"Your first challenge," Aer yelled, "is to survive till dawn tomorrow"

She floated up once more, shooting off towards the nearest cloud.

Seira let out a confused yelp, then ran after her, waving her hands in the air. "Wait! Aer! What's the Second Circle?"

The Saint turned towards them, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Too much information is bad for retention! I'll tell when you're done with the challenge — consider it your reward!"

With that, she disappeared behind the fluffy white blob.

"Wait! What does that mean?"

No response.

"Survive till dawn?" Rynn muttered. "We're mystics! What does she think is going to be a threat to us?"

Seira surveyed their surroundings, thinking. "Maybe she means survive off of the land? I don't see any food or water, and she took all the bags of holding with her…"

Rynn scoffed. "As if I couldn't survive a day without food or water! No, there's going to be an attack, I know it."

Kiro looked with her, trying to find anything that could be a threat.

"What if the days here are longer than normal? That would explain why —"

"No. Prepare yourselves for combat," Rynn interrupted

Seira frowned. "Rynn, could you maybe tell us why you think that we're going to be fighting when we're in an open plain that houses no sign of animal life?"

"Because the Saint would not waste our time with something so trivial as scavenging!" he retorted.

Kiro sighed. Rynn was getting awfully cocky, given that he hadn't even practiced the mystic arts for a month.

"Alright. Let's say that there's going to be an attack. We would take preemptive measures by building a stronghold, which is what we would do even if there isn't going to be an attack."

Seira nodded. "Good plan. I'll go gather some sticks."

Rynn looked like he had bitten into something sour, but he just turned around and walked off. Kiro stopped him.

"Uh, Rynn. Would you happen to have brought our scissor with you?"

"As if I would need to use special tools to cut down a simple stalk now! No. Kiro, we are mystics. We don't need the trifling toys of Suns any longer."

With that, he intensified his aura, leaping away towards a large tree.

Kiro did a double take. Rynn had intensified his aura, and he didn't need to feel the pressure of it to see that it had happened! It was a resplendent mix of colors, red and orange and gold all fused together into a brilliant fog that surrounded him.

The man slammed his fist into the tree, and promptly fell back, cursing. Kiro had to resist the urge to laugh. It looked like Rynn wasn't as far off from him as he thought. Wait! That reminded him. He could use mana! He channeled some to his legs, making sure that it still stayed in the tight lines the Saint had weaved for him.

"Alright, mana. Cooperate."

He took a step, and suddenly he was planted flat on his face. He groaned. This was going to be a steep learning curve...

***

The sun was nearing its peak, and the trio had built a fairly sturdy defense. It was constructed between two trees, triangular in shape so as to defend them from all sides. The sturdy logs would still go up in flames if a fire user decided to harass them, but they had come to the conclusion that if Aer wanted to throw some of their own kind at them, they wouldn't have left the Hong clan.

Thus, they prepared for a slew of other elements. Seira provided a few Hong relics to defend against lightning, and the Suns dug holes to plant the logs into, to make sure that a wind user wouldn't be able to take down their fortress. All the while, they scavenged for nuts, berries, and anything else that looked edible. They still hadn't found water yet, though, and it was looking more and more likely that Kiro's theory was correct. It seemed like hours had passed, yet the sun had barely moved from its perch in the sky.

Seira climbed out of their log-barricade, grabbing at her throat. "Rynn, I really don't think that anything's going to attack us right now. We have shelter and food, now let's go get water!"

"No. We can survive the day. Do you feel thirsty, Kiro?"

He didn't, but Seira's pleading look made him reconsider his response.

"Well, the sun's already slowing down in the sky. What if it gets slower the further along it goes? Then we could be at a severe disadvantage if we don't go right now."

Rynn spat.

"Please, Rynn. If we go together, we'll almost be as prepared as if we waited inside the barricade."

The man turned to them, resigned.

"Fine, but if we're unprepared for an attack, I take no responsibility."

The twins sighed. At least he hadn't left them.

"So," Seira said, "where should we —"

A boulder the size of Kiro's chest came flying towards them, smashing their barricade in an instant.

Rynn threw a gout of flame, smiling triumphantly.

"I told you so."