Olekir woke up surrounded by women. The warmth of bodies, heavy sleepy breathing, and the scent of skin blended into a strange morning silence. Someone unconsciously pressed against his shoulder, another held him by the waist, and yet another almost hung off the edge of the bed, stubbornly clinging to him even in her sleep. He only exhaled quietly and stretched, feeling a pleasant fatigue after the long day, and broke free from the tenacious embraces without much effort. A few girls grumbled something discontentedly in their sleep but did not wake up.
Stepping out of his room, he had already covered his nakedness with magical clothing. The dark fabric slowly enveloped his body like a living shadow, forming his usual restrained image. Young maidservants, who were just carrying water and clean towels, instantly froze against the walls. Their gazes slid over him—curious, timid, still too innocent to hide their interest. One of the girls even tripped over her own foot, causing muffled giggles from her friends. Olekir only smiled slightly with the corner of his mouth and moved on in silence.
Breakfast, as it had been lately, was its own elegant variation of meat, decorated with meat and garnished with meat. On a wide metal tray lay thinly sliced pieces of roasted beast, a thick dark sauce, fried ribs, and still-warm blood sausage with spicy herbs. Even the smell was heavy, rich, and almost predatory. Olekir sat calmly at the table, unhurriedly tasted the first piece, and then nodded.
— This is better than it was yesterday. My compliments.
He spoke, elegantly wiping his lips with a handkerchief. The maidservant who had cooked today immediately tilted her nose up proudly, nearly beaming with satisfaction. Her rival—yesterday's cook—only clicked her tongue and turned away, feigning indifference. Several other girls laughed quietly.
Olekir paid no attention to this. He had observed similar scenes more than once over the last few weeks since the tribe's departure. For most of them, it had become a strange competition—who would be more useful, who would attract more attention, who would receive even a brief word of praise.
And this was only a logical continuation of Myroslava's training, after ordinary drills ceased to be effective and the methods became harsher, significantly harsher than Myrolana's. He rose from the table without even looking around.
— Today you will accompany me.
Olekir pointed to one of the giggling girls. She flinched instantly, as if doused with cold water. The smile quickly vanished from her face, and her shoulders tensed. However, she immediately bowed her head.
— As you command…
In her voice, fear, excitement, and hidden joy were mixed. This too was part of their practice—an opportunity to learn beside him. And for some—a chance to get closer. She hurriedly followed, trying to keep up.
The once terrifying landscape was returning to its primal beauty. Only the scars left after his battle with the Lord of the North would remain to remind of past events. The piles of bodies were almost cleared away, leaving behind numerous wagons.
Myrolana ran swiftly past them. Her hair clung to her sweaty forehead, and her breathing was heavy but steady. Behind her, the exhausted Sirb, Sirka, and the rest barely dragged themselves along. Their clothes were wet with sweat, their legs trembled, but no one dared to stop.
— Faster! — Myrolana threw over her shoulder. — If you fall now, we start the lap from the beginning!
Sirka cursed quietly under her breath, while Sirb only laughed hoarsely, continuing to run. Olekir watched this in silence for a few seconds. Then he moved on, like a ship calmly cutting through a sea of puppets. Watching their movements, he felt pride and satisfaction, as well as an excited anticipation of the future. The puppets, responding to his feelings, began to work faster, pushing their bodies to the limit.
His gaze was already fixed on the once-unyielding wall of the Eternal Forest. Huge trees that had stood motionless for centuries were now slowly retreating before them. A wide clearing was gradually appearing in the green wall. Pits were filled with earth, hills were leveled, stones were pulled aside, forming the future road. Some of the wagons had already moved forward, and in a few days, his temporary home would follow them.
Olekir imagined this so clearly that he could almost see it for real. Once he had already had to fight the Lord of the Earth—a huge serpent, so old and powerful that its very movement changed the world. Where the monster crawled, the earth split into deep furrows that later filled with water and became rivers. Unyielding mountains cracked under its body, forming entire tunnels and passages. Even after the serpent's death, the world bore the traces of its existence for a long time.
Olekir remembered that fight all too well: the roar of stone, the ground breaking under his feet, his own blood on the scorched rocks, and a sense of almost divine majesty when something so large moves before you that the human mind refuses to perceive it as a living being.
And now it would happen here. Not as grandly and not as quickly, but it would happen. His puppets would blaze a trail for him through the Eternal Forest. Step by step, tree by tree, stone by stone, until the earth itself acknowledged their arrival. And at the end of this path, home would be waiting for him.
— It won't be long now…
He said it almost in a whisper, as if to himself. His pensive trance was interrupted by Luna. The great wolf literally flew into him from the side, nearly knocking him off his feet. She had become significantly larger than he remembered. Now Luna was almost twice the size of an ordinary horse. Her silver fur glistened under the sun, her massive paws left deep prints in the ground, and her yellow eyes glowed with human intelligence.
