Emerald eyes watched the clouds that were lazily floating overhead. They had been travelling for little over a day and Emil was currently taking a break, laying on the roof of Roland's carriage. If he really wanted to, he had the option to sit on one of the small benches inside, but it would be too crowded with his companion's wares for his taste. Besides, he could keep a better eye on their surroundings from his high vantage point. The merchant was sat in the open front seat steering the cart, though they were currently going through an open field, so not much of it was actually being done.
Closing his eyes, the blond listened to the rhythmic sound of Bandit's, Roland's horse, hooves hitting the dirt path. Travelling while transporting so many goods was definitely a change of pace to doing so on foot. One would think it would be slower with all the added weight, but Bandit walked at a steady gait that was the same speed as a brisk walk to humans. Marta and Emil would always try to make good time when travelling, but they were guilty of meandering once in a while.
The first sign of trouble was the nervous snort that emanated from Bandit. Emil pulled himself up into a sitting position and noticed the horse holding its head up high, staring at something ahead with its ears rapidly swivelling back and forth.
"I think I see something further up the path, and it doesn't look good," Roland warned.
Emil hopped off the carriage and walked forwards to place himself in front of the nervous equine. A ways further along the path was a group of five or so monsters consisting of a couple of Axe Beaks, Filifolias and a Wolf. The fact that the three types of monsters weren't at each other's throats and, instead, were teaming up was weird by itself, but they seemed to be waiting for something, like they were going to ambush any traveller unfortunate enough to cross their path.
"It's a group of monsters," the sixteen-year-old stated, "I'm gonna go up ahead and intercept them since it doesn't seem like we can get by without a fight."
"Are you gonna need any help? Remember, you're still recovering." the older trader asked, reaching for the crossbow sat beside him, while simultaneously slowing Bandit down to a stop.
"No, I think I'll be fine. They seem pretty young"
Ignoring the weird look he got for that last comment, Emil made his way towards the congregation of beasts. One of Axe Beaks was the first to notice him. With a squawking battle cry that alerted the others to his presence, the dodo-like bird ran at him, jumping up and swinging its namesake at his torso. The blonde dodged to the right, swinging his sword up and catching the bird in the stomach. As it was knocked into the air, he followed up with a Ravaging Tiger, leaping up and hitting it again from below, before spinning around and throwing his momentum into a downward strike. The Axe Beak was sent careening backwards, towards the ground and landed on the Wolf that was trying to sneak up from behind, leaving them both momentarily stunned.
Emil couldn't take a moment's rest, however, as three Filifolia converged on him with the other Axe Beak not far behind. The trio of plant-like monsters used their combined six leaf-like appendages to attack him. While the tiny monsters usually weren't much of a problem, Emil wasn't used to fighting without the help of companions, whether that be human or monster, and was overwhelmed by the multitude of attacks directed at him. As he sent a couple of Demon Fangs towards the approaching Axe Beak in an attempt to slow it down, one of the Filifolia managed to land an Upper Cut, throwing him onto his back.
Using this positioning to his advantage, the seasoned fighter swept his leg under the three monsters in front of him as he was getting up, causing them to fall over. The Filifolia didn't have much time to comprehend what had happened before his sword cleaved all three of them in two. While the defeated monsters reverted into mana, the blonde turned his gaze to the three that remained. The biped, bird-like monster that had been wounded by a Demon Fang hesitated in its approach as the two other monsters began to circle around the boy.
Green eyes pierced its nervous gaze. The Axe Beak was rooted to its spot, getting antsier and antsier as its beady eyes stayed locked on to its opponent who had obliterated half of its group in one swing. As the tension between them reached its peak, it finally broke its gaze by turning on its tail and running away at full speed, awkwardly flapping its chicken wings and screeching the whole time.
The three remaining fighters watched as it darted through the field and disappeared over the horizon. The trio shared a look before the Wolf seemed to remember where it was and crouched with a growl. Its companion followed its example and lowered its beak while one of its feet clawed at the ground. Both charged at Emil, the bird staying low to the ground and the wolf lunging up towards his arm.
The Wolf's mouth snapped shut as it got hit in the stomach by the butt of his sword. Wasting no time as the beast hit the ground, he unleashed Swallow Fury on the charging Axe Beak. Phasing behind the last bird monster, he spun letting loose a series of kicks and swings, each hit bringing them both higher into the air. This seemed to be too much for it to handle as, with the last sword strike, it exploded into mana, returning to the world once again.
Emil turned towards the remaining member of the ambush group. It seemed to be on its last legs, trying pitifully to stand up on shaking legs. He stood silently, waiting to see what it would do. If it continued to fight until its final breath, then he would honour its decision and finish the battle. Instead, as he was staring into the Wolf's black eyes, he felt something prodding at his mind.
"Do you… want to form a pact with me?" he questioned hesitantly.
The monster nodded confidently. Having wiped out the rest of its group the blonde had more than proved his worth as a fighter and it hoped to get stronger by joining him. Emil mirrored this gesture and held his hand out towards it. His eyes closed as he reached into his power, grasping for the pact magic he had called upon so many times before during his journey. The process took a lot more effort than usual without Tenebrae there to guide him and with Ignis, who usually aids with fire elementals, asleep.
