For more than ten years or so, the Imperatrix has gotten interested in the lands beyond the unbroken ones. Regular liaisons have been established with the Mivrine tribes over the canal of Friescht and the Colibris pass. Only the third and last road, the Canyon of Sables, far west, stays unused. Impassable nine months per year, and its crossing needing a full month by foot, no doubt this way will always be exceptional.

Extract from the Frontiers of the Imperatrix’s Kingdom, seventh edition.

Nay woke up later than usual. Her body was stiff, but she felt rested. The feeling seemed almost foreign, as if she had somehow forgotten it. The light passing through the layers of cloth that made the vehicle door informed her of the advancement of the day. She had slept through the whole morning.

“…continue to train her…” She heard. It was the sergeant’s voice. She did not immediately recognise the other one talking.

“Why would you do such a thing? Everyone already considers you a heartless ghoul, do you want to add child torturer to that? Moreover, she’s a girl, it would be a waste of time.”

She remembered now. This was the man Marke was shouting at when she had stumbled upon the convoy.

Nay was guessing that the two adults were sitting at the front of the cooking caravan in the foreman’s seat. They must have thought they were discreet here, out of reach from the curious ears and eyes. But the wooden wall of the carriage, even if it was covered with Yae wool, was not a great soundproof material.

“Let them speak. Hearsay is a distraction, and if they are distracted, they’ll sleep better.” Answered Marke.

“Didn’t you tell us to be on guard?” The old man sounded surprised.

Nay was trying to remember his name: ‘Karn, Korn?’

“No use. What we need is sleep, just like the kiddo.”

Silence.

“Why this sudden change of mind?”

‘Ka’in, that was it!’ She finally got it.

The Legio paused before responding. “I didn’t answer your first question, did I?”

“No, you didn’t but…” Began Ka’in, annoyed.

“Patience.” Marke continued, but his voice was now quieter. Nay had to stick her ear on the wall to hear him. “So, you asked why I should train her? Because she has already gotten lessons, exceptional ones may I add. This morning, as some may have seen, she almost skewered me with a dagger. I thought I was safe giving her a real blade. If I did not know about the imperatrix’s Botte, and if she had aimed at my face or some weakness in my armour…” He left the rest of his sentence untold.

“The Imperatrix’s botte?” Asked the old man.

“A technique I only saw once, performed by the imperatrix herself during the Tournament of Firs. She was facing the favourite, the Prince of Fir. Fight was going bad for her since the start. Everyone thought her defeat imminent, then…she began dancing. The Prince was the one expected to win the tournament for a reason. He did not lower his guard at all, not one second. Didn’t stop a dagger coming from nowhere to stick itself in his helmet.”

“Nice story, but its bullocks. The Imperatrix has never managed to win a tournament of war.” Corrected Ka’in.

“Yes, you are right, I never said it was the final round. It was the quarters.”

Nay heard Ka’in grumble. Marke continued, unperturbed.

“She lost the next fight, against the Paladin of Thiers, if my memory holds true. He was an expert at handling shields, she did not even try to reproduce the technique against him. And I am not telling you a nice story, I’m explaining to you what the kid did this morning.”

“Wait a minute…” Ka’in was beginning to realize. “Are you telling me that the child…”

“Did this technique, exactly the same way, on me this morning.”

“Interesting.”

“She’s inexperienced, and, except the Botte, her all around posture and handling of the dagger are mediocre, at best.”

“For her age, that’s still quite extraordinary. Especially for a girl.”

Marke did not seem to think her gender had any importance to the matter, because his next answer was less than enthusiastic.

“Sure, maybe.” He paused, then continued. “That’s not what matters. What matters is this: who trained her?”

“Well, you told me yourself! She had parents, friends… Stop dilly dallying around the virgin, get to the point.”

The Legio did not pick on the vulgarity of the merchant: “So, she learned to fight through her parents. Her father, maybe even her mother. If you listen to her, you can assume she did not live with soldiers or mercenaries, they would never accept women and children in their midst. That leaves the theory of a troop of warriors, similar to the traditional Bhani perhaps.”

“Bhani have mostly disappeared and only live in the southern desert!” Retorted the old man.

“I did not say they were Bhani! Stop interrupting me! I have reasons to think they lived similarly. She can hold a blade and does not let herself be provoked, except when she is treated as a girl, which is weird but scratch that. It proves she was trained rigorously, physically and mentally.”

