Land Leveling
I opened my eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling stared back at me. Not the rickety wooden roof of the bouncing wagon, but the taut fabric of a tent. It took a moment to register.
"Ah."
It meant the migration was finally over. Thanks to that, we could pitch tents instead of sleeping in the wagon. After bunking in that cramped space for so long, who knew how many days it'd been since I'd stretched out properly? With all the kids crammed in there, we'd always been tangled up like sardines.
"Zzz… Zzz…"
Even though the tent was way bigger than the wagon, the little ones were still clustered together in a pile, fast asleep. Come to think of it, they'd always slept like that even before the wagons. Maybe the wagon felt more familiar and comfy to them.
From outside came low voices and the crackle of a fire being stoked. Morning prep, I figured. I pushed aside the tent flap and stepped out. Cold air brushed my face. The autumn plateau was definitely chillier than the plains.
I stretched and wandered the plateau.
"...Not a thing in sight."
A thick fog blanketed everything below the plateau. The endless plains and grasslands that had been crystal clear just yesterday were now swallowed by the mist, like they'd been erased from the world. It was so dense it looked like clouds hugging the mountainside. A pristine white blanket draped over the highland morning. Kalend Plateau's dense fog.
The whole plateau felt like an island floating in a sea of white. I felt like some immortal from a wuxia novel... Got all hyped up and started swinging my arms around.
"The mysteries of Tai Chi~ This lord is the Heavenly Demon~."
"In that case, this lady is the Archdruid~"
"Whoaaaack!"
I yelped at the voice behind me. Rippling Earth Serian, the Deer Elder, was standing right there. Since when? How much had she seen?
"What're you doing all by yourself?"
"Don't watch…."
"Pretty amazing view, huh?"
Serian gazed down at the fog as she spoke. It really was stunning.
"Feels real now, right?"
"Huh?"
"That this is our new home."
"...."
I was at a loss for words. Home. The word still felt foreign.
"…A little?"
Life wandering the plains had become so routine that settling in unfamiliar land didn't quite click yet. Guess after a year, I'd become a full-on immigrant.
Serian chuckled lightly.
"That's plenty. We'll take our time getting attached."
Time has a way of doing that. You hate it at first, but eventually it grows on you. Just like how I'd ended up fond of these barbarians after the past year.
A shout echoed from afar.
"Everyone up, you lazybones! Breakfast's getting cold!"
Frost Fang barging into tents to rouse the kids.
"C'mon, let's go. Things are gonna get busy starting today."
An island above the fog. And on it, the beastkin tribe's new day was beginning.
.
.
.
The thick fog vanished in a flash once the sun rose. Clear skies. Gentle breeze. Fields sparkling in the sunlight. Perfect picnic weather—and the tribe was out logging.
"It's tiiiilting!"
We weren't nomads anymore; we were settlers now. Couldn't live in flimsy tents forever. So we were chopping trees for lumber to build houses.
Me and the kids were too young to fell big trees or haul them, so we scoured for stones to use as materials.
"This spot's good. Lots of usable ones. Kids, gather 'round."
I rounded up the ones who'd come with me—siblings just a year or two younger. No tinier ones; they might get hurt carrying rocks.
"Pick stones like this shape. Flat and sturdy."
"Got it, big sis."
"Most stones wins! Go!"
"Hey, Peak! No running—you'll get hurt!"
The kids competed and filled their baskets in no time. Winner of the stone hunt: little beastkin Luca, thanks to his sharp eyes spotting the best ones.
"Heave-ho!"
"Whoa, she's lifting that."
"Ursa sis is super strong."
The basket brimmed with stones—heavy for the kids, but just right for me.
"Lemme take some, sis."
"Thanks, Sonya. Feels better now."
Sonya pulled out a big rock. The others followed suit, lightening the load by half. Heartwarming sibling teamwork—
"Huh. Now the basket's half empty? Guess we can grab more."
"Eh?"
"Alright, kids—put those back, grab one more each!"
"...."
