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.

been announced suddenly, almost two years in advance, which caught many senior aspirant-warriors unawares. During the trials-recess (the gap between two consecutive trials) of three years, aspirants made productive use of their time- explored employment opportunities with wealthy clients of other villages (especially Karasuki)- as bodyguards, or became training instructors, or accepted village sanctioned long-term missions. They planned it so

Nadeko: “Tell

“It was kitsu. What else could

of kitsu into the water and

Megumin was a nineteen-year-old girl who frequently said ridiculous things without realising it. Hajime and Yuuta sniggered. Since school, the three had been friends. They were referred to as the bulwark-trio- due to their unbeaten record in mock-battles as a team. But Megumin was not very sharp for her age. The boys left no stone unturned, making fun of her

rarefied shoes that displace his weight; perhaps some

“That is not likely, Daigo-dono. The way he moved on water, it was

Kafu was gangly, spoke in a low voice, and addressed everyone with reverence and honorifics. Daigo’s apprenticeship in

athletic, with straight, silky hair and amaranthine-blue eyes. Even

am very sure that it was

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

is blessed

to disagree with a gangly, fasting

canoe, Shigeo tch-tch-ed in

clueless eyes turned to him. Realising he was the centre of attention then,

“Enough grand-standing.

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. Kento had always protected him from bullying,

advanced book in the citadel library titled- Material-synthesis-kitsu, which covers this topic. Synthesis

put out his right hand and muttered a few words. A singular fire-shrew sprung from his palm; he carefully planted it into a clay bowl and handed over the bowl to Shigeo. The girls fawned over the cute, little, flaming creature. The shrew’s heat started baking the insides of

it weighs almost nothing. The 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