The dynamic of the training had changed dramatically, being able to move his body again Kintas felt an adrenaline rush he had never felt before. It was intoxicating and calming at the same time. The effect this had on his mind let him properly think and process, like removing the pressure of a test can have all the details come back to you. He briefly thought that this had to be part of the improvements the Ritual did to his mind.

Eryer again pointed his palm towards Kintas, activating a magic circle. It flashed in and out of existence like before but there was barely a hint of an afterimage in Kintas’ mind, it was there long enough for him to catch the runes. He didn’t know all of them, not uncommon given that Arcane mages do their research into the Arcane language, but he recognized the Elemental rune of Aether as well as two of the three remaining runes; Aether, Homing, Sphere and an unknown rune. This was something similar to the last spell just with a homing effect. In most cases, it would guarantee that it hit its intended target, the last rune made it slightly harder to know what to expect, but it was enough for this round.

The magic circle had collapsed into its final form, a sphere of energy in Eryer’s palm and was shot forward towards Kintas. Even with his heightened processing, it was moving quite fast. Trying to dodge something that homes was not easy, the more time he gave the spell to react the harder it was to dodge, he would have to avoid it in the latest second just before it hit, but that narrow a dodge would be problematic. Based on the feeling he got from the spell there was a considerable level of energy in it so taking that hit was not an option.

A simpler solution presented itself, Kintas was still holding onto his wooden sword. Though it wouldn’t be strong enough to absorb all of the spell’s energy, it would be enough to at least affect it slightly.

Stepping towards the incoming magical orb Kintas made a string swipe to the side, as soon as the sword connected the Aether sphere discharged some of its stored energy into the point of impact, shattering the wooden sword completely. Though this affected the stability of the spell it was small enough to not change the danger that much, however, it had done what Kintas wanted; changed the trajectory ever so slightly.

In the same movement as the swing of the sword, he took another step forward to the opposite side than the swing. He could feel the air pulling at his clothing, the pulsing danger of the Aether orb barely missing his body and the rush of having this work out with the microscopic amount of time he had to react. Closing the remaining distance to Eryer he took hold of and ripped the staff out of his left hand, grabbed his right hand to immobilise it as he pointed it away before using the staff as a makeshift weapon by swinging it at his head. Kintas stopped the swing before it connected, he didn’t want to risk breaking the skull of an ally, he hadn’t mastered his physical strength yet and this felt like a very bad moment to try it out. Though he did feel there was a pull at the back of his mind to just slam him in the face with everything he had.

Kintas calmed down once he had stopped the swing, in his mind the fight was over although it would be moreover had he just chosen to feed the mage his staff. At the same moment everything around him stopped being in slow motion, he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him like a puff of uncomfortably warm and humid air. He felt worn out, tired and just all around uncomfortable, but all this paled in front of the feeling of victory he got from this very moment.

“W... well done...“ Eryer complimented through his hesitation. He didn’t seem to have expected this at all, being taken quite off guard.

At the same time, Ylere let out an excited shriek from the side, stopping herself almost as fast as she made the sound by covering her mouth with both her hands. She seemed to have let it out by accident. Even though she was covering her mouth she was still visibly happy.

Vesver broke into the awkward moment as Kintas chose to drop the staff on the ground, rather than handing it back to the mage. Eryer didn’t seem to plan on taking it easy on Kintas during this, so he felt no need to be any kind of polite back. Eryer was pushed to the side by a surprisingly smiling and happy Vesver, he seemed to ignore or take joy in the fact that his friend was beaten and would be dead in a real-world fight.

“Finally! I’m glad your body finally settled.” He seemed honestly glad on Kintas’ behalf, something that took him quite off guard as Kintas had only seen the gruff instructor side of him.

“... Eh... Thank... you?” Kintas was hesitant, not only was he taken back by Vesver’s sudden change in personality and entire demeanour, but there were also the changes to his own body. He knew there would be a lot of improvements and such, but this was kind of amazing. There was also the prayer he just blurted out that seemed to be a divine spell? Could he use Divine magic now?

“Nothing to it, it was fun beating you up but I think our light sparring is over.” Vesver put an interesting pressure on the word ‘light’.

From Kintas’ side, this was anything but light, he had broken bones and was properly wounded at times, had it not been for Ylere and his improved body... Now that he thought about it, all of this made a bit of sense. It was either a way for Vesver to work his issues on someone that wouldn’t take lasting damage, under the guise of training, or it was more benign and was a way for Kintas to learn how much his new body was capable of taking. Because, all things said and done, the damage to his body was considerably smaller than he would have sustained from the same attacks before the Ritual. And odds were incredibly high that he had trained more Inquisitors-to-be earlier.

Vesver continued without much pause. “I don’t think I want to test my luck, now that your body is working again.” He slapped Kintas’ shoulder, though it didn’t hurt at all it was still quite hard, based on how much Kintas’ body moved. He might be stronger and sturdier but this didn’t change his body weight.

