Days go by faster than expected. We have been traveling for about a week now. I’m doing my nightly rounds, as usual. It takes forever to go around the entire camp but it’s better for me that way. I’m not able to sleep much. I catch a quick nap before dawn and it’s enough. For me. Laira has a different opinion, though. Of course, it comes as no surprise to her that I don’t take her advice for my health into consideration. One night, I stumble upon a group of the soldiers that are arguing quite loudly. I decide to approach them.

“Problem, gentlemen?” I ask.

They all are quick to shut their mouths and not a single one wants to answer me.

“If there is something wrong, I’d like to know.” I press for an answer. One of them stands up. A lean, tall Balli. Judging by his outfit, I figure he must be a Close Combatant.

“I’m listening.” I step forward.

“With all due respect, Commander, we feel mocked.” I feel the bitterness in his voice, as the boy speaks.

“What about exactly?”

“We do not see the point in having to carry more than our own weight. Why is it that we have to follow these ridiculous training ideas? Having to be mixed in with the CC’s and such?” The boy stands tall as he speaks to me. I like it that he doesn’t sugarcoat it for me.

“Pardon me for asking but I assumed, that you were a CC, yourself? Judging by your clothes that is.” I gesture at him.

“No, Commander, I am a Cleanser.” The boy’s expression declares him to be rather offended by my assumption.

“Very well.”

“Commander!” Percival suddenly appears behind me. “Is there a problem?” He walks up to me.

“Percival. Right on time.” I smile at him. My young Cleanser seems rather confused by that.

“Marcus, would you spare me a moment of your time?” I reach for him.

“What’s this about?”

“Nothing serious, just need you to make a point.” I answer.

“On my way.”

“Rixa, Jack, I’ll need you two over here as well.” I summon the warriors.

“Roger.” Jack’s quick to respond.

“I’d prefer it if it was me alone you needed, Commander.” Rixa – the smoother talker… I roll my eyes and don’t say anything else.

“Now then. While we wait.” I circle the group of angry youngsters. “So, if I understand correctly, you are all Cleansers? Correct?”

“Yes.” The Balli boy answers for all of them. I figure he will act as the ambassador for the group.

“And you are displeased with how the training is going? Correct?” I ask again.

“It is insulting to call using us as mules as “training.” The boy does not pull his punches. Interesting. I pretend not to hear that and continue.

“So, neither one of you believes that building up physical strength is important?”

“We already did that back at the barracks.” The boy snarls at me. “Besides. We are Cleansers. We have no need for combat.” Is that so?

“Commander.” Jack’s here first.

“What’s all this about?” Marcus is second.

“Looks interesting.” Rixa’s third.

“Marcus, Percival, please step forward.” I ask them and they do. “Now strip. Half way will do.”

“What in the?” Marcus’s voice reaches me.

“Roll with it, please.” I ask him. Marcus hesitates but proceeds to take his robe off. Percival, on the other hand, stands there frozen still. Right up till the moment he sees Marcus take off his chest piece. Only then, the Cleanser rustles out of his robe. By the time the boy’s done we have quite an audience around us. Perfect.

“Look closely. Here stand a Mage and a Cleanser before you. Would you say they are Casters? If you had to judge them solely based only their physique?” I ask the Balli Cleanser as I stand next to him. Both, Marcus and Percival were showing off their ripped bodies. Marcus has been training hard, long enough now. However. Percival’s transformation in such a short amount of time is quite a nice surprise.

The Balli hesitates. I ask again. “Would you be able to tell if that person is a Caster?” I point to Marcus.

“No.” The boy lets out a tiny word.

“I can’t hear you.”

“No, Commander. I would say they are warriors.” He adds louder.

“Would the four of you mind giving us a demonstration?” I look my companions over.

“Not at all.” Rixa catches on quick and takes a fighting stance. Percy follows. Jack and Marcus pair up in silence as well.

“First one to fall – loses.” I announce and they’re off. Jack’s hammering in his punches into Marcus’s torso, the Mage holds up well. Meanwhile, Percival’s dodging all of Rixa’s attacks impressively well. I wonder if Rixa’s going easy on the kid. The crowd roars. Marcus manages to get himself wrapped up around Jack’s neck. The Mage is about to deal a blow when Jack rams his shoulder into the ground. Stopping at the last minute, to spare Marcus’s leg. The Mage does not hesitate. He jumps off quick and sweeps the leg under the Ram’s hand as Jack pushes himself up off the ground. The warrior almost kisses the ground. But manages to hold his own. Another roar from the audience. Percy has Rixa on one knee. Well now. While the warrior is trying to stand up again, the kid throws a perfect round house and the CC goes down on his side. Cheers fill the air.

