The next morning welcomed Arawn on the roof. He was standing on a neighboring building, watching the sun rise while leaning against the railings. It was the first time he could admire the beauty of the sky painted in pinks and oranges.
Even the clouds seemed to have been dyed. While deep blues ruled in the west behind him, the eastern horizon blossomed with color. Puffy clouds floated in shades of pink, yellow, and orange.
"Ready to leave?" Corwal asked from his roof, and Arawn jogged back. He jumped over the railing to their own, lower roof and winced as the impact of the fall surged through his feet. If he was going to live outside, he really needed to grow some muscle.
"Why so early?" he asked with a glance back at the other roof. He'd hoped to watch the sun rise, but it hadn't even showed up yet.
Corwal motioned for him to go down with him. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get the princess back. I'm afraid their tracks will already be cold by the time we get there."
"What about other hounds? Won't they look into it too?"
"In theory, yes." Corwal led him to the ground floor where Eliot was already standing next to three saddle bags. "In reality, who knows. When you give people too much freedom, they tend to run away with it."
It sounded ominous, and Arawn's image of a perfect outside world kept on cracking with every word that came out of Corwal's mouth. He was starting to wonder why exactly had he been locked up his whole life if the world was already so messed up. Would one monster more or less even make a difference?
'You're an abomination, a mistake. Your whole existence is blasphemous.'
As if on order, the words rushed into Arawn's mind. His eyes went hooded for a moment, but he pushed back the sudden feeling of dread. He was fine. He could control his powers now, and Corwal was going to teach him even more. It was all going to be fine.
"Coming?" Eliot called in an impatient voice.
He was bouncing on his feet with a small bag on his shoulders and a bright smile on his face. The door was already open behind him, and Arawn could see a horse tethered to a fence.
Upon walking out of the house, he saw two more next to it. They were all grey in color and massive, but nothing like the black monstrosities that had drawn the royal carriage.
Corwal helped Eliot onto a saddle of one of the horses. The boy looked a little white, but he stubbornly kept the smile on his face as if nothing could faze him.
It was Arawn's turn then, and he examined the beast before him. It was watching him with dark brown eyes, looking not too convinced about their partnership. When Arawn took a step closer, the horse whinnied and shied away. With another step, it rose on its hind legs and threatened him with its hooves. Arawn was forced to jump to the right to avoid a lethal strike.
"I don't think this is going to work," he said from the ground while sending a death glare to the horse.
The animal snorted and threw its head back. Its mane danced in the air, making the horse look grand and majestic.
"So you really did something to all the horse ancestors, didn't you?" Corwal asked with a laugh.
When he went to the grey beast, the animal watched him wearily, but didn't fight back. Corwal stroked its neck and whispered some words in a language Arawn didn't recognize. They seemed to have a magical effect, for the animal calmed and brushed its head against Corwal, who laughed and pushed it away gently.
"Come now, slowly."
Arawn did so, but the exact same thing repeated as before. No matter what Corwal said or how he tempted the animal, it didn't allow Arawn any closer than a couple meters away. In ten minutes, they were all tired and sweaty, and nothing had come of it. Frustration could be seen on all their faces, the horses included.
"This is no longer funny. I think I'd have more luck convincing them to let a bear saddle them than you."
A thought suddenly struck Arawn. He looked at the horses watching him while huddled together, then lowered his gaze to his own pale hands. "Maybe they know," he said.
"What?"
"Maybe they can sense that I'm a monster," he said, raising his eyes to meet Corwal's. "What other reason could there be?"
A frown stole over Corwal's features. He glanced between the animals and Arawn, then shook his head. "Impossible. I've never heard of animals fearing strong ether users. Do you think all mages travel on foot? That's ridiculous."
In the end, they were forced to get a cart. The grey horse wasn't too happy about being forced to pull it, but he didn't have any other choice. Everyone was fed up with him acting high and mighty and refusing to allow their companion to saddle him.
