We rode hard through the afternoon, braving the heat that poured down on us in waves. The plant life became sparser as we progressed, and soon it was clear that we were in the desert. Behind us I could still see the outline of the trees we'd been sheltered by this morning, but they seemed very far away. Ahead of us was a seemingly endless sea of sand and heat, but the road continued through the desolate land and I could see the trading city like a thick black line on the horizon. If I squinted my eyes, I might have been able to see other travelers on the road ahead of us, but I couldn't say for sure if those figures were real or a mirage.

As the sun began to dip in the sky, we paused to set up camp. Unlike in the jungle, where we had to plan our camps in advance and often had to stop early to ensure we had a spot before dark, we could stop anywhere in the desert and it was all the same. Unfortunately, this also meant that there was nothing to use as cover to hide us from the creatures that roamed at night.

There was no hunting or foraging to be done, so dinner was limited to the ingredients we had with us. With no water source available, Shidah opened a large cask of water we’d been saving and watered the horses thoroughly. They’d worked hard today and I admit I felt guilty they’d been forced to bear our weights through such impenetrable heat. I was assured that all the horses were experienced with the desert and would be fine as long as they were kept hydrated and allowed proper rest.

Nightfall came slowly in the desert. The sunset, which was glorious to behold, took a full movement to come to its completion. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky grew orange at first before turning a brilliant red at the halfway point. As the moon rose to share the spotlight, the sky faded to a deep pink, highlighted with purple, before finally reaching the deep blue of twilight. It was a sunset that was incomparable to any sunset I’d seen before it. I watched it all in quiet wonder as we slowly ate our dinner and allowed the day’s heat to dissipate from our bodies.

After the sun had finished setting, I learned that the desert got very cold at night. The stark contrast to the warmth of the day made it seem all the more so. For safety's sake, we avoided lighting a fire, as it would attract whatever was roaming the desert right to us. There was only a quarter of the moon remaining and the stars twinkled brightly in the sky. Though I’d seen the night sky dozens of times since I left my father’s home, the night seemed all the brighter and more exciting out here. Far on the horizon, the black line that was the trading city emitted a strange glow, shining like a beacon for the wayward traveller. We’d arrive by sunfall the following evening to await the night of the new moon.

I found myself shivering, despite wearing a blanket around my shoulders, and decided it was time to get into our tent for the night. Andrian came with me and wrapped me in his arms under the blankets. The heat from his body was far warmer and more satisfying than any campfire could possibly be. I soon stopped shivering and basked in his warmth as I fell asleep.

Like every other morning, someone came around to rouse us from our slumber just before the start of the fourth movement. The cold had intensified while we slept and I wrapped myself in every layer of clothing I could find. Andrian seemed completely unaffected by the cold and I couldn’t help but wonder how he was able to retain so much heat. Despite the early hour, the first hints of the rising sun could be seen. I wondered if the sunrise would be as spectacular as the sunset.

Once the sun began to rise, which was indeed as spectacular as when it set, the warmth began to return to the land. I stretched and began the usual series of movements that Andrian had me do every morning with the intent of improving my stance. This was often the hardest part for me, as it required holding rigid and exact poses without faltering. My endurance just wasn’t up to par yet and my muscles were always burning from the effort of holding the various postures.

As we were about to move on to the next type of torture, Andrian suddenly became silent and gestured for me to do the same. I listened carefully to see if I could hear what he was hearing. There was a strange rumbling sound that seemed to be coming towards us.

"Wake the others," he told me, not looking away from the direction of the rumbling. As I hurried to do as he said, I heard him mutter, "This isn't good."

I went to Shidah's tent first, since he would be the most powerful ally in battle. It took him a moment to shake off the fog of sleep, but once he did, he sprang into action. I woke Luxania next, then the other non-combatant Estra.

"Now go to our tent and open my bag," he instructed, "get the extra sword. Be ready to use it."