So we refilled the basket and trudged back, each kid holding an extra stone. Sorry. Efficiency first.
.
.
.
Back at the settlement, logs towered like mountains. I approached the tribe folks resting and sweating buckets by the pile.
"You guys are beasts. When'd you move all this?"
"Oh, Ursa. We just chopped. Bear Elder handled the hauling."
Shrinking steps, huh. Total cheat ability.
"Insane. Elders aren't just anyone, huh."
"No kidding. Even our warriors are nuts, but elders? Forget it."
"Sometimes I wonder if they're even the same species."
Conversation flowing, everyone started bragging about their warriors and elders.
"Ah! Good work, everyone. Nice pile."
Serian arrived, eyeing the logs up close and calculating something.
"Hmm. This'll do… Perfect! Time to start."
She gripped her staff.
"Haven't seen this in ages. Our elder's earth magic."
"Couldn't use it on the plains."
Deer beastkin watched with arms crossed. I sidled up too.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Ursa, you've only been on the plains, so you don't know our elder's skills."
"Mm. Seen grass binding…."
"Jeez. You'll get it when you're older—how insane plant magic is on the plains."
Hmm… Is it, though?
Most deer beastkin are druids. And Rippling Earth Serian, the Deer Elder, was the tribe's one and only archdruid. All deer revered her.
The air around Serian grew still. Tension thickened. Energy gathered at her staff—not the green qi from grass binding, but deep earthen tones.
Awe spread across the watching deer faces. One murmured,
"Watch close. That's the pinnacle."
She gathered all the qi and slammed her staff into the ground. Unleashing it all.
"Narashi"
–Rumble rumble….
The earth shook. Embedded stones crumbled to dust, grown grass uprooted. Vibration spread from the staff, rippling the ground until it smoothed flat.
Earth Magic—Narashi. A druid technique for basic leveling, but an archdruid like her could flatten thousands of pyeong in seconds. Rippling Earth Serian, Deer Elder of the beastkin tribe, was a construction site specialist.
"O… my…."
The bumpy plateau turned to perfect flatland in a blink. I couldn't shut my jaw.
Serian grinned at me.
"So, Ursa? Got a spark of interest in druidism now?"
"...Yeah, sis."
* * *
I walked and jumped on the leveled ground. What was soft soil moments ago now felt like hard-packed stone.
"Alright, land's prepped—time to work. Deer folk, form crews and move out."
The deer's role: construction and crafting. From our wagons to the iron pots for cooking, deer beastkin made it all.
Deer beastkin sprang into action, grouping people, grabbing logs, and starting tasks. Others followed their lead.
"Figures it'd get noisy. Rippling Earth's doing earth magic."
"Bear Elder."
He appeared without a sound, as usual. I knew it was shrinking steps now—no more jumpscares.
"Where've you been?"
"On recon."
Serian joined us, face unflushed despite the massive spell.
"Back already? Find anything?"
"Border March's bandit dens."
"Nice. When do we hit 'em?"
"No need for us to go."
"Why?"
"Spotted their bosses chatting when I found them. Looks like they saw us already."
Probably when we climbed the mountain. Eyeing our wagons for loot? We were a tempting target. They didn't attack then 'cause of our numbers? Maybe banding together now.
"They're all coming for us. Gonna capture us for slaves."
"Gasp!"
No slaves? These primitives…!
Outraged by "slaves," I fumed—unlike Serian, who cackled.
"Hahaha. Perfect. No hunting them down one by one—we sweep 'em all at once."
"Yeah. One less worry. Good timing."
Elders treated incoming bandits like mild good news. No tension at all. Made me feel like the weirdo for getting a bit spooked. Shouldn't we be at least a little on edge?
"Capture 'em and enslave them ourselves?"
"Nah, useless. Just wipe 'em out."
"Cool. Handle it—I'm off to my stuff."
"Got it."
Bandit talk over. Like chatting about tomorrow's rain. Probably end that way too.
…Kinda feel bad for the bandits now.