Ezee pranced through the grassy field ahead of Mirio.

Yuff yuf!

His tail high in the air, and his nose actively sniffing everything it could.

The scent of grass beetles was mixed with the honey like smell of hay bales lined up the fenceline. And as Mirio got closer to the stables, it mixed with the faint aromas of manure and lacquer. The trees behind the stud farm swayed in the gentle breeze and the golden rays of early morning sunlight shimmered against the surface of the water troughs.

Ezee scurried about wagging his tail, and then made his way to the water trough where he scooped up a few quick licks, before prancing off through the stables and into the back field.

“Ah Mirio, right on time, I was just readying the saddle for you” the stable master said. His raised hand sheltered his eyes from the glare of the sun coming from just above the eastern mountain range, and behind Mirio.

“How is Rocky today?”

“Ah he’s good, I think he’s getting better thanks to the time we are putting in with him” the stable master replied.

“Oh, I have the final amount for you today, the extra two hundred and seventy five gold pieces. Here just let me get it for you” Mirio said as reaching for a pouch on his waist belt. “You can count it all if you like, I won’t be offended”.

“Thank you” the stable master smiled as he took the sack of gold. “I’ll just check it is all there then” he said as he opened the sack and spread out the coins on the work table. They glinted in the light.

“Ha, in the morning light it almost looks like real gold,” Mirio quipped.

“Bah, real gold is heavy you know, that’s why they only plate it” the stable master replied as he divided it into piles of tens and five. “Looks like it is all here”.

*It is ten coppers to make a silver, ten silvers to make a gold. Which makes a gold worth one hundred coppers. And since gold is the favored currency of the citizenry it then takes a thousand gold to make just one platinum. The platinum coin is real however, and it is favored by the nobility*

“I don’t quite have anywhere to keep him yet though, so would you mind if I kept him here a while longer?” Mirio asked.

“Ay it is fine, but you’ll need to pay me two silver a day for his rations. Oh and when do you think you’ll be heading out from Gimly? That is the reason you are buying him isn’t it”

“I don’t know yet, but I want to have the option available, do you know what I mean?” Mirio replied.

“Ay I get your meaning” the stablemaster scooped up the coins and put them all back in the hefty pouch and strapped it to his waist. “Come on then, I’ll show you a few last tricks” he said as he walked into the stables. “Ok, hop on” he said as double checking the saddle and leading Rocky out of the stable.

Mirio nodded and hoisted himself up onto the back of the saddle in one swift motion.

Rocky kicked up his head, and bucked up onto his hind legs. He had grown to be almost as large as a true war horse in the past three months since Mirio first saw him. His muscles reflected his name sake, they were sculpted and hard as if chiselled from stone. His dark coat glinted in the morning light.

“Aha! That was a happy buck” the stable master smiled. He then handed Mirio a carrot, which Mirio took and leaned forwards to feed Rocky. The powerful horse happily chewed down on the carrot and then shook its mane, and flexed its muscles in sequence to prepare itself to gallop.

And with a squeeze of Mirio’s thighs, Rocky was off like a shot, galloping in a high stride as if to prove he could handle the weight of Mirio without a care in the world. “Easy now” Mirio whispered while stroking his neck, “Calm down boy”. Rocky slowed to a trot and Mirio circled them back around to the stablemaster.

“Well done Mirio, he really seems to respond to you now. So I think it is time I show you some last tricks” the stable master rushed back into the stable and then rushed back out with a lance and a training dummy. He handed the lance to Mirio, and then jotted off into the center of the field and placed the dummy, which was made of a long stake and a ball of leather on top. “Now!” he shouted from down the range, “This leather body here is the target! It is the same height as a rider! Take Rocky up to a gentle trot and point the tip at the target!”.

Mirio squeezed his thighs and Rocky trotted forwards, and then broke into a gallop.

“Slow down Mirio! And remember to brace your body weight behind the blow!”

FWACK!

The lance struck dead center on the dummy and smacked it to the ground.

The stable master ran over to the dummy and staked it back into the earth. “You did it on the first try! That was great, Mirio! Bring him back around for another pass!” he said while waving Mirio in.

