Roland stepped off the train and immediately felt uncomfortable. Even in the climate-controlled station, the air was still hotter — and drier — than anywhere he and his companions had been previously.
I don’t do well with the heat. Not this kind of dry heat, anyway. And it’s about to get a lot worse. At least the hot springs will bring some humidity to the heat, when we get there.
After three days walking the roads north — making excellent time — they’d reached a station and taken a train the rest of the way to Mount Fuarain. Now, here they were, but aside from the red, fire-and-steam-themed decorations, the station windows didn’t provide much of a view to reveal this dramatically different landscape.
“I thought there was a volcano,” Erika said, gazing hopefully out the windows of the station.
“We’ve got a slight hill to climb, first,” Roland said, starting forward. “Then you’ll get the best view possible of what awaits us.”
Despite his distaste towards Mount Fuarain’s climate, Roland could still get excited about what he was about to see. He’d only seen pictures before, never the real thing, but they’d had him dreaming of this day for years.
Stepping out into the blistering heat, the afternoon sky was already providing omens of what was to come. There were no clouds of choking ash or smoke — Mount Fuarain’s activity was stringently controlled by Jurall, the Lord of the First Quartet, to keep the region inhabitable and safe — but the midday sky here was a light purple rather than blue, the normal sky color morphed by a reddish tint. The landscape immediately outside the station was all red rock, with surprising amounts of vegetation, all hardy, robust flowering ferns, bushes, and cacti. The yellow stone road led up a hill to the right, and they began their ascent.
“What’s that sound?” Enrique asked as they climbed.
“The geothermal power plants,” Roland said, amidst the distant, steady boom, boom, boom rhythm that grew slightly louder the farther they walked.
“And the crackling noise you hear now and then are the heat shields,” Tsubasa said. “They use harmonic resonators to create harmonic energy shields around their plants, both to keep the climate inside carefully controlled, and to protect them against some of the more volatile elements outside.”
“I thought this region was safe,” Erika said.
“As safe as a settlement constructed around an active volcano can be,” Muirrach said. There was a bit more of a rasp to his voice than usual, and the dulled sheen to his skin revealed how he was carefully holding in his moisture, managing his hydration in this much drier climate. He took a long drink from his water bottle.
“Jurall controls the volcano, and welcomes people to live at its base,” Roland said. “So it’s really quite safe in the city. It’s the fire fields farther out, where the geothermal plants are constructed, that they need more safety measures in place.”
“But it’s worth it,” Enrique said, nodding thoughtfully. “The plants here power nearly a quarter of all Wonderia — and the two types of clef batteries they store with energy are shipped and used in such quantities across both Wonderia and Albia that, functionally, they help power nearly half of both realms.”
“Such a quick study,” Tsubasa said, grinning. Enrique had spent a lot of their journey reading and taking notes. While his books focused on inter-realm transportation, as well as specialized modes of travel, they inevitably came around to the question of energy production and distribution.
“Here we are,” Roland said, eyeing the top of the hill with mounting anticipation. Amidst the booming rhythm of the heat extractors of the geothermal power plants, there was also a much more distant, fainter but noticeable rumbling beneath it all — the great mountain itself.
And then they crested the hill, and laid eyes on their destination.
A symphony of destruction and creation, of barrenness and abundance, exploded across a vast, dramatic landscape. The red rocky plains were carved up by fissures that spewed fire into the sky, yet also housed steaming oases, with flowering trees providing shade from a cloudless, scorching sky. Roads crisscrossed the plains, picking the perfect paths through the deadly drama, though those who traveled these roads did so more in robust, armored vehicles than on foot or by animal mounts. More than roads, there were rail lines, sturdy beams hoisting metal rails that carried loud, armored cargo trains to and from the numerous geothermal power plants, mines of precious metals, and outskirt farms — and also to the numerous perimeter processing facilities, which prepared material goods for transport to other regions near and far.
And at the centerpiece of it all, rising like a great red spike from the craggy earth, was Mount Fuarain itself. At its base, a bustling city thrived, while its towering slopes led up to the great caldera, which blasted pillars of fire and magma high into the sky.
