I sat for a couple of minutes, stewing over what I had learned from Elle. Glancing over to one of the great grandfather clocks lets me know I have to meet CJ soon. I hear a grumble and look around for the culprit; it's my stomach. Maybe I can grab a snack from the kitchen before my next lesson.

I arrive in the kitchen and find a bowl of fruits and berries on one of the counters. I hear some talking from the dining hall, so I grab a handful of purple berries and walk inside. Marissa and Sam are laughing and chatting. Of all the people that it could have been. It had to be these two. Shit. They’re probably listening to my thoughts right now. My eyes narrow as I look at Sam. They turn their head down towards the table while looking nervous. So you are listening.

“Hey! Stop glaring at Sam. They already apologized to you, so drop it,” Marissa said.

“I tried telling you before, Tyler. It isn’t my choice to listen to your thoughts,” Sam said.

“You’re right. Listening to our thoughts isn’t a choice. But you know what was? Not telling me when we met. Sam, I’m not mad about the thought-reading anymore, but I do not have to forgive you.” I say as I turn around to head off to CJ’s lesson.

“Don’t do it, Mari,” Sam said while gripping Marissa’s arm.

Marissa put down the fork she had been holding. “I wasn’t going to hit him in his vitals. He can walk off an ankle wound. I wouldn’t do anything to make Gabriel angry, and you know that. I just don’t like seeing someone get upset with you for something you can’t control.”

“I know, and I appreciate you always having my back. He’s troubled Mari, like most people Gabriel finds. His awakening was not pleasant, and I believe it has damaged him. The last thing I want is to make things harder for anyone," Sam replied.

"Fine. If he's rude to you again, I will remind him where he stands," Marissa said icily.

CJ sat in the dungeon, waiting for his student to arrive. The boy is like clay, able to be molded into anything. So much potential packed inside, he could become anything. All it'll take is a steady hand to help guide him.

"And what better teacher than I? No one better to instruct a young boy than the pinnacle of elegance and manliness. I shall make him at least twenty percent as charming as me, which is the most a man can ask".

He plans to take the boy into Sheira proper, where the regular folk live. A lesson hidden inside of a fun trip. CJ would watch him to see how he acted while amongst normal humans.

Tyler walked down the stairs a minute before their lesson was set to begin. He still hasn't realized how one carries themselves tells you much about them. CJ could see so many details from how Tyler walked. He was looking all around himself and had a slight frown. Careful steps and arms at his sides all tell CJ that Tyler is frustrated, angry even. He’s trying to hold it inside him and hide his rage. It isn’t working at all. The world won’t take kindly to an angry boy with powers. CJ will fix that in time.

CJ is grinning at me as I enter the dungeon. At first, his grin seems creepy but slowly morphs into a genuinely caring smile. The more time I spend with him, the more uneasy I become. I’m finding it hard to pinpoint who he really is. CJ always seems like he's performing a role. Every movement and mannerism is calculated and precise. It almost distracts me from how angry I still am about Sam lying. Marissa is now included in my anger, and I wish she would mind her business. None of that matters today because I finally get to see the nearby town. I’ve been curious about who lives there and what it's like. CJ said that there weren’t any Forchunae in the village.

Even the fact that I’ll have to sleep outside again tonight can’t damper my good mood. I’m SO EXCITED. This will be my first time seeing a village since leaving home. Hopefully, the townspeople aren’t too dumb. Clearly, the outside world isn’t as advanced as the Strakken Empire, so I doubt they have standardized schooling. As long as they’re nice, it doesn’t matter how stupid they are.

“You seem to be in a better mood than when you first came in. You’re positively humming with excitement,” CJ said.

I ignored his comment about my mood. “Yes, I’ve been waiting for this day for weeks. I cannot imagine what wonders await me,” I said.

“We’ll leave in just a minute, but I want to review a few things before we go there. First, do not ask anyone why they are here. Second, treat everyone with respect. The citizens of Sheira are hardworking, amazing individuals. They have skills and knowledge that people would kill for. Third, pay attention to your surroundings because there will be a quiz tonight. You shall have a splendid time as long as you remember those three things. Now follow me, and I’ll show you the town,” CJ announced as he walked out of the room.

I followed him out of the dungeon, and we stopped by the closet near the castle’s front. He grabbed his cloak and put it on. Why’s he bringing that? It’s not slightly chilly, and I’d even call it hot out. Whatever. “I’m right behind you, CJ,” I shout as I put on my boots.

I step outside, and for the first time, we don’t walk toward the forest. I want to run towards the town, but I hold myself back. After moving about twenty feet from the castle, we reached a pathway made of gravel. As we walked, the village got closer and closer. I can see more details than before—beautiful red brick buildings with intricately crafted glass windows. Every home I saw was two-story with a chimney and an overhanging shingled roof. The road transitioned from gravel to paving stones, perfectly interlaid and flat. Grates leading to what I assume are the sewers are placed every twenty feet on both sides of the road. Varying types of people walk the streets going about their day. Everyone is wearing the same fine clothes I found in my dresser when I woke up here. None of them reflect the image I had in my head. These aren’t poor peasants struggling in the mud.

