Tala had had a rough couple of days, and that didn’t even account for her still healing chest. The burns caused by shorting out her crush and restrain inscriptions were taking a lot longer to heal than most injuries she’d taken, though they were mostly recovered by this point.

Taking everything into account, as the wagons began moving once again, Tala realized that she was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

As foreign as it seemed to her, she felt like she should not be training right then. So, going against the habits she’d tried to build over the last couple of months, Tala gave herself a bit of a break that afternoon. She simply relaxed on the cargo-wagon’s roof, watching the rolling plains slide by.

She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the open air, but it seemed that her time in Makinaven had given her a new appreciation for wide open spaces.

Their caravan must have given off more dangerous vibes than usual, because they weren’t attacked even once as afternoon slid towards evening.

Tala did see some arcanous beasts watching them at a couple of points, but none tried their luck.

Thankfully. She shook her head at the idea of having to defend the caravan. We’re all exhausted.

It was nearing evening when Mistress Odera finally joined Tala on the roof, moving slowly and deliberately.

When she saw the older woman, Tala rushed to her aid. “Mistress Odera!” She offered her a hand up, and the other Mage took it.

“Thank you, Mistress Tala.”

They moved back to the center of the roof, where Tala left the cushioned central seat for Mistress Odera.

“Thank you, again.” As she settled down, Mistress Odera sighed in relieved weariness. “Now, I’d love to hear your version of this morning’s events. What happened after I passed out?” After a moment’s hesitation, she shook her head. “No, go back a bit before that. I only caught snatches, as I was too near my limit at that time to truly pay attention, but I believe you organized some strategies for when the shield came down. Is that correct?”

Tala nodded, then launched into an abbreviated version of events, not pausing until she’d explained Rane and the guards coming to her rescue in the end and their safe departure from the forest and final escape from the Leshkin as a group.

Mistress Odera nodded, finally commenting then. “It sounds like it went better than we had any right to hope. It also seems blindingly obvious that they were after you, for some reason. I’d suspected on our inward journey, but there can always be oddities and anomalies.”

Tala nodded. “That’s what we concluded as well.”

“We?” Mistress Odera gave her a searching look.

Tala shrugged, glancing away. “Master Rane, myself, the guards, and drivers.”

The older woman gave a small smile. “Ahh, good. So, there’s nothing tucked away. No building rumors we might need to deal with. That makes things simpler.” She regarded Tala for a long moment before nodding. “It is almost always better to be forthright about such things.” Her eyes narrowed. “Did you know that they would target you before we entered the forest?”

Tala jerked her focus back to Mistress Odera. “What? No! Of course not.”

The Mage clucked her tongue, humming contemplatively around the motion. “What about before we departed to head back to Bandfast?”

Tala hesitated, then. “No? I had fears, and wild speculations, but I didn’t know for sure.”

Mistress Odera grunted. “Your fears, we discussed. I still don’t agree with your anthropomorphizing of the greater Leshkin, and so if that is truly all that you had to go on, I am satisfied that the danger was not fully expectable.”

“Well, and my defensive magics being based on ending-berry power.”

She sighed and shook her head. “That isn’t news, either.” She held up her hand before Tala could add anything else. “Nor is your iron based protection. We should update the Archive with the possibility of those links, however. Things could have gone much worse. Many caravans would not have held up so well under such an onslaught, and we are nearing the Leshkin surge for this cycle. Only a century and a half or so before the height of that threat.”

Tala frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Surely the Leshkin wars aren’t unknown to you.”

“No, of course I know of those, at least in part. I meant: What do you mean by ‘many caravans wouldn’t have held up’ ?”

“We are somewhat, but not entirely, uniquely able to survive as we did. I have one of the greatest defensive powers, for caravan protection duty, of any Mage currently working.”

Tala was about to scoff and roll her eyes at the arrogance but then considered for a moment. She can fully isolate and protect a caravan as it moves, for hours, all while it is under heavy assault. In the end, Tala had to concede that Mistress Odera might actually be right about her abilities relative to other Mage protectors. “Go on.”

