Joining a group out of the blue without actually having any trust in them. Seemed like one of those side characters in the tales of his grandfather, joining the veiled hero on his quest. He always thought they were stupid.
"Can I learn magic if I go with you?" Still, magic is magic.
"Theresa? Want to teach him?" Eric asked, Max was already getting up to argue but Theresa intervened again. "Do I seem like a combat mage? Have you ever seen me use anything close to offensive magic? Do you think when I slap you I wouldn't reinforce my hand? Saying of slapping.." With that she turned from me and slapped Eric. "There, much better now."
"Why did I get slapped again?" He pouted, but without care in his voice "This is my favourite face, what will I do if it gets damaged?"
"Shut up" With that the topic was closed and she turned to me again, resuming her spell. She was starting to pale with every passing second she spent healing the wound, but it was coming to a close.
After ten or so more seconds the job was done, his arm was as good as new again. "Thank you very much. So can you tell me how did you do it?" After thanking and bowing to her, he was back to his greedy self instantly. "It was so amazing, you just emitted some light and I was back to good again. It's a miracle!" He said, almost drooling.
"Get hold of yourself, the deal is still a deal, we need your word first." Cut in Eric. "And look at her, she is more exhausted than you or John." He pointed toward the man who was lying on the floor, in a serious alcohol shortness crisis, crying out every few seconds.
"Just so you can see how kind I am, here's your first lesson on magic." Now he pointed toward Theresa who sat next to the younger woman panting. "She has mana exhaustion, and needs more rest than the rest of us, alright? So leave her be for the time being, or Max will really throw you out."
Alan turned toward Max and in his eyes he could see, even less than bothering the Theresa was needed to be thrown out. 'I think I hear silent curses coming from him.' He shuddered. 'Mana is the way you form spells or so Grandpa told me. So it can be exhausted?'
Turning back, he asked "A little detail about this deal, if you would please?"
"Okay so basically we are on the run and need some people to handle some well mannered brute force when needed- "
"You guys are criminals?" His eyes widened. He was helping criminals? If they get caught his head will be taken just like the rest of theirs if their crimes are serious.Panick overcame him. "No thank you, please, I won't tell anyone that you are here so please just put me down here and I've never seen anyone ever passing here, Okay?"
"Shh," Eric tried to shush him "We are not criminals, it's just some political thing that I didn't care enough to listen to." He turned back for a second. "Ah the town is near, Ellie, would you please share some more detail with him? I will buy you some cake sometime." With that he withdrew beyond the curtains again.
Ellie got visibly brighter with the mention of some cakes. 'Noted, cake for her if down, maybe for the future'
"First let me ask you, why would you join us?" Ellie asked "We have a guy that wants to kill you," She glanced at Max who was still silent, against all odds. "We are on the run and I can't say that nicer. So why?"
He was thinking for a good dozen seconds then answered: "My name is Alan, no surname as you see," Once you lose your surname it means your family disowned you. "I went to chase magic, and I lost my family. Don't really care about them anyway, my grandfather was my only family member that I can call 'family' , but he's no longer here. I went to look for a mage and I that I found." He glanced at Theresa as he answered. " And I always loved the stories of adventures that my grandpa told me" He said with a big smile.
"Hah,"She sighed. "Look, you may not like your current situation, but you may die if you come with us, Ma and Pa may like the idea of another helping hand and Eric also likes to plan with more people, but I can't go ahead and just ignore the danger to you."
"So tell me, would you mind dying for it?" She asked gazing into his eyes.
"Don't scare the boy so mu-" Theresa tried to intervene with her now weak voice.
"But it's the truth, we may not be the only target, but we are followed by a traitor that wants to eliminate the problems at their roots. This kingdom fell into the hands of someone who shouldn't rule by methods that should earn the hatred of the folk. Yet he is praised as a hero and we are the villain." She raised her voice at the last line with cynicism in her voice. She clearly did not like their situation, and she seemed honest with her anger.
"I'm in." He replied confidently.
