After a, mostly pleasant evening, spent entirely outside the confines of what you would formally know as being "indoors", Arras finally found himself once again shuffling back into the confines of what you would formally know as being "indoors" after Illia said that she would just stay with him until he fell asleep.

Honestly it really wasn't that bad at this point, he just didn't much like having to be inside if he didn't have to be. Not having a subtly stirring pit of dread in your chest was better than having one. Though, once again, for the sake of "appearances" he shouldn't sleep outside.

Arras was really starting to hate that word.

Regardless, the day passed without much further event. He had considered doing some more serious practice, but he was tired. He mostly just played around with small pieces of his force magic, and a little wind magic. Nothing of much note. He was certainly happy to see Illia following along with him though.

...He was of the opinion that she probably should've done a little more than she did, given she was fresh off... But, oh well. She wasn't him.

When they'd stopped, it was to head to sleep. Notably, the room was entirely theirs. Amakazi had her own quarters, and Eric had never come to greet them after he'd gone upstairs... Once again, Arras didn't get why they had to stay in there, but Illia was there to help, so it didn't much matter anyways. The issue was negligible. If not somewhat confusing.

Morning was as normal as a morning could be, though Arras was hungry. They hadn't eaten before going to bed... But, he supposed that would be remedied soon enough, so it wasn't an issue. At least, he figured it would be. Proper guest keeping etiquette, or whatever? Something like that. He woke up feeling refreshed, and continued to work his magic.

Getting a little bit more specific, when Arras couldn't use large quantities of his magic, because he'd be at risk of causing property damage, what he instead focused on was his efficiency. His ability to micromanage his own magic. It wasn't as if magic was a muscle that you could train, just using it didn't improve it... But, it did give you ideas on how to improve it BY using it. From one advancement, Arras would make another. A lot of it was instinctual, mostly intuitive for him. He took one step forward, and much like actually walking, the way you should place your "foot" became apparent after taking that previous step.

So, that's what he did. Used a small amount of force magic, created a orb of the stuff, eliminated a tiny, absolutely minuscule leak of magic that went into the casting, and then casted it again. And suddenly, that previous leakage didn't feel so small any more, because he found an even smaller one. And then he patched that as well. And he kept doing it, again, and again, and again.

That's what he ALWAYS did. Whether he could use gigantic pillars of earth or only tiny pieces of force magic. It was easier to find issues when you worked with more magic at once, but using smaller quantities of magic also helped train oneself to detect magic. It was obviously harder to figure out how your magic was leaking if there was less of the stuff leaking in the first place, so you had to pay more attention, you had to strain your focus. It was all a very homogeneous mix of practice that just continually fed into the other parts of it. And also one that, for anybody who couldn't focus like Arras could, one that would be absolutely grueling.

Now, in hindsight, Arras supposed it made sense. Nobody had ever really explained to him just WHY he was so much better at magic when compared to most people, and that would be because most people just straight up couldn't mimic the way that he practiced. It was too difficult, requiring hours and hours of constant unbroken focus paired with straining ones mind to the limit. Now, why was it hindsight?

"...What do you mean you have no idea what I'm talking about?" Eric sat across the table from Arras, in a very nice set of clothes very much different from what he had been wearing back in the desert. That could be charitably described as armor, and now he had clothes closer to what Arras himself wore. Anyways, the latter of those individuals was currently taking a solid bite out of one of their particular favorites, (and one of their only favorites) a plain steak... Without the use of a fork, or knife. And they were currently using their metamorphosis spell...

"I mean that sounds silly? Why would you need to rely on somebody else to teach you how to get better with magic? I just needed a little bit of help to learn how to use it at first, from there I was perfectly fine on my own. Why in the world would I need somebody to dumb down magic for me? It's already simple enough."

"...What."

"...Four months old, remember?" Illia added on rather dryly.

"...Right. Arras, you understand that you are well above the common fool, yes?"

Arras leaned forward as he cupped his forehead in his hand, his elbow stopping solidly on the table. "Please don't tell me that the 'average' person needs this much assistance?"

"I'm going to tell you that the 'average' person needs this much assistance yes."

"So... Let me get this straight, in order for other people to even understand what I'm talking about, I'll need to learn multiple, lesser, ways of casting, that serve absolutely zero practical value for myself. Like, specifically visualizing 'Casting Patterns', or manifesting and maintaining 'Magic Circles', are you serious? What even is a 'Mind Realm'???"

"...Holy shit."

"...Still think his standards are acceptable?" Illia reluctantly asked.

"And you were able to keep up with this barbarian?"

"Still here." Arras let his aura flare, for just a single instant, nothing threatening, not even the entire thing, just a quick little pulse.

"...I wouldn't quite say 'kept up'..."

"Illia." He made a face in her direction.

"Sorry, sorry. My bad."

"...Regardless of how you feel about those things, don't you think it's a little late to be apprehensive? You're already here, you've assured me you'd be able to learn whatever is required of you, do you intend to prove yourself wrong?"