“That’s enough.” I get my hand up and save Marcus from Jack’s deadly headlock. I see the relieve on the Mage's face. I smile.

“Thank you.” I nod to both of them.

“Well done Percival. I see your hard work has paid off.” I tap the boy’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Feel free to get dressed now.” I reach for Percy.

“Much appreciated.” The boy blushes. I ignore Rixa’s idiotic smile.

“Tell me;” I look back at the Balli Cleanser, “would you have been able to stand your ground, for as long as Marcus has, against a Ram, like Jack?”

The boy does not answer me.

“Would any of you could have done what Percival did?” I ask the entire crowd now. Whispers rustle among them. I think they get the point. But I feel like saying a few more things nonetheless.

“For a Caster it is just as important to build up physical strength as it is for a Warrior. To be able to hold your ground, without having spells or weapons to defend yourself with, is vital. The stronger the body, the stronger the mind. Casting depletes not only mana from you but also requires for you to be able to withstand the long duration casts. Those require endurance and stamina. It is basic logic. Think of it this way. Which way will you be able to cover more ground? Walking or running? If you run at full speed, you will go the same distance faster than someone who is walking it. However, that would render you completely useless, as you would have depleted your resources. Now, while you’re recovering – the other person has not stopped walking and thus, now is further away from where the both of you had started.” I pause to see if the crowd is listening. The silence is enough of a confirmation. I carry on with my monologue.

“Now what if – you are able to run long distance without getting tired? Nice and steady? Some of you are probably already thinking the same thing I am about to say. You would be able to go longer distances and recover faster. Casting is the same. The stronger and more able your body is – the better your casting will become. It is not enough to simply focus on your mana control. You have to be aware of your surroundings while casting as well. Because the battlefield never sleeps.” I look back at the Balli Cleanser.

“Do not be caged by the idea of what you think you are and what you think you need to be. Be all that you can be. Do not let notions as old as time hold you back. We would not be here today if our ancestors did not welcome change into their lives.” I gaze upon the crowd again.

“Any questions?” I address the Balli boy again. I receive a headshake.

“Very well. Class dismissed. Get some rest.” Everyone’s quick to disperse as they were quick to gather.

“You certainly like to put on a show.” Marcus walks back with me.

“The usual methods are simply not enough with them.”

“Commander!” I turn to see Percy running toward us. He catches up and bows instantly.

“My apologies, my core had no right to disrespect you like that, I take full responsibility.” Wow.

“Percival, it’s alright. I expected this much to happen. I am simply surprised I haven’t received more complaints like that sooner.” I speak softly to the boy. It warms my heart to see him act so responsible. A true leader.

“That’s because Shadowkill has been killing off all of the ingrates that have been resisting any orders given.” Vestigo approaches us.

“Hilarious, hunt.” Crile’s right behind him.

“Either way;” I look back at the boy, “You did good out there, I must say I’m quite impressed.”

“That’s cause I went easy on him.” Rixa throws his arm around Percival’s shoulders.

“No, it’s cause the boy trains any chance he gets. I saw him a few times during our trip.” Jack’s on Percy’s side.

“What? Really?” The Cleanser seems startled.

“Well, if that is the case – then I am sure there will be some of the youngster’s joining you soon enough.” I smile at boy. A loud roaring laughter approaches us. Tonso.

“Leave it up to you, girly to make the boys fight shirtless like that! Shame I missed it!” The old shaman keeps laughing.

“I’m glad you’re able to enjoy yourself.” I tell the drunken geezer.

“It’s never boring with you around.” The Shaman winks at me and goes back to his side of the camp.

“If you’ll excuse me.” I nod to the rest of my team and continue with my routine.

A few days later we were crossing the open plains when the sky cracked open and heavy rain befell us.

“Do we take cover?” Laira asks.

“Where?” I answer her without stopping.

“We conjure it. We are more than able.”

“No. That will take too long. Let’s continue as we are for the time being. With any, luck it will stop as quickly as it began.”

“As you wish.” Laira takes off to spread the word. Nighttime comes around and the rain is not stopping. Having to set up camp with these conditions will take forever. Not to mention we are in the middle of an open area.

“Breeze.” Crile appears next to me.

“We keep moving. We need to reach the woods.”

“That will take another day.” Crile looks at me.

“That it will.” I whisper and turn Emerald around. For the first time I speak through the stone.

“Soldiers. We will keep moving without stopping for another day. We can’t sit here and wait for the down pour to end. There are woods a day’s walk from here and that is where we are heading. We will rest there. For now – I ask you to please bear it.”

“And if the rain won’t stop?” Crile asks me again.

“We’ll set up camp and wait it out.”

“Very well.” Crile goes back to his core.