But despite her terrifying appearance, she behaved like a huge, spoiled puppy. Olekir laughed—sincerely and without his usual restraint—burying his hands in the thick fur. Luna immediately growled contentedly and literally flopped onto her side, exposing her belly for affection. Her tail hit the ground with such force that it kicked up dust.
— You've become an even bigger glutton, — he muttered, scratching her under the neck.
The wolf squinted her eyes with pleasure. The maidservant nearby was trembling. And it wasn't even about Luna's size. She knew the wolf's temperament well from the time of the tribe. But here she was shown firsthand that it had only grown worse. Especially after the incident where Luna nearly bit off another girl's hand for trying to pet her without permission. Now most of the servants gave the wolf a wide berth. And Luna, as if sensing someone else's fear, lazily raised her head and looked at the girl with a heavy, predatory gaze. The maidservant turned even paler. Olekir only gave a short huff.
— Don't be afraid. If you don't do anything stupid, she won't eat you.
Luna snorted quietly, as if she didn't like that clarification. The girl nodded quickly and stepped back a few more paces, not risking looking the wolf in the eye again.
Olekir stood up. Luna immediately lay down lower, allowing him to climb onto her back without effort. Her massive body was hot, almost like a furnace after the sun and the run.
— I'm going for a ride; you wait here.
He didn't even look back to check the maidservant's reaction. He just briefly touched the wolf's neck. That was enough. Luna bolted forward without the slightest hesitation. She trusted Olekir as naturally as she breathed. Her paws thundered against the ground, instantly picking up a frantic pace. The world around them immediately turned into a blurred stream. The puppets barely had time to move aside. Luna jumped over them, playing.
At one point, she leaped onto the rows of wagons in a single bound. The bone supports creaked alarmingly under her weight, the ropes tightened, but the structures held. And they sped on, along a proven path, toward one of the highest mountains. The camp was quickly left behind. The noise of work, the creaking of wagons—everything gradually drowned somewhere below until it turned into a distant, barely noticeable hum.
The cold wind hit Olekir in the face, ruffling his hair and making his eyes water slightly. And this only intensified his delight. He understood perfectly well that this freedom would vanish as soon as they returned. It would be difficult, exhausting, and he would no longer have the right to disappear.
The summit appeared quickly. On it, among the stones and old twisted trees, a lonely cave loomed dark, which hadn't existed here just a few days ago. The mountain itself had parted before his will. Olekir jumped lightly to the ground, breathing deeply of the cold mountain air.
Luna circled him and finally lay down heavily nearby, curling into a huge fluffy ball. Her tail flicked lazily, stirring up dust. Olekir smiled and almost thoughtlessly leaned his back against her, sinking into the familiar warmth of the thick fur. Together they looked into the distance.
From here, the Eternal Forest resembled a boundless green ocean swaying in the wind. The sun slowly changed its position, gilding the treetops and long streaks of clouds. And somewhere below, in the middle of this green carpet, a dark furrow slowly crawled.
Olekir silently stroked Luna's fur, feeling the wolf move contentedly under his hand. Here, high above everyone, even the noise of the world seemed distant and unimportant. For a few brief moments, this was his whole world.
The temptation to stay was palpable—almost physical, like the cold wind at his back. But he just exhaled slowly and cast those thoughts aside. He had already chosen his path and did not intend to stray from it. His hand stopped. He stood up. Luna immediately rose after him, without a word or hesitation. Between them, there had long been no need for commands—only the habit of moving together. The return was swift.
Luna jumped sharply from the summit, like a stone falling into the void. The air for a moment became too light, almost absent—but the fall did not happen. Magic caught them immediately. An invisible force gently broke the speed, stretched the movement, and they glided down not in a fall, but in a smooth descent, as if the world itself had adjusted to their trajectory. The treetops met them with a rustle. The forest again became a solid green sea swaying in the wind. They swept over the crowns, quickly approaching the camp, where the roof of his temporary home and the rows of wagons continuing to move forward were already visible.
By the entrance, as always, the maidservant was waiting. She stood as if all this chaos did not concern her. Her gaze was scattered, her posture relaxed—as if this were not a zone of constant movement, but an ordinary courtyard. She didn't even immediately notice Luna's approach. And when she did—it was too late. The wolf landed nearby almost silently and then suddenly lunged forward, growling right in the girl's face. The maidservant shrieked sharply and recoiled, tripping and falling to the ground. Dust rose in a cloud, her hands instinctively covered her head.
— Luna, enough.
Olekir's voice was calm but sharp in its precision. Luna sighed discontentedly, as if her fun had been spoiled, and slowly backed away. Finally, she cast a long, heavy look at the maidservant—not an attack, but a warning. The girl froze, and only when the wolf turned away was she able to breathe again. Olekir clicked his tongue in annoyance, more because of the scene itself than because of Luna.
— I told you to wait…
He picked up the unconscious maidservant in his arms as easily as if she weighed nothing and exhaled briefly. Another day. Another of many. A day that was no different from the previous one and yet slowly changed everything around. The days stretched one after another. The forest parted. The road became longer.