There is something to be said about the daughter of a family wealthy landowners that places her faith not in the gods of the hearth or the field, but in the gods of the road, the ship, the sea. Who seeks not bureaucracy but travel.

There is something more to be said about the daughter who ignores her family’s warnings and wishes and learns the forbidden art of Magic. The art that, despite running through the family’s blood, took the life of many of those who walked down the path. The same art that had to be kept a secret from the rest of the world. Only other Magicians could know.

Magicians were strange people. They hated going forward. Progress of any sort. They wanted to go back, back towards their view of their ideal reality. The reason for this lies in something I cannot remember at this time, but it has something to do with the fact that magic is limited by the ever rationalizing ‘rules of humanity’ and ever decreasing levels of anima in this world. They say that all magic comes and only works on the local belief system, and that a Magician must carry their original belief system with them at all times for their magic to work the way it should. They also said there was an 'unexplainable' property of the world that was decreasing the more rational man gets and the more he 'asserts his dominance over the Throne'.

So, when I was a little girl and said ‘I wanna explore the world!’ they spoke low of my interest. But I kept this interest throughout my life. One day, I went to a library while my servants were elsewhere shopping for food. Out of sheer curiosity, I asked to go with them, and my mother agreed.

I found something strange. A stack of paper…bound by scaly leather… lined up to others like it. I asked the librarian what it was. He said it was a book.

"Think of it as a scroll, but much more efficient." He says, explaining carefully. "Paper from the south made those books. Leather from bill lizards to the east bound them. And ink from the northern squids wrote the words they contain. They are the finest texts one can imagine."

"How much do they cost?" I wanted to buy one. I had a decent allowance. In my purse I had five platinum coins.

"Each one costs enough to feed an entire peasant family for ten years," said the librarian.

I bought and read as much as I wanted. Most of them were adventure books. Books that detailed far off places and the people that went to them.

I wanted to go to those places. Walk in their steps.

Eventually, at my 14th birthday, 2 years after my first menstruation, I became a woman. People tried to attain my hand in marriage- but my standards were far too high and my suitors far too low to match them. My parents were surprisingly understanding.

I would die alone…if I didn’t find a good husband.

If.

One day, I decided to pack my things in a plain wooden box big enough that I needed two hands to hold it comfortably- all of my books, food, water, bandages, herbs, and a whole lot more. This would be too big to fit in any reasonably sized box; but the box was an artifact, a magical item that was a pocket universe of its own. A neat little thing I got on my 8th birthday.

All of that work eventually gave me an appetite- one I would decide to satiate. As is my people’s custom, I prepare a meal of mashed potatoes with a side of bill lizard steak. I use a stick of butter with the mashed potatoes. Butter costed a pretty penny. No animal gives milk other than humans and pigs.

After all is said and done (and eaten), I rest on the porch outside. My house, like many others, is made out of wood. Trees are common here, growing by the billions. Even if we had deforested our entire land we would have still more trees to come.

I feel the wood creak under me as I shift my weight, laying down. My stomach is still full of food, and so needs time to digest. I can't go now. But I can think about where to go.

The island of the Myeranis? Perhaps the Twin Dragon Empire? Or even that mysterious island?

I should start slow. Easy. The twin dragon empire is the other settled empire, a land tamed by man and not wild. It has formed a mere 20 years ago, after the last dynasty united the land for the first time. Supposedly, the last dynasty had a cruel leader, which is why the people overthrew him.

From what I hear, it has a population of 43 million. That is a little bit more than the empire I live in- which only has 30 million people.

There are two problems- the language and the customs. The first isn't really a problem, I can speak any language, but the second…

From what I remember, the men are considered superior to the women there not in law but in social customs. They do not shake hands, they bow. They do use chairs like us but don't use forks, instead using strange sticks.

It'll be hard to adapt, so I'll just visit the biggest cities and temples and not say much. I will eat, drink and pray but not do anything else. I’ll ask the bare minimum of questions to get around. They’ll know I’m a foreigner. Those of the Twin Dragons have paler skin compared to people here. They might liken my skin to mud, or the bark of a tree.

After that, the Myerani Island. It's next to the Twin Dragon Empire- and yet they don't know anything about it. It should be fun to explore.

