In all, the whole ordeal with the slaves had only taken them about a day out of their way. It was pure chance that they'd heard of the caravan from another trader they'd met on the road, and been close enough to hasten and catch up to them.

Judging the strength of the mercenaries was difficult, but Wyn and Corrin had grown much stronger in the past few months, and had a hard time believing anyone truly formidable would be amidst them. They'd been right, and were able to take care of things without much difficulty.

Wyn had been a bit worried about leaving the mercenaries at the nearest town, wondering how channelers could even be held without Corrin threatening them repeatedly. However it turned out to be less of an issue than he'd thought. Talking to the garrison in town revealed a common use for magic stones he hadn't actually known about. Apparently, by insetting depleted stones into a thin band of iron, along with what he gathered was some basic inscription, it was actually possible to create a sort of mana-disruptor that interfered with a person's ability to channel, and vented their excess aura as well.

He had a suspicion that something so simple wouldn't hold a spirit knight, but when Corrin had tested one, he insisted he was hardly able to channel at all, much less gather the strength to break through restraints.

While the town's garrison had been helpful in taking the slavers and mercenaries into custody, it was the local shrine that had been most helpful in caring for the victims. The shrine, run by a whole family of priests, already had several children under its care, and was more than happy to help the adults as well. Many of them had been taken by force, and intended to return to their families once they recovered. Others though, like little Heza and Dimi, had apparently been sold off by their own parents, and decided they would prefer to stay in the small town at the shrine.

Wyn could still scarcely believe that their own mother had sold them away. Having grown up in the tight-knit community of Straetum, it was unthinkable to either him or Corrin, though Kei seemed unsurprised.

"Slavery by name is outlawed in most kingdoms," she explained when they asked. "But countless loopholes exist, usually under the pretense of paying off debts. Indenture is fairly common, as are forced marriages. Even some middle-class families will have a servant bound to them—usually Nladian."

That hadn't sat well with Wyn, and he idly wondered if becoming a spirit knight would help him attain the influence to help change that. He was certain there wasn't much any of them could do as they were.

Well, perhaps Kei actually could, he thought to himself. At least in Taravast, she actually has more influence than either of us, even if only through her family.

In any case, they made not insignificant donations to the shrine, to be used in helping the victims, and said goodbye to the town the next morning, heading back off towards the east.

Such was the rhythm of the last few months. Only minor detours had diverted their eastward trek, taking a looping route which ran along the south and would eventually pass through Liresil. Barring the occasional spirit beast attack, or diversions like the slave caravan, things had been relatively peaceful, giving them time to simply enjoy the journey through the many polites of the basin.

Dozens of small kingdoms and city-states jostled for space within the confines of the mountains which ringed the basin, each with differing cultures, laws, and customs. The city state of Vuno-niwt to the south was one such example, allowing slavery though the rest of the basin had outlawed it.

Another was the kingdom of Rūdkhān, a narrow stretch of land which ran along one of the western rivers, home to strange houses built on stilts atop the water. It was a personal favorite of Wyn's, since much like the small town of Cliffside on the plateau, a large portion of the people born in the kingdom had something they called 'the river's gift'. The gift—which he was fairly sure was just a blessing—allowed them to swim more freely in the river, ignoring the current.

The differing cultures didn't exactly live in harmony. Prior to The Nladian War, there had been no time in recorded history in which the central basin was entirely devoid of conflict. Some of the city states would always be at war—though Wyn had gathered their wars were not grand things, instead limited to skirmishes and border disputes.

In any case, the only reason the warring states ever united was to fight other nations. Nladia was the most recent of these external threats, though unlike any prior time in history, a peace still remained following the thirty year war, giving birth to the central alliance which seemed to unify law and promote trade within the region.

Wyn could understand why so many wars had been fought over the basin though. The basin was referred to as 'the cradle of life', and for good reason. Lush hills and winding rivers stretched throughout the entire region. Birdsong was a constant companion along the journey, and vivid orchids and bromeliads bloomed beneath the canopy of twisting trees. Often, Wyn would catch sight of creatures moving in the distance, or rustling around in the foliage, and sometimes he and Corrin would run off to see them up close.