THUD FWACK FWACK THUD THUD THUD

Mirio pulled up beside the stable master, and handed him down the lance, “Thanks I think I have the hang of it now, though I will have to practice shooting magic and a bow from his back for a while before I feel comfortable with combat I think”.

“If you are going to use magic from horseback, be careful of startling Rocky, and make sure he has blinders on” the stable master replied. And with that, Mirio trotted back to the stables alongside the stable master.

Ezee pranced around in the meadow, busying himself nipping and chasing after the other horses.

FWOOIIIIIIT

Mirio whistled, and Ezee came running back to the stables like a bolt of lightning. He then trotted alongside Mirio and Rocky. Mirio led his steed through the stables out to the front of the farm and headed to the entrance gate. “Thanks for everything, I will be back with him later this evening”

“Alright Mirio, enjoy your ride” the stablemaster said with a smile.

Mirio was filled with a new sense of freedom now that he was with Rocky. No matter which direction he might head he could travel further in a day than he could on foot alone.

*I bet I could travel north beyond the mists now, it is said to be a day and a night’s ride. Or I could head to Darlan in the west and visit the city upon the red mountain. Or travelling east I could see the Elven forests*

It was as if the world was unlocked to him, and he found his compulsion to leave Gimly and the Elm county was growing stronger.

*I never trained as a fighter in order to leave this place, but now… Because I can fight, I feel like I could go anywhere, but it is more than that, it is almost as if it is calling to me to*

Mirio gazed out towards the northern horizon, a thin treeline between him and the Misty Meadows beyond. The feeling of having free choice wasn’t one Mirio was familiar with. As a peasant boy, his only real luxury in life was training as a warrior, and the good fortune of having been tutored in magic. He had delved himself deeply in them because they felt like the only place his truer self could breathe. Could it be true that beyond the horizon was where he was always destined to be?

A burning pain travelled up his right arm, branching all throughout his flesh.

*Argh* Mirio cringed.

“The curse…”

He closed his eyes softly, took in a deep breath and let it back out through hushed lips. He focused on the tiny magical circles in his bloodstream, and channelled mana through his gates to enhance their power.

He opened his eyes, and rubbed his arm as the pain began to fade. Anguish entered the back of his eyes and burned like a cold flame.

*The lord of corruption, who wields the power of the hidden shadow, the desecrator of all, and the master of the mask. This is his mark… ‘One day you will weaken, one day you will doubt, one day you will believe my lies, and your resolve will rot, and I will be there to take away that soul of yours and it will be MINE’... What did he mean by that exactly?*

And with that a seed of doubt entered into Mirio’s mind like a chain attaching him to Gimly and its fate. He furrowed his brow and grit his teeth in the direction of the fog.

“Hmph”

Mirio then squeezed his thighs into Rocky, “Yah!”, and galloped off towards Elmvale in the south.

...

Mirio tied up Rocky outside the Gimly smithy by the barracks. “Hey Darius”

“Oh Mirio, I’m glad you came by, I have something to talk to you about”. Darius put down his hammer on the anvil and walked over to the front of the shop. “A knight came by earlier, he was asking questions about the sword I made you, and if I could make another… He wouldn’t give me a straight answer as to why so I thought I’d ask you if you knew anything about it”

“Was it Sir Dante? He thought the sword was a fake I think, or not a true three slotted runesword at least. He didn’t believe a village smith could forge one, so he took the blade and placed runes into it” Mirio replied.

Darius leaned forwards with a sense of urgency. “Don’t tell me it shattered!” he grabbed his chin in his hands and began muttering to himself. “I guess I will just have to start from scratch again, it is hard to figure out which method is best without any runes to test it with”.

“Actually it was just the opposite, it held and the count recognised it as a true knight’s blade. So I think the count might have told him to come to you. Maybe they want to see if it was a stroke of luck on your part or if you could do it again” Mirio replied.

Darius’ eyes shone as he cupped both of hands together in a prayer of thanks. “Oh thank the gods, the blade is alright, you don’t know how long I worked on that blade. I was just following a dream I had, I knew it had a chance of holding, but now that it is proven it does I don’t know what to say. Maybe I should consider making them a blade and get hired by the count, or better yet, maybe I should make another and give it to the Duke! I hear his smiths are paid incredible sums for their work. I’d be rich!”

