Dawn's light filtered into Aric's room, rousing him from a deep sleep. Despite yesterday's upheaval, the restful night left him feeling rejuvenated. After washing up, he found Elara waiting in the courtyard, a hesitant smile on her face.
"Good morning," she greeted. "Did you sleep well?"
At Aric's nod, her smile widened. "I'm glad. I thought perhaps you'd like to accompany me on a mission today - a chance to see more of this world, and for us to...move forward."
"A mission?" Aric asked, as he sat with her and began eating the light breakfast that had been laid out. "I suppose it would be good to explore more of your world. Do you have any details yet?"
"Yes, the guild sent word this morning, there has been numerous reports of shadowbeasts harassing a village a few days travel from here." Pausing to take a sip of her tea, Elara continued, "So far casualties have been minimal, constrained to farm animals and pets. But, if the beasts continue escalating, the village will soon be assaulted."
Hunting monsters was something Aric could handle. Nodding his agreement as he stood up, "Alright, I'm in. I'll meet you back out here once I've gathered my things."
Aric quickly took stock of his meager possessions, double checking his belt pouch he was pleasantly surprised to find a few rifle rounds loose underneath a roll of bandages in the bottom of the bag. Ammo in hand, he gave his rifle a quick once over, having cleaned it shortly after arriving at Elara's. The 5 rounds he found went into an empty magazine, which he promptly clicked into the receiver.
Slinging the rifle over his shoulder and feeling the familiar weight settle into place helped to soothe Aric. Before being dragged to this realm, he would have never been without it.
Equipment secured, Aric met Elara back in the inner courtyard, and the pair headed into town on foot. Their first stop was the bustling guild hall. As it turned out, it wasn't quite as simple as going and saying you finished something. The guild had a meticulous recording system that kept track of the comings and goings of the guildsfolk my tracking their aether signatures.
Luckily, Elara had no trouble securing the assignment to deal with the troublesome shadowbeasts. Aric did his best to memorize the way the transaction went in case he ever needed to do anything similar in the future, who knew if he'd always have Elara to guide him.
Their next stop was the sprawling city market. The market's energy was palpable, rows of vendors loudly hawking their wares. Strange scents filled the air - spices and herbs alongside less identifiable smells from bubbling concoctions. Aric watched a child laugh as she chased a charmed wooden doll that fluttered just out of reach. Everything he saw was new, endlessly fascinating. While he continued to try to take in all of the oddities he was witnessing, Elara efficiently gathered supplies for their trip. She made a point of picking out small gifts for Aric – a whetstone for his blade, a finely carved animal figurine of a wolf. Though touched by her thoughtfulness, he grumbled about not needing charity.
“Consider it an ‘I’m sorry for withholding prophecies’ present,” Elara rebutted with a smirk. Her gestures, though small, helped to ease lingering awkwardness between them. To Aric, the fact that she continued to try and show that she cared spoke volumes to the truthfulness of what she had said the previous night.
The first day of traveling went smoothly, with the only things they encountered on the roads being other travelers, and an unlucky rabbit who would make for an excellent addition to dinner. The conversation between the pair flowed naturally as they walked down the well-maintained road, with much of the conversation being dominated by Aric's burning curiosity about magic, which Elara always seemed to enjoy talking about.
She would alternate between a lecturing tone as she explained principles of magic, like how all magic drew upon your inner reserves of aether, but under specific conditions may be augmented further by the free flowing aether in your surroundings. Another fascinating point that Aric learned as they walked was about the downsides of trying to cast magic from outside of your natural affinity. Sometimes the process could simply place an extreme strain on your core, while other times the magic was just significantly weaker than normal, occasionally it was downright impossible to cast some spells.
After the pair found a clearing about fifteen minutes of the main road, Elara began the process of preparing and roasting the rabbit they had caught.
Although 'caught' is a funny way to put it when Elara simply launched a bolt of ice through its neck before it even noticed us Aric thought, as his mind began wandering to thoughts of what exactly he'd be able to do. All he really knew so far was that he didn't have any specific affinity.
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His musings were cut short, as Elara cleared her throat and spoke up hesitantly, "Aric, would you mind telling me more about the realm you came from? Like what your life was like there?"
Aric looked into his companions face while he thought about what to say, she seemed almost scared of the question. Unsure of what caused her to think that he wouldn't tell her, he began slowly, "Well, where I'm from, everyone is crammed into a few fortified cities, struggling to survive. Resources were scarce, as leaving the walls is a surefire way to die. Which limited mining and farming options."
