Author's Preface
The otter swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his paw.
"Anyway," he said, glancing toward the wreckage, "looks like you boys had a rough day."
Julius glanced at the scattered remains of the carriage. Splintered wood and supplies covered the road, while the two bulls stood farther away, still restless from the attack.
"Yeah."
The otter hopped down from the beast and landed lightly on the road. Up close, Julius realized just how small he was compared to Kirves. He barely reached the man's waist, yet there was nothing harmless about the way he carried himself.
He walked over to the wreckage and crouched beside one of the broken wheels. After examining it for a few seconds, he poked the shattered axle with a claw.
"That's not getting fixed."
Tikar folded his arms.
"You think?"
The otter glanced up at him.
"Obviously."
Tikar shook his head.
"You haven't changed."
"Kikikiki. Wouldn't be much fun if I did."
Kirves approached with the remaining supplies.
"How long?"
"Two days."
Kirves glanced at the beast.
"Can it carry us?"
The otter patted its side.
"Three of you? Easy."
Tikar grabbed his pack.
"Then let's go."
The otter grinned.
"Now you're thinking."
He swung himself onto the beast and settled between its shoulders. Julius climbed on behind him, followed by Tikar and Kirves. There was barely enough room, but the enormous creature didn't seem bothered.
The otter patted its neck.
"Off we go."
The beast started forward, its heavy paws thudding against the road.
Julius relaxed slightly.
Then the otter whistled.
The beast suddenly surged forward.
Julius's eyes widened. He grabbed the otter's coat as the road disappeared beneath them. The sudden acceleration nearly pulled him from its back, forcing him to wrap one arm around the otter's waist to steady himself.
What did I just agree to?
Trees rushed past on either side, their branches bending beneath the wind created by the beast's speed. Julius lowered his head, shielding his face as the road blurred beneath them.
Behind him, Tikar seemed completely unfazed.
"This is normal for him," Tikar said.
Julius turned his head slightly.
"Normal?"
"Unfortunately."
The otter laughed from the front.
"I heard that!"
Tikar shrugged.
"You were supposed to."
Julius looked between them.
They've definitely done this before.
Kirves remained just as calm. One hand rested against the beast's side while the other held his pack in place. He occasionally checked the road ahead, his expression unchanged.
Tikar had already settled into the ride, watching the passing landscape with the bored expression of someone who had endured this exact journey too many times.
I'm the only one who thinks we're going to die.
After several minutes, the beast finally began to slow. The forest thinned around them, revealing a long stretch of open road bordered by grass and scattered stone. Small farms appeared between the trees, their fields divided by low stone walls and occasional silver markers Julius didn't recognize.
Travelers moved along the road in both directions. Merchants heading toward Saltus passed with loaded carts, while others traveled toward Svard with weapons strapped openly to their backs.
The closer they drew to the capital, the busier the road became.
Julius took it all in quietly. He had never seen this part of the country before, or at least he didn't think he had. Svard already seemed to reach beyond its walls, drawing merchants, travelers, and armed men toward it from every direction.
The otter reached into his coat and pulled out another fish.
Julius stared at it.
Where does he even keep those?
The otter looked over his shoulder.
"Want some?"
Julius shook his head.
"No."
"Your loss."
He took a bite.
For the first time since leaving Saltus, Julius allowed himself to relax. The beast's stride had settled into a steady rhythm, and the sound of its paws striking the road was almost calming.
Julius rested a hand against his side.
The axe was still there.
He had tried to use the Echo again.
Nothing.
He remembered the first fight clearly enough. The axe in his hands. The warrior's movements. The certainty that had filled his body as though every motion had already been decided.
But he couldn't reproduce any of it.
Why can't I do it?
He had never learned those movements. He had never fought an Earth Drake before that day. Yet when the Echo appeared, his body had known exactly what to do.
Now that knowledge was gone.
If the Echo did everything for me, then what did I actually do?
The question stayed with him as the road stretched farther from Saltus.
Before the Earth Drake, his past had already been broken. He couldn't remember a home, a family, or even the reason he had been searching for the Runes, but he had at least remembered the feeling of wanting something.
After the Echo, even some of that was gone.
It took something from me.
Julius tried to reach for those memories again, but there was nothing to grasp. He only knew something had been there because he could feel its absence.
His fingers tightened.
If that's what the Echo does every time...
He stopped himself.
He didn't want to finish the thought.
"You're awfully quiet."
Julius looked up.
Utter had finished his fish and was watching him over his shoulder.
"Sorry."
The otter snorted.
"You don't have to apologize for being quiet."
