“I think I felt it!” Rufus exclaimed, “But it slips from my mind quickly. I don’t seem able to get a grip on it.”
Adion had hidden his strength to different levels during the past hours to make Rufus and Lomin able to feel the differences in his aura. That would help them pinpoint what part of an aura revealed strength. Rufus was now trying to feel the same thing in his own aura but was having a hard time.
Adion tried to help by ‘poking’ his aura in the right places, as Fellion had done with Adion. But Adion didn’t have the control and power Fellion had over his aura. He could only try to sense Rufus’s aura ‘harder’ in a way. It was good practice for Adion. He felt that it was necessary to have this ability to uncover another person’s strength if they had the ability to hide it.
Lomin was more at ease than Rufus. For most people on Shiora, aura wasn’t something you learned. Only in family clans and perhaps a few academies was this knowledge taught. But apparently, on Quemer, it was expected of a mage to have some ability in their aura use. So Lomin could already feel his aura and was able to sense Adion’s aura better than Rufus. He still couldn’t control his own aura enough to hide his strength, though.
“It takes time. It’s a great improvement that you can feel it,” Adion responded.
“I suppose you’re right,” Rufus said, “I haven’t really thought of a way to train my aura sense before. I could tell people’s age and strength, which was good enough for me. But I suppose it’s foolish to discard any type of power.”
“Mm,” Adion nodded, “I’ve also noticed that it helps to temper your Will. When you are able to hide your strength, you should end the day by pushing that to the limit, exhausting your Will in the process. It’s been showing results for me, at least.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll be sure to do so.” Rufus grinned.
Even though it was hard work to focus on your aura for an extended period of time, the three continued doing so until close to nightfall, when the carriage finally slowed down to a stop.
“Alright, you guys,” Sahra's voice sounded from outside, “We will be sleeping here for the night, so let’s get a small camp set up so we can eat and relax.”
“Good!” Rufus said as he got up, “I’m starving for a good meal and a strong drink.”
Adion and Lomin also stood up and got out of the carriage. A fire had already been started, something easy to do when there are fire mages in the group. Lomin and Adion began to set up the tents while the others prepared food.
“So, how was the journey?” Benji asked while carving up a few pieces of meat.
“It was a good journey,” Lomin said calmly, “Adion taught us about aura. It was fascinating. I learned many things I hadn’t heard before.”
“Oh?” Benji looked up from the meat to Adion, “You don’t mind teaching Sahra and me a few things, do you?”
“Not at all. I can teach you what I know tomorrow. I can sit in front with you, or if you want to sit in the carriage while Lomin and Rufus take over,” Adion responded.
“Thanks,” Benji said with a smile, “Even though we’ve graduated from Cyalis, we didn’t spend much of our focus on aura. There are a few classes on it you can take, but not many do. You only have five years to reach Silver after all, so most people spend their time meditating and tempering their Will enough to advance.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Adion said, “But it’s a shame. If more people were focused on aura, there would probably be a lot more Soul mages. Shouldn’t the Academy push for its students to take aura seriously?”
“I’ve heard that a good aura sense is necessary to advance to the Soul stages, but most people don’t have the luxury of thinking that far ahead.” Benji said, “You can reach all the way to Diamond without knowing anything about aura, after all. That would already be a miracle for most people. And all professors think their class is the most important to take, but there is no way to take all of them.”
It didn’t take long for their temporary camp to get ready and for the team to settle down around the fire to eat. There was plenty of beast meat to buy this close to the Outskirts, so their supply would be more than enough for their journey.
When they had all finished eating, Lomin looked to the group with a smile, “I think this mood demands a story. Adion has yet to hear the prelude of the Primordial Story, so even if the rest of you have heard it before, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Benji said, “It’s a great story, and I’m sure we will have many opportunities to hear the rest of it.”
“Good,” Lomin said, “Then I will begin.”
Adion perked his ears and made himself comfortable on the ground. He was looking forward to hearing something allegedly taking place before the Age of Wonder.
“A long time ago,” Lomin began, “In a time ancient even to the people of ancient times, there was a Kingdom. This Kingdom stretched far and wide. Half the continent swore their allegiance to its King. The race of this kingdom is one that has been lost to time, a race called the Fae.
“The Kingdom had stood for Ages, and its King was mighty. The mere mention of his name could stir the mana surrounding the one speaking it. If the King wanted a tree to grow in his garden, he need only speak it, and a marvelous Trellin Tree would be there the next day. If the King wanted to bathe in gold, he need only speak it, and the gold would melt to comfort his body in a relaxing bath. The King's words were law. Whatever he spoke became truth.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“But not even the King could fulfill his greatest wish, having a daughter. Through thousands of years, his wives only gave him sons. As he neared the end of his life, he had 15 sons but not a single daughter, and he had almost given up on his dream. It seemed a curse that his words could not break was cast upon him.
“But one day, seemingly as a gift from the world itself, one of his wives gave birth to a beautiful daughter. The Kingdom celebrated for a decade in honor of the princess's birth. The King traveled the Kingdom with his daughter and only spoke words of beauty, so that his daughter would see only beautiful things.
“One day, when the princess was already grown, the King and his daughter walked through the streets of the Kingdom’s Capital. A vendor stood by the side of the road, selling planka, a type of sweet bread with an assortment of fruit. The princess wanted to try this delicious-looking dessert, and the King never refused his daughter anything.
