Present Day

  Kei’s eyes flickered open slowly. It was dim, but lighter than when she’d gone to sleep. Twilight, yet she’d woken before the sun rose. It was a rarity, as she was a late riser by nature, and typically had to go to sleep early to wake up in time for events in the morning. Still, without the sun’s glare in her eyes, going back to sleep would be no issue. She rolled over in her bedroll, a far cry from the comforting mattress of Mrs. Helena’s inn, and pulled the blanket tighter around herself—the warmth of the suntrap had begun to fade and the strider was cold. Her eyes slowly closed.

  But for reasons Kei couldn’t quite explain, she paused. Sitting on the edge of the saddle, looking out towards the horizon where the sun had yet to rise was a lone figure with ashen white hair ruffling in the breeze. The boy was sitting with his legs crossed, leaning back on his palms and watching the brightening sky.

  Over the months spent together, she had come to notice traits of her two traveling companions—of her two friends, the only ones she had. One such trait was how Corrin seemed almost incapable of sitting still. Even when sitting, or standing, he would tap his fingers, or wiggle his leg, or even shift between his feet—anything to stay moving.

  Yet as she opened her eyes fully, she could see no movement at all, save for the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders which each, slow breath.

  Kei crawled out of her bedroll, pulling a thick blue coat over her shoulders. Shakily, she got to her feet and retrieved water, along with some fruit and cheeses from the store bags, careful not to make too much noise. Wyn and Ven were both still asleep, and she had to step over the former to reach the side of the saddle where Corrin was sitting.

  She sat next to him, drawing his gaze for only a moment, then he nodded, and turned back to the sea. Kei drank from her waterskin—purified by Wyn—and started to eat her food in silence. There they sat, listening to the quiet songs of the birds and the swaying of the grass. Kei ate slowly, savoring each bite. Compared to the food she’d eaten growing up, the provisions on the strider were pathetic, practical sustenance made for pure survival. If she’d had to eat such things a year ago, what would she have thought?

  And yet, as she took another bite, she felt a smile playing on her lips.

  “I’m surprised we’re the only one’s up,” she said, finally breaking the silence.

  “I’ve been up for a few hours now, I wanted Wyn to get some extra sleep. He took a long watch, burning spirit fire the past two nights, the idiot.”

  Kei looked over at Corrin. “That’s… actually really thoughtful. I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Shocking right?” He didn’t look away from the sky, but the corner of his mouth quirked upwards.

  She blushed. He’d seen right through her.

  “It’s fine. I’ll admit I’m not the most observant person around. Maybe if I was, I would’ve noticed… well, you know.”

  Kei looked down into her lap, rubbing the back of her thumb along her hand. “If it makes you feel better, I think I’m glad you didn’t know.”

  “Yeah? Maybe that does help a little.” Corrin smiled faintly and leaned forward, taking his hands off the saddle. “Do you uh… want to talk about it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Corrin didn’t say anything after that, appearing to be in thought.

  Kei could understand the feeling. It felt like a certain mood had fallen over the strider since they’d left Estin. In the three days since, they hadn’t spoken much about what had happened—maybe it was too fresh, or maybe they just hadn’t figured out what to say.

  But in the end, as was usually the case, it was Corrin who broke the silence.

  “When I was growing up in Straetum, one of my friends was a girl named Khaeli. She was from the burning isles.”

  Kei knew of the burning isles of course. She’d wanted to visit the idyllic archipelago when she was younger, but it was a long journey by ship from Taravast, so it had always remained a simple dream.

  “See, back in our village, families from outside Straetum aren’t always treated well. She got picked on a lot when she was younger—hell I did too. I guess kids are dumb like that, but you expect the adults to be better ya know?”

  Kei attempted to imagine anyone picking on Corrin. The thought itself wasn’t hard, he had a strong personality, but she feared for the kids that had tried it.

  “We used to get into all sorts of fights, me and Wyn. And this was before we got as awesome as we are now, so we used to lose… a lot.” He chuckled, his eyes soft as he reminisced.

  Kei smirked softly, “Are you trying to make a point here or…?”

  “That’s a great question.” Corrin looked up towards the sky, taking a second to think. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I always thought Khaeli was a really strong person for having to deal with that and coming out the other end ok. And it sounds to me like you went through something even worse than that.” He looked back down, meeting her eyes with an innocent smile, the kind that adults forgot how to make. “So I think you’re pretty strong too.”

