The Morning Dew was the name of the hotel Felix had stayed for a night the previous day. Its guests were in a joyful mood as it was evening; the delicious aroma of the hot dinner was wafting in the first floor of the average grade inn. People were chatting about the life in the town or of their daily little adventures under dimly light lamps that were fastened to the walls. The atmosphere was lively.

Felix sat at a corner table, reading a newly bought book, which contained plenty of information about the monsters of this magical land. The most powerful creature was a wyvern, he read. They were claimed to be the mightiest and the proudest magical creatures in the whole realm. Their ancestors, dragons, had come to extinction thousands of years ago. They were described as untamable savage monsters. There were even locations of their habitats written on the book.

If Felix were in the Kartan Town and headed straight toward east, along the borders of the Eternal Desert, he had a chance of reaching their nests, which were claimed to be built in stone caves. Eternal Desert was a massive sand-covered desolate land on the north part of the Dawn Empire. It was said the Empire had been quarreling over the lifeless territory for centuries with Manosir, the Kingdom located on the southeast of the country. Felix could find a way through a region of the desert called Drylands, where sand domes didn’t touch. The only small problem was the creature itself. They were said to be so wild that they would terminate every possible enemy they found threating.

Another location was a faraway place named Wild Lands. It was a place completely devoid of human activity. Diversity of creatures that had found their lairs in that forestry made its woods almost impassable to humans who sought way toward west. Felix assumed this west must resemble to the west from Earth back in the medieval centuries from what he had read and heard so far.

Nevertheless, Felix had no chance of approaching these mighty creatures. He learned they preferred to die fighting than being captured, so encountering them in this country was a dream. Maybe he would gain his opportunity of touching a wyvern some day in the future. That would be the most thrilling experience and transformation ever.

There were many more other types of monsters; griffins, a winged lion-reminding creature, peuchens, a flying serpent which was much inferior to wyverns, and there were different types of eagle-like monsters but larger in size, some with more than a pair of wings. They all resided in the Wild Lands. Other minor creatures didn’t catch Felix’s attention that much. The desert monsters included mainly lizard type magical creatures covered with hard scales, and some scorpion and spider related monsters.

Felix wished he had a griffin transformation. However, regarding the others, he was doubtful of being capable of changing into them; their body structure differed entirely from a humanoid shape or had fairly more limbs to cause trouble to even stir. He had experienced plenty of hardship managing his extra limb in barghest form, his tail. Another creature he wanted to have in his repertoire was a rhinoceros-resembling monster with hard rock-like shells coating its entire being, showcasing its bulwark of a body. That transformation would be amazing next to the wyvern one.

The talks of the folk now even louder echoed in the small restaurant when Felix finally closed his coverless book. His brain had consumed more than enough information about monsters. Also, understanding all those words and finding the alternative beast names in his own language tired his mental state.

But the headache was not a problem. Being alone was more relevant issue. His friends, family, the long broke up girlfriend, all came to his mind as he watched the occupants of the inn.

What use of having a strong ability if you could not share the delight you feel when experiencing it? It was miserable to feel alone. If only there was internet at least.

Perhaps he should agree to Kiria’s offer of becoming her disciple. What could he lose? Possibly his freedom. Maybe not.

Bouncing from one choice to another, and still hesitating what to decide in dilemma, Felix finished his evening meal and climbed up the stairs toward his accommodating room. The decision could wait until morning. And he would sleep in his barghest form today.

The chilly morning winter air needled through Felix’s unprotected face, as he stood full clothed in warm outfit. An old sack half full of food was leaning on his leg and a new smaller dark brown bag was hanging on his back, attached to his shoulders by two finely made straps. Currently, he was waiting for the escorting group of soldiers at the northern gate, particularly a swordswoman who should be among them.

Early in the morning, even before the sun could peek over the horizon, Felix had made up his mind about accompanying the woman as he had lost his sleep on his bed. In the barghest form, he felt the need of a good company. Even these abominable creatures wouldn’t live long without their pack.

