Child of Wolves

Mareth

“Witness is his name.” The group scavenged what they could from Hawke and Alec's dead mounts while Mareth explained what had happened. “He's my creation of a sort.”

“Your creation?” Hawke asked, “he did have a distinct stitched together look, but how do you do that with a monster?”

“He's not a monster. Not technically. More of a collection of spirit fragments tied together.”

“Aren't spirit fragments meant to be used as fuel for magic?” Alec spoke up, “To substitute the use of the mage's soul?”

“That's correct. The thing is, I always found the practice rather grim. Instead, I set out to see if you could reform them, and possibly repair them into a whole being. It was a success, I'd say.” Mareth grinned, happy with himself.

“Not the prettiest creature. Hell, it freaked me out, and I'm hard to phase,” Avira said.

“Well, he looks like a normal human when he isn't exerting himself. The problem is only I can see him. He's bound to me, in a sense. He's useful as an assistant, and he can provide some insight when needed,” Mareth said.

“Then why did you need a partner for the desert?” Avira asked, “surely Witness is strong enough for a lamia?”

“Yes, but he can only maintain that power for a short length of time, and I dislike using him like that in the first place. Not to mention I would have dried up and gotten lost out here by myself.” Mareth shrugged.

“True enough...” Avira muttered, “Speaking of. Hawke, Alec. We're heading in that direction too. You can tag along,” she turned to the two who had their supplies stripped from their mounts and packed already.

“Kind of you to offer. I think I'll take you up on it, strange as that encounter was. Alec has been my guide so far, but a hybrid's eyes and ears are more reliable.” Hawke smiled.

“Hmm. I suppose I'll follow to the next town. There's a market there. I need a mount, and then I'll be off the way I came,” Alec stated, “I was only here to escort Hawke, but I'm eager to return home. If that's okay with you?” He looked to the prince, who nodded.

“Fine enough. The market should be a good place to resupply anyways, then we'll hopefully be able to take a straight shot to the border of Vakia. Sound good?” Avira asked her companions.

“Indeed,” Mareth agreed.

“Fine with me, ” said Hawke.

Alec just nodded.

Avira and Mareth fetched their mounts from the top of the dune and allowed Alec and Hawke to place their supplies on it. “This'll be a trek on foot, so try not to wear yourself out,” Avira said, “I do wonder why that lamia was so mad, though.”

#

Valisa

Valisa covered her ears while Moren shot at the snake woman in the distance. He'd been unloading ammo at the distant lamias the entire time they'd been traveling in this desert. He'd almost steered them right into a dunetrapper numerous times. She wondered if he was frustrated at the hybrid attack from yesterday.

“You can probably knock it off. We're close to the outpost, and god forbid you hit a soldier or a slave,” she told him sternly.

“Yeah, probably. They're such big targets though, I just can't help it.”

“Well, better to scare them off than be abducted I suppose. Thank the Immortals we didn't see any sandworms though, then we could talk about big targets.”

“Mm,” he muttered, “I see the outpost on the horizon. Let's hope the major is in a good mood.”

“Lighten up. Not like we did a bad job. Uto died, but we killed the bitch and still did our job,” Valisa stated, seeing the outlines of buildings and tents forming in the distance.

They'd set up a small outpost near a market town. There was only a small group of soldiers, maybe twenty or so. She wasn't sure why they needed an entire outpost here, but she didn't question her superiors.

They rode in silence for the last stretch, purple sand fading to solid earth and green grass. When they finally reached the outpost, they were greeted by the cheers and jeers of their fellow soldiers as they formed a small crowd. “Ey, where's Uto?” one called.

“Dead,” Moren said, “We got the bitch back though.”

“Explains the wounds. You skin her ears?” the soldier asked.

“Nah, she jumped in the river,” Moren answered.

“Damn,” another soldier spoke, “and Uto owed me money, too.”

“We need to talk to the major. He in his tent?” Valisa spoke up, hopping down from her mount.