"No, no I don't. I just... I'd rather put my time towards things that I myself would find important, but, I suppose I can deal with these three things for... Some time." Arras managed to grumble out. Smooth.

"Wonderful. Those three, among others."

"...Pardon?"

"Ah, and you'll also need to get comfortable with speaking out loud. Mind magic isn't a viable solution for an entire classroom. Let alone the fact that some may view it as an invasion of their privacy."

"I... What? I can't talk out loud."

"Why not? You can use illusion magic, can't you?

"What does that have to do with-"

and suddenly, he realized what that had to do with talking.

He paused for a moment, thinking it over, before one of his tails smacked against the chair he was sitting in.

"...Like this?"

He just... Made the noise that speaking would make. As an illusion... Was it, really that simple? It didn't matter if the noise was actually there or not, or if he actually spoke the words... He just... Imagined the words that would usually be his mental voice, instead being out loud. In the exact same tone and cadence, just, not restricted to his mind. And it worked. Immediately. One cast of illusion magic later, and he was no longer mute.

"...Huh."

Illia conveniently looked away, it seemed as if she hadn't thought of the obvious either, but Arras was willing to excuse it, given the obvious reasons.

"Yes, like that. Did you... Surely you didn't JUST realize you could do that, yes?"

Arras remained silent. He had a bad habit of not just thinking of the simple solution. Perhaps he should seriously consider learning these "lesser" methods that he had initially shut down. Maybe the more simplistic work would give him some perspective...

...

Arras slowly scanned his way through each page, side by side with Illia. They were once again outside, out in a surprisingly cloudless day. There were no trees in whatever this open space inside of the manor was supposed to be, so it was bright and sunny out. A climate that Arras frankly found himself enjoying. The warmth was pleasant, and paired with a smattering of wind magic, it was downright refreshing. No senses magic necessary, this was one of those rare few occasions where he genuinely felt at peace.

Nice and quiet, words exchanged only when they needed to be, warm, yet not uncomfortable. Fresh air and the self created breeze was wonderful. Learning new things, which, were... Difficult, yet not something incomprehensible either. He wasn't actively improving his wind magic, which... Did slightly grate at him, but he had other things to learn right now. And on top of all that? He had his favorite person all to himself with no foreseeable interruptions for hours.

So, suffice to say, he was having a very good morning.

"No, you're pronouncing those words wrong. Uh-Dih-Shi-Null, In-Cree-Sing-Lee"

"Ah, thank you for pointing that out. So, that would be... 'During the creation of additional circles, repeating the same actions becomes increasingly difficult.' Right?"

"Uh-huh, carry on."

She also wasn't pulling her punches when it came to steering him in the right direction. She had learned well, as far as Arras was concerned. Because he wanted no coddling. He was very much confident in his ability to take on whatever challenges this would pose and come out on top of it. Illia had once tried to coddle him, after hours and hours of practicing with him, she did not. And he appreciated that, he wanted nothing less.

For now, he was just going over the basics of Magic Circles. This would likely be a multi week long endeavor, if the sheer volume of what he needed to learn was to be believed. And... He couldn't help but shudder, the thought disturbing his inner peace. He'd need to learn about... The POLITICAL workings of this Kingdom... Terrifying... Hopefully not too much of it. He really just had, absolutely no interest in it. He had negative interest in it, it actively made him uncomfortable. Anything that could serve to drive hundreds to a pointless death wasn't something that he wanted anything to do with.

But, regardless, that was to be in the future, not in the moment. For now? He got to enjoy almost every part of life that he enjoyed. Minus practicing magic. What more could he really ask for?

...Well, he could ask to have not suffered through the previous few days of his life before he was gifted this reprieve, but hey, it was almost worth it!

Anyways... It was going to be a slow day, slow going while he picked up the basics. The basics of the things of which he was already advanced in. No, no that wasn't enough to ruin his mood. He would do it without complaint.

...Hopefully.

Probably.

...

After the third day, Arras admittedly started to get somewhat restless. He had never spent such a long period of time confined to one general area before. Well, he had spent this amount of time in a GENERAL area before, multiple times... But never before had he been confined to one building. It wasn't a bad building, it had anything and everything that he needed. An outdoor space, people that didn't bother him, food, books, really, what else could a fox ask for?

So, that was why it was odd. Well, there were two things that were odd, according to Illia. One of them being that the Lord of the house hadn't had them introduce themselves yet, but the other weird thing was Arras's own. He... Wanted out. Not permanently or anything, but despite there being literally nothing else for him to look forward to outside of this particular building as of the moment, he just wanted to go. He didn't even feel trapped or anything... Just... It was an odd feeling to pin down, and it had taken him most of the day to figure it out.

