If all fails, a good round of swordfighting should suffice for him to embrace Humility again. Yes, brother, having a son means rising from your emerald cushion more often. I'll eagerly await your letter.  All seven blessings to you, Lana, and Crystal. Bran.

"Kid, come here," Leo grunted. "Ride in front of me."

Fox shifted in the saddle. The urge to glance over his shoulder was much stronger than following these men onto the steep mountain pass. One last peek of home. He was as much a Greenlander as the tall grass and the wide open forests that he had known all his life, but he wasn't allowed to stay. His own King would kill him if he did.

Would the Silvermarkers really be kinder? They too had killed.

Absent-mindedly he kicked Katla's spotted mare into what should have been a slow gait, but the horse lurched forwards and threw him backwards. With his heart hammering wildly in his chest, he grabbed the cantle to avoid the embarrassment of falling off completely.

"You scared her, kid. Be gentle—she's a real Lady." Leo's grim blue eyes followed him as he passed by.

"She can't be a Lady. Only wives of Lords are Ladies, and Princesses too." Fox grabbed the reins and held them more tightly. He was in control again.

Leo snorted, the corners of his mouth slightly curling upwards. It was the first smile since Phoe had woken him up by dropping a pair of quails onto his head. "Shut up and ride."

"It doesn't make any sense. Katla isn't doing anything." Fox gestured at the road ahead, where Katla was standing in front of a large rock that blocked the remainder of the path. "Are you sure this is the right way?"

Phoe, who was riding just in front of him, let out a snigger. "There's no such thing as the right way to Silvermark. These passes have been made hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago. Most have long been reclaimed by nature. To get over the mountains, you have to find your own way."

"But that's impossible."

The young warrior threw him a wink. "You're in for a treat. The show is about to begin."

Just as Fox motioned the horse to trot, Katla took a step back. He twirled his body around, twisting his hands, like he was performing some strange kind of ritual dance. With a light crack, the rock was lifted from the ground and began floating. As his foot stamped against the rock, it fell apart into thousands of pebbles.

Fox's mouth hung wide open. The trick with the flames had sure been special, but this was the most spectacular thing he had ever seen.

"You make it seem easy, Katla." Phoe patted him on the back, laughing loudly.

Katla glimpsed at his friend, wiping the drops of sweat from his entirely white fringe. "Wanna try?"

"Phoe? A magician?" Leo jested. "As if our country isn't going downhill already..."

Katla threw his head back and laughed, his hair instantly turning back to black. Fox chuckled, not understanding what was so funny about it, yet as he grabbed a strand of his own hair, it still hadn't gotten its red colour back. He was doing something wrong, but he wasn't going to ask for their help. Oh no.

The mountain pass was littered with rocks, great and small, but thanks to Katla's magical dance they managed to steer the horses through the maze of stones and further onto the slippery slope.

The higher they climbed, the harder the wind bit him in the nose, turning his body into a lump of ice. He huddled deeper into Katla's cloak but it made little difference. It wasn't fair. While he was shivering, sweat was pouring down Katla's forehead. He too wanted to send the skeleton of a burning bush into the chasm, even if it was just to keep warm.

Phoe and Katla halted. Fox stopped next to them. A rift too wide for the horses to jump split the path into two, its sides covered in jagged rock that would make for an extremely painful death. He looked up to the snow-clad peak. So close, but so far away.

"Are we there yet? I'm cold." His teeth clattered as he spoke.

"No, hush," Phoe blurted. "Can you close it, Katla?"

"I don't know." He clutched his hand, his face grimacing in pain as he pushed his pinky finger out of a cramp. "I need a break. Let me think of something in the meanwhile."

"Yeah, your hair is all white." A deep frown filled most of Leo's forehead. "I don't wanna get stuck out here looking after an unconscious magician. The mountains are already treacherous and unforgiving enough."

"What if I help?" The words came out before Fox had thought them through. "I always helped Father in the smithy."

"What?" Phoe stared at him with narrowed eyes. "What are you gonna do? Grab a hammer out of your pockets and attach fresh rocks until the two ends of the path reconnect? You're a Foambrain."

As the men started laughing again, Fox cast his gaze to his lap, the reins trembling in his hands as another giant shiver ran down his back. "I-I-I didn't mean it like that. I just wanna do something so I don't feel so cold anymore."

"It's sweet to offer help, Fox," Katla said. "But you're a Fire Magician, just like me. As you can see, it's not in our nature to perform Earth Magic."

He tilted his head, not understanding what Katla was saying. "How do you mean? Are there different kinds of magicians?"

