***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Holly***

Elijah knelt in front of the group of seekers with an ashamed expression which didn’t fit his proud stature at all. “I am sorry for dishonouring the family. I’ve disgraced us by losing the duel.”

I looked at the ceiling and rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Sometimes, I wondered whether Elijah was really as dense as he appeared. Or was he doing it to infuriate me?

We had called for an emergency meeting as soon as the Aerie left, but unlike Elijah made it seem, it wasn’t truly about the lost duel.

More so about our internal issues and the secrets clan Aerie had revealed.

“Idiot son of mine!” I shot back, allowing my voice to boom throughout the room.

Then I turned my ire on Linda. “And curse you for manoeuvring him into this! Partner or not, undermine me again in public and I might slay you where you stand! You should have the brain between the two of you, because, by Gaia, Elijah wasn’t blessed with wits. It’s because I hoped you would steer him right that I allowed you two to partner up.”

My partner, seeker Luka, placed a calming hand on my upper arm. “They don’t mean to dishonour us, Holly. Try to see it from their point of view. Transporting the members of other clans through the wilds, it has little to no precedence. I won't lie about having my doubts. What if we lose the delegation to an accident? Who will take responsibility? The risk of souring our relations with Aerie is considerable with little to no gain.”

“It is my fault,” Elijah continued to yammer on. “If I had won-”

“Then nothing!” I interrupted him forcefully, displeased with his inability to see reason. Luka at least managed to put his misgivings into words.

“All of those muscles are somehow not allowing your brain to get enough oxygen to think properly! You battle fanatic! All Magnus had to do was prove his strength! He was already successful once he lasted longer than a minute against you. It would have been fine to end the duel with a draw once it was clear neither of you could beat the other without relying on one mutation getting the better of the other.”

I took a deep breath and tried to reign in my anger. “Instead, you fought on till the inevitable end, forcing an outcome which hurt you. You didn’t shame us because you lost the duel. You shamed us by making us look splintered. You shamed us by disrespecting our hosts with trash talk. You shamed us by not acknowledging obvious power. Be glad you managed to earn yourself a beating or I would have given it to you afterwards for fouling our relations with the Aerie! Did you believe they would have sent someone who couldn’t qualify according to our ways!?”

“Blasted idiots!” I looked around the room. One by one, I made eye contact with everyone, giving my absolute best to make sure the message got across. “We are pulling on one string. We are one family. There is no other way to survive the wilds. Together we stand, alone we fall. Give me an indication of working against me again and I will personally throw you off the saherna’s back while we are traversing the deadliest parts of the wilds. Talk to me in private if you have concerns. Act in such a way in front of the Aerie again, and you are out!”

I leaned back and deflated. “Do you believe I am not aware of the political repercussions? If Aerie had given me any indication they were willing to back down, I would have forced them to make the journey on their own and burden the risk without our involvement. They are not. The matter with the Thich, Earth and the Forgotten has them spooked. Understandably so.”

Elijah didn’t dare to look up from his crouched position on the ground.

Linda lowered her eyes. “I wouldn’t have pushed the issue if there hadn’t been considerable pressure from my supporters. Many of the family voiced their concerns about transporting the Mind Twister. Few are concerned about the diplomatic mission as a whole, but do we have to allow ‘her’ passage? There are stories. They are…”

She hesitated. “Afraid.”

I closed my eyes and cursed the superstitious fools among my family. “This is coming from gramps and the other adopted ones, isn’t it? It was one incident years ago, committed by rogues who got what they deserved. The ‘Mind Twister’ hasn’t done anything untoward to us. Are you seriously telling me you are giving credence to rumours blown out of proportion by time and hearsay? Haven’t I forbidden the story to be told like some old wives’ tale?”

Luka shifted on his pelt. “We can forbid things from being discussed in public, but what the people say behind closed doors can’t be regulated. I don’t want to go to such lengths just to stamp out one bad rumour.” He looked at Linda. “It should have been your job to divert their misgivings. Not to listen to them and act up in front of outsiders!”

