The feeling of cold washed over Jake, and he felt pressure all over him. His eyes jerked open wide and his mouth opened, only to take in a mouthful of water as he gasped. He struggled for a moment, but he was quickly pulled from the water as he began to squirm. He stared down at his reflection and the reflection of Darius kneeling beside him. The elf was holding him by his hair and his shirt, dangling the boy over the edge of the large pool of water they were kneeling at.

"And here I thought you were never going to wake up," Darius huffed once he noticed Jake staring at him. He pulled Jake from the water and carried him back to a small fire pit a few paces away. Jake took that time to look around and get his bearings but there was nothing worth noting. They were in a large cavern, surrounded by rock, mana crystals, and the water that was a small basin. Out of everything it was fair to say that they weren't in Ewana anymore.

"Where are we, Elf?" Jake spat, coughing up the last of the water he had inhaled as Darius sat him down beside the fire. Jake wiggled and jerked himself free from the intense grip, but he couldn't return any favors the Elf had given him. The boy's hands were bound behind his back.

"Don't worry. We're still in the Ravine, and we're in a fairly safe place." Darius sat down on the opposite side of the fire pit atop a rock. He placed his elbows on his thighs and leaned forward, his golden eyes peering toward Jake.

"Fairly?" Jake rumbled, testing the bindings holding him still. It wasn't rope holding his wrists together but it wasn't metal either. The bondage felt smooth and cold. Physical effort was met only with more tension in his arms. Were they magic bindings?

"I killed the Maedra here while you were still out. So we should be fine for now." Darius continued to stare at the boy, watching as Jake continued his struggle. Jake narrowed his eyes and rumbled. If physical effort wouldn't hurt, then he would turn to magic.

Except, the moment Jake began to gather mana he felt a heat in his left side. Something flared beneath his shirt and the heat quickly ramped up into a burning sensation that seared through his body. The boy grit his teeth and let out a pained groan as he felt his body writhe. The burning turned to pure pain which assaulted every joint of his body, causing him to convulse and twitch. Jake rolled over onto his side and trembled as the paralyzing pain ran its course. Darius let out a huff and sat up as if seeing exactly what he had been waiting for.

"Hopefully that teaches you not to use magic," Darius said. The Elf stood up and walked around the fire to Jake. He grabbed the boy's shoulder and jerked him upright, sitting him up on his butt again. Jake glared up at him, groaning faintly as the pain finally faded away.

"That rune will trigger any time you begin to gather mana. The only way to get rid of it is for me to add my mana to it," Darius explained. As he did, he returned to his seat across the fire.

"You're an asshole," Jake spat. Darius shrugged. Jake had come to Darius for training with the dagger in order to become more skilled at killing Maedra. If he had known the Elf was insane, he wouldn't have ever let Mur introduce him. However, now that Jake was in the mess he would have to find his way out of it. The first step to that was figuring out where he was.

"Where is this place?" Jake asked once more, but Darius shook his head.

"Ask another question," Darius said. Jake scowled at him, not a fan of the games being played. If only he could get his hands free...

"Why am I bound?" Jake asked, turning his head as he tried to peer over his shoulder to the bindings. However, he wasn't flexible enough to get a good view. All he got was a cramp in his neck.

"If you weren't, you'd do something stupid. Like run or attack me."

"Obviously," Jake retorted. He stopped struggling and sighed as he relaxed for a bit to recover his expended energy. "Mur brought me to you to train. Not to be kidnapped and treated like dirt."

"And train you I will but you require a far rougher hand. Otherwise, you would have listened and followed instructions. Instead, you ignored my warning and attempted to cut corners. Now, here we are." Darius grabbed at the pack leaning against the rock he sat on and dragged it in front of himself. From within, he began to pull out small wrappings of cloth. Jake smelled food.

"I was going to utilize magic to increase the amount of time I had to practice," Jake said. Darius tossed one of the cloth wrappings over the fire and it landed squarely in Jake's lap.