“Aye. Just be warned, he's not in a good mood. Some hybrid showed up in our colors, apparently higher ranked than the major,” the soldier scoffed.

“A hybrid in the military?” Moren asked, “this I gotta see. This has to be a joke.”

“Let's go then,” Valisa said, the crowd clearing to let her pass. She was headed to the major's tent, the largest one here.

The outpost was nothing special. Aside from the red and purple banners hanging from the tents, you would hardly be pressed to call it a military outpost. At least the tent flaps were thick enough to both prevent sand from blowing everywhere and keep the sun out. Valisa needed the shade after this: a visit to the medic was in order to tend to her wounds, too. She was really only concerned about her eye, but infection was always a danger.

“Sir?” she called, reaching the tent.

“Valisa? Come in,” the major called. Major Erlus, known as a gentle yet firm man.

Erlus had sent their squad of three out and handed Moren the rifle personally. They had succeeded in every definition of the word on their task, but Valisa couldn't help her heart racing. She glanced to Moren at her back, who placed his hand on her shoulder in encouragement. Taking a breath, she opened the flap and walked in with him.

Valisa was shocked when she saw the hybrid in question. Sitting across from the major, he was a giant of a man. Rather, he wasn't much of a man at all. While his torso and arms were relatively human, his hulking muscular figure was covered in fur where he wasn't clothed. His legs ended in hooves, and he had a large moose head and antlers instead of the typical hybrid human head with animal ears.

“Holy shit, a minotaur!” Moren yelled, reflexively gripping his gun.

“Moren, cease! This is Lutos. A moose hybrid, and... a general of the empire.” Erlus spoke out with a firm voice, but he faltered a moment when he mentioned that he was a general as if he couldn't believe it himself.

“Wait... what? They really put a hybrid as general? Aren't we supposed to be invading them?” Moren asked incredulously.

“Wow,” Lutos spoke, voice pompous and arrogant. “Not only has your soldier threatened me by going for his weapon, but he also mistook my species and doubted my rank and loyalty.” He stood up, towering over everyone in the room. He'd have taken the tent down with his antlers if it were any smaller. “I'm outside of my armor at the moment, but you have no excuse to treat a superior officer with such disrespect.”

“I...” Moren gulped, looking up at Lutos, searching for words as he panicked. “I didn't mean anything by— ”

Lutos grabbed him by the throat and raised him in the air with one arm. Moren grabbed his arm and tried to wriggle out, unable to talk.

“General Lutos!” The major stood. “These men are under my command, let me take responsibility!”

“Ha.” Lutos seemed to smile as he looked over. “You need to teach your men better manners, Erlus. Next time I won't be so forgiving,” He stated and dropped him.

Moren gasped for air and sat up after hitting the ground. Valisa, who had been planted to the spot and overcome with cold sweats, finally broke the trance and hurried over to check on him.

“I'm... fine...” Moren muttered. “I apologize, General Lutos.” He looked at the hybrid, but Valisa noticed a fire in his eyes.

“You'd best leave, boy. I'll overlook you for now,” Lutos stated, sitting down.

Moren had little choice but to exit, no doubt going to complain to the other troops. Valisa stood at attention, Erlus eyeing her with concern and Lutos taking her in.

“You have harsh eyes. Or eye, rather,” the moose general spoke, referring to half of her face being bandaged, “you were injured while scouting, I assume. This heat is souring my mood, so you'd best give me good news.”

“Yes... sir,” Valisa spoke, “me, Uto, and Moren traveled from this base to Axiam, where we covertly made our way to the border of the Wilds. The border itself is marked by symbols carved into the trees. We proceeded to hike several miles into the border, spending about a day there. There's no physical barriers or settlements, just traps. This combined with our avoidance of established trails made progress slow. We didn't notice any strange activity going on like we were warned of. When we had gotten to the desired distance, we looped back and headed the way we came when we were intercepted.”