“Hey, you alright over there? Pay attention. People have been waving and saying hello to us. What did I tell you about respect?” CJ reprimanded.

“Sorry, sir.” I stopped getting lost in my head and focused on my surroundings more.

CJ led us to a smaller building that smelled incredible. A wooden sign hung from the hanging roof that said Dale’s Bakery. The door was open, and I could feel the heat coming onto the street.

“Let’s see how Dale is doing. His scones are to die for,” CJ said.

“Scones? They have scones here?” I asked.

I followed him into the bakery, and the smell was even more pungent. Sugar, cinnamon, honey, and freshly baked bread assaults my nose. There are a couple of tables with wooden chairs off to one side. A large glass display shows off the varying pastries, sweets, and loaves of bread for sale. As my eyes feast upon everything, I notice that Sheira uses the same money as the Strakken Empire. Strange. We’re so far away from home, but they also use bronze, silver, and gold coins? The council lies seem to go on forever.

“This is Tyler. He is Master Gabriel’s newest ward. I’m taking him around to see the town today. So, of course, I had to take him to the most incredible bakery in the world,” CJ said.

I look at CJ and see him conversing with a rotund older gentleman. Dark grey hair that's thinning with age sits atop his head. A sizeable red, bushy mustache covers his upper lip, and smiling eyes complete the look of who I can only assume is Dale. I must have been ignoring the two of them. That's so embarrassing.

"Hi, Tyler. That is my name, I mean. Nice to meet you, sir.” I said as I felt my face heat up.

A deep, hearty chuckle boomed out of Dale. "Name’s Dale Hartford, and this is my bakery. You're just like my daughter; she's always got her head in the clouds. She’s just getting your order ready, Charles,” Dale said.

“Fantastic, you consistently exceed my expectations,” CJ said.

Charles? CHARLES? CJ’s real name is Charles? That’s so normal. “Did you just get scones or a bunch of different things?” I asked.

“I always get scones, but I also got a couple of loaves of bread for the castle. Dale’s got the best bread in town,” CJ said.

“I’m the sole baker in town. Forget the best bread. I’m the only bread,” Dale said.

“Does that make my words any less true?” CJ asked.

“I guess I’ll just take the compliment. Haley, dear, do you have the order ready?” Dale said as he called out to the back.

“COMING!”

A young girl who looks around my age comes out from the back holding a box. She has hair the same color as Dale’s mustache, and it's held up in a bun. Plain. She’s unremarkable. Spending so much time around Forchunae is beginning to skew my perception of looks. They’re both so normal, so painfully normal.

“Hi, I’m Haley,” The girl says as she hands me the box.

Inside, I see the scones that CJ mentioned and four dark loaves of bread packed tightly inside. I show the open box to CJ for his approval. I wave at Haley, and CJ gives me an approving nod.

“What do we owe you miss?” CJ said.

“It’s one silver per loaf, and the four scones are twenty-five bronze coins each. So your total comes to five silver even,” Haley replied.

CJ reached into his cloak and pulled out a small coin purse. He takes out the silver, and the coins are the exact same as back home. One side has a crown and the other a cross. One day, I’ll go back and find out why the council lied about everything.

“Here ya go, darling,” CJ said.

“Thank you for your business, Charles. Please let Helena know I said hello. She hasn’t come by in a bit,” Dale said.

“I will. She’s been swamped. You know how she can get when she has something to focus on,” CJ replied.

We finished our goodbyes, and CJ and I left to continue our tour. We passed a large barn-like building that he told me was where the town stores excess foods. I asked where we were going next, and he said to the farm.

The farm has a massive fence around the perimeter. It goes on for so long I can’t see where it curves around. The sounds of animals are loud enough that I can understand why the farm is at the edge of the town. We walked over to the gate, and unlike the bakery, no one was there to greet us.

"Is no one going to give us a tour?" I asked.

CJ started laughing, "Are you joking?"

"Well, whenever we visited the food production centers with my school, the workers would show us around," I said.

“Food production center? What kind of madness is that?” CJ asked.

“It’s where the vegetables and fruits are grown. And where all the livestock is raised and processed. It’s one of the biggest buildings in all of the Strakken Empire. A giant metal warehouse that uses up half of the empire’s electricity.” I answer.

“By the Goddess, that sounds depressing. You won’t find any of that anywhere else. The rest of humanity still uses good old-fashioned farms. And to answer your earlier question, nobody will give us a tour. They’re far too busy to waste time on something so frivolous. We will walk around but stay out of the workers' path while we are here.”