  Kei’s eyes widened just a bit, and she felt a bit of heat creep up her face. She turned her head, looking at the horizon instead where the sun was beginning to peak out.

  “It wasn’t all bad,” she said. “I had my brother after all.”

  “So you’ve said,” Corrin smirked. “Aren’t you just a little obsessed? What about the rest of your family?”

  Kei shot him a dry glance.

  He raised an eyebrow, then his face fell. “Oh. Seriously? Damn.”

  “It’s complicated. But I’ve heard families often are. My brother… Well, I guess he’s just the most important person to me, that’s all.” She shook the thoughts from her head.

  For a while, neither of them spoke. The wind stirred the grass around them, and somewhere in the distance, a bird trilled a low, sleepy call. Kei glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

  “How about you? Who’s the most important person in your life?”

  Corrin looked over, clearly not expecting the question. “Huh?”

  Kei picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. “I told you about my brother. He’s that person for me. So I was wondering… who’s yours?”

  “Oh, that’s easy.” Corrin said without hesitation. “It’s Wyn.”

  Kei tilted her head. “Really? Not a family member? That’s a bit surprising. I mean I knew you were close, but still.”

  “Wait, have I not told you?” Corrin asked.

  “Told me what?”

  Corrin smiled awkwardly. “I’m an orphan, I never knew my parents.”

  “Oh, wow… I’m really sorry.” Kei apologized.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Nah, it’s fine.” Corrin looked out over the sea. “Apparently, they just found me outside the church one day, wrapped in a blanket on the ground, not even a cradle. So I figure, whoever my real parents were, they were probably a couple of bums. Better gramps and the orphanage than that right?”

  “I suppose…”

  “But yeah, it’s Wyn. He was my first friend, my rival, my brother, in a way. And honestly, without him I wouldn’t have made it half this far. Maybe this is a weird way to put it… but if the world was going to end, and I had to choose me or him to try and save it—well, I trust him more than I trust myself.”

  Kei couldn’t help but giggle at the hypothetical. “That might be the most weird way to put it I’ve ever heard. But I think I understand what you mean.”

  She looked over at Wyn as he slept. Laying on the saddle, he seemed different than normal, completely relaxed and unguarded. Even his face looked younger, as though he carried with him a tension, unable to truly rest except in sleep.

  “Ahh what a beautiful morning,” Ven’s voice sounded out, mid-stretch from behind them. “You two are already up? This might be a first.”

  Corrin turned and stuck his tongue out at the captain.

  Ven shot back a rude gesture with a smile on his face. “The air smells a bit lighter. Does this mean you’ve worked past whatever has been bothering you all the past few days?”

  Kei blinked, then looked over at Corrin.

  “Oh that’s right, he wasn’t there,” Corrin realized aloud.

  Kei chuckled. “He was too busy gambling away everything he owned.

  Ven scowled. “It is not my fault, I have explained this. They cheated, lady luck would never abandon me otherwise.” He took a swig from a canteen, and bit into a ripe agaraberry before talking with his mouth full. “Now, will you finally tell me what happened? My wanting to know has only grown, and you already know of my tragic tale. It is only fair.”

  “You really want to know that badly? Prying is pretty rude, you know?”

  Ven looked all the way to the left, then out to the right. Surrounding them was an endless sea of grass, with nothing and no one as far as they could see. “What do you think we have for entertainment out here?”

  “Fine fine,” Kei relented. Despite what she’d said about being glad Corrin not knowing, it felt good to talk about it. It felt good to complain a bit, in a way she couldn’t her whole life. But it made sense the more she thought about it. If you were afraid of the dark, all you needed was light. So with a deep breath, she started to speak. “So, if you didn’t already know, I’m half-nladian…”

  As it turned out, not only did Ven already know she was half-nladian, but was familiar with how they were treated as well, so the story mostly boiled down to Tor causing a scene at the dinner, with Corrin chiming in at points to give his own, colorful descriptions of the spirit knight.

  When they finished, Ven just nodded, swallowing the last bite of his agaraberry.

  “That makes sense. From what I remember of the east before I found my way here, it was not kind to Nladians. I’m ashamed to say I used to think similarly in my past. Such chains can be hard to break.”

  “Really?” Kei asked, a bit surprised. “What changed?”

  Ven smiled lazily. “I left all my chains behind.”

  “I don’t know,” Corrin said skeptically. “I wouldn’t describe a man who lost all his clothes gambling as unchained.”

  “Only by spending a night in jail can you learn what it means to be truly free,” Ven said sagely, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath of air. A leaf, taken from some tree far out of sight, danced in the wind as it passed behind him.

