“Shouldn’t we have held the high ground?” Vex yelled as they ran after Shani and Inferi.

Kellen ignored him. The slope of the hill and his dead run through the long grass made it a chore just to keep from face planting. He hated fighting these things on foot but Spirit would only panic and get injured or killed. With his remaining attention, he worked to form a shield in his hands. He’d grown it to the size of a trash can lid when Inferi collided with the pack leader. Moments later, the raptors broke like a wave of knives all around them.

Hurtling his mana shield, Kellen connected with one mid-air as it jumped, leading with its taloned feet in a leaping attack. Shani cut a second down with her saber as it cleared the tall grass, fangs and claws bared. On the ground, Inferi, wrestled with the pack leader, both grappling to claw the other to pieces, Vex shot a blast of prismatic golden light at a fourth, only to have another leap on him and bit down hard on the back of his neck.

Kellen slung a golden orb, knocking off Vex’s attacker just as a second barreled into his Mana Beast. The world became of frenzy of reptile hisses, screams, howls, and barks. Though they went down easy enough, the raptors bounced back each time, even from Shani’s saber cuts.

Lightning crackled the air as Shani channeled mana into a short bolt that blasted two of the raptors. One convulsed and fell to the ground, smoking. The other recovered from the shock, however, and let out a ululating call. The group retreated in response, giving Inferi and Vex enough time to stagger back to their feet. Sporting various injuries, the pack of mini raptors circled the two humans and Mana Beasts, running faster and faster until they were a blur of blue-gray.

The temperature plummeted, and bits of ice nicked Kellen’s bare skin. Too late, he realized the raptors had trapped them in some sort of icy vortex.

“If we shield us, can you do anything to stop the attack?” Kellen shouted over the rising wind and hail. Shani nodded. He and Vex set to growing a shield of sun mana around the ground even as she pushed the storm back with a gust of wind.

Kellen gasped as the golden shield engulfed the four of them. A hail of ice shards crackled against the golden orbs and Kellen sagged against the strain of the attack. He wouldn’t be able to hold it long, even with Vex lending him mana as Kiypu had been teaching them.

A raptor in front of Kellen leaped at the orb, talons extended. The knife-like claws made it several inches through the shield before Kellen’s mana halted the strike and repelled the raptor backward. Was it just his imagination, or did this one look bigger? He noticed with alarm that all of them looked bigger.

“The dead one is gone!” Vex said out loud, reading his thoughts.

It appeared when one of the raptors died the others grew larger, like some kind of hydra with separate bodies.

Kellen gasped and fell to a knee as two more ice raptors struck their shield at the same time.

“We’ve got to attack!” Inferi snarled.

Fighting for breath, both Kellen and Vex tried to warn her about their discovery. They didn’t get the words out in time. The shield exploded in thousands of golden mana shards that fizzled away like sparklers. The other three raptors charged headlong at them, icy blue attacks gathering in their mouths. Inferi met one head-on, her bone-crushing fangs found its throat. Shani’s saber slashed another, and it exploded into a fine, icy powder.

“Killing the others makes the rest stronger!” Kellen shouted.

Snowy mana dust from the two slain raptors swirled in the air. The three survivors glowed blue. When the light faded, a trio of dark and light blue-striped raptors gnashed mouthfuls of arm-length razor teeth at them. Their claws looked like a jumbled bundle of machetes. Each stood as tall as Kellen or Shani and the power exuding from them made Kellen think they’d also grown in mana strength as well, somewhere between companion and guardian, if he had to guess.

The raptors knew they had the upper hand. Rather than rushing the group, the three murder-lizards communicated in a series of throat clicks, hisses and squeals as they circled the humans and their Mana Beasts.

“That was fun, you guys win,” Vex said. “Can we call game over? Do you speak English? Hello?”

Kellen swore one raptor let out a hissing laugh. Otherwise, none of them responded. They were probably too busy thinking about how they’d devour the two humans after their Mana Beasts were defeated.