As I step through the gate, I’m hit with the smell of animals and feces. The farm is split into two parts. To our left are the various vegetables grown here. Berry bushes are sprinkled throughout the crops, and people in overalls walk around watering or putting berries into baskets. The land around here has been leveled flat. Chickens strut around, snapping up the bugs that crawl over any of the plants. The giant barn I saw before is about thirty feet from us and more extensive than I imagined. It must be three stories tall and bright red. I can see a couple of places where the paint is chipping. A smaller shed is attached, and I’m pretty sure that’s the chicken coop. I started to walk toward the workers, and CJ grabbed my shirt and shook his head. He points to our right, and I finally see what makes the farm so big. Rolling hills with interspersed trees go on for what seems like forever. If I genuinely push the limits of my new eyesight, I can somewhat make out the other side of the fence.

It dawns on me that the farm may take up more space than the castle. If they adopted the Strakken Empire’s food production models, this farm wouldn’t have to be so extensive. CJ leads me along as we walk over the nearest hill, and I’m amazed at what I see. All the animals are just walking around or grazing freely. A herd of horses is racing along over the hills. Gabriel’s Nightmares are leading the herd. One of them spotted CJ and me and broke away from the pack toward us. It raced over and stopped in front of us before looking us over with its intelligent eyes. Now that my body has finished changing, I can see its veins and muscles more clearly. These spectral steeds are still so unnerving.

CJ reached out to stroke the Nightmare’s face. “Hello, Luna. I hope you’re doing well in Gabriel’s absence”.

Luna neighs in response while nuzzling into CJ’s hand before returning to the other horses. We continue walking along until we end up near a lake. Several types of animals are drinking from it. In the center of the lake is a couple of okyax floating and soaking in the water. I guess they have domesticated some of them. At the lake's edge are two species that look nothing like what we had in the empire. The first looks like you covered a wild boar in sheep's wool. One of them lumbers around slowly before it begins digging in the ground with its snout and tusks.

"What is that pig sheep thingy?" I ask.

"Haha. Those are tuskwoolies," CJ answers.

"What do they taste like?"

"Tuskwoolies aren't for eating. They're omnivores and have an amazing sense of smell. They'll eat anything, so they're great for keeping places clean. The fine clothes you're currently wearing are made from their wool. They have a sense of smell better than a wolf and are known to dig up buried objects. I love those little treasure finders," CJ responds.

Very versatile despite the stupid name. Why are there so many strange animals out here? The empire has none of these creatures or anything like them.

"Got it, don't eat the treasure pigs," I respond.

"That bird is called a floracan," CJ says as he points at one of the weirdest-looking birds I've ever seen. Its feathers are a dark green that looks almost leaf-like, and its long legs are the color of tree bark. Amid a forest, I don't know if I would even be able to see the bird; its natural camouflage is so perfect. Standing up, the bird is taller than I am, with a massive beak and throat pouch.

"They're a bit weird as far as animals go. Their actions make it seem like they’re intelligent, but trust me, those birds are just working off instinct. They pick up seeds and small plants in their beaks and plant them in new places. Legend has it that those birds are the reason for humanity's rare plant breeds. They use their throat pouches to water the seeds they spread. Somehow they know the best place to plant them because you’ll never hear of them dropping off seeds in inhospitable places. The dumb birds are also very protective of nature in general. There’s reports of them attacking foragers and loggers who enter forests,” CJ says while walking towards the lake.

“Is it safe to go down there? What with the okyax and the tuskwoolies and those scary farmer birds. It seems dumb to approach an animal in its habitat.” I say nervously.

“If you’re scared of some farm animals, wait till you see the actual monsters out there. Besides, I’m more than enough for everything here,” CJ says while grinning.

Knowing his Word and seeing how he moves leads me to believe his boast. A question has formed in my mind after seeing the various farm animals. “If we don’t eat the tuskwoolies, then what is the meat we’ve been eating?” I ask.

“Oh, that’s okyax. One of them provides enough meat for the whole village for months if preserved correctly. They can also be milked, which we use to make butter and cheese. You use cows where you’re from, right?” CJ asks.

“I’m surprised you know what a cow is. If you know what a cow is, why don’t you use them for milk and meat?” I respond.

“Because one okyax weighs as much as six or seven cows. Praise the Goddess that our forefathers domesticated those animals,” CJ says.

He keeps saying the word goddess. Who or what is it? I'll have to ask him about it later.

"I have to admit these animals are incredible. Makes me even more excited to go out and explore."

"And you'll have all the skills you need to thrive thanks to me, your incredible teacher and mentor," CJ says.

I roll my eyes at his theatrics, and we continue our pleasant walk around the farmland. The sun has started to set, and we probably have about another hour or two of light.

