Aleksi looked up and met his eyes.

  Galen felt a spike of terror and took a step back. Aleksi’s expression, hardened from being immersed in the fight, softened. A look of resignation appeared in his normally kind eyes.

  He felt a burst of guilt just then. Why was he scared of his mentor? He knew he wouldn’t hurt him…

  But Lord… God in heaven… there were just so many corpses…

  They reminded him of the man he’d killed in the tunnels earlier…

  “I hadn’t realized…” he heard Tufani whisper next to him.

  He turned to look at her, and saw she was staring with a similar, frightened transfixed gaze, at Aleksi. She gulped and continued, “I hadn’t realized just how far above us he was in power…”

  Tufani put a hand to her chest and clenched at her shirt, “Winds… I’m so weak…”

  Galen sympathized, for he felt the same feeling of utter helplessness in that moment.

  “Yes, you are…” Aleksi spoke as he sheathed his swords, walking slowly towards them with a calming, but commanding presence. “But everyone starts that way. There is no shame in it. The only indignity to be borne is if you choose to remain that way. And I know, I KNOW you two won’t.”

  He knelt in front of them, and gave them a paternal smile, “Don’t be frightened by what you two saw just now. You especially, lad. Believe me when I say the potential you two have is unlike anything I have ever seen. You will surpass me one day, and not by a small margin either. Give it just a couple years of intense training, and you’ll see I’m right.”

  Tufani nodded, regaining her composure somewhat.

  He looked to Galen, perhaps realizing he was having a harder time with this all than Tufani was. His expression shifted to concern as he looked into his eyes. Then, it became one of understanding sympathy.

  He placed his hands on Galen’s shoulders. “I know that look in your eyes, lad. It is the same one a new recruit has after his first major battle. The same that one who has never known conflict has after being thrust into a world a violence.”

  Aleksi paused for a moment before finishing, “The look of a man who had just been forced to kill for the first time in his life.”

  Galen broke eye contact and looked away, feeling nausea, guilt, and shame, all at once.

  The metallic smell of blood and death that permeated the air didn’t help.

  Aleksi pat his shoulders, “It will get easier, lad. With time and experience.”

  “That scares me,” he admitted. “I don’t know that I WANT to get used to this…”

  “Used to it?” Aleksi shook his head. “Lad, I said it would get easier. Not that you’d get used to it. Maker above… I HOPE you never get used to it. People with as much power as I have, and with power you will one day have, should never, EVER grow numb to taking lives.”

  Galen looked back to his mentor and saw something he hadn’t noticed before.

  A look of melancholy for the lives he had to take this day.

  Aleksi took a deep breath, “Come, we must get moving. Lusha is holding off Morpheus and the other Shadow. We must use the time she is buying and get as far away as quickly as possible.”

  “You didn’t beat them?!” Galen asked.

  Aleksi shook his head, “Sadly no… Shadows are not so easily defeated, lad. Even ones as young as they were.”

  “Wait…” Tufani cut him, staring wide-eyed at Aleksi. “Lusha is fighting them? ALONE?! Why?! Shouldn’t you be-”

  “I wish I could be there with her,” Aleksi quickly clarified. “But we have a mission we have to accomplish. No matter what. And besides, I know how powerful my wife is. She will be fine.”

  “Do you really think she can beat them on her own?” Galen asked.

  “Without their pesky Sentient Armor? From what I’ve seen, yes,” Aleksi sighed. “WITH that Armor, however… I don’t know that she can. Especially at the same time.”

  “Then-” Tufani began.

  Aleksi cut her off, “I don’t know that she can defeat them, but that doesn’t mean she will lose. Besides, she doesn’t need to win. She just needs to buy time and then escape. And THAT, lass, I have the utmost confidence she can pull off.”

  “What makes you so sure?” Tufani challenged.

  “She was the one who trained me when I joined the Rebellion,” Aleksi chuckled at seeing their bewildered looks. “Yes, I’m telling the truth. If she and I fought each other seriously ten times, she’d win seven times out of ten. Between the two of us, she is easily the more powerful and skilled fighter.”

  “No offense, but if that’s the case, then why are YOU the general?” Galen asked.