Kellen, Shani, Vex and Inferi stood in a rough circle, their backs inward. Lightning crackled down the length of Shani’s saber. Kellen held a ball of golden mana in each hand. At their knees, purple shadow mana swirled around Inferi, and Vex’s eyes glowed golden.

Like a match to gasoline, mana erupted between the groups. Kellen hurled his golden orbs, one striking the raptor in front of him in the head, the other sailing off into the distance. Miss. His attack that landed did nothing more than irritate the enemy Mana Beast, who shook it off the same as it would have a rock. Desperate, Kellen threw up a shield just as the raptor’s maw opened. A scaly nose struck the shield, and the force reverberated through Kellen’s body. Though it had no mana behind it, Kellen struggled to maintain his defense against the attack. Vex darted out and buried his fangs in the raptor’s bony leg. Before Kellen or Vex could react, the raptor’s fangs sank into Vex’s back and hurtled him through the air.

Needles of pain pepper Kellen’s back, a ghost of Vex’s agony. His shield flickered and faded as his mana ran low. He panted as if he’d just ran for miles, trembling hands reaching for his knife. For what little good that would do. Icy blue reptilian eyes turned toward him. He didn’t dare turn to see what had become of Shani and Inferi. He somehow knew they wouldn’t be coming to his aid.

The ice raptor took one step forward, head low and eyes dialed in with murderous focus.

Kellen curled his fists, and sparks of golden light fizzled between his fingers. He willed every last ounce of mana into his hands. What did it matter if his beast heart shattered? It wouldn’t be enough to save him but he could go down swinging at least. Vex was nowhere to be found. This was it.

The raptor lunged. Kellen gritted his teeth and held both fists up, willing one last shield. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact.

A blast of wind tore up earth and air in front of him.

Kellen fell hard on his back, his head bouncing off the flattened grass. He opened his eyes and saw the raptor lifted in the air, trapped in a spinning, twirling tornado that twisted it up like a pretzel. Craning his head around, he saw the other raptors in their own vortexes. A brilliant white horse swooped by overhead, the long black hair of its rider whipping behind as the new arrivals banked in a circle around them. It took Kellen a moment to realize he was looking at a pegasus ridden by a Storm Horse man.

The raptors let out a hellish chorus of shrieks, before each burst apart in icy blue mana dust. The sparkling substance filled the air, before settling over Kellen, Shani, Inferi, and Vex, who was limping toward the trio. Kellen scrambled to his feet and ran for him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Vex grimaced. “Sorry. Thought I’d lost you.”

Kellen looked at the glowing holes in Vex’s back where the raptors bite had pierced his friend’s hide. “It wasn’t your fault. They were too strong.”

“—could have killed us all!” Shani shouted at Inferi. The shadow hyena seemed more contrite than when she’d bitten Kellen, head bowed and tail tucked.

The white pegasus landed with a flare of brilliant feathered wings, interrupting Shani’s shouting. It folded its wings back in what could only be described as a proper manner as soon as its hooves touched the ground.

The rider, a man Kellen guessed was around thirty, flashed them a brilliant white smile and tucked his flowing dark locks out of his face before dismounting. As Kellen had noticed before, his gray skin marked him as Storm Horse like Shani. The strength of mana exuding from him and his pegasus Mana Beast far exceeded anything Kellen had felt before, except maybe the well in the Snake cult cavern.

He swung a booted leg over the flowing mane of his horse and stepped lightly to the ground. A soft wind seemed to drift about him, somehow stirring his hair back from his face without kicking up any dust or grass. Despite the cold weather, he wore nothing more than a pair of leather leggings and a vest of soft white leather with elaborate yellow beadwork and patterns in silver thread. His high cheekbones and muscles looked chiseled from rock. Most notably, what looked like a crown of tiny, twisted lightning bolts hovered over his head. They flashed and crackled, but the man ignored them. Kellen wondered if the lightning crown was a mana working on some kind of artifact.

“That is one good looking dude,” Vex said. “Now that is what I call a Beastcaller.”