“So many people live at the base of that volcano?” Erika asked, needing to raise her voice over the noise of the plants, the vehicles, and the great mountain. “And it’s safe?”
“Its cycles are largely predictable,” Muirrach said. “And even when they aren’t, Jurall takes care of the people who live in his domain. When ash and smoke are spat into the sky, they are carried along specific winds to places where they can have benefits, rather than choking off the air people need to breathe. When it actually erupts —”
“That’s not an eruption!?” Erika cried, pointing at the volcano as a pillar of fire taller than any building in Albia or Wonderia burst up towards the sky.
“No,” Muirrach said. “Those are just Jurall stirring the pot, so to speak. When the volcano actually erupts, fragments that go flying are directed away from civilization, and magma flows that run down the mountain’s slopes carve through distinct paths that take them back under the earth, rejuvenating the source of the hot springs and providing the precious heat that gives this region such power and energy.”
“So it’s safe,” Erika said in a shaky voice, “it just doesn’t look safe.”
“Precisely,” Roland said. He looked down the slopes towards a pair of bus stations, and then gestured to his companions. “Shall we?”
Tsubasa looked at Erika, who looked back up at her and smiled. Together, they cheered, “We shall!”
And down the slope they went.
“We have a choice to make, right from the off,” Roland said as they approached the bus stations. “One bus line will take us to any of the geothermal power plants for a tour, and I highly recommend it. I’ve never actually been myself, but I’ve always wanted to.”
“I definitely want to,” Enrique said, sticking up his hand. Erika and Tsubasa followed suit.
“The choice,” Roland said, laughing, “is whether we want to take a tour before or after taking on the Canon. We can head into the city first, see the sights there and then take the climb, or we can take a tour of a power plant first, before doing what we came here for.”
“We should go before, right?” Tsubasa asked. “Once you’ve formed the Pact, you’ll be the talk of the town all over again. You won’t be able to have a peaceful tour.”
“But he could use his clout as a Summoner who’s just formed a Pact with Jurall to get the full tour of anywhere he wants,” Erika said thoughtfully. “They’d let him get into even the most secret parts of the power plants, wouldn’t they? We could get the real inside story.”
“We should go after the Canon first,” Enrique said quickly. And a moment later, he realized how quickly he’d said that, how big his eyes had gotten, and looked away, his cheeks flushing.
“I’m not partial to either choice,” Roland said with a smile. “I appreciate less attention, but Erika has a point about being able to see what we wouldn’t normally be able to. That would be quite exciting.”
“He’s got a point there,” Tsubasa said. She looked at Muirrach. “What do you think?”
“I’m not partial to either path,” Muirrach said. “Just so long as we can come to a decision quickly.” He took another long drink from his water bottle.
“Well, I’m okay with going after the Canon as long as you are, Roland,” Tsubasa said. “It’d be good to show off what you’ve learned as soon as possible, right?”
Roland did like the sound of that. Three days wouldn’t have sounded like much for significant training while also traveling, but Roland had spent six years with Kirin and Viatos in his heart, spent six years advancing his studying and learning about them and Shureen in preparation for his return to the Path. He’d been extensively mentally prepared to explore the wider ranges of his abilities as Summoner, so when he’d finally started applying himself, stretching the bounds of what he’d once believed was possible, new abilities and discoveries had come quickly to him. Muirrach and Tsubasa had helped greatly, as well. After only using Vi’s powers a few times to simply toss a few masked ruffians through the air, it was only now that he truly started to feel the weight and depth of the power of the Pacts. He was eager to put his new abilities to the test.
“To the Canon first, then,” Roland said.
He led the group to the bus station on their right, which would take them directly to the city of Mount Fuarain. The buses here were double-decker contraptions with hefty armor and insulation, which made them look rather bulky and garish, but form triumphed over function. The interiors were blessedly cool, the seats comfortable and spacious, and there was “complementary hydration,” which Roland, Muirrach, and the twins all took advantage of. Roland was already feeling the effects of the heat, and the twins’ faces were both quite flushed just from their short time out there. Tsubasa was the only one who seemed comfortable with it all, hot or cold, dry or wet, and spent the whole ride smiling out the window, watching the world go by.
