“There it is!”

I gasp when I see it: Emerging from the swirling mass of clouds are the first traces of land I’ve seen in at least three talon’s marks — A distant and dazzling strip of green against the endless sea of placid gray and shimmering blue. There were times in the past two seasons when it felt like I would never see this island again, but now it’s finally before me.

Archer’s Point.

I’ve returned to the Farlands.

It’s been a few days since my encounter with the talking False-Kin. Kuro and I had planned to depart the morning after the fight, but we needed to wait for an overcast day to pass unseen through Farlander territory. Gliding through the zone of calm air, the flight over the strait has been as uneventful as I remember it. But unlike last time, I haven’t been lonely. I gaze past my left wing to see Kuro flying beside me, a look of tired determination across her face. The sight of land has given her a second wind of energy to finish out our marathon flight.

KREEEAK!!

I call out to the island of Samsivik, conscious that this will be the time I hear my call for quite some time. Unexpectedly, another voice joins me.

ROOOARR!!

Dragonsong fills the skies, heralding our return to the Farlands. Kuro’s expression turns into a curt little smile, forcing me to return the gesture. More than anyone else, she understands how important this moment is to me. Kuro’s listened to my tales of the Farlands since we first met. Finally, we get to experience the world I came together.

As we glide over land, the winds abate. Through a patchwork of low-slung clouds, I spot an island — perhaps the same island I departed from — and tilt my wings to descend from the sky.

“This one,” I announce, flicking my ears toward the island in question.

Kuro growls in acknowledgment. Her discretion is intentional.

From this point forward, we’ll have to be very careful with how we travel. Airship-Prey could ambush us at any point along our journey, an event which would trumpet to everyone in the Farlands that the Princess killing Dragon had returned. Needless to say, if I ever want to see my family again, then we can’t let that happen. If we trace the route I took to leave Ellynytide and stay high above the islands, we should be able to skirt past the ledge city of Coleport and onto the disputed island near Nortane territory.

A warm breeze fills my nostrils, bringing scents I haven’t smelled in over two seasons. Is it any wonder Kuro could smell the Farlands on my feathers when we first met? I sail below the cloud deck with Kuro on my tail, and before long, we find ourselves lowering onto an area free of trees. A cloud of debris is ejected outwards beneath me, and my talons touch the ground. My return to the Farlands is official!

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I marvel at just how long it took to reach this point. Last harvestwing, I was convinced I’d be visiting ‘The Northern Continent’ for a few weeks at most! Interrupting my thoughts, another cloud of debris bounces against my feathers as Kuro performs a sloppy landing beside me. Her wings fall to the ground, and she nearly collapses from exhaustion.

“Oh!!” I chirp in surprise. I rush to her side and prop her body against my flank.

“Let’s rest here,” Kuro pants, settling quickly against the ground.

“Good idea,” I say. “Are you thirsty? I smell some water nearby.”

She nods quickly, then rests her head on the ground in front of her.

“Okay,” I smile. “I won’t be gone long.”

A breeze blows from the strait, ruffling my feathers and stirring the wind-swept trees in the center of the island. Observing the scene before me, a realization dawns in my head — this was the island I departed from last harvestwing! Instantly, the memories of that incredible day flow back to me. I rested here for a time, gathering my strength to make the long flight to Felra. I was so excited; I thought I was some kind of brave explorer on the fringes of science. With hindsight, I suppose I was. I wonder what that girl would say if she could imagine herself as a member of the Snowfell Flock with a mate on her wing?

…

I push the thought aside and take inventory of the island. Immediately, the differences from Felra are profound. The tangled, wind-sculpted cedar trees are drastically smaller than the rosewoods that pepper Archer’s Landing on the other side of the strait. Even if Kin tried to groom these tiny trees, we could never hope to fit beneath them. Beyond the trees, I smell spring flowers and other plants I haven’t smelled in over two seasons. Much like last year, the island is free of the scents of Kin — me and Kuro are likely the first to make the crossing this greenwing.