“You should not pick fights with an ice raptor pack,” the man said. “They are deceptively weak, but their mana is bound together, and they become stronger as the others die.”

“Yeah, we figured that out,” Inferi grumbled, beating Vex to the punch.

“Are you hurt?” the pegasus asked in a concerned, fatherly voice.

“Just our pride but it recovers fast because there’s not much to begin with!” Vex said.

“We’ll be fine,” Shani said, shooting a cross look at Inferi.

“Where are your manners?” the pegasus asked the man. Like its Beastcaller, its mane waved from an unknown gentle breeze, yet its glossy coat was spotless. It had a gray lightning bolt mark on its poll that ran down the bridge of its long nose. “Introduce us.”

“I am Raiqo Windstalker, of the Goroshu Tribe,” the man said. “And this is my partner, Skystrike. Who are you and what is your tribe?”

“I am Shani of Gray Dawn, daughter of Chief Tama,” Shani said. “This is Inferi, my Mana Beast. My companions are Kellen and Vex. We are grateful for the help of the mighty Goroshu Tribe.”

Raiqo’s perfect eyebrows rose when he looked at Kellen. “You have the look of a Vinderling but I see you are a Beastcaller. You must be a spirit traveler.”

Kellen nodded. “Thanks for you help.”

“I mean, we had them right where we wanted them, but it’s cool of you two to finish them off for us,” Vex said.

Raiqo would have made an excellent poker player based on his straight-faced reply. “In that case, I am sorry to interfere with your hunt. It did not appear that way from our vantage.”

“From mine either,” Kellen said with a sidelong look at Vex.

“We should be getting back to the rest of our band,” Shani said. “You are welcome to join us for a meal so that we may show our gratitude.”

“Thank you, but we cannot rest,” Raiqo said. “The day is young and we have many more miles to fly. We are on a journey from the Elders of the Storm Horse. I have a message for your chief, then we must continue.”

“Well, that sounds epic,” Vex said. “How come nothing we do sounds cool like that?”

“Because we aren’t cool like that,” Kellen said.

“We should work on that.”

“Right now, staying alive day to day is a bit higher on my priority list than style points.”

“I’m just saying, maybe the two go hand in hand? How many cool people do you know that are dead?”

“Well…” Kellen stopped himself, realizing he’d been trying to formulate a legitimate answer to Vex’s question.

“Do they always engage in such banter?” Raiqo asked Shani. Somehow, the way he said it—with genuine curiosity and zero hint of sarcasm—was worse than if he’d made fun of them.

Shani shrugged. “Most of their talks are worse.”

“Let’s just get our horses and…” Kellen trailed off, realizing for the first time that Spirit and Shani’s storm horse had fled as soon as the battle with the ice raptors began. Hopefully, they’d fled back to the band.

“Skystrike and I do not mind walking,” Raiqo said. “Collect the mana remains and we will be on our way!”

The last time Kellen had fought a wild Mana Beast, the Gray Dawn hunters had collected a large supply of mana dust, useful in creating a number of paints that worked as temporary enchantments when applied to non-Beastcallers, normal animals and certain items. Unfortunately, what dust had remained from the ice raptors had been blown away in the attack. All that remained was a handful of their vicious talons and a few pieces of scaly hide, perhaps enough for a pair of gloves but little else.

When they’d gathered the remnants, Shani offered the items to Raiqo. He shook his head, lightning crown crackling with the movement.

“It would not be right for me to take part in the spoils when I did the least amount of work. Keep them for yourselves and your band.”

“Wow! Powerful, ripped, and generous,” Vex said. “This guy’s all right in my book.”

Raiqo proved to be an even bigger hit with the rest of the band. Nokom and Hannup knew his grandparents and several other older members of Goroshu, which sounded to Kellen like one of the largest and strongest tribes about the Storm Horse. When he explained his mission in greater detail, the entire group gathered around to listen.