The side of the woman’s mouth pulled up, and she clearly had intuited Tala’s thinking, but she didn’t comment. “Second, we have an incredibly high number of guards for our relative size. Thus, we had more defenders per area of the caravan. That is due to you. Your high-capacity cargo-slots, and their proportionally increased cargo, necessitated more guards, and their space efficiency concentrated that defense onto only two wagons.”

Tala smiled at the compliment, oblique though it was.

“Master Rane is very destructive of single targets, and he is incredibly efficient in his use of power and inscriptions in that destruction.” Mistress Odera shrugged. “True, that is no different from any Mage using an artifact as a primary means of attack, but that is still a factor in our favor.”

“So, we were uniquely suited to survive.”

“We were distinctively designed to survive.”

Tala frowned. “Explain.”

Mistress Odera shrugged. “Things like this are always a possibility. So, the Caravan Guild tries to ensure that forest ventures are well suited.”

“Ahh, so you meant that many non-forest route caravans wouldn’t have held up well.”

“That is accurate. Yes.”

Tala shrugged. “That’s fair. Though, I suppose, this is close to what we’ll have for other routes, right?”

“We’ll often have fewer guards, but otherwise, yes.” After a moment’s thought, she shrugged. “We probably have about the optimum ratio of guards to wagons, at this point. In truth, we might have more guards for some of the plains routes, if we have sufficient passengers, but then, we’d need passenger wagons anyways, which would drastically lower the ratio we’re discussing.” She seemed to consider further. “So, like I said. We were in a very good position for the danger that we encountered.”

The conversation continued as Tala asked some pointed questions about being a lead Mage protector. Her short stint trying to operate with Mistress Odera incapacitated had shown her that she had a lot to learn.

Mistress Odera seemed to be ready and even to have been waiting for Tala to show such interest. Thus, they spent the remainder of the afternoon’s travels, that night’s dinner conversation, and their time until first watch, continuing Tala’s tutelage in the finer points of leading a caravan’s magical protection.

Mistress Odera also gave Tala a list of reference materials to look into, when she had time, and Tala added them to her growing to-read itemization. The Archive tablet is looking more and more appealing.

Even though that tablet would be an amazing resource, she doubted that she’d ever want to fully give up on physical books.

All in all, she had quite a lot to process as she laid down for the first half of the night.

She did her best to compartmentalize, as she’d have plenty of time to think while on second watch, and she didn’t want to keep herself awake through what little time she did have to sleep.

* * *

Tala’s irrational irritation at being awoken by Rane lightly knocking on her door was reduced by the large jug of coffee he proffered to her when she opened it.

He gave a tired smile. “I know you’re supposed to be cutting back on this stuff, but yesterday was…rough.” He glanced behind himself, at his own door. “I’m going to sleep. Nothing to report on watch.”

Tala grunted her thanks as she took the coffee, but then found herself on the roof, some time later, before she had formed truly coherent thoughts.

Well, I got up here, and I seem to be scanning the surroundings. She swallowed the coffee already in her mouth. And we’re all alive. She shrugged.

It was a cold night, not that it bothered her. As such, she used the temperature as an excuse to pull out her massive bear pelt, wiggling it back and forth, just a little, to get it out of Kit’s relatively small opening.

The pelt was glorious.

She stood with the fur of her adversary draped over her shoulders to cascade down around her feet. The scents that had been worked into the cleaned hide were phenomenal over and above the feel of the thing.

Terry was curled up on part of the bear pelt that was splayed on the wagon top.

As Tala turned to continue her surveillance of the dark terrain, the pelt moved with her, carrying Terry in slow circuits as well.

That made her smile, even as she took another swig of coffee.

Now. Running a caravan’s magical defenses. There really was so much to consider. The Mage protectors technically outranked the guards, but they weren’t in charge of them directly.

A senior Mage protector had to balance diplomacy with decisive action at need.

Not sure that will ever be my role, or if I even want it.

The more Tala dug into various aspects of Magehood, the more she was seeing what Master Jevin had warned her of: Humanity needed its Mages more than the Mages really needed humanity, at least on a personal level. It would be all too easy for her to untether from human society, and do what was best for her and her alone.

Doing so wouldn’t cause the collapse of humanity; she just wasn’t that unique or important; but if too many Mages did so? We’d all be rusting dead. Or effectively so. Who wants to be the last survivor of a dead race?