Mirio laughed warmly. “That is great Darius, you really should. They will definitely hire you, you really did make an amazing blade. And I’m grateful you gave it to me”. Mirio drew the blade and handed it to Darius for him to see his creation once more.

“Ah it is nice to see it again knowing now what it can do. I have been capable for a long time of creating arms and armor with one rune slot, and from time to time succeeded in creating two. Some part in me knew this sword was special, and now I know it is” Darius said.

Mirio looked at the wonder in Darius’ eyes “It is yours to have if you want it back… I mean, I haven’t found a single rune stone yet, and I’d feel guilty having never paid you for it”.

Darius’ face turned serious and he extended his arms straight. “Here, take back your sword”. He walked into the back of the shop, and pulled out something from a drawer. “This is the first dagger I ever made, the handle is crooked, and the bevel is all out of proportion. Do you know why I keep this?”

“No” Mirio replied. “Maybe just as a keepsake?”

“I keep it because it reminds me of where I came from, and it gives everything I create today meaning. It reminds me that there is always room to improve, and a reason to strive to do more. If I knew back then the beauty in smithing that I do now, I would have made a hundred daggers that first day. But I was happy with just this one because it was all I thought I could reach for. There are two reasons I gave you that sword Mirio; the first is that I want you to strive to be something more, and the second is a true blade deserves to have a purpose, it deserves to travel with someone worthy of its name”

Mirio smiled. “I will strive to be something more. And I hope I can do it justice”

Darius scratched his chin, “On second thought I never did give it a name. I guess because I doubted it would hold”

Mirio burst out laughing. “On one hand you say a true blade has to have purpose, and on the other you give me a sword that you think might be defective. Bwahaha!”

Darius wiped a little drop of sweat from his brow. “Oh, haha. Well I did my best, and it works now, so you can forgive me for that right?”

“Of course I can, I wouldn’t have tried slotting a rune in the middle of battle anyway” Mirio replied.

“Yeah exactly, you are smart, you figure this stuff out. But seriously Mirio we can’t delay another second, we have to give the blade a name” Darius said.

“What did you think the purpose of this blade was when you gave it to me?” Mirio asked.

“It was meant to guide you ahead, even amidst the darkness to come” Darius replied.

“Is there any trick to turning a sword’s purpose into its name?” Mirio asked.

Darius nodded. “If you want to name a sword, think of its enemy and whom it protects, and from what. In your case the enemy is doubtful, it protects all who meet you, and it gives them courage to face the impossible along with you… I have it!”

“DAUNTLESS”

Mirio paused for a moment. “That sounds like a name for a ship rather than a sword though. But it means everything you said. And it implies resolve even in dark times. But isn’t that a bit devoid of hope and warmth? What about something like Hearth… Or… Ember… Because it is the start of a fire and also the last to go out”

“Ember…” Darius thought to himself for a moment. “I like it! Ember it is! Now hold the sword out and channel your mana into it, and call forth its name, and the vow for which it serves”

Mirio held up the sword. He focused both divine and arcane energy into the blade surrounding it in rainbow colored light.

“Ember, as my blade you shall be granted my strength and given my foresight, to protect all who fear for safety. You shall be wielded like the caress of a feather, to stir forth greatness in myself, the world, and others. You shall keep sacred what is most precious in this world. And when you feel the breeze upon your blade, feel courage stir within you and know this is your time to feel alive!”

The rainbow light of Mirio’s magic drew deep into the blade and settled in its core. The surface shimmered and hummed softly.

“Astounding…” Darius uttered. “It responds to you. I have heard of this before, but it is rare”

“It responds to me? What do you mean?” Mirio replied.

“It took the offering of your mana and infused it into its own steel. It is said that the blade of a knight destined for greatness will accept the offering of some of the weilder’s soul. And in doing so it becomes a soul blade. A blade that cannot be destroyed as long as its patron lives”. Darius’ eyes wandered all over the blade, he picked up a small hammer and engraving chisel. “Give it to me”

Darius laid the sword against the anvil, and placed the chisel in its blood channel. With a loud crack he brought down the hammer. He lifted the chisel up to his eye. “So it is true”.

