This horsemans.h.i.+p training had quickly become Casey's favorite time of the day. He had always loved riding the horses his aunt raised and spent most of his summers on her ranch. Of course there were quite a few differences between leisurely rides on his aunt's ranch and rider training in a medieval world. After all, it's not like he'd ever worn a sword while riding on the ranch.

Entering the stables Casey approached the stall of the horse that he had been riding, Mika. She was a stout horse with broad shoulders and a muscular neck. Casey recalled that the official name for her coloring was a blue roan, a dark coat that gave off a blueish cast. Though her nose was mostly white she had some dark grey coloring on the sides. Her mane and tail shone with a black sheen.

Noticing his approach, the mare nickered softly and when he came in range nuzzled him with her nose. Casey let out a small chuckle and couldn't help thinking back to when he first met this horse.

It had been the second day after his training started. Sir Kalloc brought him to the pasture where the horses that did not have riders grazed.

"I don't know how much you know about a Rider's horse so I'll just give you the brief summary" Sir Kalloc said as he leaned against the wooden gate before the pasture. "Due to the nature of our missions, we often spend weeks or even months traveling alone with only our horses as company. With that in mind, the earliest Riders began breeding horses to have very high endurance and to be incredibly intelligent.

"Instead of merely being tools for transport or battle, a Rider's horse is more of a trusted companion. The Rider protects the horse and the horse carries the Rider. With this dynamic in mind, and the already high intelligence of our horses, they tend to be very loyal and will rarely abandon their rider as some less hardy horses would."

Sir Kalloc then unlatched the gate and beckoned Casey to follow. They entered the pasture and began to approach the herd. "Perhaps it's due to their high loyalty, but these horses will not let just anyone ride them. If they don't approve of you, they won't even allow you to approach them."

"Then how am I supposed to get close to them?"

"Just give them some distance and wait. If one of them likes you, they'll come to you." With that, Sir Kalloc began walking back towards the stables.

"Wait that's it?! Don't I get an apple or something?"

"Nope, you're all on your own. Oh and don't worry about the rest of your cla.s.ses today, I already talked to the instructors so stay as long as you need. Good luck!"

And just like that, he was gone and Casey was left in a pasture alone with a herd of horses. Said horses paid him absolutely no mind and just went about their business of grazing as if he was never there.

Time slowly dragged on and Casey began to wonder about his own existence, after all the horses certainly didn't see him as existing. Every now and then the herd would relocate and Casey would have to follow them across the pasture.

After the fourth migration, the sun had begun to dip below the distant mountains. Casey made the decision that if nothing happened by the time the sun disappeared, he would call it and return the next day.

The sun finally sank behind the mountains and Casey got up to make the long trip back to the palace. He barely made it a few steps when he heard a sound rapidly approaching from behind him.

Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop

Casey spun around to find himself faced with a large white nose. Above the nose were two chocolate-brown eyes and two dark grey ears.

With a yelp Casey fell back on his b.u.t.t. The horse extended its head down level with his own. It inhaled deeply and then gave a loud snort. Hitting Casey in the face with its snot.

"What was that for?!" Slightly annoyed, Casey wiped the snot off his face with his arm.

The horse merely whinnied and nudged him with its nose before prancing around Casey in a circle.

"Why do I feel like you're laughing at me?"

The horse tossed its head back and shook its mane, seeming to understand exactly what he was saying.

"Alright well I'm hungry so I will be leaving now... Bye." Choosing to ignore the horse's antics, Casey started towards the gate. Once again he only made it a few steps before realizing that he was being followed.

He turned around and glared at the horse who turned its head to look behind it as if to see if he was glaring at something else. "What? Are you going to follow me all the way back to the palace or something?"

In answer, the horse stomped its front hoof proudly.

"Haha! I see you have met Mika!" A familiar shout broke the staring contest between the horse and the man.

At some point, Sir Kalloc had returned to the pasture and was leaning against a fence post. "I certainly didn't expect to see her choose anyone, anytime soon."

"Wait hold up, you mean that this is the horse I'll be riding?!" Casey exclaimed.

"Of course she is, can't you tell? She's taken quite a liking to you."

"And just how should I be able to tell that?"

"She hasn't chased you out of her pasture yet."

"Why do you make it seem like that is the common occurrence?"

"Because she's already chased out everyone else who've come here. Some of them didn't make it out without a few new bruises."

Taking a few wary steps away from Mika, Casey shouted at him "Oi! You brought me here without even so much as a warning?"

Letting out a laugh Sir Kalloc asked "Where's the fun in that?" He then gestured towards the horse "Besides it seems everything worked out fine in the end."

During their conversation, Mika once again trotted up to Casey and nuzzled his arm.

Casey finally gave in with a sigh and began scratching her nose. "Ah fine. I guess this isn't too bad"

Sir Kalloc smiled and pulled an apple out of the satchel at his side. "Here give her this." He said and tossed the apple to Casey.

