“Why, young Kaien,” said the mystic, “where else would you go to find a Sea Dragon?”

Outside the city, the mystic and the scholar strolled calmly down the road, just admiring the countryside. For Kenjin this journey would be quite a short one, only a few days at most. But for Kaien, it would be much more. Why the mystic was doing this, he hadn’t the foggiest clue. Sometimes he liked to do things on a whim, but it was probably because Kenjin, being one of the many immortals in the world, needed to do things to assuage his boredom. And sometimes, that meant helping little ones like Kaien find their way in the world.

Though the southern sea was several hundred miles away, the smell of the salty air nestled itself deep in Kenjin’s senses. He could hear the waves crash against the coast, the people walking along the shore and, from far away, he heard the call of the Sea Dragon. In fact, he was so far away in his mind that he failed to notice that Kaien was trying to get his attention.

“The sea?” Kaien ventured, with the tone of someone who disliked being talked down to. Kenjin nodded absentmindedly, quite uninterested in what the youth was saying. “And we will get there by walking?”

Kenjin turned to the boy. “Does that displease you, Kaien?” the mystic inquired. The young were always so eager to get places quickly, something Kenjin didn’t particularly understand. “I’m certain that we will be able to locate a horse and cart if needed.”

“But-” Kaien seemed confused as to what he wanted to ask. “But don’t you have powers that can…speed things up? Like teleportation?”

“Oh,” said Kenjin. “You mean, like this?” The avatar vanished, emerging fifty feet away from where it had left Kaien, and waited for the youth to catch up. “Yes, I suppose I could do that, but I cannot. Life is a journey, not a destination. I am allowed to guide you on this journey, Kaien, but I cannot do it for you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, but may I ask why?”

The mystic nodded. “Of course you may,” murmured Kenjin. “I’m not allowed to interfere…too much, with the lives of people. I can mingle, I can protect, but I see everything, Kaien. Your life, while it means a great deal to you, is quite insignificant in the scope I see through.” He smiled, perhaps with a bit of sadness around his face. “But that is not to say I do not want you to succeed. I merely want you to succeed. This is not my life, after all.”

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Signature by the Sinfully Delicious Lady Knives