“I suppose I should thank you. Although one part of me wants to return the broken bones I think it might be best not to.” Though this was nothing more than a playful threat from Kintas’ side, parts of him wanted to get some light revenge.

Vesver didn’t reply, but his satisfied grin hinted at him knowing exactly what he was doing. “Well, run along now, you should train with your own kind from now on. It’s not smart fighting us normal people anymore.”

He took out a small notebook from a pocket inside his armour, opening to a page that a small band had bookmarked. “It seems you should go to Bishop Alaric Silverwood, he’ll take care of you from now.”

Closing the little book and putting it back in his pocket, he unceremoniously ended the talk there and walked over to his friend who was picking up his staff.

“He really turned the tables on you there, didn’t he, Eryer.” There was a strong mocking tone in his voice.

Eryer picked up the staff and straightened himself out, there was a deep sigh of defeat as he looked like he wanted to react to Kintas and Vesver at the same time. But in the end, he just calmed down instead, turning to face Kintas.

“Yes. Yes he did. I will admit I hoped to get some more fun out of it, but I’m really glad you... held back at the end there.” The brief pause gave hints about his previous encounters in melee combat.

“Oh, look at you, the bigger man and whatever.” Vesver had a very childish taunting tone towards Eryer, it seemed they knew each other very well. Eryer looked like he was going to burst a vein in his forehead.

“Oh, then why don’t you spar with our trainee here? I’m sure he can still learn a thing or two from you.” There was an aggressive, almost biting tone coming through his slightly clenched teeth as he spoke to his warrior friend.

“Hah, fuck no. I value my life. Sure, the young lady over there could heal me but I don’t like breaking things.” Vesver immediately admitted before he started leaving towards one of the side doors. If anything he seemed oddly honest when he was not in instructor mode.

Eryer let out another sigh and followed him out.

Ylere had used this time to run over to Kintas. “You did it! Finally!” She seemed almost happier than Kintas for this development. She was scrunching herself up like she tried to hold her excitement in, while in reality just showing it just as much had she acted out.

Kintas couldn’t avoid being a little affected by her joy, it was on his behalf after all. He was feeling good about this, but there were a few questions surrounding the speed boost he used, was that a divine spell? It looked a little like the ones that Ylere used, a different chant but it was a different effect.

“And you were so fast!” She was still trying to hold back, but her entire being beamed with excitement. “You just dodged that fast spell, and you hit it with your sword!” She acted out flailing her arm towards something in the air and dodging something only she could see. Acting out the events of the fight and her recounting of it.

She kept gushing out about her joy about it as Kintas replayed it in his mind. The Aether orbs are usually very, very fast spells. He didn’t know what the last rune in that spell was but the homing rune makes them virtually impossible to avoid. He had seen it before and a skilled Arcane mage could hit arrows out of the air with them. Just how fast was he moving to process all that, move his sword and get all that done in that brief moment?

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His fatigue had not left him yet, so he was still somewhat worn out. Though adrenaline helped a lot it wasn’t enough to remove it completely.

Suddenly grabbing Ylere and picking her up, sitting her on his shoulder to her squeeing delight Kintas smiled a bit. He was happy with this turn of events, he would have to make sure to thank the Lord for these events in his evening prayers, for now, he had another goal.

“Let’s go speak to Bishop Silverwood. I have some questions and I’m sure he has some answers!”

Ylere didn’t reply as much as rapidly nodding, pointing towards one of the four exit arches of the area. “Onwards!” She had a commanding tone, almost as if she was shouting orders at her trained horse.

Kintas complied, made a horrible horse whinny and started lightly jogging in that direction.

*******

It had taken a while to find out where Bishop Silverood’s office was located, but considering that he worked with the Inquisitors it made a certain amount of sense that they were pointed in the direction of the main entrance of the Grand Cathedral they were in. The hallways and rooms were adorned with the Bronze Disc of The Faith, a slightly warm-gilded circle representing the sun. Most of the rooms were painted white and most of the decour was of the same white or pale colours, much like if they were in the sun for too long.

Ylere had been put back on the floor, due to the fact that doors and hallways weren’t always planned for her newfound height, it became more hassle than it was worth. She was still walking about happily as they found their way down to the office of the Bishop.

Finally finding it they came down to a corner office, a bronze plate had his full name engraved, and the letters were inked in to make them stand out. This was fastened on the wall next to the large door leading into his office, the door itself was a sturdy wooden door painted with a slightly orange-yellow colour. The door had been left open showing the Bishop and his office from the hallway.

The office seemed nice, it wasn’t overly devoured but it had a lot of shelves with various books, a large desk stood in the rough middle with the back towards the windows at the end of the room. A few chairs were in front of the desk for other people to use.

