inside of you. I didn't think it'd be wise to let you fall in the town to some nomads with animal cultivation methods. Beyond that…" He shrugged again.

Endra cursed and went to the pot that had the rice in it. She cursed again when she wasn't ready for the pot to be as hot as it would be. Burning her hand, she pulled it away and stuck some fingers in her mouth, sucking on them.

Aki scooted over to her and took her arm. She shook her head and kept the burnt fingers in her mouth. He said some reassuring words to her, and she huffed and let him take her arm. He looked it over and breathed in seeing how bad the burns were. Her hand was already blistering over and bubbling a little with a bright redness.

"You'll be alright, but we need to get that wrapped and get some ointment or something for it," Aki said as he felt up and down her arm. As he did, he pushed different spots in her arm. "Until we find that, I can relieve some of the pain." Aki pushed a spot a few inches from her elbow and then down near her wrist and then a spot on her forearm.

Her face relaxed, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "That's amazing. I feel nothing now in my hand. What is that?"

Aki chuckled and nodded his head. "Your body has pressure points everywhere. With the manipulation of these points, you're able to do some amazing things. Make people paralyzed, relieve pain, stop someone from breathing, you can even kill someone."

Just then, one woman came over speaking to the boy Liam was playing with before approaching Endra and Aki. She spoke some in their language, which left the pair staring at the woman confused, but she waved and was smiling, so Aki supposed she was just saying hello.

She was small and looked young, having the same runner's body as the rest of the tribe had. Her hair was brown with matching chestnut eyes. She wore a simple skirt made from cloth and a skimpy covering that showed most of her upper body. Only her upper chest area was covered and only barely. Aki tried not to stare since there were more pressing matters.

Aki lifted Endra's hand to show the woman the burn. "Do you have anything to help with this?" He knew she wouldn't understand what he was saying. He hoped showing her the burn would clue the young mother into what they needed.

The woman gasped and leaned in to inspect Endra's hand. She started speaking rapidly, with Endra and Aki staring up at her from their seated position. She then held up a finger and ran off towards her little camp area. A few minutes later, she returned with some sort of plant stem that had little prickly spots on it and then some long, thin cloth in the other. The plant looked like a thick flat leaf and when she broke it open it oozed a thick clear liquid. She applied the ooze to Endra's hand, squeezing the leaf stem right onto the burn. Once the leaf was squeezed out, she rubbed it in and wrapped Endra's hand in the cloth.

When she was done, she spoke once more in her harsh language and looked Endra in the eyes with a broad smile. Then patted her on the shoulder and gave a firm nod.

"I think she's saying you'll be alright. Looks like she might welcome you." Aki whispered to Endra with a grin.

Endra looked at the woman and nodded her head in return and thanked her. The woman stood and gave another nod to them both before walking off. She collected her son, speaking to him a little before they both went to their camp and then went inside the tent. Aki watched them leave and then watched one warrior, who he supposed must be the father and husband. He retreated into the tent with them.

Endra laughed and looked back at Aki. "I'm sorry about the rice."

Aki laughed with her for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. "It's fine. The rabbit was good. Thank you for that. You and Liam go ahead and go to sleep. I'm going to cultivate and I'll sleep out here. This means I’m owed a refund for one night at the inn.”

She looked at him with a soft look in her eye and a small smile, tilting her head a little. She couldn’t help but give a small laugh before sighing, exasperated. He looked back at her, smiling behind his beard, and nodded his head. "Go ahead. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?"

She stood and walked by Aki, clapping his shoulder and gave a slight squeeze before calling to Liam and leading him inside the tent. Aki watched them go and then turned back to look at the fire. He looked up at the sky and brought in the sight. It was a clear night, and the stars were glowing. He smiled and thought of home, back in the Sasaki Empire.

He turned his head and looked to the east, wishing he could go home. The snow had to be melting from winter about this time, which was always a pleasant time to be traveling around the continent. It was so full of life with everything coming back out of hibernation. He wondered how Kio and William and The Old Man were doing. His mind then wandered to the event that happened just before he came here. That shadow spirit attacked some village and the cultivator, Silas Zhao, being the last alive from the attack.

He shook his head. Shaking off the thoughts, and then closed his eyes. He focused on the surrounding wind, which picked up a little when he started his cultivation. Not much, just a stiff breeze. The camp all around him was settling in, and around him, the camps emptied as they went inside their tents to go to sleep.

Aki cultivated for a few hours, getting to a level where he felt like his core would be full when he woke in the morning. He also worked on condensing the mana in his quest to gain more power. Once he was finished for the night, he took out his long black hair from the ponytail and then laid down and drifted off to sleep. The last thing he saw before he drifted off was the collection of stars people recognized as The Rat.

In the coming weeks after that first day, Aki, Endra, and Liam integrated themselves into the horde. Liam played with the other children while Endra washed and looked after the camp. She and the other taken women would get together and go to the water when they were near a lake or spring to wash clothing or bedding.

