Hikaru: For concept art of the second-gen characters, visit my Deviantart account--search for by:Hikaru-Irving to find my gallery.
--
As a shinobi in training Leneth was used to waking up at first light or even earlier. Nonetheless he was still somewhat unprepared when Kratos woke him, telling him in hushed voice to get ready. Leneth quickly buttoned up his overcoat, slipped on his boots and gloves, tying off his hair in a small tail at the nape of his neck.
Vorpal sword was still sheathed, tucked away in a corner of the room. Leneth grabbed it, strapped it to his back. Alain was still sleeping on the floor.
"Alain," Leneth muttered, gently nudging him with a foot. "Get up."
Alain blinked, groggy. Leneth gave him another nudge, this time more insistent, and Alain got up. It was still dark, so Leneth lit a lantern for his friend's benefit. Together they geared up in relative silence, noises of the girls downstairs getting ready as well. The seriousness of the situation was finally becoming apparent.
Alain grumbled something under his breath as he strapped his quiver of arrows to his back along with his bowcase. His sword was already belted to his waist.
"What was that?" Leneth asked, quirking an eyebrow as he folded the blankets he and Alain had been using in lieu of beds.
Alain found a comb, raking it through his disheveled hair, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"The girls have it easier," He said as he combed his bangs down, "they get to go by ship. We have to hoof it across Triet, the Ossa Trail and then past Izoold due north across the land bridge, past Hima ... and then reach Luin. Oi."
Leneth let out a low whistle. It was a long way to be traveling on foot, even with a good pace--he may be a Mizuhon, but he'd never had to march before.
A thought struck him as Alain handed him the comb.
"Can't we catch a ship at Izoold?"
Alain shook his head, no.
"We can't. We'd be deviating from what Kratos told us to do, and we can't be sure if King Hugh doesn't have spies seeking us already. Besides, Hima doesn't have a port. It'd be better to just suck it up and march the whole way."
That made Leneth shut up. He knew how extensive New Mizuho's information network was, what was to stop Old Mizuho from aiding Tethe'alla pertaining to the location of the segments of the Eternal Sword?
If indeed Old Mizuho was aiding Tethe'alla ... or acting on its own. Either prospect was scary enough.
When they made ready, they headed downstairs, where Dirk was already serving Kratos, Liath, and Withi a quick breakfast. Leneth and Alain took seats at the table, making quick work of the stew set before them. Kratos was already finished eating, and he kept looking out the windows--dawn was approaching, although it would be at least another hour before first light.
"The ferry to Latheon's House of Guidance leaves at midday. Liath, you and Waltharia have to be as inconspicuous as possible if you're going to make it to Heimdall through Tethe'allan territory."
Liath nodded resolutely--Kratos had made arrangements for the ferry to go to Heimdall after its initial stop, so all she and Waltharia had to do was stay on the ship, disembark at the appropriate time, and journey to Heimdall. The elves had already been informed of the situation and would readily take in the two young women.
Leneth finished his meal and took his dishes to the sink, rinsing them off. Alain quickly followed suit.
"Leneth, you and Alain must leave now." Kratos said sternly, standing at the door. "We have to put as much distance between ourselves as possible. I trust you're prepared?"
Leneth wanted to scream no he wasn't prepared; he didn't want to be separated from his sister or have to trek halfway across Sylvarant to face Origin knew what. He mutely nodded--his parents were going to have a lot of explaining to do when Leneth and Alain finally reached Luin.
With that Kratos opened the door and walked outside. Leneth gave Liath one last look before following his grandfather, Alain hot on his heels.
Kratos had accompanied them as far as the end of the forest, but when they reached the Iselian road he had turned back, saying something about wanting to make sure Liath and Waltharia made their ship all right.
Leneth heaved a sigh, looking to the vast expanse of grassland before them, the only thing cutting through the sea of green the packed dirt road.
"Well, let's go," Alain said, taking up the lead as he walked at a brisk pace, "if we press onward, we should be able to reach the Triet desert and perhaps the city by nightfall."
Leneth followed up after his friend easily on the road. They walked swiftly but easily, and by the time the sun rose into midmorning they'd put much distance between the Iselian Woods and themselves. If Leneth had to guess he'd say he and Alain were somewhere in the upper third of the grasslands between Iselia and Triet desert.
"You travel often?" Leneth asked as he walked.
Beside him Alain shrugged. "No, not really. The farthest I've ever gone was into the woods to train with you and Liath--" he stopped walking.
Leneth immediately recognized what Alain was doing--monsters were afoot.
Where he didn't have to ask--a high-pitched whooshing noise was heard, and Leneth leapt back out of the giant bird's way. He withdrew a throwing knife and with a flick of his wrist let it fly--the giant hawk cried out, wings flailing as it shook its head--the knife buried itself in its face, a mere inch from its eye, Leneth's intended target.