“What is it?” Mirio asked.

“It broke the chisel. And this isn’t any ordinary chisel, it is reinforced with adamantite, the strongest metal known to the world. This confirms it. This blade - cozy - is a true soul blade, like hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years”. Tears welled in Darius’ eyes as the significance of his creation seeped deep into his heart. “It is said that a soul blade cannot even be created by the gods. And yet it was created right here, in this village forge, by my own hands”. Darius’ hand was trembling as he handed the sword back to Mirio. “Take it, this sword is a part of your destiny Mirio”.

“Destiny huh?” Mirio looked up the blade’s length and then slid it back into its sheath.

*I don’t really believe in destiny though… Nor do I care about the gods. But if this blade is truly indestructible, I wonder if I should have sharpened the edge before naming it?*

“Probably fine,” Mirio said. “Oh by the way Darius, I was wondering if you could help me fix up that rusted plate of mine I’ve been using for practice, I think it is about time I upgrade from these leathers”.

“Sure thing, go grab it”

Mirio ran off into the barracks to the storage room, and wrestled his way past swords, spears, shields, and maces to get to the armor.

*This is the armor the guardian skeleton was wearing back in the tomb, it has been great for practicing in, but it is a bit too big even when I adjust it, and it has massive rusted gashes in it*

Mirio returned carrying the armor, taking care he wouldn’t trip over Ezee as he made his way back into the forge. “Careful boy”

Darius wiped a tear from his eye and put on his business face. “Okay, so do you remember the basics of repairing armor”

Mirio nervously chuckled “Not really? I think I need to grind off the rust first, right? And then heat the steel, and hammer it back into shape over the ball anvil? Oh and first i have to take off the joints and rivets”

Darius handed him a chisel and hammer. “Get to it then”

…

Yuta picked up his pike from his room and headed out to the sewer outlet just outside of town. Making his way through the rock crags and into the field where the bullfrogs once were. In front of him were dozens upon dozens of dead frogs scattered about the field, and no adventurers to be seen. However, the sound of fighting echoed in the distance; the loose of arrows, and the heavy thud against shields. He gripped his pike tight in his hand “I have got this, I just have to remember the fundamentals”.

He shuffled the pike in his hand and loosened his grip, in order to optimise his hold. Once satisfied, he walked over to the treeline and through it into the field beyond. Hundreds of dead bullfrogs were scattered all through the clearing. Four massive frog bodies stuck out like houses of a village.

*Wait, are those the brood mothers? What the?! That is at least twice the size of an Elephant! If I had tried to fight one of those I’d be crushed like a bug!*

His gaze tracked over the field and he saw a couple dozen bullfrogs left with a single adventurer party of six continuing with the last of the extermination. As Yuta arrived Silvia stopped firing. She looked upon him with downcast ears as, and contemplated what to say, in the end she decided it was best not to say anything.

Yuta passed beyond her to the front line. The pikeman beside him looked tired, “Do you think you can handle it?” the man asked.

Yuta nodded and took a fighting stance, and pointed the tip of his pike towards the centerline of one of the bullfrogs close to the shield bearer. He looked at the blue gullet of the frog and a couple of arrows sticking out of it. “I guess that is where to strike”.

He stepped forwards firmly, and twisted his back hip into the strike. He made sure to keep his grip steady and his thrust firm. And stuck a satisfying blow on the bullfrog.

*Nice, that landed clean… Now to remember my training, I need to stay alert and keep my knees bent and my weight on the front half of my feet.*

One of the bullfrogs lifted its head and wobbled its gullet before charging at Yuta.

!!! Yah !!!