I search the island for a time, muscling my way through the low-slung trees. Eventually, I come across a shallow depression where rainwater ponds. After taking a drink of my own, I slurp up as much of the murky water as my muzzle will carry. Returning to Kuro, I spread out the grass before her a dig a shallow hole with my talons. I exhale the rainwater, and Kuro sips as much as she can before the water is absorbed into the ground.

“There’s still more in the grove,” I say, settling down beside her. “Let’s take a drink before we leave.”

Slowly, she nods in acknowledgment. I think the water helped.

As Kuro rests, I work to idly preen myself. I molted earlier in the season, and I’m still pulling muzzlefulls of feathers from my body. It’s ridiculous! Every time I so much as ruffle, a veritable explosion of feathers flies from me in all directions. Honestly, how do Avians deal with this?! What is Mom going to think if I litter the palace grounds with a dusting of my own down feathers?

“So,” Kuro speaks, raising her head from the ground. “What’s it like returning to the Farlands?”

I pull my head away from my left wing and spit out a wad of feathers. “Oh, well… It’s exactly as I remember it and completely different. I can no longer look at the world the way I used to.”

Kuro blinks slowly.

Hm, yeah, perhaps I should be more concise. “What I mean is, when I look at these trees,” I draw my wing forward and gesture to the grove. “I used to think of them as just… trees. Thuja Corintis. But now I see them as a potential source of water. A hiding spot for prey. A place to shelter in case of a sudden snowstorm.“

Kuro smiles, and understanding grows across her face. “You never had to worry about those things as a Farlander.”

I shake my head. “I was the Princess. Everything was always perfectly catered to me, day in and day out, without any deviation…” I trail off and stare across the strait to Felra. Grey clouds obscure the horizon. “Until I became a Lithan, I had never left the safety of my den for more than a few days. I always knew everything that was happening in the Kingdom… I’m anxious about the disputed island. And what I’m going to tell my parents.”

Kuro growls thoughtfully. She inches closer and offers her head. I oblige and nuzzle against her chest feathers. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she whispers.

I growl dreamily and allow our tails to entwine. When I’m beside Kuro, it feels like everything will work out.

After allowing ourselves to rest, we take another drink of water and resume flying south, deep into the heart of Sarlain.

With a break in the overcast skies, we decided to wait for nightfall at the crescent island.

This time, I was able to prey on my own moose and share it with Kuro. It wasn’t much, but I didn’t want to spend too long hunting. Goddess knows those featherbrained loggers are still somewhere on that island. We rested until the sun went down, then departed for the eastern horizon.

We flew for hours, occasionally stopping to rest at small islands along the way. At some point, we flew over Queen Heather Island — the first recognizable piece of Ellyntide I’ve seen in over two seasons. It’s mostly uninhabited, though a few Animals call it home. Since Kuro becomes practically invisible at night, she flew down and snatched our prey from a homestead. Kuro gorged on a plump, round cow while I got a delectable-looking horse. I have to admit, I enjoyed hearing its long neck shatter to pieces beneath my jaws.

After dining at a small island, we flew east over clear air, north of the ledge city of Coleport and away from the flight paths of airship-prey. So far, we’ve caught plenty of stale scents whipped around on the breeze but no visual sightings of the artificial beasts. It’s a little unusual not to see any airships floating around the ledge of the north continent, but not unprecedented. One of the scents seemed to be flying in the direction of the disputed island! Could that be why there’s no airship-prey near Coleport?

It doesn’t take long to discover the answer. Framed by the pale glow of a rising Maki, I begin to see the distinct shape of a floating island nestled between a patchwork cloud deck.

“There!” I say, flicking my ears forward.

Flying to my left, Kuro’s head perks up. She scans the sky ahead of us and asks, “Is that it?”

“That’s it!” I announce. “I remember the shape of the island from our intelligence reports!”