Alain drew his sword and made for the monster, but it leapt out of his reach, taking to the skies again, perhaps preparing for another dive. Cursing under his breath, Alain quickly as he could put his bow together, nocking an arrow to the bowstring.
The bird, having been attacked first by Leneth, dove for the Mizuhon, its dark talons catching the sunlight in an ominous way. Leneth leapt backwards to avoid the attack. The bird didn't fly up again; instead it deigned to hop across the ground toward its target. Leneth danced in and out of its reach, distracting it--and behind the giant bird Alain loosed an arrow.
"Thunder Blitz!"
The electric arrow pierced the bird's shoulder--it squawked in pain, jolting from the bouts of electricity. Leneth drew the short sword Dirk had forged for him--it was lightweight, easy to wield--and ran the bird through. The monster gurgled pathetically, ceasing to move. Leneth sighed, yanking his blade free. Black monster blood dripped in gouts on the ground.
"One disaster averted," Alain said cheerfully, handing Leneth a cloth to wipe the blood from his blade. "Now we have to leave ASAP if we don't want to deal with the scavengers. You handled yourself well, Leneth."
Leneth scowled at Alain as he wiped the worst of the blood of his sword, sheathing it when it was clean.
"Are you suggesting a shinobi can't handle himself in combat?"
Alain shook his head, smiling good naturedly. "No, but it was your first time in real combat, a real life-or-death situation. Am I wrong to compliment you?"
Leneth's face burned in mortification as he blushed. "... No. Thanks."
"Good."
Monster encounters from then on were a little more scarce, but the kinds of enemies they fought were diverse--a small pack of wolves one time (Alain had trouble believing Leneth's Mizuhon agility), a few snakes (good thing they had antidotes), and even a group of bandits (there was no real need to kill them, so Alain and Leneth merely knocked them out and broke their weapons).
Just as Alain predicted, by nightfall they reached the desert.
But they were by no means close to the city.
Leneth dragged his feet through the sand, the darkness of night turning the golden dunes to a pale purple hue. He patted at his clothing--clouds of dusty sand came loose.
"Man ... so much ... sand! This is because of Efreet's influence, is it?"
Alain had set up a campfire and was setting out their bedrolls.
"Yeah. The extreme heat of Efreet's mana caused this place to change from a grassland to a desert. Word is the desert's expanding over what remaining grassland there is on this continent."
Leneth didn't answer as Alain finished setting up camp, merely stood at the outskirts and stared off into the horizon made uneven by the mountains of sand.
"Hey, Efreet's seal is somewhere in this area?"
Alain quirked an eyebrow as he was preparing their evening meal.
"Yes ..."
"Do you think we could ... take a little detour?"
"No." Alain said flatly, making sandwiches--there was no source of fresh water nearby to boil, and they would serve well enough.
"Oh, come on, why not?" Leneth pleaded, turning to face Alain. "You can't honestly tell me you're uninterested."
Alain handed Leneth his sandwich, "No I can't, but we have to reach Luin as soon as we can to tell my parents and yours about the attack. Besides, there's no guarantee we'll find anything there--my mother told me the seal fell into ruins years ago."
Leneth sat crosslegged by the fire, accepting his food with a thanks. But he was not one so easily deterred.
"You remember what Kratos said--that my mom sensed her links with Tethe'allan Spirits disappearing, an indication that another summoner made pacts with them. What if this summoner intends to make pacts with all the Spirits?"
There was a tense silence for a time as the young men ate.
Alain furrowed his brow--Leneth was indeed onto something.
"All he would need is the pact with Origin for the Eternal Sword ... and all the parts of the sword, as well as the pact ring. But I was told as Origin is one of the most powerful Spirits ever, there is a great deal of preparation in mind and body before a summoner can go make the pact."
Leneth nodded.
"And what better training than to make pacts with all the Spirits the world over?"
Alain glared at Leneth; the boy had brought up a good point and it would be by no means a "detour." It was a valid concern pertaining to the one thing they couldn't let happen--if Tethe'alla had ever gotten its mits on the Eternal Sword, or the means of accession.
Finally, Alain sighed.
"Fine, we'll swing by the ruins tomorrow--after we've visited the city. But we can't stay long; we don't know where Tethe'alla means to strike if it has declared serious war on Sylvarant."
Leneth shrugged, but he was satisfied nonetheless.
Leneth had heard stories about how hot deserts could get--but as he and Alain traveled throughout the Triet Desert on the way to the city, the sun beat down on his back and the sand grated against his skin. They weren't far from the city--it was only a few hours before they reached it, but Leneth was positively exhausted.
Splashing cold water on his face at their room in the inn, Leneth groaned. Alain heard him and laughed.