“There could have been a blade master she did not talk about, just like you.”

“No. We found way too many weapons in this encampment for just a few warriors. Quality-wise as well, they are much too good.”

“True, this discovery will be especially lucrative for us.” The merchant’s voice did not sound annoyed anymore, only cheerful.

Marke disapproved with a grunt.

“What? You’ll profit as well!” Ka’in said.

“We could not have taken, or more like stolen, all this equipment if the last caravan was still inhabited.”

“Well, those were the risks of this trip and everyone knew them. You could not have done anything to prevent it so your reputation will be unscathed by those past events.”

“I do not care about my…!” Marke began shouting, then stopped. “Let us forget about that.” He finally said.

“Yes, let us do that, so, our benefactors, who were they?” The old man continued.

Nay had to hold herself back not to insult him through the wall. Benefactors? At best, this was a deadly insult to her kind.

Marke coughed heavily, then continued, his calm restored.

“At first, I thought they were merchants, with a good swordsman amongst them, like us. Then, seeing what she did this morning…I knew that was not it. A warrior troop, armed to the teeth, aware and teaching obscure techniques to children? Those are not merchants.” The sergeant’s voice was sombre.

“Ah…” The old man sighed. “I understand now. A group, three times bigger than ours, well-armed and experienced, were annihilated by this ‘devil’. One lone creature.”

Nay could not see the sergeant’s answer, but she guessed he had acquiesced.

“You think it’s true then? It exists?” The old man stopped, probably to watch Marke’s reaction. “If it comes back, whether we’re ready or not won’t make any difference, will it?”

“No. If it comes back, we’re dead.” He said that with a stern, unflinching voice.

“What do we do then?”

“We rest. We keep going forwards. Right now, this thing, whatever it is, is good for us. There are no predators around, I’ve found no Byrn tracks in weeks.”

Nay laughed inside. Byrn were the nicest wolves ever!

Her smile immediately vanished.

A memory had resurfaced. She was playing with her only friend. He died ages ago.

“I think I’d rather face five packs of hungry wolves than this ‘devil’.”

“Tell me about it…” And with those words, the conversation ended.

Nay was alone with the memory of a forever lost past.

She stayed there for a few minutes, before deciding to go out. She started putting her clothes on. This was the moment Ra’fa chose to enter, raising the door curtains at the back of the caravan and letting the sunlight enter completely.

“So! You can put on clothes on your own! Why did I have to bother then?”

Nay had a remorseful expression but did not respond.

“And my mother always nagging me for children, I was right not to listen to her.” The cook muttered.

“Sorry for not helping you with the kitchen at noon…” Nay tried to apologize.

“Ha! Do not worry about that! I don’t need you.” The large woman answered dismissively. When she saw the sad look on the child’s face, she immediately corrected herself.

“But you’re a great help either way, of course!”

The little girl answered with an uncertain smile.

Ra’fa held her a warm bowl of soup.

“Here you go, eat it, slowly, please.”

Nay did as she was told, she quickly realized she was famished. As she put the soup to her lips, she shrieked quite cutely.

“Aouschsh.” She had burned her tongue.

Ra’fa raised her eyes to the ceiling, and sighed.

When her meal was finished, the convoy stopped. Ra’fa was not here anymore. Nay had not paid any attention to her, and the woman had to have gone out when she was eating. The cook was very silent when she walked, despite her height and size.

The little girl was not worried about that though, she was trying to hear what was going outside. Why had they stopped? Her stomach curled.

She heard footsteps in squishy, melting snow. No one was running, no one was shouting.

After a few minutes, anxiety left her to be replaced with curiosity, and the little girl left the house on wheels. Other kids were waiting for her there. She was immediately faced with three boys, all bigger than her. Two of them looked exactly the same, obviously twins. Nay had never seen twins before. They had black hair and dark eyes. The third boy was taller than the rest and seemed older, he had blond hair and green eyes. They were standing four or five steps away from the caravan’s entrance.

So those were the boys Ra’fa had talked about! She had caught glimpses of them before, but they had never talked or crossed paths.

Nay was surprised, but not anxious.

“You’ll bring us bad luck! Strangers are never good news!” Immediately accused the blond child. He had the attitude of a bully but did not move closer to her.