With such a troubled past, the hills of the basin were also dotted with ruins dating back to a time before the eternal night. He and Corrin had ventured briefly into one of the sites they'd come across, hoping to find ancient treasure and magical relics, but they weren't so lucky. All they'd found were some strange stone carvings on the walls. They would probably interest a historian, but Wyn was not one.

And so, the journey continued.

***

A few days after leaving the town, they woke to a thick mist which blanketed the ground, obscuring vision for more than a few hundred feet in any direction. Of course, it was only fog, and so they continued unabated. It was a rare creature that could pose a threat to the two of them—they'd been approached by many predators who simply abandoned the pursuit as soon as Corrin formed his mantle.

It was in the dreamlike stillness of the fog, that the sounds began.

At first, it seemed part of the breeze, so faint and long that Wyn completely dismissed it. But it soon came again, this time clearer. It was distant, resonant, like a horn blown from some vast, forgotten castle in the mist.

Corrin looked up. "Did you hear that?"

Wyn nodded, gesturing for Kei to slow the oxen from her place atop the cart. "I've never heard anything like it."

The sound returned at intervals, drifting through the hills from different directions. Each time, they grew louder, drawing closer as Wyn urged them to move slower. It became clear that there were at least three sources of the sound. Each was to the east, relatively speaking, but there were two further to the north, and one straight ahead.

"Should… we move?" Kei asked.

Corrin shook his head, smiling slightly. "Are you kidding? What is that?"

"I could live without finding out," she said dryly.

"Well, that's you." Corrin grinned at her. "Don't worry, if it's dangerous, I'll grab you and run. We'll leave Wyn to distract it."

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Wyn just snorted. "You'd be slower than me while carrying her, you two can be colossus bait."

"Well at least we know it's not one of those," Corrin chuckled.

"How so?" Kei asked.

Curious about his confidence, Wyn channeled mana to his eyes, and the world grew awash with color. The sensation was still fairly new, and he couldn't help but smile. Months of diligent training, enhanced by spirit fire, had finally culminated in a rudimentary mana-sight. He was hesitant to admit it, but if not for the notes given to him by Nereus, he could've never achieved it remotely as quickly. Trying to figure out such a complex series of channels through sheer trial and error? He couldn't imagine how long it would take.

From what he'd gathered, Corrin's mana-sight was still more advanced. Wyn had a hard time distinguishing fine differences and details compared to his friend, but it was still good enough for his purposes.

"Ah, the ambient mana is still relatively stagnant," he observed.

Corrin nodded. "Spirit beasts affect the mana around them, but they don't draw it on scale like a colossus does. You can see and feel those things for miles."

The world began to shake as an impossibly loud warbling wail split the air, loud enough that it seemed to echo through the gently sloping hills for miles.

After a moment of shock, Wyn was immediately on alert, grabbing his sword and burning spirit fire. It had gotten much closer while they'd been talking, and it had done so quietly—was it intentional?

Corrin muttered something Wyn didn't hear, peering into the fog as the sound slowly echoed away.

The answering calls came from the north once more, and the oxen grunted nervously, stepping in place as they too, tried to identify the source of the sound.

"It must be right in front of us," Corrin said. "But the damn fog won't—"

The fog in front of them seemed to warp and shift as the entire hill suddenly grew—except it wasn't the hill, it was a creature. An impossibly vast body moved through the fog, and then finally the mist split and it broke into the air overhead. The beast was so large that Wyn was unable to view its entire body through the fog.

"A mistralith…" Kei whispered in awe.

"You know it?" Corrin asked.

She nodded. "They're—"

Yet another wail split the air, causing them to instinctively clap hands to their ears. But Wyn only winced for a moment before refocusing on the flying creature. Beneath its form, what must have been thousands of spirits danced in the air with it, some simple dots of blue and white, others taking on the forms of fish, eels, and even some sort of strange, eight-armed creature that clung to its skin. He recognized lift spirits among them as well, though larger than he'd seen before. A single one was almost ten feet across, and still looked miniscule beneath its shadow.