Casey caught it and held it out to Mika. Without any reservations she s.n.a.t.c.hed up the apple making it vanish in less than a second. Casey chuckled and went back to rubbing her nose.

"Alright well come on then, we should find her a new stall with the other rider horses. We'll go over more advanced maintenance tomorrow so after we get her situated for the night you can head back to the palace and get something to eat."

After that they found her an empty stall and in the next few days he learned more about proper maintenance such as brus.h.i.+ng and cleaning the riding equipment. From his experience on the ranch there wasn't much new for him to learn. Though he did find that the saddle the riders used were somewhat different from what he was used to. The saddles he grew up with had deeper seats but were somewhat heavier. These were shallower but much lighter and easier on the horse.

Interrupted from his memories by a snort from Mika, Casey smiled and went about getting her ready to ride. Starting with brus.h.i.+ng her coat thoroughly, which she always seems to enjoy. Then he placed a blanket on her back to prevent the saddle from rubbing. Finally he readied the saddle and the bit along with the reins.

Leading her out of the stable he met up with the other recruits. Thomas greeted him but refused to go anywhere near Mika. He started rubbing a spot on his back. Apparently he was one of the people who had experienced her wrath in the form of a well placed kick.

Mika seemed to notice his behavior and whinnied while shaking her head. Casey had come to the decision that this was her way of laughing. A very human-like action.

"Alright now that everyone is here we can get started." Sir Kalloc entered the courtyard leading his own horse, a bay horse slightly larger than Mika. "Today will be trail riding in the forest outside of the city. We will be riding at a fast pace in order to get you accustomed to staying in the saddle regardless of the terrain."

Hearing that they would be leaving the city, Casey struggled to conceal his excitement. It would be the first time he left the city walls. Despite his attempts at hiding his joy, Mika seemed to see right through it and nuzzled his back with her nose.

"Mount up, we're leaving now!" Sir Kalloc shouted before mounting his horse and riding out of the courtyard.

The recruits mounted their horses and followed after him.

Mika got impatient with the other horses and muscled her way to the front behind Sir Kalloc, ignoring Casey who was trying to hold her back.

"Hey watch it!" One of the recruits who had been pushed to the side shouted.

"Keep her under control Bennett" Sir Kalloc said.

"I'm working on it" He replied before whispering to his horse, "Hey curb your superiority complex will you, are you trying to get me in trouble?"

She merely flicked her ears back and forth and ignored him. He had long stopped trying to treat her as a regular horse.

The rest of the journey through the city went without a problem except when one of the other horses got too close to Mika for her comfort. At those times she would swing her tail to slap at them, causing them to back off. It had become clear to Casey and those around him that he was the only living creature that she would allow within five feet of her. That was one thing that had not changed since he became her rider.

Every now and then the citizens would stop and stare at them as they pa.s.sed, a few of them even waving at them. The knights of both orders had become something like celebrities to the common folk of the kingdom and many would stop and greet them every time they saw one.

Roughly ten minutes after they left the stables, they arrived at the main city gates. The gatehouse towered high over their heads. The walls were made up of some kind of white stone. A st.u.r.dy looking portcullis was suspended above them ready to be dropped at any sign of a foreign enemy.

The gate was bustling with people, both coming into the city and leaving it. One of the guardsmen noticed their party and created a s.p.a.ce to allow them to leave the city easily. Sir Kalloc nodded towards the guards stationed at the gate who waved them through. When they had made it a safe distance away from the large crowd he turned towards the recruits.

"Alright, we will pick up the pace and enter the forest now." He spurred his horse forward without waiting to see if he was being followed.

Casey quickly ordered Mika to follow after him and to match his pace. The wind slapping against his face caused a sense of exhilaration to course through him. He loved riding fast ever since he was young and it seemed like Mika shared that sentiment. He had to hold her back from going too fast and pa.s.sing Sir Kalloc.

What a beautiful day for riding. Casey commented in his mind. The weather was perfect for an afternoon ride. It was sunny but not too hot. It was the middle of spring, the golden time when the temperature was just warming up but not to the point of being too hot yet.

They entered the forest with hardly a break in stride. Sir Kalloc led them down a hunting trail that was frequently traveled. As they rode, Casey explored their surroundings. The forest was made up of mostly large pine and spruce trees with large oak trees appearing from time to time. The chirps of birds and the calls of insects filled the forest and every now and then deer could be seen running through the trees.

Sir Kalloc led them deeper and deeper into the forest, never breaking the pace for more than a minute. Casey was very impressed with Mika and the other horses. Despite not allowing any time to rest, they seemed no less energetic than when they had started the ride. The horses he grew up with would have already started complaining long ago.

As they scaled a small rise, Sir Kalloc called them to an abrupt stop. In front of the group, a large oak tree had fallen over the trail. To either side of the trail was very thick undergrowth making it difficult for horses to pa.s.s.