"Katla, let me. I'll explain it to the kid." Leo dismounted the horse. "It's still a long way home, and you need to rest. Now."

"Sure, knock yourself out." Katla crouched low against the large bulging rock and closed his eyes. He appeared to be sleeping when suddenly his hair slowly turned back to black. Fox didn't understand. This time no laughter was involved.

A snap of Leo's fingers caught his attention. "Kid, let him be. Look here."

Using a branch that had fallen off the barren bush earlier, Leo drew four symbols on the ground. It wasn't hard to see what they were. "That's a flame, a river, a rock, and a cloud," Fox said.

"Correct. These represent the four elements of nature: fire, water, earth, and air. Each magician is born with the affinity for one of the elements. You are good at conjuring fire, so is Katla. Which makes the both of you..." He pointed the branch at Fox.

"Fire Magicians." Fox nodded. "Because flames like us."

"Exactly. Others can bend the water in the streams, control the wind in the skies, or move the ground beneath their feet. Through extensive training, a magician can learn to control other elements too, but depending on what their main affinity is, some are harder to master than others." He drew a line from the flame to the cloud. "Fire Magicians usually master Air Magic as a second skill. Do you have any idea why?"

Fox nibbled on his finger. He didn't know the answer, but he didn't want to disappoint Leo either. So far the warrior had been kind, but this was the same man that had violently bound him to the saddle. He never wanted to feel pain again.

"Come, kid. Show me you're smarter than you look."

Fox pouted. Of course he was. Mother used to say that he was just as smart as Nick, but just in a different way.

Nick would have known the answer though. He always did. Fox turned his head towards Phoe, who was pouring water from the waterskin over Katla's head. The man's eyes shot open and he blew a small flame that bit Phoe in the cheek.

Fox gasped. "Fire cannot exist without air."

"I knew there was a bright child buried in there somewhere." Leo too glanced at the two men bantering around. He shrugged before continuing, "Fire and air are called connected elements, and these tend to be easier to learn. The other two connected elements are water and earth because water enriches the earth, and vice versa. Opposite elements, such as fire and water, are nearly impossible to be mastered and most magicians stick to one or two elements. I only know a handful of people who've actually picked up a third."

"So Earth Magic is hard for Katla because it's his third element?"

"Correct! The third element someone masters is also called the optional element because most don't even bother. Isn't that right, Katla?"

"Sure is." He wiped the water from his forehead. "Took me years to learn a few basic spells. I only use it on occasions like these because it drains my magical energy at immense speed. And it's physically hard work too."

"But what about all four elements?" Fox asked. "Is there anyone who can control fire, air, earth, and water?"

"Grand Master Hawk," Phoe said. "Haven't heard of any others. It's extremely rare, though. And her Fire Magic isn't great."

"Still impressive for a Water Magician." Leo sniffed. "Too bad she's more interested in the academics of magic than their practical uses. She could be of much more use to Ari if she stopped locking herself up in Mage's Tower, surrounded by dusty old books and scrolls."

"Hawk would really get along with my friend Nick. He also likes books." Fox didn't realise the impact of what he had said until Phoe shuffled his feet, his eyes set on Katla. Apart from that and Leo clearing his throat, the only sound was that of the raging wind. He had to say something. Though he might never see them again, Nick and Seb were still his friends. "Liked. He liked books."

"I'm sorry." Katla scratched the back of his neck. "You must know that I take no pleasure in killing people. I had orders from the King. I did what I had to do."

Fox's lips quivered heavily, not from the cold this time. He wanted his mother so badly, and he couldn't, and that was all Katla's fault. "But why? Why did they have to die? They didn't do anything wrong."

"You wanted to take the kid." Leo broke the stick in two and tossed it away. "You deal with this."

"So now you don't wanna be the teacher anymore." Katla got up, his hands propped on his hips. When neither Phoe or Leo moved, he approached Fox and patted the mare. "You can compare it to having to do a chore you don't like. It's not fun but if you don't do it, you get punished."

"Is your King a monster?" Fox squeaked. Only real monsters would punish people for not wanting to kill a village full of innocent people.

"He may seem that way." Katla let out a deep sigh that turned into a smile as he scratched the horse's forehead. "Don't ever call him that if you want to live a long and happy life in Moondale, though."

"Talking about happy," Leo grunted. "How likely are the chances that I'm gonna sleep in my own bed tomorrow?"

Phoe jumped up, his hands ruffling through Katla's hair. "I'd say we are good to go. Apart from a few white ones—and that one grey hair that I shouldn't mention but always do—all I can see is shiny black."

"I'd say so too. At least to get my Air Magic flowing again." Katla twirled his hands, cracking all of his fingers.

