Thunder Bird
Halfway across the highlands, after we had been racing for some time, a worrisome thought struck me.
It was about Hairan’s feed.
I had bought a mountain of meat when we left the city, enough to keep him fed for a while—but given how much he moved and how enormous he was, those stores would not last long.
He refused grass, so I would have to keep hunting down meat for him alone…
Whether he sensed my fretting or not, Hairan simply galloped on in high spirits.
He ran and ran. By my reckoning more than four hours had passed, yet he showed no sign of tiring, holding the same steady pace the entire time.
His massive body still radiated a mild warmth, and his breathing never grew labored.
In other words, he was not pouring out his full speed; he was conserving his strength.
As the sun began to slip from the sky, the world slowly dyed itself in the colors of dusk.
Hairan kept running. Every time those powerful legs struck the earth, sunset-colored sand shattered and sprayed in every direction.
He finally came to a halt only when darkness had swallowed the heavens.
It was not because his stamina had given out. I had simply decided it was time to rest, and he stopped for me.
Without the slightest resistance he followed my intent and headed toward a massive boulder.
Beside the rock stood a single withered tree, twisted and dry—perfect for building a campsite.
I slid down from Hairan’s back.
Prrrrh—
“Want some water?”
I did not forget to look after him.
From my bag I pulled a broad bowl and filled it to the brim.
The long run must have left him parched; Hairan drained it in a single gulp.
True to his enormous size, the amount he drank was staggering. He emptied the big bowl three more times.
Building a fire was no trouble at all.
I chopped down the desiccated tree and kindled a flame with mana.
With the crackling blaze before me and the great boulder as a windbreak, I made our camp.
On the ground I spread a thick blanket—sometimes the very one I pulled over myself when I slept.
Sitting atop it, I took out a slim book and began preparing Hairan’s dinner.
Prrrrh—!
The scent of meat had him excited.
Hairan flattened himself against the ground and snorted hard.
“That hungry, are you?”
—Neighhh!
The meat I had bought for him was some kind of smoked mystery cut.
I unwrapped the enormous paper-wrapped slab from my bag, sliced off a portion for myself, and shoved the rest toward him.
He stretched out that long neck, reached with only his muzzle, and tore into the meat with abandon.
Crunch— crunch— crunch—!
Could I really still call this creature a horse? The teeth that flashed now and then looked as sharp as a predator’s fangs.
Hairan polished off a chunk the size of my thigh in moments.
Then he flopped onto his side beside the fire.
He looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
I sat on the blanket and opened the thin book.
It was titled The Legend of the Thunder Bird.
The Thunder Bird is a myth passed down among the people of the Hairan Highlands—a bird said to appear with lightning when the blue sky is swallowed by storm clouds.
Of course the bird does not truly exist, and the tales collected in this book are nothing more than the stories of the highland folk. Pure fiction.
So let us begin, in the hope that no foolish adventurer will chase after empty dreams.
Though it rides upon ominous clouds and lightning, the Thunder Bird is depicted as a benevolent being.
Now and then the great bird reveals its vast form between the storm clouds, and legend claims that anyone who witnesses it will meet the one destined for them.
Perhaps that is why, on days when dark clouds gather over Hairan, you will see many townsfolk racing outside the city walls, rain soaking them through, all hoping for a glimpse.
Prrrrh—!
I had been absorbed in the rather fascinating tale when Hairan began nudging me with his huge muzzle.
Apparently my quiet reading had left him bored.
I sighed and stroked his head.
“What is it?”
Prrrrh—
What was he trying to say?
Hairan blinked those great eyes, then turned his head away.
Watching him, I suddenly realized I had never given him a name.
“Hmm…”
There were countless names one could give a horse—names of mythical steeds that existed only in imagination, names of real racehorses from the modern world.
Yet picking one that suited this particular creature was no easy task.
“Sleipnir?”
Hairan merely flicked an ear at the call and showed no further reaction.
Apparently not to his liking.
“Torrent?”
Same result.
I sighed and clutched my head.
“Rational Selection? Gemini? Zelda?”
This time he clearly hated them; he lashed his tail hard enough to send sand swirling into the air.
“Then how about Rice Shower…?”
Prrrrh—!
What a picky beast.
I exhaled and tossed out a name that simply felt right.
“Nightmare.”
In that instant Hairan’s tail shot skyward.
Unlike before, it swayed gently back and forth—he liked this one.
“Do you even know what that name means?”