“Commander!” Percival straddles next to me.

“What is it?”

“I understand we will travel for another day without stopping, however…”

“What?” I press the boy. As bright as he is – he’s too shy sometimes.

“We have already some soldiers that are displaying signs of a cold…” He speaks so quietly, I barely hear him in this rain… I was afraid of this…

“Do what you can to keep them moving, we have no choice… If the situation worsens – we’ll think of something, I won’t risk the soldiers’ health unnecessary but I would prefer to reach the woods if possible…” I tell Percival.

“Yes, of course.” The Cleanser’s about to leave.

“Keep me informed.” I add.

“Yes, Commander.” He bows his head and leaves. I see three dark figures fly off into the grey sky. The dragons will probably wait for us at the woods. Good. Least they can scare off the predators in the meantime…

“Child, wouldn’t it better to stop?” Emerald speaks to me.

“I wish we could. But by the time we’ll have conjured shelters and such, half of them will be dead tired. That will leave the rest of them working double time to finish setting up. Especially, if we have some who are sick or getting sick, then it will be just as much work to compensate for the lack of man power. On top of that, the down pour isn’t showing any signs of letting up, the ground is soaked too, it won’t do us any good sitting here now. The woods would provide shelter, not to mention would be perfect hunting grounds. I hate doing this to them, this is not needed in any way, yet…” I clench the reins tighter…

“Yet right now moving is the best option. I understand.” I don’t take any comfort in Emerald’s low growl. I feel uneasy. This will be the longest 24 hours… Every couple of hours I get news from Percival and Laira – the soldiers are getting worse…

“Oh, for the love of the Gods, what is she thinking!” Burla’s clearly annoyed. “Look at us! We’re soaked!” She shows of her drenched sleeve. The water’s running out of it in a steady stream.

“You made of sugar, or something?” Marcus mocks her.

“Hilarious!” She pouts. “Why can’t we make camp and wait it out?”

“That’s what she’s trying to do, girly.” Tonso approaches us closer. It’s difficult to see much in this down pour and talking is just as hard.

“By making us march non-stop?” Burla’s out of control.

“If you want to sit in the mud – you are more than welcome to.” Culebra snaps.

“We can’t stay here. We’re in an open field. It’s pointless having to set up camp – everything would just get wet and mucky. And conjuring shelters would take too much man power in these conditions… Breeze is leading us toward a forest – the trees there should provide us more cover. Even the ground here is too soaked, it’s getting difficult for soldiers to even walk, their feet keep getting stuck in the mud…” I try my best to explain.

“We need as much dry land as we can get.” Marcus helps me. “Although, I can bet the forest ground will be just as drenched in water…”

“Well then, why don’t we dry it up?” Rixa asks. “Have your Fire core torch the ground and poof – we all get to be nice and toasty in an instant.”

“Too risky – they might just set the entire area on fire.” Marcus shakes his head.

“So, what other options do we have?” Vestigo asks.

“Can the Mages control something they can’t see?” Crile asks.

“It depends… Why?” Marcus answers him.

“What if…”

“OOOOH!” Percival is the first to catch on. “That’s a wonderful idea! Mages are only able to manipulate raw elements. So, if we could find a way to store that water – that would be a huge help!”

“I see.” Marcus begins doing the calculations. “It will be a struggle but it may work…”

“In case it won’t stop raining, when we reach the forest, we would need to set up some cover too…” Percy carries on.

“Laira?” Crile rides next to me.

“I’m thinking if we could use my Ravos for that?”

“What did you mean by raw elements?” Burla asks Percival.

“It means that a Mage in a swamp is a bad combo.” Jack answers her instead.

“I don’t get it.” Burla shakes her head.

“It means that Mages are only able to manipulate one element.” Marcus tells her.

“YES! I know THAT!” The rat screams.

“Meaning, that the swampy-muddy water would be impossible to manipulate for a water mage alone.” Percival explains.

The girl thinks about it. “Ok, I think, I get it…” I roll my eyes… Simpleton.

“Then we have a plan.” Crile speaks up. “Inform the Casters.”

“Sure.” Marcus nods and goes back to his mages. So does Percy and Tonso.

We finally reach our destination. My heart’s overjoyed. Laira comes up to me.

“Leave it to us.” She tells me and quickly rides off ahead of me, with her Ravo core behind her. They line up in between the trees. I can’t see well what is happening. Moments later, the rest of the army approaches the first trees, the Ravos have already walked deeper into the forest. We follow in. I look up. I see. They are using the Vine spell to conjure a thick weave of the canopy, to keep the rain out. Kinda like a roof. It has been raining nonstop for a few days now, so the ground’s soaked, even here. Marcus comes up to me next.