"We have one more place to check out before our tour concludes," CJ says.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"To visit an exceptional woman," CJ says as we walk through the farm's gate.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, we approach a large brick building with several chimneys on the roof. The first thing I notice is how much heat radiates off the building. We're still ten feet from the door, and I'm sweating. What is this building? I start to imagine what kind of person is inside. A woman as big as Veaos, covered in burns and scars, comes to mind.

CJ walks up to the door and opens it without knocking. "She's working which means she can't hear us at all. We'll go inside and wait." He tells me.

As soon as the door opens, the surrounding temperature cranks up. A wave of intensely hot air hits me. Loud sounds of metal against metal ring in my ears, and I'm reminded of a field trip I went on years ago. Conveyor belts brought chunks of metal to a giant melting pot and funneled them down to more conveyor belts. Large pistons stamped the hot metal into plates and pieces for machinery. The factory had felt like I was inside an oven. The building we were entering felt hotter than that.

I step through the door and see that the building is a shop. Various pieces of armor line the walls. Wood tables with glass cases on the top are located throughout the room. Inside each case is a different weapon. Most of them I’ve never seen before. Swords with a blade on each end, massive hammers that end in spikes, and even more exotic weapons all sit proudly framed behind crystal clear panes.

The two of us stand in the sweltering shop with the constant banging for over an hour. I’m wondering if this woman will ever come out. I’m sweating my butt off, and the noise is giving me a headache. Suddenly the noise stops, and the relief my ears feel is fantastic. CJ grins as the mystery woman reveals herself. A woman my height with bright red hair walks out, wearing a tight shirt soaked in sweat and overalls. She has blackened boots, and gloves look like they were made for someone slightly larger. Her hair is in a ponytail, but strands are loose and stuck to her face. She’s gorgeous. The sweat, soot, and baggy clothes cannot hide her perfection. A blush spreads across my face as I realize my mouth is open. Is this love? CJ nudges me and says, “I told you she was exceptional.”

“How are ya, you slimy prick?” She says to CJ.

“You wound me, Lizzy. Are you telling me you aren’t happy to see my rakishly handsome face?”

“Fuck off with all that. I’m not some unripe gal you can wink at and get me to spread,” Lizzy replies.

She speaks like a criminal. How can such terrible speech come from such a beautiful woman? I’m beginning to realize that my feelings for her aren’t originating from my heart or my head.

“And you. The one trying to fuck me with his eyes. You look too soft to even to satisfy yourself, let alone a woman. Now cut the chitchat, CJ. What the fuck brings you here?” Lizzy shouts the last sentence.

“Wha- I’m not soft; I’ve been training every day. And I wasn’t trying to do that. It’s just hot in here, and my eyes are dry.” I say in an attempt to change the subject.

“Easy. I came here to show the kid around the town. No ulterior motives, I promise. His name’s Tyler, and he might become a customer of yours soon,” CJ says with his hands up.

Her demeanor softens, and she removes her gloves before presenting her hand. “Sorry bout that. That prick’s been trying to bed me for the last five years. Didn’t mean to scare you so badly you nearly pissed yourself.”

She apologizes while insulting me. I shake her hand and smile. “As CJ said, my name is Tyler, and it’s nice to meet you.”

She grunts before nodding towards the door. “Yeah, well, as the town’s only blacksmith, I’m a busy gal. So both of ya are gonna have to leave so I can get to bed.”

As we walk through the now quiet town, I’m feeling angry. We’ve missed dinner at this point, and I’m covered in sweat. When CJ turns away from the road and toward the forest, I almost want to weep.

“We’re still sleeping in the trees? Don’t you have to bring the bread back to the castle?” I ask, hoping he’ll tell me otherwise.

“Of course. I told you that every lesson of mine would end in a tree. And I’ll drop the bread off once we’re settled up,” CJ responds.

“Do you at least have rations? I’m starving.”

“Yes, I do. But only for me. You knew we would end up out here, so you should've thought ahead and brought something. You didn't even bring your cloak. You make no effort to plan ahead for a kid who says he wants to go out and explore the world,” CJ says as he walks deeper into the forest.

I want to snap back at him, tell him that he's wrong. But I know he's right; I should've thought ahead. I hope he at least brought the harness. CJ effortlessly climbs up the tree he picked for us. Remembering everything I learned last time, I begin my journey up to him and fall immediately. Try after try. I follow my previous plan, memorize what branches can support my weight, and use those to get higher. It only takes me ten tries to get up to him. He has his back against the trunk and is eating the rations.

"Did you buy any chance bring the harness, sir?" Please let him have brought it.

"Yes, I did. However, you're going to have to earn it. I told you to pay attention today, and I have a little test to see if you did," CJ replies.

Great. I always hated pop quizzes in school, and now I get to do one while a hundred feet up in a tree. "I did pay attention. I’m ready whenever you are.”