The Last: Endling #1

They travel for hours, even though Byx can see that the boy is growing tired. Byx thinks she hears someone calling her name but comes to believe it is only her grief. Byx recalls the details of a conversation she once overheard when her parents thought that she and her siblings were asleep. In the conversation, Maia expressed fear that Byx might be the first to die when trouble came, but Byx’s father expressed an even darker fear: the fear that Byx might be the last to live. Byx recalls that her brother, Jax, also overheard their parents’ conversation and took her hand, reassuring her that he would always be there to protect her.

The boy finally stops and carries Byx into a cave before returning to guide his horse, Vallino, inside the cave as well. The boy checks Byx’s wound and then cares for the horse before settling down to feed himself and Byx. Upon hearing the guide speak, Byx finally understands that this “boy” is actually a girl. The guide introduces herself as Kharassande, Khara for short. She explains that she pretends to be a boy so that she can hunt and work with the poachers. Byx decides that although she does not fear Khara, she does not trust her, either.

Tobble sneaks into the cave as Khara sleeps and cuts away Byx’s restraints. They slip away together and decide to travel north through the marsh. The going is hard because of the deep mud, and they find themselves growing weary from the effort. Finally, they come across a stand of trees where they decide to settle in for a nap.

Byx is awakened by the coiling of a massive snake around her body. Tobble tries to help Byx but is taken by a different snake. Khara arrives, taking a moment to ridicule Byx for her situation before she pulls out her rusted, bent sword. The sword turns into a perfectly crafted sword as Khara wields it. Saving the two from their predicament, Khara suggests a breakfast of snake meat.

Khara, Byx, and Tobble return to the cave, and Khara begins a fire to cook the snake meat. Tobble refuses the meat, but Khara goes outside to gather grass, leaves, and a handful of centipedes for him instead. Khara asks how Byx and Tobble met and is amused by Tobble’s insistence that he must save Byx’s life three times. They exchange ages; Byx and Tobble are 10 and 11, respectively, and Khara is 14: old enough to marry. Byx asks where Khara plans to take them. Khara promises to tell the truth, and Byx tells her that all dairnes have the ability to intuitively sense the difference between truths and lies. Tobble asks how this ability works, but Byx has never had any experience with lies because dairnes don’t lie.

Khara tells Byx and Tobble that they will be going to Cora di Schola. It is actually an island city with the official name of Isle of Ursina, but everyone calls it Cora di Schola because it means “heart of scholars,” and it is where the Imperial Academy of Alchemy, Astronomy, Theurgy, and Science is located. Khara knows a scholar there named Ferrucci, whom she believes will be able to help Byx by hiding her somewhere until they can find more dairnes. Khara also admits that Ferrucci might reward her for bringing Byx to him. Khara defends her right to accept such a reward, claiming that she needs to provide for her family. Byx suggests that Khara sell her sword instead, but Khara explains that the sword has been in her family for generations and she is willing protect it with her life. As Byx continues to resist the idea of going to Cora di Schola, Khara explains that her own family depends on her to get them through hard times.

Byx asks Khara what Ferrucci will do with Tobble, and she says no one has much use for wobbyks because they are considered mezzitti. There are three levels of species classification. The first category includes the six governing species: humans, raptidons, felivets, terramants, natites, and dairnes. The second category is called mezzitti; they are creatures who are unable to perform one of the following: make tools, learn and pass along learning, or practice theurgy (magic). The third category is called inferritti and includes animals such as chimps, whales, and crows. Byx agrees to go to Cora di Schola with Khara, but she also decides that she has the length of the trip to figure out an alternative plan.

Byx struggles to sleep and notices that Khara seems preoccupied as well. Tobble asks Byx if she is scared and reminds her that she was brave to leap off the cliff. Tobble tells Byx where he’s from and explains that because he has over 100 siblings, his parents probably don’t miss him. Tobble then tells Byx about a ceremony called a stibillary, which is performed when a young wobbyk proves himself to be brave. It signifies that the wobbyk has grown up, and it includes the braiding of the wobbyk’s three tails. Tobble worries that he will never have a stibillary because he is not brave.

