Baltsar closed his eyes as he savored the tea made with storm grass. He and Vysard had returned to their Inn as Thorin had asked Baltsar to bring Vysard back so that they could have lunch together.

-" Is this really that good?" Vysard felt bored, he didn't want to return so soon, but, he still choose to come back as it was Thorin that asked.

-" That good? Storm Grass is the tea of champions and heroes!" Baltsar took a deep sniff of the tea fragrance. " If you want I can let you try it, but, just one cup!"

-" Just one?" Vysard didn't believe that the man could be so stingy, but, he accepted the cup nonetheless, however, he spit the tea right out on his first sip. " Bitter! Why didn't you put sugar in it?"

Baltsar face twitched in anger, not only the boy had wasted his precious storm grass tea, but he also dared to say that it need sugar. -" Dammed Brat! Sugar? This is a drink for men, not children who like sugary things!"

Vysard pouted as the man called him a child. -" I'm already 17, I'm not a child, and your drink sucks!"

The duo continued to shout at each other until Thorin entered the Inn, he was accompanied by another man, who had a grotesque scar that ran from his eyes to the very bottom of his neck.

-" How was the walk?" Thorin sat down and asked Vysard.

A smile bloomed on Vysard face as Thorin appeared, and he took out the stone that he had brought. -" It was great! I didn't expect the city to be so big and look what I found!"

Thorin gave the stone a look, but, he didn't find anything interesting in it. " And what that was supposed to be?"

With his smile still plastered on his face, Vysard sent a few strands of Sun Energy to the stone, and it began to shine. The sudden shimmer caught Thorin off guard, but, he grew even more surprised when they saw a layer of the stone crumble and reveal a strange gemstone.

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-" Was this a gem?" Baltsar couldn't believe what he was seeing. " How didn't that merchant notice it?" He grew confused as to why the merchant didn't even try to crack the stone.

-" This isn't a simple stone, if someone else tried to crack it, the stone would simply crumble." Thorin was in disbelief by the boy's luck, " This stone had a great amount of Solar Energy inside it, but, it was completely dormant and integrated into it."

Baltsar only grew more confused as Thorin explained it. " Solar Energy? Is this some type of energy that you get from your Deity?"

"Well.. yes." Thorin nodded as he continued his explanation. " I suppose the people from the north call it Breath of the Earth, the elf's named it Essence, this energy has many names, but, we all agree on one thing, this is the fundamental energy of the world, the energy that feeds and empowers not only the Sun God but also every other one, this energy in it's most pure form is called Aether."

Baltsar eyes flashed with greed as he finally understood what the gem was. -" Breath of the Earth? Does this gem have a Breath of the Earth?"

-" No, this gem is the breath of the earth." Thorin's tone was serious as he finished his explanation. " Vysard used his energy to awaken and crystalize the energy, creating this gem."

Baltsar gasped in surprise, now knowing how rare and valuable a gem like this was. -" Tsk, what a lucky bastard!" He couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the boy. " Can we all do this?"

Thorin smiled at the question. " It wouldn't be that rare if we all could do this. First, you would need to be lucky enough to find something like this, and to crystalize this much energy, your control over it has to be almost perfect." Thorin sighed, Vysard was too unique of existence for people to compare themselves to. " Maybe less than ten people in the world are capable of this."

Baltsar felt a mixture of sadness, as his dream of quick wealth vanished, and surprise as he learned that Vysard was so unique. " So, who exactly is Vysard? I don't believe that someone that could this is a simple monk." Baltsar was suspicious as the group was too mysterious, and he suddenly began to regret joining them.

-" Who he is?" Thorin smiled, this was a question that even the upper echelons of the Sun God Chruch couldn't answer. " He is just a boy, blessed by the Sun, but, cursed by man."

Everyone was startled by Thorin's answer, even Vysard himself.

-" Cursed by man?" Vysard couldn't help but ask as he remembered THorin's previous warning.

Thorin felt a strange taste in his mouth, he wanted to protect Vysard from all those things, but, the knew that it was useless and he should do whatever it took to prepare him for the future. -" Yes, your existence is something that no power player in the sun lands can ignore." Thorin's tone changed completely from his usual carefree one. " They will do whatever it takes for you to fight alongside them, and your enemies will use any means to dispose of you."

Vysard understood what Thorin was hitting at, and gave him a nod. " But in the end, what will truly matter is my choice." Visard clutched the stone as he spoke.

Vysard was naive and innocent, but, he wasn't oblivious to his circumstances. Since young Thorin had told him that the people only viewed him as a weapon, and this shaped his relationship with the Chruch's upper echelons. " If what they want is a weapon, they will be disappointed." His resolve was stronger than ever, he always dreamed to be free, but, due to his connections with the Sun God, he didn't want to completely forsake the Chruch.

" May the Sun light our path" Thorin always feared that Vysard would be hesitant of going against what the Cardinals wanted, but, Vysard had proven to be more perceptive than he looked. " By the way, this is Captain Robert Maddox, he is the one who will take us to the Northern Lands." Thorin finally introduced the man that accompanied him.