The Four Wheel Saga Book 1: THE LEGACY TRIALS

The six canoes drifted sluggishly in the kegare creek. The famished young warriors were having a late breakfast- rice balls and boiled eggs. The warrior code of Karasuma was very particular about nutrition. It prescribed two conservative meals a day- one for energy and protein (eggs, fish, meat, along with rice) and the other to fulfil essential nutrients (nuts, vegetables, fruits).

Canoe 2: Shigeo (M,15), Akako (F, 16), Kento (M, 16)

Canoe 3: Hajime (M, 20), Megumin (F, 19), Yuuta (M, 20)

Canoe 4: Daigo (M, 20), Kafu (M, 19), Chiyo (F, 17)

Canoe 5: Nadeko (F, 15), Illumi (M, 15), Masaki (M, 15)

The waterborne vessels of the aspirants, ingrained with sailing kitsu, had been made to float abreast each other so that the group could commune with ease. The Preceptors’ canoe was coasting ahead, while Yorokobi’s vessel was trailing behind, both divorced from the rest. They had doggedly decided not to let the events of the morning be repeated.

The setting of nature and natural sounds was soothing- a motley of birds chirping away, insects buzzing in and out, frogs croaking to their mates, all in the backdrop of the babbling creek water. The young ones found a bunch of low-hanging berries. Daigo sacrificed one of his petty knives to drop a dense bunch from a vine.

During times of war, however, the warrior code was eased. The present circumstances were undoubtedly not war-like, but the danger they had escaped from, an hour back, at the least, entitled them to a late breakfast, with sweet forest berries for dessert. The only other edible things within reach were mushrooms of different colours, growing on tree trunks or rocks, on either bank. But it was difficult to tell the palatable ones from the poisonous ones. Only Kafu, being a Shibai Sharin priest, refrained from food, as he was fasting for the day. Instead, he drank from a flask, which reeked of wild saffron and bush-lilac.

Nadeko: “Did you figure it out?“

Masaki: “Figure out what?”

Illumi: “How Keiji sensei ran on water, of course, you airhead!”

The three youngest in the group were also the most vulnerable. The recent events had put the fear of the goddess in them. Nadeko was a petite, round-faced girl who resembled a doll. Illumi was a curious, lean teenager, always brimming with energy. Masaki was an artistic but brooding kid who kept to himself most of the time. The latter was weaving a miniature basket from leaves when Nadeko disturbed him. All three of them had been strong-armed by their ambitious parents to become aspirants.

clients of other villages (especially Karasuki)- as bodyguards, or became training instructors, or accepted village sanctioned

Nadeko: “Tell me.

kitsu. What else

cast pellets of kitsu

her age. The boys left no stone unturned, making fun of

rarefied shoes that displace his weight; perhaps some rare

Daigo-dono. The way he moved on water, it was as if he

Daigo was a burly, broad-shouldered guy with a booming voice, while Kafu was gangly, spoke in a low voice, and addressed everyone with reverence and honorifics. Daigo’s apprenticeship in the smithery, and Kafu’s exposure to

silky hair and

am very sure that it

her. But it had little to do with her reasoning. It was also challenging to disagree with someone

is blessed by

was reasonably easy to disagree with a gangly, fasting priest, who drank saffron-lilac water and had spent most of his early years

canoe,

was the centre of attention then, Shigeo proceeded to grin ominously and prick his spectacles up

Kento: “Enough grand-standing. Out

Shigeo was very dedicated to Kento and had never refused him anything. It did not have anything to do with Kento being the de-facto leader of the under-age warriors.

book in the citadel library titled- Material-synthesis-kitsu, which covers this topic. Synthesis is very different from our usual manipulation. When

singular fire-shrew sprung from his palm; he carefully planted it into a clay bowl and handed over

fire-shrews have one-third the weight and strength of a live shrew. Because here, we have only fire-attribute. Yuuki-sensei’s kitsu lance was through synthesis- in which he fabricated physical matter, by mixing all elemental attributes. The lance