“Ughhh. I’m so bored.” Corrin let his head hang off the side of the saddle, mouth open as he groaned into the open air.

  His breath fogged up above him, but he himself wasn’t particularly cold. That was of course thanks to Eldress Edith in Straetum, who’d woven and sewn his and Wyn’s winter coats. As he understood it, they were quite durable—crafted from the wool of the demon sheep in Straetum’s dungeon—though that didn’t matter as much at the moment. What mattered was that they were warm, and maybe even more importantly, stylish.

  “If only there was somebody to see!” He moaned again. “I wanna get to Titan’s Pass already!”

  “I told you already, they’re very nice,” Kei offered.

  Corrin swung his head up, shaking his head. “It’s just not the same.”

  She giggled. “What are you, a peacock?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Nevermind,” Kei sighed. “Though I’ll admit, I’m a bit bored myself.”

  “You’re bored too right Wyn?” Corrin looked to his friend for support.

  Wyn was sitting with his hands in his lap, eyes closed. Upon hearing his name, he cracked an eye open, it flickered faintly with traces of spirit fire. “What was that?”

  Corrin clicked his tongue. “Ven are we almost there?”

  “No, and we’re still a few weeks out, just like the last six times you asked.” Ven grumbled.

  “Screw it!” Corrin clapped his hands. He pointed. “Kei! Get the cards!”

  Kei saluted, the perfect accomplice. “You’ve got it!” She started rummaging through her bag.

  “Well, I suppose I could be tempted…” Ven gave in, ditching the front seat.

  Wyn was a bit tougher. “Corrin I’m busy can’t you—”

  “Shut it! We’re playing cards!”

  As always, Kei won.

  ***

  Corrin started as a blade of grass sank into the sea nearby. It was as though it had been cut at the base. Once it vanished, it was as though it had never been there at all, taking up a space so small it would never have been noticed had he not seen it.

  “Ven! Ven! Did you see that?” He pointed frantically. “What the heck just happened?”

  “I’m afraid I didn’t see it, what was it?”

  “You saw something?” Wyn asked.

  Kei looked up from the letter she was reading, her eyes glimmering with curiosity.

  “A whole blade of grass just sank down! Just fell into the sea!”

  “Ah, yes that happens from time to time,” the captain said, unbothered. “Some sort of creature below must be feeding.”

  Corrin peered over the side, looking into the grass below. The grass was thick, and almost never straight in the wind, so it was nigh impossible to see to the bottom, but a part of him wished so dreadfully to tie himself to a rope and let himself be lowered down to see the bottom.

  Hey wait a second.

  He looked at Wyn, wide eyed and grinning.

  “What if—”

  “No.”

  Corrin’s face fell at the stern disapproval. “But I didn’t even—”

  “You want me to tie you to a rope and lower you down there, or something similarly stupid isn’t that right?” Wyn crossed his arms.

  “Well… I mean, not exactly that,” Corrin lied.

  Wyn glared at him.

  “Fine…”

  ***

  Perhaps the greatest sign that they’d truly adapted to life on the grass sea—boredom notwithstanding—came when it rained. The sky had looked suspicious, so they’d already gotten the canvas into place almost an hour prior. Corrin wasn’t usually a fan of rain, but on the grass sea, it broke up the monotony, which was nice.

  More importantly though, it meant they could bathe. As soon as the first drop of water hit the canvas, Corrin was already standing, making his way towards the back of the saddle.

  Kei cleared her throat loudly, drawing him to a halt. “Haven’t you heard of ladies first?”

  Corrin turned slowly, looking down his nose at her. “Hmm, nothing’s ringing a bell. But perhaps you have heard the tale of the early bird and the worm?”

  “A true knight would be gracious and wait his turn,” Kei crossed her arms.

  “A true merchant would have seized the opportunity in the first place.”

  “Aren’t you both forgetting someone?” Wyn interjected. “I think I should get the first go, aren’t I the one purifying our water?”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Corrin whipped around. An attack from behind? He hadn’t expected Wyn to insist, he was usually more easy-going.

  Wyn met his eyes, glaring, and Corrin swore he could almost hear his thoughts.

  Not this time. The first shower is mine.

  Kei grit her teeth, and Corrin understood his frustration. They’d slaked their thirst like cows under Wyn’s blessing, drinking tea and making stews with the knowledge he could purify water for drinking.

  But Corrin had one last card to play. He saw Kei’s eyes narrow as she opened her mouth in a desperate defense.

  “Ah but—”

  “You—”

  They were both cut off as Ven casually walked past them towards the back. In their stunned silence, he turned back, a wicked smirk on his face as he said two simple words, almost inaudible over the rain.

  “Captain’s privilege.”

  Corrin sank to his knees. He’d lost.

  ***

  Directly above me. Wyn thought through their bond. Now to the right. Beneath the saddle. Behind me to the left.

  He felt a jolt of excitement and opened his eyes.

  All of those were correct! Eia celebrated in his head. That’s great!

  Wyn smiled, feeling some true satisfaction. He’d made real progress in sensing his bond with Eia since the colossus hunt, when he’d sensed his bonds with the lift spirits in his moment of desperation. He still wasn’t able to see the spirit fire which made up the bond other than right before passing out, but he could tell it was there, he could feel it, even if hidden from his eyes.

  And you think, once I figure out how to see it, I’ll be able to form bonds on my own? He asked.

