Birds tweeted outside. Anya was dead but the world moved on like nothing had changed. In the grand scheme of things, Erend supposed that was true. To the world, she wasn't anyone significant, and neither was he.

Erend got up and stretched his limbs. He was alone. It was already bright outside. It seemed he'd slept for longer than he anticipated.

The blinding sun stung in his eyes as he left the cabin. The camp was calm and quiet. Most of the guards were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Charles.

"Good morning," Erend greeted the people sitting around the campfire.

"Morning. How do you feel?" Thomas carefully asked.

"I'm... I'm alright. I don't suppose losing anyone will ever be easy."

"It wasn't your fault, son. Charles and Cordelia told us all what happened."

"Can we just not talk about it? Please."

"Alright..." Thomas conceded and cleared his throat. "Charles and the guards left to hunt already. You'll have the day to yourself. Anything in particular you want to do?"

"Not really... There isn't much to do here anyway. Did Cordelia stay too?"

Thomas's brows shot up, "Oh? Yes. She's in her cabin. The poor girl is sore from all the running you had her do yesterday."

"I guess I owe her an apology then."

In the corner of his eye, Erend saw Peter and Mary snickering amongst themselves, "What?" he asked.

"Oh it's nothing," Peter waved him off. "Must be nice to be young 's all."

Erend rolled his eyes, "It's not like that," he tried.

His dismissal had little to no effect, "Whatever. Is there any breakfast still warm?"

"Oh, yes of course dear," Mary jolted into motion.

She ladled a few spoonfuls of some sort of stew into a bowl and broke off a bit of hard bread they'd managed to bring from Exodus. The taste didn't live up to Mary's regular cooking, but it was still delicious. It was really quite impressive that she could cook like this in a place with limited resources and tools.

After finishing his breakfast he headed to Cordelia's cabin. He knocked at the thin door with his knuckles.

"Just a second," he heard from the other side.

After some clattering and scrambling, the door swung open with a bang.

"Oh, Erend." Cordelia was visibly not expecting any visitors. Her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face as if glued.

"Were you sleeping?" Erend asked, incredulously.

"Of course not!" she rasped back and strangled a yawn.

He shrugged, "Whatever you say. I'm going to practice my casting for a bit. Care to join?"

Her eyes darted around the room. Erend followed the look. She'd used the moss he left as bedding and seemed to really enjoy its softness. So much so that it looked like she had rushed to bed the night before. Her clothes lay scattered on the floor, a piece of undergarment had gotten stuck on the wall. She panicked as she saw it, "Oh. Uhm. Just give me a few minutes to get ready!" and closed the door in his face.

"Of course, I'll be over by the gate. Take your time," he reassured.

Camp life was still new to him. The stillness of his surroundings was hard to get used to. He missed the rustle and bustle of the city. Sure, the stillness had its own charm, but all in all, it felt kind of lonely.

The laughs of the children playing echoed through the camp as he passed the cave entrance.

Erend leaned up against the gatepost and stared at the sky.

*I wonder how the sword glyphs work... Is it just like any other con tool? But then again, I don't know how to make one of those either... Maybe Cordelia does.*

Fluffy clouds floated in the sky above. They moved, unhurried as ever. Unconcerned with the happenings of men.

There was always so much to do. Erend had to grow strong enough to protect his family and newfound friends. At the same time, the camp needed to grow in both size and manpower.

He also wanted to take back Exodus. Without the city's anchor hall, they were cut off from civilization. Even if his mother tried to return to them, she wouldn't be able to. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask her.

First things first though. What he needed to do most was to grow strong enough to deal with the immediate problem. The orcs.

They didn't need to be eradicated. But they apparently already suspected that the intruders from a few days ago were held up in the goblin camp. Erend needed to grow strong enough to deter them from attacking the camp. At the very least for long enough for Bernard to fetch more manpower. There wasn't a lot of time, not enough to become a powerful caster at the very least. He had to find other ways to improve. It was time to get creative.

The crackling of dirt alerted him to someone approaching, he turned around.

"Sorry for making you wait," Cordelia panted as she jogged over.

"Don't worry about it. You could have taken longer if you needed to."

Her appearance was still more unkempt than he'd grown used to seeing her.

"Didn't need longer."

"Fair enough."

"What do you want to practice?"

"Don't know. If a caster needed to grow strong quickly, what would be the quickest way to do so?"

"Practice? I guess."

He sighed, "Are there no shortcuts?"

"I'm not sure about how things work for sorcerers, but for a wizard, patience is said to be their closest ally."

"What about imbuing tools?"

"I can inscribe things with the glyphs I know."

"Is it hard?"

