Laughter on the Road, Shadows on the Horizon

Dawn greeted them with a warm breeze that smelled of freshly cut grass and damp earth. The sky stretched above like a vault of newborn fire, where the first rays of light dyed the clouds gold. For the first time in a long while, the group traveled without hiding. No hoods, no concealed faces, no fear of being seen. They were emissaries of Azoth—warriors on the road to face a fate that would change their lives forever.

The horses crossed open prairies where the horizon disappeared into the mist. Distant mountains seemed asleep, and birdsong kept time with the sunrise.

Asori rode at the front, with Aisha clinging to his back. The little girl leaned from side to side, taking everything in with the overflowing curiosity of someone seeing the world for the first time.

—Master, look! —she exclaimed, pointing to the sky—. Look at those birds! They’re all flying together—like us!

—Yeah, but they don’t have to worry about running out of breakfast —he joked with a lazy smile.

Aisha laughed—a fragile, sincere sound.

—Do you always make jokes about everything?

—Of course. It’s my secret technique. If I make the enemy laugh, they forget they’re attacking me.

—I don’t think that works —she countered, frowning.

Asori half turned, a sly smile on his lips.

—Oh, no? Well look at you—you’ve already lowered your guard around me.

Aisha hid her face against his back, but her giggle gave her away. For an instant, innocence seemed to return to the world. Blair, watching from her saddle, smiled. It was impossible not to. Seeing Aisha so alive, so childlike, reminded her why she was fighting.

Farther back, Mikan rode beside Blair. The ninja sat cross-legged in the saddle, relaxed and with zero respect for royal etiquette. A twig spun between her fingers as if her mind were plotting something. Her mischievous smile was, as always, a bad omen.

—So… —she began with feigned innocence— you’re sharing a room with dear Asori now, huh?

Blair nearly choked on the air.
—Hey! That’s none of your business.

Mikan tilted her head, amused.
—Oh, it definitely is. Friends talk about these things. Besides… don’t tell me you haven’t thought about “taking the next step.”

Blair flushed at once, the color spreading down her neck.
—Mikan! Don’t say that. We… well, we haven’t…

—Haven’t yet? —Mikan echoed, stifling a laugh—. My, my… looks like the silver-haired princess has her own hidden desires.

Blair opened and closed her mouth, not sure how to respond.
—I… I mean… we’ve never done more than sleep, hug and… kiss a little. It’s not like I don’t want to, but… just forget it!

Mikan pretended to write in the air with an invisible quill.
—“It’s not like I don’t want to”… noted. So—want tips on seducing him?

—I don’t need tips! —Blair squeaked, then lowered her voice—. But… maybe… it wouldn’t hurt to hear one. Just out of curiosity.

Mikan burst out laughing so loudly her horse whinnied.
—I knew you weren’t as innocent as you look, Your Highness. Relax, I’ll teach you a trick or two. But here’s a warning: men like Asori don’t fall for beauty—they fall for confidence. Though… you could use your big “assets” to reinforce the attack.

Blair straightened in the saddle, red as a torch.
—What exactly do you mean by “big assets”?! Stop staring at my chest, you pervy ninja!

Mikan let out a shameless chuckle.
—Oh, come on, Blair—I’m just reminding you of your secret weapons. Use them strategically and the war is won.

Blair huffed, looking away, but the motion betrayed a nervous smile.
—I suppose you’re right… Asori isn’t like other men I’ve met. Although… sometimes he disarms me without doing anything.

Mikan winked.
—That, my dear queen, is called love. And I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s the only technique even I haven’t mastered.

Blair laughed outright, her shoulders easing.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, until Mikrom’s deep voice broke the calm.

—I was thinking about my sister.

Blair turned her head.
—You have a sister?

—I had one —he corrected, eyes fixed on the horizon—. She was taken from me years ago. I never learned who did it. She might be alive… or not.

Mikan stopped joking at once. Aisha lowered her head, not fully understanding, but feeling the sadness in his tone.

Blair nudged her horse a little closer.
—I’m sorry, Mikrom. I didn’t know…

—No one does —he said—. I prefer not to talk about it. But sometimes, when I dream, I still hear her voice. She was small—like Aisha.

Blair swallowed, unsure what to say.

—We’ll find her. I promise.

Mikrom let out a bitter laugh.
—If the war leaves us alive, maybe.

The words hung in the air, heavy as lead. Only the sound of hooves on earth broke the silence.

Asori decided to change the subject, looking toward Blair.
—Hey, Blair… what’s Donner like?

—Huh? Oh, right—it’s your first time leaving Azoth, isn’t it, love?

She smiled faintly, but Mikrom cut in.

—Before that, Asori… what was the place you lived in like? Every time we reach a new town you’re wide-eyed. You always said you lived in the mountains, but you never explained it well.

The young man was quiet a few seconds, as if searching through memories.

—It was… peaceful. My home was on a very high mountain, surrounded by trees and rivers. There were villages a ways off, but it was just my father, my mother, and me.

His eyes softened.