“The vendor was a young man, a human. Because even if they were in the Kingdom of Fae, the rest of the continent was occupied by human kingdoms, so a human was no strange sight. The King asked the man for the price of his planka. He was ready to pay any price to see his daughter smile. But when the young human answered, the King couldn’t help but hesitate. ‘I don’t need any money,’ the vendor said, ‘I only wish to know the beautiful lady’s name’.
“To ask the name of the princess was odd. Even though her name was well-known throughout the Kingdom, the King couldn’t help but hesitate. To have his daughter pay for the dessert, even just by telling her name, rubbed the King the wrong way. But the princess didn’t share her father’s concern. ‘Fornia,’ she answered with a smile.
“The vendor was stunned by her smile and answered in turn, ‘For the gift of seeing such a precious smile, I’ll share my name as well, Pelli. It is a cheap payment, but I’m afraid that even if I gave you the world, it wouldn’t be a fair price.’
“The King took the planka and dragged his daughter away. Even if he had enjoyed seeing his daughter's smile, he didn’t like sharing it with strangers. As they continued their journey, the King soon forgot about the vendor. But the same wasn’t true for his daughter.
“The princess thought about the meeting often. Such a simple thing as exchanging names suddenly seemed more profound as time passed. It wasn’t long before the princess left the palace in secret, looking for the man named Pelli. If just learning his name could make her feel so much, what would it be learning even more of him, and telling things about herself in return?
“Pelli was no different, of course, and when he met the princess again, he immediately asked if she wanted another planka. ‘All I ask in return is to know your favorite color.’ he said. The princess smiled and answered him, ‘Silver, it is the color of the wind, is it not?’ Pelli once again paid back the princess's smile with an answer of his own, ‘Red, it is the color of your eyes, is it not?’
“Every day, the princess would return, and every day the vendor would give her a planka for the answer to a question, and as the princess would always smile, the young man would always answer the question for himself. It didn’t take long before the two fell in love. But the King was no fool. He knew that his daughter left the palace every day to see the vendor to whom she had given her name. He didn’t want to limit his precious daughter’s freedom, but when he noticed the emotions sprouting in his daughter’s heart, he knew he had to put an end to it.
“He knew his daughter would marry one day, but not so soon. And certainly not with a human commoner at that. He waited for his daughter in her room, and when she returned from seeing Pelli, he forbade her from seeing him again. But to the King’s surprise, his daughter refused. Not only did she refuse, but she also got angry at the King. That had never happened before, and the King was shocked. He knew he had to do something about the young human, and he had to do it soon.
“But how could the princess not see through her father’s intentions? She spoke an Oath that should his father kill Pelli, she would die. Should he hurt him, she would bleed ten times more, and should he stop her from seeing him, she would never see the King again. Even though she was still young, her words held power, and as the Oath was taken, not even the King could reverse it.
“But the King was old and was more cunning than his daughter knew. He permitted his daughter to see the man whenever she wanted and promised not to hurt him. But it wasn’t long before the King had Pelli brought to him. He ensured he was uninjured, as even if he didn’t harm the human himself, it would be on his order, and his daughter had a way with words just like him. Even if she weren’t there to see the injuries, she would bleed all the same.
“The King brought Pelli to a place hidden deep underneath the palace, a place his daughter knew nothing about. There stood a large doorway, seemingly leading nowhere. After making sure Pelli had a means to defend himself, precious pills to heal any injury, and treasures to save his life against powerful enemies, he threw him inside the strange doorway. The King was pleased. He would not need to injure or kill the man. He would not need to stop his daughter from seeing him. Because how could she go to see a man that not even the King himself knew where he was?”
The fire crackling was the only sound heard as Lomin finished his story. Adion was deeply immersed throughout. Even if he didn’t know how much of what Lomin said was true, it was incredible to imagine such a scene taking place in their world.
“I believe that is a good place to end for the night,” Lomin said, “Pelli’s various adventures take a long time to tell, and we’ll have plenty of time in the future.”
“Okay,” Adion said, a little discouraged, “But you mention a race called fae? Are there no fae anymore? And what about faelin? How are the two related?”
“Well, that would spoil the story now, wouldn’t it?” Lomin asked with a smile.
“I don’t think it spoils the story,” Benji said carefully as he looked at Adion’s conflicted expression, “It is known to many well-read people, after all. Even if Sahra and I learned about it at Cyalis, we didn’t enjoy the story any less. And I’m sure Adion could figure it out himself. Better to hear it from you.”
Lomin sighed, “Very well. To answer your question, there are no fae anymore, at least that I know of. Perhaps you already figured it out yourself, but the faelin are a race created from the union of fae and humans. And according to the story, the first faelin born was the child of Fornia and Pelli.”
“You mean that a new race was created?” Adion asked, “Incredible!”
It was well-known that even if it were an elf and human, dwarf and faelin, or any other combination, the child of the two would be either of the two races, not a new one. If an elf and a human had, say, three children, they wouldn’t have all half-elves. They could have three elves, three humans, or two elves and a human. It was up to chance.
This was how things in the world worked according to the Theory of Treaded Paths. The world liked to do things like it always had, which showed itself in various ways.
“It is incredible,” Lomin agreed, “It might be the only time it has ever happened. But it goes to show that anything is possible. Under the right circumstances, you can make the world itself fundamentally change. If your words are strong enough to convince it.”
After those words, Benji got riled up and began discussing theories he had read and his own thoughts on his favorite topics. Adion soaked up everything he heard like a sponge.
I made the right choice by joining this group. Adion thought to himself, his lips forming a light smile.