V1: Wild Child

C9: Time Flows, People Grow

What does it mean to be a warrior? To be a warrior is to have a strong body. A body that can move at speeds capable of causing enemies to appear in slow motion; a body that is capable of lifting mountains; a body that is capable of withstanding the blows of the strongest monsters; a body that can recover from any wound no matter how severe.

What does it mean to be a mage? To be a mage is to have a strong soul. A soul that can control enormous quantities of mana; a soul that can bend the elemental energies to your will; a soul that can overwhelm the minds of your enemies; a soul that can protect your mind from the cruelest of enemies.

Then how does one become a warrior? To become a warrior, one must fuse the mana of the world around them into their own bloodstream, to empower their body to new heights; one must train in the ways of the weapon, to control it as an extension of one’s own body; one must train their body to the point of absolute dominance so that their body will move exactly how they want it.

Then how does one become a mage? To become a mage, one must purify their soul by channeling the pure mana of the world into it; one must study the laws of the elements, to learn how they move and how they can be used to aid you; one must learn the arts of controlling mana, to create the weapons they need to fighting with the elements.

Then how does one become a mage and a warrior? One doesn’t. To fuse the mana into their body or to channel the mana into the soul. One must choose a path, and one must follow it to its limits. Only then can one become the other, and become both a mage and a warrior. Otherwise it would be a waste of time, as the training would be too slow.

Unless that one is Nova.

….

Starting at dawn, Nova would stretch his body, removing the tautness in his muscles. Then he would run. He would run with weights on his body in feral form. He would run until his legs felt like they burned every time they moved. He would run until even moving one step was like crossing a mountain. Then he would stop.

He would get down on his hands and toes, and push against the ground. He would push against the crushing force of the earth pulling him down. He would push until his arms were being scorched in a burning hellfire. He would push until the mountain of force brought him down to the ground, unable to get up.

Then he would roll on to his back. He would bend his legs, touching his feet flat on the ground. Then he would lift his upper body up. He would lift it up to the skies, he felt like, and bring himself back down, resisting the pull of the earth wanting to bring him down. He would continue like this until the core of his being screamed in pain. He would lift and drop until he couldn’t even feel the remainder of his body save for his head.

Then he would lay on the ground.. His skin would be red from strain, and the steam of his sweat would rise off him. He would lay there.. close his eyes.. and feel the mana in the world around him. He could feel the feral blood within devouring the mana, growing stronger with each bite, thickening inside him.

He would breathe in slow, deep breaths. Then exhale just as slow, just as deep. Each time streams of mana would flow into him, and then out of him in a lesser amount. His muscles would slowly reform themselves, changing ever so slightly each time.

He would then open his eyes and it would already be nearly noon. He would head back to the cave and eat for a few minutes, while resting himself.

The he would climb the cliff. The frigid wind would batter against his body, the cold stone would freeze his fingers, and the rough stone would cut his hands and feet. But he would overcome it, just as he did everything else. His body became accustomed to the cold, and his hands and feet became tough and easily gripped the surface of the cliff.

At the top of this cliff, his uncle would wait for him. Then they would begin training in the arts of weapons.

His uncle laid out a wide range of weapons, and asked for Nova to pick the one that best fit him. Nova looked over them all, and it didn’t even take a second glance for him to pick the ones that suited him. He chose two swords, equal in size, shape, and weight. Dual-Swords.

Nova trained in the arts of the wielding dual-swords, learning to make them feel as if they were extensions of his body. He would practice swinging them for hours, learning their forms.

Then he would learn to move with them. Striking, swinging, slashing, stabbing, dodging, rolling, jumping, and every other movement his uncle wanted him to do.

Then his uncle would have him spar with him. He would constantly move about, attacking his uncle. Trying all sorts of moves, to make it past his uncles defense.

For hours his uncle would teach him to control the movements of his body, sword and all. To move swiftly and surely. To put all his strength into each strike, leaving no room for a waste of energy. To control the battle with his movements, as if dancing around his opponent, keeping them always one step behind him in the dance.

Then he would climb back down the cliff to the cave. Inside he would greet his grandfather.

