Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.

Hugo had been sure he could easily make the hike, but the mountain had convinced him otherwise by the end of the second day. At this point he wished he could leave the procession and go back home. The only thing that stopped him is that he knew he wouldn't survive the return trip alone. He had to stay with the group.

He hadn't planned on being here in the first place. For the last three years he had been training to be a shimmer corpsman. He should have gotten in on admissions' day. If Kristofer hadn't messed everything up, he would be a squire in the corps right now. Instead, he was trying to make his fallback work.

His back-up plan sucked.

They were on their fifth day of traveling, the fourth one after the monorail, and they still had another one to go. Hugo was in the best shape of his life, but the pace up the mountain was grueling. He was grateful that the soulmarked guides kept the beasts away, but he was sure that they had forgotten what it was like to be a normal human. They kept a grueling pace that made him genuinely worried that he would get left behind if he didn't give it his all. This was the first time he had made a trip alone, and he wished he had prepared more.

Everything was up, up, up. His legs were long past sore, now his arms and back were sore from using a walking stick to keep climbing. He longed to just sit down and rest, but he knew better than that. The guides wouldn't stop for anyone, it was his job to keep up with the group. Of the twelve hundred hopefuls, they had already lost sixteen.

Hugo hoped that some of them had made it back down the mountain to the monorail station, but he had to admit to himself that it wasn't likely. This mountain was always crawling with mana monsters, and it got worse with the mountain heartbeat. The young men and women that sat down to rest were probably killed not long after they were out of sight.

He shook his head and focused on better thoughts. The mountain scenery really was beautiful. There wasn't any greenery, but it had a kind of stark beauty. He listened to the chatter of the people around him and the ubiquitous crunch of gravel. The fresh mountain air was better than home, even on a good day. The heartbeat of the mountain was coming, and he was going to be soulmarked. Good things were coming. He would unlock a great magic domain when he was back home. He would be set up for a great career as a mage.

It would take him a while to get as powerful as the shimmer corpsmen were on their first day, but plenty of soulmarked eventually got stronger than the captain of the guard. Hugo had his sights set on surpassing the power of the man that rejected him.

He just needed to keep walking, and not get left behind. Hugo looked over to Marion to make sure he was keeping up too. Thin as a beanpole with muscles to match, Marion had every excuse to fall behind, but so far he had kept up with the group.

Hugo had met Marion right after he had gotten off the monorail, and they had become fast friends after that. Many people made the journey to the top of the mountain with their parents or as part of a group. It was safer that way. Hugo and Marion were the exceptions, two young men on their own.

They met when both of them rushed to help a young woman who had fallen. She spurned their help and attention, but the young men soon found they had a lot in common besides helping strangers. Over the last few days they had become good friends. They were already promising to send each other pulsenotes to keep in touch after they returned home to their respective cities.

Hugo liked him a lot, but he doubted that their friendship would last. It wasn't just that they would be returning to different cities after the heartbeat, it was Marion's parents. They were strict Octarians. Not only would they hate Hugo just because he came from Reval, they would hate anyone that climbed the mountain to get soulmarked during the mountain's heartbeat. Octarians believed in doing things the old-fashioned way and repeatedly killing beasts until you got lucky and your soul got marked.

Still, the friendship was fun while it lasted. "Marion, eight degrees to your left."

Marion looked up from where he was trudging along and turned to his left, "What?"

"Up just a bit," Hugo said.

Marion smiled, "Heh, nice." They appreciated the view of a young woman with rather tight pants before she walked behind the bend and was lost in the crowd again. Both of the young men were enjoying the exposure to different cultures and different social mores.

They walked in comfortable silence for the next few hours until they got to the next way station. As silent as you could get with hundreds of people gasping for breath around you.

Hugo appreciated that Marion was willing to walk with him in the first place. Most people didn’t want to associate themselves with a stranger, let alone one with a scar on his face and brown threadbare clothes. Hugo could tell that his new friend came from money. His blue tunic with yellow trim showed that he was much better off than Hugo was.

