As the first glances of the sun were being laid down on the trees of the forest, Izar returned with two giant apples. They had not spoken much last night, busy with thoughts and meditation. Oyzal was soaking in as much of the available madra his core would allow. They had a big day ahead, especially if they encountered any other residents of the Southern States.

"We keep heading north, no?" Izar asked between bites.

Oyzal nodded.

They set off into the forest, Oyzals sword clearing a path for them to enter. Fumes of semi-transparent madra floated here and there, Oyzals core not allowing him to take in anymore. He used bits of madra to enhance his senes but not enough to start circulating madra from outside.

A tremor passed through the earth. The intensity of it was such that Oyzal needed to infuse his legs with madra to keep from falling, and his hand reached out to hold Izar in place, his grip left a red circle behind her wrist. Cries of beasts reverberated through the forest as they looked at each other.

"What was that?", she asked.

Oyzal shrugged. " Experienced another one a few cycles ago."

Izar nodded. "I remember."

They set foot again, fallen leaves trailing in their wake. Soon, the sun was stranded above their heads, its warmth feeding them through the canopy. The trial was a stroll compared to what Oyzal had thought. Where was the challenge?

They appeared at another clearing. A *swish* followed by a *thunk* as an arrow embedded itself in the tree in front of them. Oyzal instantly had his sword free from his back and Izar had daggers in each hand. Madra started circulating through his veins. The arrow had come from the right but only trees were in attendance. And then another arrow planted itself into the same tree. *Swish* from both sides and at least a dozen arrows were flying in from both sides.

"Run!", he shouted.

His madra infused limbs carried him away as the horrifying sound of arrows landing in his trail spurred him on. Izar was barely able to keep up with him.

"Through the trees!", he yelled behind him as he moved into the forest.

A few moments later Izar entered the trees, followed by the sound of multiple arrows latching themselves onto the trees that formed a shield for them. Oyzal had stopped running, sweat drifted down his body. Izar had her hands on knees, her face flushed.

"Should be safe now", Oyzal said as he looked her over for any signs of injury. His breathing was more regulated now.

"A construct, no?" asked Izar in between deep breaths.

Oyzal nodded, swallowed, and then tossed her a gourd of water from his holding chip. He sat down to circulate madra, his core doing everything within its power to suck in more from the surroundings. He had not lost as much as he had during the fight the day before. A flash of inspiration and Oyzal walked towards the edge of the clearing.

"Exercise?", asked Izar with a raised eyebrow.

Oyzal raised his hand towards and infused his limbs with madra. Like a flash, he shot towards the clearing, took a few steps, and then turned. He plucked an arrow out of the nearest tree and dashed inside the safety of the forest, the sound of arrows smashing against the trees followed.

He looked at Izar and her raised eyebrow. "Maybe those beasts had a reason for chasing you, all the clearings have traps."

"But, I was being chased before…", she paused, " they started chasing after I had crossed another clearing."

Oyzal nodded as he realised he had not encountered anything due to Izar triggering the traps in his path. His lips curled for a moment, the good winds of heaven were blowing down his wake. He was strong enough anyways.

They encountered no clearings as the sun started sinking for the second time since they had entered the trial. They found a granite cave, nestled between two trees. The quality of the madra inside was higher than that present in the forest. Using the cycling technique taught by Giller, Oyzal sat down to cycle. He rotated his core slowly, allowing the madra to flood out with more density. It was more time-consuming but left none of his existing channels unfulfilled.

They munched down on mushrooms found at the end of the cave, a hole from above had allowed light to highlight the mushrooms.

" The heavens are with us.", said Oyzal with a flash of his teeth.

"Why shouldn't they be?" replied Izar with a faint smile.

The temperature grew warmer as they ventured through the forest. I

Oyzal was confident that today would be the day they completed the opening. Very rarely did he think about the holding chip Izar had promised, believing that it was already his.

The sound of running water entered their periphery as they walked into the forest. The colours of the leaves were changing from a vibrant green to a green with hints of purple. The barks were a livelier version of brown but less fallen leaves occupying the earth.

"A stream ahead, no?", asked Izar. The intensity of the sound of the running water started magnifying as they took more steps.

"A river I think ", answered Oyzal.

" But the ground, it is too dry", replied Izar.

Oyzal shrugged. "Who knows, maybe a construct."

Izar nodded before adding, "We'll find out soon enough."

Soon, the sound of running water dominated their vicinity, and yet land did not change. More vibrant shades of purple appeared on the leaves while the ground remained dry. This made Oyzal wary and made him anticipate a clearing somewhere ahead. There were no ways to change direction, heading north being the only protocol. A slow descent began while the density of trees increased to the point where they obscured the view after a few feet. They traversed through the trees, wary, weapons out with all sound blocked out by the rushing water. Oyzal had subconsciously started circulating madra through his body, his body felt taut as if a wound-up piece of string.

And suddenly, a river with fast-moving water. The trees ended on a sharp drop straight to it. Their roots appeared on the bank Oyzal and Izar were standing on, sinking into the depths of the river. A dense volume of trees appeared at least 30 to 40 feet away on the other side of the river. And beyond that, appeared the face of a mountain, shyly peeking from its nest of trees.

Oyzal turned towards Izar. "I guess we swim."

A look of intense concentration gripped her face forcing Oyzal to look back at the river, thinking he had missed something.

"I can't," she whispered back. There was a hint of something more in her voice and expression. She shook her head as if trying to dispel a bitter memory.

Oyzal did not prod, he grabbed a rock from the ground and tossed it into the river. A burst of vivid orange fire erupted from the river, engulfing the stone and then a splash followed. Izar gasped and Oyzals heart filled with dread.

"How do they expect us to get past this…this…", Izars voice trailed off, shaky to begin with.

Oyzal could only stare. He tossed a stick this time and watched as it was met with another burst of fire.

"There has to be a way", Oyzal said, not trying to hide the desperation in his voice.