“It happened only a few days ago. As you know, the Elders and many of the tribes gather at the Storm Horse Totem when winter comes. Out of nowhere, a great mana storm appeared above the head of the Horse. The ground shook from thunder and a bolt of lightning struck the totem, as if cast from the Wild Mother herself. A storm has remained over the Great Horse ever since. The Elders believe it is a sign of the Fourth Noctun. ”

More sounds of astonishment arose all around. Kellen knew little about the Fourth Noctun, other than it was some sort of prophesied end of the world. With the current events happening around them, he made a mental to note to ask Kiypu and Nokom more.

“Skystrike and I are one of many messengers sent to gather the tribes and bands,” Raiqo said. “A great council of all chiefs is to be held. The Elders fear this is only the beginning of worse things to come. There is already other bad news: many of those gathering report attacks by the Snake people, some with Fire Bison warriors among them.”

“Our camp was attacked by such a group while our hunters were away,” Tama said. “It is troubling to hear this is happening all across the Thunder Plains, and that the Fire Bison are openly joining these raids.”

“And what of the other totems?” Kiypu asked with unusual sharpness and clarity. “Has anything happened to them?”

“Others were sent to find this out but we have not heard. I am afraid there is nothing else I know to share.” Raiqo stood and waved a hand away when he was offered water and food. “Keep your provisions. I can see summer and autumn have not been kind to your band. I am sorry that I cannot stay with you until you reach the Wind Bones and the Great Horse, but there are more I must find and speak to.”

“We are grateful for this news,” Nokom said with a slight bow.

“I only wish it was not bad.” With that, he swung onto the back of Skystrike and raised a hand in farewell.

“Be mindful of the battles you pick, young beastcallers,” the pegasus said to Kellen, Shani, and their Mana Beasts.

“When you reach the Wind Bones, find the Goroshu and tell them you are under the protection of Raiqo Windstalker.” Raiqo dipped his head, lightning crown crackling with energy. “Until we meet again, may the Great Horse protect you all.”

They watched Raiqo and Skystrike fly away, like some Oras version of a gallant knight on the next leg of his noble quest.

“Under the protection of Raiqo Windstalker,” Shani repeated, shaking her head with disgust. “We do not need the pity of the Goroshu.”

“He makes just as good of an exit as he does an entrance,” Vex remarked.

“Next time we see him, do you want me to ask for his autograph?” Kellen asked dryly.

Vex turned to look at him, eyes wide, ears fully at attention. “What’s a—wait a second! You’re jealous!”

“I am not jealous,” Kellen said. “He’s a nice guy.”

Vex lifted a paw and poked Kellen in the thigh. “You don’t need to be threatened. Though it wouldn’t hurt to hit the weights a little more, you know. The ladies don’t really dig that lean runner look you’ve got going on.”

“You literally have no idea what human women like,” Kellen said.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I just saw it ride away on a flying white stallion just now.”

Kellen held up a finger. “We are going to stop this conversation and go learn about more important things.”

“Agreed,” Shani said.

They followed her and Inferi to a small gathering where Hannup, Tama, Nokom and Kiypu were in the midst of an intense debate.

“I do not wish to rely on the mercy of the Goroshu,” Tama said, sounding just like her daughter had moments before. “It is better to not be in the debt of one of the great tribes.”

“Do not be so proud,” Nokom snapped. “This is a summons from the Elders. Every band and tribe must answer.”

“We have not fought and died and scraped by for so long, only to become the servants of the Goroshu or any other tribe! I will not be the chief that sees the end of Gray Dawn.”

“And what is the alternative?” Nokom asked. “We were seeking a winter camp with others before this news. If anything, we now know the plains will be even more dangerous in small numbers. If we stay out here, who knows how big the next raiding party of Snake people might be?”

Tama looked to Hannup, wordlessly asking for his opinion. “Our Beastcaller is right,” the peace chief said. “Even if we were not summoned by the Elders, it would still make sense to make for the Wind Bones.”

“Then we will go,” Tama said. “Though I hope it is not to our end.”