You walk with the prince and you take the time to look him over as he moves, every little thing that he does catches your eye and you can not help but watch him. He turns to look at you, his black and purple dreadlocks falling in his eyes. He signs at you with a smirk 'Looking upon something pleasing to the eye Young Blood?'

You quickly look away from him and sign back 'Forgive my roving stare'

He shakes his head and stops walking, looking at you closely, 'It is no trouble, truly. I do not fault your eyes for gazing upon me if you so wish to do as much. I find it rather flattering that you are looking at me so intensely'

You perk up at that and grin at him widely he merely nods back and keeps walking on in silence. 

‘My prince,’ you begin, signing at him as he moves to glance back at you with curiosity in his gaze. ‘I hope I'm not a burden to you on this journey. I know it's a dangerous task we're undertaking.’

The crown prince turns to look at you, his expression softening. he signs in the air at you, his stitched lips quirking into a smile. 'Of course you're not a burden.'

He places a hand on your shoulder, his touch warm and reassuring. He signs against your flesh. 'And no, it's not just any journey. It's a rite of passage, one that will test our mettle and form a bond between us. Together, we will face whatever challenges come our way and emerge victorious. Anok is far from here and we must collect our riding wolves, our Hashi, quickly'

You nod, feeling your heart swell with pride and gratitude. "Thank you, my prince. I am honored to have you by my side." Tonight as the moon rises in the sky, you will start on your journey towards the Sacred Lands, ready to face the trials ahead and forge a bond that will last a lifetime.

The Crown Prince whistles for his Hashi, his dire wolf with a deep purple coat with lime green swirls that protects it from the life destroying rays of the sun. He then walks with you and it to the stables where other Hashi reside. He signs at you 'You may pick one, as a new brother you will be allowed to keep it of course, choose wisely'

You look in the stables and your eyes land on a deep lime green Hashi with candy red swirls as it's beautiful fur pattern, you quickly point at it.

The crown prince nods in understanding, his face a mask of stoicism. He signals for the stablemaster to bring the chosen Hashi out of its stall. The stablemaster, an elderly Humania slave with weathered skin and a deep respect for the prince, quickly obliges.

As the stablemaster leads the lime green and red-swirled Hashi out of its stall, you can't help but feel a sense of awe wash over you. The creature is immense, towering over you with its sharp teeth and piercing purple eyes.

The stablemaster hands you the reins, and you take them gratefully, running your fingers through the soft fur on its neck. You look up at the crown prince, who nods approvingly.

 'It's a fine choice,' he signs, his voice is heard for the first time, inside your mind, in a deep, low rumble that seems to vibrate through your bones.

You nod, feeling a sense of pride and excitement wash over you. You gently pat the Hashi on its neck, and it lets out a soft whine, nudging its head against your hand affectionately. You mount the powerful creature, feeling its muscles ripple beneath you as it readies itself for the journey ahead.

The crown prince mounts his own Hashi, a deep purple creature with lime green swirls that match his eyes. He signs to you, 'Now, let us begin our journey to the Sacred Lands, we must gather supplies at the pass before the lands begin.'

You nod, your heart pounding with excitement as you feel the power of your chosen Hashi beneath you. Together, you and the crown prince lead the way out of the stables, the other Hashi following close behind. The night air is cool against your skin, but you feel invigorated and alive as you ride through the palace grounds.

The palace is surrounded by a high wall that opens up into two gates that are guarded by several sentries. You look around as the two of you ride along the wall, the prince heads to the courtyard and gets off his Hashi for a moment to walk back inside the palace after signaling for you to wait.

The Crown Prince looks you over for a moment as he pauses and gets off his Hashi, 'I must go get something first, please wait right here' he signs this as he looks at you for a moment until you nod at him. Once that is done he leaves you to go into the palace.

Meanwhile

Talos, Meshnet and Seshnum were busying themselves cleaning up the throne room when the crown prince walked inside. 'All three of you will be my and the new brother's attendants on our long task I will hear no objections or I shall throw you all to the Crokirum'

The servants nod at him quickly "Coming my lord! We would never disobey your will or command!" Meshnet says this as he hurries over to the prince.

"Of course my crown prince, oh future morning and evening star, one day you shalt stand as Pharaoh above all our unworthy heads" Talos felt the need to go the extra mile with his praise which made the prince simple stare at him.

Seshnum bowed and scampered over with a happy smile.

The Crown Prince returns to you with the three in tow and goes to get their Hashi after whispering to them for a brief period of time. You watch they three excitedly point at the ones they want before they are given the reigns and are riding their chosen beasts over to you.

'I have gifted you three your Hashi instead of the Hiplu, the rabbits, you ride normally because this trek will be long, hard and dangerous and I do not have time for stragglers, if you are wounded and cannot continue, you will be left behind, do I make myself as clear as possible?' The Prince signed this and the three nodded at him quickly.

“My Prince will we be traveling long?” Meshnet asked this as he looked between the two of you. The prince nodded at him and he raised his hand quickly “Then allow me to get the others and go back into the palace to gather a bit more supplies for our journey if you would allow my Prince! I only ask because if the trek is that long we must be properly prepared for it and have extra sun cloaks in case something happens to the ones we are already wearing”

The Prince waved him away and Meshnet walked away from his Hashi to run back into the palace to get more sun cloaks. Once he got the sun cloaks he grabbed more food to be magically stored into packs that he carried in a bag at his side and more supplies that would help the trip to Anok. Anok was a very dangerous place and the Prince had his sword at his side, Meshnet got cleaning supplies for the sword and a sword for you as well. He exited the palace and hurried down the stairs to hand over the supplies to be split and carried among the servants and he gave you your sword with a smile. 

You smiled back at him then turned to look at the Prince who was looking over all four of you with a watchful gaze before he nodded at the horizon ahead and urged his Hashi forward. You four follow in silence as the cool night air blows a breeze through your hair. Tonight is a good night to travel you think to yourself as you and the others watch the landscape around you fade away into the distance. 

“So, what’s your name Young Blood?” Meshnet who you can smell is a Basa like yourself asks you this as he rides up alongside you.

“My name is Kekara, and you are?” You ask as he smiles at you and you grin back at him.

“My name is Meshnet, it’t nice to meet you, the palace is buzzing about you you know” he replies as he pets his Hashi’s fur.

“Oh is it now? I can imagine, has it been long since the last Young Blood?” You ask while you move to slide a hand through your own hair. 

“Yes it has been, far too long since we last had a Young Blood among us” Meshnet fell quiet as you drew closer to the Prince who held his hand up to silence you all.