It was not uncommon for trainees to be sent into the Royal Woods on a mission. The untamed forest could not be called safe by any means, but it was comparatively less perilous than most of the wilderness in Gaia. More than that, it was — mostly — a part of Solan's sovereignty. If a recruit were to go missing, a search party could easily comb the area without provoking any unwanted attention.
However, what was unusual were missions that led beyond the Royal Woods — the type of missions that spread whispers across the sanctuary. Such missions typically demanded the presence of at least a cohort of super-class fighters — each being an anomaly in their own right. Becoming a super was not an easy endeavour; those who chose to take arms needed a will of steel and a crushing endurance to match it. Kaius, Valerie, Icarus, and Ariel were all super-class fighters. However, they barely made the cut. Ariel was the only one of their group who could measure up to their super-class title — but even she was only notable for her unmatched potential.
Supers were impossibly strong, ridiculously fast, and refined their technique. Despite all of that, they still were within the limits of what was possible.
If supers were the mountain, ultra-class fighters were the summit — the peak of mortal power. They climbed the limits of what was possible, and when they reached the top, shattered them and kept climbing. Each one a… monster.
The only mortal capable of subduing an ultra-class fighter is... an ultra-class fighter.
The sun had finally made it halfway across the sky's breadth; the cue for the supers to arrive.
One man took a chained watch out of the pocket of his worn leather jacket.
"Damn it, when are the Sigil Knights gonna arrive? Did we not agree on mid-day? The monks are waiting on us."
"I'm sure they'll be here soon. Have some faith!"
The man turned around to see the calm voice replying to him.
As he did, the man's face instantly turned from annoyed to relieved and then to a spark of hope. Hope that they would reach the sanctuary fast enough. Who knew what dangers hid in the forest and desert? The sooner they left, the sooner they'd be out of danger, and the monks would be aided.
Surprisingly, only two of the four super-class fighters were wearing armour. The peculiarly coloured ones chose not to wear anything heavy. Kaius wore a suit of thick hide, discarding steel plates as they would only slow down the precise movements he relied on. As well as that, he was fitted with a leather scarf wrapped around his neck. Most blows to the neck were fatal, making any protection to it ever more vital and attacking it all the more important, not only for the fighters, but also for the creatures.
Icarus took a much more reckless approach; he wore thin cloth and a single steel shoulder pad on his left shoulder. Countless cloth strips were wrapped around his waist and hands. Even if he wanted as much mobility as he could get, a little protection could go far. In fact, Icarus had so little protection that he could be mistaken for a local on a forest stroll.
Valerie and Ariel, by contrast, wore half-plated steel that covered their vital organs, upper limbs, and fronts of their legs. In less lethal areas of the body, the steel armour was shed, and chainmail was placed in its stead. Beneath it all, a layer of dark leather was worn. This made every spot not covered in lustrous white steel appear pitch-black.
The man made no note of the differences in the fighters' armour configurations, though.
Icarus's voice chimed again.
"I see it — you've made the preparations to depart. Shall we get moving then?"
The supply chain was rather small; there were only five wagons carrying supplies and two for the riders. Escorting them through the forest with only four combatants wouldn't be easy, but the cohort was relatively certain they'd make it through. Additionally, there were about eighteen non-combatants.
Ariel's voice sliced through the thoughts of everyone there.
"Are we seriously going to head out like that?"
The man seemed offended.
"Like what?"
"Like we want to get killed."
The man seemed taken aback by that, but she continued to speak anyway.
"First of all, this formation is horrible. Seriously, who came up with this atrocity?"
***
Ariel had spent the next thirty minutes fixing all the mistakes in the wagon train. She had decided to take the two wagons that didn't hold supplies and placed one in the rear, the other being placed about twenty-five meters in front of the rest. Unlike the previous formation, this formation was a straight, vertical line. Ariel knew this wasn't safe; however, she also knew some precautions needed to be discarded to reach their goal in time. Following the narrow roads of the Royal Woods would be nearly impossible in a timely manner when there were wagons directly next to each other.
The non-combatants were spread out in what little space could be made on wagons with supplies. Although five wagons were reserved for supplies, the actual supplies themselves only took about two-thirds of each wagon, leaving enough space for a few people to be fitted in. Additionally, each wagon required two drivers, which freed up a little extra space since they always stayed in the steering section rather than the storage area. In truth, only one person was needed at the steering section, but the other was there to make sure nothing went wrong.
She then began to give each member of the cohort their position.
"I'll take the two rear wagons. Icarus, you should take the centre two and Valerie the front two. Kaius, I want you to take the wagon separated from the rest of us. I need your eyes for this to work."
Ariel then handed him a war horn.
With no objections, the creatures pulling the wagons — a weird mix between buffalo and horse found in the wild only in the far east of the Royal Woods — began their sprint, and with it, the wagons were engulfed by the verdant forest.
***
While everybody else was under their roofs, Kaius stood on the top of his. The world was much different through Kaius's eyes. Each motion was followed by another, slotting itself straight into the blue outline, the outline he saw with everything that moved. Of course, he knew this was just the present aligning with the future. How could he not? It was something every Dzin viewed.
Their unique vision was able to perceive into the future. This would have been overstimulating if not for their bodies' regulation. As a Dzin matures, so does their unique trait — a pattern that happens with many other races. Currently, Kaius could only see one-tenth of a second into the future; that one-tenth could make or break a plan. This plan, in particular, was banking on his gift; with it, they could risk rushing through the forest and react to any danger.
Kaius clutched his war horn with unmatched strength. He thought he saw something moving on the left. As he took a closer look, without hesitation, he raised his horn and produced the loudest sound he could.