In the streets of Lightfort Erevan stops and looks at Valerie. They weren’t on the job. He was used as a cover like one would use a friend. Valerie brushed back her black hair with one hand and turned towards the hunter. Erevan considered that she was beautiful despite her rugged appearance or if it was because of her power that she was beautiful.

“Thanks for having my back.” Valerie puts her fists together and gives a slight bow.

“No problem.” Erevan takes his helmet off, testing the waters.

Valerie first looks surprised, her hands raising slightly, perhaps she did not expect to ever see Erevan’s face. Erevan notes her stare at his eyes before turning away. The hunter ties his helmet to his belt.

“You fought an opponent today, in steel armor, and you did it with your fists,” Erevan says.

“You killed him,” Valerie says, even more, surprised that Erevan decided to open with that.

“From thirty feet up on a wall with a ballista. A child could kill him like that too. You had no fear, no doubt when you decided to face a man in armor, a man who could cast spells and who wielded a sword.” Erevan continues. “I want to learn from you.”

“Well, there isn’t much to learn,” Valerie says, waving one of her hands in the air.

“You were introduced to me as a professor.” Erevan crosses his arms.

“Of biology,” Valerie says exasperated. She sighs. “I can see you aren’t going to let this go.”

“No, I’m not,” Erevan says.

“Alright, follow me,” Valerie says.

The two move at a face pace towards the outskirts of town. She stops at a house in a large lot. The front door is solid oak and has a note on it that reads “Probably training out back. You can leave papers here. Help yourself, or come out back if you need me in the flesh. - Prof. Ingram”. Valerie opens the door and waves Erevan in. Closing it behind him.

There is a sparse living room. A few pillows on the ground, a low table, and a tea set. She walks into the kitchen putting tea on.

“I just have some basic local black tea. Did you want some?” Valerie asks.

“Yeah,” Erevan responds.

“Alright. You can take a seat and while we wait for tea you can answer me a few questions.” Valerie says.

“Alright.” Erevan sets his stuff by the front door, placing his helmet and gun down, and setting his pack down. He then sits on one of the pillows.

“Why do you wield a ballista?” She asks.

“It can kill a man in one shot,” Erevan replies.

“So you trained to kill other people,” Valerie says pointedly. “How do you wield that great ballista?”

“I have tattoos of muleback cords on my back. They are enchanted, allowing me to wield things as if they were far lighter.” Erevan replies.

“Why muleback cords?” Valerie asks.

“No one knows this. It’s some dumb symbolism I thought of in the moment. I am a Raven, someone treated as lesser for something as dumb as the pigment of my hair, and so like my people bear the burden of labor throughout the land. I will carry any burden to one day free them.” Erevan speaks.

“Admirable. I thought Ravens had more facial tattoos than just a line.” Valerie comments.

“I killed the man who marked my face.” Erevan states.

“Again, killing.” Valerie shakes her head. Erevan opens his mouth to retaliate, but Valerie speaks first. “Who taught you to use the ballista?”

"My father taught me how to hunt with the ballista. It was his weapon of choice as well. He was an ambush predator, so to say. He taught me to bond with the weapon, control it with a thought, and fire it like an extension of my own mind. It’s hard to explain." Erevan shifts uncomfortably.

Valerie sets a kettle down on the table, a bowl of sugar, and two teacups. She serves herself and then pours tea into the second cup. Erevan drinks it without any sugar.

“Since you are a Champion, I imagine you have abilities besides punching people.” Erevan fills his cup with tea again.

"My abilities are in gore kinesis, which I am given to be somewhat reserved with. I can manipulate my own body, particularly bone, but some less educated folk in these regions mistake that for some bizarre form of necromancy. After one misunderstanding I resolved to only manipulate my body internally in public, which is why you've not seen it in action." Valerie explains.

"See, that's a superpower." Erevan seems enthralled. "You have the ability to change your own form through some form of telekinesis. That's incredible, a true feat of mind over matter. My father tried for years to experiment with the alteration of one's body. Our powers only affect stationary weapons for the most part. Nothing crazy powerful like all the other Champions."

"It's not telekinetic at all," Valerie explains. "There are telekineticists, but I don't number among them. I'm a kineticist, but rather than being connected to some form of planar energy like a pyro or aerokineticist, I just have myself. There's a large font of energy in me, and when I push it through my body I can do different things. It's similar but different to the ki you might see monks using. For example, I can essentially punch magic by pushing the energy outward in order to disrupt someone's spell."

"You can punch magic." Erevan wracks his hands through his hair. "You really are a wonder of a person. So what does it feel like, the energy?"

"I could walk you through a basic exercise if you like. I couldn't train you into a fellow cultivator- that's the fancy word for what I am, but I could show you how to sense your own personal energy, just a little. In your case, it'd be whatever your magic runs on."

