Panting, Liam knelt on the ground and lunged with his sword, while Ben gave it up completely and half lay gasping for air. They had lost track of time, it had been dark for quite a while, but how long they had actually been fighting they didn't know exactly. Only the pain in their arms and legs suggested that several hours had passed, not to mention the mana they had used up so far.

Liam's gaze turned to Cale, who stood back in his starting position with the silver sword in his hand. It was as if he was waiting for one of them to rise again, but with the best will in the world, they lacked the energy to do so. Even after Liam and Ben started working as a group, they never once managed to get any reaction from Cale other than dodging and blocking. It was as if he had combined both Liam's speed and Ben's strength and improved them many times over.

For a few minutes, Cale watched the exhausted men expectantly before quietly exhaling and letting his sword disappear.

"What do you say?", the mage finally spoke up, but the statement was not directed at either Liam or Ben. Surprised, Liam turned to the side and discovered both Aletta and Philippa sitting on the edge, silent, in proximity.

"I don't quite understand the point of this. Why did you let them attack until they had no strength left?", asked Aletta harmlessly, but in the same moment Liam hit the ground angrily.

"You realized it. Applause Liam. Just hours too later."

Confused, they turned the others gazes to the black-haired swordsman, who had relinquished his weapons and just leaned forward angrily.

"I didn't notice it again", Liam softly admitted, as he could hear Cale approaching them.

"You didn't notice what?", retorted Aletta, her eyes meeting Ben's. He was just as perplexed, speaking of his friend, but winced in surprise when Liam jerked upright.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"I don't know. An hour? Cale said we could join you on the sidelines if we get bored", Philippa replied, half irritated, shrugging her shoulders before glancing over at Cale, who looked down at Liam, almost disappointed. "Why? Was that bad?"

"No, no. That was perfectly fine. Ben and especially Liam screwed up."

"Me?", Ben spoke up in astonishment. He was lying on his back, so he turned his head back to follow the mages voice. It almost felt like one of the training sessions Ben had with his father. His father gave no sign of fatigue while Ben was at the end of his rope, and the exact same was now the case with Cale. The mage wasn't even sweating, almost as if the last few lessons hadn't happened at all.

"This is your first lesson", Cale reported harshly, as he averted his gaze from Liam and looked to Ben. It was at that moment that Ben could actually see the mage change eye color for the first time with the help of his mana. "It's your attention. Tell me, Ben, did you notice Philippa or Aletta?"

With a jerk, Ben sat up straight and looked to the girls, who similarly had little idea what the mage was getting at. Ben shook his head, he hadn't noticed the presence at any point.

"Do you want to explain it to them or should I?"

Liam was frustrated. He was kneeling on the ground bent over in front of his hands dug into the stony ground. His hair was stuck to the back of his neck and forehead, one strand even almost hanging in his mouth, but he didn't care at that moment. He was angry, angry at himself, but he managed to pull himself together after a sharp intake of breath and stand up as well. Cale was standing right next to him, but paid no attention to the swordsman.

"We didn't notice the two of them lingering around and watching us. We just focused on the fight and didn't keep an eye on our surroundings."

Liam tried to render his words in clear terms, hoping Cale would show him a friendly face, but he didn't. He merely nodded in agreement.

"That's right. You are not aware of your surroundings. With ease, someone could have snuck up behind you and struck you down because you didn't notice the persons presence. I'm not asking you to be able to sense mana sources on your first day, but the girls were making noises you didn't even hear."

Ashamed, Ben lowered his head and Philippa realized why Cale had told them they could watch the fight. He had used their presence as bait for Ben and Liam to test their skills, but that was exactly what they both failed at mercilessly. Immediately, Philippa wondered if she would have been able to do it herself and confirmed her own question with a 'yes'. She had often hunted alone and reacted to the slightest sound, even if she could not sense the mana of the creatures.

Cale strode past the humiliated men towards the girls, causing Aletta and Philippa to sit up.

"You used us", Philippa interjected indignantly, though it was clear to all that she was not offended by that.

"Well spotted", Cale countered with amusement as he walked back to camp with Aletta and Philippa.

The others remained seated, silent, before Liam hit the ground with all his might and shouted, "Damn."

"Will?"

"He told me this before, Ben. He gave me a real sermon back then about in how many ways I failed during the fight against the Calyfaren and the first way I failed was by paying only attention to myself. And that's exactly the mistake I repeated, when I should have known better. I don't know if you can fail even more when you've already been shown your mistake."

