As night fell, they found a large clearing on one side of the road and made up camp. Lenara was not yet back and while it made Saga nervous, the others seemed unbothered. They made small fires within the middle of the wagon circle. All around them the night came alive with noise as this forest seemed more nocturnal than it was active during the daytime. Small, ratline creatures with two prehensile tails scurried across the tree branches. Sage watched with horrified fascination as the creatures were jumping across to nearby branches, snagging them with their tails as if it looked like they had mistimed the jump. Their momentum would carry them in a swing that let them jump off and grab another branch instead. It was like the world's most creepy family of acrobats.

“Creepy” Saga muttered as they were watching the things. “It's like the unholy combination of a rat, a lemur, and a squirrel.”

“What is a lemur?” Sasha asked as they sat down next to Saga by the fire. Saga glanced up, smiling. Sasha had her hair out instead of a ponytail like Saga was used to seeing her in. The light of the fire played across those strange, vibrant hues, making its color shift in subtle ways.

“Sort of a monkey?” Saga said. “They have long tails and I think they aren't real monkeys? Definitely primates though.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Sasha said, as they fished out a piece of dried fruit and handed it to Saga. “Want some”

“Sure” Saga took the dried fruit and chewed it thoughtfully. The night sky was clear of any clouds and full of strange, unfamiliar stars. They stared up at it, thinking once more of home. They never watched the stars much when they were alive in the another world. Maybe here, they could learn a little about the stars. And as if reading Saga's thought, Sasha looked up.

“Different starts where you come from”

“Yes. In the cities, you can't really see them anymore, too much light pollution. That is to say, there are so many lights and gases and such that the sky is just mottled. And sometimes what you think is a star, is just space junk.”

“Again, I shall take your word for it,” Sasha said as she pointed to two big stars that outshone all the others. “That’s the Eternal Twins,” She said as Saga listened, looking at the two stars that looked massive compared to any stars she has seen, here or back home.

“The eternal twins?” Saga asked, glancing at Sasha. She was lit up by the fire, and the runes on her arms glowed faintly in the darkness around them. Sasha didn’t seem to notice that Saga wasn’t looking at the stars anymore.

“The Eternal Twins, yes. Two great cosmic beings who once seeded the world tree, and created all the worlds. Now tending to it, pruning those worlds that go so wrong as to be anathema to their own creators.” Sasha spoke and Saga returned their gaze to the sky, looking at the stars again.

“There is so much I do not know. That none back home knows. Magic is real. Gods are real. There is a great tree, where the worlds hang like fruit from branches. I know a few self-styled Norse Pagans who will like that last revelation.” They said with a chuckle. Sasha looked back at Saga with a smile.

“I cannot imagine how it must be. To be so far away. But, if it helps. Outside of Auntie, I don't have much else either.” She said, then turned her eyes to the fire. The two stared into the fire in silence, both lost in memories of people they would never see again. Until the fire suddenly turned a bright blue and Ordans voice rang out.

“My young warriors!” `He exclaimed as he twirled his fingers and made the fire rise in a spiral of flames that then bent and thinned out. It rose to wrap about his left arm, then move across his body to his right as he basked in Saga's wide-eyed wonder before the warrior caught themselves and scoffed.

“Showoff” Saga said. “We know you play with matches. “

“Ah, But your gracious trainer and leader, Olaf, has tasked me to train you tonight.”

“Neither of us a mage though.” Saga said eyebrow raised.

“Alas, you are too sharp for me,” Ordan said with a mock sigh. He crouched to be level with the two sitting by then now dead fireplace.

“Magic my dear is more than just fireballs and conjuring wind. It is within each and every one of us, and it is expressed very differently.” Ordan said, even as he let the fire wrap about him in ever more complicated patterns.

“This ability is of my main ones. It’s called fire-weaving. I got when It when by studying the most fundamental aspects of my main ability Pyromancy. Did you know I was on a different path at first?” He continued as the two listened attentively. Others were looking their way, the Pyromancer certainly drawing attention with his display of arcane arts.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Skald?” Saga ventured, remembering hearing about it from Vetra.

“Indeed. It was all song, poetry, and subtle magical influences within the tone of my voice and the way I played my music. But It was not what I was meant to be. I was always tied to fire through my affinity.” The fire suddenly began to move up the palm of his hand, before dissolving into three bright motes of fire that weaves through the air. They converged on the now-dead fireplace, relighting the fire.

“Everyone is capable of magic. That is what your spiritual affinity is. One of the ones you possess is Death. We don't know what your second is yet, as you have yet to manifest any purely magical skills.” He said as he pointed to Saga. Then his finger moved to Sasha. “Yours is Might and Ice.”

