“So, tell me, what does it mean to have aura control?” Murabi paced around the edges of a clearing, giving their horse a gentle pat whenever he passed by while it munched on some grass. Closer to the center were Tahir, Meti, Theo, and Hasio, looking between Murabi and a stump in the clearing’s center, where a transparent blue cylinder stood. One of a few shapes made of magical energy created by Meti at Murabi’s request.
“How well you can control how much aura you’re using.” Tahir answered. “Ignoring quantity, exactly how much aura you want to apply versus how much you actually do.”
“Correct.” Murabi moved the center with a casual stroll, tapping the cylinder on the stump with his blade. Having drawn it, it looked fairly similar to Tahir’s. “Nice and solid. Thanks Metilia. What’s the consistency like?”
“Against hard impacts, it will shatter similar to glass.” Meti replied.
“Wonderful. Now, what Tahir said is right, but I think a demonstration will get the point across further.” He took his blade, and with a single hand, made an aura infused swing at the cylinder. As Meti said, it shattered into dozens of smaller pieces along the ground, then dissipated. Murabi huffed as he hauled another one onto the log. “That was with no aura control, and this will be with some. I imagine this is about where most people with decent aura control get to with basic training. From what I’ve seen at least.” His second swing connected, and the cylinder finely split into two pieces down a diagonal line. The top half rolled off the stump, and the two halves sat for longer before dissipating into nothingness. “And this is the level of control I have, and what I think you should shoot for.” After hauling up the third of the ones he had Meti create, he paused. Seeming to gather focus, he suddenly swung with his blade, and if Tahir didn’t know it was going to be aura infused, he could have easily confused it for another swing.
The group looked at the cylinder for several seconds, which showed no change at first, until Murabi tapped it with his blade, and one half fell off similar to his previous swing. A few more seconds passed before it too dissipated.
“Woah! That was amazing.” Theo said
“A cut so clean that it didn’t disturb the underlying magic.” Meti pointed out. Tahir noticed as well, how the other two dissipated seconds after being cut, but the last one stayed for quite a while in comparison.
“Where I come from, on the island of Shinevi, just east of Paxoruche, we’re taught that aura control is paramount, and once you master your aura looking inward, you can then project it outward, similar to the way that mages do with mana.” Murabi swung again, hitting empty air, but shocking everyone as the swing carved a line in the dirt next to him, cutting through the stump. “I’ll teach you what I can, but it’ll probably be a while before you can get to that level. Well, most of you.” He motioned to Theo.
“Wait, hold on, this is the first time I’m hearing about people just learning to do this with aura.” She said, though Tahir noticed she practically had stars in her eyes from interest.
“Well, I don’t know if they do it anywhere else, but Shenevi’s pretty isolated, and anyone who learns this kind of thing has it drilled into them that there’s no reason to leave - that all that’s worth it in life is pursuing mastery of their aura and their blade in temples and monasteries, and that honoring their elders is an absolute. A bit depressing really.” He shrugged, sheathing his blade. “What I can tell you, is that if you were there, the old masters would be tripping over themselves trying to get you to join their sects. Getting to the point where you can project aura outward represents harmony in body and soul, but to have someone who can do that and control the elements with it? You’d get so many extravagant titles and gifts that you’d never want to leave.”
“It’s a little embarrassing when you put it like that.” Theo’s gaze went down, but Tahir could spot a heavy blush building on her face. After going through life thinking that she was volatile and one bad relapse from her aura burning her alive from the inside, she had to wonder how the kind of life where she was pampered because of her primordial soul would turn out.
“There’s a good few special people like that between each sect. My aura use isn’t special, and I simply left my sect when I couldn’t take it any more, but people that can worm their way into any kind of privilege, including being sent out of Shinevi.” Murabi continued. “All of that to say, once we get to the point where I’m actually teaching you how to do this, I’ll have to ask you to be careful who sees you using any of those techniques when I’m not around. Without context, and probably even with it, a swordsman from Shinevi might come after you for using their ‘stolen techniques’, and any of them who’ve managed to make it off the island on business is probably somewhere in the platinum to mithral range in terms of ability.”
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The silence felt deafening as everyone looked between each other. After hearing that warning, Tahir wouldn’t have been bothered by anyone saying they’d rather not learn the techniques and just the aura control, but no one said anything initially. “Murabi, can you…go back to Shinevi?” Tahir asked.
