“Can you not wait for another day?” Otlaca begged as Yuriko and the other Davars packed all of their gear and readied themselves to leave.

It had been nearly a week since the battle and there were no signs of Lucentian reinforcements. The absence of even a messenger didn’t bode well and none of the runners Otlaca and Irseso sent ever came back.

The fort just outside of the isthmus, where the Tiath and Vizugmon armies were, had grown noticeably more formidable. The palisade had been fortified by a tall stone foundation and the ditch had become wider and deeper. Tall archer’s towers stood behind the wall, and from the limited scouting, there was hurried activity there. But Yuriko didn’t know if they were gearing themselves up to attack or just waiting.

The silence from Lucenti weighed on her mind. She thought of the Viterra ambassador, Gonir of the Oska, one of the few there that she felt was sincere in his attitude of welcome. Hopefully, nothing had happened.

Still, she couldn’t wait any longer. She didn’t want to. A deep heartache twinged at her. The desire to see her brothers flooded her mind. Riley and Aidan looked similar enough to Marron and Kato but their similarities only brought home the stark differences. Unlike her brothers, she wasn’t sure if these two truly had her back.

Sure, Layla was quite welcoming but only when she didn’t have her nose in her books. Riley was quite competitive, and Aidan was…well, laid back. Maybe lazy, if she was being honest. Though it wasn’t anything he did, but his general lackadaisical attitude. That was unfair of her though, since she never saw him ditch any of his camp chores. Still, it was a feeling she couldn’t shake.

“No, I’m afraid not,” Layla answered for them.

“I’m sorry, Elder Otlaca, but I really wish to return home.” Yuriko walked up next to the weary snakeman and pressed a coin purse into his hands. “Since I couldn’t help you further, I must return this.”

“I…no, no. This was given freely for your aid,” Otlaca protested.

“No need. It is unnecessarily generous, and you will need coins to fund your defences. I regret not being able to stay,” she repeated.

Otlaca bowed his head. “Very well. Good fortune to your travels, Elder Yuriko.”

“Good fortune.”

The Lucentians escorted them out of the camp. They stopped at the gates and watched as the four of them walked down the road. Despite the ditches that were at least three or four paces wide, Yuriko and the others were easily able to jump across, even Layla.

“What’s our route?” Yuriko asked when they were far enough away from the Lucentian camp that they could no longer see it.

“Well, Viterra is to the north but there’s an army on the road ahead. We’ll have to cut cross-country,” Layla said. “And we should do it here, rather than at the mouth of the isthmus. No doubt scouts are watching.”

Yuriko looked over the swamp. There were mangrove trees sticking out of the fetid water, but they were far enough from each other that she couldn’t jump branch to branch. She could use her Anima to create gliding wings, but…

“How?”

“I’ve been busy spellweaving over the week,” Layla said as she reached into her satchel and fished out four cubes. She handed one to each of them.

Yuriko looked at it with her bare eyes before thinking to use Chaos sight. Patterns and lines covered the cube, which was about an inch on each side. The edges were hard and sharp and the majority of the Chaos or Animus was concentrated there. The cube didn’t look like it had been carved or whittled from a single piece of wood but more like several twigs had been moulded into a cubic shape, then carved and planed to create the smooth surface.

“Water walk?” Aidan blurted out.

“Yes, it will allow our feet to create a stable membrane on top of the water, at the cost of Animus. It should consume ten lumens an hour if we walk slowly, more if we hurry,” Layla explained. “The cube should last long enough to get out of the swamp.” Layla looked at Yuriko. “You know how to channel Animus into the terminus points?”

Yuriko nodded. “I’ve known how since just after the Atavism Ritual.”

“Ah, your initial inlay, then?” Layla nodded. “Well, you merely have to channel Animus into this point,” She indicated a particular corner which seemed to be the nexus of half a dozen twigs, “And you have to keep the connection, otherwise the Spellweaving will fail.”

“How long before it does?” Yuriko asked. “From the moment I stop channelling?”

