They rode back to High Hill the next day. Peter was with Jarnvaror and the local dragons, attempting to satisfy the last of their curiosity before they left the Vale. He’d promised he would meet them by midmorning so they could load their next few weeks of supplies onto Jarnvaror’s saddle.

Andrew and Anna had made a list of what supplies they thought they’d need. They mostly packed food, though Anna insisted each of them have two extra blankets if they were going to spend any time around the lake at all. She knew they probably would. There would be at least a few days throughout the trip Jarnvaror would leave them to go hunting.

She sent the letter explaining the situation to Sol as soon as they arrived at High Hill. Then, as the Thornwoods’ servants began preparing their supplies, all that was left was to wait for Peter and Jarnvaror.

Everything was ready by the time the pair showed up at High Hill. “Well, I think we’ve officially made some new friends,” he announced.

“Do you think they’ll leave our herds alone after this?” Lord Arden asked.

Peter shrugged. “When they can tell,” he said. “That’ll probably take a while, if the farmer isn’t there.”

“That’s something,” Arden said, sighing. He straightened his back as he turned to the others. “I assume you’ll want to be leaving as soon as possible.”

Andrew nodded. “We’ll be flying for a while,” he said.

Anna shuddered. “Right. Best to get it over with.”

Jeremy laughed. “Not a fan? It sounds fun to me. Next time I see you, maybe you can convince one of our dragons to give us rides.”

Peter shrugged. “I can give it a go.”

“We’d love to see you all again,” Hannah said. “You’re welcome any time.”

“Of course!” Peter called back. “We’ll definitely come and visit again sometime!”

“Take care,” Anna said.

Then they were off. In moments, High hill was a tiny dot in the landscape behind them. Anna looked down against her better judgement. She thought she could make out the village they’d been staying. But soon all the fields and pastures blurred together. Some of the bronze dragons flew close to them as they flew over the mountains. But they didn’t follow for long. When Jarnvaror landed for the evening, the mountains disappeared beneath the horizon.

They camped that night on the banks of a river, far from any towns, according to Jarnvaror. Before the light had faded entirely, Andrew had brought out their map and double checked their location. “We should be here, along this tributary of the Jet,” he said. “Once we hit the Jet, we should probably follow it north until the Crimson Wood is in sight.”

Anna agreed. That would probably be all of the next day. And if Jarnvaror wasn’t spending the day after that hunting, then they would be flying over the Wood again. She remembered the Elven mage. She wondered if Sol had made any progress in learning more about her organization. Probably not since there’d been no mention of it in his note. Maybe the news of a spy had gotten him to prioritize the search, but it would still be some time, now, before they’d be able to find out what he’d learned.

It occurred to her that whatever this organization might be, they may have a mage stationed at each of the old High Elf ruins, or at least anywhere it was common for Wisps to show up. Maybe one was stalking the lands around Frostlake. The place didn’t have any locals. It marked the northern border between Grealand and Ryukyuu. Soldiers from both countries patrolled the region regularly without incident. Would that deter this organization? Or would they prefer it to the Crimoson Wood, so close to the Elven cities?

The thoughts kept chasing each other in circles that night as she tried to sleep, and the next day over the flight. Memories of the pirate mage joined in. She still wasn’t sure how much of her victory over him had been luck. And since then, what practice had she really had with magic? Things had been moving quickly. She doubted she could deal with an enemy mage that took her seriously.

The thought galvanized her into action. Most of the nets Sol had taught her had been related to control of the air. So, as they flew, she tried to weave a net. Surprisingly, the wind roaring in her ears helped her to focus. With all the noise blocked out, she could concentrate completely on the spell.

Andrew tapped her shoulder as she was working magic. She turned around. “What are you doing?” he shouted, though it only sounded like a whisper through the wind.

“Practicing!” Anna called back. It didn’t seem like he’d understood, so she repeated herself. Andrew still looked confused. Then Anna had an idea. She focused on cutting the wind instead of simply moving it. She reached her net forward, in front of Peter, and tried to make a magical wedge. The net seemed to fall apart under the force of the wind. So she tried again.

It took her half an hour, causing the wind to sputter in front of the three riders. Then, the spell seemed to snap into place. The noise died from a howling in Anna’s ears to a whistle off to the sides and overhead. It was still loud, but not so much as before. Both brothers exclaimed in surprise when the wind stopped buffeting them as well.

“What did you do?” Andrew asked.

“I thought I should practice,” Anna said. “I made a bit of a shield against the wind.”

“This feels so weird,” Peter said. “We haven’t slowed down at all, have we?” he asked the dragon. A rumble ran through Jarnvaror, and Peter replied. “Well, Anna did a magic thing, but if you haven’t noticed, then it’s fine. Just… weird.”

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

“Now we can hear each other while flying,” Andrew said. “And it’s not as cold. Makes things a bit more comfortable for us, huh?”

Anna didn’t answer right away, as she focused on maintaining the spell. Then she realized Andrew was addressing her, and she nodded. “Right.”

After another few minutes though, she started to feel the strain of the spell. She didn’t know how to complete it, so she told the boys she would be dropping the spell. Somehow, the wind seemed even more unpleasant, now that she knew she could make it go away.

They did reach the woods that evening. Jarnvaror landed at a bend in the Jet River, where he drank his fill before going to sleep. Andrew got a fire going for the group. Anna continued to practice weaving magic well into the night.

The next day they flew over the Wood. Anna created another wind barrier a few times that day. Each time, she felt like it didn’t last nearly long enough. Still, it was easier to form the spell each time she cast it. She thought of trying to make a spell that warmed the air around them as well. Then she discarded the idea. Trying to control the heat was as likely to set everyone on fire as it was to make them more comfortable. She resolved to practice controlling the heat later, around something she wouldn’t mind catching on fire.