While traveling, Corwal decided to teach them about the world. It was impractical to use ether while on animals that were easily startled, so he instead told them about Ayersbert. Arawn listened with interest, amazed at the complicated social structure that existed in the country. Although he'd lived in it his whole life, he knew little more besides the fact that King Bretan ruled it, nobles were below him, and that then there were servants. Oh, and that criminals were to follow guards' orders.
"Talent with ether is usually hereditary, so people with high potential are valued even if they have no skill. Most nobles can use the ether, but not all. They learn the basics, enough to be able to intimidate their servants, and leave it at that. Only those who go into the army or plan to rise to officials keep on advancing.
"The strongest person in the country is Archmage Tashar. He's King Bretan's closest advisor, and the power he can summon could threaten a whole city. He's a proud man, so if you ever see him, never do anything to embarrass him. More than a dozen people have lost their lives over that."
The days passed in a blur, and in no time, a whole week had gone past them. They would eat, ride, talk about the country and its politics, then ride more, and practice with ether in the evening. Although they did that, Arawn's control hadn't advanced much after that swift leap in the training grounds. He could not manage to keep the ether in his hold without it burrowing into his skin.
Either he materialized it and flung at his target, or let go. Otherwise, it would enter him no matter what, and he'd have to fight an exhausting battle to push it back out. Luckily, it didn't once get to the point that Corwal would have to draw the ether from him to save all their lives.
When the eighth sunrise met them on the way, Arawn turned to Corwal. "Why are you teaching us all this? I thought you wanted to give me a general outlook of the world, but do I really need to know that Princess Ashta of Illuyanka is engaged to Prince Eshar of Tarhun? Those places aren't even neighbors of Ayersbert!"
Eliot nodded on the side. He hadn't voiced his opinion once, but Arawn could see that he agreed. Why were they listening to the family tree of every royal member in existence when they could be learning about much more interesting things, like legendary mages and mysterious beasts holed up in foreign lands.
For a moment, Corwal didn't say anything. The horse's hooves clattered on the cobbled road, followed by the rattling of the cart. Arawn had a blanket to make his ride more comfortable, but it helped little. Every part of him ached, and he came to hate the cart like it was his worst enemy.
"I want you two to pass the royal examination. Only if you do that and become officials will you have a good life in this kingdom."
"Officials?" Eliot asked in disbelief. "I can't! Noble kids learn from when they're born and most don't pass! I could never—"
Corwal shook his head. "An exaggeration." He glanced at Arawn. "It's a bit late for you to learn everything, but if your control of ether improves, you'll receive a rank based on it alone, as long as you can pass the basic examination." His eyes then shifted to the boy. "As for you Eliot, your talent is weaker, but you're young. You've got three years till you can take the exam, so I'm sure you'll be fine. Just gotta study a little."
The boy's expression filled with excitement, but it died down almost the same instant. "I'm not a noble," he said softly. "They won't let me take the exam."
"Let me worry about that. You'll take that exam, and so will he." Corwal pointed at Arawn. "Even if I have to drag him out of another prison."
On that day, they were about to reach their destination, but Arawn saw nothing new in their surroundings, same old trees and bushes by the road. Yet Corwal was certain they were close.
After a few more kilometers, they turned a bend on the road and saw a tree lying sideways in their way. Corwal groaned, and Arawn looked at him in surprise. Was it that bad? Couldn't they turn it to dust with a few strikes of ether?
As he thought that, the sound of branches being broken came from around them. Bandits rushed out of the forest and surrounded them, the majority of them coming from behind. They were shouting something and waving their rusty weapons, pretending to be threatening, but Arawn could barely keep himself from laughing out loud.
Only the weak needed to pretend to be strong.
Without a word, he sent a bolt of ether into the sky. There was no reaction at first, but the next moment the scene froze. The eyes of all bandits swiveled toward him. Their mouths formed large Os, and their hands raised into the air with drawn weapons faltered.
The whole group looked like it had just swallowed a live fly: red-faced and with bulging eyes.