She grimaced. So, I need to be pursuing my own interests, while keeping the larger needs of humanity in mind.

She let out a long sigh. No wonder they don’t bring this up at the Academy. I’d have laughed them off and ignored the lesson, then.

But now? She still was tempted to treat the idea as silly, but she felt like she was beginning to turn on the issue. Now that she’d fought beside mundanes, wandered through more cities, and realized that her disenchantment with her family was not a reasonable condemnation on humanity as a whole.

Could things be better? Absolutely. But how could they ever change, ever improve, if those who disagreed, and had power, simply left?

I want to be a part of humanity, and I want us to thrive.

She chuckled and shook her head. I thought I was thinking about caravan defense. But everything in a Mage’s life was interwoven. Probably in any human’s life, actually.

A person’s foundations, and the foundational framework of society were inextricably interlinked. Humans can’t live without humanity, and humanity is nothing without the humans that make it up. It was a ridiculously obvious assertion, but it still felt important to her.

She smiled contentedly, opening Kit and pulling her bloodstars out.

She spent the rest of her watch in meditative, but still observant, silence, moving her rod, ball, and naked bloodstar in interweaving orbits, under star-lit, winter sky.

* * *

It was mid-morning the next day before anything of note really shook up their voyage through the plains.

A small family of thunder cattle had been spotted in a somewhat hidden depression, just a quarter mile or so from the caravan, ahead and a bit to the north as they curved back east to reach Bandfast.

The animals weren’t a threat, but Tala had made her desire for a couple of the bovine known.

Tala glanced to Mistress Odera. “What do you think about me going hunting? I’ll top off the cargo-slots before I go, just in case?”

Mistress Odera huffed a small laugh. “Fine. Try to keep properly oriented, so you don’t get lost.” She glanced to the terror bird. “Are you going with her, master Terry?”

Terry lifted his head and glanced to Tala.

Tala smiled and shrugged. “I want to do the killing myself, but if the mini herd is bigger than expected, you can have the extras.”

He flickered to her shoulder and trilled happily, perching in such a way as to have a clear view forward.

Mistress Odera smiled. “Bring her back safe, Terry.”

He trilled again.

Tala swung over the side and climbed down the ladder, jumping free of the wagon and smoothing down her tunic. “Mind if I ride, Terry?”

Terry flickered to beside her, already sized and crouched low for easy mounting.

“Thank you.”

He let out an indifferent but playful squawk.

Tala tucked her feet under his wings and grabbed his collar, clipping her anchor to it and leaning forward to reduce her drag.

Terry was off like an arrow, quickly coming up to speed and angling towards the reported grazing place of the small group.

Less than a minute later, they were atop a rise, looking down on ten thunder cattle.

“Huh… that’s more than were reported.”

Terry looked back at her, tilting his head in question.

She grinned. “Yes, you can help kill them, but not all of them.”

He let out a quiet trill, warning her before he flickered away, appearing next to her, a bit smaller than he had been.

Tala landed lightly, thanks to the warning. “Thanks.” She nodded to Terry.

Now… Tala groaned. How am I going to kill them?

She sighed. I did it again. I was so focused on finding one, and going after it, that I didn’t decide how to kill it in advance.

She had one, partial answer. She pulled out three tungsten balls, none of which contained her bloodstar and none of which were currently gravitationally altered. Those in hand, she began amplifying their gravitation towards the three biggest animals.

If she had to guess, the herd down below was an alpha bull and two betas, each with a mate, and four calves. It was a bit of an odd grouping as she didn’t think thunder cattle were monogamous. Maybe they’re all the alpha’s mates, and the other two bulls are just hangers on?

It didn’t really matter. She was targeting the massive bulls’ heads.

Even though it wasn’t a quick process, she got ready, bracing against the pull that would begin, soon. Now, the others.

“I assume you want the little ones?”

Terry crouched a bit lower and bobbed a nod.

“That’s acceptable. Quick, clean kills, please.”

He glanced her way, then seemed to roll his eyes before bobbing again.

“Thank you.” That would leave her with three cows to deal with, assuming her spheres were as lethal as she had reason to suspect. She was still a couple hundred feet away, and while she wasn’t invisible to the animals they weren’t paying her too much attention. That’ll change in a few minutes.