"If we take no detours, we can get out of this desert fairly quickly, maybe in a day or two."
Alain splashed his face again, enjoying the cool relief. There were tinges of sunburn here and there, but he was mostly all right.
"No," he said adamantly, "we are going to investigate the temple. There's an oasis by it anyhow--we can cool off and come back here."
"All right, all right, cool off," Alain chortled, opening the inn door. "I'm going to get supplies and information. Want to come?"
Leneth looked out the window of the room--their room was on the second floor of the inn and overlooked the city outside. It was midday now and the city positively bustled with activity, the inhabitants blissfully ignorant of the intense heat of the desert. He sighed.
"No, that's all right, I'll take a nap."
Alain nodded in agreement and left. Leneth pulled off his boots and overcoat, settling on one of the two beds. He lay with his legs dangling off the edge, arms folded behind his head. He stared at the ceiling.
"Liath ..." he murmured. Where was his sister now? She should already be on the ferry with Waltharia, Kratos had said their boat left at midday yesterday. He cracked a grin. Liath and Waltharia could wile away their time at sea--the majority of their route was by sea--while Leneth and Alain had to hoof it all the away across a continent and a half.
Leneth had managed to fall into a light sleep for a while before Alain slammed the door open abruptly. Leneth shot upright in his bed, eyes clouded with sleep and half open.
"Wh-what?" Leneth asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Alain's arms were full of bags, undoubtedly the supplies he'd procured. He packed them in their travel bags as he filled Leneth in on the situation.
"It's the damn Tethe'allan Navy." Alain spat, obviously not in a very good mood, "A fleet of ironclad battleships is on its way to lay seige to Izoold--they want control of its port for trade and use it as a military base."
Leneth's eyes went wide.
"The Latheon base isn't sending ships ... is it?" Dammit, Liath and Waltharia were probably still sailing the Latheon Channel!
Alain shuddered. "I don't want to think about what's going on up north. But the Tethe'allan army shouldn't have a reason to be attacking civilian ferry ships ... as long as they don't know which one has Flamberge."
Leneth gulped the lump down his throat, his hand involuntarily reaching up to touch the hilt of Vorpal, the sword still strapped to his back. Perhaps Liath and Waltharia had the tougher route after all. He was suddenly impacted by the fact they were traveling through Tethe'allan territory, and would be in constant danger until they reached the safety of Heimdall.
"So," Leneth stammered as he grabbed his boots, "how far away from Izoold is the fleet? Is the vanguard there prepared for seige--or battle?"
Alain pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut as if in exasperation. "Think, Leneth. Ironclad battleships, undoubtedly employing some form of magitechnology as well. Those ships against the technologically inferior Sylvarantian vanguard, the best of battleships a huge steamship with magitech cannons and defenses. Any advantage, if at all, would be in manuverability for their lighter weight. But still ... it's only a matter of time."
Leneth gulped down the lump in his throat as he realized what Alain was saying--the vanguard at Izoold wouldn't last long in a full-on assault, and Tethe'alla would have a firm step to set foot on Sylvarant to begin their invasion. If Tethe'alla truly wanted for Sylvarant's natural resources, the land itself was probably in no danger. The cities and people, however ...
"You're saying we should press on to Luin."
Alain nodded, still busy in the task of packing their new supplies in an orderly manner.
Leneth frowned, cupping his chin with a hand.
"But if the Tethe'allan fleet is already well on its way, what if we get caught up in the attack?"
Alain froze, every muscle pulled taut. Leneth didn't stop there.
"If Tethe'allan spies are lying in wait for us there ... wouldn't it be better to wait for a little while and head on in a low profile?"
Alain drummed his fingers rhythmically on the leather pack, considering. To have been appointed by Kratos as Leneth's "protection" as good as made Alain the leader of his journey, and Leneth found it better to persuade instead of force his opinons on him.
"True, rushing onto Luin, even if we avoided any battles or skirmishes would hardly bode well for us. That's like yelling to the Tethe'allans we have what they want."
Alain continued to ponder the matter for a little while before decisively nodding his head.
"Sure, we'll stay here for a little bit, and we can still investigate the ruins, as would be prudent. We must move quickly but carefully and discreetly if we don't want to alert the Tethe'allans."
Leneth couldn't help but smile at this small victory. The mysterious Tethe'allan summoner was a cause for concern, but for any Tethe'allan to have made into Sylvarant during wartime--he stopped. The summoner ... could have been smuggled into Sylvarant before the war officially broke out.
Alain seemed to read Leneth's thoughts about the seal.
"We do need to kill time before moving on," he said slowly, "but even if Efreet is still unbound, how would we guard it against any more pact-makers? It's not as if we could make a pact with it."
Leneth bit down on his lower lip. It was true, of all the training he and Liath had received in New Mizuho, the art of summoning was not something they'd been taught. Presumably their mother thought it unneeded, at least for them, if she intended for them not to become entangled in the great intrigues of the world.