"Are you deaf? You could-"
"So? I may not understand this traitor thing, but you have what I'm looking for," He glanced at Theresa "pardon for being rude."
Their wagon came to a stop and he could hear the Eric and the driver murmuring.
A minute passed by in silence between them, and the carriage started again.
"Splendid," Eric's had popped in again." We have a new partner," Then he glanced at Max. "Right, Maxy?" At that Max visibly strained. Alan really hoped that soon the man will be at peace with him or this will be a rather uncomfortable journey for both of them. The man only grunted at him. 'that's the most positive sound I've ever heard of him' .
"So what's your plan?" He asked. It was nighttime and they didn't really have time to be idle if they were targeted as she claimed.
"Plan?" She replied, shattering all hopes Alan had about this ordeal.
"You have at least place you want to go, right?"
"Eric, do we have a-"
"Hey Alan, is there an inn around here?" Eric asked outside of the curtains.
"Not really, no this is a small village but I can take you to-"
"Then we are not stopping."
"Why wouldn't you stop? I have a place to stay, we can rest the-"
"Ahh you misunderstood, I only wanted some drink, we won't be stopping." He replied again.
"But I need to make some arrows and I have some money hidden around here and the others are in a horrible shape!"
"Well about arrows, you had one in John, two more you brought, and you can make more later.
About your money, we have enough and the others can rest in the back, its already a luxury to be able to sit still."
What did he get himself into. This guy was mad, absolutely mad. The poor man on the floor must be in a huge pain and Theresa wasn't much better either."
"Yes, luxury, of course." It seemed Ellie didn't like the sound of that either.
"Look, you are in a hurry and we have one more member, it's alright."
He started turning back but stopped. "Oh right, can you use a sword, Alan?"
"I've never had one in my hand, so I don't really know." Alan shrugged. He always used a bow, a sword was not suited for hunting. And hunting was the only thing that kept food in his stomach for the past months.
"Good, its time to learn, our new friend" Eric gave him a wink.
'Oh no'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh hell no!" Alan cried out as he saw the group of furless dogs that quickly gained on them.
It seemed Eric's learning methods consisted of him sitting in the back with Ellie and the others while he and Max tried to defend themselves against their chasers.
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"Don't you have any arrows?" Alan asked with concern in his voice "We can't do anything with just swords, they will attack the horse!"
"Ah no, we don't really have any except the ones on you." Eric calmly replied, without a worry in his voice.
He still had three arrows left. Fortunately they took out the one as a whole from Johnatan's shoulder, still there were seven bargs.
They weren't intelligent enough to attack the horse, despite Alan's worries, but they were interested in what they saw immediately: Their group. For that reason, they tried to jump up to the back. Alan grabbed the sword that was appointed to him by Eric, and started swatting them away if one tried to jump up. He almost fell out a couple times because he lost his balance.
"Wrong! Try staying low and stabbing, at this rate you will fall out and I will have one less person to command. And holding the sword with an iron grip." Eric's voice sounded from behind his back.
His balance definitely improved, and he tried holding the sword really strong, he just didn't understand why until it was stuck in one of the barg's skull. He almost fell again, but Max held him.
"T-Thank you!" His voice was higher pitched than usual on the behaviour of Max's, he wouldn't have thought of him saving him.
He slowly got to a sitting position, still gripping his sword with the creature on it, weighing down, then tried to kick it down from it which had mixed results. For one, he successfully removed the dog, for another he successfully cut his leg.
"Why didn't you just pull it out?" Eric asked.
"Well I tried, you think it worked?"
"Pull it like you mean it, put your hips into it with momentum." He instructed from the backseat, his hands behind his head in a napping position, Ellie and Theresa on either side of him. 'How relaxing a situation he is in, right? Not like we need a hand.'
He stood up, his leg hurting and bleeding but nothing serious. The follower's number's was already down to three, thanks to Max's efforts. He tried to stab one of them again, successfully, then ripping the blade out as he was instructed. At first he didn't succeed, the blade came out a little only, but the second try was he managed to get it out without cutting himself. Small success, but success nonetheless!
