The next month was relatively quiet as our troupe made our way eastward through eastern Kalidar and then through Nalean as well. At least, it had been quiet on the Demon front. We did not encounter any Demons during that time as we traveled, and from occasional conversations with Vergun and Isa via the enchanted mirror, they had not seen any suspicious activity along Kalidar’s border with Evalis either, despite regular military patrols and flyovers by shrikes connected to their Huntmaster.

Master Nirlyn and my grandparents believed that the Demons were currently fortifying their position in Evalis via the Church of One and the King of Evalis, and building up their forces for an eventual push outside their borders. While that was very concerning, it also gave us time to gather allies and fortify the borders against any future attacks. Kalidar and the Fae of Nightglade Forest were not sitting idle. Preparations were being made for the war that now seemed inevitable.

So far, thanks to Vergun and Isa, the nations of Crow, Scorcia, Nalean, and Galandir had all been made aware of the Demon situation and advised to strengthen their border defenses. That accounted for all the nations on the continent that shared a land border with Evalis. The Fae Council was also sending small contingents of troops that could summon faerie fire to each of those countries to help combat any Demons or Tainted that might try to cross their borders and infiltrate their countries.

The majority of Fae forces were being rallied in Tarin’dol though, to prepare for war and in case of an attack by sea. The latter was always a possibility, even if Evalis was not known for having much of a navy. Still, defenses in and around the Fae capital were being erected, ships were being built, and soldiers were being trained. There was not much that I could personally do to contribute while traveling though, except ensure that both I and Shava continued to train in combat and improve our skills.

During the past month, we had both mastered the second dance and were now well into learning the third dance under Sharai’s tutelage. We were now both used to wearing armor whenever we sparred as well, and Shava was nearly as good a shot with a bow as I was. We were both also trying to use our gifts, the abilities that our respective Vos’oraik offered, and what little magic we were learning in our sparring sessions as well to not rely solely on our physical skills.

I wanted us to be able to press every advantage we could have in a fight when necessary, so sometimes I would even use my wings to gain the high ground on Shava, not only to get used to flying in combat but also to make my cousin think on her feet. I was eager to start incorporating magic into our mixed sparring sessions as well.

Not that either of us had much magic to work with yet. Our grandmother wanted to make sure that Shava had the basics of Fae magic learned before teaching actual spells, so she had only learned a couple of minor cantrips so far. Master Nirlyn was even more of a stickler than my grandmother though. She didn’t just want me and Korine to learn the basics of magic, but also the theory and technique behind it and how to channel our magic properly before teaching us any spells.

I know that she was the first Bard to become a Spell-singer, but it had been a month, and we still hadn’t learned anything close to a spell. She had been pushing our singing training heavily, as well as the magic theory and technique, and kept telling us that the singing part of spell-singing was very important. We needed to master control over our voices, technique, range, and breathing to get the most out of spell-singing because while any song could hold power under the right circumstances, they were still just songs if we could not properly channel our magic through our voices. And to do that, we needed to be able to sing at the level of a Master Bard.

She said that she was helping us to build a foundation that would support our magic in the future. Once that foundation was built, the rest would come naturally. Korine was getting as frustrated as I was though, and while we both were working hard at the tasks Master Nirlyn had set for us, it was hard for us to feel like we were making any real progress. It felt like I was making more progress with music composition than I was making with spell-singing.

So, we worked hard on our lessons, especially singing. Some days we sang more than we spoke and made ourselves hoarse from the effort, at least until Master Nirlyn chided us for not taking proper care of our voices by overworking them. She said that the voice is like any instrument, it needs to be properly cared for, used properly, and respected. This was when Korine got frustrated and said, “But you said that we have to master singing and have perfect vocal control before you can teach us spell-singing. We need to practice.”