The bus ride gave them plenty of time to really take in the scale of the region. With how flat the plains were, it was easy to see very, very far in any direction, even to the farms on the outskirts, which took advantage of the incredibly rich soil to grow hearty, robust crops in abundance.
It really is all that it’s made up to be.
Roland had seen so many pictures, heard so many stories, but to see it for his own, to hear its song, to see its grandeur, to experience it for himself, changed everything. Breithwood, the forest village where Kirin’s Canon was located, had such an intimate, gentle, relaxed feel. Spéifir, the canyon collection of villages nestled around Viatos’ Canon, certainly had a grandiosity to it, with the winds rushing through the valleys and the towering cliffs upon — and within — which many homes were set, but it primarily had a sense of boundlessness to it, of freedom, like you could run forever and never get tired, like you could just take one leap and soar off into the sky, wherever you wished.
And Shureen’s Cove, and Caladhlen leading to it, had a very calm, reflective atmosphere to them, while also carrying a sense of fun and recreation.
But here, in Jurall’s domain, all was grand, powerful drama, a display of strength and force that, despite the danger, so many people and plants lived and thrived in. And it was huge, staggeringly so. In terms of actual size, Viatos’ or Shureen’s domains were probably larger in actuality, but because this was all land, and so flat that you could see in any direction for miles and miles, that changed things. More than that, there were so many more people, with huge geothermal power plants processing and generating energy, a massive farming operation on the outskirts, extensive roads and rail lines, and the bustling city around the base of the mountain, that there was a sense of scale here that dwarfed even larger cities like Ars Moran or Keyarch.
The volcano itself certainly played a part in that. Every minute brought them closer to the volcano, and made its height and size and grandeur more impressive.
I’ve never felt so small.
He’d lived and worked in Ars Moran for years, walked those bustling streets, gone unnoticed in the throngs of people. For all the years he’d worked at the massive, grandiose Tower, he still only knew a small fraction of his colleagues by name — and even less of them knew him by name. And yet in all of that, he’d been mostly fine with it. He didn’t reject solitude, and there were advantages to being of lower status, of going largely unnoticed.
But here, amidst all this grandeur, even knowing how everyone would view him once he’d formed the Pact with Jurall, knowing all the weight the title of Summoner carried… he felt infinitesimal.
And then he felt Shureen’s song in his heart. And he found himself smiling, reassured by her presence, as well as her knowledge of Jurall.
He wants you to feel small. He wants you to rise to that challenge, to match his power.
And yet… that’s not at all who I am. I’m not here to go strength to strength with the Lord of the First Quartet. I’m here to understand him, and for him to understand me. If he wants to force me down a certain path…
He can try. But I need to find the right way for me, the way that shows him who I am, while working to know who he is.
“Nervous?” Erika asked, sitting beside Roland.
“I’m… not,” Roland said, and once the words were out in the open, he was surprised by them — but more surprised by the fact that they were true.
“Forming the Pact with Shureen after spending so long away really changed things for you, didn’t it?” Erika asked.
Roland nodded, smiling. “Yes. Yes, it did.”
“I’m so glad,” Erika said, beaming at him. “It’s no good to be paralyzed by the past. No matter what pain you’ve endured, you can’t really heal unless you find a way forward. That’s what I think, anyway.”
“And you’re absolutely right,” Tsubasa chimed in. But even though she smiled, there was something subdued in her response. She noticed Roland eyeing her, and looked out the window and gasped. “Look! We’re almost there!”
They weren’t quite that close, but Roland decided to play along. They talked about the city a bit — the only one who’d actually been here before was Muirrach, and while he answered a few of their queries, he encouraged them to find the majority of their answers by experiencing the city for themselves.
And then they were there, disembarking the bus into the hot air — but it wasn’t dry this time. There was a humidity, even steam wafting here and there. Roland found it a nice change of pace. The twins seemed to like it, too, and Muirrach perked up a little, while Tsubasa was as cheerful as ever entering a brand new city.
“The entrance to the climb is on the opposite side of the city,” Muirrach said.