In the chair sat an imposing man, he looked quite tall if he stood up and he had a very distinguished look. A strong jawline and piercing blue eyes stared down into some books. Silver-grey hair neatly trimmed and slicked back giving him a quite commanding look. He was wearing white robes with the bronze disc on his chest, much like Ylere. The main difference in their attire was that he also had a bronze-coloured stole around his neck, the end of both sides having the same disc as his chest.

Before they could knock or speak to him, he lifted his eyes and softened his stare with a warm smile.

“Ah, Kintas and Ylere, come in, come in.” His voice was very grandfather-like and calming. The tone was much like he was just inviting old friends to a cup of tea, yet his voice was powerful and clear, the kind to carry across large rooms letting people in the back hear his words well.

Kintas nodded and entered, Ylere followed along.

“Please, close the door after you.” Silverwood got up from his chair to greet them as they entered, making a vague gesture towards the door as he mentioned it.

Ylere was the one closest at the time, so she walked over and closed it. Though it was a large and heavy door it was on good hinges so it swung shut easily enough.

“If you’re here I assume your body settled in?” The Bishop asked with the start of a smile, waiting for a response.

“Y-yes. I believe it has.” Kintas was a bit taken back, though it made sense that it could have been a condition for Vesver to give the Bishop's name, so he should not properly be here without his body having settled, it still felt a bit weird having this new info already sort of assumed.

“Marvellous, I’m glad to hear that it all worked out in the end. How are you finding the changes?” He sounded honestly interested. Kintas couldn’t say that it mattered if it was for work reasons or personal interest, he was just glad that it finally did.

“I broke a lot of cups in the last few days, and it felt... annoying to be able to see and mentally process things faster, but having my body lagging behind... I took a lot of hits from Vesver because of that.” Kintas complained a bit at the same time as he stated his happiness.

Though the problems he had faced weren't too great, all things considered, it was still extremely annoying there and then.

Though Kintas had not remembered everything of his past yet, he was still sort of learning about himself, he had realised that he’s a very easygoing person. In the back of his head, he wanted to mention the first time he went to the toilet and how close that was to a catastrophe, but he decided to not go down that path in this company.

“Though, that said. I have a question for you about my changes.” Kintas paused a little, halfway gauging if it was OK to ask things of the Bishop.

“Oh? I’ll help if I can.” Silverwood smiled back like it was the most natural thing ever.

Kintas felt a bit at ease with this, he didn’t care if this was a front of the Bishop to calm people or if he was just like that, it was working in his slightly uncertain situation.

“As my body... Fell into place, and I spoke some words I didn’t expect to speak. It felt... Powerful. Afterwards, I was fast... incredibly fast.”

In his mind, Kintas knew what this was, but it just felt too sudden, without praying or testing or anything. And since he spoke without meaning it, it just all felt a bit... weird.

“That’s interesting. Not many get their first prayer that early. The Lord must like you.” He looked honestly happy for Kintas.

Gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk for his two guests, he sat down in his own chair shortly after.

“It’s not unheard of for Inquisitors to obtain prayers at strange times, most pray for days, weeks or even months before they get their first prayer. The fact that you got yours right away is a very good sign!”

Kintas was given lots of reading material after he woke from the Ritual, he didn’t remember all of it, probably a side-effect of his unstable mind, but he did remember the gist of things. The Prayers were divine spells for the Inquisitors, they usually differed from normal spells in their chants and in how they worked for people. Normal Divine magic was a mini-prayer to the Lord to have an effect happen, the exact words are individual and up to each own. All from a few words to several sentences. Inquisitor prayers were almost always short, a few words to a short sentence at the longest, and though they were just as varied as normal magic they usually had a dramatic effect. It’s said that this is because the Inquisitor body, already being augmented by Divine magic made them a strong beacon for the Lord.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit prideful in this, he had gotten his first Prayer, now he just needed to test it out, play around with it and get properly used to its effects.

“I’m glad to hear that. Though, I can’t help but wonder what’s to come.”

Kintas was eager to do things with his newfound abilities, not only to repay the Lord for his gifts but also for his own reasons. Not the least simply being that this was pretty cool.

The Bishop chuckled, he had seen this behaviour before but he seemed to share some of the enjoyment if nothing else.

He answered Kintas in a way suggesting that he had seen this first hand many, many times, more than a practised explanation it was just something that he had been a part of for a while.

“In the coming days, you’ll be training with another Inquisitor. You’ll get to test and get used to your body and Prayers. We have to find out what weapon suits you before we send you out. Once all that is under control you’ll go with a skilled Inquisitor on a few training missions. If you do well in them you will become a proper Inquisitor and get your Inquisitor weapon.”

Kintas was getting eager, all of this sounded interesting in its way. He was especially excited about the Inquisitor weapon, a powerful magical weapon with several abilities helping him do His work.

The Bishop turned his head to face Ylere. “Though you can’t go with him on missions, at least not until you’re older, you can help him when he gets hurt in training.” His tone changed to a more supportive grandfather.

She smiled widely in response, absolutely liking at least somewhat being a part of this.

Kintas looked determined. “So, when do we start?”