The wagon shook and creaked as the stallions pulled it through the city gates. My parents sat in the coach seat at the front of the wagon, while Donte and I had climbed on top of the slightly rounded roof. Charly sat with Nox inside the carriage, reading. Though, I did not understand how he could stand the shaking from in there without getting sick. We let him be.

Looking behind us, I could still see the farewell procession that had greeted us this morning. My grandma was crying again, waving and watching us go. A few of the soldiers who respected my parents, and Kadmos had also been there this morning to wish us well on our travels. A few nobles who wanted to suck up to my grandma had shown up as well. Even Otto was there. Though, I think it was more to make sure I was really leaving more than for any well wishes.

Once we were far enough from the gate, I took command of Mordere and Mitis. The two stallions’ eyes turned green as they broke into a fast trot. For normal horses, such a pace while pulling the wagon would quickly tire them, but for these two stallions it was no problem. They would not even have to stop to eat or drink.

The only downside was that the stallion were still basically newborns. The flames inside them were still small, and extended exertion would deplete it quickly. I would have to transfer my own flames to them from time to time so that they could keep this pace.

It would be tiring for me to constantly use my power, but it would also be good training. Over time, the more I used my flames, the more powerful they would become. Each day’s increase would be miniscule, like adding a single grain of sand, but a mountain of sand was still a mountain.

With nothing left to distract us but the endless road, I decided this was the perfect time to teach my parents what I knew about how to increase their power. Even the smallest difference could save their lives.

“So, there is a way to increase our strength? The army had theories about it and constantly experimented with us, but there was no proof.” My mother asked. She and Donte were instantly enraptured by the subject.

“There are two main ways to reliably increase the strength of your innate talent. The first is through repeated use. Much like working out, constant use of an innate talent will strengthen it. However, without proper materials and energy sources to assist you, the process is painfully slow. It can take years to notice major changes.”

My mother nodded. “Makes sense, In the military, those who served longer often had stronger powers than when they first started. What are the materials you mentioned though? Would we be able to find them?”

“Unlikely.” I replied. “There is a place I want to look on our way north, but what we need is incredibly rare. The most common of them take the form of special fruits, plants, or even animals. When eaten they can greatly benefit the body. When enormous amounts of chaotic energy flows into a plant or animal, these amazing things can sometimes form. Unfortunately, that much energy requires a rift in the realm, and all of those have been closed for a very long time.”

“Then, what is the second way.”

“The second path is to trace the origin of your power.” I spoke.

“You mentioned something about that before, but I do not understand. What does that mean?”

“Put simply, it is expanding the scope of your ability. Let’s use Donte for an example since his power is simpler than yours. His talent sends the air around him into a rampage, causing cyclones and explosive damage. For now, that is all that he can do. Right?”

Donte nodded, face flushing in embarrassment at becoming the center of attention.

“The origin of his power is easy. He manipulates the air. However, talk is easy. Actually changing the limits of your talent takes practice and experimentation. Donte’s first goal should be to limit his explosion to a single direction. After he can do that, he should try to manipulate the speed and direction of the wind under his control. The changes may seem small, but if he can do that. He will have a talent completely unrecognizable to the one he has now.”

I stopped speaking for a moment a green flame ignited in my hand. I decided to do a visual presentation, as the flame slowly took different shapes. With a thought, the flames flowed into the figure of a heart, then a circle, followed by a pair of wings.

“When I first developed my own unique talent, its scope was also extremely limited. It was only after years that I made any big strides in changing what it could do. By observing the creatures, I raised and the process they were healed, I began to manipulate the flames inside my own body to imitate the process. Through that imitation, I learned how to heal myself. Over time I picked up a few more tricks, but I am still far from the true origin of my talent.”

“Is there any limit? You also talked about domains in the past, how do we achieve that?” my mother asked.

“While anyone can learn a domain regardless of whether they have an innate talent, neither of you are powerful enough for that yet. As for the limiting factor of tracing your origin, there is only one. Energy.” I replied. “The more differences there are between what you are trying to do and the original version of your talent, the more taxing it is. For example, I can fill an entire room with my flames as they are now, but they remain ethereal and untouchable. At the end of the day the flames are just a visual representation of my ability, not real fire. If I try to make them burn like true flames, even a candle sized flicker would almost instantly drain all my energy.”

My mother ponders for a moment. “Then, what is the origin of my talent? How do I stretch the limits of what I can do?”

“That is actually a tricky question. At first glance your talent is based on electricity, and while you can probably develop that in an interesting way; I believe the true origin of your talent is space.”

“Space?”

“You can move great distances in a single step. You are not jumping there or turning into electricity. One step you are in one place, the next you are somewhere else. My guess is that your talent can actually lessen the distance between you and where you want to go.”

“That’s… confusing, but it sounds right. How do I develop something like that?”

“Spatial talents are difficult at the best of times, but I think the first step for you would be figuring out how to shift your talent from your feet to your hands.”

“My hands?”

“Yes, if you can learn that, you would be able to strike at your enemies from any distance.”

“I... will try. It sounds... exciting!” My mother replied, clenching her fists several times. Nothing happened. Her excitement faded and she frowned. “How do I do that exactly?”

I shrugged. “Only you can understand how your energy flows within you. Trial and error are your only ways forward.”

My mother was left in silent contemplation. Donte was much the same. He knew nothing about his talent. It would take them both a lot of work before they could get anywhere with this subject. The idea of tracing a power’s origin was something many spent their entire lives studying.

Even after four hundred years of practice, I only knew a few extra tricks. Despite my best efforts, there were many things I could not do with my own talent. One of my biggest regrets was that after all this time, I could not use my innate talent to heal others without turning them into an undead. It had been one of my main pursuits in tracing my origin, but I never succeeded since my flames always burned their soul while healing their body.

