There is no other place as dangerous as the land below us. Monsters we couldn’t conceive of in our most vivid dreams, and a variety of environments with their own dangers. Forests one could wander in for days and find themselves walking in circles, plains so vast you can see the curvature of our planet when not impeded by hills, and mountains that stab into the sky so deeply it only speaks to the altitude we had resided in. Even the atmosphere down here boasts of bountiful air, enough to feel as if we are walking onto a different planet altogether.

I only wish that my dearest Aneyra could have lived to witness this world's terrible beauty.

-Excerpt from a recovered journal of Varus the Explorer, of the First Decent

Lyra was awoken by multiple sensations. First the chill morning air hit her skin as the roosters began crowing and the watchmen announced the hour and weather, the blue hour. When her consciousness finally focused she smelled something freshly baked, and she felt her stomach growl. She inhaled a deep breath, filling her lungs with air as she’d never felt before. She sat up, wiping the drool from her cheek and nearly falling off her bunk. Proclus snorted at her, trying to look away.

“What?” Lyra croaked.

“Your cowlick, it’s as long as an arrow” Lyra felt her hair and sure enough, a lock was standing at attention, curving upward like a single horn she had seen on some of the oxen in the pens.

“Lucky to be a heavy sleeper, but a trait you’ll have to lose down here.” Wallace stretched and popping several joints. “Ain’t that right Cass?”

“Weh?” The girl below Lyra sputtered incoherently.

“Just a little longer, few more minutes ma.”

“Wallace make sure Caleb wakes up.” Proclus was wrapping various tools into a small leather bundle, and stuffing them away in a coat pocket.

“Hah, gladly.” Wallace grinned almost gleefully as he grabbed a whistle from a pouch next to his cot and leaned in right next to the boy's ear. The shrill sound made him shriek and roll away, only to fall on the ground completely wrapped up in his blanket. Cassie covered her ears tightly and Lyra winced, before noticing that one of the beds had already been made.

“Hey, where’s Hota?”

“He gets up earlier than the rest of us. We’ll meet in the pavilion for some breakfast, then we’re all to meet the Commander at the square. Lyra, I want you to come with me to the armory.” Lyra nodded, and went to wash her face under the quarter pump and went to relieve herself.

“I’ll follow ye if that’s alright. Got a couple words to trade with Goldry, the old coot.”

“Wallace, you are literally the same age as him.” Cassie stared at him.

“Aye but I ain’t crazy.”

“Debatable.” Caleb mumbled under his breath, still rubbing his ears.

“Alright guys, get a move on. Remember we have an assignment today. Come on Wallace” Lyra moved to catch up, Procus smiling at her, his eyes directly on the strand of hair she had smoothed down. She rolled her eyes, smiling as they made their way to the other side of the compound.

Lyra was starving, and nearly walked to the pavilion to eat without meaning to, but was stopped when she heard metal ringing on metal.

The survey corp focused on the exploration of the ground world, utilizing various tools and domesticated species of birds, hounds and rodents. A survey member was more likely to carry an ax or hammer as a tool instead of a weapon, though certain team members were required to carry some form of defense. When it came to weapons corp members traditionally utilized range weaponry such as the hand crossbows, but were known to keep spathas or pilum, but they were considered a last resort should any creature interfere with their survey work. As such, metal working was more often used for tools and wear instead of weaponry.

This resulted in Lyra’s confusion when they walked into an active forge, a working water wheel connected to a water system that she had not seen before, and a burly wrinkled man crouched over a glowing piece of hooked iron. Lyra had learned in her training that metallic ores were rare, and she wondered how someone was able to come across enough to forge. The hot metal was definitely a blade, with a sharp bend in one direction halfway up. It was a wide blade with what looked to be a shorter handle. Her curiosity was set aside however the moment Wallace walked in, hands on his hips.

“How many times do I have to say it won’t work like ye intend.” The man didn’t stop hammering, barely even acknowledging Wallace.

“Next time I want advice about smithing from a tinkerer with half his tools and less of a brain, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay guys, let’s not do this so early in the morning.” Proclus interrupted, holding a hand up to stop Wallace from responding. “I want you to meet a new member of the team. This is Lyra-”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, now leave me be. I’m busy.”