Heart pounding, I raced back to our tent and found his bag. Tucked inside was a simple short sword in a leather sheath. I pulled the blade out of its sheath and headed back outside. Just as I exited the tent, the faint rumbling sound stopped. Was it a false alarm?

Before I had a chance to ask, about thirty feet from us, some of the rock and sand suddenly collapsed, leaving a small crater. I felt a sense of foreboding as I looked at the hole in the ground. It was likely that the rumbling sound was the cause, but then what caused the rumbling sound?

The answer to my question began to emerge from the bottom of the crater. One after another, the creatures poured out. Ten spider-like legs attached to a long torso with pincers at the end of two long arms. Heads without eyes, but with mouths full of teeth that looked like hundreds of needles. The hideous things were beige in color and probably about waist high. More than a dozen of them poured out before one more, at least twice my size, emerged.

I stood gaping in horror at the sight before me. These monsters were unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I'd known fear many times in my life, but nothing prepared me for the terror and revulsion I felt when I looked at them. In Vrayna, I'd encountered a dire wolf when traveling with the Second Prince's knights, but that was my only experience with monsters. The hand that held Andrian's extra sword trembled. What could I possibly do against these things?

Shidah shifted into a bear and attacked the large one without hesitation, while Andrian and Luxania took their swords and went after the smaller ones. Estra surprised me by shifting into his giant owl and flying into the air before swooping down and grabbing one of the monsters by the neck. He flew it into the air and dropped it back to the ground. The resulting impact was enough to cripple, if not kill it. In the time it took Estra to kill one, Andrian and Luxania had killed three others.

The larger monster howled in pain as Shidah's bear form tore off its limbs one by one, his jaws clenched tightly around its spine. It was clear who would win this battle. The monsters I found so terrifying were no match for my companions, who dispatched them with incredible speed. It would have been a perfect victory if not for the one monster that managed to dodge Andrian's wild swings and charged at me where I was standing near the tents.

Not knowing what else to do, I prepared a defensive stance and stood with Andrian’s sword held at the ready in front of me.

Day two, I coached myself as I braced for its approach, this is the strike from day two. Just wait for the right moment and–

The monster came into range and I swung the sword downwards, trying to strike it down as it made its attack. And I missed. However, I managed to redirect its attack so that instead of a fatal wound to my stomach, those needle-like teeth were embedded in my arm. I clenched my jaw to keep from screaming in pain, so as not to distract the others from their own battles. Besides, with the creature attached to my arm, it was an easy target for my sword. I stabbed into its back and its jaws released my arm as it shrieked in pain. Blood gushed from where it bit me, but I ignored that and swung my sword again, decapitating the thing before it could recover.

Instinctively, I dove back into my tent to grab the healing potion I still had in my bag. I was losing a lot of blood from the dozens of tiny but deep wounds in my forearm. I heard someone calling to me from outside the tent, footsteps approaching quickly, and another person saying something about getting bandages. I ignored them all and opened the potion, pouring it over the bite. I felt a little dizzy. I'd lost a lot of blood in a short amount of time. Should I be worried? No, the bleeding stopped. I feel sleepy. Is the tent moving?

I was no longer alone in the tent. Andrian was suddenly next to me, supporting my waist and trying to check my injury. My head was swimming, but somehow everything was starting to feel less foggy. The bite, which would have bled me out quickly if left untreated, was healing rapidly before our eyes. By the time Estra arrived with the bandages, my skin was whole and the pain was gone. I couldn't be certain, but I was pretty sure that some of the blood I'd lost had been replenished as well.

I looked at Andrian with a foggy grin on my face and told him, "I killed one."

"Yes, you did," Andrian laughed, "you did a good job. Those things are just nasty little parasites, but they're not easy to kill."

"To be honest, they were the most terrifying things I've ever seen," I admitted, "those legs, and those teeth, and... ugh. What the hell were they?"

"Monsters from the wildlands," Estra replied with a shrug, "they're new to me. Uglier than most."

"They are a type of ground dwelling monster we call Devourers," Andrian informed us, "they tunnel around and emerge when they want to feed. It's rare to see them this far west, or at all. They usually eat corpses over attacking live prey like us."