  Aleksi laughed. “Oh, that’s easy, lad. Because when it comes to tactics and strategies, I’m better than her by far.”

  The man clapped his hands together, “Now, we must get moving. But first, there’s something I must check on.”

  Aleksi put two fingers to his mouth and let out an incredibly loud, sharp whistle. Galen noted how Tufani flinched and covered her elf ears.

  “Warn me next time!” Tufani berated.

  “Sorry, lass,” the man apologized.

  “What was that about?” Galen asked.

  “I called out to a friend. It’d be best if we met them halfway though,” Aleksi explained. “We also need to start moving away from here, so let’s get moving.”

  ***

  They’d been running for about ten minutes when Redian chimed in his mind, “Heads up, boss!”

  Galen perked up, What’s wrong? Is it an enemy?!

  “I said heads up! As in look up! To the sky!”

  He did so right in time to see a large shadow passing over him. His jaw dropped when he saw an eagle sized bird fly overhead. He watched it go, flying back up and circling his location.

  It was a strange color for a bird. Its feathers were orange-yellow, with its beak being a dark red color. As it flew in the sky, Galen almost lost track of it several times due to how well it blended to the swirling lights of Avani’s sky.

  “Keep your guard up, boss!” Redian warned. “That ain’t just an ordinary eagle. It’s an Ether Beast!”

  “Damn!” he hissed as he reached to draw Redian.

  A hand fell on his shoulder to halt him. He turned to see Aleksi giving him a smile, “It’s alright, lad. That’s a friend.”

  He frowned, and looked back at the eagle to see it swooping down towards them. He flinched, but Aleksi simply took a step forward and reached out an arm. The massive bird landed on the man’s forearm in a graceful fashion.

  It regarded Galen with surprisingly intelligent and vibrant yellow eyes. It tilted its head, then let out a series of chirps and short screeches towards Aleksi.

  “Yes, he’s with me,” his mentor responded.

  A few more eagle noises.

  “What?” Aleski frowned. “No, I didn’t take your stick. What are you talking about?”

  The bird let out a loud chirp.

  “Ah, right. That one. Ask Komdar when you get back to him. He ought to-”

  The eagle interrupted with an angry sounding screech.

  “He said what?! I have no idea what he’s talking about!”

  The supposed Ether Beast seemed to narrow its eyes at the man, letting out a series of noises as it did.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Aleksi rolled his eyes, “Of course he’d say that! Listen, I really don’t know what happened to your stick. Why do you care so much about it?”

  The eagle screeched loudly.

  “Of course. It was your favorite stick to whack people with. Silly me,” Aleksi responded sarcastically.

  “Uh…” Galen cut in. “Can you actually… understand the bird?”

  The eagle let loose an offended scream his direction. A quick and tiny burst of flames shot forth from its beak as it did, forcing him to jump back while crying out, “WHOA!!!”

  “Now, now, Sioux,” Aleksi chided. “He didn’t mean to offend you. He’s… new to all this. Different world and all.”

  The now confirmed Ether Beast, Sioux, gave the man a look. Galen could have sworn if the thing had brows, it would be raising one right then.

  Sioux let out a few sounds.

  Aleksi frowned, “No, he’s not an idiot.”

  “Hey!” Galen protested.

  Sioux shot him a challenging screech.

  “I’m pretty sure that translates to, ‘FIGHT ME!’ I think?” Redian chimed in his head.

  Yeah, I understood THAT one, he responded.

  Tufani looked at the eagle on Aleksi’s arm, looked to Galen, then asked, “Are you seriously arguing with an Ether Beast?”

  “Hey, he started it!” he protested.

  Before Sioux could respond, Aleksi cut in, “No fighting. Sioux, did you notice any more enemies close to us?”

  The bird shook its head.

  “Alright, good. Do you have any news for me? And if so, from who?”

  Sioux raised a foot in answer. It had a tube of some sort tied to it tightly.

  Aleksi reached behind him to pull out a hunting knife, using it to cut the cord. He caught the tube as it fell, and tossed it to Galen.

  He caught it, and noticed it was sealed tight with a cork. He pulled it free and let the contents inside drop to his hand. It was a small scroll, which he promptly handed to Aleksi.