But entangled they have become.
"If only we knew who the summoner was," Leneth muttered.
At that Alain gave him an odd expression, an iron glint in his eye. Leneth quirked a brow at him.
"We ... could find out who the summoner is. Attempt to, anyway."
"How do you mean?" Leneth asked as Alain finished packing.
Alain didn't answer immediately, strapping on his weapons. Leneth made to do the same, grabbing the throwing knives and short sword Dirk had forged for him.
"It's a magick that I was afraid I'd never get to use." Alain explained. "It was part of my mother's training. Called angel's sight, if I recall rightly. Certain natrual mediums might be used to seek visions of people and things and places familiar to its user."
Leneth stared curiously at Alain, unable to help his question.
"Natural mediums ...? What are those?"
Alain cast a look about the room as if to make sure they would forget nothing, and turned toward the door. Leneth stood to follow, grabbing his travel pack.
"We can't use them in this room. Let's go."
Alain explained as they walked through the city's streets. It was hot, but Leneth bit back his complaints. If he were complaining about his own comfort when so much more was at stake in this war, his parents would be ashamed.
These "natrual mediums" to see visions through were many things, most commonly used ones (and most commonly available) being fires and certain bodies of water. Alain said he'd heard tell of practiced mages seeing through things such as obsidian, a kind of dark stone, but these tales were nothing more than word of mouth.
It would be strange for someone to make a fire in the middle of a desert city during the day, so Leneth had a feeling he knew which medium Alain would use for their purpose. And he had guessed rightly when they came free of a throng of people down one street to come out at the oasis, the precious source of water for Triet.
"It's a lot like meditating, actually," Alain said as he sat the water's edge by a fortune teller's tent. Leneth sat beside him.
Alain took a deep breath. "You relax, clear your mind. Focused like this, you can sense and manipulate mana more astutely."
Alain stared deeply at the water, but Leneth saw nothing, only their reflections, undisturbed by the almost solid surface of water. Leneth did not have training in this aspect, nor was he even a mage--he didn't know enough of manipulating mana beyond using them for his seals as his mother would.
Nonetheless he watched Alain. It was a very strange thing, Alain was so focused on his intent that he didn't seem to notice Leneth--not even when Leneth waved a hand before his face or gently prodded his shoulder with a hand. Before long Leneth learned not to disturb Alain; doing so would serve nothing for their purpose.
Alain sat staring at the oasis water for a very long time, so entranced was he. Leneth, too, stared into the water, but he could not see anything but the reflections, the slight ripples on the surface made by the rare breeze, and perhaps the shadow of fish darting underneath.
Alain shuddered and Leneth snapped his gaze to look at his friend. Alain blinked multiple times and Leneth realized he was coming back to earth.
"Wh--who was that ...?" Alain murmured.
"Alain?" Leneth asked, and Alain snapped out of it.
"Th-the summoner." Alain said somewhat distractedly, "He's already ... in Sylvarant boundaries."
"Where?" Leneth demanded before he could stop himself. He could not use angel's sight, better to squeeze the information out of someone who did.
Alain shook his head as if to clear it. "He was ... on the fleet of Tethe'allan ships heading to Izoold."
Leneth at once brightened.
"Then that means Efreet is safe, for now. What Spirits are near Izoold?"
Alain considered.
"None," he said finally. "Efreet's here in Triet, close to Izoold as a day or three on a hard march, Undine's island--also in ruins-- is a a ways off Palmacosta, Slyph's temple is northwest of Asgard, and Aska and Luna's altar is still in the ruined Tower of Mana, close to Luin."
"So," Alain continued, "the summoner's current destination is Izoold. Either he knows that we were in Iselia, or he's really intent on making a pact with Efreet."
It was Leneth's turn to smirk, and Alain frowned at the gesture.
"Luin is our top priority, Leneth." He said in a warning tone.
"I know," Leneth replied, "in fact, now we'll be making better time, as we don't need to head off to the seal. All we have to do when we pass by Izoold is to ... make things a little bit difficult for the Tethe'allans there."
"Antagonizing the Tethe'allan military?" Alain balked. "That's passing precarious for our anonymity."
Leneth partially ignored him, already brewing up plots and schemes. For a summoner to be breaking his mother's links with the Spirits, that was quite a personal hang-up. Although he'd never seen his mother summon, he'd always regarded the Spirits as attached to his mother, and imagining anybody else summoning them left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Did you find out his name?" Leneth asked.
Alain's frown was more prominent at this question. "Yes ... it's not a very pleasant one, either. In an ancient language it means 'cold.' "
"Well, what is it?" asked Leneth, almost impatiently.
"He calls himself Frio. Frio L. Kestrel."