“She nee-”

“I know what she needs.” The man gestured vaguely to a workbench along a small wall of the room. “Now go, I need focus.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Lyra responded dryly as she made her way over to the bench. On it was a crossbow with bolts wrapped in a leather strapped for her belt, a clip with parchment scrolls, a bottle of ink, and a quill. Next to those were a scope, a knife, hand ax, and machete. Lastly was a roll of red ribbon, and she assumed it was for marking certain trails to be mapped.

“Normally scouts pull double duty, navigating and map making, but the Commander wants us to narrow our focuses, thinks that will help get the job done safer. Anyways, pack up what you have and meet us in the pavilion. I had an idea I wanted to talk about with Wallace.”

“Sure, thanks.” Lyra grabbed her things, clutching them like the greedy goblins she heard about in folk tales and ran off.

“Make sure your items are secure Miss Bellaquis!”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

On her way back to her quarters she saw Hota walking in from the gates, carrying a bow and quiver strung on his back and dragging a quarry of prey behind him. One was a strange horse-like animal with a large set of horn-like structures protruding from its head. There were also a few hares, all tied together and hanging behind the man’s back. He looked straight on as he walked, as if the rest of the world simply didn’t exist until he accomplished his task. Lyra followed his style, rushing to pack everything into her bag and ensured the items were secure. She strapped the knife and pack of bolts to her belt and pocketed the scope before she headed out.

The whole survey corp was present, minus a few on watch and who worked early. The pavilion was a large open area, with a stone roof and pillars instead of walls. Long tables were set in rows, with one set to the side to lay out the food. The space was built for a large gathering of people, roughly four hundred, but the corps was currently only composed of half that amount. From Lyra’s understanding, the mix of danger and lack of applicants had played a hefty role in that. Yet, despite the few members, there was a strange feeling Lyra could not shake as she met with Cassie and Caleb. She spent the next hour being introduced to other members of the corp, from Tybris the Falconer, who looked akin to Hota, to Gallus the medic and his assistant Vitellia, both of whom she recognized had graduated with honors from the academy. Cassie then pointed out the weapons master Jiya, the apothecarist Ulissa, and of course the commander of the whole operation who Lyra had already met, Dao.

“They run most everything out here, alongside craftmaster Goldry, Jiya, and Dao are from Isle Saiga, and they plan on bridging both groups together more moving forward.” Lyra had heard of their sister Isle, but had yet to meet anyone from there. She began to notice other Saigan peoples around the camp, observing them. These were a group that her own Isle had recently made contact with roughly a decade ago. Their differences were apparent, as they held themselves with a sense of regality and decorum that Lyra thought stemmed from more than just their positions in the corps. Looking closely, she noticed general shared features, such as most of them having pronounced cheekbones, giving their faces a much sleeker shape compared to the more rounder cheekbones of Aeolonians. The Saigans also shared thinner lips than Aeolons, and while Aeolons had a pronounced bridge on their nose, Saigans’ were less so. Lyra noted Dao’s expression as cool and calm, yet held a sense of power behind her eyes. Lyra had only ever noticed the difference in tools and weaponry, as well as their martial styles and material they used to craft. While the Aeolon Isle had little natural metallic resources outside of copper (those were discovered during the First Decent), they had used wood, clay, and plant fibers. Isle Saiga, on the other hand, had a strange wooden material that remained strong yet much more flexible. Their tools were different in design but similar in use to ours, so Branwelds academy had managed to bring some tools and began implementing new classes based on Saigan craftsmanship.

“So did they also help with training the animals?” Lyra asked as Proclus and Wallace joined the table with their plates full of foraged fruits, bread and Saigan rice porridge.

“We had managed to train them ourselves to work as messengers for the most part. It was Hota and his companions that had helped us learn what to hunt, what to keep as livestock and what to train as companions.” Proclus stated before beginning to inhale his breakfast.

“Wow, so the Saigans were already here long before us? Do you think Hota can tell us about the bamboo they use?”

Her new team looked at her strangely before Wallace spoke up. “Hota ain’t Saigan.”

“Oh, really? Was he one of the first Aeolons to descend?”