It wasn't even near the point of affecting his studies though, so he paid it no heed. It was very much a desire that he could suppress for the moment. Though, speaking of his studies, Arras had made some headway in terms of basic magic practice, stuff. Various techniques designed to decrease the amount of time it took to cast, to be able to cast magic more easily, to be able to detect magic, all good stuff like that. Stuff that he could already do... But, it at least provided a new way to look at his skills.

Granted, even after coming to understand a few of these methods, he still felt them to be far lesser than his general modus operandi... No, there was only one thing that actually stuck out to him so far, out of the various different methods he'd read about and put into practice. And that would be the creation of Magic Circles. Out of everything that he'd gone over so far, those were the only things with any sort of actual tangible effect that would improve Arras's current usage of magic.

And well, he'd actually gone about making a few. Precisely three to be exact, one on each of his tails. The markings were obviously obscured by his fur, but he couldn't help but feel like they were glowing... Ever so slightly, just a slight tinge of red. Regardless, now that he had gone about it... Just as was noted, his total pool of magic had decreased. Not by an insignificant portion either, at least a tenth of it was now gone. though, as far as Arras was concerned, that was very much a worthwhile trade.

The difference in the efficiency of his magic was PALPABLE. Almost always, his progress was gradual. Quick, but over time, and never slowing. But, this one time? For a mere thirty minutes of concentration, this was the single biggest qualitative leap in his abilities that he'd ever taken at once. He was almost tempted to manifest another dozen of them, but that probably wouldn't have been a good idea, and it wasn't like he even needed to do any fighting. Making his magic extremely easy to work with wouldn't do him much good for practice either. Just keeping the three current circles from degrading would be experience enough.

Regardless of all of that, despite his initial apprehension, it would seem as if these basic methods did have a few things that Arras could genuinely learn from. There was some genuine value to be found in these steps that he had apparently skipped, so he would be remiss to put anything less than his absolute maximum effort into learning about it all. If there was a chance to have even one more breakthrough as potent as these Magic Circles through spending the next few weeks learning all of this, then he would spend weeks learning. No questions asked.

...

By now, Arras had spent a week learning. And... He was starting to get legitimately somewhat restless now. As was Illia, but for different reasons. Eric hadn't come around to speak with them too often, neither had Amakazi, but when he did she had made sure to ask.

"...Are we ever going to speak with your father?"

"I don't see why you'd need to, he's busy enough as is at the moment. There's usually far more paperwork to get done during the break. Speaking of that, Arras? How are your studies coming along?"

And he had been happy to describe, at great lengths, how they had been coming along. Almost every waking hour was spent poring over just about every word, hanging off the knowledge imparted upon him. A lot of it was mostly worthless to him, though he still made sure to memorize it. But occasionally, he would come across a useful little nugget, a gem buried beneath the rough. Compare a week of practicing his magic the same way he had been, and studying for a week, and studying beat out the practice.

Admittedly, it wasn't by a huge gap or anything, but studying would also give him more things to memorize, to use in the future, to widen his knowledge. It held more value to it than merely getting stronger.

"Wonderful, might I ask how much longer you think you'll need to finish reading up on the essentials?"

"Well... Based off what you've given me to work on... Perhaps, another three or four days? Maybe less, I have been reading faster the better I get, so."

"Hm, good. Then, I suppose you'll be ready to learn some of the more sensitive topics after you're done with that?"

Arras's expression twisted. He was... Fairly certain he knew what "sensitive topics" meant.

"Is there... Nothing else that needs to be done before that?"

"Well, it's always good to broaden your knowledge, and you'll continue to do so during the final month of the break... But, more important than learning of the political sphere over in the academy? Hmmm, no. That's rather essential. I suppose you should continue to reinforce your knowledge of the basics afterwards though. You'll also need to learn aspects of the curriculum in specific, but if you have a solid understanding of the fundamentals that shouldn't be too much of an issue."

He tried his very best to hide his displeasure, he really did try... Unfortunately, Arras was not great at poker faces while transformed...

...

His efficiency was starting to take a hit. When Arras woke up on his ninth day, he knew he had to do something else. Not because he was burnt out, or anything silly like that, no. This place was starting to drive him crazy. Everything was taken care of for him, he didn't go anywhere, he didn't see anything, he was... He didn't want to say bored, his studies kept him entertained, and Illia was always good company... But, he was BORED.

So, the next time that he saw Eric, he went ahead and asked.

"Would it be an issue if I wanted to take a look around the town?"

He hadn't actually talked to Illia about that, so she gave him an odd look, but was otherwise unbothered.

"...Hm? I suppose not, why?"

"No particular reason... I guess you could say I'm feeling somewhat cooped up?" He leaned back in conjunction with his words. He'd almost look normal if his mouth had been moving.

"That is somewhat fair, it has been over a week since you've arrived, and you're well ahead of the expected schedule. I take it you don't need an escort?"

"Almost certainly do not." He nodded and then, reluctantly, reached for a fork and knife. He understood the principle behind it, eating with utensils instead of your bare hands would leave you looking cleaner, and "appearances" were just about everything... But it was still rather pointless in his eyes. Maybe if he was eating with other people nearby that he didn't know it would make sense? But he wasn't, so...