“If you think this is impressive – just wait till you see us.” He winks at me. That’s a rare sight. I watch him. An infantry of Mages follows him and lines themselves up in between the trees. Similar to the Ravos before them. I keep moving. Water begins to raise from beneath the ground. I’m baffled. Emerald stops for the first time. We stare at the inverted waterfalls going upward. Amazing. The Mages are extracting the water from the ground and gathering it above our heads. I see parts of it disappear into the trees.

“What do you think?” Crile speaks behind me. “They planned it all out while traveling on the way over here.” The ground shakes.

“Relax, that’s the Earth core. They are digging up a trench around the entire forest to redirect the rain flow. It’d be a shame if all of the Mages’ hard work would go to waste…”

“Impressive.” I keep looking around. A third wave of casters line up behind us. A chill goes down my spine as I feel a gust of wind creep up.

“What’s this?” I ask Crile.

“Clean up. We have enough sick soldiers. This way they are clearing the ground from any dead leaves, branches, even small dead animals…” He parks himself next to me. “Wait till the Mancers get into play.”

“Mancers?” I look at him confused. Crile points upwards.

“See those round-looking things?” I follow the trajectory of where he’s pointing. “Percy’s idea was to save the water that the mages extract from the ground and use it as our drinking resource and more. Once we have the majority of the camp set up, mancers will be providing points of access from the conjured Vines, where the water can be heated up, to bathe, for instance. You can’t really put fire and wood together…”

I laugh quietly. “I’m happy.”

“I’m not.” Culebra straddles slowly toward us on her overgrown attack chicken.

“Why am I not surprised?” I hold her gaze.

“It is insulting for a Necromancer to be used as an everyday variety tool like that.”

“You have something better to do in the meantime?” Crile mocks her. Culebra has enough brain power to understand that he’s right. As much as she hates this – she has no choice. She clicks her tongue at us and straddles away.

“By the way, whose idea was it to have bathing areas put up like that?” I ask Crile.

“Tonso, believe it or not.” He pauses. “Percival agreed, the kid said the hot water might ease up some of the symptoms of the cold too. So.”

“I see.” I look around. Tents and barriers are being set up already, with campfires getting lit. Percival and Tonso are in the midst of it all.

“Well, what do you think?” Laira and Marcus come back.

“Wonderful job coordinating it all. I’m proud of everyone.” I smile at them.

“Glad to hear it.” Laira smile.

“How long are we staying?” Marcus asks.

“As long as it takes.” At that moment the Dragon-Trio shows themselves too and comes to nuzzle us. I get off Emerald and go look around.

“Is it my imagination or does she seem gloom?” Marcus asks.

“No, she is.” I confirm.

“No wonder. This wasn’t in the plan.” Laira agrees.

“We’re losing time…” I add.

“Can’t be helped.” Marcus has a point.

“Let’s hope we can make it in time still…” Laira speaks softly.

“For the time being let’s focus on what matters – getting the soldiers back on their feet.” I look at the kids.

“I’m off then.” Laira smiles and dashes off into the camp.

“What about you then?” Marcus moves his horse closer to my Celodian.

“What about me?” I give him a blunt look. We stare at each other for a moment.

“Never mind.” Marcus shakes his head. I move Axe away from him and go looking for my Assassins. Meteor tries follows me. I turn Axe around.

“No, stay there. You’re too big. You’ll tear the tents up.” My dragon does not seem happy about that but listens nonetheless and goes back to where Storm and Sky are huddled up. I wonder why Breeze brought them with us?

It has been about a week now, since we set up camp inside the forest. The soldiers are recovering nicely.

“Hey you!” Tonso stumbles round Emerald. “Hello there, beauty. Want some?” He offers my saber some vine. I chuckle.

“What brings you here?” I ask the old drunk.

“You’ve been doing way more rounds than usual. Especially at the Medical core.”

“Oh? So, you noticed?”

“Ha! Everyone did, girly. You play all hard to get but in reality, you’re a softy.” He guzzles his vine.

“Is booze all you packed?” I give him a disapproving look.

“What else is there?” The shaman gazes at me rather surprised.

“Commander!!” A voice calls for me from somewhere. I stand up. A Noxian girl is running toward me.

“What is it?” I ask her.

“We checked out the mountain pass that you told us about…” She’s out of breath. I wait. “The rain has caused multiple landslides…” Oh no. “We can’t…”

“Can’t get through…” I finish her thought. She nods and almost falls to the ground… I catch her.

“I flew back to report… Others are out there looking…” She whispers and passes out exhausted… I lay her gently by Emerald’s side.

“Mountain pass?” Tonso asks me.