“He isn’t Aeolon either.” this time Caleb pitched in.

“Oh right!” Cassie jumped, remembering something. “They haven’t spread the word about it yet?”

“Word about what?”

“Hota belongs to a tribe of people native to this land.” This time Proclus spoke up again. “During the First Decent some scouting groups had discovered his tribe, living and thriving in this land and had quickly formed an alliance.”

Lyra had suddenly forgotten about her food. Throughout her time in the academy, she had been taught humans were clustered together on the Isles.

“So this whole time there’s just been a tribe of people down here?”

“Tribes, plural. And yeah. Hota works as an ambassador. He even helps us by bringing in fresh food every morning on his hunts.”

“This one time he managed to drag in this massive creature on a sled. Looked like some of the horses we use but bigger, with a mean set of antlers on it. Tasted great.” Caleb showed her a sketch of the animal he had made. It did look similar to their horses, but it had a bump over its shoulders and legs thinner than any horse she had seen. Its head was shaped much more strangely, the antlers appearing as hands outstretched towards the sky.

“Wait but how are they able to survive so long down here, what else did they teach us?”

“Calm down Lyra, they’re pretty hesitant on teaching us many things. They taught us the basics of herbalism, the various resources down here and the threats we might face, but they aren’t exactly welcoming of us.”

“What's that mean?”

“Means they don’t want us trespassin’ within their territories.” Wallace said through a beard full of crumbs, “They will respect our missions so long as they grant us permission to go traipsin’ through their grounds.”

“Oh… Have they been hostile?”

“A few times,” Cassie mumbled, “But thankfully they weren’t anything fatal. Just a few arrows, a couple poison darts that caused quite the stomach aches.”

Proclus cleaned his plate, “Our objective for the next few days is within Hota’s tribe. He gave us permission from his chieftains, but we are to avoid certain hunting grounds they consider sacred to their animals, and we are also to avoid places marked with this symbol. According to them, it's for our own safety.” He held out a parchment with a strange square shaped spiral symbol. Lyra studied it closely before handing it back to him, nodding.

By the time they had finished their meals, Hota had arrived. Lyra noted now how his appearance differed even to the Saigan. While he shared their straight black hair, higher cheekbones and eyes shaped in a similar yet slightly different direction, his face was rounder. It gave him a more solemn and expressionless disposition. He wore an amalgamation of different clothing, from the general uniform that those of the corps typically wore, but also had an armband with red, brown, green and blue triangular patterns, as well as a piece of cloth wrapped around his shoulders like a half cloak. He nodded to Proclus, who told everyone that their transport was ready.

The transport was a simple wagon, with room for three in the front and a bigger space underneath the cover. Two of the bulkiest horses Lyra had ever seen (though admittedly, she had seen very little) were tied to the wagon yoke. Inside the wagon bed were neatly organized bundles of rations and blankets.

“Cassie, you have those newer maps of the Iquitli territory?” She nodded to their leader. “Good, I want you up front with me until we need Caleb for the newer maps. Hota, you and Wallace can take the rear, keep an eye out for us. Caleb and Lyra, I want you guys to be ready when I call for you. Pack your bags over what's already inside, we'll need room to maneuver inside if weather doesn’t permit. Speaking of, do you-”

“Clear. Will stay like that, but there will be a thick fog come next morning.” Hota interrupted without looking up from the weapons bundle he was setting down on the back of the wagon.

“Got it. Everyone get ready to head out, last thing we’re waiting for is Commander Dao.” The team set to their tasks, preparing the wagon. Lyra chose the seat in the bed closest to the front, so she could have a view. By the time the Commander had come to see them off, everyone had their equipment stored and had lined up in front of her.

The Commander looked at each one of them before speaking. “You have an important task ahead of you. The ruins you’ll explore will help deepen our understanding of the new world. More importantly, you will be traveling through the Iquitli tribe’s territory. I expect you to uphold our values and code. You are representing the entire corps, so I hope you leave the Iquitli people with a good image of us.”

“Yes ma’am!” Everyone barked, except for Hota who simply nodded.

“Very well. Your expedition starts now. Come back to us alive and smarter. Good luck. Good learning.”