"Calm down, everyone makes mistakes. I suspect that's what Cale was aiming for. We're here to learn, otherwise there'd be no point to any of this."

Ben straightened up, clutched his sword in one hand, and patted Liam on the shoulder as he passed. He followed the others back into camp, knowing that Liam would need a moment to sort out a thought.

For a few minutes it was dead silent. The forest was completely silent and dark, with only the fire of their camp visible behind the trees. The sky was covered with large clouds, barely letting any light through, giving the area a spooky aura.

Liam stood up and looked over to the spot where Cale had spent the last few hours. It was as if he saw the mages body in front of him, which is why he couldn't help but display a depressed mood.

"Damn."

Enraged, Liam slammed his foot against a larger rock, kicking it a few feet deep into the darkness before angrily reaching for his sword, intending to fling it away as well. But he paused, looked at his sword, and started laughing.

"What am I doing here anyway?"

With his hands outstretched, he stared at the weapon he had been carrying for years. It was a little too light for his liking and had many signs of use, so he had planned to have a new sword forged when he returned. One that was more appropriate for his size and status than the sword he had received as a 14-year-old.

Liam stared up at the sky, hoping to see a light somewhere, but the cloud cover was too powerful. He felt constricted and helpless. In the back of his mind, the faces of his brothers, whom he cherished so much but never managed to catch up with, suddenly appeared.

Liam heard in the distance Aletta's voice, which cried out and said something fast and loud. He ignored it, however, and closed his eyes. Quietly, the cool wind blew past him, bringing with it the smell of salt. They had followed the river, which emptied into the sea, so they were relatively close to the coast, despite the trees that blocked the view. Liam couldn't help but think of what he had learned today. The dragons and the creatures were spreading inland and the elder of the Magistrat had called a meeting. His father and brother would all likely appear as well, so Liam was to keep a low profile. While the king had never opposed his becoming an Anuxer, he was not particularly pleased either. Instead, he charged him with an impossible task, just to keep him out of sight.

Liam opened his eyes in surprise and looked toward the camp, hearing footsteps and recognizing Cale a moment later. Sadness came over him as the dark haired mage approached, his eyes black as night.

"You can't know everything", Cale raised softly, but the words instantly bored into Liam's heart. Demotivated, he looked down at the ground as Cale came to a stop in front of him, bent down, grabbed Liam's legs and swung his whole body over his back in one go.

"Cale?", he cried out in surprise, still holding his sword in one hand while trying not to slip with the other. For a moment he wanted to fight back, but gave up rather quickly. Cale carried Liam over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and walked back to the camp.

"You're just having stupid ideas, standing here in the dark. The others started without you."

"Without me?", Liam repeated, looking down at the mages legs.

"Yes, I'm just showing them how students of the Magistrat improve their mana sensitivity."

Wordlessly, Liam was left hanging. He didn't understand Cale. Why was he sacrificing his time and patience for people he barely knew? Why wasn't he worried about the future? How had he gotten this far in his life despite his age? What did he have that Liam was missing?

"You know, I was quite a loser in the beginning", Cale finally began, which made Liam instantly brighten. "I couldn't do anything, use magic or handle a sword, let alone defend myself in any other way. The only thing I knew was how to cook and steal."

Cale cleared his throat in amusement as he uttered the last sentence before continuing.

"But they didn't care. My friends, they've been with me and protected me for half my life. They were patient with me, even though I put them in awkward situations more than once, and were always relieved when I didn't get hurt."

Liam could hear the voices of the others getting louder and the light was also getting brighter.

"No one is asking you to be perfect. Nobodys perfect. That's why it's so nice to have friends who complement you. And the nicest feeling of all is to grow with them."

"What did you do to Liam?", Aletta spoke up amused, followed by Philippa's loud laughter. Cale carefully bent down and let Liam stand on his own four legs again. As he stood up, Cale looked at him with a friendly grin on his face, grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around to face the group behind him. Ben, Aletta and Philippa sat in a circle holding hands.

"Aren't you going to explain to Liam what you're doing?"

Smiles stretched across the faces of the others. Philippa and Aletta let go of their hands and held them out to Liam, who stopped, perplexed. Cale still had his hands on his shoulder before he leaned forward slightly and whispered in Liam's ear.

"You're not alone, never forget that."