"You've seen these things before?" I asked.

"A few times. I helped wipe out a nest of them a while back," Andrian explained, "There were hundreds of them in that nest and there were nowhere near enough corpses lying around to keep them fed, so they started attacking army camps and nearby villages. We had to follow their underground tunnels to find the main nest, which was all the way into the wildlands. We lost some good soldiers that day. I'll never forget the sight of those creatures climbing over each other to get to us."

I shuddered at the thought. A dozen of them was more than I ever wanted to see.

“But how is that arm feeling?” Estra asked me, grabbing my arm to inspect it. “It looks completely healed, but I can't tell if there's still injuries under the skin."

I tried moving my arm in various ways before answering, “I think it's actually healed. It doesn't hurt, at least. But I still feel a little light-headed from all the bleeding.”

"Oh, very nice!" Estra exclaimed, "Your first healing potion was a complete success then. It would take a far more difficult recipe to make a potion strong enough to restore all that lost blood. The fact that it healed such a horrible wound is an impressive feat."

I couldn't help but check my arm again to make sure it was really healed. No matter how I moved it, there was definitely no pain. I smiled faintly at my scarless skin, feeling proud of my work.

“I’m just glad you thought to grab it as quickly as you did,” Andrian commented, “those teeth are pretty long and probably severed multiple arteries. Another few minutes of bleeding and you wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Andrian gave me a stern look and continued, “You did well, and I hope this can serve as a lesson about the reality of battle.”

I pondered his words for a moment. Why would I ever want to go into battle? Assuming he had misinterpreted my motives, I shook my head and said, “I’m not learning the sword for the purpose of going into battle though. I’m learning so I can defend myself. I want to be stronger because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being protected. But the only reason I would end up in battle is on days like today when I can’t avoid it.”

Andrian sighed and explained, "That's not exactly what I meant. In training, you are taught movements that you use to fight one or many opponents. First you memorize those movements, then you find a sparring partner to practice them on. But your sparring partner isn't trying to kill you and your sparring partner also isn't a monster. No matter how much you prepare, it's different when you're fighting for your life. The fear, the adrenaline, and the confusion; for some people, it's like being intoxicated. They find it exhilarating and revel in the moment. Others find it overwhelming or terrifying. I’ve seen a couple guys that just froze in place and let the monsters cut ‘em down, but then there are others who go to the complete opposite extreme and start swinging wildly at everything in their path. Of course, many are able to stay calm and use their skills and training in the heat of battle. For better or worse, you now know which type of person you are."

"Ah, I see what you mean," I replied, "but I really can't say what type of person this makes me. Even though it just happened, it feels like a hazy memory at best. I mean, I certainly didn't revel in it, but I didn't freeze up either. At least I don't think I did. I was scared, but I was able to think. And I don't want to do it again, if that's possible".

Andrian laughed at my honest statement and said, "I would have been very surprised if you said it was fun. It's good that you were able to think. That's a good sign that you're not doing all this for nothing."

"What do you mean?" I asked, “How could it be for nothing?”

"Well, would you want to keep doing all that work if you couldn't reap the benefits?" Estra asked with a raised eyebrow, "If you didn't have magic, would you still want to learn about potions, knowing you could never make them?"

I couldn't argue with their logic. What would be worse? Knowing I needed to be protected, or thinking I'd learned enough to protect myself and finding out I was wrong at a crucial moment. Obviously, the latter would be the worst scenario. If I was to be honest, the main reason I wanted to be able to fight for myself was because we still had to go back to Vrayna. If we went back for the wedding and I ran into my father's men... I didn't want to be helpless. I hadn’t admitted that to him, or myself, quite yet. If it came to it, could I face Albrecht with the same calmness I'd faced the Devourer with? I hoped so.

