Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons 214 CCXIV. The Border

"Of course, sister. She will be proud to know our diplomatic achievements with the other Clans. I was wondering something else... who knows if King Einar is aware of what we're doing, has he heard of the Iron Alliance before?" continued Dag, fantasizing.

"Captain, we were only born a few days ago... even though the news are as fast as the wind, I doubt they've already reached that high" Reidar said, trying to reason realistically.

It came the evening when the four friends reached the boundary separating Jordstäl from Runar, marked by a large arch that stood imposingly on the path, with two huge stone statues on the sides, both depicting Odin with his Gungnir spear and a crow resting on his shoulder, which seemed to have his eyes turned towards them, giving a somewhat macabre look to that stretch of road.

After passing the arch, without guards, they continued to ride south, following torches that were fixed on the ground until the visible villages, whose lights were barely visible in the distance.

"Let's stop there for tonight. The city is not far from here, tomorrow morning we will arrive as soon as the Sun will rise" said Dag, who couldn't wait.

Within minutes, they tied at the horses to some trees and lit a fire in a small open space among the vegetation that ran alongside the trail, not far from the arch with the statues of Odin.

From that point on, the road to the south was all downhill, precisely because Runar was an ancient continental shelf rising to the surface and this feature made its lands fertile and steep, with the coast free of irregularities and precipices, which descended gently until it caressed the sea.

Dag knew well the geology of that area, both for his studies as a child and because he had found a lot of information about in Stein's atlas.

Many villages were visible from that privileged location, which offered a magnificent panorama, with the lights of the small towns shining in the darkness of the night, while the rest of the region was illuminated by the light of the stars and other planets.

 Reidar and Gridd, after preparing their bedroll, fell asleep immediately, while Karl approached the fire, to shed light on the pages of Egill's almanac, which continued to flick greedily until he noticed that Dag was watching him.

"I'm almost done, there are only a few chapters left. This book becomes more and more interesting and contains a flood of essential information for a herbalist" Karl said, without even looking away from the almanac pages.

"My powers have increased, Karl. But not like last time, when you injected the treated blood of the falcon in my veins... much, much more!" said Dag, trying not to wake the others.

"So they didn't vanish after a short time? Whenever you 'absorbed' someone's energy or something with your powers, after a short time it abandoned your body... or so I seem to remember" Karl continued, reflecting on past events.

"Usually it was like that, you remember correctly. But I think my blood and that of that Xis woman were completely compatible and so..." 

"And so there was no need to deal with the Crimson Tooth, I understood what you mean. How do you feel?" interrupted Karl again.

"Well... I think I've never felt better. I feel my muscles much more resistant and feel less mental fatigue. For example, at this time, after a whole day on horseback without ever stopping, I should be very tired... but I could go on for hours longer" Dag said, looking at the palms of his hands and forearms, trying to make a report of his physical situation to his friend.

"Increased mental and motor skills... this is so interesting. I can proudly say that I am the first healer on the planet to study the body of an alien! Hahaha!" he chuckled, making irony about Dag's true nature, who before reciprocating the laugh, looked at him sulkily.

"I know I'm not used to saying things like that, but... I can't wait to fight seriously against someone, to test my new abilities. I don't know why, but I feel like I can beat anyone".

"Dag... I saw you summon a black fluid that kept you suspended in the air, healed your wounds, and reduced one of those badass monsters to shreds, disintegrating half of its body as if it was a fruit of which there is nothing left but the peel! Of course, you can beat anyone, what else do you need? At this rate in a few months you will be able to lift mountains!" sighed Karl, smiling and looking away from the almanac.

"I believe that there are warriors stronger than me on this planet, despite my powers, but I will constantly train to improve them. I have an important role to play. Many people's lives depend on my decisions now, so I have to weigh up my actions and be strong for them too" Dag said, clenching his fists.

"In addition to the increase in physical and cognitive abilities, I also notice an increase in aggressiveness and desire to fight. Remember what happened when we fought those bandits in Kvete, Dag? Try not to lose control, that time I feared for a moment that you could kill us too."

Dag looked down, remembering every detail of that scene: his desire for blood, as he killed the bandits one by one, only grew, above all else.

He could not risk giving himself another time to that merciless anger, he had to maintain concentration even in the most critical moments.

"Yes, don't worry. It's in the past, now I feel like I have more control over my body" he said, thinking that wasn't quite true.

After a chat that lasted about half an hour, they both went to sleep by the fire, although the cold was not excessive and the wind was absent. 

Chapter end