Fox winced, more by habit than anything else. He didn't know what to do or how to feel, as if two different Foxes were pulling him in opposite directions. One wanted to remain a loyal Greenlander boy who sought vengeance for what the evil King of Silvermark had done to him, but the other couldn't wait to master every element and become the greatest magician that ever lived.

And then there was Katla. Orders or not, he was the one who had lit the fire that had changed his life forever. Mother's murderer. A kind man. It didn't make any sense.

"Are you ready to fly, son?" Katla pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Fly?"

"Yeah, to get you to the other side." He gestured at Leo and Phoe; both men and their horses were already standing on the other side of the path.

Fox shook his head, his breaths turning rapid and shallow. He missed Mother, but he didn't want to join her in the Heavens either. "No, what if I fall?"

"Phoe and Leo didn't fall."

"But I will. Don't make me fly. You can't make me." Tears sprang to his eyes, and he began to shake. He just wanted to go home. But there was no home anymore. It was all so hard and confusing.

"How about we do it together?" Katla climbed the horse, the icky wetness of his shirt sticking to Fox's back as he pulled him closer. "Maybe you'll find it less scary then."

He cringed, his muscles stiffening. "No. Let me go! I don't wanna do this."

"Hush. This will be over in no time. I promise." Keeping one arm tight around him, the magician swept the other from left to right, creating an enormous bubble around the mare.

"I hate you!" Fox screamed out his sobs as they thrust forwards, the depth of the chasm flashing by in a hazy blur. His tummy clenched and heaved as the horse stopped precisely in front of Phoe.

Katla banged the side of the bubble and it burst, like it had never been there. He patted Fox. "See. Over before you know it. That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"I don't ever wanna fly again." He snivelled, though he had to admit that it hadn't been as scary as he thought it would have been. If the Gods forced him to try again, he would definitely be braver.

"Until you learn Air Magic, and then that's all you want to do." Leo put his waterskin back into a bag. "But that will be Katla's problem."

"Always the pessimist, Leo." Phoe turned his horse around. "The Gods are on our side, gents. The path appears to be going downhill. I think we're near the source of the East Twin."

They rode on, soon joined by a small stream that flowed down the mountain range. Underneath a couple of spruces, they halted to fill the waterskins and warm up the rest of the quails.

Fox didn't eat much. The clearing where they stood revealed a land that was grey and mostly barren, apart from some lonely fields on each side of the riverbank. It was nothing like The Greenlands. It wasn't green.

"Welcome to the North. It's not the South but it's safe." Katla edged closer, pointing his finger. "Do you see that fine line there, near the horizon? That's Mage Tower."

Fox squinted. It wasn't so much a line but a dot near the river. "Is that where you live?"

"Ha. That would stir some things up at court." Phoe gnawed a piece of meat off a bone. "Wouldn't it, Leo?"

The giant warrior snorted. "I would move out for sure."

"What they're trying to say is that I live in a small cottage near the castle," Katla explained. "I think you'll like it there. It's a lot nicer than Mage Tower."

"Will I be living with you?" Fox tilted his head. He couldn't imagine himself living in the same house as Katla, but other alternatives frightened him too. What if he was placed in an army camp where he'd be the oddball from The Greenlands? At least he knew Katla.

"I'm going to ask the King if I can train you. I have a spare bed anyway, so I don't see why he would refuse."

"Because you defied his orders." Phoe licked the grease off his fingers. "Besides, do you really think it's a good idea, so soon after Hunter?"

"I'm done grieving." Katla brought his hands to his temples. "The house is too empty. It drives me up the walls."

"Who was Hunter?" Fox asked.

"He was a bit like you, but then from Ice. I trained him for a while."

"I liked Hunter," Leo murmured. "Bright lad, very gifted at magic. The way that fever burnt through him. Nobody should die like that, Katla. I sincerely hope that you've thought this through. Every aspect of it."

"What happened?" There was something that these men weren't sharing, and Fox wanted to know.

"Last winter he got a fever that I... couldn't cure." Katla talked slowly as if to try and find the right words. His right leg quivered. "It happened so quickly. He passed away before anyone could help him."

With that story, the mood died and never picked back up. The afternoon and most of the evening passed by slowly as they descended along the grit-filled path leading down the mountains. Even with Katla's magic helping them, the horses took one hesitant step after the other.

The sun was long gone by the time they made camp for the night. Fox didn't wait for Phoe to return from hunting dinner but ate some of the crackers that Leo shared with him. He fell asleep shortly after.