  Sioux hopped off Aleksi’s arm and landed on the ground, allowing the general to read the contents of the message.

  The man’s immediate reaction was a frown, but as he read, his expression slowly relaxed. Once he finished, he was smiling.

  “Good news!” Aleksi announced. “Komdar’s not too far from the town where that airship will be docking. He says he’ll get there before us and to find him once we arrive.”

  “That’s great!” Galen gestured to Sioux. “Now, what’s the deal with our little messenger here?”

  “What do you mean? That’s Sioux,” Aleksi answered, as though that was supposed to explain everything.

  “That… that doesn’t answer anything,” Galen responded.

  “Of course it does!” Aleksi grinned.

  “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” the man confirmed, his grin still present.

  Galen chuckled, “Alright, so, I guess you understanding and talking with Sioux was part of that little joke at my expense?”

  Aleksi’s grin faded, and he answered very seriously, “Oh, no. That was real.”

  Galen blinked.

  Tufani, of all people, chuckled, “You should see your face, Daxton…”

  “Oh, haha!” he protested, though the smile on his lips showed that he wasn’t all that annoyed.

  Much.

  “I think we’re ignoring something important,” Galen pointed out.

  “And that is?” Tufani asked.

  He pointed at Aleksi, “You can understand animals?!”

  “Of course not,” the man answered with a confused tone, as if wondering why he would think that he could.

  Galen’s brow began to twitch, “Okay… so you can’t understand animals… but you can understand Sioux here?”

  “Yes. Because he’s not an animal. He’s an Ether Beast,” Aleksi explained.

  Galen looked to Tufani, who simply shrugged.

  At least she looked somewhat confused.

  “Can you understand Sioux?” he asked her desperately.

  “Not particularly, no,” she thankfully answered.

  Galen turned back to Aleksi, dramatically gesturing to Tufani as if to say, “See?!”

  “Of course she wouldn’t understand, Sioux, lad. She barely met the hawk today, whereas I’ve known him for years now.”

  Okay, so apparently Sioux isn’t an eagle but a hawk… Hawks aren’t supposed to be as big as eagles though! Ah, whatever! Its probably bigger because its an Ether Beast… he thought.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, “And that changes things… how exactly?”

  “I really don’t know what you’re getting at, lad,” Aleksi sighed.

  Galen took a deep, long, calming breath.

  He then asked, “So, you can understand Sioux? As in you can understand the sounds he makes as words? Like you can understand when I speak English?”

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous, lad. Of course not,” Aleksi answered, causing Galen to throw up his hands in the air.

  Aleksi continued, “I don’t translate Sioux’s screeches and chirps as words in my mind. Rather I read the… intent and meaning behind them. Also, I’m not always accurate in my interpretations.”

  “Could’ve fooled me…” Galen muttered, deciding to drop the topic. “Anyway, no changes to the plan, then? We just keep making our way to the town where that airship will be landed?”

  “Correct, lad.”

  “Then, let’s get going already!”

  “Agreed. As amusing as it was seeing Daxton become exasperated with you, I think we’ve wasted enough time,” Tufani added.

  “Very well,” Aleksi turned to Sioux.

  He pulled out a pen from his pack, and began to write on the back of the paper that Komdar had sent. He then rolled it up, put it back in its original tube, then securely tied it to Sioux’s foot. “Take that back to Komdar, if you please, Sioux.”

  It gave an affirming screech before ascending impressively high into the air with a single flap of its wings. Then, as though it were a jet from Earth, Sioux flew off in a burst of staggering speed.

  “Damn, he’s fast…” Galen muttered, having already lost track of the Ether Beast due to both the distance it was covering and its natural camouflaging with the sky’s odd colors.

  “Indeed,” Aleksi grinned. “Sioux’s one of our fastest messengers. He’s rather powerful as well, so I pity anyone from the Dominion who tries to intercept him.”

  “You don’t say…” Galen eyed his mentor. “So… Ether Beasts can be tamed?”

  “Be grateful you didn’t say that in front of Sioux, lad. You might have found yourself burnt to a crisp if you’d used the forbidden ‘T word’ in front of him.”

  “Seriously?” he asked with widened eyes.

