Trillia had, of course, accepted Amelia's offer. There was no reason for her not to. The two girls walked through the camp now, back towards the healer's hut. Inside a myriad of smells assaulted Trillia's nose, various herbs, and mixtures. Bubbling brews and the faint smell of iron in the air due to all the blood from people needing healing.

Amelia led them to a work table she had evidently been working on before. Elder Lurog came over with a raised brow.

"Welcome back. Amelia, is Trillia going to watch today?"

Trillia smiled up at the old man. Trillia respected him a lot. She watched him save people constantly. But he was the only Orc in the entire camp that just looked really, really old. Truth is, he didn't mind being called the old man. It was a sense of pride for him, to have lived for so long, especially in these harsh lands. But he always chastised her when she called him such in front of others. Trillia was the Chieftain's daughter. She had to understand proper manners.

"Princess Amelia is gonna teach me how to use her class and help me level."

Her voice dropped considerably as she mumbled the rest.

"Since I'm a [Runt] and can't level like an orc."

Lurog put a comforting hand on Trillia's shoulder. Giving Amelia a nod.

"I see that she has picked up Rudimentary Alchemy. Teach her well Amelia. And Trillia, I have told you before. Everyone has their place in this camp. You will find yours. You are still very young stop being so hard on yourself. Amelia is a fast learner. I am sure she will be able to teach you a great deal if you pay attention."

Trillia's smile returned, nodding as she leaned in closer and stared at Amelia, awaiting instruction.

As Lurog wandered off to do his own -much more complicated- preparations or heal someone. Amelia began pulling out a couple of notebooks and a bunch of herbs.

"Trillia, I want you to use [Basic Scan] on all these herbs. I'm also going to teach you how to read and write. I know you can copy from the system, but learning the orc language, as well as my own, will get you much further. It is very important for an Alchemist to have a field guide. That's a guide you keep with you when traveling so that any herbs you come across you can reference. Sometimes you can restock your supplies in the field."

Trillia nodded and began to use [Basic Scan] on everything set before her, studying each herb intently. She opened her notebook as Amelia began to teach her the basic languages. Not only did Amelia know how to read and write the Minotaur language, but she also knew the Orc language as well. She was teaching Trillia both.

One hour turned into seven, and the two budding alchemists finally stopped. Both yawning and their tummies rumbling. Amelia smiled as she put up the herbs and put both their notebooks in her pack.

"Come on. Another important part of being an Alchemist is making sure you stay well-fed. A hungry mind is a weak mind!"

Trillia's smile was ear to ear at this point, her head hurt a little as so much new knowledge was swimming around, but it was honestly the first time she felt like she was really getting somewhere. Amelia told her that she'd teach her the basics of the class later. For now, Trillia needed more base levels. They would learn alchemy and other General Skills.

Trillia led this time. Instead of going to one of the many cooking fires, she led Amelia to a large tent. Trillia gently tugged the hand of the orc guarding the tent. The orc gazed down at her.

"How can I be of service, Trillia?"

The orc wore a smile. He was a warrior, standing around seven and a half feet, his skin a vibrant blue. Dark leather with megapede plates attached throughout. A large flanged mace hung at his side.

"Amelia and I are hungry. But she is gonna teach me how to cook, so I can level. Is it ok if we get some simple food?"

The orc stepped aside, opening the heavy furs. The tents of the orc tribe were a combination of megapede plates, reattached to one another and interlocked, making it so that the tent could essentially be rolled into a ball, with the leather and furs wrapping around it. Once it was rolled up it could easily be moved. Some of the tents were crafted so that large heavy poles were used to make them makeshift wheels. An efficient system that allowed the orc tribe to rapidly assemble and move camp.

Trillia led Amelia inside before turning to her now mentor.

"If you want, we can grab just enough for me. So that you can eat better food. I just thought....you know..."

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Realizing she had never asked Amelia if this was ok. She stared at the floor, feeling bad. Her frown was washed away as Amelia patted her head.

"Good idea! Let's get something simple. Enough for two people. We can cook it twice. Mix it together and serve it to both. This way, the taste is the same, and you can learn the same thing twice. Does that sound good?"

Trillia nodded excitedly. The two girls didn't grab much food, they were both quite small, and rationing was in effect. The only reason they had even been let in was that one was the Chieftain's daughter, the other the Minotaur King's daughter. The guard didn't want to get in trouble for denying either food.

As they walked out, Trillia stopped by the orc, showing him what they had grabbed and asking if that was ok. The orc offered her a nod and wished them luck in their cooking endeavors. They moved to a fire that wasn't in use, a pot hanging over it. A small table and knife sat next to it. Amelia motioned for Trillia to come over.