The rest of the story detailed how the hybrid had knocked her out, her secondhand account of what Moren had done afterwards, and then their journey back to the base. Valisa wondered why a hybrid would be interested in invading his own homeland, but these thoughts were best left unspoken.

“The sentries are particularly vicious breeds of hybrid. You did well to escape with only one death and a scar,” Lutos commented after mulling it over, “the rest is as I thought. While any intrusion with a large force will get attention, a small group is easily able to remain unnoticed until a certain point. That's the flaw of their system, regardless of sentry skill. You're dismissed. I must talk this over with your major.”

Valisa gulped, but couldn't stop herself from speaking up. “Forgive me for asking, but we were just confirming your beliefs, sir? May I ask why? We aren't exactly prepared to invade from Axiam.”

“Hmm. No, we're not. But we are prepared to spread chaos, and distract them from the main force. The tribes will be more divided if they have multiple threats at their doorstep. Does that do enough to ease your curious mind?” Lutos asked.

“Uh... yes, sir. I'm sorry to bother you.” Valisa gulped nervously.

“It's no bother. A curious mind can be a good thing. Though I only told you this much because you were wounded in the line of duty. Keep up the good work.” Lutos sat back, crossing his hoofed legs.

“Thank you, sir!” Valisa saluted.

He was a lot... softer than she thought after he nearly choked out Moren. At least he seemed to be a learned man, unlike most savages. Still, a hybrid general? What was Emperor Argos thinking? Surely he'd expect protest from the citizens. Puzzling, but the claw marks on her face were starting to sting. To the infirmary, then.

#

Avira

Avira wasn't sure why she invited the two. Perhaps because she was in good spirits after that fight. It was a mistake. They were considerably slower now. The market wasn't too far, but on foot? They didn't have much of a choice either. A waterbird wasn't strong enough to take more than one person plus equipment. She'd have ditched them a while ago if it weren't for Mareth constantly chattering at them. He'd probably want to keep them around.

At least the lamias were definitely going to stay away. Making camp would be easier, but she'd probably still be stuck with water duties. A lot of travelers didn't know how to find water out here and instead siphoned it out of their waterbird's back. Not very smart to drain your mount, but most people were idiots anyway.

“So, if I may ask— Alec, what's the symbol on your shield?” Mareth asked, eyeing the man. “It looks like a magic symbol.”

“You'd be correct. The shield is special in my family, actually,” Alec spoke in a gruff voice, “We're given our shields from a young age. They become our anchor, our symbol, and they have the magical spell written on the inside.” He turned it around to show the group that it did indeed have a magical inscription on it. Avira couldn't read it.

“Ah! That's very efficient!” Mareth smiled. “Much easier than having to carry all of those separately, eh? For me, I carry a book with the spells and symbols I need, and my anchor is this amulet of mine. Mareth gestured to the skull amulet around his neck.

“Uh...” Avira spoke up. “I don't know much about magic, but for an anchor that doesn't look too heavy.”

“Ah, you must not be aware of the requirements for magic,” Mareth said, “so to safely use a spell as a mage, you must have three things. A magical symbol and ancient phrase, each unique for the school of magic. Then, you need an item that is important to you. This object is enchanted and used to bind your soul.”

“Bind it?” Avira cocked her head.

“Yes,” Mareth confirmed, “The soul is used in a great majority of spells. A mage takes a part of their soul, tears it off, and turns it into raw energy which they can then funnel through their magical symbol. This transforms it into the type of spell you need. So, the anchor is there to make sure that the rest of your soul stays together and is able to heal itself. Otherwise it'll be torn apart entirely.”

“Huh. That's interesting actually,” she admitted, “and elementals?” She looked at Hawke.

“Nothing so complicated.” Hawke spoke, “we use our spirit, which requires mastery of our emotional state. Focus on one emotion and use it to manipulate our environment. What element you can control relies entirely on your lineage.”

“Right. Thanks for the lesson,” she said.