It’s a modestly sized island, smaller than the crescent island but bigger than the small islands that litter the skies of Jade. The furrows come to a point directly in the center, while the right-hand side is heavily forested. There can be no mistaking it: this is the unnamed island that Mom was adamant about claiming for Ellyntide.

My heart pounds fast against my chest —I’ve been awaiting this moment for over two seasons! I scan the entirety of the sky, looking for any sign of airship-prey. Clouds obscure part of my vision, but there doesn’t appear to be any ships in the area. What’s more, the air is clear of their nauseating scents.

With this information, I draw an uncomfortable conclusion: Someone has already claimed the island. If a battle was fought here, then I’ve missed it.

I growl, frustrated that I was too late. This could ruin my plans to take sides with Ellyntide! But even if the island is already claimed, shouldn’t there be airship-prey around here to defend it? No matter who won control of the island, I would expect airship-prey to be patrolling the area for months afterward. This strikes me as a little too odd.

Against my better judgment, I decide to call out to the island.

SKREAAAK!!!

“Asha?!” Kuro squawks in surprise. “Asha, what are you—“

“Shh!”

My call echoes across the pale night sky, but nothing returns on the wind — no propellers spinning up, no orders being barked over a sky deck intercom. I search the clouds for the distinct glow of oil lamps and the shadows they cast, yet find nothing.

“Okay,” I say calmly. “We’re truly alone out here.”

Kuro’s tail lashes through the air. She chides, “What did you do that for!?”

“I had to know if airship-prey were hiding in the clouds,” I explain. With a gentle flap of my wings, we glide into a new thermal. “Kuro, I didn’t expect to find an unguarded island. This place should be crawling with airship-prey. The fact that we’re alone means we missed the battle.”

Kuro looks momentarily surprised, then growls thoughtfully to herself. “Is that a good sign or a bad sign?”

A long sigh passes through my fangs. “I don’t know. Let’s land and see if we can find any evidence of what happened.”

I’m familiar with maritime law; after the fighting concluded, the victor would have planted their flag on the island… If it wasn’t already there, of course. Anyone can stake a claim to an island at any time, but to do so typically signals your intention to defend it by force. But even if the battle is long over, where did the airship-prey go? Why are we alone?

Unfortunately, even with Maki’s glow guiding us, we’re unlikely to find the flag in the dark. We circle the island and land in a broad clearing somewhere in the center of the island. After making our way to a grove of redwoods, we settle down for the night. Despite the exhaustion from flying, it takes some time before I’m able to silence my runaway thoughts and drift to sleep.

We awoke the following morning to a light drizzle and no sign of airship-prey.

With our stomachs grumbling, Kuro and I took to the sky for breakfast. Islands of this size typically have meager prey, and this one is no exception. I was able to spot a doe from the air, only to watch it dart to the safety of a cedar grove. Kuro was able to find some deceased prey-birds which filled our bellies somewhat, though not as much as we would have hoped. Still, after surviving last frostwing, I know scraps of prey can sustain me for a time.

With prey (sort of) accounted for, we began searching the island first by air, then by talon. While exploring an area free of trees, I was able to sense the long stale scents of an airship-prey that landed in early frostwing. Somebody visited this island, though it seems it wasn’t to plant a flag. After searching for most of the morning, we came empty-taloned, not so much as finding a single fresh scent from the Farlands. By the early afternoon, we found ourselves at the edge of a maple forest, pondering our next move.

“I’m anxious too,” Kuro says, lounging in the grass beside me. “When we fly over Ellyntide, I’ll be the first Kin to visit the summer hunting grounds in a generation. I can’t believe I get to be the first to see them!”

I smile, trying to hide the terror in my thoughts. I still have no idea how I’m going to tell Mom we need to allow Dragons to hunt in Ellynytide. Forcing myself to play along, I chirp, “It’ll be like the prey you caught last night. Easy to kill and delicious!”

Kuro recalls the cow and rumbles in satisfaction. She licks her chops and growls, “I’m looking forward to it.”