He was not the only person travelling to the one of the biggest cities. A line of merchandise wagons positioned themselves along the entrance gate’s wall on one side. They didn’t appear to be a collective group of traders considering their different types of goods-carrying carts and the diversity of their dragging force. Apart from horses and mules, there were huge sized lizards, which were no shorter than horses in height but broader on width. They were stuffed with the heaviest wares on them.

They were called sand drakes, or desert dragonlings by the natives according to the information Felix had read from his book. Despite their names, they were far off from the actual dragons’ might or bearing. Sand colored hard shells covered most of the upper half of their body and the front parts of their legs. They kept their triangular shaped heads high above the rest of their body, their dart shaped tails straight. It was said that the larger breeds were valued for militaristic purposes. Because of the creatures’ overeating habits, they were seldom kept by civilians.

The desert dragonlings Felix was watching were smaller and weaker. Columns of crates were fastened tightly over them. It looked like attaching them to wagons would cause wares to be damaged. After all, they weren’t horses to pull carriages steadily or as fast to be used as mounts.

Still, Felix would find an opportunity to familiarize with their body structure at some point in this travel. An extra skill wouldn’t harm.

He stood gazing through the crowd around. The faintly flickering stars on the skyline had long winked out when Felix heard approaching steps of marching people. No more than fifty soldiers were nearing to the exit of the town, all of them on horses or in horse-dragged carriages. They were being followed by accompanying merchants, pulling their goods stuffed carts with the help of mules. There were several separate wagons that were built with much sturdier handcrafting materials than the others among the soldiers, probably occupied by prisoners. One of them must be containing Seron. Felix eyed them with a little weight in his heart.

The riders were equipping various looking armors over woolen coats, which stated their ranks. Kiria was on the third row of the horsemen, her sight directly pointed where Felix stood in his Sareen persona. She wasn’t wearing any protection equipment; just winter clothing with a pointed furry hat and a pair of daggers on her waist, and another pair of short swords on her back. They must be the magic deflecting blades Felix snatched away from Tsilonee’s chamber back then.

Kiria parted from the rider group and led her mount toward where Felix stood.

“Young warrior, greetings,” she said with a small nod upon reaching Felix, who nodded back. “You came. So you decided to become my apprentice?”

“I… did,” Felix responded, his gaze shifting to the confining wagons. “Are the all culprits of the assassination inside of them?”

“All of them.” Kiria confirmed. “The most essential witness is Lina. We have to transport her safely to judge in the imperial court. It’ll take less than two weeks to arrive in Chindon.”

“Two weeks, huh. So… I don’t have a horse, you see. Can I get into one of those carriages or is there a spare horse, maybe?” Felix asked with a hopeful smile. Riding a horse would be another first experience.

“Put your luggage into that carriage,” Kiria pointed to a rearmost biggest cart of the soldier troop. “You’ve stocked quite a food reserve. Good job. It will take a week until we reach a village on our way. There we’ll resupply if we lack food.”

The cart was shrouded with what looked like thick waterproof fabric. Felix placed in his two bags and returned to Kiria’s side, where she was conversing with a higher ranked officer on a side road, waiting for her new apprentice.

“So you are the young warrior. The renowned wandering warrior’s first disciple?” the officer asked while sitting on his saddle as he stopped talking to Kiria. He was a tall man with a militaristic frame over thirty years old, light but quite visible beard coating his jaw. With sterns eyes that betrayed a touch of kindness in them, he evaluated Felix’s young feminine figure.

“Yes. I’ve been accepted as Kiria’s disciple,” Felix responded with a small head bow, but instead of receiving approving gesture, the rider gave him a puzzled look and glanced at Kiria with a questioning expression.

“She’s young and was not raised with much civilized care. I’ve recently freed her from slavery,” Kiria clarified her new disciple’s situation to her fellow warrior with a slight smile. It looked like Felix missed some kind of formal bow or greeting.

