A/N: We return to the normal 1/week longer chapters. Elkas are going to take two chapters instead of one, unlike what I planned.

Urgent message to Cato and Chancellor Minmay,

I pray this letter finds you on your way to Barin.

I have examined the zombies and samples of the Tremor eggs that you left with me, being too busy to deal with it yourself. As you suspected, the destruction tests confirmed that zombies appear to ignore damage done to the body but instead de-animate upon suffering too much impact forces or a set amount of magical damage. The magic power sensor also confirms that the zombies do have something like a lifeforce, only weaker than a human's and somehow diffused into the surroundings instead of being confined to the physical limits of the body. I think this is related to the zombie's ability to find living things even through walls, which I have also confirmed to be related to magic and that magical barriers prevent this 'life sense'. Zombie 'life sense' does not apparently discriminate between humans and animals although they seem to ignore plants, as well as animals much smaller than humans.

Tremor eggs are completely baffling. Two of the eggs I was sent are hollow. As far as I can tell, the tremors in them had hatched long ago, the few traces of the yolk have long since rotted. But the eggs are still whole! I took the liberty to test their material strength and conclude that tremor eggs are roughly as hard as cast iron by weight. Their thinness allows them to be damaged quite easily by swords and axes but any normal bird's egg would be completely destroyed by blows that only shatter small sections of shell.

The other tremor eggs were in varying stages of development. I have charted a rough outline of how tremors develop in the eggs, which is also baffling. Your observation of the few dead tremors the knights have dug up for you matches that of the baby tremors. Their teeth really are on the inside of their bodies and their shells really do lack any holes for breathing or mouths. I am sorry to say I am still no closer to understanding how tremors work.

With the minor progress report out of the way, on to the main subject of my letter.

Examination of the clothing on the zombies by the tailors resulted in a major discovery today that I absolutely must inform you about as soon as possible. The zombies are not from Inath!

Following the evidence of strange clothing styles, the tailors dismantled the heavy furs and discovered a completely unknown cross stitching pattern. The cloths are actually composed of two different materials, the reinforcing thorndown fibres are stitched through the furs in a way that almost completely hides them from view. The tailors are currently attempting to duplicate this technique from the scraps but they estimate it could take a month or two before anyone is trained enough to make the pattern.

There are other circumstantial evidences for my claim. The older arrow wounds are clearly not inflicted by the points used by our knights, they are vertically aligned hunting broadheads that few would use against humans. The clothing style previously mentioned is too hot for Inath use, they seem fit for the northern lands of frozen water mentioned in our stories. And lastly, the skin colour of the zombies are much darker than our own. While the Tsarians usually have yellower skin, as far as our dissection can tell, these zombies' dark skin is native and not due to the evident decomposition. Perhaps a light brown like tree bark.

These observations drive me to the conclusion that there is another group of humans further north from Inath, perhaps also under siege by the zombies. They are clearly in need of help if the reports of attack frequencies from Wendy's Fort and Fort Yang are anything to go by.

What you should do with this information, I am not sure. I am only a simple researcher after all. I only know that you should know this as soon as possible.

Torcoff

Monster Research Department

PS: please do something about the lack of students. My collection effort for the organs of the world's animals is going very slowly. No one wishes to work with me on this, it is very disheartening.

Arthur placed a well brewed cup of tea in front of him. The luxurious marble dining table and the brand new tiled floor spoke of Minmay's wealth. Freshly renovated once the new building technique had been perfected, Muller had invited many of the local barons and nobles to a party at Minmay's dining room at his own expense. The last Cato heard, the man was doing a roaring business setting up water towers and sewage systems at the noble homes of the towns all across Minmay. And even the barons of Duport's ex-territory were starting to come around.

But they had hardly any time to enjoy the new facilities when Minmay had received a communication from King Ektal. And that was why Cato and Landar were here.

"Peace talks?" Cato asked, "but why me?"

Minmay waved a forkful of fried bread, "the lords of the Central Region are too many for me to visit them all, and their politics are heavily influenced by the Iris family. " He nodded towards Landar, who winced.

Cato frowned, "aren't you just going there to reaffirm our position in Ektal with the King? It was supposed to be neutral ground, wasn't it?"

