The sound of thousands of footsteps echoed within the cavern walls as light shone from the lantern stones of the refugees waistbelts and shimmered off of moist rock and veins of iron ore. The refugees faces were filled with impending dread as they entered further into the darkness.

The knights waved each of them further in and moved over to pillars of stone that ran through the cavern, lighting large lantern stones within them and illuminating the militant bunk beds lined in rows through the cavern.

A knight turned to face the crowd after all the pillars were lit, and signalled to the rest of the men to surround them. The people of the vale gathered together nervously, looking at each other with uncertainty.

“Welcome to the hole”

“You are half a league underneath the city walls, this cavern has been used thousands of times throughout the history of the city. Usually as spill over military housing for mercenaries during war time. It might not be the best accomodations in the city, but it is better than nothing”

The knight waved his hand and pulled over a man carrying a large sack and pulled a metal tag from it.

“You are to wear your tag at all times, all trips into the city will coincide with your designated times to go to work, return from work, and allotted time for outdoor activities and trading. If you are caught without your tag, or do not comply with the rules, you will be escorted outside of the city gates to make your way on your own”

“You are now considered in debt to the Duke, your pay from work will be cut to pay back that debt until it is paid back in full. After the debt is repaid, you may save up to buy your right to remove your tag and enter city housing. That is all”

The knight turned and nodded to his men who stepped towards the crowd with fistfuls of tags.

…

“Hold up boy” the Duke said to Mirio as the other council members were ushered off from the estate.

“The mages in the tower showed me the battle,” his eyes were devoid of emotion as he stared at Mirio.

“You did good, should have seen those bastard bandits coming though. Always watch your flanks after a battle”

The Duke stood up and walked past Mirio to the view of the lakeshore. The scent of daylilies in the air and soft winds sweeping over the light blue water, and streaks of pink sand.

“You didn’t flinch as those two were killed by that bitch. Why?”

Mirio stared down at the ground as what felt like a giant stone grew in his throat.

“I… I couldn’t remember who they were… I was poisoned…”

“Poisoned…” the Duke repeated. He remained silent for a moment before breaking out into laughter “Poisoned you say! Well that makes sense of it. Here I was thinking you were a man with the heart of a mercenary, cold as ice”

“Yeah...”

“What about the enlightenment you experienced on the way to the city, do you remember that?” the Duke said, leaning in towards Mirio and eyeing him over.

“Martin here is a paladin himself, he is working towards his enlightenment, but it is a rare thing. Isn’t it Martin?”

The man who had stared at Mirio when he had first met the knights stepped closer to the Duke and nodded, a hint of envy and hatred in his golden eyes. “Soon enough my Duke, my goddess will send her greater powers to me soon”

“What spells or abilities did your god grant you?” the Duke spat out bitterly to Mirio.

“Spells? I don’t think I was gifted any… I don’t follow any of the gods, so maybe that is why?”

“So you don’t want to tell me, is that it?” the Duke waved his hand dismissively “Fine, keep your secrets”

Martin scowled at Mirio, clenching his fist at his side.

“I am not keeping secrets, I just don’t know much about it. The only thing I know is that I have a feeling of inspiration inside. A glowing orb in the back of my mind that sparks with ideas, and pulls me towards answers, I think it just makes answers seem familiar, and it makes it easier to search for them”

The Duke furrowed his brow “Curious…”

The Duke stared off at the lake as the wind drifted through his hair, he then pursed his lips and chuckled “Do you have any tips for Martin here?”. He slapped his meaty hand against Martin’s plate armor pauldron and winked at Mirio.

Martin’s blood began to boil as his eyes shot at Mirio with a warning.

“I honestly don’t even know why it happened to me, so I couldn’t tell him anything. All I can tell you is that it feels like the journey of learning fighting all wrapped up into one distinct feeling. It shines like the feeling you get in your bones when you make a perfect deflection with your sword, or the force you feel as you step up to a strike. It all flows together as one in a kind of dance and ends in one final flourish. It is a delicate complexity that wishes to be unravelled by a thirst for mystery and deeper knowledge, but as much as you try, you can't”

Martin’s face dropped in disbelief “What kind of horse shit is that? You aren’t making any sense. What feeling as you step up to strike? And what journey?”