“Since we gave you some info, I'm curious. We don't have many of your kind in L'Ries. I'm not familiar with what hybrids can do.” Alec spoke.

“Depends on the type. A wolf hybrid tends to have a more wiry frame, prefers meat, good sense of smell and hearing. Hybrids also tend to have unique eyes compared to you humans. Some like a cat's, some a goat's, some a lamb's. They think of it as reflective of our personality. We typically all have pretty good night vision too..”

“Interesting. I noticed those snake eyes, but didn't want to pry,” Hawke said, glancing at Avira's blue-green slit eyes.

“One last thing. Don't take this the wrong way, but in some circles, they call your kind savage and rabid. I was wondering— ”

“No,” Avira interrupted, “we're just as normal as anyone else, just tend to have looser formed societies. There are... a subset of us who fit that, but they don't represent most of us.”

“The ferals, you mean?” Mareth asked, “I hear there's a lot of them in the Deadlands.”

“Nowhere else for them to go. Only kinship they accept are others of their kind. They're generally exiled from the Wilds, or... otherwise excluded.” Avira looked away. “They can be dangerous of course. But most communities are ignorant about my people as a whole.”

“Fair enough. I don't care, personally. Was just wondering.” Alec shrugged and took in the environment. “It's getting dark. Think we should set up camp?”

“Yeah,” Hawke said, “we'll reach the market early next morning. For now, we should rest.”

“Fine with me. Hand me your water skins, I'll go refill us,” Avira told the group.

“You know how to find water out here?” Hawke asked, giving his nearly drained flask.

She sighed. This again. “Yeah. Simple matter of finding a flux deposit. They pop up randomly out here. Usually have a cactus or plant shooting out. Big enough, you get a pool.”

“Smart. Something only a derelict could think of,” Alec gave his input, “mages and elementals stay away from those crystals.”

“I'm aware. Now, waterskin, c'mon.” Avira nodded towards her extended hand. Alec grabbed his from the waterbird and gave it to the wolf girl. “I'll be back.”

The fact that they managed to build a serviceable shelter while Avira was gone surprised her. The group dug out a trench and draped some thick sheets over the hole. So the two did know what they were doing. Good timing considering the sun was a sliver in the distance, a cool wind blowing through the empty desert.

The waterbirds were tied to one of the rock stands. They were obedient enough to stay there unless startled, and each had another sheet on them to keep the mounts from getting too cold. Mareth and the others were in the shelter, light emanating from it. His magic orb again.

“Got water,” she called, slipping down into the trench. It was just deep enough for them to comfortably sit up in the little area, though they were close together.

“Great!” Mareth smiled. “We were just talking about our destination.”

“I hear you're headed to Vakia, like I am?” Hawke asked her.

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Where to specifically? I could help you out,” said Hawke.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't really believe him to be a common soldier. For one, his clothes and rapier were too nice. He smelled like personal grooming, not the unbathed filth of a normal man. Even though the dry desert was drawing out his sweat, he didn't smell like he was usually like this. His mannerisms too. And a guard? “You... you're no soldier, are you?” She looked him in the eye and watched him flinch. Just barely, but she caught it.

“What do you mean?” He tried to play it off nonchalantly.

“No, I have to agree,” Mareth said, “if I may give you some advice for future expeditions, Hawke, it's to not use your real name. Especially when you're named after your father.”

“Ah... heh.” Hawke gave a nervous chuckle. “I usually do, but after our skirmish I let it slip. Very well then. My name is Hawke Eteri the Third. I am the prince of Vakia.”

“Ah. Okay,” Avira said, “I guess you can help me out then.”

“I... You're not surprised by my status?” A confused expression crossed his face.

“Why would I be? You're clearly no commoner, and the secret prince trope is done to death. Not like I give a shit who birthed you, anyways,” Avira replied bluntly.

“I will say, it's good to make your acquaintance, prince.” Mareth gave what passed for a bow in this shelter.

“No need for formalities or anything.” Hawke scratched his head. “Just refer to me as you normally would.”