After that, the mysterious island nobody knows about that's off to the west. Many people have tried to sail to it, only to get lost. I have one thing over them- magic, the art of alchemy.

I hear footsteps. I look up from my rest to see my pet- a massive feathered lizard with a beak and long legs to run fast with. His feathers are brightly colored- red and blue and every other color of the rainbow- in a mesmerizing pattern. He walks over to me and begins to nuzzle me.

Aww. Cutie. I pet him- his name is Jada. I’ve raised him for 6 years. He’s been trained from birth to accept my orders and demands- including riding him. Feazards- his specific type being ‘runners’- have been bred for thousands of years to accept a human rider.

Feazards come in many types. There are the horned faces, the tyrant lizards, the shark tooth lizards, the spine lizards, the long necked lizards, the armored lizards…the list goes on. Not all are even tameable. Man long ago drove the ones they didn’t like away, and molded the ones he liked for his purposes.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I get on him, carrying my box. I can probably ride him all the way to the southern port.

We're pretty far inland. It'll take a few weeks…normally.

I pull out a piece of iron. Then, I take a deep breath, and begin to mold the anima around me with my mind.

Molding anima is dangerous. Too much can flow into you and kill you. If you have a poor anima capacity this risk grows more and more. Thankfully, I have a high capacity and a fine sense of touch. It feels like my entire body is tingling- that's usual. It's normal.

Now that the anima that I need is under my control, I need to make a precise image in my head. An anima template.

Since I want to turn this element into something useful, how about I infuse it with Jada? Iron is a strengthening element- so if I strengthen his bones and muscles, he'll go faster and last longer.

I begin to initialize the incantation of my spell. I mutter a few words in a language too old for many people to understand. I begin to think of what I want to do- which is simple. So it doesn't take that long. The anima is spent, the spell casts, and the feazard possesses a body of iron. This will be a temporary spell- lasting a day at the most.

And that's more than enough time for me. "Giddyup!" I say as I command the feazard to gallop towards my destination.

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I come across a herd of long necks. They are each gigantic in size- bigger than a house- but few in number. No matter how big the animal is, it can be hunted by a human. Spears and arrows are the most deadly weapons to ever exist for an animal. No fang, no claw, nor club can replicate their power.

The long necks regard me with fear. Their primitive minds know that I am human, so they begin to scoot away.

I don’t pursue them. I just go around them.

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I meet the bustling port city face to face. Unlike the houses I see so often, the houses here are made out of limestone bricks. I see people walking their raptors everywhere. The paved streets are full of people.

My enchantment doesn't change the appearance of my runner, so I walk Jada to the port. Many ships are being outfitted and ready to sail.

I ask a question to one of the men there. "Where does that ship," I say, pointing, "go?"

"To the Twin Dragon Empire to trade." He answers.

"How much to rent out a room? I want to go there."

"For you, my lady…3 coins." I gave him his due.

Soon, I got on the ship. The men ignored me- most likely because I dressed modestly and blandly. I avoided attention like the tyrant feazard avoids the attention of flies.

Traveling on a ship was new to me, but I could handle it. Jada- chirping and squawking- was having a bit more trouble, but I was there to reassure him. With me, he was safe.

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After five days, the boat stopped at the Twin Dragon dock. We dropped off at the port and began walking around. The buildings here were made out of wood- and had curved roofs layered with shingles. I could see paper lanterns, yet unlit, everywhere. Other than the strange house design, everything was normal. People talked, walked, and traded.

It seems there are certain universals across culture. How far would I have to go until I bump into something not so universal? Something I haven’t heard of? The only way to figure out is to keep traveling.

Pondering about culture is good and all, but the biggest thing on I- and Jada’s, by the looks of him-’s mind, is food. Delicious food. I ate nothing but hardtack and jerky. And he ate nothing but seaweed or occasionally seagrass. Both of us need to eat.

I try to follow my nose but I smell nothing but perfume, smoke, and shit. Thankfully there wasn't a lot of shit, the paved streets were clean and the wooden buildings cleaner.

Eventually, Jada squawked, pointing to something. He took off and I followed him- all the way to a building that smells like…meat, vegetables and grain? I have to investigate further.

I opened the door and was immediately greeted with an immensely clean interior. Tables, chairs, everything was polished.

