Chapter 2

Gradually, Jisung adjusted to his new life.

In the mornings, together with Hyunjin, Changbin, and Seungmo, they followed a familiar routine of meditation, then had breakfast and went to their lessons with Jaekwan. He was a fairly powerful mage and, no less importantly, a wonderful teacher. Han absorbed new knowledge like a sponge. He had always loved learning about magic and history, and when it all happened in such a pleasant environment, one could easily stay here forever. Thoughts like that began to surface more and more often, but Jisung tried to drive them away.

In the evenings, they would habitually sit by the fire with the locals, sing songs, eat fish and venison, dance ritual dances to the sounds of the jaw harp and drum.

And yet, there were downsides. Jisung missed his library, and the books he had brought with him were already almost all read. But most importantly, Han was a fire mage. Very few people knew this, since nearly all elements and magical energies obeyed him. A lack of his “mother” element could lead to rather grim consequences, up to and including serious illness. Jisung pondered what he should do and where he might replenish his strength—the heat of the cauldron was not enough to fully restore his reserves.

As usual, after dinner he went straight to his yurt and sat down over his journals, which already contained more than a thousand different spells. The mage tried to find at least something even remotely suitable for himself, but it was all in vain.

While he was absorbed in examining his work, a snow leopard quietly slipped inside.

Han only noticed it when his hand involuntarily began stroking the soft fur.

Jisung set his journal aside and stared at the wonder of nature beside him.

The irbis stared back at the mage in return.

“Suni, and just what kind of aurora are you doing here?” the irritated owner stepped into the yurt, stomping his fur-lined boots at the entrance for added severity.

The anger was, of course, feigned. After a couple of months in the northern lands, Han had begun to understand little by little what kind of person Lino was.

He had unconsciously learned some of his habits. For example: Lino talked to spirits in the mornings, and while cooking he hummed children’s lullabies. He rarely laughed, but often snorted at things he found amusing. He loved fish and periodically went fishing with his people, returning afterward with such a wide smile that even Felix would envy it. He loved control and hated being kept in the dark. Once, Jisung had gone hunting on his own without warning him, and afterward Lino had scolded him so harshly that all of Christopher’s previous complaints and remarks seemed like kindergarten in comparison.

“Your Lino is a strange one,” Han thought as he fell asleep after another exhausting day, a smile on his face.

“So, how many of them do you have, anyway?” Jisung gently scratched the animal behind the ear, and it flattened blissfully across the pillows.

The lord of the northern lands was silent for a moment, lips pressed together, and then finally decided to answer.

“Suni, Duni, Dori. Two snow leopards and one Arctic fox.”

“Sounds fun for you.”

“Yeah. There’s no time to get bored.”

Han shifted his attention from Lino’s expressive face back to Suni and completely missed the moment when the corners of his companion’s lips treacherously tugged upward.

A few days later, the familiar figure in a white fur coat appeared in the yurt again, with two snow leopards at his sides and an Arctic fox sleeping quietly around his neck.