"Yes, magic. Something I told you was off limits," Darius responded. He closed the flap on the pack and slid it out of the way as he unwrapped his own food. There were two sandwiches stacked on top of one another with a small cup of nuts, seeds, and strips of dried meat.

"Why should I not utilize something to enhance my training?" Jake asked as he once more tugged at his restraints. Darius plucked up the small cup of seeds and nuts first and began to gnaw on them as he watched Jake struggle.

"I'm not quite sure of what type of magic you know but I'll ask this. The magic you were going to cast- does it influence your body's stamina?" Darius tilted his head a bit and stuffed a collection of seeds into his mouth, chewing them slowly as he awaited a response. Jake stared at him, thinking for a moment.

Jake hadn't ever quite thought of such things. He couldn't recall his stamina dropping in the Library, nor could he remember feeling hungry, thirsty, or tired. He certainly felt the strain of using his mana, which in turn would lead to wear on his body. But, that was all. No sweating. No cramping. No excessive hunger.

"No," Jake finally said after his thoughts. Darius briefly nodded after taking another mouthful of seeds. He chewed through them quickly, swallowing the mush before reaching for a canteen that was strapped to the side of his pack. It came free as he released a clasp, and he spun the top loose, so he could take a swig.

"Your body is toned from training with Mur. You have a decent enough build from fighting. However, you don't have the stamina, the endurance, or the strength to be of use in drawn-out combat." Darius set down his canteen and then set down the cup of seeds, exchanging it instead for half of one of his sandwiches.

"I need you strong, boy. I need you fast. I need you agile. And I won't get that from you if you don't listen to me and use Magic to cheat your way through my training, understand?" After asking, the elf sunk his teeth into his sandwich and tore off a mouthful. He chewed through it quickly, swallowing the mouthful, so he could speak again.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't want you to forget your magic, but right now you need to focus on your hands and your feet." After he finished, he took another drink from his canteen.

"Fine," Jake sighed. His shoulders slumped a bit as he looked down at the fire. He still didn't quite fully understand why magic wasn't allowed, but he at least understood why Darius was being so hard on him. Jake acknowledged that he was stubborn. He had to be. Otherwise, he would fall into complacency. Jake had little time to waste training on just one specific thing. The Maedra were a dangerous threat to Ewana. To beat them, he had no time to sit by and grow slowly. Jake needed to grind constantly and thoroughly, taking on the burden of training multiple different skill sets in order to hone his skills and develop himself into a competent Maedra hunter. It was why he spent so much time on different elements as well as his blade skills.

Darius, from what Jake understood, was trying to get Jake to relearn how to fight with swords. He was attempting to teach Jake an entirely new way of fighting, a way which would require Jake to also relearn how he utilized his magic. It would take a lot of time and a lot of focus for Jake to shed his old habits. If Jake utilized magic to make the training any easier, he would miss key elements and key details that would make him ineffective and inefficient. The goal wasn't to turn Jake into a pure sword user. It was to turn Jake into a competent Sword Singer. The only way to do that was to have the boy learn the same way the Elves did.

"Play nice," Darius suddenly said. The Elf raised a finger into the air and Jake watched as it began to glow. Darius drew a rune into the air, one that flashed faintly before shattering. At the same time, the bindings holding Jake's wrists fell away. The boy's arms popped loose, and he brought them around his body. Darius eyed him for a moment, and Jake returned the stare. However, while Jake still wanted to lunge across the fire pit and pummel in the Elf's head- he instead reached for the food in his lap.

"I thought you couldn't use magic?" Jake asked, confused and annoyed. "You dispelled my magic and now you can bind people?"

"I can't use magic like you. My mana is far too limited for that." Darius held a hand in front of him and closed his eyes. As the Elf focused his breathing and steadied himself, a very small ball of green mana accumulated into his palm. It lingered for only a few seconds before cracking and dispersing into the air. Far too weak.