"It's a lot easier than casting. That's for sure."

"Oh! Okay. Let's do that then! Give me a second. I'll just go fetch some things," Erend smiled and eagerly left for the smithy.

What does she need to inscribe weapons? Does she even need tools? Ah, whatever. I'll bring some just to be sure, he thought and picked up a hammer and a chisel.

He also made sure to bring some of the goblins' crude daggers. He placed everything in his Pocket and hurried back to the gate.

"You seem awfully suspicious. What are you planning?" Cordelia asked.

"Teach me to inscribe these weapons!" Erend beamed and pulled out the daggers and tools from thin air.

"Oh. Alright," Cordelia nodded along and picked up a dagger.

"It's really quite simple. You just move the Source from inside you to the object. Then you create pathways in the shape of the glyph you want to inscribe."

"You mean to say that's a simple thing?" Erend asked with shock. He'd barely just learned how to cast. Even with the help of the elf, he could barely control his source

"Yes. Just do like this."

The dagger lit up. Veins of Source spread throughout it. The veins snaked around themselves and formed the glyph for sharp. As the glyph was completed, the dagger seethed with power. Then it shattered and crumbled into dust.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Erend wrinkled his brow.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Don't look at me like that. Haven't you studied any magical theory? The material was practically garbage quality. It couldn't contain the Source."

Right.

"How about my sword?" he asked.

"Maybe... it's a pretty precious metal as far as I've understood. But I have no idea how conductive it is."

"Any way to find out without trying?"

"No, not here."

"That's... unfortunate."

"There's a reason most weapons and armors aren't inscribed. Even a wizard who specializes in inscriptions will be troubled to consistently inscribe low quality materials. That's why con tools are way more normal, they're cheap and expendable. A sword on the other hand is a way more costly failure."

"Yeah... Okay. So the sturdier the metal the more likely an inscription is to work?"

"Of course."

"I remember my teacher saying that a caster's body will grow and evolve to accommodate more Source as they grow..."

"Wait. What are you implying?"

"Do you think I could inscribe my body?"

The skeletal knight could do so at least.

Cordelia looked at him as if he was an absolute idiot, "Do you want to end up like the dagger?"

"No, not particularly. But I'm pretty sure that won't happen since my body has better circulation."

"It's way too dangerous. The cost of failure is your life. You understand that, right?"

"I do."

She sighed, "What the hell would Thomas say if he heard you right now?"

"He won't know! And it was just a question. It's not like I'd force you to do it."

"You couldn't force me even if you tried. I won't teach you to inscribe if you don't promise me you won't do something that stupid."

"Yeesh, alright. I promise. I was just curious is all."

Maybe a little tempted.

Cordelia looked at him. Suspicion glowing in her eyes, "Alright. I'll trust you. For now," she muttered while still eyeing him. "Grab a dagger."

Erend obediently did as he was told. Cordelia grabbed another one and used it to slowly etch the glyph into the ground.

"Now move the Source through it. Form the glyph in the same way that I show you."

Erend mobilized his source. It thrummed to life instantly and rushed at the dagger without abandon.

"Oh no," he blurted out as the dagger immediately exploded into fine dust.

"..." Cordelia raised a finger but caught her words in her throat.

"Spit it out."

"Nothing really. I'm just glad to see you aren't a talent at this as well."

"That bad?"

"Never seen anyone worse."

"Ouch."

"Sorry. I'm just being truthful."

"How can I improve?"

"Not sure. Your Source might just not be very suited for the task."

Erend plopped down on his back.

Cordelia seemed to have a hard time coming up with what to say.

Okay, then inscription is off the table. For now.

"Alright! I'm over it," Erend exclaimed and sat back up.

He crossed his legs and assumed the stance he used together with the gray elf. Then he got to thinking.

Both the elf and the skeletal knight could alter the shape of Stone Shot. The elf used glyphs to sharpen it. The skeletal knight did not. So what did the knight do differently?

Firstly; he made the stone into a sword somehow. It had instilled some doubt in Erend about whether or not it really was his spell. However, he decided to trust his gut and assumed it was his spell, but mirrored. The movement that the Source made when activating the spell felt too familiar to not have any relation.

Another thing that Erend was sure of, was that the knight's body was tattooed with glyphs. They shone through the cracks of his armor as he casted. They could be the reason that he was able to cast such an advanced version of Erend's spell without much effort. Then again, it didn't feel like the source was roused by a con tool or an inscription. Meaning that the source had to come from the knight himself.

Furthermore – if it wasn't an altered version of the spell – he used Stone Shot to control a metallic blade. Maybe the spell wasn't as simple as Erend had first thought.

