Ollowyn was dead tired. After a solid hour of experimenting, he had finally realised how to use Arrágatâ. Though that did not make it much easier. Every time he used the technique, it felt like he had swung his axe against the tree a hundred times.

The silver haired Valurén had always had a lot of stamina and he was absolutely sure, that he could hit those trees repeatedly until midnight without stopping much. But even with his high stamina it was just impossible to use Arrágatâ again and again without depleting his energy resources completely. Ten strikes felt like a thousand.

As he raised his axe for the nineteenth strike, he noticed that he would not be able to use it again. The massive oak tree that stood before him, was the thickest tree he had found in the near vicinity and he had barely made a dent. Exhausted he let his axe fly into the wound one last time, where it ripped out a piece of wood and remained stuck.

Ollowyn let himself fall backwards into the hip-high grass. Next time he would make twenty! He stretched his limb away from his body and eyed the passing clouds. It was peaceful here. For a small moment he nodded off.

Then a voice ripped him from his slumber. “Hello? Ollowyn? My father sends me, I have to bring you-... Oh. There you are.”

Ronka’s daughter stood a few meters away with a large wicker basket. Ollowyn rose happily. Food. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty damn hungry. “Are you bringing me lunch?”

The girl, that Ollowyn estimated to be seventeen years old, was smaller than he was. Ollowyn’s heartbeat grew faster. But before he could even ask himself why that was, the girl had already handed him the basket and bowed briefly. “Sorry, I gotta hurry home. Helping my mother. You can bring by what's leftover later.”

Ollowyn blinked in a confused manner, but before he could say “Thank you”, the girl was already too far away. Too bad. He would have liked to speak to her, but for some reason he had frozen up. That usually did not happen to him. Shrugging, he opened the wicker basket and stared at a paradise. A large buffet of hard boiled eggs, dried meat and cheese. Apples, carrots and plenty of freshly baked bread. It was enough to fill his stomach three times over. Ronkan’s family was so nice! He really would have to say his thanks later.

Happy, Ollowyn lied back into the warm grass and ate as much as possible. Then he rested again, since he was barely even able to move anymore. This time he was more careful and only closed one eye to avoid falling asleep. When he continued an hour later he left a lot better. He began to warm up with a few normal swings. After a while the wound he had cleaved into the tree was large enough to sleep in. About one third of the diameter.

With his body feeling warm and ready he started to use Arrágatâ again. After twenty-eight shattering strikes the large oak started to slowly tilt towards him. He made a quick Koruí sidestep away from the tree and ran a bit further, just to make sure. The tree was truly massive and the wide ranging tree branches made the oak broader than it was high. Ollowyn stretched as the tree crashed to the ground. It felt good. He had won the struggle against this massive tree.

Though the forest stretched out far and wide behind him. And Ollowyn tried his best to meet the challenge and knock down as many trees as he could before sundown. In the end his efforts were akin to a water drop on a hot stone. It did little to bring down his motivation though. Six trees down. Seven times a thousand and… how many to go? He was unsure what kind of number that even was. He should have paid better attention in Marun’s numbers lesson after all.

Shrugging Ollowyn grabbed the wicker basket and made himself on the way back with a snack in hand. When he delivered it back to Ronkan’s wife, he held one eye open for the girl to thank her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The tiredness in his body was something he had not felt in a long time. His limbs ached and hurt, but it was the good kind of pain. It felt right. Satisfying. The kind of pain that makes one stronger overtime. When Ollowyn reached the clan’s estate he was so tired that jumping over the wall was something he did not even consider. As he knocked on the large wooden gate, Marun opened.

“Oh, master Torreí. Come in. How is your training progressing.” Marun was treating Ollowyn with the respect a true master of the Iordai Clan deserved. Ollowyn was embarrassed about it as usually, but luckily no one was here to hear the conversation.

“Thank you, pretty well master Kíreii. But please don’t be so formal and call me master all the time. I feel weird if you do that.” He said with a deep frown on his face. Then his legs gave out and he fell forward.

Marun caught Ollowyn and flung his left arm around his shoulder. Ollowyn could barely stand like this and the master more or less carried him to his sleeping spot.

“Don’t overexert yourself with training. You could really hurt yourself, if you lose control over your legs at the wrong time.” Marun sounded very concerned. “Should I bring you someth-”

But Ollowyn did not near the rest of it. He had already fallen in a deep slumber and Marun left after covering him with a blanket.