Mirio came to an uncomfortable realisation as he looked at Martin. Their journeys were likely different, and because of it perhaps the feelings he felt as he deflected strikes were not as common as he thought.

“Bahaha!” the Duke swatted Martin in the belly “That’ll be all, you can get back to your other duties now”

Martin bowed to the Duke and strode off to the city’s inner walls for patrol, avoiding eye contact with Mirio as he passed.

“You aren’t like I thought you would be” the Duke said with a glint of sincerity in his eyes, “You are one hell of a confused kid, I just hope you put those new powers of yours to good use”

He grabbed a small badge from his pocket and tossed it to Mirio.

Mirio snatched it from the air “What is this?”

“It’ll give you free passage through the city. After seeing what you did for these people, and the shit you fought through, you earned it. I hope you consider joining our city guard while you are here. I’ve already told the captain to expect you”

Mirio looked down at the small silver badge in the shape of the crest of Darlan and put it in his pocket. “Thankyou”

“Alright, now get the fuck out of here”

Mirio nodded and headed back towards the passage to the city with Ezee close behind. He passed through the walls and exited out into the city without a single guard turning to notice him.

As he entered the street he approached one of the guards. “Which way to the market square?”

“You mean the trade district? Just out to the main road and to the left, you follow the road and you’ll see it”

Mirio nodded and limped off to the main road.

*I should really get back to the people... and the council... but this is my chance to check out the city. Better to know what is going on out here than to go back and only know what everybody else does*

The red pavement turned into white and blue cobblestones up ahead as the uniform three story tall red buildings turned into a sprawl of elaborate architecture. At the border between each side of town was a large red archway that opened up into the prosperity of the heavenly half of the city.

“Welcome one, welcome all, to Eldin’s Exotic Elixirs, one sip of our enhancement potions will have you soaring past your old achievements. For only two platinum pieces you can change your stars, and change your profession into anything you want it to be. Dream of being a knight, it is yours for just two platinum pieces!”

Passerby’s scoffed and waved their hands at the salesman.

“Ey ey ey, what did I tell you before!” one of the guards said rushing up to the man dressed in silk robes and grabbing him by the arm. “Go peddle that shit somewhere else”

“Alright alright, no need to get violent” Eldin said as wrestling himself free from the guard’s grasp.

Eldin’s eyes searched around his stall as he gathered up his goods into a pack.

Mirio turned towards him with a look of confusion as Eldin placed a rack inside the bag without it even causing it to bulge.

“What kind of bag is that?!” Mirio asked.

Eldin’s eyes shot up at Mirio and he grinned revealing glimmering gems inlaid in his teeth.

“A newcomer to the city?! Welcome welcome, this here is a bag of holding, it holds as much as a horse and cart but without the hassle. Could I interest you in one, only one platinum piece”

“Hrmm, maybe later, I want to check out the rest of the city first. But I am wondering, what were those elixirs you were talking about? The ones that improve a person’s skill”

“Oh yes, you are interested perhaps, of course you are, who wouldn’t be!?” Eldin pulled one of the elixirs from his bag and held it up to his face as though it were deeply precious to him.

“Not really, I am just wondering if such a thing really exists. I’ve only ever heard of Elixirs that improve strength or endurance before, or mental acuity. I’ve never heard of one that could enable a person to do a skillful profession before”

“Yes yes! These elixirs wipe away the boundary between what you can and can’t do, enabling you to become anything you desire!”

“Well, if that was true, why wouldn’t everyone be buying them? And why would one of the guard tell you to put up shop elsewhere?”