Julius hesitated before asking, "You never told me your name."
Utter blinked.
"Did I not?"
"No."
"Kikikiki. That's probably important."
He turned slightly in the saddle.
"Utter."
"Just Utter?"
"That's it."
Utter faced forward again as though the matter had been settled.
Julius almost smiled.
There was something ridiculous about him. He ate fish while riding a creature large enough to crush a house and joked with Kirves and Tikar as though they had been traveling together for years. Yet something practiced lay beneath the humor. Utter handled the beast with barely any effort, adjusting its pace with the slightest movement of his reins.
Julius's attention drifted toward the sword at Utter's side.
Unlike the rest of his equipment, the weapon looked old. The silver-etched sheath was scratched from years of use, and the leather around the grip had worn thin in places.
His chest tightened.
The rusted sword in Saltus came back to him. The dull golden blade. The faint blue light. The cloaked figure standing beside it.
Julius stared at Utter's sword.
Would it happen again?
If I touched that sword, would I see an Echo?
His hand shifted slightly.
The thought of another memory flooding into his mind was almost tempting. Another life. Another person. Another piece of the world he had forgotten.
But he remembered the emptiness it left behind.
Julius pulled his hand back.
No. Not yet.
He had already lost enough. Until he understood what the Echo was doing to him, he wasn't going to gamble with another memory.
The road climbed gently as the afternoon wore on. The hills grew larger, rising on both sides and narrowing the land into a broad valley.
Kirves adjusted the strap of his pack.
"We should reach the outer roads by tomorrow."
"Told you," Utter said. "Two days."
Tikar looked ahead.
"Assuming nothing goes wrong."
Utter grinned.
"Nothing is going to go wrong."
The beast's rear leg slipped slightly on a patch of loose stone.
Utter glanced down.
"Probably."
Tikar sighed.
Kirves gave a quiet grunt that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
Julius looked at him. The large man's expression had already returned to its usual seriousness, but there was a faint amusement in his eyes.
A quiet laugh escaped Julius before he could stop it. It was the first time he had done so since waking in the blacksmith's shop.
For a while, he simply listened to the wind, the beast's steady breathing, the occasional creak of leather, and the distant calls of birds.
It felt strangely peaceful.
Then Julius noticed something in the sky.
A small white point moved across the distant sky. Julius almost mistook it for sunlight before it vanished beyond the hills.
He watched the empty sky for a moment.
What was that?
Nobody else seemed to notice.
Julius turned back toward the road.
Probably nothing.
He didn't believe that.
The road continued through the valley as daylight slowly faded. The open land gradually gave way to taller hills and exposed stone. Far ahead, beyond the ridges, a faint silver glow rested against the horizon.
Julius watched it grow brighter.
It wasn't the reflection of the setting sun. It was too pale, too steady.
"What's that?"
Utter looked ahead.
"That's Svard."
Julius stared.
For the first time, the name felt real.
Svard. The City of Swords.
Kirves had spoken about it as though it were simply another destination. Now Julius could see it. Beyond the valley, enormous silver walls stretched across the horizon, disappearing behind the surrounding hills. Towers rose above them at regular intervals, their surfaces catching the last light of the sun.
Julius had never seen anything like it.
Kirves noticed his expression.
"You'll get used to it."
Julius looked at him.
"Have you lived there your whole life?"
Kirves shook his head.
"No."
There was a brief pause before he added, "I left when I was young."
Tikar looked over his shoulder.
"You've never told me that."
Kirves gave him a sideways glance.
"You never asked."
Tikar frowned.
"I've asked plenty of things."
"Not that."
Tikar muttered something under his breath and turned away.
Utter laughed quietly.
Julius looked between them. He realized how little he actually knew about the people traveling beside him. Kirves had spent twenty years fighting Earth Drakes and had once lived in Svard. Tikar had grown up around him, yet there were still things even his own son didn't know. And Utter had appeared on the road with an enormous beast, a sword, and enough fish hidden in his coat to feed a village.
Julius smiled faintly.
I really did end up traveling with strange people.
His smile faded as he looked toward the city. Somewhere inside those walls, there might be people who could tell him who he was and what had happened to his memories.
Something stirred deep inside him.
A feeling. Old. Familiar.
For a brief moment, Julius almost remembered.
A place.
A voice.
Seven lights burning against a dark sky.
Then it was gone.
His hand moved unconsciously toward his chest.
Nothing.
Only his heartbeat.
Julius lowered his hand.
I don't need all my memories back.
His eyes remained fixed on the distant city.
I just need the first one.