Erevan takes in a sharp breath.

"I would love for you to teach me something. Anything. I know I am not as gifted or as powerful as other Champions, but I will do anything to sharpen my senses or hone my skills. I don't want to be powerless to defend my friends." Erevan avoids eye contact. Speaking truthfully and bluntly may be his thing, but he feels a little embarrassed by it.

"Very well, I want you to start breathing slowly for me. Focus on doing that, and try not to think about anything else. I can do it practically on demand if you'll observe closely." Valerie exhales for a moment and closes her eyes. In just a few seconds she is perfectly still, lacking even the normal movements one would make as they breathe. "You won't get it that well, but try. And.. if you don't mind, can I approach you? It would be easier to teach if I could feel your pulse, is all. It's not necessary, though."

“Anything that will help you, you can do,” Erevan says half meaning what he says. “Okay, just breath.”

Erevan feels himself pulled back to a memory of his dad teaching him to aim and fire. To hunt and kill for the first time. Control your breathing, steady your heart rate, and pull the trigger. A wave of nostalgic sorrow flows through Erevan as he breathes out slowly and calmly.

"Good." Valerie sits herself down beside him. "Now, once you're alone with your thoughts, the next step is to find something to fill them with. So reach deep inside yourself, and look for what your magic is to you. For me, it's a feeling near the heart, an extra muscle in the body that I can only pull on when I'm aware of it. For you, it will be something different, and I can't say what. It might be something you've memorized, or something more innate than that."

“Where does my magic come from,” Erevan mutters to himself.

Erevan feels his bond to his siege weapon. It’s something like another limb, another piece of him, a phantom sensation. Erevan does not have magic in him, it’s around him, it connects to him. It’s a relationship he balances with rituals and incantations. He’ll focus on his bond.

“My father would have me sit and just turn my ballista for hours on end. He judged me when it turned slowly or when it did not turn precisely enough. I thought it was a waste of time until I realized that practicing aiming the weapon is what saved my life. It has become an extension of me.” Erevan slows his breathing.

"Very good. Now, I want you to cast a spell for me. Ideally something bigger than a cantrip. Hold onto whatever it is you've found inside yourself, and then let it go. Feel what leaves you, and what you're left with. For me, it's a matter of pulling on that extra muscle until I can feel raw power in my heart and directing pieces of that raw power wherever I want it to. For you, again, this will be different. Just try it, try it and see what you come up with."

Erevan channels as much energy as he can into his ballista infusing it with magic. He feels the arcane energy travel through him, along with the connection between him and his bonded connection. Some part of his energy is sapped in the process. Like a field of mana being burned and cleared.

“Fun fact. I never learned cantrips. I don’t belong to any school of magic and I’m definitely not classically trained. But by expending some of the arcana I have I do feel it. It’s like energy flowing through my head, through my memories, and it feels like a burning tired muscle.”

"Very well. We're done for now." Valerie sits nearby with a pleased smile on her face. "If you wish to become better at magic, you can just repeat that exercise we just did every day or as close as you're able. Eventually, you'll be able to feel it without meditating, even during combat, and you'll be just that bit stronger for being in tune with yourself. It's more important for a kineticist to do because my energy is a pool rather than a set of spells memorized and I do run a risk of overdrawing each time I cast, but it's still good for anyone to practice. Hopefully, you'll learn something about yourself in the process."

Erevan rubs at the corners of his eyes and then stretches his arms outwards as he yawns. He’d rather be perceived as tired.

“I rarely come close to expending all my magic. Normally enemies die in one or two bolts.” Erevan scratches the back of his head and looks up at Valerie. Her smile catches him off guard. “I, ugh, I did learn something about myself. I don’t think I’ve moved on from my past yet. I might meditate like this more. It helped.”

She only smiles briefly, before returning to her normal expression.

"Learning something about yourself. I hear people on the surface also use exercises like this as a means of, what’s the word, therapy. A way to process what has happened in the past, so that one can then move on. While I obviously cannot speak to your past, I am glad that I was able to help you. The mind is as important as the body in many ways, and even wizards who shy from physical exertion or fighters with no magical gifts would do well to train both."

"Then I'll train more. Mind, body, and spirit. Thank you for helping me out, even if it was just meditation. I might visit again to train more with you. Seems I have a lot I need to do to stay in good condition." Erevan stands and gathers his things before heading towards the door.

"I didn't quite get a read on you during our missions, but I think I have now. I think you're just a genuinely good person. Goodbye, friend." Erevan opens the door and leaves.

Once she's sure Erevan is out of view of her, Valerie allows herself a moment of appearing content. "Good? Perhaps. But better than before, which is the thing that truly matters." She says, more to herself than to Erevan, but she cares not if she is heard.