Leaving the village was harder than Nona thought. It was so different from where he grew up. The prejudice and entitlement from his original village did not exist here. Instead They had worked together and could have truly been home.
As he followed the sensation of which way toward what he was told was the capital, he could not help but be irritated with it. Leaving Aquiline to set the pace he closed his eyes to enter his mindscape. Calling up his mental map while focusing on the sensation dragging him away, he attempted to locate it. The results surprised him since it came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
"I am impressed by your natural ability to learn and put things together on your own. I have not explained how to locate things here since it is so bare I did not see the point. To have figured it out on your own is truly impressive. To show my sincerity I will let you choose some knowledge from the ancestors and I will fetch it for you" came the doppelganger's voice.
Nona paused before answering. His thoughts raced with all the things he wanted to know. An old saying he heard around town growing up held him back, knowing just for the sake of knowing was pointless. Farmers had no need to know how to fly so why take up time learning it when things like how to grow crops were more useful. Though, Nona disagreed with the premise there was some truth to it. Knowing that his lack of specific knowledge had already got him into some trouble he made his decision. "I will take you up on that offer but not at this time. I will save it for a time when I know what information is needed to survive the next time I am lacking."
"Very well. Just know there will be a time when I no longer exist and that knowledge will be freely available. At that time there will be no reason to cash this favor in. The object you were seeking is part of who you are right now. I cannot explain what this means or how it came to be, but it is not in your mind alone." Filing the information away Nona gives a nod before leaving his mindscape.
****
Opening his eyes he took in the sight of the grasslands. In the distance grayish purple mountains started appearing on the horizon. Nona takes a deep breathe and enjoys the ride.
At sunset the duo finally stop and set up camp. The saddle contained some survival equipment given by the villagers. Regret at leaving them once again stabbed at his heart. After setting up the tent Nona walks a few feet away calling forth his mana.
Using what he learned he creates a small thread of the three elements he could call forth around the encampment. His idea required the three of them to be perfectly balanced so that anything crossing them would disrupt said balance and create a loud noise to alert him. Dissatisfied with it but lacking any other ideas Nona started meditating to increase his magic control.
The night passed without event lulling Nona into a sense of security. Never completely lowering his guard he let his mind wander. The TANKS he had witnessed before leaving his village came to mind more and more often. He had never even heard rumors of his kingdom having something like that. The words of the healer also nagged at him about trying to fight moving metal with swords.
He was never taught the reason for the war just that it existed. Every few months someone in uniform would show up and leave with those who had already completed the change of their race. They would be celebrated as heros and anything wrong they had done would become taboo to mention.
Even when making a nuisance of himself to ask questions, as he did while teaching himself to read, he would be ignored and sent on his way. If any siblings of those who left heard him asking he would find himself bruised and bleeding. Finally, he gave up and just accepted things the way they were, but now he wondered if everyone knew that those who left would never return.
Nona was pursuing this train of thought when he heard the hissing. It had been awhile since he heard the snakes, but there was no mistaking it. Wasting no time Nona pulled his actual sword deciding his limited control of magic would be useless here. Though, he did start focusing a layer of wind around the blade. He had learned that wind magic was about changing the pressure of wind. For example a wind blade was compressed air so for it to travel further it needed to be compressed further which required more time and mana.
Nona started compressing the air simply because he thought entering any fight without an ace up his sleeve was a bad idea. Much to his dismay the snakes only hissed and seemed to be leaving him alone.
"Aquiline any idea of what's going on?" Nona kept the communication mental as to not disturb them further.
Aquiline shook his head and remained alert while carefully placing one foot in front of the other. His sprint to the nomadic village was not forgotten, so he would not allow himself to take any chances.
The ground started to vibrate and the sound of hoo es began to fill the air. Turning to look behind him Nona could see a dust cloud rising into the air. Moments later the herd of blessed horses came into view. Leading the pack was non other than the red stallion from earlier.
The hissing of the snakes became louder. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Nona's attention. All around the dragon and griffin snakes could be seen slithering away from them and the herd of horses that followed. None of them took notice of the duo and made a straight beeline for the foggy mountains in the distance. Realizing they were both safe for the time being they silently agreed to wait for the horses to arrice.