  “Probably,” Aleksi shrugged. “It would depend on his mood. Back to your question though, it depends. Ether Beasts that are still lacking in the intelligence department aren’t too different from standard wild animals, so taming is possible for them. One like Sioux, however, has developed with Ether to the point that their intelligence is notably elevated. Those aren’t really able to be ‘tamed’ so to speak. Rather, we cooperate.”

  Galen raised a brow, “Cooperate? What’s in it for Sioux then? What does a hawk get out of helping a bunch of humans?”

  “Well, for one, we help protect it from the Dominion. They love getting their hands on intelligent Ether Beasts like Sioux and experimenting on them. We also give Sioux food and shelter in exchange for delivering messages and aiding us from time to time. So it’s a mutually beneficial relationship,” Aleksi explained.

  “Huh… neat. Not gonna lie, I keep forgetting about how Ether also enhances one’s mind,” he admitted.

  “Many normally do. Until they run into an intelligent Ether Beast like Sioux, that is. It’s interesting note that for enlightened species like us, who are already at the apex of intelligence, we don’t benefit all that much from Ether’s intellect enhancements. Animals, however, benefit far more from it. They still aren’t on the levels of average humans, at least, the majority aren’t, but it’s still fascinating to observe.”

  “Are you both done talking?” Tufani asked, sounding impatient and anxious. “We really should get moving.”

  His mentor chuckled, “Agreed. Onward then-”

  Aleksi suddenly froze, his brow furrowing, “That’s strange. Why is Sioux rushing back-”

  A distant explosion was heard booming across the plains.

  And it came from the direction that the hawk had flown.

  “Sioux!” Aleksi shouted in the direction of the explosion.

  The man suddenly tensed, eyes widening as he turned sharply with blurring speed before suddenly being sent flying back by a powerful and fast strike.

  ***

  Lusha frowned as she dodged another coordinated attack from Morpheus and his fellow shadow. As she slid back she called out, “Your attacks have been lacking bite for some time now! Buying time for your armor to adapt to my Wind Affinity are you?”

  It made sense, she supposed. She could tell her Wind Arts were having a steadily decreasing effect as the fight wore on.

  Perhaps they’re trying to buy time to fully adapt, then hit me with overwhelming force once they don’t need to fear my Wind Affinity, Lusha theorized. But… that method would take time. Time they don’t have. The more that is wasted, the further Zareb will get away with Galen and Tufani. So what-

  Morpheus chuckled, then began to laugh. His laughter began to intensify, until he was doubling over.

  Lusha glared, “What’s so funny, Shadow?!”

  He stood back upright, and shook his head at her, “Oh, you ignorant, foolish hybrid! What was it Zareb stated earlier? He said that we seemed focused on trying to leave here to go after the Champion. As ideal as that would have been, he was wrong.”

  Lusha could practically feel the grin Morpheus had underneath his helm, “You see, hybrid… I WANTED you to believe that. I wanted you two to believe that we were the only ones present for this operation.”

  Lusha’s eyes widened with realization.

  Morpheus, knowing that any further wasted time now benefited him rather than Lusha, continued to explain, “Did you really think only two Shadows would be brought for an operation of this importance? Allow me to remind you, tainted one, that we Shadows are masters of infiltration. Masters at blending in. So what if one of us posed as a regular soldier, waiting to strike?”

  Lusha bolted, trying to use an Art to create an opening to escape, only to be cut off by Morpheus’s companion.

  She had to dodge the storm of rapier thrusts as she was forced back to the middle of the chamber, Morpheus and the other Shadow on either side.

  “Now, you stated your arrogance in believing you could take us both. Let us see if there is any bite to your bark, hybrid,” Morpheus snarled as they both charged at her.

  Lusha hissed. She had been the one keeping them here, but now the situation had been completely flipped.

  Zareb! She thought as she shifted tactics from defensive to more offensive. Be safe!

  Next chapter will be released Monday, January 19th, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST.

  A huge thank you and special shoutout to my Page Turner tier Patron, LOOKOUT, Myth Keeper tier Patron, Lukas Votava, and my Lore Master tier Patrons, Mountain Knight, Conman2731, ThoMiCroN, MCE 2 Munchen 2, and Voltrus. Your support is sincerely and greatly appreciated.