“A challenger! How rare.”

Yuriko blinked at the monkey’s words, barely registering that they weren’t spoken in Verdanian, or Wojan, before it…he jumped up from his seated pose, dropped his staff behind him, and launched a flying kick at her.

The monkey’s azure robe fluttered away from his legs, revealing in the process that the robe was the only bit of clothing he had. His foot was clenched into a fist, too, making her gawk for even longer. But as soon as the monkey made it into her perceptive aura, Yuriko snapped back into focus.

The monkey man looked even taller and brawnier than Heron, and he was attacking her.

She leaned to her left, raised a fist, and then slapped the incoming foot aside. The monkey’s foot was tougher than it looked, and it felt as if she hit an iron post rather than a flesh and blood limb. The moment her palm made contact, the leg twisted and the foot-hand thing opened, then grabbed at her wrist. At the same time, she saw his tail slapping towards her head.

She ducked under it, twisted her wrist away from his grasp, blocked the other kick, and tried to shoulder-check the monkey. Except, the force of the kick pushed her back. She staggered and nearly stepped onto open air, but regained her balance and shifted away from the edge.

Monkey didn’t give much time to recover as he launched another attack, this time a series of pummeling blows interspersed with a low kick or two, and a tail slap that turned into a grab, catching her ankle. She lowered her stance, pulled her foot back and punched. She released her Restriction enough to match the monkey’s strength but was surprised with how close it was to her normal.

He was fast, agile, and fought in an unorthodox way, often flipping upside down to kick at her face, or grab at her arms or shoulders. His prehensile feet threw her off more than anything else, and he managed to dance circles around her before she adjusted her footwork.

He kept his strength and agility to their current level, even though she suspected that he had more to give. And to answer that expectation, she didn’t use her kinesis or her swordplay. Unarmed fighting had never been anything she focused on beyond the basics that Da had drilled her before her Atavism. With her sunshards and Fri’Avgi, she would never be without a weapon anyway.

But the way they fought now, it was…exhilarating. They danced on a sloped rooftop obscured by the clouds, a hundred paces above the ground. Monkey fought in a way that was novel and challenging, and she…adapted.

Her style had always been orthodox. Footwork and distancing are always key to melee fighting, and she always fought with her hands. Now, she used her feet, her knees, and her shin to block, parry, or counterattack. Her opponent had an extra limb, but she had a perceptive aura. Nothing he did could come as a surprise, even if he seemed to be an expert at taking advantage of sight lines.

For one, he was fond of altering the trajectory of his grabs, chops, and finger pokes when a part of his body blocked the limb from her eyes. Against an opponent without an Anima perception, he would have been victorious already. But the longer the fight wore on, the wider his grin became, and Yuriko was surprised to find out that she mirrored his enthusiasm. Er, now if only his dangly bits weren’t always in full view.

“Ha ha hah!” the monkey roared in delight. “In my millennia of life, I’ve rarely encountered such a fighter as you. I have your measure now, prepare!”

“Ah…” Yuriko tried to interrupt, but she was caught by his pace as his speed and agility, as well as the weight of his blows, increased. Golden light spun around his limbs, creating small discs a fraction of an inch above his fur. Yuriko frowned. So they were using active Animus techniques now, were they?

She eased up a bit more on her restrictions, matching his pace readily. A few moments was all it took for her to release completely, and she shifted her condensed aura to actively empowering her, and not just protecting her body.

Blam! Boom! Smack!

Fists, palm strikes, knife hands, low kicks, knee strikes, spinning elbows, and headbutts, smashed into each other. The air was humid and wet, and every time their limbs smacked, a visible expression of the impact force appeared around them, made of water vapour and steam.

She managed to get used to his antics now, and his spins, somersaults, handsprings, and cartwheels no longer confused her. In fact, she took a page out of his book and used her kinesis as leverage, creating platforms to kick off from, and even to stick to. She moved around him, countering his revolving movements, but that only meant he began making use of the space above, and sometimes, below.

She didn’t know how long they fought, but she was thoroughly enjoying herself. So it was a great surprise when Monkey suddenly pulled back, roared in laughter and held out his hands.

“Enough, enough. Any more and I would have to fight to kill, not just to wound,” he chortled. He put his palm and fist together and gave her a formal bow, which she hastily mirrored. “So, what brings you here to Gamad Valley?”

Yuriko sighed and controlled her breathing. She had worked up a sweat and had to admit that she’d missed sparring against a challenging opponent. None of her people or her friends could push her unless she Restricted herself heavily, but even so, there was that little corner of her thoughts that told her she wasn’t being serious and was simply playing around. Fighting with Monkey brought back the joys of her early training, where she pushed against a wall and was attempting to topple it. Of course, this was only with unarmed fighting. Neither of them pulled a weapon or used anything other than body-boosting techniques.

Still, she was somewhat miffed that Monkey didn’t even say anything before attacking her. That he’d given her a challenging and thrilling fight only ameliorated that offence somewhat.

“I’m looking for a way to Synkrasia. One that wouldn’t leave my people dead or injured.”