Eldin frowned and continued packing up the rest of his shop into the bag “Those idiots can’t smell a bargain even when it is put under their noses, they see something different they haven’t heard of before and they immediately jump to their conclusions. I am sad to say, exotic goods traders like myself often face such prejudice here, no matter how honest our wares”

“Oh really?”

“But you are different, yes? You are able to think for yourself! I tell you what, since you are so nice I will give you a bargain price, one platinum and it is yours”

Eldin’s face dropped as a shadow cast over Mirio from behind. Dasha gripped Mirio under her and pulled him into her full plate armor.

“Ey, you just got here and you are already listening to a swindler”

Mirio wrestled his way free and shot Dasha a big grin.

“What can I say, I was curious about his skill boosting Elixirs”

“This guy isn’t even an alchemist, just a hustler looking for those desperate enough to pay him without thinking”

“Yeah, I spotted that, but don’t you think it would be astounding if it was actually possible for people to become more skillful from an Elixir?”

“Why, you find training too much of a hassle?”

“I don’t mean for me, but imagine if people who really needed it could take it to help them get a start. I feel like it is kind of unfair how a guy like me naturally is drawn to fighting and magic but most others struggle to even think about it”

Dasha’s eyes flared “Who cares about losers who can’t even muster up enough passion to get started”

Mirio shook his head “You don’t get it, if more folks could fight maybe people like bandits wouldn’t dare take on a town”

“They’d just get themselves killed though. Real skill isn’t going to come from a bottle. It comes from the heart”

“Does it? Or is that what we just tell ourselves?” Mirio responded with a touch of bitterness in his voice.

“What are we talking about? I thought we were talking about this scammer and his trash elixirs”

“I think there is a grain of truth in the idea that everyone can get stronger, and maybe change themselves to become whatever they need to be. Obviously not with an Elixir, that’d be too easy, but maybe there is something… Like a magical spell of transference to give my understanding to another, or to enhance the process. Don’t tell me you don’t feel that surge of magic in you as you train well, like the answers are just flowing into you”

“I don’t feel anything like that. I just train the technique until I get it right, then learn how to better time it in practice”

“Why don’t you knights feel what I feel when you train? I don’t understand how you can’t feel it”

“Alright alright, you feel things when you train. What does that have to do with this loser?”

“Nothing, I just thought it was curious, he has obviously thought about it himself. Maybe he sees people seeking this kind of thing, and has a reason to believe it might be possible”

“Don’t listen to scammers Mirio, no matter how close to magic it seems to be. There is an ocean of difference between actual magic and this shit”

Mirio stopped for a moment and hung his head, “Guess I am just desperate then, huh”

“If you seek something like a spell to transfer ability, maybe you should speak to Tarkon, he has a trash personality but he knows his magic, he and his groupies are usually hanging by the arena”

Eldin slung his bag of holding onto his waist belt and stared daggers at Dasha as he walked off.

“Sorry, I think I got all caught up in myself. I wasn’t ever considering buying that guy’s wares” Mirio said as he tapped Dasha on the shoulder. “How do I get to the arena?”

Mirio looked up at the white and blue stone carvings that framed the plaza and each of the streets branching off of it; statues of heroes, wild beasts, and avatars of the deities. Open walled shop stalls under roofs of stone held up by decorated pillars. Wild plants and fruit vines winding themselves around the pillars, and along the sides of the streets. Peering through the crowds Mirio looked over to see an enormous arena rising above it all just past the markets.

“Oh there it is, would you mind introducing me to him?”

Dasha squinted up at the sun for a moment and looked back at a couple of guards who were close behind her “Guys can you handle things for a bit. Alright, come on country boy”

“Hey, I live in the city now though, look the Duke even gave me a special badge and everything”

“Oh did he now?” Dasha replied as hurrying along through the crowd.

“Hey did you forget I’m a cripple?” Mirio replied as doing his best to spin and twist his way through the crowd on his crutch. “Its a silver badge with the Darlan crest” Mirio said as pulling it into his hand to show to her.