As they sat down to dinner, Hugo turned to Marion and said, "So, you never told me. Why are you heading up the mountain for the heartbeat?"

Marion scoffed, "To get soulmarked of course. I want to be a powerful battle mage, and that starts with getting soulmarked."

"Duh. I meant why are you doing it this way? Most people from Deva aren't exactly fans, you know," Hugo said.

Marion looked away.

Hugo backpedaled, "Oh, sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"No, it is fine, I'll tell you," Marion said with a sigh. "It's all about percentages."

"Percentages?"

"The normal way doesn't have a good success rate, you know. Plenty of first timers die on their first hunt. And some souls don't mark. No matter how many hunts they go on."

"Yeah, they have a special name for them, right?"

"Forsaken, the lowest class in Deva, below laborers even. They say gods frown on them. They live worse than destitute. Anyway. Only sixty-four percent of those that hunt come back soulmarked. The rest either die or come back forsaken. That is why plenty of Octarians never go out on their first hunt, they can't stand the idea that they might be revealed as forsaken."

"Well, I for one, am not worried about being forsaken. I'm sure we will both get marked tomorrow," Hugo said.

Marion laughed, "Of course you aren't afraid. Ninety two percent of everyone that climbs this mountain for the heart beat is successful. Practically everyone comes back soulmarked."

"Really? That high? I knew the chances were good, but I didn't know..." Hugo trailed off.

"Yes. It's why I'm here, I want a guarantee. I told my parents I was going on a hunt, and I came up here instead. I think a few more from my city are doing the same. We all pretend not to see each other here."

"Don't they wonder about the timing? The heart only beats on New Year's, you know," Hugo said.

Marion shrugged, "My parents won't notice, they barely pay attention to me as it is. Some neighbors may suspect. But suspicions can be ignored and forgotten. What matters is that you came back with magic. Being branded forsaken is never forgotten."

"Whoa. I always thought this was serious for me, but it's a whole other level for you guys. If I don't get soulmarked, it really wouldn't be the end of the world. I could just get a job at the docks, or as a craftsman. My dad always said I was pretty good at metalwork. I am just climbing today because I wanted more from my life."

"And so am I. My stakes are higher, but our goals are the same."

Hugo laughed, "Listen to you, sounding all old and learned. You're seventeen years old, just like me. Don't act like you are an adult yet."

"Nox are adults at sixteen," Marion said.

"Yes, but we're human, not Nox. It's easy to remember if you count your number of arms. One, Two. Human. See? It's just that easy," Hugo said.

Marion laughed and pushed him away. He said, “Riese have two arms, how do you know I am not a riese?”

“Ha, you wish. You are a bit too short to be a riese, and way too skinny. I think we can safely assume you are a human, and not an adult yet. But let me know if you suddenly develop a strong affinity for plants and nature and we can revisit the riese thing.”

With a grin, Marion puffed up his chest and started walking around like he had suddenly grown muscles. He said, “Hmmm. I can sense that there are no plants around here. And I think my hair is starting to turn white too.”

Hugo just laughed and ignored him.

Despite how difficult the journey had been so far, Hugo found himself in a good mood. He was getting closer and closer to his goal. The top of the mountain represented more than just access to magic. For him at least.

Hugo had been born into a well off family, but the last several years had been rough. His father had died, and left them a lot of debt. His mother had moved them to the narrows, the poor part of town in Reval. Since he hadn’t wanted to join the gang there, things had gotten even tougher for him. He had a disfiguring scar on his face from a run in with the fox gang.

For years, all he could think about was escaping the narrows. His first plan had been to join the shimmer corps. The local police were the only ones that the fox gang feared. He wanted out, and to have power over his own life. But that plan fell through and now he was on his backup plan.

If he was honest with himself, climbing the mountain was a better plan. More freedom and more power came to the soulmarked, plus a chance at greatness. All he had to do was survive the trip.