"Doesn't mean attempts to bias the ground can't be advantageous," Minmay smiled, chewing the oily bread he loved. The 'French toast' recipe had supposedly been introduced by the Hero, and the eggs it required were leading some nobles to start looking into domesticating birds. "But in actual fact, I'm more looking to establish trade relations with the Central Territories," Minmay continued, "they'll be hit harder by the food price crash, especially now that our surplus is already beginning to affect their market. I also want your Hole Corporation to lend out your expertise in alchemy-" another tip of the metaphorical hat towards Landar, "-and in the harnessing of natural magic. A number of guilds and prominent business leaders are also coming along, hoping to ride my coattails into a profitable business arrangement. "

Cato raised an eyebrow. This was surprising. "Isn't that a full blown trade delegation?" he asked, "sounds like you're focusing more on the Central Territories than King Ektal. " The peace treaty was a politically significant act, even if they were maintaining the official fiction that Chancellor Minmay was visiting the King on his holiday to apologize for his tardiness in answering the summons. But aside from that, every noble and well-informed person in the country had to know this was nearly inevitable, given the precarious balance of power between the Chancellor and the King.

To open trade talks, no doubt the longstanding import tariffs both sides had towards each other's goods would be a hot topic, would seem to others that Minmay was treating the Central Territories more seriously than the formal ruler of the country.

"Of course I am," Minmay said, "the Central Territories are our next door neighbours and Ektal is ultimately quite far away behind two major rivers. I don't trust Ektal to leave me alone if our fortunes reverse so I need to cement my position strongly in Ektal politics. The Central Territories have long been independent but if I can influence them with a strong show of cooperation, I am sure they can be swayed our way. "

And controlling two major regions and allied with a third, out of the five regions that the country was divided into, Minmay would become untouchable.

Cato looked down then nodded, "all right, I'll come. With Muller to lead the project, I should be able to step away for some time. The magical techniques are already mostly finalized after all. "

"Is there something wrong? You look hesitant," Minmay asked.

"I was just thinking that I didn't want to be spending my second Cel Inci in this world with Landar's family," Cato smiled weakly, "too many horror stories. "

Landar shook her head with an echo of his smile, "now that you've seen the Inath tradition, let me show you what a Tsarian Cel Inci looks like. I just hope my father won't get in your way. "

Cato nodded, "in that case, Minmay, allow me to expand the delegation a little more, I have some friends who I promised to introduced to the Elkas at Fort Yang. "

"I never thought I'd be teaching you," Kalny mused as he looked around the floor of the canning operation.

Willio picked up a seemingly random can from a random worktable and examined it shortly before tossing it into the waste bin. The apprentice assigned to the table winced but said nothing. Kalny retrieved it.

"What's wrong with this one?" he asked, turning it over in his hands.

Willio smiled and picked up a pair of tongs and bent one corner, the corner of the can cracked and broke away. "Defective iron," Willio said, "badly forged. "

Kalny shook his head, "I wish my workmen could find errors just by looking too. "

"So do I," Willio said, "but on to the main topic. Cato presented a purification technique for iron materials recently and we're very interested in procuring it for our use. "

"But why me? If it's about iron, surely you have the best experience," Kalny said.

"To date, the only people who have research experience in crystallization techniques are yours, Kalny," Willio gestured at the failed experiments in the far end. Workers and mages were sweeping through the debris, clearing up the last traces of the dangerous Elemental Water. Leaking containers, burst containers, destroyed stirring paddles, the accidents were endless. Cato's crystal containers didn't not scale up well, Elemental Crystal could not be worked after all. "All the other copycats are just that. Whatever you invent, they follow, they have no idea how to fix problems like what we're facing. "

What makes you think I can?" Kalny asked, face carefully neutral.

"Because you already have," Willio smiled, "we did our research. Oil separation by way of Elemental Water displacement? I would not have believed the expense made it worthwhile but your top grade soap and conditioners are unbelievably smooth for their price. And it seems just about anything new will sell nowadays. "

Kalny laughed and waved a hand, "you got me there. What about me stealing your secrets?"

"It's not like you even have a blast furnace," Willio's smile got wider.

"Ouch," Kalny smiled back bitterly. "My help will be expensive," Kalny said finally.

"Despite past misunderstandings, we believe it best to have a good working relationship," Willio replied, as if already resigning himself to what Kalny was going to gouge him for.

"I will want those new steam engines of yours," Kalny raised two fingers, "two of them. The mana compressor type, not the normal ones. "

Willio winced and sighed theatrically, "so much for keeping that a secret. If you have already found that out, it's probably all over the backdoors of the Minmay guilds. "

"Not many people can get past your security, Master Ironworker," Kalny said, "nor would many try at all. Your secret is probably safe for a while. "

"Our holes might be small, but you leak like a sieve," Willio pointed out, "your own secrets are not the only thing being copied. "

Kalny paused then nodded, "fair point. I suggest you hurry up and sell as much magic as you can then. I won't get in your way, certainly not with only two. I just need a supply for my own factory. "

Willio sighed, "there are problems with the back pressure. The densities of magic we are dealing with have never been seen before and we are facing leaking problems. It doesn't work as well as you think. "

"Yet," Kalny added.