Linda looked admonished for once. Luka didn’t call out people’s mistakes often. Therefore, it had all the more impact when he did.

I massaged my temple, annoyed with the family’s superstitions. “The Aerie were quite insistent that Thalia Tate would be a part of the mission. There’s no getting around it. You don’t have to interact with her if you don’t want to. She will be Hochberg’s problem soon enough. Our job is only to transport and house them.”

Luka bowed his head. “We will be ready to depart within three days. One of the three larger saherna is being prepared to house the delegation. I’ve organised our quarters to be on the same animal to demonstrate our trust and give courage to the rest of the family.”

Linda sighed. “I’ll see to it that the people who give credence to the rumours aren’t housed on the same saherna as the delegation. I don’t think their opinion of the Mind Twister can be changed. I am also still opposed to playing transport for outsiders.”

“Just make sure not to use her nickname in front of her when she arrives. Giving a Tate such a moniker behind her back is disrespectful! I never want to hear you use it again.” I nodded and relaxed slightly. “Thank you, Luka, Linda. That will be all.”

Jaeden, our fourth seeker, had been silent so far. But now she raised her hand with another concern before the meeting could be concluded. “What do you think about their story? About the Thich? It sounds like another war is looming ahead. Will we involve ourselves and the other caravans?”

“I am sorry, Jaeden.” I shook my head. “I can’t see the future, but it looks dire indeed. There is no doubt in my mind that the Frosts spoke the truth. This UI is the greatest proof we can ask for. Once other caravaners hear of it they will also want to travel north to unlock theirs.”

Linda scoffed. “Competition. They won’t make the journey without bringing their own goods and cut into our profits.”

She was right, of course, but I ignored the quip. “One thing that’s for sure to happen is for other seekers to call a meeting. The caravaners are fractured – for now. The coming events might be the catalyst for us to reunite. Like it happened in the past. Still, I can’t imagine the outcome of a meeting between all the seekers.”

“What does it mean for us?” Luka mused while the rest of us stared downtrodden into the middle distance. “It would be too early to speculate. It remains to be seen what Hochberg says.”

“Nothing right now,” I answered. “We had a safe, cosy winter quarter with the Aerie for decades. I don’t want to do anything which would compromise our deal with them. We are going to deliver Aerie’s delegation to Hochberg and allow things to play out between them on their own. At the end of the day, we will be just four voices among the other seekers. And we will see to our alliances first and foremost.”

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

“I never imagined it to be this way,” Magnus commented while we strode with linked arms through the fortress on the saherna’s back. It was the first true inspection of our new, temporary living circumstances. Moving in with our entire entourage had been a hustle which didn’t allow us to appreciate the ride. The seekers’ hospitality had been very time demanding over the first day.

A wide, inner corridor was running in a circle along the entire fortress’s circumference. From there, doors to rooms and quarters forked out, with three inner walls between the main corridor and the outer wall. The rooms closest to the outer wall were mostly storage, while the living quarters were located in the centre.

The layout was hexagonal and star-shaped, following the creature’s slightly oval backplate while not offering any flat surfaces to possible attacks. The fortress also wasn’t very high and had a thick roof of sturdy logs. This gave the structure the feeling of a bunker, except for the inner courtyard, which was large enough to house Elegance, Loopsfast, and Cadence for the duration of the trip. The caravaners had given us the courtesy of constructing a second roof for our flying mounts.

It was a necessary protection against the elements. While drakes were sturdy enough to endure the cold conditions of high elevations, they wouldn’t be able to do so indefinitely. And the storms which always brought on the change of seasons in this world promised snow and cold rain.

A single, sturdy watchtower rose from the centre of each fortress, allowing the caravaners an almost perfect view of their mount’s surroundings.

The riders had a little, protected cabin on the saherna’s head which they could access via a dangerous-looking rope ladder.

“They drilled holes into the saherna’s shell to attach their structures,” Magnus continued his investigation of the caravaner’s construction skills. “I am surprised the creatures tolerate it.”