His grandfather began lectures on not only magic but multiple subjects. The geography of the known world, the monsters, the languages, the kingdoms, their rulers, the cities, the citizens, war, pillaging, slavery, sex, rape, torture, cruelty, kindness, history, the wilderness, the dungeons, the beastmen, the humans, the elves, the dwarves, the monster clans, the seven great powers that created these civilizations, the elemental lords, the elemental plains, the elemental beasts, the spirits, the places spirits live, the oceans, the seas, the lakes, the monsters in them, the dungeons in them, and even the fact that beyond all of this known world was a place even more dangerous. A place he was not ready to learn about.

He taught him everything, everything that he thought a person should know about the world. Both the good things and the bad things. The kindness that people can give to each other, people like Liela. The cruelty that people use to make others suffer, people like Malzar. He taught him that greed, gluttony, pride, lust, envy, sloth, and wrath exist within all people. He taught him that unless he can overcome them, he will never be able to protect those he cares about, just like how he failed to protect Nova’s mother.

He taught him things that made Nova weep for hours, or rage in anger. He taught him things to cause Nova to despise the world of noble’s and their selfish lifestyles. Then he taught him that how he reacts when he finds himself in these situations can have greater effects to those around him. In saving one person, he could end up sentencing hundreds to their deaths. He taught him that he must control his emotions, and act with the wisdom he possesses in his head, not the feelings he has in his heart.

He then taught him magic. He taught him not only about fire magic but also water, earth, wind, lightning, light, and darkness. He taught him how each and every element is important to the world, and even though fire is dominant, each and every element exists within him.

He taught him that just like weapons, he must think of his spirit as extension of his body. Like an invisible appendage that can interact with the elemental energy of the world. He taught him that mana can be used to create weapons, or magical formations, that his spirit can then load the elemental energy into and create devastating effects. He taught him that to use these formations, he must have a strong mind that can visualize them.

After the lectures, he had Nova meditate. Every person’s meditation was different, and the only advice he could give him was to learn to visualize his soul. Learn how his soul acts, and how it moves with the flow of mana and the elements.

This was something Nova was already familiar with however, as Nova had learned a soul visualization technique from his mother. Soul-Fire. A technique to ignite the energy around his soul into flames, burning the impurities out.

He already knew how to meditate. He hadn’t learned any form of meditation, and had never even done it before. But he could feel within himself that he knew how to do it, and he needed Bahina for it.

Whenever it became time for him to meditate, Bahina would return from hunting monsters in the tundra. She would join him by curling her body around him, entering a meditative trance.

Within the plane of their connected souls, they would appear as wisps of light with a string connecting them. Young tigers of blue and red flame would be beside them, and they would begin to dance.

Immense amounts of fire energy would build up around their dance, as it merged into a spiraling sphere of red and blue flame.

While the elementals danced to the roaring flame, Bahina and Nova would dance in the opposite direction. As they danced mana would seep into the plane of their souls and create another spiraling sphere within the flames, each step of the dance slowly but surely causing the light of their souls to get brighter and brighter.

Every time it got brighter, a bit more mana would seep into their plane, and more fire energy would gather around the dancing elementals.

They would continue this meditative trance, free of the need to sleep or eat as their bodies were nourished by the energies of fire and mana.

After the first day of that meditation, his uncle noticed a change in Nova’s movements. His feet moved differently. They moved strangely and unpredictably. If he watched them for too long he felt as if he was becoming mesmerized by watching his feet move. It was as if they were performing a strange dance..

Everyday the change became more and more apparent, until he could no longer follow the movements of Nova’s feet. Everytime he thought Nova was going to move one direction, he would move in a completely different one. Everytime he thought Nova was going to lunge at him, he would back away.

Three years went by. Originally, his grandfather and uncle had expected him to need almost five years to learn the basics of what they wanted to teach him. But to their surprise he surpassed those expectations.

His footwork skills were already superb, and his uncle never needed to give him advice on it.

His meditation was even more incredible as his soul purified at an alarming rate. He was already beginning to practice magic spells after the first six months of meditation.

By the end of this third year he had a general knowledge of how to not only use all of the basic spell incantations and all of the basic fire spells, but also to how to imbue items with energy.

