It had been a week of lying in bed, aching from head to tail. Most of that time was spent recovering - slowly might I add. Visla came by a few times to check on us, her usual cheerful smile doing its best to make me forget how burned and bruised I felt. Despite her not being my actual mother, this was problably the closest I'd get to a feeling like that. Urs showed up once too, but he seemed... off. He didn’t say much, other than asking how Rheka was doing. From what I gathered, he’d had a heated argument with Vrintas. And a mighty one at that, according to Visla. She didn’t go into any real details, though, which was a certified father-grandfather classic. I hadn't seen Vrintas since, and, yeah, that had me more than a little worried.

Tavrin and Zilra were regulars on the visitor schedule. Unfortunately. Zilra, of course, just came by to annoy us with her nonsense. She had a real knack for that. Tavrin, on the other hand, brought books. Most of which I’d actually asked for. With Zilra's help, naturally. Being friends with a princess seemed to have its perks. Even if she was an irritating brat. I’d told Tavrin to grab me anything he could find on this country’s history. You know, something that might shed some light on the Rathan situation.

But what did he bring? Fiction. Folklore. Fairytales. Nothing even remotely useful. Stories like “How an apocalypse eradicated all land and made it rise again!" like some messed-up phoenix bullshit, and “How a horde of ten thousand dragons swept across all realms bringing everyone to heel!” or something about the platinum dragon Arcayes. You know, Rheka's favorite folklore animal I'd been named after.

Were they entertaining? Sure. Informative? Absolutely not.

And even in the historical chronologies he did bring I could find nothing about them. Not even a single mention. It was like the Rathan didn’t even exist.

Though I did find out what damn year we actually had. The year 1071 AS. Whatever "AS" actually meant. "After Shit" was my guess. They began the calendar after Enkefalos had taken a mighty dump, bringing everything into existence. Now here we are. Truly in the shitter.

To make things even weirder, the mighty King Erderus II - title, title, title - himself had decided to stop by and check in on us. Not gonna lie, that had me sweating a bit. Well, if I could. Hern, in his ever-cool way, didn’t leave my involvement with Fort Felsvar unmentioned. The King seemed to be quite pleased with my contributions to his kingdom. Not that anyone in public knew about it. They didn’t want word getting out about some scheming dragon messing with royal affairs. Can’t say I blame them. Apparently Rhodentum had been going fine enough as well. They'd managed to shutdown the entire tower. And while the sickness still seemed to spread, at least it was contained to within the town. For some reason I hoped that Fragaria was fine. Though, I couldn't remember when I started to care about that old lady. I guess she did cure me, after all.

Anyways, recover we did. I still felt slightly groggy, but that certainly didn't apply to Rheka. She was up and about. Two days into our bedridden recovery week she'd already started jumping around our chamber, challenging Zilra to arm wrestling and what not. I didn't participate in her shenanigans. Recovery meant recovery, and I was technically an old old man. Sometimes - rarely nowadays, I did still ponder. About if there could still be a tiny chance for this all to be just one big dream. Though, I think I'd be sad. If I just woke up again to find myself in prison again. To rot. On the other hand, all the children's shit aside, how did I deserve this? A real second chance, I mean. So far, things were fine. I'd been sentenced to spend the rest of my days in a moldy concrete cell, yet here I was. Living the high life in some fairytale fantasy land. It was all... so strange.

Leaving aside the existential crisis, it was time to look forward. Time to focus on the next challenge - training with Arcon Themion. After our week of recovering, I felt... well, not great, but good enough. Rheka, of course, was bouncing off the walls. She was desperate to finally continue our training.

When Themion came to collect us, he led us through the quieter halls of the palace. We didn’t take any of the main routes, thankfully. The last thing we needed, were more eyes staring at us. Instead, we ended up in one of the palace’s courtyards, but not one of the grand garden-ones where the nobles strolled about and sipped tea while they plotted to their heart's content. This one was tucked away, half-hidden by ivy-covered walls, a place where the grass grew a bit too wild, and the stones were worn down from time. There was also not a single dragon-themed piece of anything here. Thank goodness.

“Perfect.” Themion said, turning to us with a smile. “Here we can train without prying eyes. A peaceful place, don’t you think?”

I glanced around. Peaceful? Sure. But also... kind of eerie. It didn’t look like any people passed through here at all.

Damarion, as expected, stood off to the side, arms crossed, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. His purple hair gleamed in the sunlight, but his face was as emotionless as ever. He didn’t say a word. I don't think I'd even heard his voice yet. Even though he reminded me a lot of my past self, I couldn't help but already dislike the guy.

Is this how people actually thought of me? Damn.

Themion clasped his hands together, stepping forward. “Today. we’re going to focus on cooperation. Something you both will need to master as Nekro and Forpal. Master. And servant. You aren’t just two individuals. You’re a unit. To fight effectively, you’ll need to understand how to protect one another. That means learning about Barriers.”

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I looked at Rheka. She returned it with a grin. Agreed. The only two real fights we'd ever been in, we sort of just... winged it. I didn't actually know anything about how this girl wanted to act. Though, I did have a fairly good idea about it. Sigh.

He gestured to the open space around us. “Now, barriers are a fundamental part of defense magic, but there’s something important to understand. A barrier can only block the same type of spell it’s made from. A fire barrier can stop fire spells, but if you try to block a fire spell with water... well, you’ll just end up soaked and burned.”

Rheka scrunched up her face, clearly confused. “But... isn’t that backwards? Shouldn’t water beat fire? Like... you know, when you put out a campfire?”