“Aye, bu’ ya also need ta learn when ta rest. If ya overwork yer voices, yer jus’ goin’ ta set yerselves back even more,” Master Nirlyn scolded us both before leaning in close between us and lowering her voice. “I’m goin’ a tell ya a secret, lasses. I’ve been teachin’ ya the groundwork for spell-singing, and while everythin’ I’ve been teachin’ is important an’ useful ta know, the voice trainin’ is by far the most important. If you can sing like a Master an’ have even a speck o’ magic, spell-singin’ is real simple. Once you’ve mastered yer vocal trainin’, I can teach ya all there is ta know ‘bout spell-singin’ in a day… two tops. So take good care o’ yer voices an’ keep puttin’ forth the effort. Yer both closer ta yer goal than ya think.”

Sharai and Master Nirlyn weren’t the only ones working me hard either. My evening dancing lessons with Selice were just as arduous. Shava, who I was still making take the lessons alongside me, was having a far worse time with it than I was though. Shava was a rough-and-tumble tomboy, she didn’t enjoy or appreciate the art and the only benefit that she had shown so far was that she was a little more graceful in her sword dances.

Now that I was getting used to it, I was actually starting to enjoy dancing though, and gaining an appreciation for Selice’s skill and grace. Music would always be my first love, but I could combine the two with my Tien’jin. Now that I was what Selice declared a passable dancer, I was even getting some of the crystals from the Tien’jin to light up and make sounds sometimes while dancing. Each time, I would repeat what I had been doing until I figured out the motion or placement of a limb that had caused it and commit both that and the note it made to both memory and paper.

Still, even training every day, it would likely take months before I was anywhere close to Selice’s level as a dancer or had enough knowledge of both dance and the Tien’jin to begin actively practicing with the unusual instrument. I was beginning to think that I could do it though, and I even had some ideas running through my head for a musical composition to play on the Tien’jin. The Fading of Lorai would be both my first composition and the first song to be played on the Fae instrument.

It seemed appropriate, and I could still clearly picture in my mind the morning that I had removed those iron arrowheads from the Nymph’s body so that it could Fade and return to the Weave to be reunited with her spirit. Some nights when I dreamed, I would see those motes of viridian light rising from her body and could remember what I had learned about the Nymph that day. I was still filled with wonder and awe at the memory of the flash of light as her wraithlike form lost cohesion and then burst into motes of light that danced around us in farewell to the living before fading away.

I so wanted to write that song. I wanted to dance and sing the melody of it. I was not ready yet though, I needed to improve my dancing and music composition still, and I needed to master the Tien’jin. That meant that I needed to continue training, so I planned to keep on training in all my lessons just as hard as I had for the past month.

My life fell into a pattern over the past month with this dedication to training. The mornings began with sword practice and combat training, under Sharai’s watchful presence, followed by archery practice until breakfast, and then I would spend some time with Kalara until the late risers finished their morning meal. After that, it was the morning Bardic lessons for me and Korine while Vesha drove the wagon, followed by instrument and vocal practice when Master Nirlyn took her turn driving until it was my turn to drive the wagon in the late afternoon and Vesha got her Bardic lessons from her mother.

When we stopped for the night to make camp, Kalara, Vesha, and I would all do our parts together, almost like a little family, and spend time together until after dinner when it was time for my dance lessons with Selice. Once Selice called an end to that lesson it was more time with Vesha and Kalara until it was time to put the little one to sleep. Then I would usually spend a bit of time with the troupe or alone with Vesha, cuddling her and sometimes getting some extra voice training in, until I was ready for bed as well.

I was trying to find a balance, but by necessity, a lot of my time seemed to be spent training in one form or another. The only days that I deviated from this general schedule were the few times when we stopped for a day at a village or town along the road to get supplies, take a brief break from traveling, and make some extra coin. Usually though, the only changes on those days were that I wouldn’t be doing as much training in the afternoon and wouldn’t have to drive the wagon after. Instead, we would spend that time in town entertaining the townsfolk and making some coin.