“Already was,” Avira snickered.

“Right, right. Very well. Anyways, we were speaking of Vakia. You said you could help Avira?” Mareth asked.

“I imagine so, yes. It depends on what you need?” Hawke looked over at the hybrid, who was being quiet.

“I need an audience with your king.”

“That should be simple enough. Why?”

“Can't say.”

“Mmm... Well, I doubt you need me to help with that, but I can put a word in. We're going the same place, so as long as you continue to travel with me, we should arrive together.”

“Right.” Avira nodded.

Not much worthwhile conversation after that. The group munched on a small dinner of jerky, fruits, nuts and the like. Getting to a town and having a real meal was going to be great.

“So, Alec.” Mareth looked at the man who was still wearing his cloak. Alec had his shield and mace leaning on the sand behind him. “You have the magic shield and all, but I never heard what your magic actually does.”

“Ah, right.” Alec glanced back. “Quite simple really. I can make one sided barriers of any shape I wish. A bubble, personal encasement, a stationary wall. That's why I was letting Hawke fight the lamia. If it hadn't missed, I could have popped a barrier up quickly.”

“Interesting. Any limits?”

“Oh, just what you'd expect. Flux will go right through, enough force will break the barrier, and the harder and larger they are the more soul it takes to make them,” Alec said.

“Heh!” Avira couldn't help herself from giving a laugh. “You mages and elementals make fighting so cheap, so lifeless.”

“Pardon?” Alec looked at her along with the rest of the group.

“You heard me. The reach of a normal weapon and hiding behind a thick plate of armor, that's bad enough. But using magic to win a fight? How disgraceful. The thrill of a fight where all that stands between you and your prey is your resolve... that's what a real fight is. Not this cowardly cheating your kind do.”

“That's easy enough to say when you fight for fun,” Mareth rubbed his neck. “I dislike fighting in general, and it's probably the same for most people.”

“You also have to consider that, in war, you need to use every ability to your advantage to protect as many people as possible,” Hawke spoke up, “I don't look at combat as a fight. I look at it as a means to survive.”

“What would a derelict know of magic and elementals, anyways?” Alec took a harsh tone. “You never had a choice in the matter, so you wouldn't know, but utilizing your soul and spirit in combat is extremely dangerous. I've seen many of my comrades reduced to husks, so many elementals reduced to slobbering messes. You, a derelict hybrid who has no regard for the common person, have no place in the discussion.”

Avira tightened her fists, and grit her teeth as a fire lit in her eyes. “The common person? You wanna talk about the common person? I've seen plenty. Sick and dying in the streets while your kind just uses magic and potions to heal your ailments! Starving after their farm was taken by a plant elemental! Forced to drown their sorrows in booze, or else face the fact that because they weren't born with special abilities, they'll forever be on the bottom rung.”

“I think we can all agree that derelicts get the short end of the stick,” Mareth said, “but I wouldn't blame that on anyone here.”

“My father's been making strides towards that,” Hawke said, “to lay the blame on us just because of how we fight, that's just as bad as the people who keep your kind, both hybrid and derelict, down.”

Avira drew in a deep breath, and exhaled. “Fair enough,” she said, “it's a sore spot for me. We can talk about this tomorrow. Right now, I need some sleep.”

“Right.” Mareth said. “We should all get some sleep, cool our tempers.”

#

Hawke

“Alright, gather around.” Hawke told the group after a quick breakfast. The prince had a rolled up piece of paper with him. He waited for everyone to make their way over before unfurling it and placing two rocks at the edges to hold it down.

On the paper was a large and incredibly detailed map. It showcased all three continents and the islands between them, terrain, territory lines, coasts and the like. It really struck Avira when she saw just how large this desert was. Nearly a fourth of the continent and expanding. Thank the Spirits for the mountain between Drima and the Wilds, or they'd certainly be feeling it.

“Impressive map you have there,” Mareth muttered as he took it in, “I can't even fathom how expensive it must have been. Even enchanted maps don't keep this level of detail.”

