The next day, Rue sat in the warmth of Kiera's home. The Ibex was covered in patches and medical creams, and its fur was no longer stained red.

Like usual, it lay behind Rue's rocking chair, preventing him from rocking back and forth.

Sighing, Rue glanced at the stubborn Ibex.

"What do you think is the most vauluable thing in the world?" Kiera asked, her gaze still focused on the book in her hands.

Rue absently thought, "Aether Crystals?"

Kiera laughed, glancing at Rue, "Aether Crystals are merely a doorway to power."

"So power then?"

Kiera shook her head, focusing on her book, "What is the point of power?"

"To protect what you love?"

"Then what is it that you love?"

Rue looked down at the floor, focusing on the staggered floorboards. "I don't know."

Rue thought of his family; Eliza, Jerimiah, Gabe and Jule. He also thought of Shiny. Glancing towards the Ibex, he pursed his lips. The furry guy might be annoying sometimes, but he cared for it.

"Life is lonely if you care for nothing." Pausing, Kiera placed her book down. "Instinctively, that Ibex of yours understood that."

Kiera gazed into Rue's eyes, "I know you will be powerful in the future. You are only 1 year old but close to becoming a stage 2 mage." Sighing, Kiera took a deep breath, "If you remember anything from me, let it be this. Do not cast away what you love for power; seek strength to protect what it is that you love. For power with no purpose will corrupt, leaving nothing but an emptiness."

Rue furrowed his brows, "Why are you telling me this?"

Kiera shrugged, focusing on her book again: "Because I don't want you to regret, nor do I want those you love to suffer."

Rue nodded, absentmindedly glancing at Kiera.

Kiera placed her book down, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath before changing the subject. "Anyway, have you decided what to do with the Ibex?"

Rue shook his head, clearing the thoughts running through his mind. Looking down at the Ibex, he sighed, "Yeah, it's about time I added him to the herd."

-----------------------------------------

Another month passed, marking 3 months since Jerimiah's first Griffle game. Since then, Verdant Hamlet's Griffle team has competed against each of the other 17 teams to determine who will be in the playoffs.

Ranking 2nd and losing only once during the season, they had their ticket to the finals. Though they had lost, they had worked through the weeks to develop strategies and plays so they could counter the remaining team standing in their way.

At home, Jerimiah kissed all his kids on the forehead, not forgetting Eliza. He held her arms as he spoke, glancing at each of them. "Cain has organized a carriage to pick you guys up tomorrow evening to watch the Griffle match. Make sure you guys don't miss it!"

Giving everyone one last hug, Jerimiah waved goodbye, walking towards the Hamlet's center square, where a carriage was parked, packed full of his teammates.

Rue watched Jerimiah disappear into the Hamlet, his gaze focused on an barely precievable limp. Sighing, Rue shook his head. Jerimiah had fought hard against 17 other teams for an opportunity that wouldnt even benefit himself, but rather his kids.

Tugging at Eliza's shirt, Rue stated, "I'm going to Kiera's. I'll make sure to be back by dinner."

Eliza glanced down at Rue, her lips pursed and brows raised. Rue had developed much faster than she could ever imagine. His mannerisms and speech were more refined than most adults', and his body was growing several inches every month.

Eliza shook her head. She ran her hands through Rue's long black hair and responded, "Make sure you wear your coat."

Rue gave her a nod and darted inside. Whipping his coat on, he scrambled down the path onto the road, zipping into the distance.

Rue walked down the road, his pace faster than usual. Glancing around to make sure nobody was around, he waved his hand. From thin air, the Ibex appeared.

Since the fight, it had fully healed, its growth rivaling Rue's. Smirking, Rue hopped on the Ibex's back, making sure to hold on tight to one of the creature's long, straight horns. He pointed forward, "Onwards, Snowball! Off to Kiera's!"

"baaaahhhhaaahhaaahh"

Snowball trotted along, Rue riding on his back. The snow on the ground had mostly melted, only leaving small patches hidden within the shadows of homes and walls.

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They galloped down the road, Rue looking around. By now, people were used to his odd behavior. Snowball had been following Rue around for long enough that people began to ask where the stubborn Ibex was when they weren't together.

Passing by some people, Rue waved, his body bouncing up and down as Snowball pranced down the road.

As he neared Kiera's home, he couldn't help but smile. Today was the day he was going to become a stage 2 mage. He wasn't entirely aware of all the benefits, but Kiera had promised to explain once he had broken through.

Hopping off Snowball, Rue stood at the base of the pathway leading up to Kiera's.

Kiera's door opened just as he was about to take a step forward. Kiera stood in her doorway, her gaze directed in the distance. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips pursed into a thin frown.

------------------------------

Far away, on the edges of a field, a young man, Joshua, leisurely worked, using a hoe to prep the ground for planting season. With slow and consistent back-and-forth motions, pulling large swaths of dirt, sweat began to fall from his forehead, some pooling on his back.

Taking a moment to wipe it away, Joshua paused and grabbed a rag from his back pocket. Using the rag, Joshua removed the bits of sweat, leaving a smudge of dirt on his forehead.

Pocketing the rag, Joshua continued to work. Several hours passed, and Joshua stopped again. Finding a short stone wall nearby, he sat, pulling a piece of bread and jam from his pockets.