They paused and nodded together. "Not yet. But soon. "

One month later

Ka winged his way over the last rocky rise and felt his breath get swept away in the wind.

Their journey at Cato's blessing had been uneventful. Faster than any land bound trail of carriages, Ka and his daughter and his brother's family had opted to fly all the way to Fort Yang. Mii, his wife, had been forced to stay with the delegation but Cato had assured Ka that Mii would be well-entertained.

Now at the footsteps of the imposing mountains of the Snow Wall, the ancient home of the winged, they were all tired from the weeks long journey of one flight after another. Any scout could have made the trip in half the time but with Kee's two children new to the air, a month was considered good time. Still faster than the land bound but not by much.

The location of Fort Yang and the home range of Clan Two had been given them by Cato, and their servitude to the commander Michi had been lifted by express order, and a hefty bribe, from Minmay, clearly also the work of Cato. Ka could feel his blood debt weighing down around his neck like stones but this did not stop the sight in front of him from wiping away his breath and thoughts.

He glided down to the crest of the ridge and perched there, taking in the view.

The Fort was said to be built in the mountains of the Snow Wall but Ka had not expected it to be actually built inside where the mountain was supposed to be. The thick black scar and smashed mountaintops had not turned out to be some strange tree growth or the infamous black snow.

It was an entire missing section of mountain.

The canyon was abrupt and sharp. On one side, a normal mountainside of rising rocks and light forest of the Elka's preferred hunting grounds. On the other side of the ridge, the black line turned out to be a steep slope cut through the mountain range. Filled with boulders, scraggly trees and other debris from the collapsing mountain walls to the side, the bottom held a large and mighty river. The Great Yang, so named by the landbound, was a formidable hundred wingspans across even this far upstream. Formidable at least to those who could not fly.

As if carved out of the rock by the hand of the wind gods, the canyon was practically made for the Elka. Easily kilometers high, full of handy cliffs, useful trees and tasty prey. The steep slopes were not quite vertical but they extended from the snowcapped tops of the mountain above all the way down to the slow lazy river below, so much area that it was impossible to describe. Below the snowline, the semi-permanent darkness of the canyon hidden from the sun for all but a few hours a day held its own nature, bursting with colourful life in defiance of the grey rocks around them. Already, the denser western side had awoken under the sun's light that was now drifting across the river, driving the sharp shadow of the eastern half of the Snow Wall into the depths of the rocks right below Ka.

And a few hours flight away, a circular depression held a large lake and gentler slopes around the side, like a bowl clasped to either side by mighty stone arms. In it, at the shores of the lake, stood the human fort. A wall across either side of the lake and a small harbour full of tiny boats to patrol it. Stone houses behind the wall and carved into the mountainside. The humans' construction seemed to pale in the face of the mighty nature around them.

There was a flapping behind him as Ri came down to settle on the ridge to see what was up. That Ka went to scout ahead was their arrangement but Ri was young and adventurous and she did not always take to his instructions.

This time, he said nothing as she gasped in wonder and beckoned to his brother's family who also winged down to join them.

They landed behind and folded their wings before joining Ka and Ri at the ridge. Kee's two sons looked a little tired, perhaps unused to using their lift, but this was as good a place to take a rest as any. With a handy cliff nearby, even they would have no trouble taking off again.

"Hey, there's someone approaching," Kee said, pointing upwards into the valley carved through the mountain range.

A pair of wings was flying towards them from the cliff wall on the other side of the fort. From the think lanky build and the speed of the flight, Ka could tell it was a Scout.

With a wing-bending turn, the scout banked sharply and dived towards them in a single swift motion. It was beautiful, a reminder of Clan One's glory days in the air. Ka peeked at his relatives and saw that the skill was lost on all but Kee. Well, his wife Su never had much interest anyway. The skill was nothing compared to Clan One's masters, but the wing over body turn had a practiced look borne of actual use.

The scout landed a few paces away, shrugging his wings into the folded position.

He eyed them all warily for a moment before approaching. "Unfamiliar wings, who are you?" he asked in a high voice.

Oh, he was younger than Ka thought, still in his teens. So young to be so skilled in the air.

