Endless Waltz

I'd barely even looked at the great tree as we raced away from its chamber, rushing out into the Southern dunes away from the Valley of Fallgrim. I wasn't exactly a rocket scientist on the subject yet, but if I had to make an educated guess, I'd say that this entire region had some kind of special vibe... that wasn't exactly the best word for it, but my mind was still clear and smooth, The Blood of the Warrior, was it really magic? or something else?

Either way, the Red Sea felt like a place of birth, of great power and danger.

Even as I rode harmlessly on the back of my Sphinka, My eyes studied the Monochrome orb in my hands, soft and vibrating, filled with potential "Hold on tight in there, little buddy. I'll keep you safe, I owe you that much... for killing your mother." I whispered, feeling the small ball shimmer with life.

"What are you talking to Great Warrior!" Fiore cried as she clung unto the rapidly sprinting Sphinka that **** the three of us along like bullets streaking across the dunes under the virgin night sky, where the two moons watched with their ivory gazes.

The red sea was beautiful at night, cold enough to see your breath but damn beautiful nonetheless.

Long stretches of red sand, climbing high on the dune littered vista, the moons and stars dotted the black sky lighting the orange crags and jagged cliffs as Our trio raced through them into a better tomorrow.

We travelled for days, Stopping only so that Fiore and the Sphinka could hunt for nourishment, Our days collected into couples, where the days would ooze away quickly back into the night, the sun did not remain for long on this world that much was clear, and yet as we trekked across the sea, we came to a prompt but much-needed stop; Our half waypoint.

The Sphinka were not unhappy to dismount us, settling the troupe in a small exposed cave, open to the stars where we sat, getting a fire going as Fiore sang her songs.

This had been the first time that we'd actually had time to sit down and talk since racing away from the great tree, and damn were the stars beautiful; twinkling from above. My eyes watched the huge shadow on the dark horizon, a mountain big as a city, pits of smoke rising from its body.

"The Frost of Olympia, the Heart mountain, the Litchen called it." Aquila was there too, kicking her feet happily as you both gazed off into the world.

"Olympus Mons, that's what we call her back home." I let a smart smile creep on my face, she seemed to enjoy it.

"You're a lot different, You seem so-"

"Focused. Yes." I agreed, everything was so clear, the path I needed to take was laid before me it was just the case of how well I could follow the yellow brick road.

That's when she spoke the magic words "How are you going to survive when the Anthem burns out?"

Curious... My eyes lowered to Fiore who fed the Sphinka who purred on their sides. My eyes the colour of melted gold lingered on her for a moment. So, she knew about the Instinct; about the Anthem.

"You have it too? that's... crazy, I've never met anybody with my Instincts before." I had encountered many surprises, but this one set it in stone, the connection between earth and Mars, it was a lot more personal than I had earlier anticipated.

She lent in, touched the space between my ribs, she always smelt sweet and soft, like coconut and honey "You don't make any sense to me... You should have burned out by now, I can only use it for minutes, but your reserve is just... endless. What did that Tree do to you?"

I could feel it, little electrical zaps on my nerve endings, a roadmap to the interaction of the world, my perception of the world, The Path was clear "I am awake. all my life, I hid this power away, coming to this place, drinking that sap, it unlocked my chains, I am complete at last. I am ready to Fight." My conviction was reflected in those blue orbs.

"We need to prepare you, City life is nothing like this, we have customs, things you might not understand.." Griff paused as I clutched at her arm.

I knew that she saw the fire in my eyes "I want to learn it all, teach me of this world, hold nothing back."

The Wolf that Mounts the world, that's who I needed to be.

Fiore, the Sphinka and I listen to Griffin's tales of Marte and its many truths, cultures and secrets, many things that I would come to see and know as if they were my own. Fiore seemed excited, although slightly confused, she didn't seem to grasp the idea of Regions.

"So multiple places where different people live but others mix with those people, and some people don't live in their homelands, what kinds of hoards are these?" Fiore asked in mild disorientation.

"Multiple regions, like countries divided up along the planet's surface area, Nine of them:"

The Red Sea: (Where you were now) its capital, Leonis, the city being the only one that had survived in this part of the Deep South, where the Litchen live.

The Crags: The Dark lands of grey crags, obsidian valleys of black stone in the South West, were a race known as the Krake, toil in the cursed city of Uldwick, where the maniac Krake can stab each other in the back.

The Limitless Hills: apparently... floating hills, like just floating in the sky to the south-east, with a lovely little race called Tellu, who are apparently blue... how adorable."

Griffin snorted "Different shades of blue. Don't be insensitive."

"What about the other one's?" Fiore asked enthusiastically.

Well... there's the Severed Mountains: to the Northeast, where strange-sounding peoples, called the Spart, hulking monsters covered in exoskeletons made of redbone. up in their cities which latched unto the sides of the mountain range.

Cold Meadow: and the Raan to the south.

Shoth: home of the... well, Shoth, to the North West

The Extrema Valley: of the Extremis to the West

The Lands of Sage: to the East, Home of the Aten... I cannot wait to meet one of those.

"And then Charity: the Home of the Vermilico, so Griff and technically me I suppose" I finished, Fiore seemingly catching onto it a little better this time.

Griff sat, palm on cheek, almost scanning me with her eyes, her smile invigorated by the Great Trees wellspring. "Near-perfect recall... You're something else." She whispered.

"Feels like it," I confirmed, feeding the fire with scraps of branches from the desolated dark trees that we would come across every so often, alive even in the wicked frost of the martian night.

"Fioremika and Griff-Griff saw the new glyph on Great Warrior's skin. He parted the storm like it was nothing!" Fiore spoke in near reverence.

"That's four Glyphs now, we have a matching set." Griff agreed, seemingly still fascinated with my efforts.

I shrugged "The Storm was in the way, it was simple particle separation, I can see them now, in the air, I can see it all." The Web of fate was before my very eyes, it all felt almost like a game, a game I had the cheat codes to, from that day onwards, I'd be one with this world "Everything is spinning, constantly... the planet around the Sun, 686 times it dances through the cosmos, twisting and turning in an endless waltz... I can feel it now, all of it."

"Don't be silly, You can't feel the rotation of the planet." Griffin laughed it off, but there was no laughter in my face.

"It never ends, it only begins. And that's where we are right? The Beginning. it's all so clear, we are all puppets to fate, tangled in strings... But I'm the puppeteer now." It was a fact, It was just down to how I chose to play.

"We're only a couple of days away from the City, there is some serious business that we need to conclude before we get there."

"Like what, Griff-Griff? Fiore is tired of tricky situations, Fiore wants to relax." The Young Huntress groaned at Griff, leaning her white head on my shoulder comfortably.

Griff sighed, folding her arms "You can call me Aquila, at least when we're alone. And unfortunately, as Mysteria, You both have new responsibilities. The Scarlet Empire isn't a place where we get to rest. Between the Ministry Hunting us and the Empire desolating our people... we have to act, peace is a virtue we win for others, not ourselves. That is why I need you to initiate you, here, tonight."

Fiore seemed confused, but I got the Idea "Like a ceremony?"

"Something like that. Come on, I saw a good spot. Bring the Pack with the Helmet in it, Fiore your mask too." Aquila stood promptly and stalked off into the night.

Fiore clutched my arm nervously, I could feel the trembling in her heart "Are things, changing with us, have these marks changed our songs; our destinies?" She asked softly, sharply.

I smiled, listening to the fire crackle at the air "Yes, it's incredible. Come on, the Sphinka will stay with the fire."

I lead her away into the darkness, following Aquila who swept like a ghost through the night, I had to race after her, Fiore barely hanging on as we darted away.