So he did it anyways. It was for practicing, all of this was for practice, to prepare. He couldn't skip out on what he had to learn, and as much as he wanted to, he also really DIDN'T want to. Choosing to not participate in what he was learning would be the same as giving up. And Arras knew that this was all something that he could do. Every bit of practice, every bit of drivel that he would rather not deal with, he knew that he COULD deal with it. So, he took up that knife with gusto, and got to cutting.

...

Despite the air being, technically, just as fresh as it had been back over in the courtyard that Arras frequented, somehow it had a different taste to it. Actually, no, it did in fact have a different taste to it. His sense of smell was a little better in his normal form, and that smelled like... He wanted to say, fresh bread? Not exactly a particularly interesting food, but it smelled nice at least. Speaking of that, Arras had very much not wanted to draw any attention. He was... A little sick of being treated like a noble, to be honest. As in, everybody looking at him with a nervous look in their eye.

He was mostly indifferent to it, but he didn't really like being looked at as if he was an anomaly. Even if he... Sort of was one in most definitions? He still didn't like it. It didn't bother him too much, but eight consecutive days of it did start to wear on a person. A part of him still longed for solitude and freedom, but he basically already had those two things, just with a few strings attached. Strings that weren't exceedingly uncomfortable, and thus strings that he could suffer. And also strings that came attached to other things that he liked. The only thing that he absolutely wasn't willing to go through again would be another "war".

Disregarding all of that though, that wasn't what Arras was looking for today! He just wanted to see the town, to see what kinds of things they had available. And, for her part, Illia had been more than happy to oblige. She also had a little satchel tied around her wing, filled with small silver circles, which she called Slivers. Apparently, a form of currency. That sparked another question, and a few moments later, Arras had an idea of what "currency" was. And... While he couldn't say he didn't understand the purpose of it, what he couldn't claim to understand was why in the world did colonial creatures need to pay other colonial creatures to keep each other alive...

"This town is a little bigger than Pennsworths', so I'm hoping that they have a few extra things... It's been so long since my feathers got a proper grooming, it almost feels like they'll fall out-I'm totally starting to ramble, my bad. I doubt that's something that you'd enjoy, so... I dunno, what are you looking for Arras?"

"...Nothing in particular." His gaze drifted all around as he weaved his way through the general crowd. Most people didn't even notice the deft fox darting its way past and under them, the most of his presence simply being a tail brushing against somebodies leg, causing them to jolt and look around panicked for a short moment, before settling back into whatever they had been doing before. He was taking a good look around the town, but, to be fair, he had absolutely no idea what to be looking for. So, after a few more seconds, his gaze settled back onto Illia as she fluttered from roof to roof, hovering just inside the range of their link.

"...Okay, do you wanna slip into an alley right over here? I'll take a look around town for a few minutes and be right back!"

"Sure, it's just ahead, right?"

"Uh-huh! Yep, you're going the right way, and you're there!"

"Should I get up on the roof?"

"Uhhhhh... I mean, if you think you can do it in a few minutes without causing a commotion, sure."

Arras thought it over for a moment, then responded with self assured confidence. "...Definitely can."

"That... That wasn't a challenge..."

"Doesn't matter, still gonna do it." He immediately put his money where his mouth was, and started ascending the wall via force platform after force platform. It was definitely still difficult to do this quickly, but not having to support the weight of his transformed state definitely helped. He'd also done a lot more practice since the time that he'd ascended the wall, and he had three of those handy dandy magic circles that he'd already had to reinforce a total of eight times each... But, that was besides the point! The strain of doing that was negligible!

"Well... You have fun with that, be right back!"

And with that, she was off.

...Having wings must be nice.

...

He'd actually scaled the wall in a total of two and a half minutes, just for the record. So he had a few minutes of down time before Illia had gotten back. Not that he could really do much with it, unless he wanted to put on a light show for the people below... But, still, he had the time.

He didn't do much with it, but he did take a good look at the town from his vantage point. And, once again, didn't do much with it. The thought occurred that, on top of everything else that he was learning, he might want to consider working daily life into that learning plan as well. It certainly couldn't hurt to have a better idea of what people did to, well, live.

Anyways, it hadn't taken too much longer for Illia to get back, but when she did... She seemed... A little too excited.

"Okay, okay, now I need you to hear me out Arras. When you hear me describe what exactly this place is, don't immediately freak out?"

"Now why would I 'freak out'? It's not like it's anything dangerous."

"Yeah! You're right, it's not dangerous at all! In fact, it's actively good for you! So, you promise not to be scared of it, right???"

"...Sure, I promise."

"Okay, so this was one of my favorites back in my old home. I really didn't expect them to have one of these here in town."

"...Would you get to the point?"

"Yeesh, sorry, sorry. Okay, so... To put it simply... Jeeze I really have no idea how to tell you this without it sounding bad... Alright, I think I got it. So, basically... Do you ever feel tense, Arras?"