Yuta pinched his feet, and pushed himself off as hard as he could off to the side. The top of the frog’s head clipped him on the side of his hip, toppling him off balance. He fell into the mud. *I only just barely dodged it. My feet felt heavy. Is this what it means to have a low dexterity attribute? Well, at least it was only a graze*

Yuta stood up covered in mud on one side, but composed himself and returned to his fighting stance; resolved to overcome the bullfrog. *Come on, they are grade F monsters, all I need is the fundamentals to defeat them, and persistence*

He tracked the frog’s centerline as it hobbled back around and turned towards him. Mida’s words floated in the back of his mind ‘if you are within range of a strike, you can be hit’. He shuffled his grip to the base of the pike to maximise its length, and loosened his footing. *I need to get in close before it provokes an attack, and then back out before it leaps. If I then circle out to the side I should be safer.

Yuta dashed in towards the bullfrog and extended his arms. The blow was solid and cut a gash into the frog’s gullet. *The strike was good but the wound was too shallow! I have to jump back!*

Silvia ran off to the side to get an angle on the toad Yuta was fighting and drew an arrow. *Don’t stand there admiring the blow! You fool!* However just as Silvia had thought it, Yuta leapt backwards and circled off to the side.

FWET

She loosed an arrow striking deep into its gullet. It gargled in pain, but then shook out the arrow and turned again towards Yuta. He checked his grip by shuffling the pike a little in his hands, and once satisfied braced his stance. *Okay, if I keep focused, and get in quickly…*

Yuta dashed in and extended the tip of his pike in a thrust. As the speartip hit the gullet it deflected. The frog lowered its head, ready to charge. *I don’t have enough time to drop back! What do I do!*

Yuta recalled the first time he fought one of these bullfrogs with a club, he was able to get behind it by rushing to its side. Yuta quickly dashed closer and to its side, so close in fact that he could feel its labored breath. After making it to the blindside he shoved the frog with the middle of the pike, and then jumped back out of range.

*That was a good move* Silvia thought to herself *Wasn’t he totally useless just a day ago?*

She drew back another arrow and loosed it at the frog. It struck true and deep, and the frog fell down in a lump. Yuta turned around and glared at her. *Oh, I guess he wanted to finish it himself. But there is no need, he helped weaken it, isn’t that enough?*.

Yuta turned the tip of his pike towards another. *I almost had it, which is way more than I could say of yesterday. This proves that the fundamentals work. I just need to keep using them and practicing until I can do them better*

…

Mirio hammered away at the red hot steel of his armor. “Are you sure I am not hammering it too thin?”. Darius fussed with a set of notes he had in one of his drawers. “Oh yes, sorry I wasn’t paying attention, you have to work the steel first, then you are going to need to work it in from the outer edges so it gets thicker in the center, and from there you can bash it out”

Mirio peered over at the notes Darius was clammering through.

*He keeps all his papers on manufacturing processes here at the forge? What if there was a fire? Or a thief?*

His eyes trailed off to the corner of the drawer where he saw a huge bolt lock.

*I suppose that would take care of some of the thieves*

“Hey Darius” he said between blows. “How do you protect all of this stuff in here from thieves? And aren’t you ever worried about a fire from the forge?”

Darius scrambled through the notes “Ah here it is! Sorry, what did you say?”

“Oh nevermind” Mirio said as he continued to hammer the hot steel, trying his best to work it in from the outside edges on the flat of the anvil.

*I bet most of the security comes from the fact he is right next to the barracks. And now that I think of it, it seems obviously a reason they would put it here. And I suppose that helps with fires having the guard close enough to help put it out. No… That wouldn’t make complete sense because the guard wouldn’t know what to protect in the case of the fire. I wonder if Darius lives close by?*

“Darius, I was thinking, where do you live? Close to the forge right?”. Darius nodded, “Yes that is right, why?”. “It is because you keep all this valuable stuff in here when you lock up, so I figured you’d want to be close by in case there was a fire in order to get your stuff, like those notes. But wouldn’t it be better to put them in a binder and take ‘em home with you”.

Darius tapped his chin “That isn’t a bad idea, actually, thanks for the tip. Oh and btw the metal has cooled off, you’ll have to reheat it”. Mirio moved his way past and put the plate into the furnace. He then cranked on the bellows to increase the heat.

Darius put down his notes and closed the drawer. “Hrmm, it seems I put a special ingredient into Ember when I made her, I’d totally forgotten about it”.