Ollowyn dreamt vividly. A large beast was chasing him. He felt it, but it never showed itself. He ran and ran, but escaping was impossible. It was drawing closer and closer. Until it finally grabbed him at his ankle.

The silver haired boy woke up immediately, as something janked him out of shack and threw him through the air a few meters. Ollowyn adjusted his fall as best as he could and landed on all fours. He slithered through the wet, nightly grass a few meters, before coming to a halt. A pitch black shadow sprinted towards him. Assassin? He immediately lifted both his arms to shield his face.

A knee hit his provisorical defense hard and threw him up into a standing position. His hands felt numb already. The shadow was fast. Too fast. Immediately he was next to him, jumped and a heavy kick went against Ollowyn’s temple.

The boy could barely block it, but his already numb hand was now completely filled with only one sensation. Pain.

The attacked did not relent. Again and again he threw attacks against Ollowyn and threw him through the wet grass like a playball. He could hardly defend. Much less run away. If felt impossible to even try. He was constantly at his limit, barely reading his opponents movement. But he realised that his opponent did not intend to kill him.

After a few minutes of painful beatings the shadow ended the fight brutally. He knocked Ollowyn of his feet with a really hard kick, before a flat handed strike to his chest pressed the air out of his lungs and threw him to the ground, where he rolled over a few times. He was about to pass out as the shadow revealed itself.

“Don’t forget my breathing techniques, boy. I did not teach you for nothing.” The great master spoke coldly. Then he pulled him back to his sleeping spot in the shack on his shirt, where he dropped him.

Ollowyn immediately gave in to his exhaustion and sunk into a deep and strong slumber.

When he woke up, the sun was already standing high in the sky and his whole body hurt, even more than before. Ollowyn bit his lip as he stood up. The old master had told him multiple times how important the breathing techniques were, but he had not paid enough attention. It was his own fault for provoking this nightly “lesson”.

The old monster was not to be joked with. He eyed his throbbing, painful arms. They already showed a blue-violet hue. Ollowyn was no stranger to pain. He had gotten hurt a lot in his early days. The great master was showing him his affection in his own ways. Ollowyn had ignored a part of his teaching and he had reminded him so that he would never forget. Sighing, Ollowyn started his daily work with aching limbs.

On his way throughout the village he was eyed with raised eyebrows, but he carried his wounds with pride and was not afraid to greet the people like it was a normal day. He walked at a faster pace though, to make up for lost time.

As he crossed the pasture with the grazing sheep, he could spot Ronkan already. It seemed like he was inspecting Ollowyn’s work and he was deep in thought.

Ollowyn greeted him from afar. “Good morning!”

Completely ripped out of his thoughts the man turned to face him. “Ollowyn. Milenia told me that you aren’t around, so I thought to look for you, to make sure-” He stopped for a second as Ollowyn stopped in front of him. “Good god. What happened to your face?”

Ollowyn frowned and touched his face. It felt oddly hot. Apparently he had taken a few hits to the head yesterday night after all. “Training.” He shrugged. “Nothing special.”

Ronkan looked at him pityingly.. “You train very hard…. If I can ever do something for you, let me know.” Then he turned towards the six cut down trees. “Did you do all that alone yesterday? Pretty impressive.”

Ollowyn sat down on the massive oak trunk. “Today I will do more.” He was truly convinced of that.

Ronkan nodded. “Really impressive. By the way, I brought you some food again, in case you go hungry.” He gestured towards the same wicker basket, that he was given yesterday. “Come to my house tonight, I will give you something against the swelling. Herbal ointment should do wonders against that.”

The silver haired shook his head. “No, thanks. It will heal by itself.” Ollowyn knew that the man meant well, he was not really in a mood for talking though. He needed to concentrate.

A few short lived sentences later he was left alone and was able to use the relatively quiet forest and the surrounding fields for his breathing technique. He made sure to focus on every breath he took, trying to fill every inch of his body with energy while doing so. But this was easier said than done.

Because even though the old master had explained the exercise in detail and Ollowyn had a approximate understanding on how it worked if done correctly, it was easier said than done. It was a state of mind that was much harder to enter and maintain than simple meditation. A loud bird here, a breaking twig there. There were a lot of things that ripped him out of concentration.

With time, Ollowyn grew restless and decided to exhaust himself against the forrest before he would continue. Twenty-two Arrágatâ strikes later he returned to the thick oak trunk and sat down exhaustedly. His body burned from the strain he had put his limbs under, though it made it much easier to concentrate on simple breathing.