“Vincent…” Whispered the twin with dark hair on his left. Nay noticed that his crooked nose was the only difference between him and his brother.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Answered the fair-haired boy. He turned back towards her and continued. “So, you’re bad, but I heard you can use a knife and you cook well, so, we’ll let you stay! You should thank us for our clecenmy!”

“Clemency.” Corrected the twin on his right.

“Shut up Bert.”

The one named Bert did not say anything else.

“So, here you have it!” Vincent continued as if nothing happened. “You’re allowed to stay with us, as long as you stay away from the first and second caravan! That’s our territory!”

Without waiting for an answer, the boys went back to the front of the convoy.

Nay watched them leave. They feared her and she had felt it. She found the attempt of intimidation almost cute.

“You’re not looking bothered. But, considering what you went through, I doubt those kids can scare you at all.”

She walked towards the voice; it was the old man who had spoken. He was still sitting on the foreman’s seat at the front of the cooking caravan. He would not have intervened if things went south with the kids, Nay was certain of it. Examining his physique, she was not even sure he would have been able to.

She raised an eyebrow, Marke was not there anymore.

“My name is Ka’in Vendrefret but call me Ka’in. I am the master merchant, the most important person in this expedition.” He introduced himself, misunderstanding the raised eyebrow.

“Nay.” She simply answered.

“Yes, everyone knows that. Not the most common of surnames. Come sit next to me, there is nothing interesting at the front, just a snow wheel that has broken down.”

She obeyed. The adult smelled of burnt wood and campfire.

“Why is the last caravan empty?” She asked straight away.

He stalled in silence before answering.

“The story about that is unpleasant, don’t you have anything else to ask me?”

Nay was satisfied with that answer, it was telling enough. She decided to be cheeky.

“Why are you the most important person here?”

Ka’in answered instantly. “Because if this expedition exists, it is because of me. Moreover, I am the one who is responsible in making it profitable for all the other merchants who lent me their goods. You could argue that Marke is the most important one, as he’s the one in charge of protecting us, but the most dangerous thing here is the cold and accidents, and his iron can’t help against that.”

He spoke fast, she found it hard to follow him.

There was a short silence, then the old man tried to change subjects.

“Were do you come from, little girl?”

“Here.”

“No one comes from here.

She did not respond. She did not feel the need to explain herself in front of this man.

“Well, you’re not a conversationalist.”

The little girl looked at one of the two Yae, it was snorting peacefully.

Ka’in tried to coax her into talking more: “What are you thinking about?”

“It is neither you nor Marke.”

“Oh? Tell me then, who’s the most important?” He was smiling.

“Yaes and Ra’fa. Without the first you are stuck here, without the other you die of hunger.”

The old man blinked, surprised, then burst out laughing.

“You are most certainly right, little girl, but comparing me to those giant hairy things and telling me I’m worth less than them? It hurts!” He immediately added. “I’m talking about the Yaes of course, not Ra’fa.

He did not seem hurt in the least and continued a bit more seriously.

“We are all essential in this expedition, it is true, but my role is more important because I’m the one in charge. I am the one making the decisions. You understand?”

She acquiesced, not understanding at all. He was clearly weak; he was not the one making the decisions, whatever he believed.

This ended the conversation. She stayed seated for a while, then the cold made her flee inside.

The old man watched her leave before standing up himself.

The convoy began treading the semblance of road again soon after.

Days went by slowly. Every morning, Nay and Marke trained together. She had to repeat the same few strikes and moves, over and over. He did not provoke her like he had during their first duel, but he was intransigent. He watched her in silence, only talking to comment, correct or give new directives.

Ka’in was more and more nervous as the days passed. He bothered Marke all the time, even during the early training hours. This annoyed the Legio excessively. He hid the emotion well, but Nay could see it easily, as her training was always harder after the sergeant was interrupted.

The reason why the old man was anxious was obvious. Snow was melting faster and faster. Soon, Priyu’s rainy season would come, the canyon would transform into river, and all that could not leave would drown.

Marke reassured the merchant each time, certifying him that they would leave well before that.

Nay believed him.

It was after one of those morning routines that Nay met Helia, the last child she had not met yet. She was five years old and terribly impressed by this ‘survivor’ who could handle a weapon like a man.

Sometimes, they played together. Nay thought that Helia and her long curly black hair and green eyes were cute. Her own hair, brown and short, and her grey almost cloudy eyes were vastly different. Unfortunately, the convoy stopped rarely during the day, and the little girl fled to the second caravan when Nay tried to come closer herself. Her friend was unfortunately overly fascinated about her, and too timid to dare meet Nay every day.