“Oh yeah?” Mirio replied.

“Iridium. Do you remember when I sent you out to the crater in the east to get the meteor for me?”

Mirio stopped cranking the bellows. “What?! Isn’t iridium as valuable as platinum! And you put it in the sword! Isn’t that like putting pure gold into it?”

“Iridium is the densest metal next to lead and adamantite, it is used for long lasting parts. I wanted the blade to last, so I put it in it. I’m wondering if that is why it became a soul blade. It could be part of it. But I don’t have any left, so in the new blade I’ll have to use something else”

“I can’t believe this sword is made out of something so expensive, it actually makes me feel a bit nervous. Not that I would ever sell it since it is soul bound, but it makes you wonder what it is worth”

“Shhh! Mirio, not so loud. If any of the nobles caught wind of that sword being soul bound there would be no end to how far they would go to get it from you. You must make sure nobody ever knows”.

Mirio picked up the tongs and pulled the plate back out, moving it to the anvil. “I guess it is worth a lot then”.

“It is worth as much as a city or a state Mirio, wars have been fought over blades before, you’ve got to be careful”.

Mirio gulped.

*Wars?! Is it really that big of a thing? A sword is just a sword, magical or not, why would anyone ever fight over it. I suppose for status, or as a symbol of being somehow able to conquer all foes? Even though it is nonsense to think a sword could ever be why someone would win a fight*

He could feel the blade at his side as he hammered away at the red hot plate. Within its plain scabbard, no one would know its worth was greater than rivers of gold. With a final smash of the hammer he finally closed the wound on the plate, and had reduced its size to better fit him. He worked over where the gashes had been several more times and then moved the plate over to the ball anvil where he reshaped it. “Bah, I’m so clumsy at getting the shape right, how is it you make things look so cool? You get your plate to have that sharp front”.

Darius nodded over at a triangular anvil “Be careful, you want to bend it around it, not hit it against it or you’ll cut the metal”. Mirio nodded back to signal he understood and began detailed work on the armor to make it look as cool as he could possibly get it. A thought popped into his mind as he worked on its shape.

*Maybe I should engrave a skull on it to honor where it came from? Nah, it would make me seem like I am into that kind of thing or trying to intimidate people*

…

Red water streamed off of Yuta’s hands and arms as he washed himself down in a trough out the back of the guild. After a few more scrubs Yuta was content that he had gotten the last of it. At his waist he carried a small bloody sack. He strode to the trophy counter and placed it down. The clerk opened it up to reveal five bullfrog toes. Yuta’s eyes gleamed with pride, although it was lost on the clerk who simply stamped a form and slid Yuta a gold piece. He picked it up with a smile, it was the first time he had ever made any money of any worth since he had arrived in this world. He felt it was a symbol of things yet to come.

He stashed it away in his coin pouch and headed upstairs to meet with the mage. As he entered the upstairs tavern he paused for a moment and looked at the spot he was thrown down to the night before. Left screaming in pain, and only stared at by onlookers. He turned stiffly away from the spot and headed up the stairs to the third floor. It was filled with offices and at the very end of the hall he saw the name Madeleine etched in large magical looking letters. As he was about to knock he heard the voice of a mature woman grump at him. “Come in”.

As he slid through the doorway she looked at him with one eye. He couldn’t help but feel awkward under her gaze, “So you are Madeleine I take it? I have a lesson with you. I would like to be taken through the basics of magic”

“Wouldn’t we all” she replied. “Come in already, and take a seat. Shut the door first!”

Yuta shuffled back and forth between sitting and doing as she commanded.

“Now, just to get this straight before we start, I don’t want to hear any whining about how much you paid for this lesson, or that you deserve some kind of straight answer because of it. You paid for MY understanding of magic, and I emphasize the word MY for a reason. If you were to go out on YOUR own, you’d end up with half your hand blown off, or drowning your sorrows in a tavern somewhere, so don’t yap at me about it being tough to grasp, that is just the way of it, you hear me?”