Taking a moment to savor the jam-covered bread, Joshua looked up. Several large mountains towered in his view, a sparse few pines decorating their bases. In the distance, several wooden homes stood, smoke pluming from several chimneys.

He took another bite of his bread and observed the rocky plains surrounding him. Several large boulders gently lay, some perched on pedestals, their appearance like giant anvils.

A long dirt road ran through the plains, connecting the Hamlet to the mountains, the road stretching far into the horizon.

After finishing his bread, Joshua continued to work. He was only halfway done with this field and had to be finished by tomorrow.

Digging the hoe into the Earth, Joshua pulled up bits of dirt and stone. Tossing the stones to the side, he paused as he grabbed the last one.

Small, dull, and pitch black, it stood out like a sore thumb among the usual light gray color.

Taking a closer look, Joashua removed the cloth from his back pocket and polished the surface of the black stone.

Removing the dirt and grime, a shiny exterior made itself known. Deducing it was an Aether Crystal, Joshua's eyes widened in excitement. When he had taken part in the awakening ceremony almost a year ago, he had awakened but was not fortunate enough to have an aptitude with any of the affinities they had offered.

Joshua gazed at the Aether Crystal with a mix of hope and anticipation. This one looked different from the ones he had previously tried, so he hoped it might actually work.

Tightening his grasp around the stone, he pulled the Aether into his Soul Ocean. The black Aether pooled within, but no noticeable reaction took place.

Joshua sighed and tossed the stone away. Maybe he just wasn't made out to be one of the cool magic-wielding mages he had heard in the stories.

Reaching for his hoe, he got back to work. Joshua pulled it into the ground, lifting more stones and dirt. Tossing a few of the larger stones to the side, he paused.

The skin on his hand began to flake off, followed by the tissue underneath dissolving, the ligaments and tendons disconnecting from his body and falling to the ground.

Dropping the stone, Joshua widened his eyes and touched his face. Feeling his cheeks and facial tissue dissolve, Joshua experienced what it felt like to lose one's sense of smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing all at once.

After several minutes, what was left of Joshua tumbled to the ground, the yellow-tinted bones somehow still holding their shape.

Days passed, and the remaining snow melted, but Joshua still lay in the field, now covered by short grasses preventing anyone from finding his body.

After a whole month, the bones on the ground shifted. The legs, arms and head twitched back and forth, slowly becoming more fluid and dynamic. Over a few days, Joshua's skeleton rose from the ground, standing on its shaky legs.

Clacking its teeth, the skeleton stumbled around blindly, tripping over divots and stones. Falling face first on the rocky earth, the skeleton just so happened to fall nearby a decaying dead shrew.

Accidentally touching the shrew with its boney fingers, the skeleton felt a deep connection with the dead animal. Unconsciously pushing the dark energy swirling within its Soul Ocean into the dead shrew, the shrew's closed eyes opened.

Somehow hijacking the shrew's sight, the skeleton observed the world, his perspective that of the little rodent.

Now able to see once again, the skeleton directed the shrew's vision towards the Hamlet.

Joshua had been lying on the ground for over a month, unable to move, eat, drink, see, feel, or hear. After many arduous days of work, he had discovered how to move by wielding the black energy that had pooled in his soul. Now that he could see, he wanted to recover his other senses.

Turning the shrew away from the Hamlet, Joshua caught sight of a distracted little boy playing with sticks and stones underneath one of the many stone pedestals dotting the stony plains.

Staring for several minutes, Joshua clacked his teeth. Directing the shrew to climb within his ribcage, Joshua made use of the shrews working eyes.

Stepping forward with unsteady steps, Joshua clenched his bony fingers.

Making sure to approach from behind, Joshua walked in a large arch, hiding his skeletal body behind the stone pedestal the boy was playing.

Joshua stopped mere feet from the little boy, who now seemed to be diligently building a house using a pile of nearby sticks for a miniature straw man.

Joshua raised his arms in the air, his hands clenched into fists.

"BANG!"

"Splat."

The little boy lay limp on the ground, his head smashed against a sharp stone protruding from the ground. His body lay in a partially built house made of sticks, and a straw man sat off to the side, watching with motionless eyes.

Unpurtuded, Joshua placed his hand on the boy, blood flowing through his yellow-tinted fingers.

Pushing the black energy into the boys body, Joshua felt a connection snap into place.

Commanding the boy to stand, the boy shook from his previously sprawled position.

Standing, the boy opened his eyes, the light within replaced by a dull, thoughtless gaze. Tapping into the boy's senses, Joshua felt and heard once again. The boy's vision was much sharper than the long-dead shrew's.

Bathing in the feeling of his new senses, Joshua heard a shriek through his newly acquired senses.

Commanding the dead little boy to search for the shriek's origin, Joshua's skeleton did not move, but through the little boy's eyes, he observed a teenage girl.

The girl quickly turned and ran towards the wooden homes in the distance.

Unable to chase after her, Joshua shakily marched into a nearby forest, the pine trees and bushes covering his retreat.

Another week passed.

Joshua sat in the forest, and by his side was the little boy. Over the past week, the little boy slowly lost it's senses. With each day that passed, Joshua's shared vision, hearing, and feeling deteriorated. Unwilling to lose his senses again, Joshua stared into the distance.

In his vision, a series of wooden homes sat, the smoke puffing from their chimneys blocking the mountains towering behind.