Tobble gives Byx a handful of items that he took from the area around the mirabear hive. He gives Byx a broken seashell, a toy made of reeds, a small rock with words carved into it, and a crumpled leaf with a map drawn on it. Byx recognizes the map as one she drew herself based on an old poem her teacher taught her about the First Colony. Byx cries, regretting that she wasn’t at the mirabear hive with her family when they were attacked. Tobble assures Byx that he will be her family now.

Tobble, Khara, and Byx go to a stream to fill their waterskins before heading out. When they return to the cave, they discover a thief attempting to steal Khara’s horse, Vallino. Khara instructs Byx and Tobble to hide while she confronts the boy, but when Khara is knocked over by a dog, they rush to her rescue with Byx on all fours, pretending to be a dog. The thief comes out and admits to attempting to take the horse; he claims that he thought the owner might have fallen off a cliff. He introduces himself as Renzo and the dog as Dog. Renzo attempts to invite himself to breakfast, but Khara declines. He offers to buy Khara’s sword, but she again declines. Finally, Renzo asks to buy Byx, but Khara refuses.

Khara, Tobble, and Byx head north, deciding to avoid the marsh even though it will be a longer trek. They stop at a stream to catch fish for lunch, but Byx is unhappy with her catch because she believes that her siblings would have done much better. Late in the day, they camp under the stars. Khara says that they are coming close to populated cities. Byx tries to ask Khara about herself, but she refuses to answer.

They travel several more days, and as they approach a more heavily traveled road, Khara disguises herself once again as a boy. Khara instructs Byx to walk on all fours to disguise herself as a dog. Byx is unhappy with this arrangement because being called a dog was once an insult to dairnes, but she agrees for her own safety.

Byx garners some attention on the road, so Khara covers her in mud to mask her soft fur. They witness a man practicing theurgy, and Tobble wonders if they can use theurgy to help Byx, but Khara says that it is rare to find someone who can wield theurgy competently. As they get closer to the ocean, Tobble tells Byx about natites, one of the six governing species who rule the water. He describes them as creatures that vary in size from that of a human to that of a whale. He says they are green and slimy and can sometimes be dangerous. Khara sings a song that describes a time when members of each of the six governing species met at Urman’s yew and planned the world. She says the song is based on a myth that all the world’s species gathered under a yew tree; as the rest of the world flooded, they discussed how to organize the world once the floods receded. It was decided that each species would have its own domain and rights.

Khara explains that because natites are water-breathers, they were given dominion over all water that runs into the sea. Felivets, the great cats, rule the northern forests; they are also allowed to hunt in other forests but have no power in them. The terramants, which are insect-like creatures that can be as large as horses, rule the deep mines and underground rivers and lakes. The raptidons, which are massive birds, rule the sky and the upper reaches of the trees and mountains. Khara states that humans were given the rest of the world, and dairnes were allowed to travel freely. However, the dairnes’ gift of separating truth from lies makes them both valuable and dangerous to humans. Byx remembers some of the warnings her teacher taught her about interactions with humans and begins to wonder if she should leave Khara and Tobble in order to search for other dairnes in the north. Several days later, Byx, Khara, and Tobble arrive in a port city called Velt. The area is crowded with boats. Khara attempts to gain passage on the ferry traveling to Cora di Schola, but she is refused because she does not have a natite pass. The man tells her she must talk to the natites to get permission to cross the water. Khara argues but gets nowhere. The three are taken to a nearby warehouse where a couple of humans use pulleys to pull a steel cage from the water. Inside is a natite.

Khara explains her issue to the natite, and it demands a blood tax. Khara approaches the creature, and it bites her wrist, drawing blood. Khara explains that this is how the natites identify humans whenever they enter the sea. They all return to the ferry and board, finding an open spot on the main deck. As they approach Cora di Schola, Khara points out a large tower in the center that she calls the Pillar of Truth, which is divided into sections for each of the six governing species. As they wait for the ferry to dock, Byx debates her options, trying to decide if she should attempt to escape and leave Tobble behind or continue on with Khara. In the end, she doesn’t have a plan and feels as though it doesn’t matter.