Later that night the party had come to another clearing where they would end their journey for the day.

They set their tents up again while Aiden lit the fire with a snap of his fingers.

Once the flames were crackling steadily Aiden called out, "Come to me, Shadow."

The four-foot black dire wolf materialized from thin air and its form solidified until it stood before him with its eyes glowing purple light.

Aiden pointed toward the edge of the clearing. "Keep watch," he said simply.

Shadow barked once in acknowledgment and turned to sprint into the darkness beyond the camp. It moved almost silently despite its size.

Aiden chose to use his messenger because he didn't want to rely on his dragon's sight. Which would in turn reduce how fast his dragon's curse was growing.

Atleast until he found balance with his humanity and the dragon's instincts.

Laela looked up from where she'd been unpacking supplies and her eyes widened. "Was that a messenger?" she asked.

Aiden nodded. "Yes."

Arianna stepped closer and stared after the wolf with surprise written across her face. "I've never seen a messenger that large before," she said. "Most of them are much smaller creatures."

Myrenne and Aeris both watched from their respective corners of the camp and neither spoke but their eyes followed the direction the wolf had gone with expressions of curiosity and to some extent, caution.

Aiden settled down near the fire and gestured for Laela and Arianna to join him, and they sat on either side while the flames cast flickering shadows across their faces.

After a moment of silence Aiden glanced at them both. "Aren't you worried about your magic lessons at the academy?" he asked.

"According to Thamoryn magic lessons are supposed to resume right after the coronation."

Laela shrugged and smiled slightly. "I'm not worried," she said. "We'll manage."

Arianna nodded in agreement. "We can always catch right back up when we return," she added. "It's not like the lessons are going anywhere."

Aiden considered their responses for a moment before an idea came to his mind.

His mind drew a perfect picture of the summoning scroll Thamoryn had used to teach him how to summon messengers.

With that, he activated his Item Replication skill and made two duplicate copies materialized in his hands.

Then he held them out toward Laela and Arianna who both looked at them with interest.

"What are those?" Laela asked.

Aiden unrolled one of the scrolls to show them the magic circle drawn on the parchment. "These are summoning scrolls," he explained. "The same kind Thamoryn used to teach me how to call messengers."

He set one scroll down in front of each of them and pointed to the circle. "When you channel your mana into this circle it draws a magical creature from a realm called Eldergreen and forms a contract between you and the creature. The amount and quality of your mana determines what type of messenger you'll summon."

Both women leaned forward to examine the scrolls more closely and Arianna traced her finger along the edge of the circle without touching it.

"Just pour your mana in?" Laela asked.

"That's it," Aiden confirmed.

Laela and Arianna exchanged a glance before each placing their hands over their respective scrolls and closing their eyes to concentrate.

Mana began to flow from their palms and the magic circles glowed with soft light that grew brighter as more energy poured into them.

A glow of light appeared above Laela's scroll first and a bengal cat emerged from the light with its furs marked by distinctive shades of black and grey.

The creature walked towards her and mewed softly while tilting its head to look up at her with bright intelligent eyes.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Arianna's magic circle brought forth a hawk with feathers of deep brown and gold. It spread its wings and with a flap, it took flight and landed gracefully on her shoulder.

Both women stared at their new companions with wide smiles and Aiden watched them with a pleased expression.

"Now name them," he said.

Laela looked down at the cat and thought for a moment before smiling. "I'll call you Ember," she said.

"The Bengal cat flicked its tail and spoke in a calm, purring voice. 'I am pleased to serve you, Laela.'"

Arianna studied her hawk for a moment before nodding. "I'll name you Talon," she said.

The hawk ruffled its feathers and spoke in a clear voice that carried some edge of pride. "I am pleased to serve you, Arianna."

Aiden smiled as he watched them bond with their messengers and he glanced back toward the dark path where Shadow had gone into and wondered briefly why his own messenger never spoke.

The thought faded almost as soon as it came and he turned his attention back to the fire.

Aeris sat in the corner near her tent and watched the whole scene unfold with glee on her face, and for a moment she looked like a child witnessing something new for the first time.

The group settled into their tents shortly after with Laela and Arianna still chatting quietly about their new companions while Aiden remained outside for a while longer.

Shadow continued its patrol through the night without rest.

The next morning Myrenne stood at the edge of camp and stared toward the horizon with her arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on her face.

Aiden approached her after packing up his tent. "How much farther?" he asked.

Myrenne glanced at him. "We've moved pretty quickly so far," she said. "We're close now. By day's end we might even reach Dellheim."

Aiden nodded once in acknowledgment and returned to help the others finish with packing up.

Shadow had remained summoned throughout the night and Aiden decided to leave the wolf manifested as they continued their journey.

The creature trotted alongside the cart with its eyes scanning the surroundings constantly.

Myrenne lead the way as usual, and they continued on through the morning and into the afternoon with only brief stops to rest the horses and refill their water supplies from a small stream they passed.

As the sun began its descent, Aiden's supernatural senses suddenly tingled with a warning.

He pulled on the reins to stop the horses, with his red eyes narrowing slightly.

Shadow stopped and let out a low growl, with its gaze fixed on the thick trees to their left. It had grown agitated enough that the fur along its back was standing.

"What's wrong?" Arianna asked, noticing how Aiden had stopped and how his messenger was growing restless.

The slits in Aiden's red eyes thinned even further as his Dragon's Sight activated properly.

He could see them clearly now.

All of them.

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