“So we can see the sights on our way there!” Erika said, smiling. “Can’t we, Roland?”
“Yes,” Roland said. “That works out perfectly, doesn’t it?”
Around them bustled the city of Mount Fuarain. The streets were organized to accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and there were numerous automobiles sputtering along, steam gusting happily out of their tailpipes. Roland and his companions kept close together, Enrique holding Erika’s hand as she started gazing around all over the place, prone to wander if no one was guiding her.
Roland couldn’t blame her. There were so many sounds, right away, that immediately grabbed for anyone’s attention. The hissing and puttering of steam-powered automobiles, the chatter of the crowds, the calling out of shopkeepers in their various stalls or storefronts, advertising numerous wares, the popping and sizzling from a restaurant they passed, it all caused heads to turn this way and that, never looking one way for long. And the sights were just as engaging. The buildings here were, naturally, built out of stone, all the better to avoid fire hazards, but often had metal sheeting along the walls and roofs as well, glossy and colorful. Shops and homes came in all the colors of the rainbow, often bright and fetching, and there were all sorts of bright, flashy signs displaying shop names or family crests (or both, in the cases of family-run shops that also functioned as the owners’ home). The streets were narrow and confined at first, with buildings looming on every side, seeming to crowd in on them, but they climbed a short hill and turned right, and the space opened up into a wide, beautiful plaza. White-and-tan stone tiles were arranged in mosaic patterns, with circular spaces reserved for flowering trees, all leading up towards a beautiful wide building with steam wafting out of its entrance, along with a pleasingly fragrant citrusy aroma. Above the open entrance was a large sign that looked very much like a wide, circular bath.
“What’s in there?” Erika asked, gazing wide-eyed.
“It’s one of numerous bath houses all across the city,” Muirrach said. “The hot springs are most numerous here at the base of the mountain, and also have the greatest healing and rejuvenating properties.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s all well and good,” Tsubasa said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “But I just remembered what lies not far beyond here.” She had her excited gaze fixed on Roland, and a moment later he realized what she was getting at.
“Oh!” he said. “There’s the —”
“Throne of Azure Obsidian!” Tsubasa cried in unison with Roland, though her voice rose about two octaves in excitement. “We have to see it!”
“What’s the Throne of Azure Obsidian?” Erika asked as they all tried their hardest to match Tsubasa’s desired pace.
“It sounds like an oxymoron,” Enrique said.
“That’s how it’s supposed to sound!” Tsubasa said. “Because it’s both marvel and mystery, natural phenomena blowing all our minds with its impossibility!”
“Well, it’s really just clever wordplay,” Roland said, chuckling. “Obsidian is volcanic glass, it doesn’t have to be black to be obsidian —”
“Don’t ruin the mystique, Roland!” Tsubasa said. “Besides, you’re excited to see it, too!”
“Absolutely,” Roland said.
Because while the name could be easily explained, the Throne itself still was as impossible and mysterious as Tsubasa claimed, for its own reasons. Roland had never seen it in person, but now was a golden opportunity.
And they didn’t have far to go. Just two blocks away, carefully crossing a busy street, they arrived at a wide, circular plaza where hundreds of people were scattered around the centerpiece — a four meter tall azure throne, its surface glittering in the bright midday light. Two large steps led up to the throne’s seat. The arm rests had perfectly spherical endings, and the seat back narrowed as it rose, ending in a great azure crown inset with three massive rubies.
“We’re really here!” Tsubasa squealed with unabashed delight. She sprinted to the Throne, stopping right up against the circular barrier set up to deter any would-be vandals, overenthusiastic children, or, indeed, overenthusiastic adults. She gazed up at it in awe, her eyes glittering in reflection of the Throne itself.
“What’s so special about it, other than its size?” Enrique asked as the rest of the group joined her at the barrier. “It’s rather ordinary, other than the crown at the top.”
“Enrique, you don’t have to go and rain on everyone’s enthusiasm at every chance you get,” Erika said, frowning at him.
“And you’d do well to learn before you speak!” Tsubasa said. “Because you haven’t even realized the greatest marvel of this throne, have you?”
