Aether Beasts

When I woke up next, it was to the sound of faint voices coming from outside the caravan and a slight rocking feeling that let me know we were moving. It was slightly chilly, but not overly cold and no light shone into the caravan, at least not sunlight. The glow of artificial lights was bright as there seemed to be one just outside the door flap to the back of the caravan.

"Finally awake?"

I glanced over to see Misty sat on a closed box with what looked like a closed book in her hand. Sandra was in a similar position to myself, opposite of me, and was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling.

"How." I coughed to clear my dry throat. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," Misty replied. "Me and Sandra decided to sleep in shifts, and she just went to sleep around an hour ago."

I yawned as I pulled a flash of water from my ring and took a long gulp of the cool liquid.

"Did Kara say when we'd make it to our destination?" I asked as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Mistry shrugged. "Not really, though she did say it'd probably be day by the time we made it there. From the talk I can hear, it seems like the twin horn aren't in a rush, which lines up with how we've seen them act."

"Cocky and assured of their impending victory?" I asked.

"Precisely."

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I tried to think of something to say or do. I wasn't really sure of what to say which was odd since I wasn't usually so tongue tied.

"What are you reading?" I asked.

"This thing? It's just a basic bestiary that Kara lent me. I thought I might as well spend this time trying to learn more about the beasts in the plains."

"We learnt about that at the academy," I replied. "Or were you not paying attention?"

"Oh I was, sort of." She sighed. "But most of my mind back then was taken up by things taught to me by my'¦ my father. I was always meant to follow in his footsteps, you know."

"Oh."

What a great way to start a conversation, Aiden, let's just bring up memories of her recently dead father. I felt like smacking myself, but luckily Misty didn't seem to offended or even that sad.

"Anyways, now that I'll be traveling with you three, I need to know things like this,especially if Zirani's serious about crossing the great scar."

Misty smiled. "I always used to read stories about it. The great scar, a piece of land that defies all reason and is full of wonders and horrors from beasts the size of mountains to deep pits that are said to lead into otherworldly places. I always thought it was too great to be true."

"It is true," I replied. "Or at least that's what I'm assuming from what Zirani told me."

"Do you really think we'll be strong enough by the end of the year if we make it out of this war that is?"

I shrugged. "I've trusted Zirani and she hasn't lied to me or led me astray so far, and from the amount of I've learned and grown in just a short amount of training, I do think we can reach that level."

"That means we're going to have to leave the sect, you know?"

I nodded. "I know, but I'm not too worried about them doing anything. They're not the type to do anything and I'm pretty sure you just have to pay a fine and give a good reason then you can leave."

"Something like that," Misty said. "I actually read the contract you signed when you joined while you were out. It's a lot different from what I expected."

"The steel heart are more of a mercenary outfit or bounty hunters guild rather than an actual sect," I explained. "That's what they told me when I joined. The lack of promises and the fact it seemed less limiting was why I liked it, also I didn't really have much else of a choice. It was the steel heart or the twin horn, and we both know I would never join them.

"That would make more sense," Misty said. "Especially since there aren't many requirements the disciples need to meet, and a lot of things rely on people's morality which is often a thin string to attach your hopes or anything to, but the sect seems to have figured it out."

We waited for a while longer before I finally grew hungry and left the caravan in search of food. Luckily it didn't take too long and with my great reputation I was able to bag myself a plate of dry meats and an odd-looking salad along with some cold bread, but I wasn't going to complain, and I guessed a lot of the food had been given to those who had left since we weren't really going to need it where we were going. It wasn't going to be a few battles or skirmishes. It would be a last stand, a last-ditch effort to push back the tide of filth that was the twin horn.

"That's a lot of food," Misty commented as I entered back into the caravan.

"What can I say, I'm always hungry," I replied.

I dug into my food as we traveled ever closer to our destination.

We arrived just as the sun was rising and Sandra quickly woke as the boxes in our caravan had to be taken and unpacked, not to mention that we had to meet up with Kara and Elder Kaylin, but Sandra insisted on getting some food first, which I agreed to, much to Misty's shock.

"As I said, I'm always hungry." I frowned. "By the way are you ok, you haven't'¦"

My words trailed off and Misty seemed confused for a second before recognition shone in her eyes. "I'll be fine for another day and when I get hungry I can go hunt some beasts. It's not it'll be hard to take down some one core beasts."

As we headed to get some food, I inspected our surroundings. We seemed to be in a hilly area that led into a gap to the north. There was a cliff to the east and hills to the west which led down into a natural trench. It was a chokepoint if I'd ever seen one, and big enough for a large force or army to enter through. I wasn't an expert in warfare, but I knew it would be hard for any army to get through if they were being blocked, and that this wouldn't work if the twin horn weren't out to kill us. Luckily they were and were also just the types to walk into something like this, thinking that we wouldn't stand a chance and we'd be overwhelmed, but with the gap, and the elevated areas on the cliff and the hills to the west, we would be able to position range attackers along with the main force which would be holding the gap and defending against the twin horn.

"A good observation," Zirani praised.

I shrugged mentally. "Not really it's just common sense."

"You'd be surprised how many people don't have any common sense," ZIrani replied. "You were brought up in an environment with balance in your life, and a good teacher, but what do you think someone who spoiled their whole life or never been defeated would think? They might care or they might ignore it depending on the type of person they are. Your common sense isn't so common."

Sandra and I found a few empty boxes to sit on as we ate while Misty read her book. Once again I'd gone for mostly dry meats and bread while Sandra had gone for sausage, boiled eggs, and some coffee which I guessed made sense since she had just woken up.

"There you are."

We all glanced over to see Kara walking over to us with an annoyed look on her face. "I thought I said I'd come to get you when we arrived."

I shrugged. "We got hungry."

"I swear I saw you with a plate of food not a few hours ago," Kara mused.

"That was me, but I'm hungry again."

Kara shook her head. "It doesn't matter, can you hurry up, Elder Kaylin's going to be done with his work soon and we need to be there when he is."

"What's the rush?" Misty asked. "I heard the twin horn won't be here for at least another half day."

"I don't know, but he has something in store for us," Kara replied. "Something that probably has to do with the upcoming battle."

We finished up our food quickly then followed Kara as she led the way to Elder Kaylin.. I didn't know exactly what Kaylin had in store for us, but from everything else he'd had us do, it was probably going to be interesting.