Yuta nodded, both hands on his knees. Why was he acting like a school kid? It wasn’t like him to act so diligent. Maybe being willing to put in the effort to learn had changed him somehow. “I am here to listen, Madeleine, I hope to learn all you offer to teach. Please help me to understand the best I can”.

She grumped and then slid a crystal ball over to him. Her eyes looked at him crooked as she did. “Well what are you waiting for already, put your hand on it! You aren’t slow or something are you?”

“No ma’am!” he said as he snapped his hand onto the crystal.

Madeleine grumbled and poked at Yuta’s hand as the crystal began to glow a light yellow. “You have magic in you, but not terribly much. It’ll do though. I give you a coin flips chance of being able to pull off some spells. But only if you are lucky and work as hard as a beaverwog in mating season”

“A beaver what?” Yuta said out of pure confusion. “Oh sorry, please continue”

Madeleine’s crooked gaze eased before she abruptly moved on. “Magic is about a principle called the void. This void is all you cannot see in this world. You probably think magic is about the elements; fire, earth, water, and air or some such. Nonsense, it’s about how foolish your mind is boy! And to unlock her power, you have to offer her something precious to you”. She snapped her gaze back onto Yuta “that arrogant way about you looks mighty juicy, maybe she would feast upon that”.

Yuta didn’t know how to respond, so he nodded blankly.

“What are you nodding like an idiot for? I’m telling you to wipe that smug look off of that weak aura of yours. You think you are special, you little shit?!”

*Whoa, is this lady crazy or something? How the hell do I respond to that?*

“No I...”

“You just never thought about yourself in that light before. Except when you are feeling pity for yourself, am I right? Typical selfish woe is me madness if you ask me”. She picked up what looked like a stick and pointed it at him.

*Is she going to hit me with it?!* he tensed up.

“You’d better stop muckin about, pretending you are entitled to magic, or it’ll whoop you boy. Are you hearing me!!!”

“Y-yes ma’am”

She smacked him across the face with her wand, not so hard as to leave a welt but firm enough that it knocked his head to the side. “The void is that which you do not see. So you can’t go assuming that all you do see matters all that much. Forget yourself, forget what you know, and let knowledge of the arcane inform you of the context you yourself cannot see”

With those last words, it began to click with Yuta.

*She is breaking me down, just like a drill master in the army. She wants me to relinquish my own individuality so I can be trusted to act in line with my training, rather than my instincts… Maybe because instinct is how people lose a hand?*

Madeleine withdrew her wand and sat down in her seat, her demeanor shifting from that of an old crone to a loving matriarch. She smiled at Yuta and spoke in a softer voice. “I am not telling you to lose your fighting spirit son, just to not drench it in your worries, as they will mislead you along the foggy path one must walk to become a magician”

Yuta’s mind clicked again, almost like pieces of a watch slotting into their correct order. A question came to his mind, “What is the arcane?”.

“There is a clockwork universe out there somewhere, but we are all ignorant to its workings, except for a few of its gears and levers. It is with these levers, ignorantly, we attempt to influence its grander work”. Madeline drew a circle with the tip of her wand, causing the air to glow. “The magic circle is to represent what little we know”. She then flicked lines from side to side and up and down, “And the guiding lines are to represent what little we can do about it”.

Yuta looked at the magic sigil as it hung in the air a moment before fading. “How do you make the air glow like that?”. He attempted to draw a circle himself, pushing energy through his body as hard as he could, but nothing appeared.

“It is about controlling your magical gates. Each gate is like a little lock. They run from the center of your spine, through the place where your soul resides into the channels of your body's humors. If you release them smoothly and in harmony it allows you to evoke the residual magic in the world around you”

*Humors? I think I recall a humor being some kind of bodily fluid?*

“You then create a magic sigil to signal what the magic will do as channelled through it. And for lesser spells this is enough to cast the magic. But as a person advances, they must understand how to transform the magic while it is still within the humors, which takes decades of training” Madeleine said.

“So, if I am understanding you correctly, if I was to throw out magic in a raw form it wouldn’t do anything, unless it has a specific sigil to cause it to manifest” Yuta replied.