—My father hunted—brought back food—and my mother… well, she was the center of everything. She sang while she cooked, tended the flowers, healed my cuts every time I fell. We didn’t have much, but we lacked nothing.

—And you never saw a Megalo? —Mikan asked, incredulous.

—Never —he answered with a smile—. I didn’t know anything about Astral or the war, either—my parents never mentioned it.

The group regarded him in silence.

—So… you never left the mountains? —Mikan repeated, surprised.

Asori shook his head.

—I didn’t even know there were other realms until I met a certain silver-haired princess —he said lightly, glancing at Blair—. Everything I saw after that… were things I’d only heard in my mother’s stories.

Blair watched him with tenderness—and a touch of nostalgia.

—That explains a lot… that’s why everything was so new to you when we met.

Asori sighed softly, looking up at the clear sky.

—Yeah… I guess I lived in a world without Astral, without battles… just with them.

He paused, his voice lowering.

—But even with them by my side, I feel there’s something I never knew. —He tightened his grip on the reins, thoughtful—. The Orb… why they had it. And above all, why they never told me about the outside world. Or the Megalo. Or the war… nothing.

Blair heard the tension in his voice and felt the urge to take his hand, but before she could, a small voice got there first.

Aisha, who had been listening intently, leaned forward from her saddle and took his hand in her small fingers.

—Master… I’m glad you had them —she said sweetly—. I never knew my parents, but when you talk about yours… it feels really nice. —She lowered her gaze with a shy smile—. I’m sad they’re gone… but you’re not alone, okay? Because Princess Blair will never leave you… and neither will I.

Asori looked at her, surprised—then smiled with genuine warmth.

—Thank you, little one —he said softly—. You don’t know how much that means.

He ruffled her hair, tenderly.

—What were their names? —Mikan asked, curious.

—My father was Schneider, and my mother, Liliane.

Mikrom frowned; his expression tightened for an instant.

—Schneider… that name rings a bell.

Asori looked at him with interest.
—You know him?

Mikrom shook his head quickly.
—No. Must be someone else. The Schneider I heard of as a kid had a different surname than yours.

Blair sensed the shift in the air but chose not to press. To ease the tension, she took up the thread in a brighter tone.

—Donner is very different from Azoth. Its people are born with an affinity for lightning, and that led them to understand something we’ve only begun to explore: electricity.

—Electricity? —Aisha tilted her head.

—A form of energy —Blair explained patiently—. They learned to channel lightning to power machines, light the streets, and build weapons. Their cities shine even at night.

Asori stared at her, amazed.
—That sounds complicated.

Mikan laughed.
—Yeah, and they’re a headache. I once had a contract there, and I swear just getting around the streets was a nightmare—I was shocked at how different it is from Azoth.

Mikrom nodded.
—I was there too, back in my army days. The factories roar all day long. It’s like the sky burrowed underground.

Blair smiled, pleased to see them recall something without pain.

—Donner exports its technology to the other realms. Azoth serves as an exchange point—a channel between the north, the south, and the west. That’s why our position is so important.

Asori listened, fascinated.
—So… everything connects thanks to Azoth?

—Exactly —she said—. Caldus provides minerals—iron, gold, silver. Veltramar rules the seas; their ships carry the goods. And Donner supplies technology.

Aisha raised her hand as if in class.
—Then… is Donner like a city that uses thunder?

Mikan burst out laughing.
—More or less, little one.

The laughter spread. For a few minutes, they forgot wars, titles, and ghosts. They were just young people on a journey, laughing under an immense sky.

The day wore on. They crossed valleys of tall grass, where the wind moved the blades like a green ocean. On one hill, Asori stopped and looked up—an enormous apple tree.

—Aisha, want to see something cool?

—Yes! —she cried.

Asori channeled Astral into his legs and jumped. The wind wrapped him and he flew to the treetop. Aisha stared, open-mouthed, and Asori plucked an apple to give to her.

—Master, you look like a bird!

He landed with a confident smile.
—Pretty cool, right? And that’s not all—I learned a bunch of new techniques.

—Master, you’re amazing! —the girl laughed.

Blair watched from her saddle, smiling, though a knot of pride and fear tightened in her chest.

Asori… every day you’re closer to becoming something even you don’t understand, she thought.

By late afternoon, the prairies turned barren. The grass vanished, replaced by dry earth and cracked stone. The air changed—smelling of metal, ash, and smoke.

Mikan noticed first.
—That’s not a good sign.

Blair narrowed her eyes. On the horizon, thin columns of smoke rose like black needles against the sky.

—We’re entering Donner.

Silence took the group. Even Aisha clutched Asori tighter, sensing the tension.

The roads bore the marks of war: pillaged homes, burned fields, overturned wagons. The charred remnants of flags fluttered in the dust.

Asori drew a long breath, tightening the reins.
—Well… I guess this is where the games end.

Blair looked to the horizon, where lightning fell among the clouds, outlining the silhouette of a vast, distant realm.

—And the real trial begins.

No one spoke again. Only the wind kept blowing, carrying with it the laughter that slowly faded into the shadows of Donner.