Nentarli [COMPLETE]

~ Forty-six ~

My dad finally announced it was time to head out, our group stayed together and I said one last goodbye to my mum. The heartbreaking look on her face almost stopped me but we both knew there was too much at stake. I held onto Emy's arm and pushed myself to walk out of the house.

We saddled up quickly, Valentia was happy to see me despite the circumstances, I could tell all she cared about was that we'd be riding together. The cold didn't affect her in any way, she just grunted and waited to go. I was happy to see that Emy had been given Ulric to ride and she was having a bit more luck with riding this time as we gradually set off out of the garden.

Soldiers from the village joined our ranks as we made our way East out of Dumair, there must have been at least a hundred men and women of all ages. Each one had armour on and they greeted their friends in the ranks as though it was a fun day out. A few greeted Emy and I and I could tell they knew exactly what this was. They knew this group of young people were going to ride out to fight the most evil thing they'd ever known and may not come back from it.

The Protectors of the wall were waiting for us when we neared it, still as invisible as ever but I could sense it now. Honing my magic must have made me more sensitive to magic being used, especially strong magic like this. The Protectors let us out in a steady flow and I felt the same gust of wind the moment it closed behind us, like a door closing but I got the unusual feeling that I was being cut off from the village.

This might be the last time I saw Dumair, it felt like some kind of cruel ending to our time there. I tried to find our house, some kind of comfort, but it was too far. I hoped for the safety of my mum, Emy's mum and everyone else in the village, then turned Valentia to reintegrate back into the ranks. The snow was deeper here but Valentia and I got the hang of it a lot quicker than anyone else. Merkell assured us that the Trading Road would be much easier to ride, I just hoped it wasn't too busy, we didn't need extra obstacles or delays.

Conversation was light but cheery considering what we were doing, Kayle was telling us stories about his childhood and the first day he had met Blaike and Kaleb. It was a funny story that kept us distracted for a while. Something about them training and then chasing Kayle for something he said, only to be faced with his Slingers and somewhere along the way they became friends. Emy and I exchanged an incredulous look and giggled at how they even managed it.

We were brought back to reality when we reached the Trading Road halfway through the day. There was no snow on the road itself, it was full of mud and puddles. We stopped for a quick break, long enough to have a bite to eat or nip to the bathroom. With an army of people this took so much longer but we were soon riding onto the Trading Road, according to orders down the ranks we wouldn't be stopping again until morning.

It would take over two days to reach the borders of the Eastern Sector but we did need to rest, otherwise we'd be no good to anyone. We were met by soldiers from other villages we passed, the meeting may have been for a select few but the Sectors were ready for this war and for all of their troubles to be over. Our numbers swelled to well over three hundred and that was just a rough guess. I tried to imagine what we'd look like when the armies from all three Sectors came together.

Emy pulled me into a conversation about magic and we continued talking through the night. The guys and Merkell joined in, as well as a few soldiers who didn't seem too fussed about anyone overhearing that they had magic. It made me smile, this was something I wanted for Nentarli. I wanted them to be able to be themselves with magic and not have to worry about someone attacking them for it.

Of course, there would still be bad people in the world even after Riltresik was gone but it would be a much smaller number and easier to prosecute said person. Or we could take training to a higher level so nobody ever became a victim of magic stealing ever again. These thoughts occupied my mind while we rode through the blustery night. I was glad I had worn two outfits, as well as my cloak, because the nights were brutally cold.