***
Centre of the Medley forest. 40 hours left...
-Ting!-
"Good,"
-Tang!-
"Hoo... Take this!"
-Shing!-
The jarring sounds of blades colliding made for a particularly noisy morning, not that Mikhail could tell. Since life was constant pain after his master: Zhiv decided to train him. It wouldn't have been that bad... If he was trained in sword-fighting. Sadly, his master just laughed off his hopes and said:
"Is two years going to pass in two days? Swords are tricky weapons to wield, while knives are more simple. In addition to that, they are useful in situations other than battle, can you say the same about swords?"
And so it was, from then on, Mikhail was taught all he needed to know in 30 hours... That's right, Mikhail was pushed to his limits, only getting two hours of sleep while the rest were allotted to the art of learning how to use a compass, map and rope and various other tools...
-Clang!-
"Hmm... Take a thirty-minute break,"
"Haa, haa... Yes... master,"
***
Shiv's cabin, 35 hours left...
"Mikhail! Get up,"
-Bonk!*-
"E-Eh? But it just an hour after I slept," Mikhail complained as he checked his watch. Maybe too tired of answering his complaints, Zhiv just treated them like air and took Mikhail by the scruff of his neck and began dragging him to the training field.
"Ow ow ow ow! Ok ok, I'll follow you!" Mikhail finally relented to Zhiv's will, but it was less because he wanted to train but more because he was squirming in pain from the force at which Zhiv was pulling him.
When they arrived at the training field, Mikhail was immediately shocked at what was before his eyes. Even the usually stoic Zhiv started to smile when he looked at Mikhail's face.
"A-A h-h-horse!?" Mikhail was just about ready to faint. After all, he had barely learned how to use the knife, and he's already learning how to ride a horse?
"Mn, if you think you're going to arrive there on foot in the time we have left, you'd be better off trying to find the meaning of life," Zhiv declared before continuing:
"First things first..." Time quickly passed while Zhiv was teaching Mikhail. And soon, ten hours had quickly come and gone...
"Impressive, you didn't die. I could have sworn the horse was this close to kicking you in the shin and breaking your legs," Zhiv said, seemingly impressed with Mikhail.
"I could have died!?" Of course, Mikhail was less than pleased with this revelation, but after considering the hellish training he had to go through, it was to be expected.
"I'm just joking, you needn't get too serious about it,"
'Sigh... You really can't tell if he's joking or if he's actually serious,' Mikhail thought to himself.
"Anyways, how many hours do I even have left?" Mikhail sighed, glad he could have this small moment of rest in the midst of hard training.
"You have twenty-five hours left, it would take approximately five hours to arrive at their lair, and considering the five-hour rest, you'd have about 15 hours, give or take,"
'Why can't I just go on an adventure after getting a sword from an old man who says "Wait! It's dangerous to go alone, take this" like in the storybooks,' Mikhail grumbled in his head as he slowly drifted off to sleep...
***
Dawn, 10 hour left...
Today was windy; the clouds had turned a dull grey, and the trees were moving and shuffling around violently. And as the winds flowed through their leaves, even the tired and half-dead Mikhail was woken abruptly. Naturally, since he could see it, so did Zhiv.
"...This isn't good," As Mikhail approached his master, he heard him muttering.
"What isn't good," Mikhail stood beside him and asked while looking at the clouds.
"Look," Mikhail turned to where Zhiv pointed and was astonished by what he saw:
There, Mikhail was shocked to find a gargantuan 'herd' of clouds, though they were the same grey colour as their counterparts, he knew something was up. And he was right, the clouds suddenly coalesced into one mega cloud.
--OUHHHRAAAHHHH!-
Suddenly, a giant roar rang out from the mountains under the cloud sphere. It was so loud, even Zhiv couldn't help shiver slightly.
"W-What was that?" Mikhail was terrified, seeing that any being able to make such a loud sound deserves to be afraid.
"The shriek of a Morkoda queen, the big boss you're going to have to survive," Zhiv spoke gravely, clearly how cautious he was regarding the beast. Knowing this, Mikhail never felt more scared of anything than this 'Queen'.
"Why is it shouting now of all time?" Mikhail looked at Zhiv, question marks practically above his head.
"This is bad... Mikhail, you must go now,"
"What?! But you haven't taught me—" Mikhail was about to argue back, but midway through his sentence, he was interrupted by Zhiv.
"There is no time! Do you know why they took her? Why not you, or your mother, or anyone for that matter?"
Mikhail was mute when faced with Zhiv's question. He wanted to ignore it, but when the truth was before him, he couldn't help but ask himself:
'He's right... Why did they take her?'
"I will tell you why: When the Morkoda queen shouts, it means she's ready to choose a new heir,"
"What?! Why!?"
"She's dying, Her power is so huge it begins to rot her very existence, slowly disintegrating every fibre of her being until nothing is left, something akin to a bucket not being able to hold a lake,"
Zhiv turned to Mikhail before speaking again:
"This is why I agreed to teach you, because the queen's power is strongest is when she inherits her power from the previous one, you must prevent it before it ever happens... I'm afraid our world may be on the brink of destruction once more,"
Saying this, Zhiv expected Mikhail to decline in fear, or just run away, but he was utterly surprised at what Mikhail said next.
"Understood,"
"!!!"
"I've trained this much, might as well put it to good use," Mikhail smiled at his shocked master.
"Heh, this is the first time I've seen anyone as stupid as you... The horse is at the cabin, so is your supplies,"
Mikhail nodded, before running off. Unbeknownst to him, Zhiv softly whispered under his breath:
"Good luck kid... Make your old man proud,"
***