After both Estra and Luxania carefully examined my arm, they concluded that we could continue traveling without putting me in any danger, but Estra insisted that I drink another healing potion before we left. I'd been too worried about the bleeding the first time to notice, but the potion tasted even worse than the one I drank for my voice. I idly wondered about what made the two potions so different. If a regular healing potion allowed me to recover from blood loss and injury, why didn't we just use one for my voice as well?

When I asked my question, Estra began a lengthy explanation that didn't make all that much sense to me. I eventually understood that there was a difference between a fresh wound and a partially healed one, and that general healing was different from specialized healing. When I thought of the doctors of Vrayna, what he said made a little more sense. The apothecary couldn't diagnose illnesses, and only basic medical treatments were performed by the general practitioners, who could diagnose illnesses. From what Estra told me, a basic healing potion would have taken away the pain and healed the remaining wounds, but it wouldn't have healed my voice. General potions and specialized potions were as fundamentally different as the different branches of human medicine. I had a lot to learn. But either way, my arm was healed, my blood was replenished, and I could look forward to learning many different potions in the future. That was good enough for me.

While we talked and packed up the tents, Shidah was hard at work collecting the undamaged pieces of the largest Devourer's exoskeleton. I learned that, in the Beastlands, where smelting and blacksmithing were common, the best armor and weapons were made from the remains of monsters. Things like exoskeletons, claws, bones, and fangs could be used to make swords, shields, and even full plate armor. What Shidah was collecting would be sold and used to further strengthen the beast army.

Packed and ready, we continued on our way without further incident. By mid-afternoon, the black line on the horizon revealed itself to be an enormous city surrounded by a thick stone wall with a large gate to allow people traveling the road to enter the city. The wall was far less magnificent than the one surrounding the inner parts of the Golden City, but it was spectacular in its own right. The wall continued in both directions, well beyond my line of sight. If I had to hazard a guess, it was the size of the Golden City plus the forest surrounding it.

Because we had taken a detour to the south, we entered the city through the southern gate, where the rest of the army had entered from the north. Our destination, where we would rejoin the others, was in the center of the city and it would take us until the afternoon of the next day to get there. For tonight we would enter the city and find lodgings for the night.

The main gate had more guards than expected, but they seemed unconcerned about our group. Their job was to watch for invading monsters, not travelers. In Vrayna, the guards were there to keep the common folk from showing themselves in front of the nobility and to protect the Royal family. Here, all beastmen were free to come and go as they pleased, and the guards were there to protect everyone, no matter who they were.

The Golden Palace and my father's home seemed so far away now, as did the person I had become while I was there. I was eager to take the next step in my journey. I no longer had to be Julien de Ramport, the unwanted son and sacrificial bride. I was Falyn, with a lifetime of experiences to live and a mate who loved me. The road here had been long and arduous, but I'd made it in one piece. And thus we entered the western trading city of the Beastlands.

End of Part 1.

***

Woo! I did it. Part one (book one?) is complete! 

I think I've mentioned before that I originally intended for this to be a 25-30 chapter novel... so much for that! I also had intended to write a story that was mostly fluff and smut with only exactly enough drama keep it interesting... nope, didn't really do that either. The results of my efforts is the exact same original plot, but the pacing and worldbuilding are completely different, and the romantic progression took on a life of its own (with a lot less smut involved). 

Either way, we've reached the halfway point of Falyn's journey. Kind of. I think. Nothing is how I originally planned it, so I have to accept that even though I know where I'm going with the story, how I get there is a guess at best. At chapter five, this webnovel became the longest thing I've ever written and I'm loving the process as well as the challenge of writing it. To be honest, sometimes I get stuck in the transitions and it takes me two days to write a single page. Other days I can sit down a write two chapters in an afternoon, but those days are rare. But knowing that there's people out there (even if it's only a few) that look forward to the next chapter has really helped keep me going - I don't respond to comments very often (cause I feel like no matter what I say, I just sound super awkward), but I appreciate all of them. The support I've received so far has been the most rewarding part of telling Falyn's story.  

Thank you for reading and I'll be back next week with the first chapter of part two!