“Might?” Saga asked. “How many of these affinities are there”

“There are many different ones but the most common ones are Ice, Water, Air, Fire, Growth, Death, Light, Darkness, Might, Corruption, and earth Earth. There are others more uncommon ones like Soul and Divine.” Sasha answered for him.

“ Soul and Divine are examples of exceedingly rare affinities, Divine most all. It is only held by the demi-god children of actual Gods. Soul affinity only manifests within those that spend their entire life looking inwards and honing their spirit to a fine point. I met two in my entire life who had the Soul Affinity. One is the seer that lives in the mountain to the north. The other is a solitary spiritualist who lives entirely alone on an island out in the Frothing Seas.”

“Different parts of the world have developed different methods to draw upon magic. Here in the north, we use Runes. Where parents hailed from, they used specific songs. I know some elven folk here in the North have an ancient way of going about that's different than ours as well. “ Ordan continued.

“This is a training tool for fledgling spellcasters, called a Runic Chamber Stone.” He explained as he sat down. “I want you to focus on it with all you got. Close your eyes and try to push as much of your mind and self into what you are feeling.”

Saga closed their eyes, focusing on the stone. At first, they felt nothing. Nothing at all. Then there was a strange, empty feeling emanating from the stone. It felt as if it needed to be made whole. Focusing on that very feeling, Saga pushed as instructed. The sensation was strange, it was as if part of them was suddenly inside the stone. The space inside seemed endlessly vast. Within that vastness, two orbs of light spiraled around each other. They reached out, and the stars exploded into two novae of bright, undulating light.

Suddenly, it felt as if their soul was being ripped out of their body, drawn by the two stars, now burning bright holes in the fabric of reality.

{Warning, you are falling under the influence of [ Spirit Feedback Loop ]. You are taking continued spirit damage}

Ordan looked at the two as they focused. Sasha's energies immediately flowed into the stone, and frost began to coat part of the stone. He wasn't surprised, Sasha's aunt was a better mage than he was. As he looked to Saga, who seemed to struggle with getting the stone to open he felt something unnerving. Suddenly the death rune glowed with an angry dark purple light that cast strange shadows all over the clearing.

“What is that.” Asked Jasper as he looked up from his book. Others began to look as well as the dark energy seeped out of the runes. The energy seemed to drip down in a purple liquid. Wherever it hit the ground, the plant life withered in seconds. Another light soon began to light up another array of runes as green liquid flame dripped down onto the ground and wherever its light touched, the now-dead greenery began to rapidly heal and regrow into even greater splendor than before. Saga was sweating now, clutching the stone in a white knuckle grip. Ordans throat suddenly felt dry.

He was broken out of his reverie as Vetra shouted. “Ordan. You are supposed to be monitoring their spirit. Take the stone from them now!”

Ordan blinked and saw the way Saga was struggling. Quick as a viper, he snatched the stone, only to drop it as his hand suddenly grew ice cold. Looking down at it, he saw how a wave of necrosis appeared then was healed. No, not healed. Replaced entirely. The whole thing was over in seconds. Vetra ran up to shake Saga, who looked feverish and sick, eyes unfocused.

“Saga? Saga listens to me. Focus on my voice.”

“Wuhh” Saga came to, winching and clutching their head. “I don’t feel so good.”

Vetra shot Ordan a venomous look and the fire mage looked suddenly deeply ashamed. He produced a green vial, handing it over to Vetra who took it and gently poured it into Saga's mouth. They gulped it down, and immediately the color in their face returned and their eyes refocused.

“What. Happened.” The confused Saga asked, looking like they were only half there. Their head felt foggy and their eyes watered a little from the headache. “I was doing as I was told. Then suddenly it felt as if I was being dragged into the stone itself.”

“Spiritual Feedback Loop,” Vetra said, looking them over like a worried mother looking for scratches and bleeding on their kid after the child fell. “Ordan should have pulled you out as soon as you lost control. But at least he had a Restoration Potion at hand.”

“That's what that drink was. IT wasn't as awful as the stamina potion..” Saga said, having almost enjoyed the taste of it. And had certainly helped on a whole different level than the weak, cheap stamina potions.

“It’s far more powerful than one of those. And tastier” Ordan said, hunching down next to the saga.

“But it must have cost a lot.” Saga said, rubbing their head and trying to get the last of the fogginess out.

“It doesn't matter. I almost got you killed. It is the least I can do” Ordan said, voice apologetic.

“ I don’t think I wanna become a mage anymore,” Saga said, giving them both a weak smile.

“Not your style, huh?” Ordan said softly. "That's ok. Your pretty good at smashing things."