Harper found the next caravan heading to Mentril easily enough. It would pass through a few towns in Yornel before arriving in Arboren, and then head straight to her destination. It would be leaving the following morning. Harper spent the day browsing shops and exploring the city. It was similar enough to port cities in Magnon to be familiar. The biggest difference was in the diversity of the crowd.

  It was not exactly uncommon to have tetrans and labuntans in Magnon, especially in her home nation of Quilen. It was the variety of characteristics in humans that was surprising. There were people hailing from all over Magnon. The pale olive skin and brown hair of the southwest, the darker skin and hair of the southeast, and the lighter tones and blonde or red hair of the north. Even the genetic heritage of the people hailing from the eastern Guttae Islands made an appearance, bronze skin and dark brown hair.

  After sleeping another night at the inn, she paid the fee and joined the caravan’s procession. In return for paying their modest price, Harper would be able to ride in the passenger wagon when she wanted to and would enjoy the protection of the caravan guard. Most of the guards rode on horses with muskets on their backs. The rest stood around the caravan, prepared to transform into their Aliuses.

  Harper arrived only a little early, electing to walk the first segment. After all the cargo was loaded and the passengers arrived, the caravan set out. Four guards switched to their other forms.

  They morphed into white light, raw aethereal energy, which then reshaped itself into the bodies stored in their aetherspace and resolidified as their Aliuses. The process took around twenty seconds, some faster than others. Two of them turned into birds, an eagle and a sparrow, and flew ahead to scout. One turned into a horse and patrolled around the caravan.

  The last took the form of a large rat-like creature, almost the size of a horse. A musrex, I believe. While not the most elegant, it was still a two Domain creature and worthy of respect. Any creature that possessed more than one Domain had stepped beyond the mundane. The greatest advantage of a musrex being not its combat prowess, but it’s amazing sense of smell. The guard would be able to smell almost any threat before it ambushed the caravan.

  Harper looked on jealously. All but the poorest absorbed at least one Domain core into themselves after manifesting their first Domain. Most didn’t go through the effort of growing an Alius though. It was an expensive endeavor, and it only got more expensive as one absorbed cores from better creatures. One day, she thought. But she didn’t have ambitions for something as middling as a musrex.

  No, she set her sights much higher.

  The first leg of the journey was uneventful. These areas were well colonized and cleared. They passed acres of fields being worked by labuntans and overseers. The occasional village or hamlet littered the path. Anything that could truly be called wilderness was only traveled through for a portion of the day. At some point around the three-day mark, they had crossed from the colony of Orosburgh into Yornel.

  The forests in Yornel were somewhat denser than the previous colony's foliage. The road was well traveled enough that they didn’t have to cut their way through, of course, but the frequency of farms and isolated homesteads steadily decreased. The guards, while not tense, were slightly more vigilant. This was when Harper watched this trip’s first skirmish

  Most creatures avoided the caravan, knowing that they were not to be trifled with. The route that was followed avoided any nexuses that could be the territory of dangerous creatures. Only a few types of creatures would attack a full caravan.

  The first and least likely would be a powerful creature that would feel little danger from the caravan and detect something beneficial. This happened very rarely for a number of reasons. The colonies took great pains to kill or drive off any truly powerful creatures. It was doubtful any were this far into the tamed lands. That most caravans had nothing that would draw a three Domain creature far off its course was also a factor.

  The next type that would attack a caravan was chimeric creatures. Chimeric creatures all had three things in common. The Lunar Domain, bodies that are an unnatural fusion of several different creatures, and an aggressive disposition bordering on frenzy.

  The last is just a creature or creatures foolish enough to attack, whether driven by blind greed or desperation. They were also the easiest to deal with. This was the type that appeared. A pack of wolves emerged from the forest on their right flank. Right into the waiting guns of the guard. They had long been alerted and moved into position.

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  The pack did not last very long; they were a mix of one Domain and mundane creatures, drawn by the cargo of food and cores. The volley of shots was enough to immediately cut down their numbers by half; the wolves quickly retreating. Some of the guards gave chase, probably hoping to down one with a core and get a nice bonus. To Harper, it was fairly anti-climactic. She sighed and returned to meditating on the Domain of Sky.