"Are you going to answer the question or not??? Would it or would it not be faster to just show me at this point?"

"No-no, this is important, answer the question."

"...Tense how?"

"Like, I dunno, your body feels sore because you're stressed about something? You're stressed about stuff pretty often, I wouldn't doubt it."

"I... I guess? Like..." He thought for a few more seconds. "Yeah, I suppose so. I feel lighter whenever I just have a quiet day with you, lighter than I would otherwise. Lighter as in... It's difficult to describe."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"No I get it, no need to overcomplicate it. Now, what if I told you that you could feel like that, while still being stressed?"

"I'd tell you that sounds unlikely...?"

"Okay, but it's not unlikely, it's real."

"...How?"

"So basically, that tension is a natural part of your body, just in general. Your muscles... For lack of a better word, scrunch up. It just kind of naturally happens. Now, in order to deal with that tension, those experienced can knead at those muscles with a combination of magic and physical motions, and make them feel 'lighter'. They're called massages. And usually, these places aren't very experienced with creatures other than more common colonial races, but this place promises 'wide range care to all species', with birds and foxes on the list of that! I know for a fact ashwings are included, and I don't think spirit foxes are all that different from the average fennix, minus the extra tails!"

"...Illia."

"I know that sounds bad, but I'm serious! This is a tried and true thing!"

"Illia."

"Oh come on! Aren't you willing to at least try it?" She was hesitant to add on the next bit of her plea, but she did it after a moments deliberation. "For me?"

"..."

"Promise you'll enjoy it!"

"...You promise?"

"With senses magic on top?"

"...Fine."

"Yes!"

"...Also, why can't you just do this yourself?"

"It's an experience better shared."

"If you say so."

...

Arras took in a deep breath as he pushed open the doors, he'd activated his metamorphosis spell a moment before reaching the place, only because Illia had said that he'd need to untie the satchel around her wing. As he'd expected, he got a few looks, but it was only for a minute or two. Well... Only for a minute or two while he was outside. The human who was at some sort of desk instantly sat at attention when he walked inside.

The second thing that Arras noticed when he walked in though, was the overpowering scent of... He actually wasn't sure what that was. He hadn't ever smelled anything like it before. Definitely wasn't food though, he could tell that much... It was also significantly warmer inside than it was outside. And it wasn't even particularly cold out today. It had been getting colder as of late, but it wasn't very noticeable.

All of this culminated in making the environment feel... Rather alien, to be honest. But, swallowing down his nerves, Arras made his way to the front as he reached up to Illia's wing. She held it out for him, and, after a bit of finagling, he got it loose.

"Alright, just follow after me. You're here for a pair of two."

"You're here for a pair of two." He repeated verbatim. Which, got a confused look from the person whom he'd been staring down ever since walking inside.

"P-pardon?"

"No-oh come on I know you're not that frazzled!"

"Sorry."

"I'm, here for a pair of two." He corrected himself and reached into the small pouch. "...How many of these should I be giving them?"

Illia paused for a moment, glancing down at the desk. There appeared to be a sheet full of prices, which were rather generous in her opinion. Though, she did find it odd how they had a written price to begin with. It wasn't like everybody could read...

"Four slivers. It would usually be two slivers and five clips for each of us, but they have a..." Illia paused as she read that over again. "...Couples discount? That's a new one to me. Oh, wait, no, it'll be six sorry. Specialists cost extra? Weird. Still getting a discount though, so not too big of a deal."

"...So six."

"Yes."

"Here." Arras set the slivers down on the counter. That was a little over half of what they had, but it wasn't like they were going to spend it on much else.

"Ah, you appear to have overpaid. For a pair of two, that should only be five slivers." She'd apparently recovered from her momentary shock, and was now back to... Doing whatever her job required of her.

Illia, through the vassal of Arras, explained the situation.

"No, that's the correct amount. Paired with the couples discount, and the extra fee for specialists who can work with birds and foxes, it totals out to six slivers."

"...I apologize, but where is this fox?" The person at the desk tilted their head ever so slightly.

"Oh... Uh, Arras, just turn off your metamorphosis spell."

He obliged. Illia fluttered down to the ground by his side as he changed back into his normal state.

"...I see. And, you're planning to enter as a pair?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Please make yourselves comfortable for the next few minutes." She put on a forced smile, and scooped up the coins that had been placed in front of her. She then proceeded to tap a button which Arras had not yet noticed, mostly because it blended in with the table itself. Given that he was currently running his magic detection at absolute maximum efficiency due to his admittedly, pretty high levels of stress in this place, he actually noticed a subtle pulse of magic coming from it. How curious, it was fairly similar to something he had felt before... But, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe with a clearer head.

"Well, you heard her." Illia lightly patted him on the back. "...Are you alright?"

"Not sure, to be honest. This place is... Weird."