“The wild ones tolerate swarms of blood-sucking parasites the size of humans nesting on them,” I replied. “I would guess a few holes in a two-meter thick shell don’t bother the creatures overly much. It would be comparable to tying knots into your hair, or cutting your fingernails.”

“I guess if they ignore the parasites, they wouldn’t attack anything else of similar size,” Magnus agreed. “In a way, humans filled an ecological niche by supplanting another species. It’s a perfect fit for us to take the place of a parasite!”

He laughed heartily at his unflattering observation.

I couldn’t truly disagree.

“How are the others settling in?” he asked once we reached the outer parapet. The weather wasn’t nice with its chilly wind, but it was good enough to stand outside for a time.

“Thalia and her drake, Cadence, are doing just fine aside from a little motion sickness. I’ve also heard no complaints from our guards,” I explained.

In addition to the three of us, we had also been joined by Peter Rumen, a prodigious member of the fifteenth strata who had his elders’ complete confidence. He and his entourage had run diplomatic missions to Hochberg in the past.

If I hadn’t been so sure of my parents’ confidence in us, I would have thought of him as a babysitter to watch our demeanour. Which irked me, since this was a big chance for Magnus and me to prove ourselves. On the other hand, it was also good to have someone experienced along to support us.

So I was a little conflicted about his presence – which I explained to Magnus via our secret communication technique. There was no need for someone to accidentally overhear my misgivings about the makeup of our delegation.

“I think it’s more a matter of the various stratas ensuring their voice among the delegation,” Magnus shared a surprising insight which I hadn’t thought about before.

“You think?” I hummed while I allowed the idea to linger. “You are right. Peter’s entourage is a mishmash of several stratas. I suppose everyone with stakes in trade with Hochberg wanted to have at least a finger inside the stew.”

Magnus grimaced. “That’s a bad analogy. How about our guards?”

“They’re fine,” I replied. “At least I heard no complaints.”

Thalia, Magnus, and I had each gotten five personal bodyguards for the duration of our mission. With Peter’s four followers this brought the delegations’ numbers to twenty-three people.

Which was about a quarter of what our saherna was capable of housing.

Roughly eighty Caravaners were steering the saherna for us. I wasn’t completely sure about the caravaner’s numbers, since they tended to keep their distance from the delegation. They also used ropes to switch from one saherna to another quite frequently. It was no different to them than crossing streets would be to us.

We allowed ourselves a moment of contemplation while we watched the herd of saherna slowly descending the valley towards Mount Aerie’s foot. From there, we would follow a slightly curved valley around two smaller mountains until we reached one of the springs feeding the large Sanguine River ending in the Serpent’s Lake.

From there, the journey would be easy from a navigator’s point of view, since all we would have to do is to follow the river until we reached clan Hochberg’s settlement.

I looked behind the saherna towards our left. The herd consisted of three larger saherna, of which two were leading the way with the one we were riding on. The third large one was bringing up the rear, while nine smaller ones of various sizes were making up the rest of the herd.

The creatures were constantly feeding while they walked. The long tentacles dug through the snow and ripped bushes and small trees from the ground and fed them to the creature’s maw where everything was chewed to mush, dirt and roots included.

It left a small trail of plant-life devastation in the herd’s wake, but I knew the verdant flora would have replenished itself before the caravaners returned with the onset of winter.

Meanwhile, the Northroute family would make a living by visiting various settlements. Normally, they wouldn’t take the direct route to Hochberg and instead make stops at various smaller clans who had their settlements throughout the plains. But Aerie had paid them well enough to switch their schedule around.

“Should we go and take a look at how Thalia is settling in?” Magnus asked. “I believe she hasn’t left her quarters since we left a day ago.”

He turned us around and we left the outer parapet to return to the warmth inside the fortress. The saherna were naturally giving off a lot of heat, which allowed the fortress’ insides to keep up a slightly chilly, but comfortable atmosphere. It was like having integrated floor heating.