Aki, on the other hand, stayed with the elders. He went back to their little section at night, and he helped set up the tent and the area whenever the horde broke camp. They were rarely in the same spot for more than a night. The horde was always moving. As they told him, Aki had some input on where the horde went and broke camp. His suggestions were listened to and ultimately ignored. He was always voted down by the other elders. The only one who ever took what he said into consideration was Chief Praett.

Aki didn’t take it personally or feel offended. He didn’t know what they were doing, or where they were going. Why would any of them listen to what he had to say? He did occasionally get sent on hunting trips out in the desert with a small group of people. Men and women both would hunt. Everyone did their share when they were part of the horde.

From what Aki could tell, there were two types of women. One type was the warrior woman. Some of these were stronger, faster, and more brutal than the warriors back in the Empire. Most didn’t have any cultivation ability, but these women were ferocious. Then there were women who filled the role like Endra did. They were smaller, softer women. Not that they didn’t have their own kind of power themselves. He couldn’t imagine carrying the bundles down to the rivers and washing them.

Liam was the first to fully embrace the dress of the nomads. It only took him about a week before he moved out of the jeans and tunics he wore into wearing animal skin and no shirt. Endra didn’t mind; he was complaining about how hot he always was, anyway. Without the cool ocean breeze coming in, even Aki had stopped putting on his outer robe.

Endra transitioned into dressing like the nomads only a few days after Liam. The other women were poking fun at the dress Endra always wore. It was a long single piece of fabric that covered her body and went past her knees. It was tight, though, and made it hard for her to ride. The women of the tribe, during one of their bull sessions, showed how they made her a loose-fitting skirt and top.

Endra told Aki they gifted her the clothing with a little party. One wife had stolen some of the ale the elders kept, and they drank. Aki had wondered why Endra seemed so out of it one night not too long ago when she came back to their camp. She didn’t wear her new skins until the next day. Aki was smart enough to give her positive reinforcement when she stepped from the tent. She wore a short skirt and shirt the women fashioned for Endra.

Their relationship was budding, somehow. Aki had slept outside of the tent for a week, maybe two, before she left the flap open one night when she and Liam went into bed. He had heard them speaking in hushed tones and forced their words from his ears for their privacy. A few minutes later, while Aki was cultivating before bed, he heard her call out to him. “Coming?” Since then, he had slept in the tent with the pair.

Aki had been cutting his evening cultivation short since then. They wanted to go to bed earlier than he did since he needed little sleep. Endra confessed she liked him sleeping in the tent with them. Made her feel safer, and even though she trusted some of the other women, there were still some men and some men who leered at her and glared. One of the women who spoke the common language explained that it was because she and Liam were outsiders.

This happened one night before they fell asleep, and up to this point, there had been much physical connection between the two of them. That night, though, Aki took Endra in his arms and held her close to him. She cried a little, worried about what might happen to her and Liam if one of these people decided they no longer wanted outsiders as part of the tribe.

“They will have to deal with me if they lay a hand on either of you,” Aki told her. A hand behind her head, holding her close to his chest.

They had also touched upon Liam’s father here and there. Endra didn’t like to speak of him much, but Aki had gotten some information from her. Apparently, Liam’s father, who was also named Liam, was a cattle rancher. He held property just outside of the town, a rather large ranch that sold most of the cattle that came from it.

He had courted Endra by going to the inn much the same way as Aki. He wanted to treat himself with comfort and baths that he didn’t have to make himself. So he spent a few nights at the inn and made eyes at her. They both ignored the disapproving glares and comments from Endra’s mother.

The thing Aki wasn’t able to find out happened to him. He knew the man was dead, and all he could get was that it was some kind of accident. The thing was, though, that this accident is the same thing that killed her mother. She had got testy when Aki pushed for more information, so he relented. He didn’t need to know that badly; it was simple curiosity.

Kaga came to visit their site one night before bed. The trio were eating dinner and joking with each other when the older nomad walked up, a grim expression on his face. “We’re going hunting tomorrow. Chief Praett has commanded you to come.”

Aki chewed the piece of rabbit he was eating and swallowed. He nodded his head and shrugged. He had gone hunting a few times. “Okay, why do you seem so mad about it?”

Kaga frowned and looked up to the night sky, shaking his head. “We have to go into the Shifting Sands to hunt. We’ve been running along the edge, and the animals stay away from the edge. There will be animals inside the Sands, but it will also be dangerous. He’s hoping with your wind magic you can help us navigate and keep us safe from the demons that live there,” Kaga explained to Aki.

They went to bed that night, and Endra stayed closer than usual to Aki throughout the night. She kept her hand in his and laid facing him most of the night instead of towards Liam like she normally did. Aki wasn’t particularly worried about whatever the Shifting Sands were. He had seen danger before, and he doubted there was going to be anything that bad out there.