“Benefits of royalty. It's a mix of magic and top of the line cartographers. These types are extremely limited.” Hawke smiled.

“I'd certainly hope so. It even captures my land's terrain.” Avira said, worried. The river, the forests, the swamps, everything but population centers.

“Aye, though not much use for that bit. Anyways, may I direct you to where we are.” Hawke tapped a red dot on the map. “We're but a few hours from the market town here.” He traced a path through the desert area to another dot signifying the town. “It also houses slaves and a flux deposit, but what we're after is access to the aqueduct.”

“Aqueduct?” Avira asked.

“Yes,” Mareth spoke up, eager to teach, “Drima was once allied with Nidara. Thanks to them, they were able to construct vast underground aqueducts that they use to irrigate their towns and farms, as well as use them for transportation of people and cargo. An efficient system it is, and it allows them to ignore the lamias and focus on their isolationist ways.” Mareth pushed up his glasses as he spoke, “I've always wanted to see it, but they don't let many outsiders use them.”

“I've used them before. We should be able to get a ride for three. We'll be able to make a shot straight to the border.” Hawke traced a line from the town another on the border of Vakia. “Quick and easy.”

“Don't jinx it. Why didn't you take the aqueduct from the town you arrived in. Hawke?” Avira asked.

“It was closed. Some trouble with criminals being transported,” Hawke explained, “decided to go to the next town.”

The group undertook another trek, this one with blessed few lamia sightings. Avira pointed out a few dunetrapper spots, some flux deposits, and Mareth pointed out ruins of buildings long since destroyed. Nothing of note, though Mareth was very interested in the ruins. The sun beat down on them, drowning them in heat. This was definitely the highest temperature Hawke had been in, though making a pocket of cooler air around them helped.

Grass crunched underfoot, Hawke's aching feet thankful for the now firm terrain underfoot as the group closed in on the market town. The sand dunes became grassy knolls. Trees brought much-needed shade.

They pushed through the brush and were faced with a small town. The buildings looked to be a variety of clay, stone, and wood. By his guess, the residents weren’t that wealthy, most of these houses probably being used by people who didn't fit in in the cities. He'd probably be able to find quarters for the slaves if he looked, also. One thing Hawke noticed was how many wells there were, and how many soldiers. There was a lot milling about, drinking, and generally being a nuisance.

“Those aren't Driman. Looks like Argokath. But why would they be here...?” Hawke muttered.

“There were rumors of them in Axiam as well,” Mareth said.

Avira glanced back. “Let's get through this town quickly.”

“Agreed,” Hawke spoke, “I'll secure us a ride. Mareth, you can sell a waterbird and supply us. Alec, I'm guessing this is where we part ways?”

“Right. I'll get some supplies, borrow one of your mounts, then I'll be off. I'll see you around, unless I don't,” Alec spoke, letting them retrieve their things before he led one of the waterbirds into town.

“I think it'd be best if I kept a low profile,” Avira spoke, “I might look around, but we can gather back here when everyone's ready.”

“Shouldn't take more than an hour,” Hawke stated.

“I hope so. The proximity to the flux dump is getting to me,” Mareth spoke.

“Elementals feel it less, but we feel it all the same. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to, either.” Hawke was already getting waves of nausea from the large amount of flux crystals nearby.

“Whatever,” Avira didn't seem to feel anything, but that was typical for a derelict, “Just get to it.”

“Right,” Hawke confirmed. He walked into town, going to the aqueduct entrance.

#

Valisa

Boiled dunetrapper had a strange flavor. It was very fatty, but cheap. Valisa held the stick of meat while walking through the shoddy little market town. Slaves below, desert all around, lamias infesting the town itself. If this weren't one of the only markets available to the public in the country and the only one this close to Axiam, they would have no reason to be here. The market itself would have no reason to be here were it not for the lamia patrons and flux dump.

