Every day they had a routine. They traveled, Oynoiz and either Fionn or Id’rit hunted.

  Back at camp, Juliana would pull back her bowstring and practice shooting targets. Twack! She was getting better. Instead of hitting a tree every twentieth arrow, it was every ten. Her fingertips hurt and she was grateful for the hasty armguard Id’rit sewed for her with some leather they packed.

  Daily they continued to learn about each other. They’d discuss their favorite foods, what inspired them, their dreams, their adolescence, their prior clan if they had one. Fionn talked about the fallout their clan had.

  His clan was paid to manipulate others behind the scenes during contract negotiations. Fionn expressed their hesitancy at how immoral it was. When they refused to participate, they were beaten, their portion of the clan’s finances was confiscated, and they were ejected. Fionn wandered from town to town looking for work. They were met with skepticism: first because they were pink haired, secondly because they why would a Fa need a regular job? Wouldn’t the government hire them? Fionn had zero interest in government work as well. It was ironic because the government paid Fa clans a small stipend as a “pledge fee” so that when war comes, the Fa would fight on the front lines.

  For a while they were ashamed of their mana skill. How could someone who senses emotions and influences them be a Adasion for good? Eventually the elf found their niche with an acting troupe. Fionn was told they’re charismatic and soon they had a following. They performed in the traveling theatre for the last decade.

  “What is your favorite genre to preform?” Juliana asked.

  “Adventure! My favorite role is to be a pirate.”

  “A bandit of the seas? Why?” Id’rit asked, “Your morals are why you left your clan.”

  “The difference is that one is pretend and one is real. When you pretend you are bad, no one is hurt. Yes, we have special effects that look real, but in the end, everyone waves to the audience. Oh! And I also like being the legendary wind-winder.”

  “Who is that?” Juliana asked.

  “They are a creature with jeweled scales and feathery fins that both flies the skies and explores the deepest seas. They are connected with exploration and good tidings. They are fantasy, like your Earth concept of dragons.”

  “That sounds fun!”

  Fionn then shared one of the songs they performed as a wind-winder. They side-stepped and danced along the trail, acting as though it was a stage. Juliana clapped. Id’rit looked at her in question.

  “This noise is what we make when we like something. It is our way of cheering for the person,” Juliana explained.

  “How fun!” Fionn exclaimed.

  “Like our whistles. That’s fascinating. It reminds me of the percussion instruments we Gongre use,” Oynoiz commented.

  “Sometimes we clap beats, so you’re not wrong,” Juliana laughed then clapped different beats. They joined along.

  Fionn then asked everyone’s favorite play.

  When Juliana shared Romeo and Juliet, and explained it was a tragic romance, they were confused.

  “What’s a romance?” Fionn asked interested.

  “It’s a human genre, I guess,” Sophie answered as Fionn’s eyes lit up.

  She then explained what that genre was.

  “They’re stories about men and women courting--mate finding, reproduction partners?” Fionn was fascinated.

  “The suspense is whether or not they are succeed in finding romantic love and whether or not the lovers have a happy end. Sometimes that doesn’t always happen. Romeo and Juliet is one of those stories.”

  She told them about the tragedy of the play and Fionn was horrified.

  “We do perform tragedies, but this is—a suicide. Humans live short lives as it is.”

  The Adasions debated the merit of such a story.

  As the sun and day moon faded, the forest began to darken in the dusk light. A high note carried over the wind. Fionn froze for a second before whispering to Oynoiz. Since everything sang in the forest, Juliana figured it was another creature. No harm in being alert.

  Id’rit thanked Juliana for forming their clan. They told their story:

  “In my Mi clan, I was in-between generations of eggs. I was too developed to join the younger generation as no white Mi eggs had yet to appear in my city’s clutch. The other generation had not only hatched, but were full adults. As an adolescent white Mi, I had nowhere to go. White Adasions are rare and we are desired as porters and military powers. Strong Fa can fly for an hour. I can float a mile then I get tired. I’m told that when I’m older I should be able to travel the width of a city at my rank. The white Sols of legend could fly fast for a whole day.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The Continental War conscripted every Fa and Mi who was of age. Id’rit who was still young barely knew his clanmates. As his creche left, Id’rit was left to attend a boarding school without support from home. It was a lonely time for Id’rit until they met a blue-haired Mi named Sypren. Sypren being a blue hair had the mana powers of weather. Water and ice, air and electricity. The two became friends. However, once the war ended and they graduated, Sypren left for Lysara. His Lysaran clan had hid him in Asa once they suspected Lysara and Gongre would lose the Continental War. Shocked, Id’rit kept his friend’s secret. They hoped to see Sypren once the Sonata Clan arrived in Lysara, but they weren’t sure how they’d be received as an Asan. Juliana understood. Politics were everywhere in all societies.

  “Well Gongre,” Fionn broke the silence, “what’s your story?”

  Oynoiz shook their head, “Somethings are better left in the past.”

  “And what if your past catches up to us? I feel your alarm when I mention where you’re from.”

  “Maybe it’s because I didn’t want to be exposed that I am a Gongre visiting the Asan Empire.”

  Fionn frowned, “Is whatever you’re hiding going to be a problem.”