“I was rather hoping someone would tell me,” Enrique said, looking profoundly skeptical.
“The Throne of Azure Obsidian isn’t some over-large chair built by human hands,” Roland said. “That would be rather absurd, since Mount Fuarain has never had a king or queen, and to build a throne for Jurall would be equally absurd, since his seat of power is inside the Canon. The real miracle and mystery of the Throne of Azure Obsidian is that it was formed —”
“It was formed naturally!” Tsubasa said, breathless with excitement. She gestured grandly at the Throne. “During one massive eruption, the Throne of Azure Obsidian erupted up from the ground right here, right where you see it, fully formed! Nothing has been modified, no work or attention has been given to it ever since its spontaneous creation five hundred years ago!”
“Hold on,” Enrique said. “It… it just… appeared, just like it is now? And it’s stood that way, untarnished, for five hundred years?”
“Now you’re starting to see the wonder of it!” Tsubasa said, beaming.
“Yes,” Enrique said, turning his eyes back on the Throne. “But what’s it for?”
“For?” Tsubasa asked. “What do you mean, what’s it for?”
“Well, it’s a throne,” Enrique said. “Shouldn’t someone sit on it? But no one does, do they? It just sits here, un-sat-upon, for centuries. That seems… rather useless.”
“Wonders of the world aren’t about function!” Tsubasa said, planting her hands on her hips. “They’re about form! They’re about the mystery, the wonder of the thing! You’ve got a lot to learn about appreciating the majesty of the world around you.”
“Alternatively!” Erika said, sticking up her hand like she was in a classroom. “It could be that the function the Throne is meant to accomplish has not yet been revealed or discovered. The mystery may not be unsolvable — it just hasn’t been solved yet.”
“Ooh, I like how you think!” Tsubasa said. “Then it’s time the mystery is solved. Come, friends! Let’s —”
“Let’s not, shall we?” Roland asked, laying a gentle hand on Tsubasa’s shoulder. She was just about to jump over the barrier. “I’m fairly certain the authorities will frown on such a breach of jurisdiction. And this isn’t really why we’re here, is it?”
“You’re right,” Tsubasa said, laughing. Roland rather thought she was laughing at herself. “Ah, well. Someone will figure it out someday. So! Where to next?”
They continued on, making their way around the city to the opposite side of the mountain, where the climb to the Canon awaited them. They visited several bookshops, rode a lift to a tower viewing station with a binocular machine that allowed them to look at all sorts of distant things up close, took a steam-powered tram tour of the city’s industrial quarter, and then found themselves in an arts district, where one grand theater bursting with lights and décor was prominently advertising its current show.
“ ‘Great Feline Adventures’?” Erika asked, gazing up at the massive poster, which showcased an ensemble of brightly-costumed felines in various heroic poses. “It looks so fun!”
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize the Catwood Company’s Northern Wonderia tour was happening now!” Tsubasa cried. “This is their newest show, and it’s been such a huge hit, and I still haven’t been able to see it! And look!” She pointed at the tour dates at the bottom of the poster. “Today’s their last day in Mount Fuarain! It’s our last chance to see it!”
“It’s already sold out,” Muirrach said, pointing at a separate sign.
“And it’s all right,” Roland said as Tsubasa looked ready to erupt into tears. “The tour’s far from over. Look, there’s a flier showing all of their locations and dates for the next six months. You’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future.”
“All of my friends have seen it,” Tsubasa said, shoulders drooping even as she took the offered flier. “My parents have seen it. My brothers have seen it. My oldest brother even snuck in my dog to see it — twice. But I still haven’t…” She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Opening her eyes, she stood up straight, flier clutched hopefully in her hands. “You’re right! I’ll get my chance. But I’m taking that as a promise!” She pointed a finger in Roland’s face, so close she nearly jabbed him in the nose. “You have to make sure we go see it before the tour ends, no matter what! Understood? The Catwood Company is the finest acting troupe in Wonderia, and I’ve missed the last three of their Albian tours, their Eastern Wonderian Tour Extravaganza, and the Southern Wonderian House-to-House Jamboree! I’m not going to miss out on ‘Great Feline Adventures,’ not when it’s their most celebrated production yet, and certainly not when I have a promise from the Summoner himself that I’ll get to see it!”