That is not to say that training was the only notable thing happening while we were traveling eastward, though it did command a good portion of my attention. Still, there were other notable changes during that time as well. Many of those were connected to Kalara.

My daughter and Xulyin were both settling into their new lives and finding their place in the troupe, but Kalara’s progress was far more obvious than that of the Undine, at least to me. For one thing, her speech was improving by leaps and bounds, but she was also losing her shyness and timidness, at least around the members of the troupe. She still tended to hide behind my legs when we ventured into any of the human villages or towns that had laid along our travel path.

That seemed to be more of a problem with strangers than with humans in general though, and I think having a human friend outside of the troupe was helping with that. Kalara and Princess Saera had playdates through the enchanted mirror practically every day, something that we had arranged to take place while I was having my morning Bard lessons. In the afternoons, Kalara had a little more variety in her schedule.

Sometimes, while Korine, Vesha, and I were practicing with our instruments and doing voice training, Kalara would practice with her tambourine, but while she did like music, she needed to be in the right mood for that. Some days she would spend the afternoon in Mara and Hagen’s wagon playing with Cylia, while other days, Zenna would watch over her while she played with the twins, Kirla and Kegan, while we traveled. It was nice to see that she was getting closer to the other children of the troupe.

We had just crossed the border into Haydin yesterday morning, but we would still likely have at least another fortnight of travel before we reached Derevik on the east coast. Yesterday had been spent following the road alongside a tributary of the Afshan River until we had reached the banks of the great river itself, where we camped for the night. We had set up camp in a spot close to the southern shore, where we had a marvelous view of the massive ancient bridge that we would be traveling across tomorrow to reach the other side.

Today though, we would be keeping our camp by the river and enjoying a more relaxed day than usual. That had been decided over breakfast since a few of the men wanted to take the chance to spend a day fishing, Wilden and my grandmother wanted to collect some herbs and other plants that only grew in the area, Aunt Sivelle wanted to collect some wax and honey from some beehives that Mara had found, and Master Nirlyn apparently had a task for me and my fellow apprentices.

After the late risers had finished their breakfasts, Master Nirlyn led me, Vesha, and Korine back to our wagon, where she went inside briefly before reemerging a moment later with her distinctive blue-green reed pipes. “Today, lasses, yer all goin’ ta gather what ya need ta make yer own set o’ pipes, jus’ like this.”

Kalara, who had followed me back to our wagon like a little duckling, asked, “Can I make one too, Grammy Niryln?”

“Aye, Kalara, jus’ make sure ta stick wit yer maera an’ the other girls. Yer all goin’ ta start by gatherin’ the materials. We ‘ave plenty o’ leather cord but you’ll need rushwillow sap, clay, and kava reeds, like these ones. Rushwilllows are easy enough ta spot if ya know what they look like, an’ clay can be found by diggin’ near the riverbank, but the reeds will be harder ta find. They only grow along the Afshan River, but even ‘ere they’re uncommon.”

With that she gave Vesha a pair of ceramic jars to keep the sap and clay in, instructing her to try to keep the sap nice and warm so it was easy to work with when we got back to begin work on making our new instruments. Then she dismissed us and left us to our own devices. “Maybe we should look for the reeds and if we happen to see a rushwillow we can gather the sap from it, they’re easy enough to spot and usually grow along the sides or rivers, and we can probably find clay easily too. The reeds are going to be a lot harder to find so we should focus most of our efforts on that,” Korine suggested.

“Leave finding the reeds to me,” I replied with a smile. “Still, we could be searching for most of the day. We should probably bring along a pack with some food and drinks, some knives to cut the reeds and harvest the sap, and a trowel for digging for clay.”

“Dad has a haversack I could borrow, and I always carry at least two knives on me,” Korine offered. “Wilden may have a spare trowel for gathering healing supplies. I know he digs for roots sometimes.”

“Good, see if you can borrow them. Vesha, can you take Kalara and see about some food and drinks while I get ready?”