This time he was able to maintain it a lot longer and when he finally opened his eyes he felt replenished. Bewildered Ollowyn looked at his arms. The swelling had gone back slightly? He glanced at the far too low sun. Apparently he had spent more than an hour just focusing on his breathing. It had felt like a much shorter time.

Irritated he continued his work. This time he felt strong for a lot longer and he grew tired much less quickly. Tree after tree fell under his reinforced strikes, that now sank into the wood almost half a meter deep. Ollowyn also took care to place them in better spots and he was able to cut down the smaller trees in less than ten strikes. When he was finally exhausted again, he had counted forty-seven Arrágatâ strikes. The great master had been right for beating him. This was much better.

Happy with his progress he left the five cut down trees and returned to his usual spot on the large oak trunk to continue his breathing technique. It was no longer a distant and foreign feeling that he had to chase down. He was simply able to… let himself fall in and be welcome.

Though this time he was not able to maintain it for long. Something soft and fluffy poked against his shin. The boy opened his eyes slowly and eyed the offender.

A tiny, white fox sniffed his leg. It had large, fluffy ears and a big bushy tail, that was as large has the rest of his body. Ollowyn frowned and observed the fox more closely. No. There was definitely too little meat on this one. No dinner material. He chose to take the fox as a challenge and continued with his breathing technique.

Though Ollowyn had not calculated in such a nosy and curious little fox. The little beast started to make his lap a soft bed for it’s nap and while that went well for a few minutes, Ollowyn’s concentration was shaken completely when the tiny white snowball climbed over his shoulder and tried to sit on his head.

The boy let his head tilt forwards, which sent the little fox back towards the oak trunk. “You can’t just climb up there. That’s irritating!”

The fox tilted it’s head and sniffed the oak trunk. Ollowyn sighed. He grabbed the tiny creature carefully and placed it on his lap, while he stroked between its large ears. Immediately the tiny, fluffy snowball curled his tail around the body and fell asleep. Ollowyn smiled. It reminded him of when he grew up with wolves. They curled around him like this as well.

In his very relaxed position he continued his breathing techniques. He strictly followed the old masters explanations. He breathed in deep, imagining the energy of the air flowing into his lungs and being distributed throughout his body. Yet Ollowyn was not quite able to produce this exact feeling. He felt that he absorbed the world around himself. Smells, sounds, the temperature of his surroundings as well as the little fox on his lap. He did not have to imagine distributing it inside. It already felt right as he simply took it in.

When Ollowyn had finished his meditation sundown was in progress. His stomach growled so loudly, that even his new friend eyed him curiously.

“You hungry too?” The boy asked and scratched the fox behind its ears.

“Nya. Rrr.” He growled lightly. Did it understand him? Ollowyn would have to give the small bugger a name, he intended on keeping him. He just did not know many names. Maybe Mephian or one of the other students would be able to help with that?

Ollowyn pulled the wicker basket closer and opened it up. He gave the fox a few pieces of dried meat, but the little fluffy animal just knocked it out of his hand and tilted its head again.

Huh? He did not like meat? Ollowyn tried cheese, eggs and bread. But each time the tiny fox denied his gesture.

“Hmm. Not hungry then?” Ollowyn took a big bite out of the bread and held it to the fox. Again it was swatted away with a loud “Nyarrr!”

Ollowyn ate his fill and showed the fox that all the things were actually edible. But the little thing just yawned and rolled up in front of him. Shrugging Ollowyn packed away the basket and reached for his axe again. Now there was still enough light for one last bout with the trees. He chose another thick oak and started his work.

Deep and heavy hits impacted the tree and quickly created a large hole. As Ollowyn was about to strike with his ninth Arrágatâ swing, the little fox jumped into the newly created hole! Ollowyn janked his axe upwards in panic and was able to strike the tree much higher than intended. He left the axe stuck at the height of his head.

“What are you doing!” He asked with shock. “I nearly killed you!”

The tiny white fox just tilted his head again and lifted its tail. It looked much different than last time Ollowyn looked at it. It was no longer a single white bushy tail. There were three now.

The fox roared a loud “Nyarrrr!”, before it opened its mouth far more than Ollowyn would have guessed, and rammed its teeth into the tree. The fluffy snowball chewed on a piece of ripped out wood before it swallowed loudly.

Ollowyn blinked. Then he also swallowed. He was dreaming. That was just not possible. Did this little thing just really…

Then the fox ripped another large chunk of wood out of the already tormented tree.