After what felt like forever, the convoy finally arrived near the canyon’s exit, the signs were there.

The caravans had stopped to remove the snow wheels.

Nay had managed not to intimidate Helia too much, and they had played together with dolls for a while.

Nay decided to question her new friend during their lunch break, when the convoy was still stopped to feed the Yaes and change the wheels. The cooking caravan’s turn had not yet come. “Hey Helia? What’s a snow wheel?”

Helia looked at her, surprised.

“You never looked? They’re here since you arrived, you know?”

“I’m asking, so, no, I never looked.”

“I’ll show you then…if you want?” Helia asked very respectfully.

“Yes, sure…” Nay had abandoned the idea to put her friend at ease. The excessive admiration Helia vowed her made it impossible.

She and Helia left the cooking caravan, and the dark-haired girl brought her in front of the wheels.

“See here? There is something stuck on the wheels.”

“Yeah…some sort of cylinder.”

Helia looked at her without understanding what she said.

“A silinder?”

“Well, that’s this kind of tube locked on the wheel…”

“Oh, yes! I did not know it was called like that. You’re so smart, Nay.”

She answered with an embarrassed smile.

“So, you stick the silinder to the normal wheel, so it won’t stick in snow. Then, when there is no snow anymore, click! You get it off.” Helia was very proud of her explanation.

“…Thank you Helia, you’re really good at teaching me.” Nay said.

The dark-haired girl blushed, smiled, and ran away without a word.

Nay sighed.

A cold wind blew in the Canyon of Sables. It whistled a sinister tune.

It was not freezing anymore, and Nay did not shiver. Under her feet, she felt the ground under the snow. Muddy, sign they could not stay here any longer.

Nay had never been so far south.

It took two more days before reaching the canyon’s end. The narrow mountain corridor had expanded, the snow had almost completely melted. Everything was humid, the ground almost swamp-like, a testimony to the flood to come that they had escaped.

All the travellers in the convoy were immensely relieved, revealing that it wasn’t just Ka’in who had been nervous.

It had been almost a month since Nay had been rescued.

“It’ll be a few weeks before we reach the city.” Marke told her.

They were training as he announced that.

She looked at him, surprised he had said something else than “LEFT!” or “LEGS MORE SPREAD OUT!”

“We need to discuss what we’re going to do about you.” He continued.

She stopped moving.

“I’ll get a hefty sum of money when we arrive, enough for a lifetime. Ka’in is more than generous. I want to open a school, and I’d like for you to be my first student.”

Someone shouted in surprise.

Ka’in left the first caravan that, unlike the cooking one, had a door directly behind the foreman’s seat. He was dressed in a blue pyjama, covered in little stars and with a hat of the same colour.

“Marke, you can’t be serious!? A girl as first disciple?”

The sergeant answered, annoyed.

“If we train here, it is so I can continue protecting the convoy if the need arises, not to be spied on, master merchant.”

Ka’in answered him with the same tone of voice.

“Don’t forget who’s the one paying you in the first place, sergeant! I thought Ra’fa was the one to take her under her wing?”

“She agreed in becoming my…housekeeper. The fact that she could stay with the kid convinced her.”

The old man immediately calmed down, and grinned.

“Did she now? And that’s the only reason why?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

The master merchant laughed. “Yes, obviously…I see you took your decision already, Marke, so go on, take her as a student, but don’t come to me when your school crumbles and your reputation burns. Or the opposite.”

The sergeant did not say anything to that, he simply looked at what Ka’in was wearing.

The old man finally realized he was not dressed appropriately and, slightly ashamed, closed the caravan’s door.

Nay was currently digesting what the Legio had said. “I’ll be with Ra’fa and you?”

“If that’s okay with you. Well, you don’t really have much choice, to be honest.”

Nay could not stop herself from answering, emotions gripping her throat.

“Agletienneïa.”

The sergeant did not understand the language she had used, and he visibly grimaced.

Nay looked at him. He knew, it was obvious.

But for a reason she did not understand, he let it go, and resumed the training as if nothing had happened.

“We’ve wasted enough time, get back to it! Dagger up, in this order: lateral swipe, left, right, strike, strike, finish up towards the chin.”