The three gathered in the morning at Minerva's - where the cauldrons used to be, now had a sunken pit. Vines and different flora grew from the hole, along with strange bubbling liquid, as a bed of tree sprouts was in the very center.

Minerva looked exhausted, as she changed from her dress to more akin to armor with the same natural pieces.

Looking at Elric as she pointed to the small bed, “Get in.”

“Uh… shouldn’t we hold this off? You don’t look so good to do this.” Elric felt unsure of the Druid.

Minerva turned a cold gaze, “Get. In.”

Elric complied as he took off the armor and weapons, leaving his clothing.

But as he was about to enter Minerva stopped it, “Take it all off.”

“This wasn’t like last time, you can…” Elric saw her sight become heavier as she was about to burst a vessel. “...Fine.”

Elric quickly took his remaining clothing and proceeded to lay down. It wrapped him up entirely as the capsule plunged itself deep into the thick bog. A sweeping power gathered the Aether around Minerva as she control the ritual. The fauna rose and grew to cover the entire area, appearing as a sprouting swamp.

When morning passed, the power ceased Minerva - sweating and drained of most of her energy.

She motioned to Gideon as she gave him a small sack of coins, “Please go bring some food… For Elric too, when he’s going to come out.”

Gideon did as he was told and came back just as quickly, with all the food that he could carry. Minerva grew a table and chairs as they sat, still no sign of Elric.

“Do you know when he is going to come out?” Gideon asked after they finished their meal.

She looked to the pit, “I do not know, I just hope it is soon. I’m getting worried that I couldn’t do a good enough job.”

“...You tried your best, right?” Minerva affirmed, giving a small smile as another wave of dreariness came over her.

Minerva left for a nap as Gideon was left to attend. For hours nothing happened until a hand suddenly breached the layers of plants, and a scream came with it. Gideon got Minerva while Elric clawed himself out, gasping for breath when he made it to the wooden floor. They covered him with a large towel, his hair was no longer grey, the sagging skin was gone, and his form looked fuller with muscle. Appearing to have returned to his prime, only his scars barely changed - receding but not wholly, as they were still prominent.

“Just get yourself cleaned up, don’t try anything,” Minerva said, as Elric returned a nod and went to a back room to clean himself up.

“Holy crap…” Gideon said as Elric was gone. “He looked like thirty years younger.”

Minerva began to laugh, Gideon asked “What did I do?”

Minerva tried to control herself, “Gideon… Elric is 33 years old.”

“Huh?! But he looked over sixty!” Minerva lost a bit of control as she held her own stomach.

When Elric did come back with his new clothes, Minerva made him sit down with his back before her.

“You can begin to Cultivate En, no Aether.” She said, placing her hands on his back as the leaves from her ware cascaded to encompass her hands as she followed his Life Force.

As Elric followed he remembered yesterday and the countless days before, as his En slowly decayed. How hard he pushed, tried with all his might to go against his dwindling life to no avail, but now nothing was dying and all was well for a second chance.

Elric began to cry, Minerva came down from her chair and wrapped her arms around him. Resting her head on his back, she too gave a stubble cry - as he held her hands.

Gideon found himself awkwardly standing there, as they took a few minutes to settle themselves before Elric put back his armor.

“So… what happens now?” Gideon asked as he sat by the table.

Minerva, “Now Elric owes us each a favor.”

“I- get that for you but why Gideon?” Elric said as he got a gaping scowl from Minerva.

“If he hadn’t had the luck of countless lifetimes, we would have never had this opportunity. You owe him.”

“Fine. Gideon, is there anything you want?”

Gideon thought before asking, “What are you going to do now?”

“Well… I haven’t been really trying with any of my assignments. And I can actually train with progress, so I am going to go back to my roots and begin again.” Elric said with a smile, Minerva eying the scene as she held in a knowing smile.

“Is anything really up for asking?”

Elric shrugged, “Sure. Just don’t expect me to do the impossible.”

Gideon looked to Minerva as they both smiled, “Then I want to be your Adventurer Apprentice.”

Elric choked on his own breath as he looked between the other two, seeing as just when the sky was open for him to fly - there was a little rain to ruin his sunshine.

“...Fuck…” Elric drooped his head.

Gideon whispered to Minerva, “Is that a no?”

She chuckled, “Oh, no. The exact opposite. I think you guys would make a fine pair. Scars upon scars, given a second chance to adventure.”

“But I just got…” Elric spoke regretfully at the responsibility and resigned in his gesture and voice. “Alright… fine.”

Gideon jumped up from the chair, screaming with joy as he raised his hands up in the air.

Though a second more, he rushed to Elric and gave him a great hug. “Thank you.”

Elric returned the embrace as he found himself subtly smiling, though he saw Minerva giving a teasing gesture making him dull again.

