"Stop training for speed, my stupid apprentice. You're already faster than a god." Martak demanded as I ran through a hundred kata at hyperspeed.

I wasn't actually training for speed, but my teacher did have a point. Baring teleports, I was pretty much the fastest man alive on this world. Strongest and most durable as well, barring unfortunate temporal magic.

"My Hunter's Moons is not progressing at all. I have no talent for magic!" I complained like an angsty teenager. Which I was again.

The Hunter's Moons was the closest Amber magic to a mass healing spell, but even with increased affinity I still sucked at it.

"Then practice Monstrous Regiment more. A thousand times every day." my harsh teacher demanded in a callous voice, then pointed at a nearby rabbit to come sacrifice itself for our supper, and probably a new hat for the Amber shaman.

Amber magic is not a normal kind of magic. Everything is visceral, intuitive and wild, often by design. Practice helps, but truthfully, you need an epiphany into the nature of wilderness in order to grow stronger.

Given the normal and natural weakness of a human in the wild, such epiphanies were easier for fragile human apprentices, but not for me.

I could bathe in a leech-infested river and not worry about my safety. I could sleep in a wolves den, and the poor wolves would just have to endure me, or break their teeth on my skin.

I could fly with the eagles, without needing to grow wings like other shamans.

Yes, I had a few unfair advantages, but they also hampered my growth.

Still, my teacher words were basically an order, so I flew up and began searching for a decent target to use Monstrous Regiment spell on.

A caravan attacked by goblins, another caravan attacked by wolves, an army regiment on the march, they could all benefit from my aerial-cast spell, boosting their strength a few times for the duration of the spell.

And if and when I located bandits and other evildoers prowling my forest, I could train the Leatherbane spell on them, with the usual grievous results, such as leather items breaking, water pouches leaking, belts and scabbards rotting away, and even minor bits like eyes, ears, noses and fingers falling off.

Sure, a properly cast spell would disintegrate anything organic to dust, but I wasn't a proper wizard, was I?

Thus, when I located a damsel in distress, I gladly flew down to lend my aid. A dozen wood-cutters were shielding this girl, while arrows flew from the woods and then vanished in mid-air before they could reach their targets.

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"Lady Elena, just go! We're not worth your life." a wood-cutter spoke in a grave voice, stepping in front of the damsel and holding his axe valiantly.

A blur passed by, and wood elves began flying into a heap in front of the damsel, legs broken and lacking their bows.

In a few seconds, I completed the task and appeared next to my captives, floating a palm over the ground as to not dirty my naked feet.

"There! Ambush solved." I announced in a cool, heroic voice.

The woman dressed in a long green dress measured me for a half a second, then sighed and began healing the crippled elves.

In a minute, the newly healed elves stood back to their feet, and eyed their bows piled further away. "Try it again, and I'll break both your legs." I spoke softly.

The elves possibly recognized me, as their eyes widened suddenly in fear and ran away.

"And who might you be, Amber wizard?" the rescued damsel asked in a collected voice.

"Ah, I am Pef, but only an apprentice, not a full Amber Wizard. And you're called Elena?" I answered in a questioning voice.

"Indeed. I am Elena, a Grail Damsel..." she said in curious tone, as if expecting me to know her.

I eyed the sword at her side, and wondered for a second if I was going to get shanked once more. The Holy Grail, they had this here too?

"Is this Grail a Divine object shaped like a cup which has miraculous powers?" I asked to make sure.

She blinked at me slowly, so I must have guessed right. Or close enough.

"You have read much, for an Amber Wizard..." she noticed in a low voice, then turned away walking slowly towards the edge of the forest.

I considered the situation for a minute, then flew at her side to continue our discussion.

"What is that spell that blocks arrows?" I asked instead, feeling quite curious for once. I knew a few wizards from Altdorf, but they weren't sharing spells with me. Even my teacher only taught me 5 spells so far.

Her eyes glinted with inner light, and the same spell formed in front me, about 2 meters away. "It is called Aerial Shield." she answered in a softer voice.

I poked the shield from both sides, and found nothing there. Well, nothing solid at least. There was magic, of course.

Not an air shield, although I already suspected that, since arrows simply vanished, instead of bouncing away.

"Amazing! It's a type of spatial spell, shunting the arrows into another place? Does it transport bullets or cannon balls too?" I asked in a rush.

Elena frowned for a second, then nodded. "The spell can do that, if the caster is strong or skilled enough. My limit is arrows though." she added in a shy voice.

I measured Elena with a sad eye. She was the same as me then. Not a full-fledged wizard, only an apprentice. "I also have a few spells that should be powerful, but only get the lowest results. I suck at magic."

She laughed loudly, startling me. "You, suck at magic? You are flying right now. With no effort at all." she complained in a despondent voice.

I sighed inward, as my flight was not a magic spell. "That's not exactly true. I am not casting any spell to fly. It's a form of Ghur baptism, I was told. Like a god dunked me into a pool of Amber magic for too long"

Elena smirked and poked my ribs, right into the Mark of Taal. "To bear the mark of a god is a sign of greatness. I think you humble yourself too much, Avatar of Taal." she added with a coy voice.

I mean, it was a decently good explanation for my powers, so I would take it. Few people would dare to mess with a Divine messenger, after all.

"Perhaps, I should be more confident, right? Fancy a kiss from your savior, my fair lady?" I asked in a honeyed voice.

Elena laughed and pointed at her camp by the road. "My Grail Knights might object to a new lover."

I smiled widely. She didn't say no.