“I, ah, well…” Roland started, staring wide-eyed at Tsubasa’s pointing finger, at her expression of intense determination, taking in all of her words and the fierce emotions behind them. “Yes. Right. I did promise, didn’t I?” he asked, even knowing that he hadn’t made anything resembling a promise of the sort she claimed. “Then I must follow through, mustn’t I? You will absolutely see ‘Great Feline Adventures’ during its Northern Wonderian Tour, and we’ll all go see it with you. No matter what!”
“Oh, thank you, Roland!” Tsubasa cried, beaming like the sun. “All right, then. That takes a huge weight off my back. I can move forward easy now, knowing the future is brighter than ever.”
“What makes you such a fan of the Catwood Company?” Erika asked as they started off.
“I’ve been going to their shows since I was just a tiny little kid!” Tsubasa said dreamily. “Ever since I can remember, theater’s been a part of my life, and at the forefront of it all: the Catwood Company! A Wonderian troupe made up entirely of felines, they’re one of the oldest and most successful theater troupes in the realms. I’ve seen every single one of their shows that they’ve toured in my lifetime, except for their newest — but I will!” She shot a very excited glance Roland’s way. “Anyway. They’re so wonderful because they keep putting on marvelously unique, inventive, original shows — not a single one of their productions has been an adaptation of someone else’s work. And there’s nothing wrong with adaptations, of course, but there’s something really exciting about a completely original work, where you don’t know what to expect, so much can go wrong, but with the Catwood Company, it always goes right! They’re a perfect merger of high-budget production and deep, emotive storytelling with powerful themes that resonate with you long after the curtain falls!” She let out a breathless sigh. “You can never be the same once you’ve seen one of their shows.”
“Now I really wish we could go to tonight’s show,” Erika said, looking back towards the theater.
“Seems there’s more than one person intent on holding you to your promise,” Muirrach said.
Roland smiled. “Personally, I’m quite interested in seeing their newest show, as well. I haven’t been to the theater as much as I would like, and it’s been far too long.”
“But right now, we should focus on your quest,” Enrique said. “We’ve seen so many of the sights. Is it time to head up the mountain?”
“Yes, I believe we’ve arrived,” Roland said. He turned a corner and gestured ahead of them. “See? The Mount Fuarain gate.”
A road sloped upward to a stone-and-metal wall, the only passage through being a tall archway emblazoned with Jurall’s crest, a swirl of fire around a towering mountain. Beneath the archway was a pair of armored guardsmen, their breastplates emblazoned with the same crest, each of them with a sword sheathed at their side and a pike held in their hand, towering over them.
“They guard the way up?” Erika asked.
“The climb is no easy task,” Muirrach said, taking a long drink from his water bottle. He paused after, and seemed to have emptied it — and was none too happy to have done so. “They only allow the Summoner and their retinue to make the climb. No others may attempt it, for any reason. Jurall’s protection safeguards the city, but the slopes up to his Canon are meant to be a challenge, and are not similarly protected.” He sighed, his shoulder slumping slightly — Roland wasn’t sure the twins noticed, but he did, and no doubt Tsubasa did as well. The heat was really wearing on Muirrach.
And not just him. The twins were both quite enthusiastic, and had been throughout their scenic tour, but their cheeks were flushed, their breathing coming a little bit more labored even just standing still, and they both took long drinks from their water bottles that didn’t seem to make a significant difference in their physical state.
I don’t enjoy the heat much, either, but I find the humidity in the town helps. And Tsubasa looks as fresh as ever. Everyone’s constitution differs, though.
“Shall we?” Tsubasa asked, eyeing Erika with a grin.
“We shall!” Erika said, but her cheer and smile, while genuine, didn’t have their usual enthusiasm.
They approached the archway, and as the guardsmen moved to block their path, Roland rolled up his sleeve to reveal his three tattoos from Pacts with Kirin, Viatos, and Shureen.