This went on three more times that night. When it finally dawned, the horses only kept their life in them thanks to Theresa’s healing abilities, which reduced fatigue by a little, but she was pale as a white wall, she didn’t have enough in her to heal Alan’s smaller injuries, so he had his blood seep through his clothes which made things uncomfortable and nasty. Eric of course commented on everything, his disgust of bloody clothes to his method of defending their side, to the fine stars ont he night sky. Alan had no idea how he even saw the stars through a closed roof, but he started to get used to his strangeness.
Fortunately they found a creek, which helped washing his clothes and the horses got to drink too.
’Why did we stop at dawn though? We were in a village..’
„Now, Alan, we had a deal, you come with us and you get to learn magic” Eric came up to his back through the trees.
„Can I start now?” He asked excitedly.
„But you have a weak physicue, so I changed the routine of yours to some physical training. It will suplement your abilities as a future mage, and you know the saying, a „a healthy body breeds a healthy mage.” „ He interrupted.
„I’m pretty sure there’s no saying like that, did you mak-”
„Every saying is made up, still, you are late to your training. Come on, move those legs, one-two-one-two!” With that he turned and jogged back to their little camp.
Alan groaned.
During his training, which consisted of him squatting with some heavy sacks, then running with heavy sacks, then some unarmed combat practice with Eric. During their sparring, he received a blow or two, but they were mainly focusing on his ability to hit, not his ability to defend. Which it seemd was very much needed, he couldn’t land a single blow on Eric. He got some „reminding punches” though.
While they had a break Alan grew curious enough to ask „Why don’t you learn magic too?”
„I can already use magic.” He had a friendly smile on his face as he replied then stood up. He searched for something on the ground, then a moment later he reached out to a stick. And he set it ablaze.
„I just don’t like to use it. Yet.”
Anger swelled inside Alan „So you are saying you could’ve just deal with all the creatures following us yet I was almost dragged down and teared to pieces?”
„I considered that training for you, yes. Also, even if my own life depends on it, I don’t like to use it. Yet.” He continued smiling which made Alan angrier and he stormed away without further words.
He found Ellie sitting by his mother’s side, Max talking with the driver. He didn’t feel like he belong, he just spent a night with them, he didn’t know what to do, yet here he was. He just sat down next to a tree hoping that something will change. What a stupid idea it was now that he realized it. Joining a bunch of strangers on a whim, he was nothing more than an asset that they can throw away, which Eric just proved.
Minutes passed, he cooled down, but he still didn’t feel right.
„Hey!” Eric appeared behind Alan startling him.
„What do you want..”
As if he could read his mind he replied „You are not just a throwaway, you have much to learn if you want to journey with us, and putting you in danger is one of the best way for one to grow.” He sat down next to him.
A small flame appeared in his hands that was slowly burning his glove „I’m not using my magic because I also have much to learn about swordsmanship, so I only use it if I must. Its a great tool, but not until you get down the basics. I started learning late just as you, the others are tower us in magical capabilities, all we can do to gain some advantage is to get skilled.” He closed his hands and the fire disappeared in his still sizzling hand. He stood up and offered a hand, the one that wasn’t blazing hot, fortunately.
"Wait a second, why didn't you offer to teach me?"
"Hmm, I didn't say I wouldn't, I just asked her if she wanted to. Now, we have training to do."
Reluctantly, he accepted his hand.
***
Some hours spent training, Alan tried to learn how to slash properly and a stance to defend himself. Luckily Eric was surprisingly good at swordsmanship which allowed him to learn quality forms and moves. Another hour was spent making arrow, but without a head it was just bare sharpened wood, hopefully it would come handy too.
Finally, they got on their way, and Theresa addressed Alan in the moving wagon.
„Boy, you want to know the foundation of magic at least, so let me tell you.” She eyed him for an answer, but all Alan gave was a curious stare.
„You know what, let’s start even further back. Do you know the basic things about being a mage?”
He tilted his head.
*Sigh* „There are tiers, and every magic artist can be sorted into these tiers, first, a non too creative name: Beginners, they are the ones who started their exercise to gather mana into their cores. You are not yet even a beginner. You know what a core is at least, right?”
