To the southeast of Winolin, near old mines at the base of a mountain range, grew a flower known for its imbued magical properties. Discovered early into Queen Nolara’s reign, the Trensony flower’s unique medicinal properties made it incredibly useful for many respiratory illnesses.

  Taiga knew little about how it worked, but magicians and scholars of the past figured out a way to use it for such purposes. About a decade ago, an illness spread rampantly through the southwestern region of Lanria, and the flower had been hunted to near extinction to stop the disease from spreading.

  “They want three flowers.” Jule read over the mission post again, side-stepping a large rock on the side of the road. “For a flower as rare as this one is, doesn’t three seem a bit much? We’ll be lucky to find one.”

  “You chose it,” Taiga reminded her for the fourth time since they’d taken to the road.

  He ran his fingers through Sweet Bun’s feathers, and she ruffled them for him, eager for the attention. Mouse paused to study a small pebble before abandoning it and jogging back beside Taiga. He peered over at Sweet Bun and flashed her a smile.

  He’d taken to a new tactic of not ambushing her for attention. Instead, he patiently waited for her to grow more accustomed to his presence. After weeks of Taiga giving the advice, he finally gave it a try.

  Sweet Bun eyed him, squinting, before looking back towards Taiga and nudging his arm with her beak. He set a hand over it, gently grazing his fingers back between her eyes. She closed her eyes happily as he did.

  “Well, yeah. I’ve never seen one. I need to examine it.” Jule crossed her arms over her chest.

  Ellio hung back, holding the reins of their own horse. Taiga learned the horse was named Ghost, despite its bold rust color. According to him, Jule named him that way because she enjoyed people's confused expressions at the contradicting name and color combination. She’d named the horse when they were younger, and still enjoyed the reactions. Seemed about right to Taiga, considering her personality, so he didn’t question it further.

  The old boy stayed as far away as possible from Mouse, which was of no surprise to either of them. Only beings of magic were unbothered by his presence. Ellio hummed to him quietly as they walked. Mouse tried petting him originally, but he kept his distance after seeing the Ghost’s fearful reaction. Maybe in a few days the horse would let him.

  “So, the mine is abandoned? Did it run out of ore?” Ellio asked once Ghost’s ears flicked forward to their usual position as Mouse moved past him.

  Taiga shook his head. “From what I heard, there was a pretty severe cave-in some years back. The cost to get it cleared and running again was more than they could afford. On top of that, several miners died due to poor safety installments. No one wanted to return while the northern mine near Bearthatch was safer with the same pay.”

  Ellio nodded to the information. “Makes sense. So due to the leftover ore and magical remnant buildup, the flora growing there still contains magic essence?”

  “Which is why it’s one of the few places left in Lanria with Trensony flowers.” Taiga only learned this before they’d left, having asked around how and where to even find the flower.

  It would take two days to get there. As long as they managed to find the flowers quickly, he hoped the warm weather held until they returned. But as a breeze iced through him, his hopes simmered.

  He snuggled a hand deep into Sweet Bun’s feathers, blocking the wind from his fingers until it passed. She didn’t mind, and purred a quiet song for him. He kept his other arm beneath his cloak. When the breeze calmed, he fastened the cloak’s buttons over his chest and stomach.

  Once the sun set high into the sky, the breeze stilled and he unfastened the buttons. They took a break on the side of the road at midday to eat and rest. Mouse broke out a few apples Taiga hadn’t paid for and snacked on one when they began back on the road.

  Taiga chewed another one slowly while Jule eyed him with envy. Mouse had not offered to share, and they hadn’t asked, knowing the answer. So Taiga took mild pleasure in her watching him eat. He drew out a munch as long as he could.

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  When evening fell, they took to camping. They’d passed no villages or towns on the road. In mid-afternoon, they crossed paths with a merchant family that told them there were no villages until they reached closer to their destination.

  The temperature dropped low as the sun set, and Taiga huddled a little closer to the fire than he’d prefer. As long as the fire stayed within its ring of rocks, he could handle this much. The flames danced within its circle. They played and flitted around despite their confines.

  “I’ll warm some stones,” Mouse said softly after watching Taiga for a few moments. Taiga nodded, and Mouse hurried off.