Upon hearing Synkrasia, Monkey stiffened up nearly imperceptibly. He grunted then changed tack.

“I see. I am called Sage.” He looked at her expectantly.

“Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

“Well met and well fought.” He waited until she repeated the words, then he grinned, “The passage below does not lead to Synkrasia, not directly. But that path is no longer open anyway.”

“Eh?”

“Indeed. After that earthquake a few weeks ago, all the paths to Synkrasia have been sealed by her outpost cities. You may, and I emphasise ‘may’, find a way through using those cities. The tunnel below can lead you to one of them.”

“Oh. Uhm, thank you for telling me,” Yuriko said.

“Ah, you’re welcome. The least I could do for a beauty such as you.”

“Er, thank you?” Yuriko blinked at the unexpected compliment.

Sage simply grinned wider. “Ah, you are uncertain. Perhaps wondering what I am, yes?”

“Uh, yes. I assume you are an Avos?”

Sage’s eyelids twitched and his grin turned into a scowl. “Why, because I look like an intelligent beast to you?”

“Well, all of the Avos I’ve met were giant talking animals,” Yuriko answered.

“Heh, well, you aren’t wrong about that, but I’m as far from an Avos as could be.” He gestured grandly. “They call Avos their land gods, but I? I am one of what they call Sky Spirits. Far above a land god as the Radiant Sun is above the Abyss.”

“Oh.” Yuriko made noncommittal noises.

He didn’t look that grand to her. He was about human-sized, and if not for his fur and how his face and features were shaped, she might have taken him to just be a particularly hairy man, or perhaps a beast-kin.

“Hmph. Well,” he continued crossly, seemingly aware that she wasn’t quite impressed, “for entertaining me, I will tell you a path that should allow your people to reach here relatively unmolested. What you find underneath Rumiga’s surface is none of my concern.” He paused dramatically, then pointed at the valley wall. “Simply travel along the border and make a straight path from there to here. That should minimise your contact with the guardian beasts.”

He strolled back towards the tower’s peak, then resumed his seated meditation pose. He closed his eyes and started to hum, but then peeked at her with an eye. “Well, were you so besotted by me that you’d rather watch than go?”

Yuriko flushed, shook her head, then said, “Ah, thank you for the advice. And the information.” She gave him a short bow. “Farewell.”

“Hmmm, until we meet again.”

Yuriko shrugged, then moved towards the edge. She adjusted her Anima to boost her physical prowess, then launched herself towards the southwest, shaping gliding wings from her Anima. She picked up speed quickly and was zooming across the treetops. When she got close to the canopy, she dropped down then kicked off, getting close to fifty paces of height from an empowered leap. She continued to glide until she came across more familiar ground, then landed down on the forest floor.

All the while, she thought about the fight. Ever since her Atavism, she’d worked on her flexibility, but it was only now that she made full use of it. It was a fun way to fight, but she had to admit to herself that it was barely needed. She only fought with her fists or feet when she…well, only when she sparred. She didn’t see how being acrobatic helped with controlling sunshards, sunblade, or Fri’Avgi, although if she imparted that kind of flexibility and agility with how she controlled her shards…

Huh, that was actually a good idea. She itched to practice it now, but she wasn’t in a safe place and she didn’t want to draw any wolves to her.

So, she just ran. And, she got lost. Urk.

“Use the valley wall,” he said. Huh, that might work. The camp was still next to the cliff, and they had cleared a lot of trees. They should be visible that way. She climbed up a tree, poked her head above the canopy, found out that she was headed south rather than southwest, oriented herself towards the cliff and made her way there. She glided above the canopy this time, until she got to the cliff, then turned south. The foliage was still rather thick, but as long as she kept the cliffside no more than a dozen paces away, she’d eventually run into the camp. Unless she overshot them south…

With that little bit of worry, Yuriko looked for the first obsidian tower and found it just slightly north of her, indicating that the camp was probably still south. Sure enough, she found them a few hours after dark, from the flickering light of campfires.

The sentries waved to her once she made herself known. Her tummy grumbled from hunger and she hunted down some leftover ration bar stew, only to find a covered bowl next to her bedroll. Gwendith was already asleep, as was Desire. She wolfed down the food but was too weary to do more than clean her teeth and splash water on her face.

She could debrief the others tomorrow, she decided and wiggled into her bedroll. As she was about to fall asleep, Damien spoke to her, voice devoid of the usual humour.

Beware, child. Do not let that beast’s amiability fool you. The Progeny are treacherous leeches. They will wring every use out of you and cast you aside like garbage.

Yuriko’s sleepy eyes snapped open and she held her breath, feeling the irritation and annoyance seep out of Damien’s mind into hers. ‘What…what happened?’

Damien sighed, It is not so relevant now. That little pup is here in this area on a coming-of-age journey. One that lasts for thousands of years. It's only when he returns to his home that things may become troublesome. But don’t let his honeyed words sway you. He could feel your wants and needs and changed himself to meet them. Beware, for they will reap your dreams and turn them into hollow wisps.

And with those ominous words, Damien faded back into the depths of her mind, leaving her disquieted and more than a little annoyed at his vague warnings.