“Anything for you, my lady,” the Salamander said with a grin and an exaggerated bow, only to reach out and kiss my hand, sending shivers of pleasure up my arm and straight to my heart. Then she picked up Kalara, who squealed in delight as she was put in a position to ride on her shoulders, “Come on, Kalara, let’s see what yummy snacks we can get. I think I smelled pastries earlier.”

While they each headed off to complete their tasks, I prepared for my own, first by removing my armor and changing into my more comfortable Voyager clothes, though I would keep Neva’kul with me in case of trouble or if I needed to talk to Sharai. Looking through my clothes cabinet after my armor was shed, it didn’t take long for me to find what I was looking for. I had been using it often enough the past week. I slipped the colorful quilted sleeve over my right arm and shifted it upward until it completely covered my arm from wrist to shoulder, with the shoulder pad dangling loose until I properly secured it with the ties.

Taking Master Nirlyn’s reed pipes from where she had put them back in the instrument cupboard in my left hand, I then opened the window shutters of the wagon and let out a short sharp whistle. Zaiya’s response was almost immediate. She bolted from the special nest that we had built her under the eaves of the wagon’s roof and flew straight through the open window to land on my padded forearm.

She was bigger than other Tharian hawk-owls her age since she had finally completely grown out of her downy baby feathers a week and a half ago. She would probably be as big as a grey owl once fully grown, but still with the sleek form of an avian predator. A very silent predator. I had witnessed it myself when we were teaching her to hunt for her own food.

Her plumage was much more striking than that of her kin from being mana-touched. While normal owls of her type were black with a splash of white around the neck and at the tips of the tailfeathers and wings, and had golden eyes, her feathers were primarily a deep navy blue, with bright gold in place of white around the neck and at the wingtips and tailfeathers. Bright, intelligent, emerald eyes regarded me once she had taken her place.

“Good girl,” I told her as I affectionately caressed the feathers on the back of her neck, her favorite spot. I hadn’t been the only one training so hard lately, for the last week I had been training her in the evenings before bed with Glimma’s assistance. According to the troupe’s Owlkeeper, my clever girl was even smarter than even a normal owl of her type, and she learned her lessons quickly, a benefit of being mana-touched. I showed her the pipes, making sure that she got a good look at the reeds and their unique color. “Zaiya, I need you to fly along the river and look for reeds like these. When you find some, come find me and lead me to them.”

She leaned forward to nuzzle my cheek, part affection, and part letting me know that she understood her orders. Then she leaped from my outstretched arm and flew out the window with a shriek as she took to the sky. I smiled as I closed the window shutters and put the pipes back where I had found them. Vesha or I probably could have tried searching for the reeds from the air ourselves, but Zaiya’s eyes were much sharper than either of ours.

With Zaiya off making our search easier, I headed back outside to find the others waiting by the firepit. Vesha was filling the large haversack with food items packaged in large leaves, a small trowel, and some of the bottles that Selice and I had Arinelle enchant for the troupe. Kalara was trying to help her and, although she was probably getting in the way more than helping, Vesha smiled and thanked her for being such a helpful girl.

“I have Zaiya searching along the river for reeds, she will come to get us if she finds some before we do,” I told the others.

“Oh, good idea. Beauty and brains,” Vesha replied with a smile that made my heart flutter.

Soon, Vesha had the haversack packed and slung over her shoulder and I held Kalara’s hand as we headed eastward out of the camp to follow the river. The morning chill was starting to fade as the sun rose higher in the sky, that sky was blue with nary a cloud in sight, and it was looking like it was going to be a beautiful summer day for a walk along the riverside. This might be a break from the routine that I had become used to, but it was a welcome one and I was looking forward to a relaxing day with my daughter, Vesha, and Korine.

Korine led the way with a smile on her face as she exclaimed, “Let’s go, girls, it’s time for an adventure!”