Ka explained, "I am Ka, this is my brother Kee and his family. Ri here is my daughter. Only my wife Mii is not here, her wings..." he trailed off, there was no need to explain. "We are from Clan One. Or what's left of it. Please don't take us to be hostile. There are only the six of us here as you see. "

The scout frowned and considered them for a while, "I am Tiki from Clan Two. I will have you come with me to see the elders. "

He turned towards the ridge and before jumping off, Tiki dropped a bombshell none of them expected. "You're not all that's left of Clan One. "

Tiki flew in front of them, leading them up the valley walls on the thermals rising from the sunny side. After gaining enough height, with a casual roll, he dived downwards, gliding effortlessly towards the stone walls on the other side.

Ka stayed behind to make sure all of them could follow the scout. Ri nearly lost her flight when she tried to copy the man but recovered admirably. Kee and his family did not bother to try, instead descending in a slow gliding spiral.

Halfway up the valley walls was an Elka village. A village built in the old style, a lattice work of wooden beams anchored into the cliff upon which shelter had been built and rooms tunneled into the cliff face. Hard to reach and even harder to attack, each house was only accessible by flight, save for the main village hall set with an entrance facing the sheer mountain path leading to the landbound fort below.

Many Elkas sat at the edges of their houses, weaving or cooking out in the open, shouting greetings and noisy rumours to each other over the empty space. While they were approaching, nine hunters, a full flight, came in from the southern low lands where Ka had journey over, slow and burdened with prey. Men and women winged up to meet them, joining the hunters in the air as they shared the load joyously. Not a few couples even started an impromptu aerial dance, to much catcalling and laughter. Ka could see the wind god's prayers in some of the patterns but the rest were unfamiliar. Well, this was Clan Two's home range after all. One young scout and his hunter wife were even quite good.

Ka smiled as he watched his daughter's head swivel round and round until she got dizzy. He and his brother's families received no calls, attracting only wary gazes that softened to something like curiousity as the Elkas saw they were unarmed and led by Tiki.

It was to this main hall that Tiki lead them to now.

They landed on the mountain path, with the sky seemingly filling with feathers as hunters and guards landed around them. Their long spears weren't pointed in any particular direction, which was good.

"I wish to see my father, we have guests," Tiki said to the big man standing in the middle of the wide doorway. Too big to be nimble in the air, but definitely better at fighting on the ground than any of them. A good build for a guard.

"Who are they?" the man asked in a rumbling voice, his equally stout wings vibrating in time.

"I am Ka, from Clan One," Ka said behind Tiki.

"Ka?!"

He winced unconsciously at the voice. Ka thought he would have been glad to hear any familiar voice after all this time, but all the irritation at the woman came back up after just a single word.

"Lo," Ka said, turning around with a sigh.

Just landing on the path behind them was a woman slightly older than him. Her pure white wings were as beautiful as they ever had been. "It's really you!" Lo said, running up and pouncing on Ka's shoulder like an excited Reki pup. Just like he remembered.

"Yes it is, but please don't stick too close, I have a wife now," Ka pushed her off gently.

"Who is this?" Ri asked, tugging on his wingtip and eyeing the woman with a hostile gaze, "what does mama have to do with her?"

Ka caught his brother grinning at him and sighed. "Lo is a cousin. My grandmother's sister's granddaughter," he explained, "if it wasn't for certain accidents in the past, Lo would have been your mother, Ri. "

Ri had a complex look on her face, as if discovering her parents actually had a history for the first time.

"Your daughter?" Lo asked, eyeing Ri with a distinctly predatory look in her eyes. Ri retreated behind her father, still unsure about the new woman. "So cute..." Lo muttered hungrily.

Ka wrapped a wing protectively around Ri, glaring at her, "don't look at my daughter like that. "

"I see you still haven't lost the habit, Lo," Kee said, rapping her sharply over the head, "I wonder if Clan Two really took you in or if you slept your way in. "

The Clan Two Elkas coughed and shuffled, some of them turning a little red. And not all of them men either. Even some couples looked distinctly guilty.

Lo licked her lips mischievously and smiled, "who knows?"

"In the end, I'm glad to see you're all right, Lo," Ka said. She raised an eyebrow incredulously but Ka just smiled gently. It was good to see her after all this time. Good to know that someone else other than his own had survived.

"Ahem. "

A throat clearing from the doorway of the meeting hall drew their attention back. A much older Elka stood there, her greying wings barely in flight condition anymore. From the way the guard and Tiki both suddenly snapped to attention, she was an important person.

"You are Ka from Clan One?" the old woman asked.

Ka nodded, "I am. "

She considered them for a while. "Come in," she said finally, "and Tiki, go call the Ones. "