“Within a minute,” Layla answered.

That wasn’t so bad. Keeping Animus channelled into the cube would mean part of her focus would be occupied, meaning if she could normally control ten strands, it would be eight or nine now.

“Well, let’s begin.”

Layla’s eyes glowed purple for a moment, then her fingers took on the glow. The two brothers followed suit. Yuriko noticed that their Animus glows were only a few shades of purple different from each other. Da, Marron, and Kato all had a purple Animus glow. However, Layla and Aidan didn’t receive the Davar Heritage, so maybe that wasn’t why.

Yuriko channeled her Animus into the cube, keeping watch of the process with Chaos Sight. The cube absorbed it easily, then lit up several runescript patterns within. Her view was somewhat muffled by the material, but she could still see something happening. After a few seconds, Animus shot out of the cube, up into her palm, then down to her feet where it formed a construct mixed with ambient Chaos. It created a disc nearly ten inches wide.

She shook her foot and tapped her toes into the ground. It felt a bit clumsy with the disc weighing her foot down and getting in the way.

Layla stepped onto the swamp water. Then she took another step and another. Her footsteps created ripples which made her bob up and down slightly. Aidan quickly followed behind Layla.

“After you.” Riley said with a quick gesture.

Yuriko nodded and stepped onto the water.

Huh. It wasn’t as bad as she expected. For that matter, she probably could copy the structure with her own Anima. No need to waste Animus then.

They kept the cubes above their palms and started walking, heading north-northwest. While the swamp water didn’t have a current, at least not one she could feel, small waves and ripples still had her bobbing up and down

The novelty of walking on water wore off after an hour. Yuriko’s balance was excellent and so was Aidan’s. Riley wasn’t so bad, but he stumbled every now and then when he tripped on a ripple or landed a foot wrong. They had to step down with the whole foot, instead of rolling from heel to toe otherwise, the disc would trip her up. It took a few steps for her to adjust, but the awkwardness still slowed her down.

As for Aunt Layla, they had to fish her out of the water a couple of times already. Thankfully, Layla’s Protective Field warded off the water, so she wasn't a soaking mess. It made her grouchy though, which amused Yuriko a bit since it had been the woman’s idea to walk across the swamp.

They’d made a league since they started out, and who knew how long the swamp stretched out? She certainly didn’t know, but the other three didn’t hesitate which way they went.

It was late afternoon by the time they left the swamp. Yuriko’s Animus reserves were at half full, but that was considering she had refilled it by drawing in ambient Chaos and distilling it. They set up camp, beneath the sheltering leaves of a weeping willow.

Layla immediately created a campfire runescript pattern. She was halfway done when Yuriko noticed. After the woman was done, she ignited it with a flash of Animus. Unlike the campfires Yuriko made, this one wasn’t given much of an Animus reserve and it drew in ambient Chaos to fuel the flames.

“How did you make it work like that?” Yuriko couldn’t help but ask. “My campfire runescript worked down in the Labyrinth but I can’t get it to work properly here.”

“Oh, show me how you made it,” Layla said. “You boys make dinner.”

“Tag, you’re it.” Aidan said.

“Chaos!” Riley grumbled.

“No cursing!” Layla yelled.

“Sorry.”

“Anyway,” Layla nodded to Yuriko, “draw it up here.”

Yuriko started the pattern about a pace from the actual campfire. She used an Animus blade to draw. After a minute, Layla interrupted her.

“Your gathering line is sloppy. Look here,” she pointed at the outer portion, “the thickness of the line is uneven by a hundredth of an inch. It must be as uniform as you can make it, otherwise, it’s that much less efficient.”

“Alright.” Yuriko said and made to erase the lines.

“No, complete the entire thing first.”

Nodding, Yuriko did as asked. When she was done, Layla stared at it for several minutes.