The flux dump, though... She walked to the end of town, where a large canyon began. It was a huge fissure in the ground. The pink and purple gleam of flux crystals illuminated the crack, allowing her to see the slaves milling below. Hybrids, humans, even a golem or two. The only thing they had in common was that they were all derelicts, powerless beings like many in the Argokathian military.

The amount of flux was astonishing. The piles looked more like mountains from here. Just one, and they could utilize an entire unit's worth of firearms. One more reason why they came here, she supposed. Enough of watching the worker bees though. She needed to change out the bandages over her eye at the base. Time to go back.

Avoiding the mud, she tossed her snack to the side and went on her way. Valisa glanced at a few fellow soldiers, a few lamias, and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her.

The hybrid. The one who did this to her. She was right there, talking to a lamia near a well. Moren said he killed her. Mother fucker.

What was that mutt doing out here? Valisa could only guess. She wasn't getting supplies and didn't seem to be in a hurry. Valisa's back straightened when she realized what the hybrid was here for. She was going to use the waterline. To Vakia, most likely. Making a scene in town by killing her wouldn't go over well. She had to report this.

#

Avira

A lamia mercenary started speaking to Avira as soon as she began drawing water. She wasn't really interested in talking, so she was quiet while the snake blabbered on. Something about a show she saw.

“It's called Hybrid Pals, it plays in Nidara every month. You should really watch it. The props are kinda bad, but it's got an awesome message and themes.”

“Uh-huh...” Avira took a sip of water, looking away from her and trying to end this conversation before it began.

“Yeah, like, it teaches people that hybrids can be pals and aren't all savage creatures, and there's just a lot of cool themes about friendship.” The lamia talked way too fast for Avira's liking.

Avira looked at her. She looked obsessed. Would probably be best to distance herself. “Yeah, I'll uh, check it out if I get a chance. I should get going though. Bye.”

“Bye! And make sure to watch it!” The snake woman yelled as Avira hurried off.

The water being free here was a blessing, but Avira had forgotten how terrible water spot chatter could be.

They all met up at the agreed upon place. Mareth was looking more pale than usual, while Hawke looked annoyed. Oh boy.

“You alright Mareth?” Hawke asked the mage.

“Yes, yes, it's just the flux. Once we leave here I'll be fine... I did get us some supplies, I assume we don't need too much as we'll be out of this desert in a moment,” Mareth said.

“Yes, about that... it turns out that the borders are closed,” Hawke sighed.

“Tensions building against Vakia and Nidara again?” Mareth asked.

“That'd be correct. They'll still allow us to use the aqueducts, but they won't even allow royalty across the borders.” Hawke shrugged.

“They can't close an entire border. Let's just walk over it,” Avira said.

“That might work with bordering derelict nations, were there any, but elementals? Violating a closed border is suicide.”

“How so?”

“Well it depends on the nation. Drima, when it closes its borders, likes to amp up its draining there to the point where the moisture from your body itself will flow into the sand. And Vakia probably has some nasty storms along the border,” Hawke said.

“Oh,” Avira said. If she was on this journey alone she'd be dead there. “So what's the plan then?”

“We go to the southern port. Find a boat, try to make our way to Vakia. If we can't make it all the way, we go to Argokath and go through the mountains.”

“That's a longer journey, and we'll be going through enemy lines,” Avira replied harshly.

“They're in a cease-fire with my country at the moment. And although they don't like hybrids, they don't kill them for traveling in their lands.” Hawke said. “Plus they aren't all desolate desert, so the journey should be much faster.”

“Ugh...” Avira muttered, “Why not the north port?”

“More treacherous waters and routes are very heavily watched. We'd have to go to the northern continent and then take a ship to Vakia,” explained Hawke.

“Haven't been to Argokath in a while. Should be interesting to see it again,” Mareth smiled.

“Fine, I suppose we'll go that way.” Avira was clearly frustrated at the detour.

“Good. Let's go,” Hawke stated, “the aqueduct trip alone will take a while.”