“To get to the Castle of Despair we need to cross the mountains, there is only one passage. If it’s blocked, then…”

“Then how do we get to the other side?”

“That’s a good question…” I murmur.

“Ay, so we move the rubble out of the way – what’s the problem?” The shaman shrugs his shoulders.

“That will take too much man power. The passage is high enough, it gets difficult to breath, it will strain the soldiers more than needed if we make them use that much mana up there…The soldiers are recovering still…”

“So, what else is there then?”

“If I only knew…” I hesitate. “Let’s hope other scouts can find something…” I go to look for the rest of Team Deathbreeze. Along the way, I ask a few Ravos to conjure up a table for me and set it up where Emerald and Tonso are. I ask Percival to bring some paper and ink.

“What is this about?” Laira asks me.

“Have you noticed that so far, we have been traveling without a map?” I ask her.

“Well sure, with you leading the way…”

“Well, not that any of us know the way.” Rixa’s the last one to join us.

“Right, now that everyone is here.” I look them over. “Here is the mountain. And here is the passage.” I mark it with a wavy line.

“According to my scouts – the heavy rainfall has caused multiple landslides and the pass is now blocked.”

“So, we clear it?” Vestigo says.

“No. Wings are looking for another way. To my knowledge going around the mountain will take too long and time is not on our side.”

“Can we fly across over the passage? Even if it’s blocked?” Rixa asks.

“No. It’s too high up and there aren’t enough Areal druids and there’s too much of us.” Laira answers.

“Exactly.” I agree.

“So, then what options do we have?” Jack is asking the right question.

“I have no clue. Not till I hear from my scouts.”

“Commander!!!” A boy runs up to me. “We found a lake! It’s a bit more north-west to the mountain but it goes around it.”

Breeze takes off with the boy druid to look at the lake. We stay gathered around the map.

“Ok, so there’s a lake. That’s something?” Vestigo asks.

“Then we can just freeze the water over and cross it!” Burla makes a pitch.

“Bad idea.” Marcus disagrees.

“Why!” The trickster seems rather annoyed.

“Because we have an entire army that we need to get across that lake and converting water into ice is too much trouble already.” Marcus answers.

“Why do you say that? I don’t get what’s the big deal?” The little shaman keeps pushing.

“I swear you know nothing, do you?” Now Laira's annoyed.

“What’s your problem?” Burla snaps at the Druid.

“You are, you uneducated…” Laira bites her tongue at the last second.

“Well PARDON ME for being a street rat, you spoiled royalty!”

“Enough!” I cut Burla off. “Marcus, just explain it to her.”

“Ah, sure.” The boy nods. “Manipulating water is one thing but converting water into ice takes double the effort, it is a naturally occurring process, yes. However, we are not creating the power that we use in our casting but rather borrow it from the nature itself. There are three stages of casting: Manipulation, Conversion and Creation. Manipulation is the easiest one, because, as I said, it borrows the power from nature. Conversion is the next level of Manipulation where a Mage is able to transform water into ice or earth into sand and so on. That takes a lot more magic energy. In our situation, we have a whole army that we need to get across the lake. Meaning that even if we could freeze the lake over - we’d need to freeze a large portion of the lake too, and make sure to conjure up ice thick enough to hold everyone.”

“And Creation?” Burla asks the Mage.

“As the name suggests: Creation is basically conjuring something out of nothing. Making it the highest level of Manipulation. Of course, it takes that much more power and mana and it is almost impossible to master. For example – making fire out of thin air – right now a Fire Mage cannot use their power if there is no fire to control. So, by using Creation magic, they would need to focus on an image of a flame, inside their minds and pour mana into it, so that the image would be able to take on a physical form. But as I said – that takes a lot of skill to master and takes up a lot more mana. As useful as that would be – one would need to have immense resources of mana to be able to pull it off. Some compare Creation Magic to Subconscious Meditation - the ultimate level, since you do it without putting effort into focusing on it - if mastered it can make one’s mana resources unlimited, the only drawback of that is how long the physical form can last. That is why Mages usually travel in groups. If one is a Water Mage and the other is an Ice one – then as the Water Mage manipulates the water, the Ice Mage can mix their ice in, with the water, and multiple the ice till it overtakes the water, making it appear as if they are freezing the water over, which then leads to the Ice Mage taking control of the spell.” Marcus is quite good at this, I must say.

“That’s why most Mages chose Manipulation over Creation.” He adds quickly.