We lay in silence for a time, lazily watching the clouds roll past our view. The morning drizzle has given way to patchwork clouds, offering glimpses of blue sky and a setting Maki.

“Honestly…” I trail off, ruffling my crest. “It’s almost like a battle didn’t even happen. Mom fought for this island, that much I’m certain. So why is there no trace of Farlanders? Didn’t they land to claim this island?”

“What about Avians?” Kuro asks. “Aren’t they skilled enough to leave an airship-prey and land?”

Oh, that’s right. I forgot their Knights do that all the time. Still…. “That depends. It would have really been difficult to—“

Suddenly, my ears perk in attention.

“Do you hear that?” I ask.

Kuro’s eyes go wide. She raises her head and twists her ears in the direction of a faint, droning noise. “Asha, that’s—“

“Airship-prey!!”

I leap to my talons and dash a few wingspans to get an unobstructed view of the sky. Gazing to my right — towards the border with Nortane — I locate a small speck of black emerging from the clouds.

“It’s a Nortanian vessel!!” I announce.

Kuro throws her wings open with such vehemence it ruffles my feathers. “Alright! What should we do?!”

After a quiet moment of contemplation, a plan devises in my head. I flick my ears behind me and say, “Get to the tree line. We’re going to watch what it does.”

“Right!” Kuro exclaims.

We scamper to the forest and wedge ourselves in between two large maples. Settling against the underbrush, I feel my heart slamming against my chest. Not only is it a warship, but it’s Nortanian. Has it come to do a patrol around the island? What if this is just the lead vessel? What about Ellyntide? Did Mom decide to pull our ships back? Or will they soon appear to greet this one?

“Kuro,” I speak in a hushed voice. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. Prepare yourself for a fight.”

She flashes shock but quickly furrows her brow and blows smoke in acknowledgment.

If Mom’s ships appear, then we’ll help them attack Nortane. This is where we make our stand; Weatherlight will regret ever trifling with Mom. The airwomen on their ships will come to fear this island’s angry, territorial Lithans. For Mom, Sofl, and everyone else back home, we’re doing this for them!

Slowly, the ship gains altitude as it approaches the island. It seems to be on a course to do a patrol around it. Have they already claimed the island for Nortane?

I stick my head out and whisper, “Here it comes!”

Watching silently and with bated breath, the airship-prey glides into view directly in front of us. Recalling our intelligence on Nortane, the vessel appears to be a light attack cruiser. Flashes of light reflect from its midnight blue hull, the steel polished to a dazzling sheen in the midday sun. Could this be a new airship-prey? Two skydecks wrap around the ship's exterior, situated directly above three steam cannons on the port side — they’re a threat to be sure, but not as imposing as the Beatrix’s main canons. The drone of the propellers slides past us, and the ship continues on its way. But instead of banking left to loop around the island, the ship tilts starboard to….

“What the…”

Kuro shuffles uncomfortably. “Asha?”

I strain my head, gazing to watch the Nortanian vessel sail past the island entirely. “It’s… it’s flying past us.”

Kuro’s gaze switches between me and the ship. “What does that mean?”

“Kuro,” I mutter almost breathlessly. “That ship just flew into Ellyntide territory unopposed.”

A cold breeze blows from the direction of Nortane, ruffling my feathers and turning my spine to ice. A wrenching feeling festers in my stomach as the gravity of the situation becomes clear.

Something is truly, profoundly wrong.

“Asha?” Kuro asks with pronounced concern. She inches closer to me and asks, “What’s going on?”

Horror propels me as I leap from the trees and throw open my wings.

“Asha?! Asha, WAIT!”

As I run, Kuro’s voice dissipates on the wind — not that I was paying any attention to it. The only thing on my mind is Mom, Dad, and Sofl. I have to know if my family is safe. I have to know if Nortane attacked Ellyntide. Could the battle still be ongoing!? Oh, Goddess, please let them be safe!!!

I leap from the island’s ledge and fall into a thermal, pounding my wings to gain altitude and fly in pursuit of the Nortanian warship.