“All right if you boys are done, I have a few more things to say.” Minerva said as they went back to their seats. “Elric, though we stopped your En from decaying, but your Life Rings haven’t returned to form.” Elric's mood was almost ruined as she stopped him from sulking, “You can train but your gains would be less than stellar.”

“What about Aether?”

“That… is part of the bad news… The flux has been cleared, and Aether management should become more stable with time, but you mustn't stress your Channels or it will ruin everything that we have done so far.”

Elric bobbed his head and sighed, “Well. At least I can Cultivate, besides it's been lacking for a long time compared to my Aether… Is there anything to be done for it though?”

“The bright side is that you would just need an Elixir after this treatment to begin your return…” Minerva stopped and fidgeted with her hands.

“Just say it, please.”

“The Grade that it would need to be at least Peak…”

Elric nearly fumbled out of his chair, “Peak?!”

Minerva halted him, “It’ll also need to be Arcana aligned, as well you need to set yourself to create a pure Arcana Core.”

Elric did not speak as he led back wide-eyed, Gideon wasn’t able to follow.

Minerva continued, “I am not finished. You will also need to go through that Ritual a few more times.”

“How many?”

Minerva’s face grimaced a bit, “Once a month, for six months… but Elric, I do not have enough ingredients to do this again. The Guild will not budge on what I ask for without coin.”

Elric relaxed a bit, “Oh, so I can just buy them then if —”

“The total for the month would be 23 gold at the current market price.”

Gideon forgot to breathe - Elric was stunned as he calculated, “That's 138 gold over six months!... What happens if I skip a month?”

“Then all of this would be for nothing, it is all or nothing. If we can’t get you the supplies before, then you will be back to how you were.”

“Holy… Shit…” Elric slumped in his chair, resting his head on the table.

Gideon, “Elric… how much do you have?”

Elric didn’t raise his head, “About 18 Gold.”

“That's quite a bit? Wouldn’t he be fine then?” He looked at Minerva, getting a hesitating expression.

“That's what I have saved over the course of 3 years,” Elric replied.

There was silence before Gideon asked Minerva. “Wait… why didn’t we wait until he had the funds to do this over time?”

Elric’s head shot up with a leer, “Yeah! Why?!”

Minerva fumbled her expressions as she twiddled her thumbs, “Uh… I didn’t think about that…”

Elric didn’t say anything but threw up his arms, as Minerva did her best to not make eye contact.

Minerva defended her impulse. “Listen, you aren't like before, you can and are able to handle Hunts and Missions, not to mention that assignment from Aria.”

Elric slumped remembering his withdrawal, “This still seems close to impossible to gather at that much with the scarcity of requests.”

Minerva waved him off, “I’ll give you a list of some ingredients that you can find in the Wilken Woodland. It should cut down the cost a bit and who's to say that it can’t be done”

“I doubt it.”

“Then try harder.” Minerva teased.

“So when do we start?” Gideon asked.

Elric, “I don’t think you could get a lot of money just starting out.”

“I- Well I’ll do what I can, but when do I start learning about being an Adventurer?”

Elric felt as old as he looked before, “Oh right… I still need to do that.”

Minerva removed the furnishings from underneath them - Gideon and Elric fell to the floor, “And no time is like right now.”

“This will be the end of me and my coin.” Elric resigned to his fate as he rubbed his tailbone.

***

Gideon looked at the immense building in awe, people clad in different gear came constantly to and thro from the building in a constant cycle.

“First time here?” Elric asked, receiving a silent nod. “You're going to come here a lot to receive your jobs, but for now just follow me and don’t say anything out of line.”

Gideon followed as they made their way into the Main Hall. Opening to a wide open space, to the sides - a twin spiral staircase went to the upper floor, guarded by heavily armored people. Reception desks were on the far wall with a long line at each station. The others had different hallways, posted with guided signs, and shops filled with a variety of wares, trinkets, potions, etc. A longboard was near the entrance of where they came, titled and separated by different segments; Cane, Stone, and Iron - each board filled with countless sheets of paper that most of the people congregated by.

As Gideon followed, Elric proceeded to a guard by the staircase - taking out his adventure tag. A deep black with white markings, Elric whispered something to the guard as he pointed to Gideon to allow passage.

They ascended the staircase quickly, coming to a similar but much smaller room, another staircase to the slightly off the one they just came off - guarded by an even more menacing armored person. Many more doors and fewer people were there as another reception desk was off to the side. While the others were more boards, showing Obsidian and Bronze titles.

Though the reception desk was surrounded by a large box, with a curtain prior to entry. Above, a sign - ‘One Pearl,’ Elric made his way here.

A goblin awaited in the low light, holding out his hand - Elric gave him his tag. Immediately they took notice and handed it back.