He also completed the basic mastery of dual-swords, and combined with his footwork he was even able to land a few hits on his uncle. If he had imbued his swords with mana, he could inflict minor injures; with fire energy, he could inflict a light burn; and with soul energy.. his uncle told him never to even try it.

While it would definitely be a powerful attack method, his soul would become attached a physical thing. That was unlike using it to control elemental energy because if his sword hit something, it would be same as his soul being hit. Unless his soul was a tough as an iron sword, it would not be a wise decision.

His body had also become incredibly durable from the constant training, and become quite resilient against the cold temperatures. Not only that, but when combined with his feral form, his skin and fur became comparable to decently crafted thick leather from the hide of monsters.

So after only three years, they moved on to the next part of training. Field experience. Not matter how much one stood on a cliff, swinging a sword, they wouldn’t be on the same level as one who experienced a fight with their life on the line.

Then they traveled.

For one year Nova and Bahina trained in Death Valley, the largest desert wilderness near the kingdoms. They suffered through the tremendous heat that did not come from flames, making them resilient to the extreme terrain.

They traveled from one end of the desert to the other without the aid of his uncle or grandfather. All the way, they fought hundreds of monsters, learning the way the monsters fought in this desert.

For another year they traveled through the Jade Jungle. An extremely humid, hot jungle with a multitude of hidden monsters that lay traps waiting for prey. Again, from one end to the other they traveled. Even though this jungle was bigger than the desert, they were still given the same amount of time to journey through it.

Because of their faster pace, they fell into traps, and quickly had to learn to become over-sensitive to their surroundings. Every move, sound, smell, or tremor the jungle made was caught by them, as they studied the jungle for any potential dangers. Heightening their perception and awareness, and traveling through the jungle together.

The next year they traveled through the Graveyard Swamp. This one was even bigger than the Jade Jungle, but it was even harder to cross because of the terrible terrain. Here, not only were monsters trying to kill them, but the environment itself possessed hidden dangers of toxic air, quicksand, tar pools, and thorny plants. This time, they wound up being a month late.

As punishment they were forced to do it again with only eight months. Oh how cruel his grandfather was… But they succeeded, having become familiar with the terrain and made it out with a week to spare.

However the next, trip confused Nova. He wasn’t taken to a far off wilderness with nothing but monsters, but instead was brought to the northern borders of the forest and sea that lies in between the kingdoms of Falirwe and Pendragonia.

….

At the borders of this forest was a beach, that stretched on for miles. In front of them was the Great North Sea which no man has been able to sail across.

“Nova, this next challenge will test not only your skills, but also your mind and heart.” (Grandfather)

“Huh? I don’t understand, what is the test?”

“Nova, to the far south are the mountains of the dwarven kingdom. East of the dwarven kingdom, is a place known as Heaven’s Tower. Heaven’s Tower is a school for adventurer’s. It was created by one of the legendary adventurers a long time ago, and is meant to serve to challenge those who have the dreams of exploring the entirety of Elementia. No one has ever completed the Heaven’s Tower, and it is considered to be the most dangerous dungeon known.” (Uncle)

“Then you want me to complete this dungeon? How will that test my heart?”

“No, we want you to travel from this point to Heaven’s Tower, and enroll there. That is all.” (Uncle)

“Then what is it that is going to test my heart?”

“People will. That is all, Nova. After you graduate from Heaven’s Tower, you can consider your training to be complete. Good luck.” When his grandfather said mentioned that people will test his heart, his face held a dark expression. But after wishing Nova luck, both he and his uncle left on top of Tommy without saying goodbye.

At the beach of the Great North Sea, Nova and Bahina stand there. Nova has an understanding face. How could he not understood what his grandfather meant after he heard the countless stories of betrayal and war and slavery and all the other cruelties that people inflict upon each other.

If it weren’t for Lielatha and the others, Nova might’ve been convinced that there is no good in people, but thankfully that was not so. Nova knew that people had the same capacity for kindness as they do for cruelty. Which one they decide to let dominate them though, was up to them.

Dressed in ragged clothing and possessing nothing but two wooden swords, a necklace of his clan, and a ring from an old friend.. An almost thirteen year-old Nova began walking south.

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