“Same goes for spells and chants. While spells are instant, the chants, on the other hand, require words and time to be cast. You’re and Air Shaman so your chants are shorter and quicker, making them appear more-spell like. Complicated enchantments are usually used for purifying curses or healing spells. Or simply to maintain a spell for an extended time period, like a Necromancer’s Bone-Chains. Of course, if a chant is interrupted, the spell does not cast. So, in fights, they are quite ineffective. But for Cleansers – well, we use a lot of chants. On occasion one chant can be used by a lot of Casters at the same time – which cuts down the time it takes for the spell to kick in as well as makes it more powerful…” Percival jumps in on the lecture there.

“Pardon me…” The Cleanser looks at me.

“It’s ok.” I nod.

“Are you done?” Culebra hisses.

“Yes.” Percival gets embarrassed and shuts up. Emerald raises her head. Breeze.

“Well?” Crile looks at me all serious.

“We need to move. It’s too far out of our way.”

“Not what I asked.” He turns away from me.

“It does go around the mountain. Question is – how do we cross it.” I walk up to the table where we have the make-shift map spread out. I take the brush and add the lake in.

“That’s quite the puddle…” Tonso comments.

“So, freezing it is out of the question…” Burla murmurs.

“Can we go through it? Just move the water out of the way?” Percival asks carefully.

“We don’t know how deep it goes, although, judging by the size…” Crile doesn’t finish his thought.

“Right…” Percival nods.

“Go under it?” Tonso suggest.

“Only a mole like you can suggest that.” Culebra hisses.

“Building rafts would take too long as well.” Jack adds.

“What if we conjure a bridge?” Vestigo asks.

“Like using Vines?” Marcus looks at the hunter.

“I wish.” Laira answers. “As useful as the Vine spell is, it has to have a host to fuse with to be successful and long lasting. When we use Vines to replace bones, for example, the Vines fuse with the living tissue, that way it can draw the life force from the body itself and not wilt. Otherwise, they require a constant supply of mana.” She explains. I see the blunt stare Crile has on his face.

“With the numbers that we have of people that need transporting, even if we manage to conjure a path across the lake, we can’t tell if Ravos would last long enough.” I add.

“Then what if we use the forest itself?” Rixa’s voice sounds distant. We look around. The Warrior’s standing next to a giant oak.

“What do you mean?” Jack calls out to him.

“The trees are wide enough for a person to stand on. If we cut them down and split them in half…” He walks around the oak.

“That, might, be a decent idea…” Crile hesitates to praise the Warrior.

“We have those three as well.” Rixa points to the Dragon-Trio.

“There’s too many of us still, even for them.” Crile answers.

“We can use the Water Druids to help drag the logs across.” I suggest.

“Wings can carry some of the gear across as well, together with the dragons.” Laira adds.

“About that,” the Cleanser raises his hand; “would it be possible to have the medical supplies transported by air, perhaps?”

Crile doesn’t even blink. “Of course.”

“Well this will be fun.” Tonso laughs.

“Then it’s settled.” Crile makes the statement.

“Percival.” I look at the boy. “How many sick ones are left?”

“Most are able to travel, I think.”

“Then start packing. If there are some who are not able to move – use the dragons to carry them. We need to cover some ground, the sooner the better.” I issue the order. Percival’s expression changes immediately, he’s coming up with a plan.

“Very well.” Jack agrees. “Do we move out tonight?”

“If possible.” I nod.

To my surprise, a few hours later the Army is ready to travel again. It takes us the rest of the day as well as the bigger part of the night to get to the shore.

“Don’t get too comfortable.” I speak to the soldiers. “You have a few hours before dawn breaks and we get to work.” Nobody even bothers with tents or blankets. Thankfully, the rain has stopped some time ago, so at least we don’t have to worry about taking cover. And the night sky is breathtaking…

I have my Water Druids separate from the rest of the Army with the first crack of dawn. While Crile and the others explain our plan to the rest of them. Laira and Percival take charge of the Areal Druids and the Dragon-Trio.

“Listen closely, you are our main forces right now. I’m sure you won’t be pleased by what I will tell you, however, there is more to it then what meets the eye.” I pause.

“Up until today, none of you were able to train your water forms. However, you have strengthened your bodies in other ways. It’s time to show me just how much you’ve improved. Your mission will be to help us cross this lake. Yes, you will be used to pull the logs that others are working on right now. It may seem quite insulting to you but you need to understand. I’m not simply asking you to go for a swim here. You will have weight to carry. You will have to think about your speed and your timing. You need to take into consideration that if you pull to hard your teammates will be falling in the water and perhaps even drowning. But that does not mean you have the option of taking your sweet time getting across. After all, we have a destination to get to. You will also need to sustain your water form long enough not to drown from exhaustion. ” I take a moment. "Any questions?” One boy approaches me.

“Speak up.”

“With all due respect, Commander, I do not believe I can do it.”

“Why not?”