“That’s the mistake many make.” Themion said with a knowing smile. “But it doesn’t work that way. The arcane has its own rules. You can't destroy it, only control it. And you can only do that if you're affine with the type. That said, spells can interact in different ways. For example, a fire spell cast in fog or mist? Weaker. The moisture in the air saps some of its strength.”

That made a lot of sense. We'd experienced it first-hand, back when Vrintas fought against that crazy baboon. And his stupid fog.

I nodded. “Okay, so terrain can mess with spells.”

“Exactly. Another example. Lightning spells are far less effective if the target is grounded. Cast it in a muddy field, and it’ll spread out, dissipating before it hits full force.”

“Or.” Damarion finally chimed in. His voice was as flat as could be. “You could just dodge.”

Thanks mate.

Themion chuckled. “Yes, evasion does work, but today, we’re focusing on cooperation. Barriers, teamwork, and terrain control. You two are meant to fight as a pair, which means you’ll need to cover each other’s weaknesses. Forpal and Nekro are cut from the same cloth, the same soul, so naturally you possess the same affinities.”

Of course I knew all about that. Yet it still didn't work when I tried. And neither after that, or after that. Fire just wasn't clicking with me.

I raised a brow. “If we’re supposed to have the same affinities... then why can’t I cast any fire spells? Rheka can pull it off just fine.”

Themion’s expression shifted slightly, thoughtful. “That is a curious thing.” he said, stroking his chin. “Though I believe it may have something to do with the condition Vrintas mentioned. You remember what he told me, yes?”

I glanced at Rheka, who was busy poking at the grass with her feet, and then back at Themion. “Yes, how could I ever forget. My blights. But what does that mean for my spellcasting? My condition should be dealt with, no?”

“Well.” Themion said, stepping closer. “That’s what we’re going to explore together. The arcane can be a tricky thing, especially when there are... complications.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little on edge. Was I still... broken? “So what now?”

“Now.” he said with a smile. “I’m going to show you both a simple barrier spell, and we’ll see where your strengths lie.”

He held out his hand, palm up, and after a brief moment of concentration, a shimmering, translucent barrier formed in front of him. It flickered with a faint orange-red glow. The color of fire. “This is a basic fire barrier.” he explained. “Its only purpose is to block incoming, low-tier fire spells. But, as I mentioned before, it won’t protect against anything else.”

Rheka’s eyes lit up. “Cool!”

I gave a little nod. The way the barrier rippled slightly, it was almost like a shield of heat waves.

“You’ll need to attune to the spell first.” Themion said, dispersing the barrier with a flick of his wrist. “As you're aware it takes some time, but once you can create the barrier, you’ll feel its power flow through you. Rheka, why don’t you try first?”

Rheka jumped at the opportunity, her excitement was palpable. She closed her eyes, her hands stretching out in front of her as she concentrated. I could see her brow furrow, her whole body tensing as she focused. It took a good forty-five minutes for her to finally pull it off. The process was, as always, a hassle. There was no shortcut, no cheat-code. Just crunching time. Themion demonstrated the spell to us over and over until finally... there it was. I felt energy rush through me. A most familiar sensation, though I still couldn't get used to it. Probably never would. That feeling of mana rushing through me, just to fly over to her. The lights swirling around us. It was the same as ever, whenever she would cast a spell. And she'd done it again. A faint shimmer of orange appeared in front of her palms.

“I did it!” she exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. The barrier flickered weakly but held its shape for a moment before fading out.

“Very good.” Themion said with a nod. “Now, Argius, your turn.”

Here we fucking go. I wasn’t feeling too confident, but I gave it a shot. I sat my ass down. This position always felt so awkward, but there wasn't really a better way for me to get both of my forelimbs up. Stretching out my claws, I tried to mimic what Rheka had done, focusing on that same orange glow, the heat, the fire.

Nothing.

I concentrated harder, reaching for... something, but all I could feel was this odd, heavy pressure in my chest. The barrier wasn’t forming. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't replicate that feeling. It seemed like Mana just hated my guts.

Ah whatever.

I went for the next best thing. Concentrate. If I could just replicate that time in the fort. That damn smoke.

Then came another familiar feeling. I couldn't quite recall from where, but I'd felt it before. Maybe just once.

It was different from when Rheka did it. The Mana surged through my limbs but it didn't quite... leave. It just kept flowing through me. Like a million whirlpools rushing through my veins.

And then - a faint, dark smoke began curling from my claws. Much smaller than at the fort, but it was there. I pulled it off again! Whatever that meant.

Themion watched carefully, then tilted his head. “Interesting... You can’t form a fire barrier, can you?”

I shook my head, feeling a mix of frustration and confusion. “No, there’s just this... smoke. It’s what happened at Felsvar.”

Themion’s eyes lit up. “I see.” He stepped closer, studying the dark wisps trailing from my claws. “That’s not fire, but it’s certainly something. Perhaps your affinity lies with the darkness.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, trying to make sense of it.

“We may have stumbled upon a curiosity here.” Themion said, a smile tugging at his lips. He turned to Rheka. "You haven't been able to cast a darkness spell, I assume?"

Rhea just shook her head. "No, her affinities are Fire, Water, Light and Energy." I answered in her stead.

Themion's face lit up. "Most interesting." Then he paused, seemingly deep in thought. "There are rare instances like this. I haven't quite come across one, though I'm certain they exist."

Does... he mean to say what I think? Do we...

Themion paused, as if a spark of realization had crossed his face. "It seems that, despite your shared connection...

...your magical affinities diverge."