Adion woke up early the next day as someone knocked on the door to his room.

“Adion,” He heard Benji’s voice call out, “It’s morning, and we are getting ready to leave.”

Adion quickly got dressed and moved to open the door. When he saw Benji’s eager expression, he could guess what he wanted.

“Alright, come inside, and I’ll show you,” Adion said.

Benji entered the room and closed the door behind him. He stared in anticipation as he waited for Adion. It didn’t take long for Adion to check for any presence in the surroundings through his released space mana. Even without doing that, he had an excellent spatial awareness, and his aura sense was nothing to scoff at. But after last night, Adion was careful. When he had made sure that no one was around, he conjured a ball of fire and then changed its shape to resemble a Deep Snow Wolf.

When Benji had returned the previous night and heard about Adion’s little show, he was eager to see it for himself. Adion promised he would show it to him the next day once they were alone. He felt a little awkward as he showed off his abilities; the skill of making fire take the shape of White was only thanks to the Fire Phoenix Wisdom Pill. Adion didn’t feel like he had earned the praise of his teammates.

Unlike his Authority over space, Adion hadn’t had any great epiphany regarding his Authority over fire and shadow. He still had no idea how to increase his Authority over these elements. The tactic he had employed when increasing his Authority over space didn’t work for some reason.

“Unbelievable,” Benji said as he stared at the wolf-shaped fire. “How?” he asked and stared Adion in the eyes.

“Like I’ve told the others, it’s a secret,” Adion responded, putting out the fire he had conjured.

Benji sighed before gathering his voice again, “Look, Adion. I know you can’t trust us yet as you seem to have many incredible secrets. But would you be open to telling me about it if I took an Oath never to tell anyone? I simply want to sate my curiosity and perhaps gain something that helps me in my research.”

“An Oath?” Adion said and started thinking.

If there isn’t any chance of him talking, would there be any danger to telling him? It might not do me any good either, but I did promise to tell him about my ‘Gift’ in exchange for joining the team. If I can be sure he won’t talk about it, I shouldn’t refuse.

“That might work,” Adion nodded, “Do you know if there are any Moonlight Oaks around here?”

“Moonlight Oak?” Benji questioned, “I remember reading something about that. In many family clans, it’s tradition to make Oaths in front of Moonlight Oaks. It is said that the Oath will be harder to break. But is that true?”

“I’m not sure if it’s true or not. But I heard from someone I trust on the matter, so I will only accept an Oath spoken before a Moonlight Oak,” Adion said resolutely.

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me. There should be some Moonlight Oaks up by the Silver Wall. I’ll ask around when we get there. I can wait that long, at least.” Benji said with a smile.

“Good, then let’s get going,” Adion said.

Once outside the inn, he noticed Sahra and Lomin already waiting there, and Rufus joined a few minutes later.

Benji and Sahra had already gone to Mint Carriages earlier in the morning to pick up the carriage they would be traveling in. It was spacious enough for all of them to fit inside, but if they were going to sleep in it, it would be a tight fit.

“I managed to get two Iron beasts to pull the carriage, so we will be moving at a pleasant speed,” Benji said as the group gathered around him, “It will still take a little over a week for us to reach Hermot, though. I didn’t hire a driver as we might be discussing things we wouldn’t want anyone to overhear. So, we will have to stop at night to sleep.”

Adion didn’t think that sounded bad, “What’s Hermot?” He asked, as he had never heard the name before.

“It’s the southernmost city of the Silver Wall,” Benji answered.

“You mean the Silver Wall consists of multiple cities?” Adion asked.

Benji nodded and responded, “The Silver Wall is the name of the large area where Silver beasts appear frequently. Centuries ago, four outposts were built in the area to fight the advancement of the rather aggressive beasts. In most parts of the Outskirts, beasts stay in the Endless Forest, but by the Silver Wall, beasts attack even towns and villages in already conquered parts of the Empire. The four main outposts became cities over time, of which Hermot is one, and many more outposts have been built in the Endless Forest. The beasts still manage to get through at times, but it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be. But you should always be ready for an attack even if you are days from the Outskirts.”

“Why would the beasts do that?” Adion asked. As far as he knew, beasts would attack humans to get food and to gain fighting experience to temper their Will just like humans. As long as there was human presence in the Endless Forest, there was no need for beasts to attack human towns, where many people too weak to give a fight resided.

“Who knows?” Benji shrugged, “If we want to gain more land, I guess it’s only natural that beasts might want the same. I’ve heard that the Soul mages of the Empire have made it all the way to the Black Mountains, and there are apparently many strong Soul beasts there. They are not any less intelligent than humans, so they can have plans of their own.”

“I see,” Adion said. If there were beasts like Fellion in the Black Mountains, it was natural that they might not want to give up any more land than what the humans had already taken. As for why the Soul beasts didn’t order stronger beasts than Silver to fight, Adion didn’t know.

That would lead to an escalation that might result in an all-out war where the strongest Soul mages and Soul beasts had to fight. It might be preferable to keep the situation at the current level.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Well, since you plan on becoming a soul mage yourself, I guess you’ll know all about it one day,” Benji said with a smile, “Let’s get going.”

Benji and Sahra jumped up to the front of the carriage, where they would drive the carriage, and Adion, Lomin, and Rufus entered inside the carriage, where they could sit down and simply enjoy the journey.

The carriage looked a lot like the one he had seen Mr. Dhiji riding in, if a little less luxurious. But it was well-made, and there were wide cushioned seats where six people could fit without a problem. Lomin and Rufus sat down next to each other, and Adion took a seat opposite them.