“That explains it.” the man believed Kiria wordlessly and turned to Felix with a somehow proud demeanor. “I’m Commander Rasin Kart. From today on, I’ve been assigned as the leader of this escort unit.”

Kiria motioned at Felix as she joined her fist and a palm, prompting him to do the same.

“Ah, I’m… I’m Sereena. New disciple of master Kiria,” Felix gave his respond at last after a brief pondering about his introduction, with the shown formal salute. The name Tsilonee had given him didn’t quite suit to his preference. So he quickly decided to change it a little, giving the name more charming spelling in accordance with his taste.

“Now that’s better,” the Commander finally approved his greeting with a satisfied nod as Kiria lightly raised her eyebrows. “Feel honored to be granted the apprenticeship of Kiria, the famed Wandering Warrior. Many can only dream to reach the height of her swordsmanship, and her magic art only a step away from rising to the final stage,” he continued. From his manner of speech, it sounded like he was a fellow swords master of Kiria who wasn’t able to achieve the same level of proficiency.

“I have faith in your prowess of reaching the third stage one day, warrior Kiria,” the Commander said to Kiria, turning at her before nudging his horse to move away.

The Commander rode toward his soldiers who were checking the travel preparations, and then he yelled a command to depart. Small merchant associations were already ready for the move. The folk began stirring.

“Can you ride for long distances?” Kiria asked Felix once they were alone.

He only smiled wryly at his master. “I, actually, don’t think I’m really good at riding.”

“Then come,” she extended her arm without complain, as if she had expected this outcome. Felix felt like his feminine body was weightless as he was hoisted from the ground onto Kiria’s back. How strong the warrior was to effortlessly lift him as if he was a sack full of paper?

“On the road, don’t say a word of your training. We’ll discuss it when get to Chindon,” Kiria instructed Felix in a serious and lower voice. Not sparing a second for a question, she prompted her mount forward.

The town gates were wide open long before the escort troop lined at their entrance. In an arranged order, the soldiers and the traders set off.

The road was smooth starting from the Bening northern gates till even the silhouette of the town couldn’t be spotted from afar. Then the convoy’s pace slightly slowed down as the bumpy ground began hindering the mounts. Sometimes, rattling carriages were notifying of their contents on rougher parts of the road.

Along the whole way, Kiria didn’t utter a word of her training regimen or anything else. Felix had expected at least to be interrogated about the change of his name. Perhaps, she was taking a right action. Though the soldiers she was travelling with seemed to be old acquaintances as their friendly attitudes suggested toward her and Felix. Some even tried flirting. Those were equipped with more splendid armory and weaponry than the others were, which was as a sign of a higher rank. But most of the soldiers didn’t dare come close to the duo, probably from the fear of displeasing the magic warrior Felix was sharing a horse with. They limited themselves with occasional subtle glances. Kiria’s reputation must be rather high among the warrior folk.

Felix sorted through the dammed up questions in his mind since he came to this world while silently sitting on the horse’s back. Hopefully, Kiria would be kind enough to answer some of his question that Tsilonee dodged away as if not having sufficient knowledge.

The lunchtime was spent together with the empire soldiers. Although their cooking skills were average at best, having a hot meal in the embrace of nature’s cold season and the tales of battles the warriors underwent was a peculiar experience.

The wars that would occur at the empire borders were mostly with the Manosir Kingdom. In the desert territory existed several nomadic tribes. They were rumored to be sustained by the enemy Kingdom. A stronghold named Rainless Ravine was said to have come through minor attacks in the recent months. Ant they said the enemy wouldn’t dare to put their full force to raid the stronghold as long as one of the Great Pillars stayed close to the ravine.

The stories sounded exaggerated, as Felix wasn’t used to magic utilized fights. A single magician washing away hundreds of enemies with a mana-generated flood, or showering an army with lava rain were rather hard to believe. Though these tales were told by people who witnessed these feats with their own eyes, as if they were the ones performed the deed.