  The response was hesitant. Well, it’s hard to say. But seeing and feeling is definitely the first step, yes.

  “Let’s practice then,” he mumbled, grabbing a waster and holding it in his hands. He could ignite it with a thought, but today, he tried to slow the process down. What was the ignition? He thought the process was probably simple—the bond formed from spirit fire pressed against the blade. Once the bond was formed, he simply pumped more spirit fire into it until it manifested physically.

  What he needed to understand was the bond forming part. He needed to feel it.

  The sword lit up and dimmed. Then lit up and dimmed.

  Again.

  Again.

  Again.

  Eventually he lost track, the blade was lit hundreds of times, but eventually, he thought he was able to get a feel for it.

  He formed the bond. The blade didn’t light.

  Is it actually there, Eia? Or am I imagining it?

  Oh wow, you actually did it… Eia seemed surprised. Yeah that’s just right. Can you still light it?

  Wyn lit the blade. Then he doused it again, but maintained the bond—for a moment. Then it flickered out as he lost his grip.

  Damn, I had it though.

  Don’t worry too much! It takes practice doesn’t it?

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “So I’ll get back to it then.”

  Wyn settled in, practicing for another hour or so in between conversations with Kei and Corrin, but eventually he moved on to his other new toy—his channels.

  For all his faults, Nereus’s notes had been detailed. Along with diagrams of the—

  “Excuse my interruption Wyn,” Ven’s voice broke him out of his thoughts almost as soon as they’d begun. “Do you remember my asking you to procure an herb by the name of sunspice for the journey back in Precipice?”

  Wyn’s eyes widened. “Oh, yes I actually forgot about that. I bought some, it should be in my pack. It’s in the leftmost pocket.”

  “You have my thanks Checo,” the captain nodded. “I will not bother you further.”

  Wyn settled back into comfort.

  For all his faults, Nereus’s notes had been detailed. Along with diagrams of the body and locations of channels, he’d provided instructions on how to form the channels themselves, as well as which order to do it in, suggestions, and general advice.

  Most of it was fairly general since the mage only had layman’s knowledge of channeling as a whole, but that was more than Wyn, especially when it came to channel formation. The purpose of the channels was to restrict the flow. According to Corrin, while this made it a bit weaker in potency, it became much more responsive in terms of flow, a necessity in a battle between channelers.

  As it turned out, the process was actually quite simple. Wyn closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation of the aura within his body. It was thick, and viscous, like mud. It would flow as he wanted, but with a certain laziness that made it almost impractical in real battle. He grabbed onto a ‘blob’ of aura, and began to compress it with his will. The aura resisted, but it wasn’t that hard. He gathered more, compressing it further and further within the unbound walls of his soul, until he’d formed a small ball of aura much denser than its surroundings.

  Then, slowly, he began to drag it through his left leg. He could feel the sensation physically as he did, something like a cramp moving down his leg. It was uncomfortable, almost painful even, but he was more than happy to endure.

  When the ball reached the bottom, he let the mana disperse, flowing naturally back into his body as he gathered another ball atop his other leg and repeated the process again. Once he made it to the bottom on his right, he switched back to the left, gathering mana at the bottom and dragging it up instead, through an adjacent path, forming two major channels within the limb.

  This was the pattern he’d found worked best. Down one leg, down the other while the first’s mana dispersed. Then back up the first, and back up the second. No downtime as he developed all four major leg channels at once.

  As he understood it, eventually he’d develop smaller channels branching between the two major ones, as well as stretching out into the muscles, but that was only because he’d looked ahead. The first step to the process, Nereus’s notes insisted, was forming his twelve major channels, starting with the legs.

  Down the left leg. Down the right. Up the left leg. Up the right.

  He repeated the process over and over. According to the notes, it would get easier as he went, and his channels became more defined. He was still in the early stages though, and the channel had hardly been carved.

  There was only one way to fix that though, so he took a deep breath, and gathered the mana again.

  It was a disappointment to Wyn, that some hours later, he realized something must be wrong. He hadn’t been interrupted by any of his companions in far too long. But as his thoughts drifted away from channeling, he realized he could still hear the dull buzz of their conversation.

  Carefully opening his eyes, he looked around the saddle. Only then did he realize the air smelled something like… cinnamon?

  Corrin, Kei and Ven were all laying on the saddle, pointing up at the clouds.

  “Ooooh,” Kei whispered. “That one looks like a bunny.”

  Corrin’s eyes widened slowly. “Woah… you’re right.”

  Ven squeezed his eyes together, then opened them again. He held a pipe to his lips, and it glowed faintly before he let out a puff of smoke. “I want to get a dog… but then… how would it run around on Siensa? That wouldn’t work.”

  “You should get a hawk,” Corrin suggested, his voice lulling. “That’d be so cool. Imagine if you had a hawk.”

  Ven chuckled. “I’d name him birdie. That’d be a funny name, cause he’s a hawk right? But I’m calling him birdie…”

  Kei laughed.

  Wyn opened his mouth, then closed it. He took a deep breath.

  “Ven… what does sunspice do exactly?”

  Ven turned slowly. “Oh, Wyn? I didn’t know you were here. What was—oh, sunspice? It just makes you feel warm, you know? It’s pretty cold out, and the suntrap isn’t on yet, so I just wanted to get warm, you know?”

  Wyn took another breath. Very slowly.

  At least it will be quiet.