“So,” Rufus said, looking at Adion, “How should we spend our time during our journey? Got any good stories to tell Adion?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure,” Adion answered, “Even though I’ve read many books, I have spent most of my time training. I’m not sure I know of anything you haven’t already heard.”

“Stories don’t just come from books,” Lomin said with a smile, “I quite enjoy hearing about people's lives. What greater story could there be in the end?”

“Well,” Adion hesitated, “Maybe some other time.”

“That’s fine,” Rufus said, “But you are in luck. Lomin has a great number of stories that, if put in a book, would surely sell like crazy.”

“I don’t know about that,” Lomin said modestly, “The stories I’ve told are well-known in Fondia, the kingdom of us faelin on Quemer. It is only here on Shiora that they might be new for many people.”

“I would very much like to hear them,” Adion said, leaning forward. “I know very little about Quemer. You really come from there?”

“Of course,” Lomin said, “I don’t think there are any faelin born here on Shiora. We faelin like to travel, but at the end of our journey, we always return home. A good story only ends when the hero comes back home after all.”

“The faelin are very different from us humans, Adion,” Rufus said, “They all travel around aimlessly once they become adults, not even they have a goal in mind. Most travel around in Fornia, some make their way to other parts of Quemer, and a few, like Lomin, cross the Warm Waves and travel all the way to Shiora. Once they feel like their journey has come to an end, they return. Usually with a wife or husband,” Rufus then turned to Lomin and said with a teasing smile, “Though the way things are going for Lomin, he might have to return alone.”

“Love can’t be forced,” Lomin said bitterly, “I’m not interested in following your tactics. You humans might have several partners, but we faelin only have one during our life. Powerful mages in human family clans marry for alliances, and the common man marries their childhood friend out of convenience. But not even the Royal family in Fornia would do such a thing. If the princess wishes to marry a common farmer at the end of her journey, no one would stop her.”

“What?” Adion was shocked, “I’m not saying that is a bad thing; my mom and dad married across social status and cultural differences, and I’m happy for that, but for the Nobles and Royals to accept such a thing seems hard to believe.”

Rufus and Lomin looked up, interested in what Adion had said. This was the first time he had shared anything about himself.

“It has to do with the Primordial Story,” Lomin answered, “A story that was ancient even during the Age of Wonder, the story of our race.”

“What?” Adion was even more shocked when he heard this. He had thought he knew much more than others about the Age of Wonder. After all, he had read the letter of the Sect Leader of the Celestial Phoenix Sect. A Phoenix that people of this Age didn’t seem to know existed. But apparently, he was still very ignorant.

“I can understand your shock, as nothing like this exists elsewhere.” Lomin said with a gentle smile, “But since ancient times, the Primordial Story is told from parent to child until the child knows it by heart. Not even the Age of Darkness could erase this story from our history.”

“What’s the story?” Adion asked.

“It’s very long,” Lomin chuckled, “But I usually tell parts of it to Rufus, Sahra, and Benji whenever the mood sets in.”

“Well, let me know when the mood sets in next time. I want to hear all about it.” Adion said with a serious look.

“I will,” Lomin said with a smile, “And if you come to think of a story yourself, I’d very much like to hear it.”

Adion nodded, as it would only be fair to share something himself. If Adion were willing to reveal his secrets, he would indeed have a fantastic story to tell. But he wasn’t willing.

Do I know anything else to tell a story about? I don’t think so. I’ll keep thinking about it.

The carriage had now made its way out the city gates and onto the road leading north to the Silver Wall.

“Do you want to learn about aura? It’s not a story, but it could be of great help if you manage to control your aura.” Adion suddenly asked.

Adion didn’t want to waste time while traveling, so he thought that he might ask if the others were interested in learning aura control. It would help him practice, and unlike the last time he traveled and taught people about aura, this time, everyone knew his ability to control his strength, so he wouldn’t need to hide anything.

“Oh? That would be very interesting,” Rufus said, “Only Benji comes from a family clan among us, but even a 2nd-tier family clan like his is not very good at training mages in aura control. Considering you are so apt at it, you must know a few tricks, right?”

“I’m not sure if I know any tricks, but I can share what I have learned. But I won’t be able to do the things my teacher did when I was learning from him, so you will progress slower than I did.” Adion said.

“Teacher?” Rufus asked, “Is it someone from your family clan? Surely you’re from a clan, right?”

“I am from a family clan,” Adion nodded. He didn’t have any reason to hide that fact about himself. Even if he had hidden much about himself ever since he got to the Delovan Empire, Adion didn’t enjoy lying, at least not to people he was starting to consider friends.

“But it is only a 2nd-tier family clan,” Adion continued, “The one teaching me about aura was someone else.”

“Oh? Which family clan?” Rufus asked, “Maybe I’ve heard about it.”

“I doubt it,” Adion said, “I’m from the Remori clan, and I would appreciate you not speaking that name out loud when others can hear. It could attract trouble.”

“You’re right, never heard of it. But I will heed your word and not speak of it. You can rest assured,” Rufus said with a smile.

“So, how should we train to use our aura, Adion?” Lomin asked. “On Quemer, many family clans train their mages in aura from a young age. It’s a lot more advanced than here. Unfortunately, I am the son of two Silver mages, so I don’t know much about it.”

Adion smiled lightly and began his lesson, “Aura stems from the soul. If the soul is the sun, then aura is its warmth. The soul carries with it everything a person is. Meaning that, in theory, with a sharp enough aura sense, you could tell everything there is to know about a person. If you become strong enough, you might even be able to read minds.”

Adion continued his lesson as they traveled. Everything he had learned from Fellion now sounded out from Adion’s mouth, the knowledge in his teachings surprising his two students.