  Oynoiz winced. Their powers struggled on this pink’s perception. A null’s limits were rare, but this was one of them. If they tried to push their ability further to Fionn, they’d notice and might fight about it.

  “Hopefully it won’t. I did my best to close the doors to my life once I joined our clan. I hope you respect that and not ask further. Not everyone has a past they’d like to share. You know I was a scout for Gongre. The key word is: was.”

  Id’rit ran besides them, “So you were trying to hide something related to Gongre.”

  Oynoiz looked annoyed.

  It was Juliana who spoke, “Forgive them. They are curious and naive like me,” she gave “the look” to Id’rit. Id’rit, who’d never seen a woman’s “obey or else” stare was shocked by the expression. They nodded. “I’m sure whatever you’re hiding is related to their security. As a former government leader, I respect that.”

  Id’rit because animated, “Juliana! Tell us your time as mayor. Do you still remember most of it?”

  She paused. Even though she’d forgotten names and some faces, she remembered key details and stories. She shared some funny ones as they walked.

  “The council was so divided that at one meeting, one threw a chair at the other. This started a fight and the police had to escort the two out,” Juliana said.

  “Fighting does happen in the Gongre Confederacy with the judicial panels. This isn’t normal?” Oynoiz asked.

  “No, at least not for the United States of America. That always surprised me. Being a new nation, it’s surprising how formal our government is. But then again, we restarted the idea of large republics after the fall of the Roman Empire more than a thousand years before.”

  The Adasions couldn’t understand the concept of a republic. It had not existed on their continent, although they were taught that another far-away continent had one such government.

  Id’rit shuttered, “Imagine a Do making governmental decisions.”

  Oynoiz objected, “In Nue’ant’s household, they have a Re in a steward’s position. Don’t let an Adasion’s lack of power close your mind towards their other potentials.” Juliana thought that they also could have experienced this due to how often nulls are distrusted.

  “Think about Royce. Even though he had no mana power, Eirian wanted him to join his clan. There is potential in one’s spirit.”

  Fionn flipped their frilled sleeve as they gestured, “One of the best actors in my troupe was a Do extra. Now they have them warming up the crowd before every performance. It takes skill and courage for that. Without them, our performances will have flat responses. They also are a leader in the troupe. They keep us grounded during production decisions. Some of us want to spend the budget on creative ideas. We can let our imaginations go. We need them to hold us back sometimes.”

  Id’rit bowed their head. They walked in silence.

  After a few miles, Id’rit spoke, “You gave me something to think about.”

  They kept to the narrow trail not speaking for the rest of the afternoon.

  Oynoiz fell back in their position and whispered to Fionn, “Are they still there?”

  “Yes. And there’s more than one. It feels different and hostile.”

  “I’ll tell the others.”

  Fionn, Id’rit, and Oynoiz sat in front of Juliana one night.

  Id’rit started, “Juliana, you need to have a mana transfer. It’s almost been a month. Do you want to have it with me or Fionn?”

  Juliana looked confused, “Why not Oynoiz?”

  Id’rit and Fionn glance at each other.

  Oynoiz frowned, “I’ll tell her. Juliana, we have no idea how a mana transfer will work with a null. There’s no known case of one. We’re rare enough as it is and there’s no chance a clan will give up an opportunity for a woman to a null.”

  Juliana sat straighter, “Let’s try it!”

  “Did you not hear Oynoiz? We don’t know the side-effects! For all you know, it could kill you,” Id’rit angrily said.

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” she answered.

  “Then please, wait until we’re at Lysara. I don’t want you to attempt this without a healer nearby,” Fionn said.

  “I agree. It’s too dangerous to try a mana transfer with me,” Oynoiz shifted uncomfortably.

  “We won’t know until we try,” Juliana answered, “Okay, we’ll wait until Lysara. But we will try. It doesn’t feel fair for them to be strengthened by the transfer and you never experience it.”

  “Speaking of that”, Id’rit shifted, “Would you like to try with me?”

  Juliana smiled, “Yes, that would be nice.”

  Closing her eyes, she held hands with Id’rit. The planet’s power rose and flowed first from Id’rit then through Juliana and back again.

  Like Fionn, the mana transfer was beautiful, simple, yet energizing. Id’rit glowed slightly.

  Fionn gasped, “Did I look like this?”

  Juliana opened her eyes, “Yes, but it’s harder to see in the daylight.”

  Grinning, Id’rit stood up and leapt high in the air. With a gust of speed they rose out of sight.

  “Id’rit!” Juliana stood calling after them.

  They flew above the forest before returning just as suddenly.

  “I’m stronger! I never could fly so fast! Fa whites’ strength is distance. They only travel a little faster than a Mi like myself.”

  “So, in a way, you could challenge a Fa,” Oynoiz commented.

  “Yes, I guess I could,” Id’rit glanced at both Oynoiz and Fionn.

  Fionn said, “I didn’t try, but I think my influence was stronger after transfer. I don’t know how. It faded after a couple days.”

  “Sounds good. Well, I’m tired for tonight!” Yawning, Juliana crawled to her bedroll.

  Oynoiz smiled, “Let her sleep. She really is amazing. She hasn’t lived long enough in Adasion to understand the ramifications. I thought it was just so the clan could claim a strong egg. This is something bigger.”

  Oynoiz hummed a soft lullaby as the others stared at the stars.