"I can utilize runes for the simplest of tasks and I've learned Dispel Magic, which helps when I have to deal with mages. Though, it doesn't work on higher-level spells." After his explanation, the Elf returned to gnawing on his food.

Jake eyed him for a few extra seconds, wishing he could perceive the Elf's mana stores and look into whether or not the Elf was lying. However, something was keeping him from doing so. Whether it was the seal on his waist or distortion magic the Elf had cast on himself, Jake wasn't sure. Either way, if they ever had to deal with Maedra, then the Elf would have to show his hand eventually.

"So? Where are we and why do I smell Maedra everywhere?" Jake set down the cloth wrappings in front of himself and unfurled the neatly folded corned to reveal a similar meal to the Elf's. Darius whistled for his attention and then tossed Jake a small canteen of his own. The boy caught it and immediately checked the contents. It was just water.

"As I said before, we're in the Ravine, just really deep," Darius finished the sandwich half he had in his hand and immediately reached for a second. Jake did the same, grabbing two halves though. One in each hand.

"Why?" While Jake's mana was suppressed, he found that he could still utilize his Sensory skill to some extent. He could smell mana still, he could feel it in the air, and he could pick up the faint stench of rot coming from all around them. When he reached out with his Sensory spell, he could see Maedra looming beyond every wall. There were even creatures beneath the surface of the water pool behind him that were lurking in the dark. However, the instant his mana touched those beasts, Jake felt uneasy and began to retract his mana. Even so- it wasn't enough. He felt a tingle shoot up his spine as the creatures responded by disrupting his magic and canceling it outright. Something down below didn't like him being nosy.

"Well, you don't like learning the normal way, so I'm going to teach you differently. You're going to learn with Maedra in your face." Darius's lips curled devilishly as he bit into more of his sandwich. On the other hand, Jake's lips went taut.

"There's only two of us. And I can't use magic," Jake muttered, confused and concerned. Without his magic, there was no way Jake could face a horde of Maedra. He could probably handle a few if he relied strictly on what he knew through Mur's training, but using an entirely different style of fighting would likely get him killed. Especially since he hadn't had much practice with it.

"You think I'd come out here unprepared?" Darius raised an eyebrow and chuckled. He looked slightly to his right and pointed. Jake's head turned, and he spotted two other bags set off to the side. They were concealed a bit by some rocks so Jake hadn't seen them. Though there were no people, the packs suggested there certainly were two other individuals nearby.

"Who are they?" Jake asked.

"One is a mage, like you. The other is moral support." As he mentioned the second person, he let out a faint sigh. "The mage is good enough to fill your role in the back line. I will be with you up front and I will help keep you protected. Your sole job is to learn the Sword Singer ways and stay alive."

"Sounds stupid and reckless. The Maedra aren't going to just stand there and let me practice on them." Jake stared at the two packs for a few extra moments as he thought of what Darius might be planning, but then he replayed in his head what Darius had said.

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"Wait- moral support?" Jake asked, his head snapping to look at the Elf. Darius sighed and took another bite from his sandwich.

"She's useless for everything else," Darius rumbled before setting down the sandwich half in his hand. He took a long swig of his canteen, sighed, and then leveled his eyes on Jake.

"The goal here is to get you to learn. The rest of us are to make sure you don't die in the process," Darius said with another sigh at the end. "Understand?"

"I don't understand why we have to come this far away from Ewana to do that," Jake retorted. That struck a chord, as Darius's already slightly annoyed expression hardened. Jake felt his stomach tense as the Elf's eyes shimmered.

"If it wasn't for the fact that Mur entrusted you to me, I would sever your skull from your spine," Darius spat. The Elf's hands curled into fists as he glowered at Jake. "I never wanted to do this. The risk is too high and you're too stupid, but your stubborn reliance on your magic warrants these measures. So suck it up. The sooner you stop asking so many questions and start listening and learning, the sooner I get to go back to doing nothing."