“Of course I can. Sure, my sect was one of the larger ones when I left, but they’re always competing against each other. I doubt they’d spare any time for me as long as I’m not getting into their business.” He replied. “I’ve gone back on a couple of occasions since I left, but never stayed long. The rest of Itera’s just too much fun.” He said with a grin. “Now, come on, it’s time for you to learn some real aura control.”
Over the next week, while their carriage took them through the northern edges of Esharia and into Paxoruche, Murabi taught them what he knew about aura, including a great many things that the people of the isle of Shinevi commonly knew about the energy that helped greatly. The path that aura passively cycled through the body, which when followed made intentionally cycling our aura faster. Several pressure points in the body where aura gathered faster and could be stabilized easier, to help with quickly gathering aura and controlling it. Murabi also had them perform exercises that would test their control of aura under duress.
“As impressive as I’m sure it looks I’ll have to ask that you don’t try what you saw me do with aura until I’ve determined you have enough control with it.” He warned. “Without proper control, it’ll be like trying to use magic when you don’t know how to cast a single spell. I’m guessing I don’t have to explain the particulars to Tahir and Metilia.” That was all they needed to heed his warning. Theo would be the only one getting practical use out of this for a while for improving her own spellcasting with aura.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?” Hasio asked
“Not sure. The sects in Shinevi would have people train for years just to make sure they have near perfect aura control, but for the most part apprentices spend their time day in and day out doing what I’m having you do. Unless it was a duel between students, which were usually just so older students could bully younger ones one-sidedly, they didn’t have any real danger. Nothing life threatening, which is where you guys will differ. I think as long as you keep what I’ve taught you so far in mind, I think you’ll get enough control for me to start teaching you the real techniques sooner rather than later.” Murabi shrugged. “But, well, you guys are my first real students since I left, so we’ll see how it goes.”
###
While traveling in the carriage, they spent a couple of hours training in their to let the horse rest, and once they were done training aura for the day, Tahir and Meti would go over the spellbook, both of them on the cusp of learning the first spell that they picked. They planned to sell their horse and carriage to a stable in Paxoruche by the end of the second week, knowing that they’d have to take the rest of their journey by foot. They would encounter some old paths and grasslands on the way to Isanthyr, but overall too much untamed wilderness for them to consider bringing a horse and carriage across.
While passing through Paxoruche, wheels of the carriage noisily rolling along a dirt path that cut between massive fields of wild grass, a knock from Murabi at the front drew everyone’s attention forward. “Gentlemen.” He said, though not to any of them. Tahir glanced out the window and could see a small crowd. About half a dozen people came out from the grass and surrounded the cart in short order. “Wonderful day for a stroll, wouldn’t you think?”
“Aye, it’s also a good day for charity. We’re hoping you and your folks in the carriage there are willing to be very charitable to us.” The man in front said. In the back, everyone reached for their weapons. Bandits on the roads were a possibility basically anywhere in Itera, but they become much more likely the further one got from capitals and other major cities, and the closer one lingered at the borders between countries.
“Is it really charity if you’re asking for it at knifepoint?” Murabi asked. He hadn’t shifted at all from his seat, which Tahir took to mean he didn’t want to fight unless he absolutely had to. In anticipation for a fight, Tahir quietly called the earth and fire spirits, and heard the carriage creak as his enhanced weight settled.
“Sure it is. Just give us all your gold and food without any struggle and it's surely charity. You don’t wanna make it hard on yourself do you?”
Murabi sighed. “For your sake, can you just walk away and pretend you never saw us? You’re a little out of your depth here. I’d love for you to step back before it gets ugly.”
“I’ll call your bluff. If you don’t wanna give us what you’ve got, we’ll just take it ourselves.” With a whistle from the man in front, the six bandits began to approach the carriage.
“Well, you all heard him.” Murabi called. He stood in his seat and leaped toward the head bandit, sword in hand.
With Tahir on one door, and Meti on the other, they slammed them open and in the faces of the bandits that had walked up to them. Tahir leaped out and, when looking for Hasio to see what direction he went in, found that he didn’t seem to be in the carriage anymore. For the moment, he decided not to worry about his missing companion, and turned his attention to the bandits, the one reeling from having a door slammed in his face, and another that stood off to the side. With Meti and Theo getting out to three on the other side, and Hasio currently missing, both of these bandit’s attention were placed on him. There were both humans and looked older, maybe in their late thirties or early forties, and they held an arming sword and a warhammer respectively.
Despite their attempts to be left alone, it looked like they had a fight on their hands.