“I have a very limited time frame in my water from…” He seems rather shy. “As a matter of fact, all I have is my Water form…” Say what now? I cannot find the words…

“Perhaps it would best if I showed you.” The boy goes straight past me and into the water. I turn around. The boy walks to his waist in the water and then swims a bit further. A moment later a whale appears in the lake. I laugh. I see. He quickly shifts back and swims to shore.

“How long can you sustain that form?” I ask the boy. “Think you can manage till you cross the lake?”

The boy looks behind him. “Perhaps…”

“What’s your name?”

“Glen, Commander.”

“Alright Glen. You stay put and recover the mana you just lost. I might have a special job for you.”

“Yes, Commander.” The boy nods. I walk up closer to him.

“How did you ever end up in the Royal Army with only a Water form?” I ask him.

“My uncle is part of the Royal Navy… I never do much, just drag ships around for the most part… So, when I heard they were gathering forces to fight, I figured…”

“You figured you’d make something of yourself?” I take a guess. He nods. I sigh. Moron.

"Rest now.” I go to see Laira.

“What was that?” She asks me.

“Glen. He is a whale. Is there anything that can withstand getting wet?”

“We have all of these weapons and such?” Percival points to the side.

“Right. Laira, I’m gonna need you to put your Vines to good use.” I smile at her.

“How so?” She looks confused.

“You’ll have to conjure up a small raft using your Vines and help Glen carry whatever gear is left behind. He’s time is limited in his form, meaning, he can’t carry anyone else with him, just to be on the safe side. Don’t look at me like that, I’ll come along with you, just in case. We’ll be the last to go.”

“Alright.” Sis nods. The thing about shapeshifting is that the larger the creature the Druid turns into, the more power it is required to sustain the form. Cutting down on the time that the Druid can be in that form. That is why I rarely use my full Rhino.

“How are we doing?” I walk over to Jack.

“Fast enough.” His answer is short as usual.

“Alright. Let me know once you guys are ready. There’s one last thing I need to announce.”

“Roger.” Jack nods.

“Right.” I stand in front of the soldiers. “Now that we are ready to move. Here’s the biggest catch. As of today – we are going nighttime routine. As we are nearing our destination – we need to have you prepared. To our knowledge, the Castle of Despair has only a single constant thing about it. It becomes active solely at night. That is why, for the rest of our journey – we shall be sleeping during the day and traveling at night.” Nobody says anything.

“Move out!” I give the order and the soldiers get in the water. Laira, Glen and I, stay behind.

“Now what?” Laira turns to me.

“We wait for them to get across first before we move.”

“My apologies, Commander.” Glen says to me.

“To late for that, kid, for your sake I hope you are a better fighter…”

“I have been as part of the combatant core so far…” He tells me.

“What?” I look at him.

“Nobody knew I was a druid…” He gazes down as he says it. I laugh.

“I see. Well, that’s fine. As long as you are not causing trouble for anyone else.”

“No, Commander! Never!” The kid stands up and bows. I smile.

“At ease.”

“How are you feeling?” Laira sits down next to me.

“I’m fine.”

“Of course, as if you’ll admit it.” She rolls her eyes at me.

“Admit what?”

“You don’t need to hide it from me.”

“Laira, what do you think I can feel?” I look straight at my sis. “Some of them will not come back. You might not come back. I already lived half a century feeling like I should have died but didn’t… I don’t think…”

“You don’t think you’ll come back this time?” She cuts me off. I nod.

“I wouldn’t worry about that, sis, as long as he is breathing – you’ll make it back.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because.” Laira smiles at me and doesn’t say anything else.

“Well that helps.” I get off my butt and go to see the kid again.

“Alright, let’s see what you got. Fight me.” I take up a fighting stance. The kid stares at me for a long moment before catching on. Finally, he moves. It takes him another painfully dull moment to throw the first punch. It’s fun to watch him, as the young druid calculates his strength, not as much as how not to get tired but how not to hurt me. I go easy on him on purpose. But he takes going easy to a whole new level.

“I can tell your technique is quite good. Despite the fact, that you barely touched me.”

“I didn’t think it would be appropriate…” Glen averts his eyes.

“Looks like it’s our turn. Ready?” I turn to the kid.

“Do I really have a choice?”

I laugh. “Not anymore.”

“Laira, you ready?” I look for her.

“Yeah, finished just in time. Give me your hand.” She gives Glen a very thin branch of Vines to hold on to. It sliders under the boy's skin.

“It will merge with you and won’t get in the of your shifting, I will extract it ones we cross the lake, so no lasting damage either.” Laira explains it to the kid. Glen nods and gets in the water.

“You get one too.” She hands me a thicker looking one.

“Are these the reins to Glen?” I ask.

“In a way.”