Elara's eyes were wide as she paid rapt attention to his words, though he was still confused as to why she was so nervous about the topic. Pushing on, he continued, "My father passed away ten years ago, during my grief I failed to impress the right people. As a result, the decision was made to exile me from the city. Best case scenario I would die in the wild lands outside of the walls, worst case I would struggle to survive."
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves as the emotions from that time boiled back up, Aric continued, "But I didn't die in the wild. I thrived beyond the walls, as all the training my father gave me as a boy came to fruition. I spent my days hunting monsters that were encroaching upon the perimeter of the city that I was from and scavenging from the ruins of a civilization long passed. At least until those things came and ran me out of my home."
Elara listened intently, green eyes filled with empathy. “That life forged you into a survivor. But know you don’t have to walk alone anymore.” She reached out, giving his hand a tentative squeeze.
He nodded his head as he smiled back at her. "You're right, I'm here now, in a world filled with magic and I have a beautiful woman to keep me company."
Aric couldn't help but chuckle at the blush that crept up Elara's pale cheeks.
As they unrolled their bedrolls beneath the glittering carpet of stars overhead, Elara made a solemn vow. “Starting tomorrow, I will do my utmost to prepare you for whatever battles may lay ahead. You may play a pivotal role in this world’s fate.”
Though uncertain what that meant, Aric took strange comfort in having a sense of direction again. Exhaustion soon overtook him, the anxieties of past and future fading away to the present moment.
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Aric awoke to Elara gently shaking his shoulder, her voice piercing through the fading remnants of chaotic dreams. "Time for lessons," she announced brightly, offering a slender hand to help pull him up. The morning sun was just beginning to crest the treetops, bathing their forest camp in soft golden light.
After splashing his face with the crisp, cold water from a nearby stream to shake off the last clinging webs of sleep, Aric settled beside Elara on the dewy grass. She began laying out the day's training agenda with scholarly precision.
"We'll start by working on meditation," she explained, effortlessly settling into a cross-legged position facing him. "Learning to sense and become attuned to the Aether within you is crucial to eventually being able to control it."
Closing his eyes, Aric slowed his breathing and focused his senses inwards, striving to empty his mind and tune out the sounds of the waking forest. For several minutes he sat in silence, waiting for any flicker or sensation out of the ordinary. The silence stretched on, and Aric fought the urge to fidget or peek. Then suddenly, he felt it - the faintest warmth deep in his core, subtle but unmistakable. Carefully, he focused his senses, mentally tracing this newfound glimmer. It felt akin to holding his hand near a candle's flame, faint but pulsing with latent power.
"There it is," Elara remarked, a note of pride breaking through her hushed tone. "Nurture that fledgling connection. Visualize the energy flowing through you, from that spark outward along your limbs."
Aric focused intently, carefully coaxing those newly discovered threads of power, delicate as the first shoots of spring growth after winter's thaw. Gradually he felt the glimmer strengthen by fractions. But the effort it required was immense, and sweat beaded on his brow with the intensity of his concentration. After each attempt to extend the fragile tendrils further along his body's channels, a wave of profound exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. It took all of his willpower not to lose his tenuous hold on the flickering spark.
By what felt like an eternity later, the glimmer finally seemed to solidify into something more substantial, a weak stream rather than scattered droplets. Opening his eyes with a weary exhale, Aric was shocked to see the sun hanging low in the painted sky, the light shifted towards the warm hues of late afternoon. Somehow the entire day had passed in what seemed like no more than mere moments. But despite the bone-deep fatigue that permeated his body, a sense of true accomplishment still welled up within his chest, small steps yet still carrying him forward.
As dusk fell and Aric devoured a well-earned meal by the crackling campfire, a now familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind, as intimately close as his own thoughts.
"Well done, my champion. You take your first steps upon the path..." It was Amy, the bound demoness, sounding deeply pleased by his progress. Through their shared bond, Aric sensed she had been observing his efforts.
Elara must have read his reactions, as she gave him a knowing look over the flickering flames. "Speaking with your little demoness?" At Aric's weary nod she smiled brightly, the firelight dancing across her delicate features. "Good, maintaining strong communication with a focus like that is vital to mastering your abilities."
Later that night as he lay beneath his blanket, stomach full and body utterly spent, Elara's training from the day played back through his mind. Exhaustion soon overtook Aric as he continued trying to trace the flow of energy as it circulated within him, and soon sleep took him.