All the Yerps along the shore dropped to their hands and knees.

  It didn’t matter where exactly they were. Some were on top of small bushes. Some were beside the tide with their extremities dampened. Some were still on the hill outside of camp.

  Regardless, they all lowered themselves before the lone man who stood. Water constantly washed up to his black slip-on shoes before he took his first steps forward. He faced in Quin’s direction.

  The Tyroviv had nursed one of his cramped legs, but fear kept him in place. The intense eyes. The grim expression. Obviously, this man had seen his fair share of ferocity.

  Arthur climbed out from the watery depths and dragged his body across the shore. Air forced their way into his lungs but he still tried to address the older man in front of him.

  Between coughs, Arthur said, “Arch Tyru...I didn’t...look where I was going...”

  The man veered his sights away from Quin and faced his younger subordinate.

  “Arthur, what would have happened if you damaged my boat?” he asked. “What would have happened if I sank?”

  “My apologies to the venerable Arch. That’s not what I wanted.”

  “Arise, Arthur,” the man instructed while he motioned with his arm.

  “Sometimes what we intend to do, does not always align with what we actually do. I understand you had no bad intentions behind your actions.”

  Arthur stood up and sighed in relief as he still caught his breaths. “Thank you sir.”

  “Still, you caused an unnecessary danger, and for that...”

  The old man made a halfhearted flick of his arm but out of nowhere and far from reach, Arthur’s face felt a full strip of wind.

  Caught off guard, the impact sent him off ground. He spun in the air before he did so again across the dirt. His body traveled several yards away from camp before it stopped on its own.

  “There were no bad intentions behind that, Arthur!” he shouted. His attention returned to Quin.

  The young Cosondere spent the spare time to message his leg. With that time now up, Quin instantly sprang toward the woods. He had to get out of there, nothing else mattered.

  Tyru had no desires to let that happen. Once more he waved a forearm and once more, a crack of wind generated to knock Quin off his feet. A tree stopped his movement before he hit the dirt.

  “All this trouble from one meaningless cloak,” Tyru stated as he walked closer to Quin.

  “That is the problem with you lot. More trouble than what you claim you prevent.

  “Impressionable youth like you following the whim of fools as you all continue to make the world worse. An unacceptable state of affairs I cannot ignore.

  “Everything would be better with you lot gone from existence.” He looked at his hand as it rolled into a fist. “Nothing will change until that happens.”

  Desperation returned stronger than ever for Quin. If he did nothing, then it would be the last thing he did.

  He stood up and charged up his aura. Smoke circled around him as his widened eyes kept track of Tyru’s every step.

  One step too close, and Quin let it rip. Just like he did with the boats, he let loose a huge [Gust] right at the old Sentar’i.

  Tyru simply sidestepped away from the turbulent blast. He brought an end to his walk though as he stared down the winded Quin with dismissive eyes.

  “So much wind and aura,” Tyru started. “Yet no direction whatsoever. Emblematic of the young.

  “If you are going to put all that effort into your attacks, you should at least guide them effectively. Allow me to demonstrate.”

  Tyru stuck out his arm before air and smoke flowed together around that limb.

  Quin knew he had to get out of the open but as soon as he took a step back, Tyru surged his arm forward. The wind shot out from his hand and pelted Quin right in the gut.

  Its speed lapped the naked eye; Quin felt it before he saw it.

  Jousted off the ground, the scene slowed down as Quin fully registered the sharp, searing, burning pain on his lower torso.

  It felt as if a drill tried to break into his flesh. He couldn’t feel a side of his body.

  Then time returned. Quin slammed against the ground. Went through a tree. Bounced off the earth. Then tumbled past logs and bushes before he slid into an open patch of grassland.

  He finally made it out of the camp. He was motionless.

  Many of the Yerps couldn’t help but peek and witness the fierce power. When Tyru brought his sights to them, they trembled on their limbs.

  “Find him,” he told them. “Finish him.”

  “YES SIR!!” they bellowed before they rushed up and grabbed their improvised weapons.

  Tyru looked over the shore to his small fleet of boats. They had retreated back to adjust themselves and decided to land a few yards away from the camp.

  The men moved down the path of destruction towards Quin when they suddenly hit a wall of thin air.

  Tyru saw the Yerp’s plight then looked over to the unconscious Arthur. Clearly, it did not come from him. He looked further when he saw a lone figure up in the trees.

