As the sleigh flew high above the Fithan landscape, Fiyu reflected that its greatest failing was a lack of a roof. The expensive vehicle was comfortable in many respects, and even offered enough room for all of them, but it was completely exposed to the sky above. Though the Fithan sun was not as overwhelmingly intense as the others she had seen, it was abominably large and the red glow seemed inescapable.

If they had been able to add some sort of structure over the top, then she could have watched with a minimal amount of shade. Fiyu considered asking Companion Theo, but he was busy soulcrafting, and then the Ruler who led them, but he was too focused on driving. Companion Nauda would help if she knew how to do such things.

Their sleigh had been lashed to the large chariot, which sped forward in a whirlwind and pulled them at much greater speeds then they could have moved on their own. Another chariot on the opposite side balanced it out, and between them, they hung a net of a glistening sublime material. Fiyu had asked about it and received few answers, only being told that it served no purpose until they used it to carry back the materials they required.

Despite the terrible sun making everything much too red, Fiyu was happy to be in the sleigh again. Within it, especially so high in the sky, her world was easily controlled. No one would assault her door and yell out alarming requests to engage in social activities, as was so frequent in the Blacksilver complex. It was also pleasant to feel the wind and travel to a new part of the world again.

Furthermore, the world outside was much more interesting when it wasn't being experienced as a wall of dust and noise. Though the wastelands beneath them appeared flat at first, and Companion Nauda had complained about them being too monotonous in color, there was more to them than she'd first realized.

First, the dust formed surprisingly large patterns of density, swirls that matched no natural formations she knew. When Fiyu had gotten her fill of examining those, she'd realized that the ground beneath the wasteland was often filled with caverns, and though they contained none of the beautiful crystalline constructs from Ally Navim's world, they were fascinating in their variety. Different regions had very different natures, from those with massive underground chambers to others with pillars breaking free into the air for no reason she had been able to determine.

Allegedly, the landscape would change even more, but she had yet to see any sign of their destination. As Fiyu extended her senses further, she felt a very strange line of tense points. Not density or pressure, actual tension, as if something artificial had been placed in a strained position...

Too late, she realized that they were weapons hurling great stones toward the chariot.

Fiyu rose to her feet and saw the rocks tumbling toward them with deceptive speed, but wasn't sure if her cantae bolts could deflect something so large and heavy. Fortunately, Companion Theo reacted more quickly, leaving his soulcrafting and casting a gravitational field that sent the stones curving skyward overhead instead of colliding with them.

"We're heading straight through!" Associate Ruler gave a call behind and their chariot increased in speed... taking them over a landscape that Fiyu now realized was a battlefield.

More of the rock-throwing devices were employed, but Theo easily redirected those, as well as the volleys of arrows that came from the other side. Fiyu thought she felt two different armies placed on opposing sides, yet now both of them were attacking.

She had no time to think, because a swarm of lights rose from the ground, like golden insects except that they were composed of pure explosive cantae. Companion Theo's gravity had no effect on them, so Fiyu rose and sent bursts of light downward. When they collided with the artificial insects, they exploded quite dramatically, so Fiyu continued to defend them as they raced onward.

Just when she hoped they had passed beyond the battlefield, a vast sphere of flame rose toward them. Associate Ruler finally took a hand, shifting from his chariot to pierce the flame with a line of cantae. But while he was distracted, another boulder flew toward them, this one spinning and glowing with a strange light.

Companion Theo reacted at the same time as Fiyu, but their efforts had no effect: the boulder only spun faster, now terrifyingly close. Just when Fiyu was about to consider her options for evasion, Companion Nauda thrust out her staff, attempting to bind the boulder in place.

She succeeded and was almost immediately thrown back, nearly colliding with Fiyu. In the moment she had arrested the boulder's movement, their vehicles swept low, evading its path and rushing on. Fiyu checked to be sure that Companion Nauda was alright, then looked back, prepared for more projectiles of the strange insectoid cantae, but it seemed that the attack had ended.

For a time they flew in silence, then Companion Nauda straightened and called up to Associate Ruler. "We couldn't take a safe route around the battle?"

"This was the safe route!" Associate Ruler turned back entirely to give a shrug. "If I'd known we'd hit it so early, I would have warned you, but this is about as bad as it will get. Just bored soldiers, nothing too serious. Be prepared for more before we arrive."

Though this answered Fiyu's question about why House Blacksilver had sent soulcrafters instead of negotiators, it was very little reassurance otherwise.

A day later, occasional attacks had become routine, though Associate Ruler made more effort to fly around the war zones in the future. The tension was not so different from ranging in a dangerous area, and Fiyu would have been untroubled if it did not obviously take a toll on the others. Once a bolt of cantae had struck the chariot opposite them, though it hadn't destroyed it, so she attempted to expand her senses to defend all their vehicles.