“Hrmm, guess that grumpy bastard has a heart after all. Keep hold of that, the rest of the folk from the Vale aren’t nearly so lucky. And there are even plenty of folk around here who would gladly slit your throat for it”

“Why? I thought it was just a sign of citizenship?”

“It is, but a silver crest allows you access across the entire city. Copper badges are what most folk here have. And it means certain jobs and opportunities and accommodations are out of reach for them. Silver badges might not be the same as gold and platinum but many dream of the kind of freedoms that badge gives you”

THUNK

Mirio’s walking staff blasted out from under him as cabbages flew everywhere.

“Watch it!” a man in a yellow and dirt stained shirt yelled at Mirio wagging his finger as chasing after his cabbages.

“Ey, Dasha, help me up!”

Dasha let out a sigh before hauling Mirio to his feet “Damn cripple country boy”

…

Yuta turned to the knight who was dangling a tag in front of him to put on.

“Wait on a second alright, there is some kind of mistake, I’m not with these guys. I’m an adventurer, look see”

Yuta lifted out his adventurer tag and dangled it in front of the knight’s face.

“Says here you are from Elmvale, sorry kid, either put this on or head back out the front gate”

“Fine! I’m heading back out the front gate then! You don’t think I know what this shit is?! Slavery, indentured servitude, and screw you all for thinking it is anything less than that”

Yuta leaned over to Garett and ripped off his tag.

“Hey man, what are you doing? Did you forget my family is here?”

An elderly halfling woman came over to Garett and helped him put his tag back on, as Garett’s brothers and sisters played amongst themselves, the youngest sucking on her tag and crawling between Garett’s legs.

Yuta turned to Silvia for support.

“I am with you, I think we should get the hell out of here”

Garett tugged on Yuta’s leg “You’ve got a big pouch of coin, I’m sure you can pay off your share with it”

“Nah man, we almost died for this, I’m not giving it to these guys for shovelling us into some abandoned cavern”

Garett thought about it for a moment and turned to his family, and then back to Yuta “I’m sorry, I have to stay with my family”

Yuta considered for a moment something to say to convince Garett to stay with him and Silvia but couldn’t find the words. Defeated and too impatient to push, he awkwardly turned to Silvia and shrugged.

“Well, he isn’t coming”

Silvia turned with a smile and knelt down in front of Garett, placing her hand softly on his shoulder. “Thanks for everything”

Garett smiled with a tear in his eye “Thank you too”

“Later Giant,” Yuta said curtly before walking back towards the entrance with the knight.

“Later” Garett replied.

Winding their way back up through the mines they were led to the front gate and left standing between the two mountains in front of the iron gate as the knight nodded at the guards “These guys aren’t to come back in”

“Got it”

Yuta rubbed his chin and bit his lips nervously.

“Come on idiot, we’ve got to head out of the valley first, then it is either north or south, not much else to figure out” Silvia said as she landed a playful punch on his shoulder.

“Yeah, you are right”

…

Buried within dozens of lavish silk lined cushions with golden trim, a man with dark skin and white burn scars tattooing his body like an elaborate tapestry blew up a puff of smoke between the breasts of a dancing girl grinding inches above his body.

To either side were platters of fruit and shots of booze. Between puffs he reached out and scooped up another shot to gulp it down. Ticking with his tongue as he turned his eyes lazily towards the doorway before taking another puff. Dasha’s silhouette carved itself in the blue and white reflected light of the doorway, along with Mirio behind her.

“Ey, look who it is” he said with a smile riding up one side of his face and the joint stuck between his teeth.

He rose up from under the dancer and sniffed as pushing her off to the side. Without flinching he dusted off his loose fitting robes, not even attempting to hide the tent pitched in his trousers.

“Damn girl, you come to give me a dance too?” his eyes squinted as he snickered and turned off to the side.

He stretched out his arms and then cracked his neck before putting down his joint on the platter beside him. He then reached under his belt and pulled out a slender black wand and spun it between his fingers.