“That is half of it. The other half is that when you were trying to push your energy out your arm, you had closed gates. You must loosen your magical pressure first so the gates aren’t jammed shut by it. Then as it streams through you drag its form into shape, so that when it becomes a sigil it connects neatly and can inform the magic to follow. Then you draw back the gates and release a quanta of mana”

“A quanta?” Yuta asked.

“It is a packet of magical energy you establish before the spell. You first pool enough mana into this packet, and it is what you release through the sigil” Madeleine replied.

“And how do you pool mana into a quanta?” Yuta asked.

Madeleine rubbed her forehead in frustration. “All questions will be answered in their own time”.

Yuta stared at her blankly, as if still expecting an answer.

Madeleine tapped the edge of her wand on her desk, a red light glowing from its tip hissed at Yuta.

*Why did that question annoy her? Did I ask it wrong?*

“I don’t mean to get ahead of myself or anything,” Yuta said.

Madeleine sighed. “Why do you even want to learn magic?”

“I want to become strong!”

Madeleine muttered to herself. “This child is naive, I’m not sure if I want to teach him… He is entitled, and has no real reason behind anything he does…”. She then turned back to Yuta, “Why is it important to you to become strong?”

“I guess because, I don’t want to be a failure anymore”

“HA!” Madeleine pointed the hissing end of the wand at Yuta, “If you are afraid of failure, become a farmer, a logger, or a miner. Magic won’t make you less of something you already are, it will only bring it out of you further.”

Yuta felt a pang of discomfort as her insult landed.

“I’m not a failure!” Yuta responded.

“Yet, you are clinging to the external because you have no control over your own emotions”. The wand continued to wave in front of Yuta’s face, hissing like a cobra and reminding him to watch his words.

“It is true, I don’t have much control over my emotions. I never have. But who does?” Yuta replied.

“Plenty of people do. Madi, who you bought this lesson from, for example, is excellent at controlling his emotions. He is always patient, humble, and treats people fairly. Even though he has difficulties of his own, he never puts that pressure upon others.”

“What does that have to do with magic?” Yuta asked.

“It has everything to do with being TAUGHT magic” Madeleine walked around to Yuta’s side of the table and stood over him “Magic requires that you take guidance from others, if you are too stubborn to change who you are for other people, if you are selfish, it will present itself in your magic too”.

“Why? What does selfishness do to magic?”

“It becomes a poison to the mind, and it will drive a mage mad”

…

Steam came off the plate of armor as Mirio drew it out of the water barrel. He then placed the armor up onto the table to air cool. “Now it looks like real armor”. Mirio proudly crossed his arms and smiled at Darius.

“You still have to replace all the rivets and straps,” Darius replied.

Mirio frowned and his shoulders dropped. “This is way too much work, and the arms and legs are still busted”.

“Yeah, it will probably take you the rest of the week to finish the rest”

Mirio sighed, “Could you help with the buckles, I don’t want it falling off in battle because I riveted it wrong”

“You do realise I have a runesword to make for the Duke right?” Darius replied. “But fine, I’ll do the straps, you’ll have to do something for me though”

“Yeah? What do you need?” Mirio replied.

“I want some black ivory for the hilt of the new runesword, can you get some?”

“Black ivory? Isn’t that from the horn of a rageclaw”

“Do you think you can get it for me?”

Mirio looked at Rocky tied up outside, and then back to Darius, “They are in the eastern mountain range, I suppose I could ride out now but I wouldn’t be back until morning. I’ll just let the captain know so he can cover my shift at the Eagle’s nest. I didn’t want to go there tonight anyway”

“Don’t be crazy Mirio, I don’t mean for you to go hunting for a grade C beast at night. You can get it sometime this week” Darius replied.

Mirio shook his head “Nah, I will get it now” and then headed off to let the captain know he wouldn’t make it into work.

“Bah!” Darius felt a pang of guilt strike his temple, and looked over at Mirio’s half finished armor, “Fixing his armor up will help me clear my head anyway, I’ll make sure it is ready by the time he gets back”.

Ezee barked as Mirio came back through the forge and then hopped onto Rocky. “Alright, I’m off, see you in the morning”.

“Be careful!”