As the wail slowly died down, he uncovered his ears and realized that despite the volume of its cries, the mistralith was actually almost silent as it swam through the air, with no obvious flapping of wings leveling the ground beneath it like he would have expected for a creature so large. As its body passed, he noticed what looked to be giant fins on its side, akin to a fish.

"It's a species of whale, one with an innate blessing of waterwalking," Kei said in a hushed voice, as if she could read his thoughts. "They usually live in the sea, but they'll migrate over land by using their blessings to swim through fog and clouds."

"That's not really walking then is it?" Corrin complained. "More like a blessing of water… swimming? Flying? Huh. Also, what's a whale?"

Another cry answered from the north once more, and Wyn had to admit there was a certain haunting beauty to their melodies, moving deep enough to rattle his bones in one moment, and then high enough to pierce his ears the next.

"Kei, you know about them right?" Corrin asked. "Are they dangerous?"

She shook her head. "They can do damage if they fly too low, but they're gentle giants. If we attacked maybe, but other than that…"

Corrin's eyes lit up. He looked at Wyn and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"No way," Wyn said. Damn, he was grinning too.

Corrin gave him a look.

"It's a bad idea."

Kei looked between the two of them, puzzled for a second. "Oh kings you'd better not—"

Corrin jumped.

He made it up the whale's side and almost fell back before managing to find a hold and scrambling up to the top. The mist swallowed him up as he climbed, and he vanished from sight, though Wyn heard a loud whoop a few seconds later.

Wyn watched for a moment.

Psst… Eia…

Her response was playful. On it.

"Can you believe that idiot?" Kei grumbled. "I can't believe he'd do something so stupid… What am I saying? Of course I can"

Wyn shook his head. "I know, it's terrible right?" A few lift spirits broke from the rest and settled into his crown. He grinned devilishly, holding out a hand. "Want to join him?"

After a moment, Kei took it, shooting him a wry smile. "It'd be a waste not to at this point."

Weight more than halved—damn, the lift spirits he'd pulled were strong—Wyn leapt the two of them up to the side of the mistralith. Just like Corrin, he struggled to find purchase for a second, but the beast's skin was surprisingly leathery, and he managed to grab hold with one hand and dangle from the side.

"A little help down here?" He shouted up to the top. Corrin's head poked over the side, checked out the situation, and held up his hand.

They hoisted Kei upwards and then Wyn climbed up himself. For all their thrashing, their ride didn't seem to mind much, still slowly drifting through the mist at a slow pace.

It was the wrong way, and there wasn't much to see, so they didn't actually stay atop it for long, but drifting through the mist atop a massive flying spirit beast was an experience they would talk about for a long time.

***

A few days after that, they were so close to their destination that Wyn could almost taste it. The summer sun was high in the sky, beating down on them with an intense heat, and Wyn and Corrin were walking bare-chested, with their tunics tied around their waists. Kei was dressed lightly as well, ditching dresses and cloaks for a sleeveless style of shirt that was popular in Rūdkhān, and a loose pair of trousers cut just below the knee.

And they were singing.

Corrin spun around, walking backwards as he danced.

"This is the walking song!

I've been singing all day long!

Walk with me and sing along… now Kei!"

Kei stood up atop the cart.

"This is the walking song!

Not walking, but I'll sing along!

This trip has been so freaking long… now Wyn!"

Wyn hit some moves of his own.

"This is the walking song!

We've walked so far but it won't be long!

So come and sing the walking song with meeee!"

They all pointed at each other for some reason.

"Don't stop walking! Don't stop walking! Don't stop walking or youuuuu willlll diieeeeeee!"

Their final chorus echoed into the empty afternoon sky. There was a brief pause. Silence.

"No, it just doesn't work," Wyn finally said, shaking his head.

"'Or you will die?'" Kei repeated. "Yeah I don't know what we were thinking, that's terrible."

Corrin threw his hands up. "We'll never make it as a three-man-band like this! Alright from the top people. How about 'till we're there' this time?"

They started up again. It was hot, and they were bored.

But their destination was just over the horizon.

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