A man walked up to me. "Hey. Order?" He was surprisingly straightforward. He handed me a menu.

I flipped through it and pointed to something random. "Chow…mein?"

The man nods and heads through a door. We take a seat- no one else is here- and wait.

…why do they allow animals in? Whatever.

We wait for ten minutes, then two steaming bowls come. They're filled with the brim with…noodles covered in space with green onions and celery, as well as bean sprouts. It also has a healthy serving of some sort of white meat. Jada eats meat sometimes.

We both take a bite. This tastes….DELICIOUS! Absolutely outstanding. The spices are varied and well browned, creating a wonderful flavor that sticks in your mouth. The noodles have a good mouthful. The vegetables add good texture and flavor, and the meat is wonderfully gamey.

We finish our bowls in no time. Then I pull out a few coins and put them on the table. They're converted to the local currency with magic beforehand, so all is fine. I and Jada leave, bellies full.

Soon after, we bump into a confused man.

"Uh. Dark skin lady."

Kinda blunt but okay. "Yes?" I ask.

"You just ate at a restaurant that failed a health inspection…"

"Oh sorry! I don't know what that means!"

"Well, its clean but,- you might have eaten something a little…pesty." He leaves, and I'm not any more confused. What could he mean by pesty

Oh

Wait

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After I void the contents of my stomach into the ocean, I vow never to eat at a restaurant here again. So does Jada, by his facial expression.

I get up, wipe my face, and leave. If I can't eat, I will pray.

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It took me an hour to find a temple- a massive wooden structure- right in the middle of the port city. I ask one of the people in the line at the entrance which god it was dedicated to.

"The Sky God, of course." The woman answers. "Yesterday, there was a thunderstorm and a few buildings were burned to the ground. People died or became homeless. We think that the sky god became angry."

I see. They're hard polytheists. I'm not here to preach. Just to listen. "What do you offer to the Sky God?"

"Gold." She answers simply. "The amount depends on how much you can bring. I can only bring this much." She pulled out a single gold coin.

"Understood." I had a gold cube as big as the iron cube I used on Jada. Speaking of Jada, he seems to be interested in the unshaven and ungroomed monk over there, who throws a piece of tofu for him to satiate his hunger.

After a long wait, I make my way to the interior of the temple. A tall statue, made entirely of gold, of a bearded man in robes. The statue was surrounded by offerings. I place the cube at the statue's feet and leave.

Business as usual outside- wait. Where's Jada? He was near the temple…where is he?

I call out his name as I walk, then run across the city. I look everywhere.

Streets. In buildings. On roofs. In canals. I find him nowhere.

If I lose Jada…

I don't know what I will do.

.

.

.

After searching for an hour, all I have is sweat and an aching heart. Nowhere can I find Jada.

I can't scry for him. My magic won't work here and I haven't made an Artifact in advance.

This can't be…I lost Jada.

"What the?" Says a man from far off. I run in his direction and see Jada trying to court a female. He is very colorful, and the female is not. It would be a shoo in- if for not one small issue.

Someone's riding that runner. A tall man wearing green robes with a pink flower pattern.

I run between him and Jada. "So sorry! I haven't neutered him yet." I nervously laugh. He must be a general trying to pray to the Sky God.

"It's fine. He's an animal." Says the general. "Be on your way."

I step out of his way. Whew! That could have ended a lot worse. Jada gives me a disappointed look.

"Sorry buddy. Maybe you'll find another one." I try to reassure him.

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We spend three days in the Twin Dragon River Empire, subsisting on water and tofu in a hotel before deciding to pack our things and leave for Myerani Island.

There's one small issue. The closest port is in the middle of a war zone. Apparently, the empire is expanding its lands to alleviate the possible threat of barbarians.

Thankfully I can just avoid the army. The real issue is getting a boat…

I have a plan. I go out to the woods in the middle of the night. Deep in the forest away from all other people. Here, my belief dominates. But even then, my magic is weaker, because I am alone in having it.

It takes me much struggle to work my magic on the trees. Not only is a tree more complex, being a living thing, but my specialty lies in reinforcement and metal, not creation and wood. Through hard effort, I make a boat. A light boat just about big enough to fit me and Jada.

At dawn, we take off, sailing to the south.

It takes us a few weeks to get to our destination.