The silence was broken when my father spoke up. “Is there a way for me to increase my power as well?”

“I am not a specialist in ninth division techniques, so how they train their troops is unknown to me.” I replied truthfully. “The various materials I mentioned before should work on you as well as any other. That would allow you to activate larger arrays without taxing your body. Other than that, I think the only way is through learning. By understanding and studying various runes you can do amazing things. The key lies in how energy flows and reacts in the symbols you create. Beyond that, I do not know.

My father nodded, looking down at the bracers on his arms. “I still do not really understand how these things work. I know they can do so much more. I just do not understand how to make it happen.”

“I know you can figure it out.” I said, reaching over to pat his shoulder. “Over a thousand years ago, when the Endless War first began, we knew nothing about any of this. There were no innate talents or runes. Oceans of blood was spilt before they learned how to do what you already can. Centuries of experimentation and countless failures went into that device on your wrist. It is not something you can learn in a day, but if they can do it, you can too.”

My father stared at the bracer, gently tracing the lines on the outer edges. I could barely hear his softly spoken words over the bouncing of the carriage.

“We stand on the backs of giants.”

I spent the rest of the day teaching every trick I knew for a person to increase their strength. Even Charly decided to come out and join the discussion. Over the long years serving in the Thirteen Divisions, I had seen many like my parents. All they needed was a push in the right direction, and they would be able to become incredibly powerful in the future.

The problem was Charly and Donte. Neither of them had any real battle experience. Charly was still sullen and reserved after our raid into Dead Men’s Maze. Donte was more energetic than ever, but he had no idea what a battlefield was like. If things were left like this, they would freeze up when the real war came. Unfortunately, there was no easy fix for this. Battle experience could not be taught.

Our wagon raced down the road for hours as I talked. Close to Aktaio the roads were well paved and our speed was little problem. The only times we slowed down were when we crossed paths with others on the road. Without me directly controlling the two stallions, they did not have the energy to sprint for long. It was annoying, but necessary. I did not need stories circulating of a carriage pulled by two stallions with glowing green eyes.

Luckily the further we traveled from Aktaio, the less people there were. The further we traveled however; the roads got steadily worse. Well paved roads turned into cobblestone. The cobblestone turned into washed out mazes of mud. Eventually the only path forward was nothing more than a dirt trail.

“What did you expect?” My father asked. “We passed the last major city after only two hours of travel. The free cities are almost all port cities. The few cities built inland are all east of here. From this point onward we will be lucky if we can find a village or two. Nobody is willing to pave a road to nowhere.”

“I was just hoping it would be less… bumpy.” I complained, holding my stomach. The upset noises it was making did not give me much hope for the future of this trip. Charly rubbed my back, reminding me of the days when I was constantly sick. “This is the stupid boat all over again.”

“Maybe we can find a place to rest soon. It would not be a bad idea to stretch our legs before the sun sets.” Charly said.

“I want to make it past the next village before we stop,” my father replied, "according to the map, there is river there. It would make a good place to camp for the night, and we would not have to use as much of our water supply.” My mom elbowed my father, causing him to yelp in pain. Clutching his side, he quickly spoke. “But if you are not feeling well, we can always take a short stop.”

“I will try and make it till we pass the next town.” I replied.

My father nodded happily, earning him a scowl from my mother.

After a few jokes at my expense, Charly asked to see the map my father bought. I peeked over his shoulder as he looked. The area near Aktaio was incredibly detailed, but everything else was a complete mess. It did not even somewhat match the geography of the continent I knew from my time as empress.

“Is this really the best map you could find?” Charly asked.

“I bought over a dozen.” My father replied. “That is the most detailed one. At least the roads and towns are clearly marked. Once we get further north, we can buy new ones for that area. Until then, we will just have to ask for directions and keep going the same direction.”

“I guess.” Charly mumbled.

“Are there really so many cities?” Donte asked in awe as he looked at the map. “Are they all like Aktey?”

“Aktaio. Just because you escaped from Jacob does not mean you escape his language lessons. I will beat that accent out of you if I have to.” My mother corrected.

Donte grimaced. “Are all the cities like… Aktaio?”

My mother nodded, satisfied. “No, Aktaio is the biggest of the free cities and has a culture completely different from anywhere else. Most of the places we will pass through will be lucky if they have a few hundred people in the entire town.”

“So few? I think there were more people than that on the street I grew up on.” Donte spoke, trying to wrap his head around the idea. “How do they live so isolated?”

“The people further from the cities are mostly farmers, ranchers, or hunters. Traveling merchants are the life blood of isolated villages. Through them, the towns stay connected to the major cities and can sell their harvest without spending days of travel.” My father replied. “Our home was much the same. Honest people that lived honest lives.”

My family grew silent for a time, remembering the small town we came from. Stuck in bed most of the time I had very few fond memories of the village, but everyone else was different. they had spent years getting to know the people there. It was their home.

“I miss Ortis.” Charly said. “Things were simpler… before.”

“The harvest should be coming soon. I wonder how the town is doing without us. The Fordus family might even have their third child by now.” My mother mused.

“They can handle themselves.” My father replied. “We sent Steel Skinned Luther there with over fifty talents. General Arthur should also keep an eye on it for us. Once this is all over, and we go back, it will be like nothing ever changed.”

“Once this is all over…” Charly mumbled.

“What is that?” Donte asked, breaking our reverie. He was pointing ahead, past the horizon.

The world grew silent. Even the birds were not chirping anymore. There was only the endless creaking of the wagon wheels. Thick columns of black smoke pierced the evening sky.