„ ….”
She gave another sigh. „You know nothing about magic, yet you aspire to become the user of it. Why?”
Alan scratched the back of his hand and gave a small laugh „Well, I heard a lot of tales about them.”
„Tales? And that’s the only thing that motivates you to leave your family, join some strangers and possibly be part of a revolution?”
„Revolution?” He asked mouth agape.
„Well, about that, later we can talk about it, now you.”
He stared for a second then continued „My grandfather, the Spirit bless his soul, was always telling tales about his adventures with his fellowmen, he came accross various mage duels, he was unfortunate to participate in the war against the Beckoners and he witnessed a lot more mages and always told me their amazing capabilities and playing of magic. I heard so much, I decided I want to get a taste of them after the passing of my grandpa.” A sorrowful feeling hit Alan, yet his lips curved into a small smile. Remembering his grandfather always brought back memories of the old man, he was the one who set him on his path now and even before. If not for him, he would be a cattle for local landlord to use.
Theresa gave another sigh. „Let’s continue the lecture then.” She eyed him for a second. „ Every being capable of holding mana is capable of forming a core through a breathing exercise. Thats where you contain the mana you collect from the essence all around us, and from where you take it to weave your arts.
„You don’t take in mana literally, you create it from vital essence that every being exudes and its not uniform. Rocks exude earth essence for example, water exudes water and ice, depending on how cold it is. This, you convert to mana, of course the more compatible your mana is with the vital essence around you, the more effective the conversion is. Your starting mana is ’pure’ basically, it’s not attributed yet. If you want to use a magical tool that is fire attributed, fire attributed mana is the best for it, others like water will wear it down really fast, depending on the compatibility.”
„Can I only use one attribute?” Alan asked.
„Yes and no. Forming your core into your decided attribute disallows you to form it into another type. For example, you cannot use earth after you start developing a shadow core. But you can use attributes that are close to it, like darkness, because they are all dependent on light. Same with water, you can use ice if you develop your skills high enough. They have to have a common ground.
Now, there are different arts in foreign countries too, like where we are headed, they don’t use mana, they use something called Chi and its more about strenghtening their bodies than affecting the outside world. Or there is the Radman’s Nation, where they use their god’s powers but if you ask me it’s all bullshit, they must use vital essence in some other way. There are a dozen roads, but the closer you are to the top the less different they are, or so I heard.”
„But how do you gain access to one of these? You have to have a breathing technique different for mana, different for chi, but about the Radman people i know nothing. Fortunately for you of course, I know one for mana.” She gave a small smile.
„But first I will have to choose an attribute, right? If so, what do you recommend?”
„Well, fire is a popular one because of its destructive powers, you could also choose earth for its defensive capabilities and disabling foes, or water for the mix of both.” She answered after a second of thought, but she was still thinking about other possibilities.
„What about pure mana? What is it good for?”
„Eh, pure mana is weak, it deludes the other elements true, but you’d need a huge amount of it to be able to defend yourself properly. It’s not too good offensively, as it cannot burn down castles and forests, nor can it cut through buildings but it can damage someone’s core if nothing else. It’s also good for Runesmithing and using runes regardless of attribute. But- ” She wanted to add something, instead she eyed Alan for a couple seconds. „Well, you could use pure mana, since you can attribute it later too.”
„Now about the breathing technique, you have to use your imagination a little, it always helps.” She added after a second. „Imagine your core is in here.” She put her hands on Alan’s abdomen. „As you breath in, imagine you are not just taking in air, you are pulling everything, not just with your lungs but with something in your stomach. Imagine it breathes too. Now try it!” She commanded.
Alan tried breathing in, imagined pulling inside everything there is in the air and felt ... nothing.
"Nothing's happening.” He said in a disappointed voice.
„Of course not, Its your first breath and you think you will become the strongest mage in Kingdom of Alarya? Breath and breath, and while you are there breath some more.
And so the rest of the day was spent with breathing until he fell asleep.