Dasha eyed the dancer as she picked up her clothes and scurried out of the room.

“So I’m guessing that is a no on the dance then, fair enough”

“You come to get a taste then?” Tarkon said as flame began to swell around the edge of his wand.

“Calm down, I didn’t come to kick your ass again” Dasha finally replied.

“Kick my ass? That isn’t how I remember it. You still got that love kiss on your left cheek. Yeah you do don’t you. So whose ass really got licked?”

Tarkon slid his wand back into his pants and stood up tall, thrusting his hips forward, tent and all, as he stretched out his lower back.

“Who is the kid?” he said as lifting his chin in Mirio’s direction.

“Mirio, this is Tarkon, he’s an asshole but he knows his magic, probably better than those dusty old librarians in the mage tower”

Mirio stepped forwards and held out his hand “Nice to meet you, like she said, I’m Mirio”

“Pssh,” Tarkon replied as smacking away Mirio’s hand “No offence but the question was rhetorical, I don’t give a fuck who you are”

“Dasha tells me you are the best guy to ask about magic around here. I’m not a newbie or anything, I’ve even created a spell or two on my own”

“Yeah like what, a flash of light that is a bit different than an old man showed you? Not impressive to me kid”

“Well, yeah, I figured out how to create some flash spells that are cantrip continua, but almost have the same impact as cantrip finita, but I figured out some other things too”

“Shut it with that old man crap, cantrip this and cantrip that… Fucking stupid. Arcane practitioners cast magic with a stick up their ass, it makes me sick”

“You aren’t an arcanist?”

“Fuck no, I’m a sorcerer. I do the real shit”

“Oh so you know the innate magics then?”

Tarkon turned to Dasha with a sigh “Is this kid going to repeat everything I say in different words? For real? Come on girl, you know I respect you but don’t bring me this shit”

“Just look after him for a sec, he has some questions, that is all, figured he’d get more from you. Just help him out,” Dasha replied before turning to the door.

“Aight, aight, fine, but you owe me” he said pointing at Dasha's ass as she left.

Tarkon eyed Mirio for a moment, “Take a seat already, don’t be all waiting for permission and shit. Dickheads act all stiff like that”

Mirio looked at the pile of pillows covered in flakes of colored dust for a moment, and then searched for something else in the room to use as a seat. Spotting a stool underneath one of the tables he pulled it out and over to the platter and picked up a handful of grapes.

“Alright, now that’s more like it, you are stealing my shit, I dig it”

“Ey, you said permission is for dickheads, so I’m on it” Mirio replied between chews.

“Take a shot for your trouble too”

Mirio picked up the shot and tossed it back, and as the liquor dragged against the back of his throat he spluttered.

“Oh fuck, I wasn’t ready for the kick, tastes good though, cheers”

“Uh huh… So what the fuck is your question kid” Tarkon said as leaning back against one of the tables with his feet crossed.

“I was thinking about some kind of magic that transfers energy, like experience from one person to another, or even just within yourself from one skill to another. You know, helping you to learn new things”

“Eh? What the fuck kind of idea for a magic spell is that?”

“Well, I’m curious about if it is possible at all?”

“I dunno, it might be, but it sounds like it'd be pretty high speed”

“High speed?”

“Yeah, when working with chaotic magic, there is a certain speed of thought and adaptation you have to keep up with to flow with the spell. The more complicated the spell the more you have to adjust and think on your feet as it shifts to fuck you over”

“How does it fuck you over?”

“Mana burns, like these beauties” Tarkon said as tracing the patterned scars all over his body and face.

“So theoretically you think it is possible but just likely to cause mana burns?”

“Who knows, it could be possible, but with anything new it is almost always going to be complicated. And since it is a transference type spell you are dealing with raw chaos. What is it those arcane ass hats say, they say to keep magic within its circles and shit right? Well when you are doing transference between circles you are dealing with what they call glyph structures. Sorcerers call that shit the grind. And sounds to me like a spell transferring experience has a grind not only between you and another person, or between different skills, but it also has the grind in your own head, or in the head of the other person, let alone hundreds or maybe even thousands of grinds along every branch and variant of other ways the spell could turn out”

“So it is like having multiple spell circles running at the same time?”

