LITMIR.BIZ

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their journey. As they moved forward, Rein repeated the movements that Iziro showed him. In the morning and at sunset, they trained their bodies, reflected, and meditated, trying to feel the interaction of body, mind, and spirit. The training went on day after day.

      At one moment, under the moonlight, near the glowing campfire, Rein asked Iziro,

      “Today, I was contemplating how to use my mind more effectively in the upcoming tough battles. I’ve come to a rough understanding, but can you give me some guidance on how to do it better?”

      “Do you see that leaf?” asked Iziro.

      Rein looked at the leaf swaying in the wind.

      “Do you understand why it moves up and down?”

      “The wind hits it from below and above,” replied Rein.

      “Exactly like with an opponent… They move up, down, left, right – your task is to understand why, to anticipate how they will behave in the future. His movements can be influenced by both his thoughts and external factors. The goal of your contemplation is to calculate what can be anticipated in advance and what cannot be quickly calculated during a battle.”

      After these words, Rein lay down, closing his eyes.

      The rest of their journey was beautiful. Moving along the forests, Rein couldn’t stop marveling at the floating mountains – their size, beauty, and the fact that a massive piece made of rocks and soil could simply hang above the ground. The so-called floating mountains were everywhere, large and small, covered with greenery or completely lifeless. The largest mountain obscured the sun on the ground, creating a huge shadow. In these darkened places on the ground, strange plants grew, completely unlike others. And in the distance, the city-state of Aeris could be seen.

      “Look!” said Rein. “We’ve arrived.”

      “Not yet,” objected Iziro. “I have to tell you something else.”

      Rein stood up, pretending to listen attentively.

      “No matter how much I tried to teach you to resolve any conflict peacefully, Raidarians are a warlike people. Who else but us would know that? Today we’ll have our last break before Aeris, and by tomorrow evening, we might be there. But until we reach it, I want you to know… Don’t rely on your heart in battle; it’s not your friend. Rely only on your mind, and under its command, you can use your heart for your benefit. I know you might have figured this out after all these training sessions and my instructions, but I decided to say it because it’s particularly important. And now, let’s have a break right here, and let’s increase the number of training sessions since we probably won’t have much time for it in Aeris. Let’s start right now!”

      The next day, Rein greeted with unusual muscle pain. After a terrible storm, not forgetting the morning meditation and their regular training, they set out towards Aeris.

      Having traversed a long and challenging path through the mountainous terrain, Rein and Iziro finally entered populated areas. Carriages and wagons often traveled the roads they passed, people walked, or another rider quickly galloped ahead. Occasionally, they could encounter Raidarian soldiers in full gear, usually passing in small groups, but they paid no attention to their fellow Raidarians.

      “Look,” said Rein. “I used to be so afraid to return to my homeland, and they don’t even pay attention to me.”

      “Yes,” said Iziro. “Your fears were not as significant, but if you had the mark of an exile on your cheek, I think it could have been much more difficult.”

      Rein walked, observing the local stunning landscapes, and suddenly decided to ask Iziro:

      “Iziro, how did you become a monk? How could a Raidarian come to that? You weren’t even exiled like me. You’ve told me so much, but you haven’t shared your story.”

      “Oh,” Iziro began with sadness. “Honestly, I was hoping you wouldn’t ask about it. It’s an extremely sad story.”

      “What’s sadder than mine?” Rein asked, smiling.

      “Alright… Since you’ve shared your story with me, I think it’s fair for me to tell you mine. When I was a child, my father died in one of the battles, or at least that’s what I was told. My mother struggled to live alone with a child, especially in Illyrion. She did her best until she fell ill, and we ran out of money even for food. That’s when I decided I had to follow my father’s path, that I had to become an empire warrior, but a better one than he was. In my eyes, it would solve all our problems because the empire always paid generous money to warriors. I still remember the day they executed Emperor Saron; it was a sad day, but everyone quickly accepted it and continued living as if nothing happened. Soon after that, I joined the military academy. Years passed, and I grew stronger and faster. As I matured, the first military campaigns in barbarian lands or beyond the Sea of Seos seemed so easy for me, as if I were born for it. Since childhood, I was passionate about drawing, so my brothers in arms nicknamed me ‘the artist.’ Every time after another massacre for the glory of the empire, they teased me, saying I had painted another beautiful picture. Through friends, I sent letters with money to my mother in the capital, but soon I learned that she had died. That’s when I lost the meaning of what I was doing, but I continued because I knew nothing else and couldn’t do anything better. One day, I was assigned to reconnaissance in the territory of the Last Kingdoms. In a small group, I stumbled upon dozens of squads of local knights. I fought as best as I could, but there were too many of them. Winning was impossible, but I somehow managed to escape the pursuit. On horseback, I reached the nearest village and lost consciousness due to blood loss. But when I woke up, I realized that I was helped by a wonderful young lady who lived there. Despite considering me an enemy on her lands, she saved my life and nursed me back to health. And I was doomed to fall in love with her head over heels. Raidarians, as if deliberately delaying retribution for so long, allowed me to become attached to her and the people of that village as much as possible. When they came, I killed many of my own to save her and everyone I had come to know in that village during the long time I spent there. In the end, I lost her and almost everyone I intended to save. Raidarians burned the village to the ground, as if mocking me for saving my life. My spirit was broken… But I kept going until I stumbled upon a person who showed me the way to the village of Oi in the mountains. The teachers healed my spirit, body, and mind, and tempered them in exchange for my vow never to kill again. And then they released me when I was ready for it. I left the village of Oi with a mission – to help those in need, those who couldn’t help themselves, especially those with broken souls like mine. That’s how I met you, and that’s how I found a mission even more important than my previous one.”

      “You’re right, it’s indeed very sad,” said Rein. “I sympathize, friend! Or should I say, teacher now?”

      Rein placed his hand on Iziro’s shoulder, slightly surprising him. At the same time, Rein noticed people and cargo being lifted onto a huge floating mountain.

      “So that’s how they do it. I thought the pictures from the books I read as a child were lying to me. Isn’t it amazing?” asked Rein.

      “But you lived in Illyrion,” Iziro wondered. “Have you ever been to the underground part of the city?”

      “You know I was forbidden to leave even the castle until… Until my uncle banished me.”

      “Oh, right. I apologize; I assumed maybe you didn’t tell everything back then.”

      “Whatever it was, it ascended towards the floating mountain. A special lifting mechanism was used for this purpose. Long and extremely strong Reynian vines were stretched from the mountain to the ground. Tightly pulled vines helped stabilize an extensive platform made of interconnected logs, where the cargo was placed. There were also vines pulling the platform upwards, so the lifting mechanism itself was located on the floating mountain.

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