“Whoa!” Naruto said. “It’s cold!”
If anything, his words were an understatement. It was so frigid that steam was curling off of his body as the environment clashed with his naturally high body heat. He and Bafeel were flying at a low altitude over a frozen landscape even harsher than the fjords of Scandinavia. Jagged crevices of ice fell away to untold depths underneath them, with heaps of snow accumulated atop the ice sheets. Naruto flew a little bit closer to Bafeel, sharing the warmth from his fiery wings.
“Skinfaxi and Hrimfaxi represent night and day!” Bafeel had to yell because of the loud wind blasting their bodies. Even with Naruto’s fire, she was shivering. “They live on the edge of this realm, where hot meets cold!”
While that sounded cryptic as far as directions went, in this place, it was actually pretty easy to understand.
Even though Naruto and Bafeel had appeared above the coldest ice sheets he had ever seen, it was actually just one part of a huge ring, like the rim of a volcano. The ring was made up of lots of different biomes, from these polar wastes to an area of jungle, a handful of dry mountains with no snow on them, and an area of pure obsidian. Those were only the parts Naruto could see, amounting to roughly half of the circle. In the middle of it all, with towers that stood as tall as the biggest building in Lucifaad, was a city made of metal where every roof was golden. On one side of the city a rainbow stretched from the front gate and disappeared into the distance. Too far away for Naruto to make out details, he was nonetheless certain that this was Asgard, home of the Norse Gods.
There was one other area that he could see. Another part of the rim located dead ahead.
It called out to him, almost like home. Maybe that was just the temperature he was sensing.
This area was made up of intense flames, towering and roaring, with plumes rising and falling in tumultuous torrents. The border between the fire and the ice should have been generating a huge amount of steam. Instead, the two just kind of met each other and stopped. Naruto attributed it to magic.
This place was actually very big, Naruto realized. The city of Asgard was around the size of one of the earth’s smallest countries. The circular ring of biomes around it was even larger. Each one was roughly the size of Norway.
As he noticed this, Naruto frowned.
“It’s going to take ages for us to get there!”
They had another few hours to fly before they reached the border between ice and fire. Bafeel noticed the same thing and appeared worried.
“It will take a bit of time, but there is no way for us to go faster—”
“Hang on!” Naruto said.
“What? Oh, no, you don’t need to!” Bafeel stammered.
Too late. Naruto had scooped her in his arms already, surprising her so badly that her wings retracted. He put on a major boost of speed and accelerated the two of them across the landscape. Bafeel screamed. After she adjusted to their fast rate of travel, she noticed that she was being carried by her master. When she tried to protest the indignity of such a thing, Naruto pretended he couldn’t hear her over the wind.
Pushing himself, Naruto brought them to their destination in a single hour. It wasn’t what he was expecting.
“How can anything grow here?” Naruto asked.
“I will not pretend to understand the ways that this place works,” Bafeel said, fiddling with the collar of her warm jacket as she tried to look dignified after being carried. “I only acknowledge that this is how it is and will do my best to operate with what I see.”
With subzero ice fields behind them and a fiery hellscape like humans’ depiction of the underworld in front of them, Naruto and Bafeel had found themselves hovering above a picturesque woodland. Together, they descended and tucked their wings into their backs. The trees only covered a tiny sliver of area compared to the sections on either side. Even on foot, they could go from one side to the other with a bit of trekking.
“Not too hot, not too cold…” Naruto said.
The temperature was similar to Phenex Territory, which was considered one of the most temperate areas of the underworld. It didn’t take Naruto and Bafeel long to start seeing signs of life.
There were birds in the trees, rodents running between the roots, and fearless deer that kept grazing when the two of them walked right by. Naruto touched the bark of a tree and sensed an immense age, whispering of millennia that this tree had stood in this place.
He activated Sage Mode and bit back a gasp.
“Are you alright?” Bafeel was immediately at his side touching his back.
“Fine.” Naruto smiled. “It’s just the natural energy here. It’s off the charts!”
He felt more powerful than usual. On the flip side, controlling the power felt precarious, since it was so much more potent. He adjusted and soon the two of them continued to walk through this magical forest. At some point, Naruto closed his eyes.
He didn’t realize that Bafeel was just following him until he heard her gasp.
“You found it!”
The energy here was so potent that Naruto had been immune to walking into obstacles or tripping over roots, he could sense all of them and avoid them without his eyes, so he had just walked. His mind had almost been blank. It was similar to meditating. At some point, he’d started to follow some kind of trail. Or had something drawn him in?
Either way, they had found a clearing.
There was a cabin, really more of a hut. Its roof was made of woven branches and the walls were constructed out of mud. It didn’t have any windows that Naruto could see. As he looked at it, Naruto took a half step back.