"Spoken like a true bum!" A high-pitched voice cracked the air and Darius's eyebrow twitched. The Elf turned to his right at the same time Jake looked in the same direction. Two women entered the cavern, one tall and pale. The other short and fiery.

The tall woman was dressed in beautiful white and black robes, the silky-looking fabric draped over a luscious figure that swayed nimbly on top of a pair of low-set heels. Her tiny feet carried her body along, her legs flowing beneath the robes as she strode over toward them. She had long, straight blonde hair, ruby red lips, a black rune on her left cheek, and a strip of black cloth over her eyes. She carried a long white staff with a light blue orb floating in the center of several, slowly turning gilded rings. On the rings themselves, countless small runes were etched into the metal. The pommel of the staff was sharpened into a fine point, with a trio of enchantments etched into the white handle close to it.

As she approached, her eyes settled on Jake. Beneath the black cloth over her eyes, Jake could see a faint glow as she looked in his direction. She wasn't blind but there was something about those eyes that he felt off.

The other person with her was a halfling. She stood up to Jake's chest in terms of height and was red all over. Red hair, red eyes. Red clothes, red boots, red painted nails. Her freckled, pale white cheeks even had color to them. The theme of red reminded him of the woman he had met in the Library, except this red was far more childlike. Darius didn't even have to point out who the mascot was between the two ladies.

"Good to see you awake," the tall woman's voice was as soft and smooth to the ears as her skin looked to the touch. She looked like a Goddess or an Angel. And she sounded like one too. Jake felt his heart flutter, and he found it hard to respond to her.

"T-Thank you, ma'am," he mumbled, lowering his eyes and head. The halfling let out a faint hum and giggled.

"Oh look, the boy is embarrassed! See, Helena? I told you that you're pretty!" The halfling said loudly as she laughed. Darius shook his head and plucked the half-eaten portion of his sandwich up. He quickly stuffed his mouth with it as he turned his attention back to Jake.

"Meet the mage and the moral support," Darius said, annoyed. He quickly rammed more food into his mouth and shut his eyes as the halfling puffed out her chest.

"Yes! I am the all powerful magician, Tera!" The halfling boasted. Jake raised an eyebrow and stared at her, wondering when the ruse would end. When the halfling didn't just disappear into smoke, he sighed and bit into more meaty breading.

"Stop it, Lydia. Let them eat in peace." Helena lightly rustled the halfling's hair before turning away and moving toward their packs. "Has it been quiet, Delmuth?"

"Stop using that name," Darius was quick to retort, but Helena didn't flinch.

"Yes, yes. The day your ears round, I'll be sure to." Helena plucked the smaller of the two packs and carried it over to the fire pit. Lydia, the halfling apparently, realized what was happening and hurried over to grab her pack as well. Helena tapped the floor with her staff and a sigil appeared where she poked. The ground shifted and a small seat rose from the rock. She poked the floor to her right, splitting the distance between herself and Jake, and another seat rose as well. Lydia was quick to take that one.

Darius didn't respond this time to the jab and focused on eating. Helena asked him again.

"Well?" She pressed. Darius shook his head.

"It's been quiet. Well, until you two came back." He shot a glance towards the halfling. Lydia didn't miss the meaning and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Good. I was worried the Maedra might try something. It seems the barriers are doing their work." Helena placed a hand on her chest and let out a sigh. Her shoulders drooped, as though the tension in them was snapped. Jake found his eyes drawn to her hand as it moved- there were four rings on her fingers. Two on her middle, one on her index, and a small on her pinky. Each was a different color. The one on her index had a crystal set within the band. They all had runes carved into them. Jake even saw that she was wearing a necklace with a pendant dangling from it- a red gem set in its center with several small, arrow-headed prongs jutting outwards in every direction.

"How are you feeling?" Helena turned her attention to Jake. He was about to answer when Darius spoke for him.

"He's fine," Darius said.