“If you think it’s necessary. I doubt she will appreciate the attention,” I voiced my concerns.

“Would you educate me?” Magnus asked. “You said your friend is fine, but she is obviously not.”

I sighed. “I can only guess, but it’s either her sea sickness or her bad experiences with the caravaners – not this family of course. Another group.”

“Oh?” Magnus raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “It sounds interesting. How about sharing the story?”

“It’s not my place to tell, but the short version is that Thalia caught the eye of a caravaner chieftain some years ago. Back then, the trade routes between Aerie and Hochberg were handled by two separate Caravaner families, Northroute and Snowpath. The chieftain we are talking about ruled the latter group,” I explained.

“Is this a story about unrequited love?” Magnus asked jokingly.

“Ah, no. I doubt it was love that the chieftain felt. More like lust and desire?” I shrugged. “Anyway, he went for Thalia quite aggressively and got rebutted. Thalia wasn’t interested in someone who would force her to leave Aerie. Because let’s be honest, there was no way a Caravaner would give up on his tribe. Especially when he is the ruler. Still, he took every opportunity to meet her at social events and was quite obnoxious until things went out of hand.”

“Why do I sense the abduction plot?” Magnus sounded downcast. “Is that why Thalia is still unpartnered? Is she…” he didn’t finish the question.

“Goddess forbid! Thankfully not,” I replied vehemently. “No, Thalia is still unpartnered, but he managed to abduct her and tried to force her into a relationship. Luckily, Aerie’s hunters arrived in time to take her back. What remained of Snowpath got absorbed into Northroute and now we have only one family to manage the caravans going in our direction. It’s also why Thalia and I are now almost joined at the hip. She always says the Frosts saved her, though that’s a little bit of an over-dramatization on her part. When my parents arrived with their people, barely any of the Snowpaths except for their crazed chieftain remained. The saherna they travelled on was a ghost-ship.”

“How?” Magnus asked. “I thought Thalia isn’t much of a fighter.”

“She isn’t, but the young chieftain and his seekers were. To be honest it wasn’t the chieftain’s fault. Or maybe it was? There was no way to tell once my parents killed him with prejudice. He was just an unpartnered snob. His seekers listening to his wishes was the real problem. My parents assumed he had an ability similar to Thalia’s and used it to influence them into fulfilling his every whim,” I stated and switched to our secret communication technique. ‘But you’ve gotten a taste of what she can do with her mind. Imagine her using it not just to read your thoughts, but to get into your head, to manipulate you and those around you. It took a few days of work, but by the end, she had the Snowpaths massacring each other. It’s why we don’t talk about her abilities in public. In terms of human-on-human warfare, Thalia might be the most dangerous person on this planet.’

I interlaced the fingers of my hand with Magnus’s. ‘And before you voice any concerns about Thalia, know that she is perfectly safe. If those idiots hadn’t forced her, she would have sat in their custody and waited for us to arrive.’

We reached Thalia’s rooms and I knocked. All I could hear from inside was a moan, so I opened the door and entered.

Inside, one of the bodyguards was standing guard, while Thalia was hunched over a bucket with a face as pale as the twin moons.

I winced. “Oh, dear. Is it that bad?”

“Everything is moving!” Thalia complained. “It shouldn't be, but it still is. It's against nature! The world shouldn't be moving when I am not.”

“I feel nothing,” Magnus commented. “It's actually a pretty chill ride. Like on a caterpillar sowly flowing down its twig.”

“What a horrifying thought. You shouldn't have said that.” Thalia bent over her bucket and did what was natural for someone in her state. Once she was done, she looked exhausted. “Don’t worry. It will take just two or three days until I get used to it.”

Magnus put on a forced smile and slowly extracted his arm from mine. “Yeah, I think I will go and take a look at the drakes. I wanted to try to hold a longer conversation with them.”

Then he ran.

I crossed my arms and glared after him until he vanished around the bend in the corridor. Then I sighed and turned to look after my friend.