Taking careful note of the surroundings, Vir set out to the west, Leaping over barren land for as far as the eye could see.
Soaring a hundred paces into the air with each bound, Vir expanded his field of view considerably, and soon spotted a tall and jagged mountain range running north-south.
At its base near a pass was a settlement, not unlike the one Darsh and his sister, Hetal, lived—small and primitive. From his high vantage, Vir observed that the village was around the same size, too, supporting no more than a hundred people.
Coming to a stop a few hundred paces away to avoid suspicion, Vir wandered in, earning the stares of the serpentine folks who lived there.
Had Vir not already met Balagra, he might’ve panicked. But the Panav were a mostly peaceful people who regularly took refugees from the Garga. Not that this excused their involvement in the sacking of his clan, but Vir was at least happy he hadn’t landed in Iksana territory. The moment one of their kind spotted him, it would be the end.
Luckily, this was both the first and last time Vir would travel through an Ash Gate alone. From now on, he’d bring demons with him, who could scout the land beyond to determine whether the exit spot was in a useful location. A Gate that led to the eastern sea would have little strategic importance, except perhaps as a hidden staging area.
“You lost, stranger?” An elderly half-serpent half-woman Nagini asked, slithering up to Vir.
Vir scratched his neck with mock embarrassment. “Er, I seem to be! Would you be so kind as to point me to the Gargan border?”
66
RETURN OF THE GUARDIAN (PART ONE)
“And I call myself a Naga,” Balagra said, spitting on the ground. “I suppose my excommunication is complete if I cannot even recognize my own country!”
“To be fair, you were right,” Vir replied. “This could be anywhere.”
“Still… I thought I felt something familiar. The scent of the air, perhaps,” Balagra said, making Vir smile. That would’ve been quite the ability, should such a thing really exist.
“What do you plan to do now?” Malik asked. “I admit, reinforcing this position seems… inconvenient.”
“Indeed,” Balagra said. “We’re a ways from the border. The mountains you saw lead to Vraj Parah, which tells me we’re nearly all the way east. I’d reckon we’d hit the ocean if we went much further. Not much out here, other than a possible relief area, as Malik said. Could be worse, though. Panav likely won’t make a ruckus, even if our presence here is discovered.” Balagra gestured to the surroundings. “An exceedingly unlikely proposition, as you might’ve guessed.”
“Practicality aside, I’ll be needing this Gate for at least a while,” Vir said.
“Why? Do you have business in the Demon Realm?”
Vir nodded. “I need to meet up with Cirayus. And ideally Gunin, too. I need to bring more demons to our cause.”
“The Ravager, eh?” Balagra said, stroking his chin. “I admit, I would like to meet that fabled warrior. He’d prove an invaluable asset for training our troops.”
“He can also ferry demons if need be. I’d love to have him with us again,” Vir admitted. “I don’t wish to occupy our soldiers with guard duty, though. I’ll be quick about this. I promise.”
“Look at this!” Balagra chortled. “The Akh Nara! Apologizing to his lessers!”
Vir received awkward looks from the other demons, as if they didn’t know how to react.
“A bit of advice?” Balagra continued in a voice low enough so that only Vir could hear. “Drop the humility. It doesn’t suit one such as you.”
Vir’s lips tightened. “I’ll… keep that in mind.”
Truthfully, he wanted to remain the same. He hated the airs someone in his position was expected to put on. But Cirayus had said the same—that leaders with too much humility appeared weak and incapable.
“We shall remain at the Gate and man this position until the Akh Nara returns,” Balagra said, barking orders to the demons. “As long as it takes.”
Vir nodded, then Leaped away, happy to finally be rid of the demons’ reverent stares.
Vir took few supplies with him as he bounded across the realm at speeds matched only by Acira, and while those avian beasts needed to rest every several hours, Vir did not. His body could survive for days without sleep, water, or food, allowing him to travel lighter, which in turn made him faster.
Even so, crossing a mountain range and a border took him longer than he’d have liked, as he was forced to stop for directions at every settlement until he found the single road connecting Panav with its Chitran neighbor to the south.
The going became smoother after that, though Vir had to be wary of anyone traveling the path. While no one could identify his face as he bounded, he’d undoubtedly attract unwanted attention that way.
Crossing the border into Chitran territory, Vir turned west and crossed yet another mountain range before finally coming upon familiar territory near the Boundary.
The journey felt far longer than it ought to have—something Vir attributed to the never-setting sun. Time became difficult to keep, and the only reason the concept of a day existed was due to tradition and convenience.
The other reason for the lengthy journey was Vir’s mounting exhausting due to his diminishing prana. Despite rationing as best he could, with so many invocations of Leap, he’d depleted nearly all of it, forcing him to slow near the end.
Resting regularly would not have helped, given the lack of prana. Not even Prana Current could replenish what wasn’t there, so Vir had opted to drain himself and recharge near the Ash Boundary, where Ash Beasts roamed aplenty.
Despite his best efforts, the Ash Boundary proved out of reach. Rather than slog there, Vir had another idea. One that would allow him to kill two birds with one stone and offer an opportunity to reunite with some old friends.
Cutting south, Vir changed his destination, a newfound spring in his step.
Vir sunk into the shadows and appeared within the walls of Samar Patag, bounding lightly across rooftops, using only the strength of his own muscles to propel him.
Not a minute later, a black form blurred up to him, knocking him down mid-flight, and grappling with him until he crashed heavily onto a rooftop.
Vir wasn’t angry. How could he be, when Shan was licking his face happily?
“Easy, boy!” Vir laughed, petting his old friend. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy!”
For a split-second, Vir thought someone had replaced the Ash Wolf with his old bandy, Neel.
“I’ve missed you too, buddy,” Vir said, righting himself. “You been keeping everyone safe?”
Shan yipped, nuzzling against Vir’s chest. “You must’ve been so lonely, if you’re showing me this much affection. Now, how about we go pay a good friend a visit?”
Standing, Vir jumped off the rooftop, sailing to another.
It’d been so long since he’d been back to a city, let alone a city so dear to him as Samar Patag.
It empowered him. Refreshed him. And with Shan by his side, the world felt right again. Better than it had in a long while.
By the time Vir dropped silently into Janani’s orphanage, he’d all but forgotten his exhaustion.
“Hey,” Vir said, popping up from behind Janani, who’d been diligently preparing a meal in her kitchen.
The petite demon swung, and to her credit, her hand was not empty. She swung the cast-iron skillet with all the force she could muster…
Only to have her strike nullified by Vir’s palm, which wrapped around her wrist, killing her momentum.
He grinned, watching her expression turn from fear to shock to recognition.