Helena's staff twitched and swung swiftly, whacking Darius on the back. The elf grunted and coughed, the mouthful of food in his mouth ejecting outwards off to his left. This woman was all smiles but it seemed she knew exactly how to deal with her companion.

"Feeling better, thank you," Jake muttered. While she was pretty, her swiftness of violence made him wary of her.

"Good," Helena looked up at her staff and straightened it beside her. As she touched the end of it to the ground, the base of the staff pulsed. She let go of its pole and Jake watched as the staff remained suspended on its own.

"Nice magic. What is it?"

"A blessing," Helena said with a smile as she began to fish through her pack, likely for food.

"Helena's a Priestess!" Lydia said excitedly. While everyone else was talking, the halfling had already extracted food and was eating on an almost purely natural meal. Leaves, vegetables, some cheese blocks, and fruit were all collected in a bowl she was eating through. Not a single piece of meat was visible.

"Not quite," Helena added. "But, it is the simple answer." Helena unwrapped a similar meal to Jake and Darius, but while there was still meat in front of her- it was a significantly smaller portion. There was also more green on her sandwich compared to Jake's and Darius's.

"I am curious to see what kind of magician you are as well, boy, but I will have to wait for that." Helena let out a light giggle before she began to eat her sandwich.

"Why is a human like you down here? Aren't you a little small to be on your own?" Lydia asked, bold and uncaring of whether or not she was being rude. The other two didn't stop her, however, and Jake found himself in a bit awkward of a position.

"It's complicated," Jake answered, avoiding the question entirely. Lydia's red eyes bore into him though. Unsatisfied. "What?" Jake asked, finding the pressure of the eyes to be too much to ignore outright.

"We've got plenty of time," she said with a wide smile. Darius sighed, again.

"Stop bugging him and eat, Lydia. We don't have time."

"But the barriers!" Lydia groaned, her feet kicking at the rock beneath her as she pouted.

"My mana is not infinite, Lydia," Helena added. The halfling continued to show her stubborn side for a few more moments before finally caving and digging into her food.

The rest of the meal passed in silence. Jake finished what was in front of him and rolled the cloth up into a neat square. Darius motioned for it to be returned, and Jake passed it to him. The other two cleaned up their spaces and Helena snuffed out the fire rune in the center of the pit. Then, she utilized a Wind rune to blow the traces of their meal into the water.

"Come here," Darius called to Jake, getting his attention. The boy walked around the pit and watched as Darius set down a fourth pack in front of him. "This is yours. It's got your gear, more food, and your weapons. Attach your canteen to the side so you don't lose it."

"This is a lot," Jake said. The pack was twice the size of the one he had purchased himself from Hulgrok. He released the two clasps holding the flap down and then pulled on the tied string, revealing the contents. Four blades were set against the back of the pack. There was a sleeping roll, several cloth wraps with what he suspected was food, a slightly larger canteen, bandage wraps, what looked to be a fur jacket of some kind, and an extra pair of boots. In a side compartment, Jake found a small bundle of rope, two small picks, and a few stakes. In another compartment, he found flares, a cloth, and a bar of fat which he presumed was soap.

"It's got everything you need to survive for the few days we'll be out here. One of those swords is yours, the others are some extras I had. Just in case."

Jake recognized his own dagger and pulled that free first. The waist strap was still attached and Jake quickly attached it to his hip once more. The others, though, were all unknown to him. He pulled out one and immediately noticed that it was far lighter. It was more slender and the grip was smoother. The handle seated nicely in his hand and the design was very... flowy. Even the blade was slightly curved. It was a gorgeous weapon and the blade was of even higher quality than his own. Looking at the flat sides was like looking into a mirror. The edge was sharp enough to cut at just a tough.

"Elven work?" Jake asked. He looked over to Darius but the Elf only stared back. He said nothing and then turned to his own gear.