  Perched up on the highest branch, shrouded in a blue cloak, Ythan stared down the older Sentar’i. All with his typical foul face.

  “Of course,” said Tyru. “Where there is one, there is more.”

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  Ythan scanned the area when he saw the path of downed trees. Then he looked at the frightened Yerps nearby.

  With their route to Quin cut off, and the fact that Neravivs weren’t Tyrovivs, they simply fled from sight. The two Sentar’i had the field to themselves.

  “No matter. You will be dealt with the same way,” Tyru declared. “The numbers are not on your side.”

  Ythan jumped down to Tyru’s eye level. Unlike his junior, no trace of fear displayed itself on the blue cloak.

  “That has never stopped a Cosondere,” Ythan answered. “And that won’t stop me from putting you down.”

  “It is that kind of attitude that will be your undoing. You cloaks all think you have your battles won before they even began. You lot have never seen true battles yet you act like you can handle it all.

  “A punch in the face is enough to shut you up. A bash in the heart is enough to keep you silent.”

  “Spare me the lecture old man. Times have changed. I don’t care about your old ways, ‘cause they’re gone. Just another windbag who can’t let go. You seriously erred when you attacked my Tyroviv, so I really don’t care about you.”

  “My only error was that I did not kill him on the spot. I can rectify that for both of you.”

  “You can try.”

  In no time, Ythan quickly separated himself into three and charged at the older Sentar’i. Footsteps closed in on old man fast before Ythan and his doubles struck Tyru simultaneously.

  Tyru never exerted himself as he blocked and dodged every single blow. Despite the rapidity of his strikes, Ythan remained a blink too late. Even attacks from behind couldn’t connect.

  “Is that all you got?” the old Sentar’i inquired. “A windbag you say? Here is some real wind.”

  A sudden flurry of wind surrounded Tyru; Ythan’s doubles disappeared in the rush of air. Dirt swept itself away from the older Sentar’i as he charged up aura.

  “Prepare yourself...” Tyru made a thrust of his arm and out emerged a massive explosion of wind point blank at Ythan.

  A thunderous boom echoed across the woods. The [Galestorm] was as powerful as it was loud.

  For once, Ythan dropped his dour expression as shock briefly took over. He stuck out his hand to catch the blast.

  The trees up front took the worst of it. In the hellacious pummel, leaves were ripped off the branches and the trunks nearly uprooted off the ground.

  Ythan remained where he stood.

  His palm directly faced the mighty burst and as if he produced it himself, he rerouted the powerful winds out of his other hand. At worst, his blue cloak swayed back and forth.

  The full brunt traveled through his [Locus Tunnel]. He kept his out-most hand away from Quin while he kept a tense face on Tyru.

  The strong gales subsided and the rustles ceased. Tyru noticed steam out of Ythan’s palm as the Neraviv took short deep breaths..

  Tyru raised an eyebrow at the blue cloak. “Awfully young to have learned advanced spatial arts.”

  Ythan caught his breaths and responded, “Awfully old to still be standing.”

  He quickly went for a high sweep kick. Tyru intercepted it with a forearm, but it wasn’t just one kick.

  Ythan had separated himself again but his doubles stayed in place. One after another, they all went for the same sweep kick each with more force than the last.

  Tyru’s arm felt the successive wave of kick after kick after kick until he was indeed swept off his feet.

  The old man lightly groaned as his face scrunched in discomfort. He caught himself with a small ball of explosive wind to the ground and flipped over to recover his footing. Ythan kept on the attack.

  He charged up to Tyru but the older combatant swiftly spun with a back kick. Tyru’s leg didn’t have to connect as the kick itself produced a lash of wind.

  Before he could react, Ythan was smacked into the air. His body twisted in its launch to the sky all the while, Tyru charged aura into his arm.

  He planned to finish his opponent while he was still airborne but in midair, Ythan flipped over and stood upside down. On nothing at all.

  He stared down the older man from the sky. He kept one hand behind him and stopped his cloak from flapping over. The other undid his bottom clasp, ready to get it out of the way.

  Then his sights turned to his knocked out subordinate. The blue cloak with a groan refastened his clasp. He had to rearrange his priorities.

  Moreover, the boats had started to land on a different beach some yards away. A disadvantage was only seconds away.

  Ythan ran up the invisible wall above for three steps before gravity had its way. He jumped off and hung in the sky.