*There's no other way to learn than to do.*

The Source roiled to life within him, startling Cordelia who still was at a loss of what to do. He paid her no heed and focused on the last of the goblin daggers.

*The first part of the spell gives me the rock, the second part fires it. If I isolate the second part, maybe I can fire other things.*

He gently tossed the dagger into the air. The spell activated. He skipped its first part and struck out with his hand. Nothing. The knife flipped and fell at his feet, embedding itself in the dirt.

He did feel something. It just wasn't quite right yet.

Cordelia looked at him with interest, "What are you trying now?"

Erend didn't even register her question.

*Why didn't it work? It felt like it would...*

He bent over and pulled the knife out of the ground.

*What's missing? Is there more to it than stone and force?*

He cast the spell again, this time stomping his foot on the ground to activate the first part. The stone thumped out of the ground. He caressed it with his Source, feeling its every curve and slight indentations.

I see.

The stone fell harmlessly to the ground as Erend turned his focus to the dagger. He sent his Source at it, making sure not to have it enter the object. He could feel its shape; it's serrated blade, the menacing tip, the hilt. Then he activated the second part of his spell.

The dagger was sent flying with a whistle, easily embedding itself within the intertwined trunk of a tree.

"Huh," he said. Surprised at the ease with which his success had come.

"... How'd you do that?"

"I just isolated the second part of Stone Shot and applied it to the dagger."

"... Sometimes I really don't like you."

"You like me the other times?" Erend shot back playfully.

Her cheeks flushed red, "No... I... I meant... I-"

"Relax, I'm just joking with you."

Cordelia finally had enough, "This is no way to treat a noblewoman!"

"Aren't we all just castaways at this point?"

"Ugh! Alright. This is no way to treat a woman!"

"A girl you mean."

"Take that back."

"What? Why?"

He could practically see the anger bubbling inside her, "I said take it back!"

*Did I strike a nerve?*

"Alright, sorry. My bad. I take it back."

"Good. Now cast again. And show me how you did it."

"Yes mistress," he jokingly agreed.

Cordelia shot him a murderous glare but didn't deign to respond.

The two practiced for the entire day. They experimented with the firing capabilities of his newly acquired spell by using multiple rocks and weapons. Sadly he only ever managed to fire off one object at a time.

When the sun began to set, and the guards had arrived back in camp along with Charles, the two decided to call it quits for the day. They headed inside and discussed casting while eating dinner, then they separated and went to bed.

The night passed peacefully with no dreams of battle.

Erend awoke the next day feeling rested and inspired to keep experimenting more with his new spell. He decided to call it Force since he figured he could force just about anything to move by using it. As long as he had Source enough to envelop the object.

He was among the first ones to wake up. Only Johann and Thomas sat by the campfire, sharing muffled jokes. The two seemed to get along well. It was nice to see. Erend knew it was his father and he shouldn't worry about him, but he'd always seemed so lonely without Therese by his side.

"Morning," he greeted them.

"Oh, son. Up early today?" Thomas smiled at him.

"Yup. Figured I had to make up for lost time. What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing. We were just regaling each other with some old stories."

"Your old man apparently used to be a real rascal," Johann chimed in with a smile.

"Hey, I told you that in confidence, baldy."

Johann spat out his drink.

Erend was shocked. He didn't know that his father had it in him to say something like that. It only seemed to further amplify Johann's reaction. He roared with laughter, tears filled his eyes, "Please, no more. You're killing me, boy. You look like you just saw a ghost!"

"... I might as well have," Erend muttered.

"Have a seat," Thomas offered.

Erend sat down next to his father. They handed him a cup of something fragrant, "Tea?" he asked.

"Mm. Turns out Johann is pretty knowledgeable about herbs and such. It's not coffee, but it's better than nothing."

Johann solemnly nodded along, "Agreed," then he aimed a serious look at Erend. "Now that we have some time. Let's discuss your next steps."

"What do you mean?"

"Your future, boy. You are one of our two casters. We need you to grow into that role. But we need to deal with the orcs sooner rather than later. Preferably even before Bernard leaves with Albert and Mary."

"You want me to help somehow?"

"You're the only one with any knowledge of the fort's layout. I know it's limited, Anya told me as much. But we can't afford to just wait for you and Cordelia to grow strong, however much I'd like that. I want you to lead a few expeditions there."

Erend worriedly eyed his father. He seemed to agree with the sentiment.

"It's alright. We've spoken about it already," Johann added with an understanding look.

"I don't like it. But I don't have to like it for it to make the most sense. If it's alright with you, you can go," Thomas sighed.

"Alright," Erend steeled himself. "When?"

A smile spread across Johann's lips, "Today."