The boys, on the other hand, had whipped out a pot, dumped water into it from their condenser canteens and tossed a few ration bars in. Yuriko didn’t miss those. Riley took a small glass vial and poured some kind of powder into the mix. All at once, an enticing scent wafted from the pot, which only grew stronger when the stew came to a rolling boil.

“How long have you been a Runescribe?” Layla asked.

“Less than a year,” Yuriko admitted. “I’ve only had the chance to read the Neophyte Rune Scribe before the accident happened.”

“Hmmm. I see. Your foundations need work. Runescribing is a precise science. Every error lowers the efficiency of Animus transmission and affects how ambient Chaos is utilised. It’s impossible for a hundred percent efficiency and conversion, but it’s possible to come close. I’m not at that level, of course, but I can achieve a fifty percent rate. Yours is barely five percent.”

“That low? Er, the efficiency rate hasn’t been the focus of my Sharom class.”

“Of course not, you learn those in later years. The first couple of years is devoted to widening your vocabulary, a stupid method, I always say. Why not focus on precision first?” Layla shook her head. “Anyway, your deviation is more than a tenth of an inch. That’s why the ambient Chaos isn’t drawn in properly. You get dribbles, which is why the Animus reserve is eaten up too quickly.”

“Why did it work in the Labyrinth then?”

Layla snorted. “Think about it first.”

Yuriko scratched the back of her head. “I have, for quite a while now. I still can’t figure it out.”

“What’s different between the Labyrinth and the surface?”

“Uhm, it’s underground and full of devilbeasts? There’s a Tidelands in the middle of it too. Oh, and the ambient Chaos is about twice to thrice as dense as…oh.”

“Yes. Denser ambient Chaos can forgive inefficiencies like this. That’s why you managed to make it work there.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Hmm, you said you’ve only read the Neophyte book? Well, in the second year you’re supposed to read the Apprentice Rune Scribe. Urk, I don’t have a copy with me,” she muttered, “but I think I can teach you.”

“Thank you,” Yuriko said demurely. Her time in the wilderness and away from convenient Animatech gave her a new appreciation for runescribing. And this way, she wouldn’t have to read!

“Well, by the time you get back to school, you’ll probably be moved to the graduate program anyway.”

“Huh?”

Layla smirked, “How old do you think Riley is?”

“Uh, at least eighteen?”

“Wrong, he’s seventeen.”

“Huh, shouldn’t he be in the Academy then?”

“The Academy only teaches students up until the second order Journeyman level. Once you hit third order, you just finish the term if it's near the closing then you graduate,” Riley said. “I hit third order last year, then advanced to Knight early this year.”

“You mean?” Yuriko blinked.

“Yes, you’ll probably be out of school immediately. You can stay as a graduate student,” Layla added, “which is an absolute necessity since you’re lacking in the basics. But you’ll dictate your hours and you’ll be given tasks.” She shrugged. “Unless you want to pay exorbitant fees that are at least five times more than the usual tuition. On the other hand, you are already strong enough for most positions in the Legion, Militias, Merchant Marines, or Planar Guard. Or you can continue your Runescribing studies as a researcher.”

“I can join Vagaris once I get back to Rumiga?” Yuriko asked with burgeoning anticipation.

“If you reach third order Journeyman,” Layla smiled, “and you complete their requisite courses. Well, our journey home will probably last for a Season, at least, so if you want, I can tutor you on more than Runescribe studies.”

Yuriko nodded eagerly. “Yes, that would be wonderful!”

Layla laughed. “We’ll start once we get back to the Ebon Horizon. Prepare yourself, I’m a harsh taskmistress!”

Yuriko didn’t mind. At least, she supposed she didn’t.

Sure, learn the basics as if you can’t already do better. Damien snarked.

‘Well, you won’t teach me anything but body forging and stuff!’

That’s because those are the true foundations. Well, it's not as if you have to train all day. Ambient Chaos isn’t thick enough for that.

‘But we’ll be going through the Chaos Sea.”

Well, now. Damien chuckled evilly, and Yuriko felt a chill run up her spine.