How much of the world do I truly know?

It seems that the longer I live, the more there is I don’t understand. What did Kalma mean when she claimed the world will end? What is the barrier that holds it back? And exactly what are the Anatla?

These aren’t the only questions I find myself asking. Not even close. After that battle Tore and I fought, so many unknowns remained that I now feel the same curiosity I once felt so long ago amongst my tribe. Back when the only thing I knew was my family and the sand beneath my feet.

I’ll need to be careful, as my curiosity is now overwhelmed by incredibly dangerous questions. Blindly chasing the answers will likely land not only myself, but those I care for in danger. Something that inflicted fear in Kalma is not to be treated lightly.

Of course, that is no different from when I was curious about water. Some things never change.

Grímr and I sail through the air, flying south into New Vetus. I don’t intend to stay in the nation long; just until I can meet with Leal. After the pain I’ve inflicted, I’m not expecting her to want to join us, but I still want to ask her. Last time I saw her, she made it clear she needed time to get her thoughts straight, and I don’t want to intrude into her space until she’s ready to let me in.

To the west, beyond the horizon, is the wasteland; my home. Or at least what was once my home. I’m not really sure where to consider my true home now. The wasteland has always been familiar. It is where the rest of my kind reside; the most habitable place for an áed one can find. But I have people who I care for outside. I’m not so comfortable leaving them to return to the life I lived before.

Grímr, flying in beat with me, is the only one of my team joining me. I’d asked all of them, but they’ll be held up by their commitments and cannot spend a couple months away. Bunny, to clean up the border disputes in Vanguard; Remus, to take the lead in much of the Order’s restructuring; and Jav, who is required for reconnaissance into the Empire.

I appreciate having Grímr by my side. As assured as it is that Leal will not join me, I’m happy to have someone to travel with.

“Hey, thanks for coming. Are you sure you don’t want to fly by your home before we head into the wasteland? I don’t mind delaying the trip a couple weeks so we can meet them.”

“No, I’d rather not,” Grímr says rather curtly. “Besides, it will take a bit more than a week to reach the clear rivers of Sruthland. Even with flight, it’s a long travel north.”

I smirk back at him, although I’m not too clear how well that comes through my beak. “I’m sure there are some things we can try.”

“I’m not letting you set me on fire again.”

“Aw,” I exclaim in mock despair. “come on, it’s not like I’ll burn you. I have some new ideas.”

Grímr shifts uncomfortably, but tries to hide it with a pair of wingbeats. He’s close to caving, I just know it.

“No,” he says firmly. “Solvei, you know you’re not allowed to be spotted.”

“You think those below don’t already see us?” I ask. “I’m pretty sure massive metal birds aren’t exactly common around here.”

“Sure, but they see a monster, not an áed. That’s all that’s important.”

I turn my beak away and fall behind Grímr. “It’s not like they’d be able to catch us even if they did.”

“Not the point, and you know it.”

I roll my eyes and retake the lead. Grímr has never been this far south, so it’s up to me to guide him. Not that actually know where Leal is. I doubt they stayed at the former gulag; that place would’ve been crawling with counterinsurgency soldiers before long.

As I’d helped Tore take command of New Vetus not too long after the gulag fell, I’m sure they’re fine, but it’s still hard not to worry.

First, I’m going to stop by Flehullen; the capital of New Vetus. The very city I recently slaughtered all their leaders and participated in destroying a major national icon. Now that I put it that way, will we be fine? Sure, they were tyrant rulers, but I’m an outsider. What if they think I’m back to try the same against Tore?

Well, I can probably avoid any incidents by keeping my flames hidden. Again. Why is it that my fire seems to cause problems everywhere? Damn fleshy creatures and their — mostly — unreasonable fear of fire.

I don’t have any reason to believe Leal will be in Flehullen, but it’s a good place to start. Regardless, I want to stop by Tore and see how he’s managing. It can’t be an easy task; demilitarising and restructuring such a large nation.

Both the Zadok and Joiak kingdoms no longer exist. The land they once occupied now lies within control of the ursu. I feel a rather brutal glee thinking about it. Neither country were ranked all that high in my list of favourites, so for them to be removed from the map is rather satisfying.

As we fly over the former kingdom, the wall that once separated the destitute darker haired albanics from the rest of Zadok comes into view. Or at least, what’s left of it. What had once been a major obstacle for me and the friends I’d made down there now lay as rubble. The Ursu left hardly any of the tall stone wall standing after their invasion.

A new railway cuts right through a region of demolished buildings. The Ursu must not have had any use for the numerous abandoned dwellings in their way. Even the old Cano manor now looks more like an army training camp than the high-class mansion it used to be.

Eventually, our flight brings us to the ursu’s capital city. Lacking the monumental central continae, it now looks like any other New Vetus metropolis. In the open plaza, many new structures have been built. They are clearly temporary, with most having open walls to the outside and only one floor, but considering even these high ceiling buildings would be too low for Tore, maybe that’s fine for now. Construction to meet not only the requirements for an ursu’s height but Tore’s looming figure would take time.

Thankfully, spotting the huge warrior is simple.

I dive toward the giant. Grímr stays behind, watching me from above while keeping his distance from Tore. I can understand his fear, Tore is devastatingly strong, but without him, we never could have beat Kalma. He deserves to be treated as more than a monster… even if there’s no denying he is one.