  Corrin looked at Kei. She looked back at him.

  “The best captain on the sea, that’s what Udyr said.” She sighed.

  Ven opened a single eye. “And he would be right.”

  “Kings help us…”

  ***

  Wyn awoke to the quiet sounds of his companion’s voices. It seemed the sun had already risen—spirits, he’d been that tired? Sometimes it could be hard to tell since he’d awoken his blessing. Almost four months had passed since then, and he often found himself burning it without even thinking, an instinctive response to feeling fatigued.

  He made a point not to burn any more than the embers as he sat up in his bedroll, letting out an audible yawn.

  All three of them looked over at him, smiling.

  “Look who’s decided to join us,” Corrin said.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Have some fruit, it’s about to go bad,” Ven said pragmatically, sliding a basket over.

  “Thank you,” Wyn said as he took the basket and started to eat. “I slept fine.”

  He ate slowly, focused on the motion more than the food itself. He knew the draveberries were soft, their sweetness mild and a little sour, but they may as well have been tasteless. The others were still talking, their voices drifting past his ears. Ven said something and laughed as Kei threw back a sharp retort. Corrin snorted and added something on that made Kei groan.

  Things were returning to normal, perhaps they were even reaching a better place than they’d been before.

  But Wyn wasn’t satisfied. He kept his gaze down, rolling the tiny blue fruit between his fingers. He wasn’t sure what to say. It seemed like everyone had moved on, almost overnight. But to Wyn, something still felt off.

  Tor had been a spirit knight, the second real one they’d ever seen.

  And he’d been nothing like the stories.

  Wyn didn’t think of himself as naive—he’d never expected the world to be perfect. But maybe, somewhere inside, in the part of him that remembered how he’d felt that day in the forest, he’d still believed that spirit knights were supposed to be.

  Without that belief, he felt unmoored.

  “You’re quiet,” Corrin said. Wyn looked up and saw his friend was watching him. His eyes were calm, but they seemed to be waiting for something. For all his obliviousness, Wyn knew better than anyone how perceptive Corrin could be at times.

  Wyn exhaled softly. “I’m just thinking.”

  “About?”

  And persistent too.

  “Do you ever wonder if we’re doing the right thing? Becoming spirit knights. Do you think we’ll end up like that?”

  It was a stupid thought, and he knew it. Obviously not all spirit knights would be the same, surely there would be good just as well as bad, but he still hadn’t been able to shake it. Two visions warred in his mind. The first was of the man he’d seen when he was six. The second was Tor, whom he’d truly met, learned from, spoken to, and fought with. How could he hold onto something that felt so much less real?

  Corrin didn’t answer immediately. He closed his eyes, as though he’d find the right words on the back of his eyelids. Wyn wasn’t sure what kind of response he expected. He wasn’t even sure what kind of response he wanted.

  Corrin took a deep breath. “Yeah, I did. Tor sucked. And he wasn’t—he wasn’t what I hoped he’d be. But I thought about it, and you know… it doesn’t matter.”

  Wyn’s brow furrowed. “Of course it matters, we’re trying to become—”

  “Spirits knights,” Corrin finished. “That’s the goal, and I haven’t changed my mind. But the dream I’m chasing, and what I really want? It’s bigger than that. Isn’t it the same for you?”

  Wyn looked down at his hands.

  I want to be a hero.

  “Yeah… it is.”

  “No title is going to tell me how to live my life,” Corrin grinned. He stood abruptly, planting his feet firmly on the edge of the saddle. He thrust his arms out to the side, looking out towards the morning sun. He took a deep breath, and then—

  “My name is Corrin!” He shouted to the sky. “I’m going to be the greatest spirit knight! And if that means I’m destined to become a huge jerk, then I’ll shatter that destiny! My path is mine, and mine alone! I’m going to live… with absolutely no regrets!”

  Wyn looked up at his friend’s back, his eyes widening.

  Corrin’s shoulders, much like the rest of him, were small. But from where Wyn sat, they seemed to stretch across the entire horizon, as though he could carry the whole world on his back. And when Corrin turned, his smile was the sun, shining onto Wyn’s face.

  “Isn’t that right Wyn?”

  I never could keep up with you.

  Wyn looked down again. For a moment, he couldn’t meet Corrin’s eyes. Then, he smiled back, playing the game.

  “Of course. But you’re going to be the second greatest. After all, the first position is mine.”

  As long as they were together, things would be alright.