  A circle appeared on the back of both hands; the moment they turned red, he hurtled straight down to Tyru.

  With great force and speed, Ythan smashed down onto the dirt beneath him.

  The camp collapsed instantly as an outburst of dust and water kicked into the sky and a mass rumble traveled through the forest. A long swish filled the air as the disquieted sea tried to fix itself.

  Soon, the reverberations dissipated. The dust cleared. The waters calmed down and half of the beach crumbled into the sea. Silence took over the scene, chirps nor tweets could be heard anywhere.

  Amid the destruction, a lone figure rose up from under the watery surface.

  The old man Tyru brought himself upright, he looked to one side then the other. His opponent had vanished without a trace.

  Dark clouds started to form up above. Tyru directed his face to the clumped up clouds then rolled his hands into fists as he closed his eyes.

  “One day,” he uttered. “One day, they’ll have nowhere to run.”

  A steady breeze arrived. The forest felt a more gentle push as the clouds formed and moved faster overhead.

  Loose leaves flew hither and thither. In no time, it returned to its natural state, free of disturbance.

  Still, activity bolted between the trees; it moved just off a small road.

  With an unconscious Quin over his back, Ythan scurried past the oaks. He felt a shift in weight behind him and stopped along a fork.

  One path led to the hill, the other, away. A nicely placed boulder stood in between.

  Ythan turned for the hill before he crouched and slid Quin back to center. He held his junior’s mask and briefly inspected it.

  It had small cracks and chips along its side. He let out a sigh and shook his head before he lifted himself up.

  “Nice handling back there,” spoke a voice behind him. “Wasn’t sure what was going to happen to be honest.”

  Ythan whipped around and saw a strange man on the other road. A dark, wide brimmed sun hat covered his jet black hair. Small strands fell from his chin as he smirked at the Neraviv.

  His expression wasn’t antagonistic so much as it was lackadaisical. Ythan squinted his eyes at the mysterious figure who moseyed around.

  “Then again, maybe I should have known better considering it’s you.”

  Ythan lightly placed Quin beside the boulder, his eyes stayed affixed to the stranger.

  “I know all about you. Son and brother to a couple of war heroes, yet too young to have claimed a slice of their own glory. Now they spend their days getting it piecemeal. In a world that appreciates them less and less.”

  “More windbags,” Ythan mumbled.

  “I mean, why continue to spend your days at a place you’re not wanted?” the stranger asked with a shrug.

  “You’re a hard worker. An overachiever. Yet people only see you as your father’s son and speaking of, word is going around that your father’s found his new successor, some kid. I was wondering if you’ve heard anything like that?

  “Here you are doing everything you can to get the respect you deserve, and your old man’s apparently going to give it to some no name street kid from what I hear. Very peculiar if you ask me. Sounds like a ridiculous joke, yet no one’s been laughing.”

  Ythan remained silent. His eyes zipped to Quin for a split second before they returned to the stranger who meandered some more.

  “In fact it’s so strange, that rumors are starting to swirl that your old man, already long in the tooth, might be losing it in his high years. If that’s the case, then it doesn’t bode well for the ‘noble’ Cosondera. Nor does it bode well for our poor crown prince.”

  “You have three seconds to get to your point before I get to mine,” Ythan threatened as he walked right up to the man, fist at the ready.

  The stranger stepped back. “Following after your dad is a waste of your time and potential. We know you can be your own person, but you need to know that it won’t be as a cloak.”

  The stranger leaped up to a branch. While in flight, he flung something at the Neraviv. Ythan snatched it out of the air.

  In his hand laid a mini figurine of a blue dolphin. With a pinch grip of the chain attached to it, he examined the small item further.

  “Pardon my rudeness, but the Cosondera’s a sinking ship,” declared the stranger from above.

  “We’re offering you a lifeline. It’s up to you to take it. Think about what your father’s done lately. Hopefully, you’ll have a decision the next time you see us.”

  The stranger disappeared into the greens and left Ythan to ruminate on the encounter. He took another look at the odd item.

  Innocuous and seemingly ordinary, nothing about it appeared significant.

  One more second went by before an unimpressed Ythan clutched it in his hand and chucked it deep into the woods before he walked up to Quin.

  He raised the Tyroviv on his back and looked up at the trees. He lightly groaned before he dashed toward the hill.