The water of lake Zuria sparkled brightly with reflected sunlight as the party made its way along the shore, heading southward. Samuel, with the sharpest eyes of all seven, was in the lead, with Tobi directly to his right and slightly behind. They swept their gazes to the front and sides, constantly on the alert for the chaotic beast, or any other threat that may show its face. Sivarn was just behind them, ready to jump to their aid whenever needed.

One of the wild mages, Zerial, who had excellent hearing, was at the center of the formation. He had his keen senses on full strength, in case he could catch something that Samuel or Tobi might miss. Son of Sivarn, he also wore fine silver furs, overlaid with a thick leather mantle that rested on his shoulders. The leather was engraved with many runes, obviously designed to protect him.

Three of the younger but more skilled wild mages took up the rear. They weren’t selected for their power or their keen senses. No, their skill lay in supporting the other four. They were exceptionally gifted with healing magics, and those spells that could enhance their allies. They could also cast magic that slowed their enemies or harmed them directly, but as those would be ineffective against their quarry, they were present solely in a supportive capacity.

It was about mid-day when Sivarn called their first break. They’d just passed a strip of shoreline wider than most, with a large grass patch that would provide comfortable seating. The three young mages in the back let out sighs of relief as he called a halt and immediately sat down on the grass. Sivarn’s son did not relax, but began to mark out a large circle in the sand around their temporary campsite. Samuel heard him muttering under his breath as he passed, and wondered what he was up to.

As Samuel and Tobi settled themselves within the small circle, they felt a wash of mana come over them. Glancing up, they saw energy pulsing up from the circle that Zerial had made. It glided upwards in a curve until it met itself in the center, forming a perfect globe. Then the sensation was gone, and the area outside the dome became a little less… vibrant.

“It is a spell to protect us against observation and discovery,” Zerial explained, noticing Samuel’s confused look. “It ensures that we can rest in peace, without the need to set a guard.”

Samuel nodded his understanding, more than a little impressed. “Good thinking.”

Sivarn had set his heavy pack down and began pulling wrapped rations out. “Zerial was born with a very strong sense of nature. He sharpened his gift in making it work to his benefit, and created this.”

Zerial muttered another few words, pointing one hand lazily at the exact center of the circle, and Samuel felt the ground tremble slightly. To his amazement, several stones seemed to grow out of the ground there, forming a perfect circle. Then a small tree came out of the sand in the middle and immediately caught fire. The bark of the tiny tree did not appear to burn or shrivel with the flames, which continued as strongly as if they had been burning for hours.

“I am not gifted at warping nature, like Father,” Zerial said, finally settling himself down. “It’s more in the raw elements that I succeed.”

Sivarn nodded his head slightly, accepting the contradiction. “But the elements are at home within nature, Zerial.”

His son grinned lazily in Samuel’s direction. “We’ve been having this debate since I came of age.”

“It’s not a debate,” Sivarn countered. “You’re too young and ignorant to acknowledge the wisdom of my words.”

“And you’re too long in the tooth to recognize something new when you see it,” his son threw back cheerfully.

Samuel let out a snort of laughter at their banter, reaching into his pocket space to retrieve his own coffee pot. The battered tin caught the others’ attention, but only Tobi and Zerial seemed to eagerly welcome it. He fished out the small sack that held the coffee grounds and hefted it experimentally, noting that it was only about a quarter-full now. He’d have to try and find some in Stormbreak Harbor when he returned. If he returned, he reminded himself shortly.

Sivarn passed food out to everyone. Bread, cold meat leftover from last night’s dinner, and cheese. Samuel immediately tore the half-loaf he received in half, stuffing the meat and cheese in between before taking a large bite. Even cold, the meat was still juicy and delicious. He made a small noise of enjoyment, then looked up to see the others staring at him in confusion.

“It’s a sandwich,” he explained, raising an eyebrow at them. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen it eaten this way.”

Judging by the look on their faces, they hadn’t. Tobi shook his head slowly at Samuel. He’d already polished his serving of meat off and had just popped the last bit of cheese into his mouth, leaving the bread behind. Samuel rolled his eyes in return. If he was strange for enjoying his food in a different way, then he’d accept that.

The break seemed to pass in no time, and they were on their way again, after Zerial had removed his barrier. Samuel and Tobi once again took point, listening as the others bantered softly with one another. The sense of casual camaraderie with the wild mages was strong, and Samuel couldn’t help but grin sideways at Tobi as they overheard the conversations taking place behind them.

“They remind me a bit of Issho-Ni,” Tobi said, smirking at Samuel’s obvious amusement. “Whenever we went on patrol, there’d always be some friendly ribbing.”

“Sounds about right,” Samuel commented. He remembered Shigeru’s younger self well and knew that, when he was relaxed, the warrior had a viciously dry wit. Samuel had always assumed it to be a byproduct of his time with Grimr who was as sarcastic as he was powerful, but perhaps not. Even with a few centuries apart, the tradition of verbal sparring lived on.

It was perhaps an hour later that he began to see some familiar landscape. Tobi recognized the area too, he could tell, as the young face had set in silent determination. His jaw was clenched, and he seemed tenser. Turning around to face the others, he gave a quick call to get their attention.

“We’re close now,” he hissed, and their chuckling stopped. “Eyes up, people.”

With a quietly muttered word, the crystal blade appeared in front of him. He made sure to put no mana into it, so the runes were dead, leaving the see-through blade looking almost dark with the lack of light in the forest. I don’t know what I’m facing here, Isip, but I hope you’re looking out for me. He could have sworn he felt a little vibration come from the blade in reply to his quick prayer, but he couldn’t be sure.

The others were deadly quiet now, and, for the first time, Samuel noticed the greatest skill they had, having been raised in the forest. They were exceptionally light on their feet, and even when they dashed from cover to cover, as they did now, they made almost no noise. Even the bulkier form of Sivarn was quiet as a ghost compared to Samuel and Tobi. He thought for a moment of trying to quieten his own steps, but it didn’t seem worth the effort. After all, he wanted to be noticed.

Without warning, it appeared before Samuel. A tiger, massively built and dead-white in color appeared from behind a tree ahead. Then to the left, from another tree, sprung a trio of wolves. They were also white in color, with occasional colors forming splotches on their flanks like colorful bruises. Samuel could tell at once that they were not natural beasts but formed of that same chaotic energy. The tiger was made almost exclusively of mana taken from Samuel, while the wolves were more mixed.

“Remember, no arcane magic,” Samuel threw over his shoulder. “Physical attacks or physical magic only.”

He raised the crystal blade in his hands, just as Tobi lifted his naginata to the offensive. One of the Wild Mages, hearing about their battle, had snuck over to retrieve the weapon for him so that he could fight in his best condition. He glanced at Samuel, giving a quick nod to indicate he was ready. Samuel nodded back, then, with a long exhale, he allowed his mind to calm. Energy course through his body and into the blade, but this was not mana. This was the more dense, hot, and potent ki.

The runes along his blade flared to life with a deep green color with the ki, and the beasts facing them gave out low growls of recognition. If they were indeed a part of that chaotic energy, then they recognized Samuel. He could almost see their mouths watering with the prospect of devouring more of his mana. Too bad for them, he thought as he felt his breath starting to come faster. He didn’t plan on making it so easy.