Jarnvaror left them to go hunting that night. But he’d managed to find a place close to a village on the northern edge of the Crimson Wood. They camped there for the night. Andrew went into the village the next day to see about buying something fresh. “We can save our rations for when we’re by Frostlake.”

Anna decided to stay at the campsite, where she tried to make a ball of fire in the middle of the air. She just wanted a flash, not a sustained burn. But the weave never quite managed to gather enough heat, and she felt exhausted by the time Jarnvaror returned in the middle of the afternoon to sleep.

“You’re training a lot,” Peter said, watching her. “What are you trying to do this time?”

“I’m trying my hand at fire,” Anna said. “It’s not going well.”

“We’ve got plenty of fire,” Peter noted, gesturing to the dragon.

“It’s not quite the same,” Anna said. “Sol told me that controlling fire, hot, and cold, are all the same principle. If you gather enough heat, you get flame. But I can’t manage it.”

“You want to make a fire?”

“I want enough control to be able to. Then I’ll know how much it takes, and I’ll be able to do things like control the temperature of the air while we’re flying.”

“Oh, I see. Seems like it’s a lot of effort, though.”

“I’m still learning. I should be able to get the net to work automatically at some point.”

“So what other spells has Sol taught you, by the way?” Peter asked.

“He hasn’t taught me any spells,” Anna said. “Only a few principles. You weave the magic in different ways to control different things. One way for air, another for water, another for fire. Some control just stone, others can affect just wood. Some affect both at the same time. Those are much more complicated.”

“Like the mage’s net back there?” Peter asked, gesturing to the Wood in the distance.

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

Peter thought for a moment. “Well, when she caught Halcyon, the net actually touched him. But it didn’t touch me at all. Then, she made a net and tossed me around with that one. Those were different kinds of net?”

Anna nodded. “Yeah. I’m not sure how she made either of those, though.”

“What happens if you wrap me in the wind net?”

Anna paused. “I… I don’t think anything happens. Remember while we’re flying. I sit behind you. The wind net is all around you every time I make the barrier. You don’t feel it, though, do you?”

Peter shook his head. “Would I feel other ones?” he asked.

Anna shook her head. “I’m not sure. One that interacts with wood, maybe, or with stone, or metal. Why do you ask?”

Peter shrugged. “I’m curious. I’ve been wondering, if there is another mage at this place, how could I get around his or her magic.”

Anna blinked. “That’s… that’s why I wanted to practice so much. So that I wouldn’t be useless if there was another mage.”

“Useless?” Peter asked. “Couldn’t you just explode their spells like you did in Prohr?”

“I’d rather not risk that again, if I don’t have to.”

Peter shrugged. “Well. Any tips on avoiding a mage?”

“Sorry, no.”

“Well, guess I’ll just have to be faster than the mages, then.”

“Maybe I could help you practice,” Anna suggested. “I don’t know weaves for affecting people, but I can send the wind at you.”

“I’ve got to try and dodge the wind?” Peter asked.

Anna shrugged. “Best I can do right now.”

Peter thought for a moment, then agreed. He moved off a hundred paces, then waited for her to call ready. He sprinted at her, trying to dodge under or around the waves of wind she sent at him. She made sure it was fair. The gusts couldn’t be too thick to jump over or too wide to jump to the side. And she tried to make them visible, though that was much harder. Still, she hit Peter every time. He declared he couldn’t win unless he tagged her without being hit by the magic at all, and he insisted she not go easy on him.

Andrew’s voice interrupted the practice, and Anna started. She turned to see him running back toward the camp. His bow was drawn, and he was waving his arms wildly. “What’s up with him?” Peter wondered aloud. Anna touched the bracelet on her wrist. Her worry seemed to draw Halcyon out to her.

“Call Jarnvaror!” came Andrew’s voice. “Call him now!”

Anna blinked, but Peter shouted up into the sky. A moment later, there was an answering roar in the distance.

“What’s going on?” Peter repeated as Andrew came up to them, gasping.

“Mottled,” he panted.

Anna felt her breath catch. “Here?”

“Not sure,” he panted between breaths. His face was bleached white, and he sank to his knees trying to catch his breath. “No one came out to greet me from the village. I saw bodies. Thought there might be bandits. I tried to hide. Went slow,” he shivered. “I ran back when I saw the mottled’s body.”

“Dead?” Peter asked. Andrew nodded.

“I didn’t stay to see if any were left alive,” he said. “I don’t know how long ago this happened. The bodies haven’t decayed much, but the blood around them is all black. Maybe a day or two?”

Anna shivered. She’d heard of the monsters’ attacks before, but she’d never been so close to one, and they were supposed to be rare these days. They’d been driven into the northernmost reaches of the continent years before, and patrols watched to keep them out. If the stories were to be believed, each mottled was taller than a man, and many times as strong. In nothing but their skin, they would fight knights in full armor, and usually they would win. She’d always assumed that was an exaggeration. But she’d never wanted to find out.

Jarnvaror landed, and Peter asked if he’d seen any war bands in the area. The dragon seemed confused, until Peter described the mottled. Then the dragon snorted. “Well,” he said, turning to the others. “Seems like we have a bit of a problem.”

“What?” Andrew asked.

“Jarn said he saw a group of ten… ah, ‘weird humans like that,’ walking north from the village along the road,” Peter pointed. He hadn’t noticed the destruction in the village on the way in, only when flying back to us.”

“Those ten are probably mottled,” Andrew said. He looked at the village. “The ones who did that. I don’t know how many they lost destroying the village, though.”

“It’s not just that,” Anna said. She pointed to the road Peter just had. “If that’s where they’re headed then…” she found herself unable to continue.

Andrew did for her. “We’re going in the same direction, aren’t we?”