The Four Wheel Saga Book 1: THE LEGACY TRIALS

Keiji: “Don’t fall overboard!

Yuuki: “Don’t let them get on the boat!”

The preceptors hollered instructions from the leading canoe over the uproar of the turbulent Mizusashi river, added to which was the off-shore turmoil unfolding around them.

The young sailors were too preoccupied to respond to the directions of their guardians. A pack of lamia surrounded their canoes, trying to take bites out of them.

Lamia were hideous, riverine beasts with bulbous, smooth heads and at least three feet long bodies. Some were as large as seven feet. They had gaping jaws that snapped like crocodiles, with a mouthful of teeth as large as fingers. Their most distinguishing feature was that they had no eyes. They navigated through vibrations and smell, and their only motivation was raw flesh; hence the preceptor’s instructions to not fall overboard made mighty sense. Since the lamia were amphibious, they could hop on land (or on boats, canoes and ships) with the support of their tails. And therefore, thwarting their attempts to get onto the canoes seemed like a priority as well.

A month had passed since the training of the Legacy Trials aspirants had started. Summer had settled in with a torrid vein. The preceptor duo had decided to temper their students in a summer camp- at a location of their choosing. After a few days worth of paperwork and preparation, they set off to their destination.

The party had begun their journey from the base of chojo hill, where the Mizusashi and the Kurosashi rivers meet to form the mighty Reisui river. The Reisui torrents are so powerful that only ocean-grade ships could cruise through them unharmed. Therefore, shipbuilding had thrived as a prosperous trade in Karasuma. Many boats had sunk in the unforgiving Reisui until the villagers learnt to pay reverence to the river and carve resilient, deep-water boats and ships.

Karasuma had three major ports. The Nagato port (on the Kurosashi river, north of Chojo hill)- was primarily a trade and commerce unit. The Minato port (on the Reisui, east of the hill)- was where the royal naval fleets were. The Gakuto port (south of the hill)- was for the use of the common folk. Even though the Daigaku had access to all three ports, the preceptors and the Legacy Unit used hidden docks and jetties known only to them. Chojo hill was an extensive area with undulating terrain, and to date, it had not been possible to map the region in its entirety.

party had left from a rocky, clandestine pier with five military-grade canoes. The party included Keiji and Yuuki sensei (the Daigaku preceptors) and the twelve qualified aspirants of the Legacy Trials, belonging to Mikashita-kin. Tagging along were a sub-squad of three- Lieutenant Yorokobi Miyamoto and two non-ranking soldiers. Kento was heir to the reigning Overlord, Senju, and hence, a military escort was

They had divided themselves among the canoes

(M, 26), Yuuki sensei (M,

(M,15), Akako

3: Hajime (M, 20), Megumin (F,

Daigo (M, 20), Kafu (M,

Nadeko (F, 15), Illumi

Their destination was the Bokuso glades that lay beyond the marshes formed by the Mizusashi backwaters. As the river turned around Chojo hill from the West, it backtracked several miles into the south-western lands and gave birth to the Doronuma marshes. The marshes were murky and treacherous, home to rabid beasts of prey, venomous reptiles and blood-thirsty insects. Some of the local tribes believed that dark magical beasts, capable of kitsu manipulation, had also

Trouble arrived when they encountered a pack of hungry lamia moving upstream. The lamia make their way downstream- into the warmer waters at night and retract upstream in the morning- to hunt for prey. They consume anything moving- from fish to

had tried to fend off the gnarled creatures with their swords. But as the lamia crashed against the canoes, the sailing kitsu ingrained into them started dwindling, and the boats slowed down. The preceptor and military sub-squad canoes had gained thirty feet distance over the last canoe. Canoe 3 (Hajime-Megumin-Yuuta) and Canoe 4 (Daigo-Kafu-Chiyo) were not far behind. Canoe 2 (Shigeo-Akako-Kento) and Canoe 5 (Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki) lagged, as they could not fight the creatures off fast enough. The

with both arms. A kitsu sequence had manifested the weapon, but it weighed as much as a thirty-foot

large lamia managed to jump onto the Shigeo-Akako-Kento canoe. The young ones hurled themselves to the opposite deck, avoiding its snapping jaws. Kento realised that no amount of taekkyon ability could put down a five-foot-long beast like the one before him. While he considered jumping off the canoe, Akako went ahead, formed a fistful of kitsu and punched the lamia

While being twisted and turned by the river torrent, he looked around and saw two large

into the water. Yuuki shortened his lance and pole-vaulted from the river floor, which catapulted him to the siege area. The third event was so surreal that the other young