I land on the big guy’s head, but he simply ignores me. The same cannot be said for those in the meeting with him. An ursu who was speaking about some policy change abruptly stops and stares at me, along with the rest. My eyes fall down to myself. Besides the blue feathers that mimic the dark shade of my hair in my default controlled form, I should look like any normal bird, so why are they staring?

Oh. Of course. How stupid of me. What normal animal would willingly approach such an intimidating, intense being as Tore? I almost let a tongue of flame flick over my wings just to show them I’m something more, before I remember that it probably isn’t a good idea to make it known that I’m the one who killed their former leaders.

“Solvei, you are interrupting.” Tore’s voice is as deep and permeating as ever. Despite his words, he gently offers me a finger, which I hop on without delay. “What brings you?”

“I wanted to drop by before I go looking for someone. Actually, you might be able to help me find them.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Tore Hund, who is this?” asks one of the gathered officials.

Tore raises his arm, presenting me. “This is Solvei, the áed that assisted me in battle. Please treat her as an honoured guest.”

Having these awed eyes looking up at me is a rather addictive feeling. Well, if Tore has announced me as an áed, there should be no reason to hide. Standing upon the thick digit, I spread my wings and twirl fire through my feathers. I’m not ashamed to say I relish in their attention. It would be weird if I didn’t have some pride in the strength I’ve gathered.

I ignore Tore’s raised eyebrow.

“Then we shall leave you to your business.” The same ursu from before turns to usher the rest of the officials away.

“What? But-” one official tries to stay, but the first grabs a fistful of fur at the back of his head and drags him away.

“So, how are things going?” I ask, twisting on my perch. “How’s fixing New Vetus coming along?”

It’s strange that all it took was a single battle to overcome the hesitance I felt around him. Even before, after I helped free him from the chairman, his sheer size and power intimidated me. I no longer feel the need to hold back around him, and that change only happened after I fought by his side against Kalma. I feel I learnt a lot about him in that battle alone.

“It’s a struggle, but things are progressing,” Tore says. “Who are you trying to find?”

“A friend of mine; Leal,” I say. “I helped free her dad from a gulag a while back.”

“Ah, that one.” Tore raised a hand and an ursu came running. “Take her to Adalbern,” he says before addressing me again. “Adalbern can help you.”

I step off Tore’s hand, carrying myself with a thin plume of physical flame. It would have been nice to talk with him for a while, but I’m sure he’s busy. I did interrupt his meeting.

“Thanks! Good to see you doing well.” And he does look well. Despite the gruff attitude and emotionless face, he seems far more animated than he was under the control of the chairman and council of the past. Even while fulfilling the position he never wanted.

He nods as I follow the ursu toward Adalbern. The name is familiar, but I can’t put my finger on where I’ve heard it. That changes the moment I see him. It’s the tall ursu who took command after the fall of the gulag.

Forgoing my guide, I fly ahead to the man who shared a cell with Gerben.

“How’d things go after you got out of the gulag?” I ask in a rush as I float in my flames before him. “Nobody died, right?”

My sudden appearance startles him, but my voice, alongside the floating fire, tips him off to my identity. “No, things went rather well for those of us that escaped. I can probably thank you for that, right? Many people talk of you as a legendary figure, right beside Tore Hund.”

“Really? But I’m not nearly as strong as he.”

“But you saved him. That might as well be saving each of us in the eyes of the ursu, mine included.”

I smile back to him — impeded again by the beak — It’s nice to receive appreciation… even if my goal was never to save the ursu besides Leal and Gerben.

“Not everything is perfect, as is usually the case,” Adalbern continues. “I organised the closure of each gulag as soon as Tore Hund declared the war over. As much as I hate it, doing so immediately was a mistake. It’s difficult to manage occupied land when much of your force wants to return home. Particularly with the new reliance on mages.” He looks back down at me as if just remembering I’m here. “Ah, apologies. You wouldn’t want to listen to my complaints. You’re here to find Gerben and his daughter?”

I’m surprised he guessed, but I nod regardless.

“They’re in Brua. I put Gerben in charge of reintegrating victims over there.”

“Brua?”

“Ah, it’s the city right on the edge of the isthmus.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Before I can rush to rejoin Grímr, Adalbern hurries to stop me. “Wait!” he runs inside the open wall of the building beside us and returns with a package. “If you’re going to see him anyway, could you take this with you?”

I let my flames wrap around the small wooden box. The ursu eyes my flames warily, as if he expects me to burn the thin timber, but he’s worrying for nothing. The box isn’t exactly light, but it won’t be an issue to carry it with me. Plus, I can just throw it on Grímr’s back and let him deal with the weight. He probably won’t even notice it.

I nod and am soon flying north again.

Hopefully, Leal will join us, but I’m not about to get my hopes up. Whether she accompanies us or not, I’m going to find my mum’s spear, give it the proper time it deserves, and wield it to the best of my ability. I’ve come to rely on my flames too much, and while they have been invaluable to me, my tribe has focused on wielding weapons for a reason; some enemies simply won’t be hurt by fire.

After that, well, it’s about time I went looking for the Agglomerate my mum used to always tell me stories about. I wonder if it’s as beautiful as she claimed.