“Ah, a Summoner,” said the guardsman on the left, a towering ursine with jet-black fur save a white star on his snout, and striking, icy-blue eyes. “You’ve formed the first three Pacts. You may pass. And your adult companions, as well, if they wish it. But we must strongly recommend against allowing the children to make the climb, even if they have followed you thus far.”
“We can handle it,” Enrique said, pouting slightly, his gaze steely even as the intimidating guardsmen looked straight at him.
“There’s protective gear for my companions, isn’t there?” Roland asked.
“For them, yes, if they wish it,” said the ursine guardsman. “You, of course, must make the climb as you are.”
“I understand,” Roland said.
But his companions did not.
“What’s that about?” Erika asked, glaring. “How come there’s protective gear for everyone else, but not the Summoner? Isn’t he the most important one to make the climb? Shouldn’t you help him just as much as you help his companions?”
“The Lord of the Mountain does not permit it,” said the guardsman. “Only a Summoner who has made Pacts with the first three Fantasians can attempt the climb, and thus he shall have the aid of the first three Fantasians. If that is not enough, then the Summoner is not yet worthy to enter the Lord of the Mountain’s Canon and take the true trials.”
“The climb is my preliminary trial,” Roland said to Erika. “And like he said, I have Kirin, Vi, and Shureen to aid me. Don’t worry. I already knew this was coming. I’m quite prepared.”
“It still doesn’t seem fair,” Erika said. She lifted her water bottle to take a drink, but found it empty. “Anyway, of course we’re coming with you!”
“Perhaps not,” Enrique said softly, surprising his sister.
“What do you mean?” Erika asked. “We’re all in this together!”
“And we’ve seen him this far,” Enrique said. “But we cannot enter the Canon with him. Perhaps it’s best if we don’t make the climb, either. It gives him peace of mind, knowing we’re safe here waiting for him, rather than trying to defend us while also keeping himself alive.”
“We can’t just be left behind on our own!” Erika said, glaring.
“And you won’t be,” Muirrach said, a stronger rasp to his voice than usual. He nodded to Roland, a look in his eyes that spoke more than he wanted to put into words. Roland understood, returning the nod and the look. “I will stay behind as well. The heat does not agree with me. The three of us can pray for his success and safe return.”
“That’s… a reasonable compromise,” Erika said, though she still frowned. She turned to Tsubasa. “You’ll be going with him, then?”
“Absolutely,” Tsubasa said, grinning. “You can count on me to look out for him, at least for the climb. And I’ll be right there waiting to help him back down when he completes the trials in the Canon.”
“Good,” Erika said. She turned to Roland, and then reached up to her ear, removing one of her feathered ear ornaments. She handed it to him. “Take this, and wear it for your climb. It’ll help keep you safe.”
“One from me, as well,” Enrique said, handing over one of his own feathered ear ornaments.
Roland stared at these gifts, and for a moment, couldn’t find his voice. Slowly, he accepted them. He cleared his throat. “Thank you,” he said. It was all he could say without being overwhelmed.
“Here, let me help you,” Tsubasa said, fixing the ornaments to each of his ears. It felt a little odd, their clamp-like pressure gentle but noticeable against the tops of his ears. But at the same time, they did give him a stronger sense of security. “Looks good,” Tsubasa said, nodding approvingly. “You ready?”
“I am,” Roland said. He turned back to the guardsmen, who stepped aside to admit him and Tsubasa through. The second guardsman, who had not spoken to them at all, picked up a receiver inside the archway and announced the climb of the Summoner and one companion to those who manned the checkpoints along the climb.
“You can don protective equipment inside the hut over there,” the ursine guardsman said, pointing.
Tsubasa smiled at him. “Thanks, but if Roland doesn’t get to wear any, neither do I,” she said.
“You really don’t have to —” Roland started.
“It’s my choice,” Tsubasa said, meeting his gaze. “I’ll be all right. Just like you will. Now, then.” She fixed her eyes up the slope of the mountain, and Roland followed suit.
So, so high above them fumed the caldera, wherein lay the Canon, and Jurall himself.
This is it. The halfway point of the Path of the Eight.
Teacher… watch over me.