Sir Kalloc dismounted to take a closer look at the fallen tree. He inspected the tree's roots and came to a conclusion, "It seems like it fell in the storm a week ago, we'll have to report it and get a team out here to clear it away. For now we'll backtrack and take one of the smaller trails to bypa.s.s this tree." He remounted and turned his horse around. Casey followed after and they continued the ride.

Turning onto the side trail, Casey realized it was much narrower than the trail they had been riding on. He had to be more careful in order to avoid low hanging branches and to avoid going off the trail.

When they had been riding on the trail for several minutes Lia commented from behind him, "Doesn't it seem a little too quiet?"

Breaking his focus on riding for a moment to listen to the surrounding forest Casey realized that she was right. The sounds of birds and insects had completely disappeared. The entire forest had gone completely silent.

Mika had also seemed to sense that something was off. Her ears were flicking left and right in a very alert manner.

Sir Kalloc called back from the front. "Good observation, you're right. The forest is too quiet. Everyone keep a watch out!"

They reached a small clearing in the trees and Sir Kalloc called for another stop. Casey immediately understood why, a thick smell of blood covered the entire clearing. In the center of the clearing was the body of what had once been a male deer.

"Dismount! Bennett, Hanes, and Crenwelge with me, the rest of you set up a perimeter around the clearing!" Sir Kalloc dismounted and walked up to the corpse of the deer. Casey quickly followed with Lia and Thomas, a hand covering his nose.

What awaited them was a very gruesome scene. The deer was barely recognizable. He could only tell that it was male because of the antlers that had been torn off and lay beside the corpse. It's innards were strewn around the clearing, it's underside had been completely ripped out. It's skull was crushed beyond recognition. What was left of the pelt had large claw marks cutting through it.

Thomas' and Lia's faces had gone pale at the sight and Casey felt his stomach churn in disgust.

"I have never seen anything like this" Even Sir Kalloc seemed to have been affected by the sight. Regardless, he still observed the scene calmly "Whatever did this was either interrupted before eating its meal or didn't kill this deer for food."

Casey stepped forward and prodded one of the deer's legs that had remained somewhat intact. "It hasn't entered rigor mortis. This deer has only been dead for an hour or two."

Sir Kalloc nodded at his observation

"Rigor mortis?" Lia asked.

"Sorry, it's muscles hasn't stiffened yet." Casey answered.

"If it's only been dead for a few hours, does that mean whatever killed it is still in the area?" Thomas asked while nervously tapping the hilt of his sword.

"We don't know that, however we should still hurry this along. Search for any tracks." Sir Kalloc said.

They began studying the ground around the corpse. "Over here!" Lia called out and pointed to the ground at her feet.

"Good job" Sir Kalloc said, quickly approaching her. He squatted down in order to get a better look at the tracks.

The tracks Lia had found were unlike any Casey had seen on Earth. They were roughly the size of an average man's foot, but there were four deep indentations in the dirt suggesting large claws. What disturbed Casey the most was that the tracks seemed to belong to something that stood upright on two feet rather than four. What the h.e.l.l?

He followed their path with his eyes. It was leading into the forest towards the North.

"What kind of animal stands on two feet!?" Thomas gave voice to the question that was ringing out in Casey's mind.

Lia had taken out a notebook and seemed to be sketching the tracks.

"I do not know, and that's the problem. I have lived in this area my entire life, and know this forest like the back of my hand. Yet I have never seen these kind of tracks." Sir Kalloc frowned and stood up. "We are leaving! Everyone mount up! Lia when we get back to the city you will come with me to make a report."

As they were investigating the scene, the horses were growing more and more restless. By the time everyone had remounted they seemed almost ready to bolt back to the city. Even Mika was very much on edge, stamping her feet impatiently.

"Move out!"

They retraced their path at a far faster pace. Branches slapped painfully against Casey's face as he rode, but he didn't care. The only thought on his mind was to make it back to the city safely. The heart beat in his chest drowned out the sound of their flight through the trees. A combination of what he had seen and how the horses were acting was more than enough to scare him greatly. He had never experienced this sense of danger and felt a complete loss of control. He could only spur Mika on and hope that whatever killed that deer was not coming after them.

Even when they left the forest they did not let up their pace. It was only when the gate was behind them and they had entered the safety of the walls did they finally begin to relax. Sir Kalloc directed them to the stables and took Lia straight to the palace to report.

As Casey was brus.h.i.+ng Mika down, he began to really think about the events that had occurred in the forest. No matter how hard he tried to remember, he could not think of any mention in the book of a dangerous creature residing in that forest. 'What could that have been? And why wasn't in the book?' He could only hope that whatever it was just wasn't important enough to be mentioned in the book.

After coming to the conclusion that he couldn't do anything about it, he decided to leave it to the senior riders. After all, he still had the tournament to get ready for, and soon his magic trainer would be arriving in the capital. His worry put aside for the moment, Casey finished taking care of Mika and returned to the palace.