"Yeah, it was a little scary for me at first as well. So... I get it, it's probably worse for you as well. So, like I said, any time you need me to help..."

"No, I'm still fine for now." Arras dismissed the offer with a shake of his head as he turned on his hind legs. He himself had denied the offer of instant assistance. He wanted to get better at managing his own anxiety, without the use of senses magic. He wouldn't go off the proverbial deep end immediately, but he did want to get better at it. And right now, this was still manageable.

...Hands all over him? That would probably be less manageable. But they should be going in as a pair, so it wouldn't be an issue. Unless being touched by strangers somehow equated to worse stress than his biggest fear, he would be fine.

But for now? He just breathed in, and breathed out. His stress would only get as bad as he allowed it to. So, he curled up against the wall with Illia by his side, and he waited.

...

He actually had to take his artifact off before going in, which was... Mostly fine with Arras. He hadn't taken it off since he'd gotten it weeks prior, but it wasn't like he relied on it for self defense or anything. Plus, he was assured that it would be kept safe by both the staff and Illia, so he definitely wasn't worried. No, what he was worried about, were the two people standing over he and Illia.

"...Okay, yeah, senses magic please."

"Gotcha." Illia nodded understandingly.

And suddenly, it felt so, so much easier to breathe. He still couldn't help but be uneasy leaving himself completely defenseless like this though. Realistically, if something were to attack him while he was just lying down like this without any active magic (because Illia had told him that would be counterproductive) then he would just die. Nothing else to it, he wouldn't be able to do much. Also realistically, nothing was going to attack him, so with a heaving effort, he forced down that logical part of his mind with another logical part of his mind.

Another deep breath, and he finally felt a hand on his body. His tail twitched uncomfortably, but he was otherwise fine. His eyes flicked over to Illia for reassurance, but she was already loving the attention apparently, given that she was already laid out across the padding that they were on like liquid. So... Instead of seeking comradery through the ordeal, he instead began to repeat a certain set of words like a mantra.

If I can do it, so can she. If she can do it, so can I.

She had risen to the challenge of keeping up with Arras, at least, to the standards that he had set for her. Which were, apparently, absolutely ludicrous given his newfound knowledge pertaining to the official ways of improving ones skill. So... If she could do something as absurd as that, then he could do something as simple as just... Staying calm.

So, the hands continued to press into him, and he did his best to stay calm. It was certainly made easier with help from Illia, which was greatly appreciated by Arras, because he could tell that her focus was split between him and her own massage... But still, it was at least a little bit difficult.

A minute passed, and he still felt the same. He stayed stock still as a probing touch found its way across him. His entire body occasionally twitching in discomfort. Though... Past that first minute, things at least looked to be on the up and up. He started to feel what Illia had meant. Even with his apprehension it was difficult to deny that it didn't feel at least somewhat nice. He began to loosen up at least a little bit, but not by too much.

It took about five minutes for any real progress to be made. At least, for Arras. By now Illia was limp, her only active thoughts being those pertaining to Arras. The rest were bliss. He was almost jealous, being able to just zone out like that was definitely a strength that he didn't have. Though... Through the masseuses best efforts, he could at least get close to that level.

After Arras finally stopped keeping track of the time, he managed to build up the nerve, or more accurately, let his nerves drop enough to let himself be lifted onto his side. He was calmer now, if only a little. So he could tolerate most of what was happening. The only real instance of any more fidgeting being when anything went near his paws. Forget being uncomfortable with the idea of it, it just felt weird. After a few more minutes, they'd seemingly gave up on the idea of that, which was fine by him.

...After who knew how long, Illia had stopped casting her senses magic Upholding a mind link was literally effortless for her, so that spell still remained, but Arras instantly noticed the loss of it. Even more surprisingly though... He didn't feel the loss of it too badly. The usual part of him that would be screaming at him to get to safety was surprisingly quiet. Not necessarily gone... But, if it was a screaming voice before, right now it was mildly mumbling in meek protest. The lack of his own head screaming at him was a genuine surprise to Arras... Enough for him to not kick out the next time he felt a hand at his paws.

It got even quieter after that.

...

Astonishingly, it was silent. The natural instinct that Arras felt, which always wanted him to evade, to always hide and run, to fight or flee. It was mollified. Free of senses magic, free of any cognitive interference, there Arras sat with his head just barely above the water, shocked by the lack of his own self sabotage, that same hand gently scrubbing at his fur.

"..."

"So?"

"I can't believe it."

If Illia had the proper range of facial expression, she would totally have said this next bit with a shit eating grin.

"Told you so."

"Remind me why I doubt you?"

"Cause you're a nervous wreck day in and day out? You have a hard time taking things at their face value."

"...Fair enough." He nodded ever so slightly as an odd implement found itself gliding through his fur.