  Manifesting a Domain had been one of the greatest frustrations of her life. Most people gained their first Domain when only slightly older than she was. But most people weren’t privileged with cores to consume and the quality of education on Domains she enjoyed. Her attempts to gain the Solar Domain were completely fruitless; she had set the endeavor aside completely to focus on the Aerial Domain, which felt as if she could get it at any time.

  It had felt that way for a year now.

  Harper tried to focus on the feelings the sky gave her and how they related to its associated Domain. The Domain of Sky, also called the Weather or Aerial Domain, was about the weather and concepts evoked by it. Almost every creature that had it could fly, she couldn’t even think of one that didn’t. It often served as a supportive Domain; it paired well with one more power oriented. Such as the Domain of Sun or the Domain of Lightning.

  She tried to imagine herself flying, her body hurtling through the atmosphere, nothing around to impede or trap her. At this thought she felt something and quickly she redoubled her concentration. The wind rushing around her and supporting her will. The contrast of wide-open skies and a ceiling draped in insubstantial grey. The heavens pouring water onto the earth below, rejoining the-

  The exiled noble quickly suppressed the feeling and opened her eyes in irritation. Shattered Moon! I was onto something. Why does this keep happening!? Harper breathed in and out deeply, calming herself. She took a moment to hold the bitterness and then let it fade away.

  Harper sighed and jumped out of the wagon before they started off again. The stop to fend off the wolves had doubled as a lunch break. She’d eat while walking. Footsteps approached from behind her.

  A tetran woman came up to her side as she began walking. She was slightly short, for a tetran. Which meant that she still had a half a head on Harper. Like all full-blooded tetrans, she had chitin plates over most parts of her body that didn’t need to bend too much. Her clothes were fitted to accentuate this, with them having openings where plates were instead of covering them.

  Her skin was dark with lighter spots. The native inhabitants of Zecura, tetrans and labuntans, all had either striped or spotted skin. Unlike labuntans, tetrans had horns and unique chitin facial features. This particular woman had short, curled horns and chitin semi-circles around her lips, with lines stretching from the protrusions to her jaw. All her chitin was a dark yellow hue.

  “Afternoon, Miss Harper. No luck with that Domain? I know mine was a real struggle. Took me ages to get Nature. I reckon it’ll take me ages to get Earth too. Just keep at it and you’ll get it. Determination, that’s the key.” She had said almost this exact thing several times now. Her name was Laytia. She was very friendly. Too friendly.

  Harper nodded politely.

  The woman continued to ramble, somehow segueing into a story about her friend’s cousin who manifested Sun after being severely sunburned. Harper listened with half an ear. She’d tire herself out soon with Harper giving minimal response. Although, the noble was desperate enough for progress on the Sun Domain that she momentarily considered trying to get an extreme sunburn as another avenue before dismissing it.

  Laytia had latched on to her somewhat after learning that she was also headed to Mentril for employment and housing. Apparently, her parents had sent her there to go live with an aunt who migrated two decades ago. Her parents planned to follow her from Zecura in a few years. Tetran immigrants to Vanax had ramped up in recent years due to the war.

  Harper didn’t really mind her company. But she wouldn’t go looking for it. She didn’t have time for idle chatter. Every day spent here unproductively was a day more for her brother to grow and take her place.

  They made good time. The weather stayed clear and the roads easily navigable. The few attacks were dealt with swiftly and professionally. They had made stops in large villages for a few hours at a time and spent the better part of the day in one of the cities of Yornel, exchanging both cargo and passengers.

  Harper elected to skip looking for employment here. The idea of being nearer the frontier appealed to her, more opportunities. Also, though she didn’t acknowledge it as a relevant reason, the idea of the frontier excited her, as though she were stepping into an adventure in one of her books. Additionally, she had heard good things about the Governor of the Arboren colony. Being in his employ and earning his favor could be beneficial, both here and back home.

  After a couple weeks of travel, they crossed into Arboren. The landscape didn’t change much, only being more prone to elevation changes. Mountains appeared on the horizon and could be seen when they crested a high point. Only a few days after that, they arrived in Mentril.