At the dawn of the new day, Fox found himself back on Katla's mare, sleep weighing heavily on his mind and body. The endless, monotone road carried him through the rock-filled landscape with swamp-like puddles that attracted too many flies.

One town they passed, but it was as desolate as the rest of the country. The windowless houses were covered in yellow-stained mushrooms that enhanced the stench of wood rot. From behind a collapsed barn peeked the shy eyes of a small girl with sunken cheeks.

"Come here." Katla rattled the brown sack he had taken out of one of Leo's bags. "They've gone a bit stale, but it's still food."

She ran towards them, revealing a dirty white dress riddled with holes. Without saying anything, she snatched the sack and retreated back to the barn.

The voice of a toddler shrieked, "You have to share, Sparrow. I'm hungry too."

"At least Moondale isn't as bad as this." Phoe sighed. "And pray to the Gods and His Majesty that it never will be."

They reached the capital of Silvermark that evening, when the sun was already sinking into the western horizon, causing the grey stones of the castle to glow eerily red. The entire city lay right in the middle of two rivers, which the men referred to as the Twins.

"You should get to Ari as soon as you can," Leo said as they crossed a bridge guarded by giant statues of growling cats.

"I'll freshen up first before meeting him. He'll appreciate my efforts more without the stink of the journey on my body." Katla steered the horse to a broad street swarmed with more people than had ever lived in Laneby.

"Hurry up, though. You know what he's like when he has to wait." Leo nodded at a man taking off his hat, while his wife and three children were lowering their heads.

An invisible force—magic—flicked on the street lanterns one by one, the silver light illuminating the old wooden houses. From most of the houses hung signs, the paint fading and the metal chains in desperate need of fixing.

Fox grinned at the names: Raven's Rings, Dove & Pigeon, The Loving Lark. He wasn't alone anymore. Apart from Katla, all Silvermarkers bore the name of an animal.

"Why don't I take the horses to the stable?" Phoe proposed as they halted at a crossing near the castle. "It will save you some time."

"That sounds good. Thanks, Phoe." Katla got off and stretched out his hand to Fox.

Fox didn't take it, just jumped off, landing on his sore feet. He raised his head to the castle where the twinkling silver lights were jumping from one stone to the next, disguising the moss that clung to the walls like Leo's shaggy beard to his chin.

"If you need any help, anything at any time, you know where to find me," Phoe said.

Katla untied two bags, handing one to Fox. "The Antler. Aye."

Fully packed, the magician guided Fox through Moondale's narrow streets where rats scurried from one side to the other. He stopped in front of a small two-story house in the shade of the castle, separate from all the other houses. The wood was surprisingly fresh, the nails unrusted.

"It's not much, but it's home." Katla dug out a key from the bag hanging over his shoulder and opened the door.

In the middle of the dark one-room ground floor stood a large table, filled with papers, pencils, and a half-full bottle of wine. As Fox dumped the bag onto the closest of the four chairs, Katla snapped his fingers, a broad flame shooting up in the fireplace.

Fox put his hand on the edge of the drawing of a boy with curly ginger hair and blue eyes. He was smiling mischievously. Underneath lay another drawing, with three people on it. But before he managed to get a proper look, Katla snatched the papers from under his hand.

He rolled them up and threw them on one of the dusty shelves, then crouched low in front of a large wooden chest at the foot of his bed. His fingers dug at his neck, removing a chain with a ring made out of pure gold. Placing the ring against the wood, the trunk flew open. "I still have a couple of trousers and shirts from Hunter. He was a bit bigger than you, but it will do until we can get to Lynx for new clothes."

"Okay." Fox caught the clothes that Katla threw his way. A pair of long brown trousers and a long-sleeved shirt with grey stripes and a lot of buttons. Had his own clothes not smelled like farts, he would have kept them on.

Katla disappeared through the back door, leaving Fox alone to discover his new home. There weren't any toys lying around, nor were there any flowers or other kinds of decorations. The man surely lived here all by himself. That was strange. Only childless old people in Laneby lived by themselves.

The back door creaked. Katla had returned with a barrel full of water. He put it on the table and circled his hand until steam rose from the water.

"Aren't you married?" Fox asked.

"I was." He unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, unveiling not only the ring of gold, but also a body full of scars and old burn wounds that had never properly healed.

"What happened? Did she die?"

"Yeah." He grabbed a glass pot of soap from the shelves. "Why don't you go upstairs and check out your room? There's a bucket outside somewhere, so if you want, you can wash there."

"Okay." Fox tilted his head. The man was already pretending that he was going to live with him, but the King hadn't agreed to that. "What do I have to do when you're out to see your King?"

"Don't be silly, you're coming with me."