  “You get cold easy?” Ellio asked from across the campfire.

  Taiga hesitated, “I have an illness. I don’t do well in the cold.”

  “It’s not cold, though. A little chill, maybe.” Jule narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Oh, so since you’re not cold, I can’t be?” He snipped as a breeze clawed into the back of his neck. “I’m more sensitive to the cold than most. It’s why I didn’t want to go on this mission in the first place, if you recall.”

  A pause. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate,” she mumbled, looking towards the fire.

  Taiga bit his lip, guilt gnawing at his stomach. He chose to go on it despite the risks. Paying off the bill was worth a little chill. Despite his reasoning, the Ganakri in him drew a temper in frustration.

  When Mouse returned, he handed Taiga a stone wrapped in cloth. He took it, sliding it into his hands and back beneath the cloak. Mouse sat beside him, giving him a new warmed stone every time the one Taiga held cooled. Taiga held them tight, at least warming most of himself.

  At night, they placed a couple heated stones beneath the blanket and put out the fire. He snuggled beneath the cloth, shielding his head from any chill the air held. Sweet Bun crawled behind him, wrapped herself around Taiga, and stayed there the remainder of the night. He thanked her, and she replied with a single snort before chewing on a lock of his hair as payment.

  Once morning rose and the sun warmed all that its light touched, they returned to the road. The warmth held well through the morning. By the time they pulled over for a rest, Taiga unbuttoned his cloak, tension falling from his shoulders.

  From down the road, a few men passed. Taiga made a short bow to greet them, which two of them returned. “Y’all doing alright?”

  “Yeah, just heading to the Blackcap Mountain mine.” Taiga smiled.

  “Oh, visitors, huh? They’ll be excited.” One of the men, a gruffy older man using a walking stick taller than himself, laughed. “You should be able to reach there by nightfall. Safe travels.”

  “To you as well.” Taiga nodded as they did.

  They started back on the road soon after. Jule flipped through a green notebook.The worn edges of the leather bent and darkened with wear. “Your parents,” Taiga started, “they studied magic?”

  Jule glanced back at him, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Yeah. They specialized in how magics worked within the natural world.”

  He thought on her words a moment, before asking, “did they ever study the magics of the Guardian Spirits?”

  Mouse’s ears perked, turning towards her. Jule, however, only shrugged. “A little. They’re not exactly something approachable. A creature of magic, ancient. One of the first beings to grace the land, and all that.”

  Mouse steeled beside Taiga, his jaw clenching. “And ‘all that’?”

  “Calm.” Taiga lowered his voice. Then, he turned back to Jule. “Your parents never met one?”

  Jule twirled on the heel of her boot towards him. “What’s this about?”

  “I do think you owe me endless information for those passbooks, right? I’m asking whatever I want to ask. I didn’t realize our deal said you could question everything.” Taiga cracked his neck to the side, stepping in front of Mouse.

  She pursed her lips. “There’s not a lot of general knowledge about them, that’s all. They are beings of purity whom feed on corruption. They help the earth’s magics recycle high concentrations of corruption and add bits of purity into it. Guardians turn those magics into something more digestible to other species. They’re rebalancers, if you will.”

  “Rebalancers?” Mouse relaxed.

  Jule nodded. “Kind of a part of the magical ecosystem of the world. Like Ganakri, just as ancient. Well, they were, anyway.”

  “They’re still on other continents,” Ellio pointed out in a tone that said they’d had this discussion before.

  “Yeah, but the Ganakri are basically extinct everywhere at this point. They were incredibly reclusive, and for what? Burned in their own forest.”

  Taiga breathed. Heat flooded his veins, trembling every fiber of himself. But a smile plastered to his face, and Mouse’s audible anger settled his own. He tapped Mouse with his arm, and told him the same he told himself; “breathe.”

  “Your family couldn’t earn permission to see them, hmm?” Taiga took the jab. She was oddly proud of them and their work. The annoyed look on her face cooled him.

  “Ah, I see it.” Ellio pointed out ahead of them, to a dozen roofs peaking over just as many trees. Beyond them, a mountain with man-made wooden beams decorating it stood. Blackcap Mountain was finally in sight.