“What’s wrong?” Bafeel had grabbed her sword seeing his reaction, blissfully ignorant of how little that would do against what Naruto was sensing. “Is there something dangerous inside of there?”
“Something powerful,” Naruto said. “I don’t know if it’s dangerous.”
He realized that all he was registering was a presence. There was no killing intent or aggression. In fact, it felt like while he could sense what was in there, it couldn’t sense them. Or it didn’t care.
Bafeel looked concerned, then forgot her worries in a single instant. A gasp left her lips.
Two horses had come around the side of the cabin. They were absurdly big. As tall as the one room house. The horse on the left had a coat as black as a shadow. The other horse was white, its hairs glowing gently. The white horse had yellow eyes. The other horse’s eyes were black like every other part of their body.
Bafeel walked straight into the clearing.
Naruto didn’t go with her. This was what she had come here for. He was just along to make sure she stayed safe. Right now, it was Bafeel’s moment.
Naruto’s eyes flickered to the side as a woman arrived next to him. He’d sensed her coming. She felt a little bit similar to the presence he’d felt inside of the hut, but only in the way that a fireplace might remind you of a wild fire. The lady had long cerulean hair that went down past her butt, a big chest, and a killer figure. Her face stood out immediately as supernatural. She was almost transcendentally beautiful, so pretty that it felt like a trap. Naruto assumed it had something to do with the power he could feel inside of her.
“Do you care about that girl?” the woman asked.
“She’s my servant,” Naruto said. “And my dear friend.”
“Then you should stop her. She is about to die.”
Bafeel had stopped in front of the two horses. She had their full attention. They had come toward her, as if greeting her. They both bent their necks and leaned their heads down. Each of them were so big that they could swallow Bafeel in one bite if they were carnivorous.
“It’ll be fine,” Naruto said.
“Those horses are powerful. Not even I am capable of stopping them if they decide to attack,” the woman said. “This place is off limits for all except the Asgardians. The rule is for the safety of those foolish enough to approach. To those horses, this is a sacred place, one they have already shown a willingness to defend.”
“It will be fine,” Naruto said.
The woman looked at him, prepared to argue or to call him dim. However, she saw the look in his eyes, one that was almost blank, and realized he wasn’t talking without reason. Right now, Naruto could sense more than she could. In this forest, he could feel everything. His words were not a guess. They were closer to a prophecy.
Bafeel bent her knee, raising her right foot, and stomped it down. She threw her head back, eyes flaring, while slamming a fist against the opposite shoulder.
“I am Bafeel Furcas, of the Furcas Clan, member of the 72 Pillars! The blood of horse masters runs in my veins and I was given life to ride! While I may seem like a gnat to you now, I promise, there is no one from the highest gods to the lowliest monster that will ride you with more spirit! If you wish to gallop I will hold the reins until my hands blister, or my arms fall off, and still I will ride! I am not powerful, but you are. Together, we could change the world.”
The horses bared their teeth. They both snorted, sending out a torrent of wind that threatened to hurl Bafeel off of her feet. She flinched out of necessity. Her brown ponytail flew wildly behind her head. But she did not back down.
A strange noise came from the horses. They opened their mouths, not to bite her. The choppy sound they uttered sounded a bit like the cries of enormous seagulls.
“The mounts of sun and moon are… Laughing?” said the woman beside Naruto.
“Why wouldn’t they?” Naruto bent down and took a bit of dirt between his fingers, pinching and rubbing it. He looked at the gorgeous woman next to him. “This place is extremely old. It seems like they’ve lived here a long time, avoided by everyone except a few gods. How long do you think it’s been since someone offered to ride them?”
The woman frowned. “There were a few. All of them were killed. That is why this place became forbidden.”
“Those people wanted to ride them for their own gain,” Naruto said.
“And your servant is different?”
“She wants magnificent horses to shine the way they were born to. Her own needs are secondary to that,” Naruto said. Because she loves horses.”
The woman stared at him. She was a valkyrie. Naruto could tell from the energy inside of her. The fact that she was dressed identically to the one who had guarded the entrance was another clue.
“What is your name?” the valkyrie asked.
“I’m Naruto, of the Phenex Clan.”
“I will remember that name. And that of your servant as well,” the woman said. “I am Brynhildr, Chief Valkyrie of Asgard. Strangely, it feels as if I’m telling you things you already know.”
Naruto smiled. Suddenly, the area where they were standing glowed as a circle around them lit up. Skinfaxi, the glowing mount, was looking at them. They were clearly being called forward.
Naruto and Byrnhildr walked into the clearing, neither of them refusing the summons. The two giant horses turned and walked away, although they clearly wanted to be followed. As they walked around the hut, the power emanating out was so strong that it almost made Naruto light headed. Even though the presence (or presences?) weren’t hostile, they were so immense that they made him slightly hesitant.