Jake didn't pry and found another waist strap tucked into the back of the pack. It was a similar style to his own so it was easy to put on. He adjusted the tension on the straps, angled the blade comfortably on his hip, and then tested the sheath to judge the angle he would have to pull to get the weapon free. It was far smoother of a pull than his own blade. Though, he would have to get used to its light weight. Holding the thing was almost like holding a feather.

"Was the path clear?" Darius asked Helena, who nodded. The woman was already packed and ready to leave. She stood tall and without effort as she looked at Darius. Lydia was at her side, eager and smiling as she swayed from one foot to the other.

"Good. I'd rather not get into an immediate fight." Darius huffed and hefted his pack onto his shoulders. After he did so, Helena tapped the pack. A rune on the bottom of the pack flared, and all struggling ceased. It was as if the rune had taken the weight away or something.

"Shouldn't we use this place as a camp or something?" Jake asked, curious as to why they were leaving so quickly. Jake tugged on the straps of his pack and heaved it onto his back. The weight of everything inside tugged on his shoulders and pressed down on his spine. His legs bore the brunt of it all and stiffened beneath him as he stood up. He clenched his teeth and moved beneath the pack a bit, trying to shift the weight to make it easier to carry. Helena noticed the struggling and took a step toward him.

Darius immediately stuck a hand out in front of her, stopping her.

"No. He needs it," he said. Jake's lips pressed together and his shoulders stiffened. Helena glanced at Darius before looking once more at Jake. The boy shifted on his feet, once more struggling a bit with the weight. But, she didn't approach further and turned away. The weight was his to deal with it seemed. Jake sighed and grabbed onto the straps.

"This location was only for a quick stop. There're too many Maedra around, and we're too far from where we're going." With that, Darius adjusted the straps of his pack and then started walking towards the exit where Helena and Lydia had appeared in.

"And where is it that we're going?" Jake asked, taking his first few weight steps. Helena and Lydia waited for him to pass before they fell in behind. Darius strode far more easily, his feet barely touching the stone as he almost glided along. Jake, on the other hand, stomped with each step.

"To kill Maedra," Darius spat.

The group approached the exit and stepped through it into the dark. A bright blue barrier met them. Darius kept walking and didn't slow his pace. As he approached, the barrier vanished as the rune etched into its core broke. Jake looked over his shoulder to see Helena's free hand drawing in the air as she formed another rune- a light rune. When it was complete, a ball of light appeared and then flew over them. It floated out into the darkness of the tunnel, illuminating their path as it took position just around twenty meters ahead of them. Convenient, and exactly what Jake would do if he didn't have Night Vision.

He was tempted to try to utilize that magic, but he didn't want to deal with the pain again. So, he left the magic to Helena. She seemed competent enough and her knowledge of runes seemed quite diverse. It was nice to come across someone like her for once. Though, he doubted she was a common person to encounter. He would make sure not to take her presence for granted.

Darius went quiet after they left the cavern, as did the other two. Jake of course did the same. He focused on walking as quietly as he could and grit his teeth, dealing with the weight on his back with as little of a show as possible. His muscles burned. His shoulders ached. And his back tensed up more and more the further they walked. After a while, he began to sweat and his body pleaded for water.

As the distance grew and Jake's stamina plummeted, Darius began to give him tips to make his life just a bit easier.

"Sip water. Don't chug."

"Set your hips. Don't lean too far forward. Use the backs of your legs, not the front."

"Tighten the straps. Keep the weight high on your back."

"Use the waist strap that's trapped behind you. It'll help."

"Stop swaying so much."

Even with his tips, though, Jake could feel his legs starting to throb and his back hurt. His muscles were quivering and tightening. No matter how much water he sipped on, he thirsted for more and his throat felt dry. The sweat was soaking through his clothes and wiping off his forehead was a fruitless effort as his forearms were dripping. His fingertips tingled slightly from the loss of circulation in his armpits due to the straps digging in. His feet burned and felt extremely sore. The entire bottom of his feet felt hot and sent light sparks of pain with every step.

Walking with weight sucked, and there was no telling how much further they had to go.