She would have loved to target more than three with metal meteors, but three was her current limit.

She imagined running in, Flow swinging, carving them up, but eventually, she sighed, shaking her head. I’ll take the boring way. There was too much chance that they’d be able to kill her with lightning. Or at least deeply cut into my ending-berry power and inscription integrity.

Large animals did not handle weight increases well, as a general rule, and while these cattle had magic that gave them benefits well beyond any mundane creature, it wasn’t their primary magic, and it wasn’t immutable. The cows shouldn’t be as robust as the bulls, either.

The balls were beginning to pull, if not quite at her limit, but she didn’t want one to slip free early. Better on my timing than unexpectedly. So, she signaled Terry and let them go.

As soon she released the balls to start their bloody journey, Tala had locked onto the three cows. Increase.

The three spheres began rolling downhill, quickly picking up speed until they lifted free of the ground altogether, practically streaking through the air to crack into the three bulls.

The first had been facing a bit away, so the ball hit it in the upper back, between the shoulder blades. A loud crack and a panicked bellow were precursors to the beast collapsing in what seemed to be a paralyzed heap.

Oops. I’ll try to finish him off, quick. No need to be overly cruel.

The second was almost exactly broadside to Tala, so the tungsten ball slammed into the side of its head, decapitating it completely and anything but cleanly. The pulped remains of the head painted the nearby bushes a grayish red, even while the beast’s heart continued to pump, spraying the grass in front of the slowly tipping, headless corpse.

Tala’s eye twitched. This…this is a lot messier than I’d anticipated.

The third bull had been facing her, more or less. The sphere breached the top of its skull, driving downward and embedding in the neck before slowly pulling back up, causing the bovine to disgorge some of the eviscerated flesh that had followed the ball for the end of its devastating path.

That was, unsurprisingly, the cleanest of the three kills. Well, two kills, the first still needs to be properly dispatched.

She walked down the slope following her weapons’ path, if much more slowly.

As the bulls were dying, the cows were already beginning to struggle.

Tala didn’t see the calves die, and when she looked to see how Terry was doing, she saw him crouching on a nearby hill, just waiting and watching. There was no evidence of where the young thunder cattle had gone. Not one drop of blood in evidence.

Though, it would be hard to spot anyways, given the ocean I’ve unleashed.

She began to jog, even as the cows were looking around, stumbling in a way that seemed a bit drunken.

Tala reached the first bull and used Flow to end his suffering with a blow from behind.

The cows hadn’t really paid attention to the small human before that, given the chaos surrounding them and her iron salve making her less visible to their magic sight, but all three oriented on her instantly as the alpha bull died.

And they were livid.

A raking series of lightning strikes shattered the ground starting halfway between Tala and the largest cow, moving towards her with unnerving steadiness.

The smallest cow let out a bellow of fear and rage and tried to charge Tala, only to immediately trip. The loud crack and chaotic tumble that followed was a clear signal of that animal’s demise.

The middle cow was suddenly wreathed in power, with a flash of light, the bovine was towering over her, front hooves raised and already descending to trample her.

They can teleport?!?! Thankfully, her instinctive reactions were faster than her conscious thought, and Flow was transformed into a glaive and cutting upward before her incredulity fully manifested.

In her haste, she dumped more power than necessary into the weapon, and it blazed with power as it struck the bovine’s chest and the power tore through the animal, bisecting it and cauterizing the two halves in a single blow.

The largest cow stumbled to the side, its attacks faltering before they reached where Tala stood, already panting under the influence of an adrenaline dump, between two smoking sides of beef.

It was dead before it hit the ground.

Tala slowly calmed herself, before clearing her throat. “Well. That worked.” She swallowed. “I’m really, really glad I didn’t just charge in here like last time.” As she looked around at the carnage, she sighed. “Well, it could have been better, but progress, not perfection, right?” She looked to Terry, as he flickered into being beside her.

He looked around at the red-painted grass and melting snow. He tilted his head in an obvious question.

“Yeah… I know I said clean.”

He squawked.

Tala grimaced. “I’m working on it, okay?”

He trilled happily, giving an almost shrug, before plunging his head into the nearest carcass, skillfully extracting the guts and viscera without contaminating the meat.

“Eat up, buddy. You earned it.”