Hellion, was clasping his assassin by his throat. The ground around him was burned and scorched beyond repair. His personal guard were standing around on high-alert but there was nothing they needed to do. Hellion just kept them around as a formality.

The assassin was squirming in his hands. It was disgusting. He was tempted to just crush him when his attackers eyes lit up in a manic fury. He'd seen eyes like this before, this was not go-BOOM!

Its chest exploded outwards and a twisting reforming gaseous substance just forced its way into Hellion's eyes. He dropped the assassin and screamed in pain.

He shoved his fingers in there and tried to grab whatever, that thing was. However, his fingers couldn't grab it. He grabbed one of his personal guard and bellowed at him: "Get a holy dagger! Its in my tent!"

The guard rushed into his tent and retrieved a dagger. Hellion shoved it into his eyes and a burning, sizzling smell rose out of his eye.

There were twittering screeches and a tiny flapping bird was taken out. The was the thing causing havoc. He retrieved a tiny glass jar and placed it inside. The jar was not a normal item, it was enchanted with Entrapment, Freeze and Still Life. The Still Life could only be performed by the druids of Beak-Noil.

Hellion performed the same procedure on his other eye and placed it back into the jar. He turned his attention to the other assassin however, he'd managed to melt down into a gooey puddle.

Hellion ordered the guards to pack up his tents. The city was 90% ablaze and there was no point in staying here. They'd looted, destroyed and ravaged every single portion of this place.

He turned his attention back to his objective. They would prepare the meal in Fort Kane and leave a small force back here to stall. Preparing the meal would take a while. It was better to do it in Fort Kane with its giant defensible walls. The only assurance he needed was that the city would take in the refugees.

That wouldn't be a problem. Not if their ruler was Paren Rayleigh. He did feel some sadistic joy at the idea that he was about to lay waste to Kane Rayleigh's city.

This will be fun.

...

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Shera is Ake and Moon's sister. She is quiet to a fault. I'm thinking she might be mute and she is always hovering around us.

I saw her take down Ake in three moves during a sparring session. This guy went toe-to-toe with a powerful magic-priest. Magic-priest, another phrase I thought I'd never use. However, that's not terrifying about her. It's her aura, something about her just doesn't sit right with me. Its like a pebble in my shoe that won't get out.

We spend the entire day walking and walking and walking. It is exhausting, my feet are just numb now, I have calluses on top of calluses. We collapse on the ground after dawn. Everybody is just raring to slip into a slumber.

I stop them for a second, "I think we should keep watch during the night. We can wake each other up if there are attackers."

The idea is met with no objections, "I'll take first watch, then I'll wake somebody else up."

Everybody is too exhausted to say anything else and they just fall into heavy sleep. I turn my back to them and face the hordes of people just collapsing down. Some of them are still moving. However, most of them are relaxed.

A brief calm in the chaotic chasm I've been launched in. I take a deep breath, it doesn't smell pleasant.

With nothing better to do, I take out the pamphlet and start agonizing over it. I just observe the pictures, what am I supposed do with this!?

I turn over to Moon and he's asleep. I let him sleep. I still decided to follow the pictures and sit in a lotus position.

Other then that, I have no idea what to. I flip through the pictures, still no clue. I feel something moving beside me and it's Shera.

"Why are you up?" I ask with a hint of despair in my voice.

"Couldn't sleep." That's the most I've heard her speak. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to meditate." Maybe she has an idea of how to do it. "But I can't read."

"Are you stupid?" I want to hit her in the forehead for saying that but I don't, I just ignore it.

"Do you know how to do it or not!?"

She shakes her head but she grabs the manual from my hand and starts reading it out-loud. "Meditation is the gate-way for any aspiring magic-caster, craftsmen, or even normal beings without any talent to start their journey.

All meditation is, is the practice of ignoring your desires, trying to breathe in the world's natural essence while being extremely aware and present.

There is no short-cut through this junction, the only way to do it is practice. The sheer number of simple repetitions with no miscellaneous thought cannot be avoided. Think of it as a rite of passage for those who wish to step into the realm of the mystical."

What...what is this hippy shit!? I would slap my head open if I read that on my home world but here, magic exists. I have to put my feelings away and try to learn this thing.

Shera reads the entire manual back to back for me. I try to absorb as much as I can. By the end of it she is quite tired, I can see it from the hollows in her eyes. She stayed up and read it for me anyways. It warms my cold, dead heart for a brief second.

I push everything out of my head and focus on trying to meditate. I just close my eyes and try not to think of anything...a clear mind and nothing to think about. So, all I have to do is sit here, close my eyes and not think about anything? No problem, this is turning out to be easier then I expected.

Why isn't everybody running around slinging fireballs at each other?...I'm still thinking aren't I?

Shit.