Companion Nauda reacted strangely, becoming grim and deeply serious. It appeared to make her no less effective, but she seemed unhappy and Fiyu was uncertain why. Meanwhile, Companion Theo seemed to view the regular attacks as nothing but an opportunity to test his new gravity-based skills, constantly sliding back into his soulhome to tweak details. She was happy that it was useful to him, it simply made him uninterested in conversation.

Though unsure how to help Companion Nauda, Fiyu decided to speak to her during a quiet period. "Nauda? I have a question for you. It is not important."

"Go ahead." Companion Nauda smiled at her, though the muscles in her back remained very tense.

"Would it be possible for you to use your barrier skill to help defend us?"

"Not really. The problem with the skill is that it has to be affixed to something, generally something large. If we were on a large sailing seasled, or a big enough flying vessel, I might be able to use one there. But it's a limited skill, built for direct combat."

Fiyu bobbed her head to encourage further talking, since Companion Nauda relaxed slightly. "This is interesting to me. I take it you developed that skill for personal use?"

"Actually, it's not what you might expect. I was first employed as a barrier creator, which is how I got my start as a soulcrafter. That basis was what I developed into a useful skill, but I'm still lacking strong sublime materials that match it. So I have the training, but not a properly furnished chamber."

"I see. Perhaps you could acquire some from House Blacksilver?"

"Perhaps, Fiyu, perhaps." Companion Nauda smiled at her in a way that Fiyu didn't entirely understand, so Fiyu simply smiled back.

As another day elapsed, the attacks from below became more routine, though one that came through the clouds overhead was very alarming. After that, Associate Ruler requested that one of them move over into the other chariot, since the sleigh was extremely well protected between all of their efforts. In the end Fiyu was chosen, and as much as she did not want to be removed from her companions, she felt that she needed to agree for the sake of the journey.

The smaller chariot introduced her to several Fithans, who were friendly and did not attempt to touch her. She learned that their role would be to judge the adequacy of the materials they acquired, but that they would stay far away from their contacts. It was related to the conflict on Fithe, which Fiyu did not yet understand.

Listening to their conversation was not a great deal of help, as they made many assumptions about what she already knew and spoke too quickly for Fiyu to interrupt them. She desperately wished that Companion Nauda was present to control the conversation, or Companion Theo could have explained the matter to her in a more understandable way. Fiyu resolved to ask them when they next slept.

Presuming that she would be returned to the sleigh during the night. To ask her to sleep in the unfamiliar chariot would not have been reasonable.

The next morning, when the sun was just beginning to form a red wall on the horizon, Fiyu finally felt something new: a large body of liquid. She rushed to the front of the chariot to look with all her senses, and even her eyes provided useful information: there was a splotch of blue on the horizon that rapidly grew.

"Almost to mud Fithan territory." One of her Associate Fithans spat over the side of the chariot, his spittle caught in the whirlwind and immediately swept away. "Be careful, Fiyu. They probably won't cheat you, but if they offer you a special deal in their home, don't take it."

"In their home?" Fiyu knew she should turn to the Associate Fithan to be polite, but still wanted to examine the growing line of water.

A long time ago, Relative Guchiro had taken her to the Darkflow and she had laughed and waved her arms as she felt so much liquid beneath them. He had not allowed her to swim, as the waters were filled with many dangerous creatures. They had traveled along the edge of the Darkflow and she had gained great respect for the people who ranged on the floating pieces of ice over the endless deep.

This, however, was a shockingly blue expanse of water. The water Fiyu had drunk in other worlds had been nearly transparent, but this body of it struck her as richly colored. She wondered if it extended on and on, just as the dusty wasteland did behind them, but their vehicles shifted to the side along the coast instead of passing overhead.

"Yeah, mud Fithans don't live in cities." It had taken Associate Fithan so long to answer her that Fiyu had almost forgotten her question, so she politely turned back to him. "They have these spherical huts way down there."

"On the water?"

"Not on the water, under it. You have no idea... deep below the surface, water pressing on every side... I've heard some of them are so deep that there's no light at all. That's why you can't trust mud Fithans, not in the end. Living down there makes you go crazy."

"I see." Fiyu managed to constrain her smile, because she did not think that her Associate Fithans would like to hear that the cities below sounded wonderful to her. It was difficult to control every single facial muscle, but she had been making attempts with her companions so that she could better navigate social environments. "Are they likely to invite us down?"

"Naw, not likely. You hear stories about kidnappings, sometimes, but not usually. Besides, we have an arrangement with them. All of you do your jobs, and this deal should go just fine."

"Our jobs?" Fiyu tilted her head to the side, frowning before she realized what she was doing. "I have not studied negotiation. I was told that I would only be required to escort supplies."

"Oh, don't worry. You just need to stand for House Blacksilver and be non-Fithan."

Stand and be non-Fithan. Fiyu felt confident in her ability to do that.