Anyways, this was the reason why it was so warm in the building. Apparently, it was built on top of a natural hot spring? Arras didn't even know that those existed until now, but he certainly wasn't complaining. He didn't know water could be this warm. He also wasn't entirely sure yet, but that smell, which he now very much smelled like, wasn't awful either. It was just strong. He wasn't sure if it was a smell he liked, or if he was neutral towards. Either way, it was a little difficult to think while another shiver went down his spine. So, he'd figure that out after the fact.

A moment later, he felt himself being picked up, and in a course of action which he never thought would occur in his life, he did not resist even slightly.

...

He felt... Light, both in the sense of his body feeling smoother to operate, easier to move around in, and also that he felt literally lighter. Various grime that had accumulated over time in his fur was gone. So, on top of feeling lighter, he also now knew what it felt like to be squeaky clean. Frankly, not a bad feeling. Overall? After he'd gotten over his initial apprehension, it was a solid nine out of ten experience.

"So, would you be happy to know that I'm fairly certain there's a similar place over in the capital where the academy is?"

He thought it over for a moment. Only for a moment. A very short moment in fact, a moment so very short that some may hesitate to call it a moment at all.

"Yes."

"...You know, I'm genuinely shocked at how quickly you changed your tune. I even stopped using my magic half way through, and you just stuck out the rest of it anyways."

"What? It was nice."

"Well... I'm glad you're seeing things my way."

"As am I. That was wonderful."

"..."

"What?"

"Who are you and what did you do with Arras???"

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Bestiary

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Fennix

A relatively common omnivore found in plains and forests. They are sentient creatures, and are also relatively anti-social. Though, they are not directly opposed to mingling with others should the need arise. In general though, they do prefer to keep to themselves.

They are small foxes whom usually have orange and white coats. They're not particularly skilled with any specific form of magic, save for physical strengthening. They are rather skilled in this field, while also not suffering penalties in any other magics. Save for more advanced forms of magic. They seem to lack an ability to put forth the concentration which is generally required of these affinities.

A newborn fennixes coat is primarily white. Their colors do not begin to show until they have grown a significant amount, and given that fennixes are usually born in the winter, this is a rather helpful trait for this species.

Fennixes do not mate for life, though they do raise their children as a pair with their mate until they reach maturity, keeping their numbers flourishing in most locations that they settle. As previously mentioned, these creatures usually mate shortly before the winter season.

As a fennix grows stronger, its coat gradually and gradually takes on a darker hue. Their white fur eventually transitioning into a dull grey. And their usually orange coats taking on a more more tanned appearance.

All in all, they're rather plain creatures. They live from day to day, enjoying their lives to the best that they can. A life not too undesirable, if one could look past their somewhat short life spans. Granted, they do gain a rather large amount of time through growing stronger. The average fennix generally being able to live to upwards of fifty or so years, should they be a formidable individual.

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Dictionary

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Casting Patterns

Casting Patterns are a basic method used to visualize certain spells more easily. For those who cannot directly visualize their own abilities without excessive time loss, these are essential to on demand casting. By attributing the effects and appearance of a spell to certain shapes and colors, it becomes possible to manifest a spell through the visualization of the pattern instead of attempting to directly manifest your magic. One can also make slight edits and adjustments to these patterns to alter the effects of a spell.

Casting Patterns are widely considered the basic of combat casting. For, quite literally, almost everyone, thinking of certain shapes and colors is a huge help for speedier casting. Very few people possess the talent to completely ignore this step, so few in fact, that even if somebody were to have the ability to skip this step, it's somewhat likely that they would completely miss out on that fact.

Despite what you would likely believe, patterns don't technically need to be "patterns" in the traditional sense. It's simply what the method has been titled. Most anything can be imagined as a pattern, as long as its appearance can be somewhat correlated to what it is tied to. Messy or not, it usually takes less time to use this method, even if it is done sloppily, than just manifesting a spell straight up if you were to not have the specific talent for such things.

While Casting Patterns don't necessarily need to be neatly ordered, it is generally helpful. The better you can visualize a pattern, the more easily you can cast a spell related to it. Concrete shapes and colors are easier to visualize for most creatures, as opposed to abstract thoughts conjured only in the mind. As such, sentient and colonial races have a sizeable advantage in magic casting when compared to non-sentient races. Especially colonial races, as creating these patterns becomes easier the more assistance you have.

It takes hard work and effort to properly utilize this skill-set. Requiring both the ability to recall something on demand, and the ability to create that something in the first place. Even though it is not necessary to create your own patterns, those who end up creating their own generally do not share them with the wider public. Generally only leaving more basic spells within the grasp of an average magic user. Eventually forcing them to create their own off the backs of the basics should they wish to expand their repertoire.

While manifesting ones magic is, mostly based on talent, for Casting Patterns it's almost entirely based on effort. Granted, everything in this world requires some degree of talent, and some will always be more gifted with this practice than others, but Casting Patterns are notoriously learnable if you were to put the effort into it. While it is true that those who use Casting Patterns inevitably must put more effort into learning how to manifest their magic than those naturally gifted, they can still stand on completely equal footing, with some rare instances surpassing those naturally gifted at similar levels of skill by leaps and bounds.