“Yeah, and not just that, you have to be invasive as fuck, and delve deep into either your own mind or that of another person and fuck with shit that might be vital to keeping that person alive or sane”

“Like a psionic?”

“Yeah, shiiit, just like a psionic”

“So it is a multiple circle spell that is psionic in nature, and requires rapid adaptation to avoid mana burn”

“Don’t say that shit like its easy kid, even if you could pull off that shit, there is no telling what price it would exact from your flesh or your soul. You could succeed but it might just turn you into a zombie or fuck your memory up so you don’t even remember your name”

“Wait, affect my memory? How does that work?”

“You know, taking on too much speed, the chaotic nature of magic makes mincemeat of all those tiny little connections stringing your mind together, and sears them shut like cooking a tasty fucking steak”

“Holy fuck” Mirio leaned forwards and grabbed his head “Fuck fuck fuck”

*So that is how Akur did it… His speed must be far faster than I can even see. It happens so fast it is like it is invisible, and it shredded my mind and my memories. Just how good is he at magic to be able to do that?*

Mirio lowered his hands from his head and stared Tarkon directly in the eye “I have a serious question, is it possible to move magic so fast its effect is invisible?”

“Yeah man, like a punch, you throw it fast enough, ain’t nobody gonna see it. Also the more a spell is connected to a direct effect, it can bypass any visual tells. Kind of like how an archer shoots a bullseye, the closer the arrow hits to the bullseye the harder it is to not get hit. And if that spell's effect is to make you do something, or think something, a bullseye means you won’t even see it take effect in you. Only by making it miss can you catch it”

*I guess that means I made Akur miss at least a little, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to spot the effects at all*

“Damn, dude, you really know your stuff. Thankyou dude, seriously!” Mirio said as standing to his feet and picking up his staff.

“So thats it, that is your question done?”

“Yeah man, more than done”

“Aight, good, treating me like a ho, leaving straight after you are done with your business... But hold on a sec, you said before you have a new spell you created, can I see it?”

“Why would you give a shit, I thought you weren’t interested in flashes of light”

“I’m not, but something tells me that you are a creative fucker, you know, a natural born sorcerer even. I mean you caught onto all the stuff I told you without missing a beat. Reminds me of how I was back when I was still half a retard. So spill it, what you got”

Mirio lifted his hand and drew up the gentle colored aurora of his oasis spell, letting it flow around his arm and through to his fingertips, sending silky strands of color floating in the air like ink drifting in a pool of water.

Tarkon leaned forwards and peered at the magic, “Fuck, that is working in a loop. No, ten loop cycles. That is actually pretty tight. What does it do?”

“Uh, I don’t actually know, it just makes me feel more at ease, and helps me focus. And it makes me feel a bit like I’m expressing a part of myself”

“Expressing yourself huh? Nice… Well it might be fucking useless but it is cool though. Kind of like a fuck you to arcanists that try to put everything in a box”

“Yeah, it is a mix of divine energy and the arcane”

“Oh shit, no way, mixing magic schools? That is some serious shit. Teach me how to do that some time and I’ll teach you a trick or two of mine”

“Alright, sounds good, but how can I get to know what tricks you got?”

“Come watch me in the arena, pick from that”

“I will come check you out then. Thanks for the chat man, I’ll head out so you can get back to it with that dancer”

“Oh yeah, where did she go… Hey, girl, get back here”

Tarkon nodded to Mirio as he headed out the door and the girl came running back in.

*Damn it, I need to learn speed with my magic, and how to force magical effects to miss hitting me like a bullseye. That is the only way I stand a chance against Akur... But how can I learn something like that?*

Mirio stared up at the arena as he exited the alley way.

"Guess I'll just have to watch him fight tonight"