A circle of glowing red runes appeared under the quadruped. The world seemed to fade away as both survivors of the previous battle reached out to one another through the developing link.
When a connection was finally formed, it was as if a dam had burst. Emil felt a rush of emotions flooding into his mind. Sadness, exhaustion, overwhelming hunger, caution, acceptance and finally hope ran through him alongside a word.
"Thyra. So that's your name, huh?" he asked squatting down to pet the female Wolf's head.
Letting out and approving yip, she leaned her head further into his hand only to find it replaced by some jerky the boy had pulled out of his pack. The monster pounced on the first sight of available food she had seen in days, gulping it down in the blink of an eye. The food along with the mana provided to her by the pact made her feel full for the first time in months.
Emil frowned as they made their way back towards the carriage. He had a lot more trouble with that fight then he usually would have. He knew that without a connection to an awakened Centurion core he couldn't add its elemental power to his attacks, but his overall strength was closer to what it had been when he had left Luin. The only reason he had been able to win that battle was due to his experience as a fighter, otherwise, the group would have easily overwhelmed him.
Roland was astonished to see his travelling companion return with Thyra trotting docilely at his heels. Shrugging, he welcomed them both to hop onto his cart, he had seen weirder things during his travels. Now if the boy had somehow managed to tame a Sphinx or something, that would be a different story.
"Managed to pick up a stray now, have you?" he teased.
The blond blinked in shock at the nonchalant response Roland had aimed towards him, glancing down with a sheepish smile at the beast tailing him.
"She should be fine now that she's got some food. I promise she won't be a bother."
Both were surprised as she barked in agreement and jumped onto the front seat beside the older man with her tail wagging. He eyed her wearily before reaching over his hand stopping to hover hesitantly over her head. The Wolf stretched up onto her toes to eagerly butt her head against his outstretched palm.
"Well aren't you an affectionate fella." He chuckled before facing Emil "Okay, let's get this show on the road!"
He cracked Bandit's reins and the horse returned to its previous pace, Emil following on foot beside the carriage.
The group fell into a comfortable rhythm during the journey, taking breaks whenever Bandit needed to rest. Monster encounters were few and far between and even then they were avoided whenever possible, as Emil was still feeling very weak even with Thyra to help him.
Over the course of the following week, the two humans engaged in bouts of small talk along with periods of comfortable silence. The relaxed atmosphere allowed Emil to flesh-out his backstory, along with his plans for the future. He wasn't sure if there was a way to get back to his time but, if there was, Ratatosk or one of the other Summon Spirits would know about it.
He knew that awakening the Centurions was his best bet at contacting his other half but, even then, that begged the question if the 10,000-year-old spirit would still remember everything. It would be much troublesome to convince him to not order the extinction of humans and half-elves without their shared experiences.
Emil groaned, holding his head in his hands as the moral dilemma of changing the past rolled around his head. Just Ratatosk being absent from the Ginnungagap guaranteed that the events of the last two years, relative to his timeframe, wouldn't happen. He questioned if he should throw all caution to the wind or stay as far away from Lloyd and his friends as possible. Was there anything that he needed to change?
The blond frowned at that thought, remembering all the suffering his friends went through. Not to mention he could, in good faith, ignore the havoc the Desians were causing. One thing stuck out in his mind: Palmacosta. If he were to change anything, it would be the devastation that befell the town at the hands of the roots of the World Tree. Comparing how he knew the town looked in the future to his memories, however false, of his childhood, it was clear that the city and its people never fully recovered.
Thyra pawed at his dangling feet from her seat in the front. Emil leaned forward to give her a weary smile from his spot on the roof.
"So, you got any plans after we reach Triet?", Roland inquired, "I'd say we've got another three days before we get there. The sand really slows ol' Bandit down."
"I'll probably go and check out the Triet ruins.", Emil responded, "My parents and I were studying an ancient type of monster that controlled others of it's kind. They thought one might have lived over there so I'm hoping to find some clues as to where else they could be."
He winced thinking about the verbal lashing Tenebrae would put him through for that comment. Centurions are not simple monsters. We are the personal servants of Lord Ratatosk who relies on us to perform the important ensure the distribution of mana across the world. He sighed, missing the nagging voice of his almost constant companion.
The seasoned trader gave his younger acquaintance a sympathetic glance, misinterpreting his sad mood as being caused by missing his parents.
"Well, if they were interested in historical monuments, why not head up to Iselia while you're in the region? It's a ways off and a long shot, but maybe they would let you check out the Temple of Martel," he suggested.
Emil nodded, only half-listening at the mention of Colette's home town. Knowing that no Centurion cores were in that area, but also being distracted at the thought of his friends.
"Speaking of which, the Chosen's birthday should be happening any day now. Rumour has it that they're turning sixteen sometime in mid-spring," the older man continued excitedly trying to keep the conversation going.
A light in the corner of his eye caught Emil's attention.
"Uh, I'm guessing that it's more like today," the younger man answered pointing towards the north.
Four heads turned towards the sky, two human, one monster and one equine, where a bright pillar of light shone proudly off in the distance, signalling the arrival of the Oracle.