For the most part, Casting Patterns are completely unnecessary outside of combat situations. It taking perhaps, twenty, thirty seconds to cast a spell isn't an issue for most people. However, the saved time is absolutely crucial in combat. Thus, for all combatants, save those incredibly gifted, becoming proficient in this art is almost always mandatory should they wish to thrive.

Note; these spells are often named, though I myself find the practice to be rather trivial. Simply a separate factor that serves to decrease the efficiency of the magic casted from them. I am unsure of if it is simply wide spread hysteria, or some lack of public knowledge, but this always seems to persist no matter which provinces I travel to.

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Magic Circles

Magic Circles are a method of improving ones casting somewhat similar to Casting Patterns. However, these are actual physical constructs that serve to amplify the magic users casting speed and efficacy.

Magic Circles are both simple, and, surprisingly complicated. They are an application of attributeless magic, similar to Aura's, or Magical Contracts. Thus, anybody can use them. Additionally, they are rather easy to apply to oneself. All you need to do is focus your magic at certain points in your body. For lack of a simpler comparison, you could say they're basically tattoos. Except, you apply them yourself.

After you've decided on a location to manifest a circle, you then must focus a large amount of your magic in that location for an extended period of time. It also cannot remain stagnant, as you must keep your magic moving in a similar manner to manifesting an Aura. However, you also cannot allow that magic to escape its confines. After an extended period of this, a bright circle will appear on one's body where the magic had been concentrated.

There is one main benefit to creating these circles. Casting magic becomes easier, much like it would through the principles of magic conduction. In general, you have more concentrated magic in your body after creating one of these, especially where it was manifested to begin with. This benefit is usually somewhat small, but it is also possible to create a great degree of circles. Generally, the average experienced mage being able to reasonably maintain five to six at a time on any given occasion, resulting in a greatly amplified casting ability. However, there are various issues after creating one that you must keep in mind.

To begin with, Magic Circles naturally degrade over time. The markings will fade, and eventually return to a normal state. They require constant maintenance to keep effective, that maintenance being the exact same process through which they were created. This also makes maintaining multiple at a time increasingly more difficult, as, at a certain point, manipulating magic THAT precisely that often becomes nothing short of an impossibility. Though, while there are certain techniques used for creating more specialized circles that last longer without any extra influence, they are almost always reserved to the factions from which they originated.

Additionally, creating a magic circle reduces your total magic pool. At the end of the day, this is mostly a non issue, as with more control over your magic you are able to cast it more efficiently, thus reducing the amount of magic required for spells in the first place, but there are always negative effects that come from having less magic at your disposal. The benefits certainly outweigh the negatives in this case, but the fact remains that even if you are in theory, able to manipulate magic finely enough to create multiple circles, it may not be a good idea should you not have the magic power to support such a venture in the first place. Reducing ones total pool of magic enough can have adverse effects on their health.

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Mind Realm

Despite sounding like something that should be just next door from Casting Patterns, a Mind Realm is a far more complicated matter. A Mind Realm is somewhat similar to basic magic detection, in that, it is the expansion of that principle to its absolute limits. Instead of being limited to that which is close to the user, their perception of the world around them is massively increased.

In order to do this, instead of attempting to perceive that which is directly in front of you, you must expand that focus to the world around you. For those without a clear mind, this can be a nigh impossible task. It requires extensive practice in almost all cases, and even after learning how to do it, in order to do it effectively it requires even more practice. However, should one succeed, casting magic within the area of their Mind Realm becomes magnitudes easier.

Being able to perceive the flow of all magic around you, it becomes inexorably easier to move your magic along with the flow. This minimizes magic lost on spells used outside of the body via being able to perceive the flow of your magic more clearly, as well as being able to feel any natural magic that may be disruptive. Giving you a clear indicator of what to avoid while casting.

All magic that is not explicitly masked becomes exceedingly simple to detect for an individual actively using a Mind Realm. And even then, should one not skilled enough attempt to mask their own magic, they'd likely fail within short order. Their opponents heightened level of perception overpowering their attempts.

While it is difficult to create a proper Mind Realm, it is somewhat easier to expand your basic detection of magic to a short radius around you. While this technique isn't exactly feasible for everybody, this lesser version of it is. And while not actually being a "Mind Realm", it is still technically, a Mind Realm. And is thus taught under that label. It holds the exact same effects and benefits of a Mind Realm, yet is much more limited to a shorter space around the user. Given that it is already easier to cast magic closer to yourself, this benefit is mostly negligible, though it is still helpful and can serve to be the difference between winner and loser for the small difference it can make in casting time.

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Silver

Slivers are the general method in which people are paid. One silver is equivalent to ten coppers, and ten slivers are equivalent to one gold.

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Copper

The smallest currency recognized around the world. It is a tiny coin made out of copper. Usually paid out to fill in the gaps for other currencies.