Dear Diary, is setting forest fires a crime in fantasy land?

I will tell you what: I am never going to complain again about sleeping in a cave again. It leaps ahead of sleeping in a forest. Even if you wake up a bit stiff, at least you are not cold or wet. I quietly get up and take a look outside. The little hill we used as a camping ground this night gives me a good vantage point to scan the forest for any trouble.

Lucky for me, the only thing that is currently a threat to us is the out-of-control forest fire. I should have really thought that plan through. I guess we can keep climbing the hill and get out of the range of the fire a bit. But at least it became a lot harder to follow us now. Can’t track a sent when the air is full of smoke.

I turn back to see that Annabelle is already out of the cave and doing some stretching. Honestly, she looks a lot worse for wear than I do. My jeans and hoody are better travel clothes than the dress-like contraption that she is wearing. At least she agreed to take off the corset.

“So what is the plan?” she asks with a smile on her face.

“I don’t know. It looks like the flames are doing a good job of making it hard to get to us, so our main priority is not getting burned alive.”

“Can’t you not control the flames?” she asks, a bit confused.

“I don’t know, maybe; I am kind of new to the whole magic thing; can’t you control it?” I ask

“I am an arcane host. I can’t use any magic.”

“Why not can you not do the same thing to yourself as you did to me?” I ask now curious about the logistics of magic.

“It does not work like that. An arcane host can’t grant magic to themself.”

“I see, so we should find a second arcane host, and then you two can grant magic to each other?” I ask more than state.

“No arcane host can’t wield magic,” she says with a sad look.

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“Sounds like you got the short end of the deal,” I say, putting a hand on her shoulder as comfort.

Annabelle shrugs. “It is what was expected, so I am not that hung up about it. Do you enjoy using the magic?”

“Yeah, it is super interesting. I have a few questions about how it works if you don’t mind me asking ?” I say with a nervous smile.

“Yeah, sure, the better you are with it, the safer I will be.”

“So, how does it work? I understand that I can create fire, but are there like spells? Do I only have a limited amount of mana?”

“There are spell books. Sadly, they are usually well guarded, so the more common way to learn is to attend the academy.” Annabelle explains.

“I see that is unfortunate. What about mana? Can I endlessly cast spells?”

“People have their own supply of mana depending on how deep their mana veins are. In your case, I would assume that you have a rather large supply. So it is probably as good as endless at this point, but once you learn some more advanced spells, it will be a lot more limiting.”

“Huh, well, that is great still; thank you so much. Is there anything I can do to repay for teaching me fire magic? Don’t hesitate to ask”

“Just always stand next to me when I need you.”

“I will strive to be there for you,” I say with a smile.

“You better, or you will be in trouble, miss. Now, what is the plan for today?”

“I thought climbing the hill might be smart. Get a better vantage point and make sure we are far away from the fire.”

“Yeah, you went a bit overboard with that.”

“I am sorry, but shooting fire from my hands is really fun.”

“And don’t you forget who gave it to you? So get your butt ready. We need to move.”

I look at her in surprise and then start walking. “You have a lot of energy all of a sudden.”

“Well, for once, I did not wake up cold, so I guess I am feeling a lot better.”

“That is good to hear. By the way, when do you think your father is going to send troops to rescue you,”

“Wait, are you already tired of me?”

“Of you, no. Of this forest very much, so yes, I miss a warm bed.”

We walk for a complete of hours up the hill, eating wild berries and telling each other stories about us growing up. It informs me of the fact that Annabelle had a very sheltered childhood, and this trip was the first time she was let out. Bit of a shame on how that is going, but it could be worse, I guess.

Annabelle, for her part, is really interested in my school and how we get educated. Apparently, besides the magic academy in the capitol, the rest of the children whose parents can afford tuition are home-schooled. I guess that saves someone from getting bullied for having a weird name.

“Anna, what are those?” I ask while pointing at four blueish spots in the distance next to the fire line.

“Those look like water elementals.” She says, concentrating her gaze on the distance.

“Is that good or bad?”

“Depends. How worried were you that you would burn the entire forest down?”

“It was on my mind, but I did not care that much if I am honest.”

“Well, in that case, it is not great. The elementals will quale the fire in a day or so, and then they can get back to hunting.”

“So we make more distance?” I ask

“We make more distance.”