Felix restrained his curiosity to inquire about the said Pillars. They sounded to be strongly revered individuals among the warriors as they boasted their might to be invincible; another question to the list of asking from Kiria.

Two days passed in this fashion. By the third day, the weather loosened its chilly mood a little. But the signs of snowy days were visible as the hordes of disconnected clouds were floating by in the sky, followed by inky shades far away on the horizon.

The real winter was coming. And this day would be the last chance of this year for Felix to achieve his one desire.

“Do you know how far the patrols are watching?” Felix asked Kiria after dinner as the whole convoy parties began preparing for the coming night.

“Yes, why?” She squinted at Felix.

“I’m just going to try my… one of my new skills.”

Kiria mulled over Felix’s intention before coming to her own conclusion. “There should be a downhill slope on the southern perimeter and a clustering of trees a couple of miles away after that. You can go there.”

“Alright, thanks.” Felix stood up, ready to go.

“Wait,” Kiria said, sighing. “You can’t go alone.” She rose on her feet, patting her back, and held up her daggers.

Felix didn’t mind a guardian following him. The duo passed a few shrubberies and came across the said slope. For some reason, Kiria decided to stay at the edge of the slope. Despite Felix’s urging her to go back or come along, the swordswoman didn’t budge from her decision. Felix had no choice but to promise her to be back within an hour.

The tree cluster wasn’t dense with plants, fortunately. Upon entering the minor timberland, Felix searched for a convenient spot for taking a flight. He observed the partially cloudy sky before taking off his clothes. The imagination of the height itself induced his heart rhythm to speed up and a faint shiver run through his spine.

Now or never!

Felix toughened his resolve and finished stripping down, displeasing his delicate feminine skin. Though the winter’s evening chill was less threatening this very day. Still, the upcoming days would be much more freezing when the snow started covering the magical land.

Finally free of all excessive weight, Felix started his hawk transformation. He paid very close attention to mana sustenance since he didn’t wish to be spotted as a fat flying penguin by bored people observing the sky. This wouldn’t be seen normal.

Now, the details of the trees’ surrounding were more edged. His night vision was no better than his human sight. However, the full moon brightened the dark day’s part for him within the clouds’ holes.

Flapping his wings for a short time to warm up, Felix took a flight among the trees. Several sleeping birds flew away, scared of a sudden presence of a large predator. This was most favorable.

Felix ascended from the level of leafless trees, and rose and rose until his avian nerve system gave away to fear. That was merely a few dozen meters greater altitude level than he was used to. He needed to rise more. The goal was to feel the sailing clouds under his wings, or to swim inside of them.

So he forced his flying limbs with new vigor. He could do it. There was no threat whatsoever up there; only vast space of freedom.

Felix kept convincing his mind to fly up a little more, and a little more again. He tried to forget completely the earth below, flapping his wings to wave down the air above him to direct below to aid him rise higher. And finally, he was there.

As he at last pierced through a moist cloud, Felix stopped his wings’ movement, and began floating over the cottony white mist. They just made his feathers wet when touched. Going through them wasn’t a happy experience in winter. Felix steered away from them, and gazed down the land left below. His already thumping bird heart accelerated its rhythm to even faster pace.

This was indescribably amazing sensation ever.

I love being a shapeshifter.

Felix’s let out a high-pitched screech. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to scream with joy in this from. If he changed back into human briefly, maybe he would. The risk of being spotted wasn’t worth it, though.

Still, the feeling was unrepeatable. Felix made multiple aerial maneuvers as he soared over the clouds. He intended to imprint this moment into his memory forever, so he flew and flew at the high altitude, centering a point where the escorting troop was supposed to be.

When he eventually descended, his wings, his beak, all parts of his body were shivering caused by excitement mixed cold temperature.

This little trip to the heaven would suffice till the warm days came. If this occasion didn’t stir up any addictionlike urge, of course.