Trillia was adept at using a blade, at least for her age. Most orc children were taught how to handle sharp objects and weaponry as soon as they could grasp the things and sort of walk. Living in the Shattered Lands was brutal, and the orc way of life reflected that. Amelia would chop half of an ingredient, and Trillia would chop the other half. It took them nearly thirty minutes to get the chopping done. They tossed the ingredients into the pot. Amelia touched the rune on the side and pushed mana into it as water filled it.

"Good, that's one portion done. You are going to do all the chopping this time. If you can't remember something that's ok, I am right here to help ok?"

Amelia then noticed that Trillia was staring at the rune, another sad look on her face.

"Can you not use mana yet?"

Trillia glanced down. Amelia quickly came to realize the motion was a sign the girl was feeling shame. Amelia had begun to grow a little angry with the orcs. Trillia was a very smart girl and learned quickly. She seemed so full of life and happiness. Right until anything orcish came into question, then the girl was filled with shame.

Amelia understood her anger was misplaced. The orcs all tried to help her. They just.... didn't know how to help someone who basically had none of the same skills, couldn't use mana and didn't want to fight. She was basically only an orc in name. Even her appearance was different.

Amelia, more determined than ever. Picked up the knife and began to expertly cut the ingredients. Trillia's face filled with fear.

"I'm s...sorry! I didn't mean to space out! Please don't stop teaching me!"

Trillia's panicked voice was enough to bring Amelia nearly to tears. She set the knife down and walked over to the girl, crushing her in a big hug.

"I promise, Trillia. I won't stop teaching you until you want me to. But right now, we have something to learn that is more important than cooking, and I want us to have a nice meal going. What we are going to learn next is going to be difficult. Are you up for the challenge?"

She pushed the young orc back to arm's length. Trillia gritted her teeth and nodded, rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"I can take anything you will throw at me. I will learn to be useful!"

Amelia nodded, staring directly into Trillia's eyes and holding the gaze.

"Let's make a promise. I will teach you any skill I know, but you have to push away that feeling you get when you don't think you are orc enough. I know it's going to be hard."

Trillia stared right back, her determination wavering. The poor child of three was just overwhelmed at this point.

"I just...I just want to fit in. I'm never going to belong."

The tears started again in earnest. With so much going on, Trillia hadn't talked to her mother about all her feelings. Trillia was young but understood how much stress and pressure everyone was under. She was just some runt, why would she waste their time with her feelings after all.

Amelia knew how she felt, her mother having been killed in the attack. The morning had been somewhat happy. But a lot of that was a facade. Everyone was exhausted. So the children with too much on their shoulders slipped through the cracks as the adults tried to hold their worlds together.

The two just stood there, hugging each other and softly sobbing as the sun slowly set, casting long shadows in the camp. Neither knew, but Amara was watching them. She had been most of the day. Tears in her own eyes. She felt as though she was failing her daughter.

It was the first time -in a very long time- Amara felt this way. She hated being the Chieftain, hated being responsible for so many. The breakfast had served as a nice break, but immediately after the girls had left, the three leaders were once more discussing their plans. They couldn't feasibly cross the mana rifts. They could only send small scout parties over.

There was no hope of retaking the minotaur city with their weakened numbers and stretched resources. Amara closed her eyes, clenching her fists. She was glad Trillia had a friend, and she was glad Amelia had a friend. She made a note to talk to Cordaos about what she had seen. They had to do something. The children were the future.

The two girls sat by the fire in silence. Trillia huddled next to Amelia as both ate their soup. Both were exhausted. The tears had been cathartic. But now they just wanted to eat and sleep. It was an hour or two before either spoke. Amelia was the one to break the silence.

"Let's get some good sleep tonight Trillia. Tomorrow we will start training even harder. Before we do anything else. I will help you learn how to channel your mana first. Grand Alchemist Mort has books on how to open mana channels. As well as a bunch of rare mana crystals to test what sort of mana you have. Once we've activated your mana at least once, a skill should appear for it."

Trillia nodded, the girl too tired to engage much beyond that. Amelia slid further down and let her back rest against the log, leaning her head on Trillia's. She'd help Trillia feel whole. She would get stronger herself. Strong enough that she didn't lose anyone else. She was a child herself, only eight. Amelia knew their determination would waver, that they would want to just curl up into a ball and cry, letting the adults handle it.

But Amelia didn't want to feel weak anymore and somewhere, in the back of her mind, she felt like the same useless little girl Trillia did. Her mother had been a strong mage and a strong Minstrel-based class.

Amelia watched her save dozens of minotaurs but also watched her get torn nearly in half in a single attack from the primordial spawn. She sniffled as she closed her eyes, setting the rest of her soup down next to her, Trillia had already passed out. Amelia followed shortly after.