Of course he didn’t. Hairan—no, Nightmare—just rolled on the dirt, tail swishing happily.
I lay back and gazed up at the sky.
Sleep was creeping in.
Pulling my sword close, I murmured,
“I’m going to sleep. If any monsters come near, wake me.”
Did he understand?
Nightmare turned a carefree face toward the fire and blew soft snorts at the flames.
Puff— puff— The hot tongues of fire danced wildly in the wind he made.
Thud… thud-thud… thud-thud-thud…
A faint sound reached me through half-sleep.
In the next moment something hot swept across my face.
“Hah…!”
I jerked awake to find Nightmare’s crimson eyes staring down at me.
Still too dazed to grasp the situation, I simply stared up at him. He stuck out his long tongue and licked my face again.
“Ugh…”
The hot, sticky feel of that tongue was far from pleasant.
When I sat up in disgust, Nightmare snorted roughly.
Prrruh—!
“What’s wrong?”
He answered with action.
Stamping a forehoof, he fixed his gaze on one particular direction—exactly as if an enemy stood there.
Hand on my sword, I peered the same way.
My unfocused eyes gradually sharpened, and I spotted a group racing across the wasteland toward us.
Riders on horseback, charging through the dark.
Pale moonlight flashed off metal; they looked like armored knights.
“What the…”
An ominous premonition seized me, and the horse-market merchant’s words rose unbidden in my mind.
Greed clouds a man’s eyes—especially when the prize is a young girl like you…
I scrambled to pack our things.
Nightmare, as if already sensing what was coming, breathed harder and harder.
His massive muscles rippled; his stiff black mane stood on end.
The moment I finished packing, he lowered his back for me with perfect timing.
I vaulted up and settled into place.
“Run!”
The instant the word left my mouth, Nightmare became the wind itself.
My heart hammered at the unexpected chase.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
Every time Nightmare’s legs struck the earth, a rough tremor rolled outward.
I never doubted he could shake them off with ease.
After all, he was a pureblood Hairan.
Yet no matter how fiercely Nightmare ran, the distance to our pursuers refused to grow.
Through the rising haze of dust I could see their horses hard on our heels.
They were nearly as massive as Nightmare, muscles swollen to the point of bursting.
And their eyes—bloodshot, veins standing out, white foam flecking their mouths.
Third- or fourth-generation Hairan stock, but nothing about them looked normal.
Nightmare poured on full speed. Heat rose from his body; scorching breath blasted from his nostrils.
Still the gap kept closing.
I glanced back and began to move my mana.
Kiiing—!
The sound of a circle spinning—audible only to me—spread through my entire body.
Pure white stars bloomed around me.
Concentrated pure mana.
A basic offensive spell that delivered simple physical force.
Ten Magic Missiles hung in the air.
I loosed all ten starlights behind us.
Babababak—!
“Aaaagh!”
“Guh!”
The white stars knocked several soldiers from their saddles.
But only a handful of the lesser men. The knight leading the charge simply swept his sword and batted every Magic Missile aside.
I frowned. The knight shouted something at me, but the wind of our speed tore the words away.
To shake him I would need stronger magic.
Kiiing—!
The moment I resolved it, my Mana Circle spun—
Kuuuurrrung—!
A vast rumble rolled in from far away, and storm clouds began to pour across the star-and-moonlit sky.
Their advance was unnaturally swift; in the blink of an eye Nightmare and I were racing through black cloud.
Thud— thud— thud—!
The sounds of our pursuers vanished. Even the wind fell silent.
All I could hear was the powerful beat of Nightmare’s hooves and his ragged breathing.
Then, in perfect time with those hooves, a colossal light flared.
“Ah…”
My mouth fell open.
Revealed in that light was an enormous bird, and with soundless wingbeats it was weaving blue lightning.
Kwaaaarrrung—!
The delayed thunderclap shook my eardrums.
I squeezed my eyes shut and clung tight to Nightmare’s neck.
Kwaaarung—!
Lightning struck again and again.
Even through clenched lids the brilliance flashed, and a tingling current raced through my whole body.
How long we ran like that I could not say.
Suddenly I realized the wind had returned.
Thud— thud— thud—!
I blinked and looked around.
The storm clouds that had blanketed everything were gone without a trace, and so were the pursuers who had been hunting us.
Light had returned to sky and earth. Nightmare raced on between stars and moonlight.
“Thunder Bird…”
I murmured blankly, remembering the storybook tucked inside my bag.