“Clever.”

“It’ll save time. Come on, we need to get that in the water before Glen changes.” She points toward the make shift boat with gear and a bunch of other junk in it. We push the boat in the water. Laira gets in it first, then I.

“Ready when you are!” I call out to the boy.

“Roger!” The boy waves at us and turns. Needless to say, we get soaked, instantly.

“Hang on.” I tell Laira and Glen takes off. Even with the evening sun, it’s light enough to enjoy the view of the mountain, as we sway on the waves made by a giant whale.

Breeze, Laira and the young druid are the last ones to cross the lake. A bunch of soldiers are already waiting to unload the boat. The young druid barely makes it across and shifts back into his human form as soon as they reach the shore. Percival and some cleansers carry the exhausted druid’s body away from the skirmish. Breeze and Laira help others to get the stuff. I watch her. There’s something different about Breeze. I can’t quite figure out what. The smile. Breeze is smiling and it’s genuine. I haven’t seen her smile like that in a long and boring while…

“Right, don’t get too comfortable now, we keep moving as much as possible.” I gave the order. Nobody argues. I can’t figure out if that’s good or bad. I have been expecting a lot more resistance throughout the entire trip, yet. Perhaps I’m simply overthinking it.

“Did she give you any trouble?” I ask Jack, petting Emerald.

“No, Commander.” I like his short answers.

“I find it insulting you’d think I would misbehave.” Emerald growls at me.

“You never know…” I scratch her ear.” Go on ahead. I’ll go do some rounds.”

“Now? You won’t wait till we set up camp as usual?”

“Now that we aren’t getting drenched, I’m curious to see how to kids handle nighttime traveling.” I shift and run off. It’s nice to be in my beast form again. I missed it. I see a bunch of Druids running around in their beast forms, Fire mages and Shamans are apparently in charge of torches. I wonder when did they have time to get so many? I see some soldiers going around in small groups, picking up branches or simply cutting some of them off the trees as we move. I see some druids carrying wooden pots and urns. What are those for? Soon enough, I have my answer. Tree sap. Guess those are Ravos that go to get it. Clever. I look up and see some stars move around in the night sky. Huh? It takes a moment for me to realize those are the Wings lighting the way with the torches. There’s a stream of light moving in the sky too, though it resembles a wave more… Meteor. I keep moving. There’s something new.

“Tonso?” I reach for the Shaman.

“AY, girly! Ya scared me.”

“What is it that I’m seeing here among the shamans’?”

“What is it you speak of? And where are ya?”

“I’m running around in my dog outfit.” I hear the old man laugh in the distance. “I see some shamans using Overtake but not fully? Are they not able to control it?” I ask Tonso, watching misshaped blocks of earth moving around. Wait. Are those heads on fire I’m looking at?

“Ah, nah, they are fine. Most of them are Earth types. You don’t have a lot of Fire Shamans, did you know?” The old man points out the difference.

“Not many can handle the challenge of being burned alive to be able to transform…” I answer.

“Exactly. Anyways. What you’re seeing is their own invention. The Half-form. They copied you.”

“My half-forms? What for?” I’m confused. I focus on the flaming balls of fire. Oh, I get it. The Fire Shamans are concentrating their Fire to one spot of their body to use as a light source, while keeping their hands free. It looks silly but if it works…

“What’s the lass, ay, the pretty one, said she knew you personally…”

“Aodynna?” I ask.

“That’s the one! She had this crazy idea of using Overtake as a half-form. As soon as some of them perfected the full spell, they began working with half forms. I was surprised. Some of my Shamans even went over to Jack and the rams, did you know that it can doubled as body armor?”

I laugh, well, growl, more like it. “No, I had no idea…” Well done.

“Well, now you do. The girl also said she is able to sense the ground better in that form.”

“Is that why there are so many of the shamans traveling in their half-forms now?” I ask again.

“Is there now? I had no clue.” The geezer sounds sincerely surprised.

“Well, what can I say, good job, old man.”

“Ay, ya know I didn’t do anything...” I pick up on a sad note there.

“No, you did. Out of all of their teachers and trainers, you are the most life experienced one. A battle is one thing, but this way, those kids will be able to use their skills in real life as well.”

“Kids… I sometimes forget how young they are…”

“Well, some, let’s not forget we have all kinds of them mixed in here.” I tell the Shaman.

“True.” Tonso’s baritone rings quietly in my mind.

“How was it?” Emerald asks as I approach her shifting back.

“They are doing just fine.” I walk next to her.

“Looks like day break.” My saber nudges me.

“So fast. Right then. We’ll stop here then.” I pat Emerald. She stops.

“We rest here.” I announce. A wave of relief roars among the soldiers.