“That home,” Naruto said softly. “Who is in there?”
“Day and Night,” Brynhildr said. “Dagr and his mother, Nott. Once, they stood amongst the strongest of all Asgardians, flying in chariots to herald each dawn and dusk, but even the mightiest gods are not immune to age, and although they do not die, they do weaken. One day, Dagr and Nott went into their home and fell asleep in each other’s embrace. They have not stirred in the five hundred years since. The horses they once yoked became their guardians, fending off all who came close except for the All Father. Until now.”
Brynhildr sounded a bit troubled by the horses’ friendly attitude. Naruto got the feeling that she was a very by the book woman. Unexpected occurrences that didn’t align with what she knew about the world caused her distress.
Behind the hut, there was a tree bigger than all the rest Naruto had seen in the forest. Natural energy swirled around it; here, yin and yang were aligned to the utmost. It was satisfying for him just being close to it. As they approached, he noticed it had a hollow trunk.
Suddenly, Bafeel ran forward.
She went straight between the legendary horses, going toward the tree as fast as her legs would carry her. When she came close, she was met by a creature coming out.
Brynhildr’s gasp gave away that not even she expected this.
From the tree emerged a horse. Clearly a baby, because it was only the size of an ordinary horse, while its coloration gave away its real identity. Its coat was a flat gray like the night sky at dusk, when day and night met and changed. One of its eyes was black, the other one was yellow, identical to the eyes of the two legendary mounts.
Bafeel didn’t even stop to think. She scratched the baby horse on the side of the snout, regardless of if its parents might take offense. Fortunately, Skinfaxi and Hrimfaxi merely laughed more.
The baby horse stamped its feet and shook its head, whinnying with joy. The shadows in its surroundings morphed and took on strange shapes as it expressed its joy.
“You are perfect,” Bafeel breathed.
“I AGREE.”
The deep voice came from Hrimfaxi, the giant black horse, and was undeniably feminine.
“OF COURSE HE’S PERFECT. HE’S OURS!” said Skinfaxi.
“DON’T BE SO VAIN TODAY,” Hrimfaxi chastised him. “HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE WE HAD GUESTS WE DIDN’T HAVE TO EAT?”
Skinfaxin snorted. “IT’S THEIR FAULT FOR BEHAVING COVETOUSLY.”
“OF COURSE, DEAR. ALL THE MORE REASON TO TREAT THESE GUESTS WELL, DON’T YOU THINK?”
“WE’RE SENDING OUR SON OFF WITH THEM. HOW MUCH MORE COURTEOUS CAN WE BE?”
“You’re sending him with me?” Bafeel asked. “Truly?”
It was what she came here for, but now on the verge of getting it she had begun to doubt herself.
“HORSES ARE MADE TO RUN,” Skinfaxi said firmly in his gruff male voice. “WE GALLOPED THROUGH THE SKIES FOR CENTURIES. THIS IS OUR PLACE NOW. BUT IT ISN’T FAIR TO MAKE IT HIS.”
“OUR SON DESERVES TO BE RIDDEN,” Hrimfaxi said. “HE DESERVES TO CHANGE THE WORLD. HE IS YOUNG NOW, BUT REAR HIM WELL AND NO HORSE THE WORLD OVER WILL BE HIS EQUAL.”
“NATURALLY,” Skinfaxi said. “OUR BLOOD RUNS IN HIS VEINS.”
Bafeel’s hand was trembling as she reached into her coat. From within its folds, she removed a Queen piece.
In front of the horse she had been scratching, she knelt down, allowing him to look at it with his heterochromatic eyes.
“What is your name?” Bafeel asked.
“HE IS JAFNASK,” Hrimfaxi said warmly. “THE EQUALIZED ONE.”
Bafeel took a deep breath.
“Hearts that beat by the stamp of hooves,” Bafeel said. “From the first ride to the last, never parted, never afraid. Forward, never back. Our enemies will flinch from our charge and allies will cheer our arrival. I name you Queen, my mount second to none.”
She lifted her head, smiling. Stretching both her hands out, Bafeel caressed the side of Jafnask’s face, holding out the Queen piece in her other palm. The horse dipped its head and ate the evil piece like it was eating oats out of her hand.
The external changes were minimal. But to Naruto, still tapped into Sage Mode, he could tell immediately: a bond had been born.
Bafeel couldn’t hold herself back. She jumped up, swung her hips around, and placed herself abreast Jafnask. The horse’s colored eyes lit up. They ran off at full speed, warping shadows in their wake, traveling as fast as Naruto’s top speed.
“THEY GROW UP SO FAST,” Hrimfaxi said.
“THERE’S NO JOY LIKE GALLOPING,” Skimfaxi said nostalgically.
Somewhere far away, they heard Bafeel scream with pleasure. The sound was accompanied by an equally happy neigh.