With a bright smile, “What can. I do, for you.”

“I would like to register an apprentice,” Elric replied.

The goblin looked around at Gideon, as he gathered some forms, a pen, and a key. Replying in kind, “Third room. To left, Private test or Guild test?”

“Private,” Elric replied as they took off to the room - locking the door.

The room was very plain and closed off, with just a table, a few chairs, and an intense light crystal going.

They both sat down next to each other, Elric handed the pen and form to Gideon.

“That looked suspicious, you know.” Gideon looked to Elric.

“Do you know why no one wants an apprentice?”

“Is it because they can’t handle the loss if they die?”

Elric retorted, “Maybe if you are new. But be in this work long enough and you’ll lose many people…” He became serious, “They are far more complicated than just that, but there are three concerns. One I am responsible for you, purchasing your equipment and making sure that they have the necessities to learn. The only reason I can do this is because of my status within the Guild to get you the resources. Two, consequences are shared, every wrong that you do will be attached to me as well. Three, there is pressure to not have apprentices, there have been many incidents where they left a black mark on the guild.”

“I mean… I can get the first two but the last?”

Elric waved him off. “Don’t worry about history and the other part for now, but keep quiet about being an apprentice and just say you're an early applicant for the fall commencement.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t need any more attention than I have already. And your form shouldn’t be so bad, to get through the process.”

Gideon looked warily at the form as he pointed to the birthplace section, “Then what should I do about this?”

“Leave anything you don’t know or in case of that, what you don’t want to register.”

Gideon filled out his name, race, age, height, weight, social status, and Elric’s name. The rest he didn’t know as he filled them out.

Elric took the form, and unlocked the door but left Gideon the key. “Lock the door after I go. I'll be back soon.”

Gideon did as he was told, Elric left to go up the stairs. The next was the same with no people but a handful of receptionists and a single empty board, Silver. A final set of stairs allowed him to go to the highest level. Opening up to a small room with just three receptionists at the end doing paperwork.

Elric came to one of them, “Is Aria here?”

She didn’t even bother to look up, “Who is asking to see?”

“Elric.”

“One moment please,” She got up going down an immaculate hallway before disappearing around the corner. Her reappearance was quick, “She is waiting for you. Do you need any guidance?”

Elric shook his head as he made his way to Aria’s door before entering, seeing her at the end with her hands clasped.

“Minerva wasn’t kidding about saving you?” She said with a surprised look on her face.

“Yeah, yeah, get it out now…” Elric approached and took a seat in front.

“I am not going to anything like that today, this calls for a celebration!” She said, pulling out a wine bottle from her desk and two glasses.

“I’m still not feeling well to drink alcohol yet.”

“Oh well. More for me but… would you care to enlighten me as to how Minerva suddenly gained the knowledge and power to fix a broken man?”

Elric was stone-faced, as Aria twirled her wine glass.

Pouting, “Oh, come on. I like a mystery with a happy ending. All anything around here anymore is lies, monsters, dark deals, and crazies.” Even then Elric still said nothing, as she resigned to the still positive effect.

Taking a sip of her wine she asked, “So why have you come. Did you want to take up the assignment now?”

“Actually, yes.”

She paused, “Really?”

“But I am going to move at a snail's pace, with the way I am now.”

Aria put down the wine glass, “Why?”

“Did Minerva come to you last night?”

Aria groaned, “Ugh… Don’t remind me she called in nearly all her favors to the Guild and pissed off a lot of our Alchemists.” Taking a gulp to quell her mind.

“I need that six more times.”

Aria spit part of her drink, “What?!”

“And, if I miss even one of the treatments I am back to how I was initially.”

“Wow… why didn’t you just wait until…” Aria spoke a thought, “She got too excited?”

“Yeah….” Signing and gesturing helplessly.

“Looks like you're going to be scrambling for a while.”

“You don’t even know half of it.” Elric handed her the paper.

“What’s…?” Her eyes went wide, “You took an apprentice?! You?!”

Elric scowled, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Aria set down the paper and acted defensively, “Come on you know… you…”

“Whatever, can you get this done immediately? I have a lot of things to prepare.”

“Now hang on… this is a lot, and with everything going on between you and Minerva, plus this sudden apprentice...”

Elric took out his tag and placed it on the table, with the one pearl and a single fragment of a six-pointed white star. “Is my record worth nothing? Is everything going around too much for you to handle that you feel the need to squeeze us out of our own secrets and favors that you benefit from?”

Aria grew more as she frowned, “Okay. Dear Elieer, this mystery is getting out of hand…” She drummed her fingers as she thought, “Will he be a threat to the Guild?”

“No.”

“Does he have potential?”

Elric taking a few breaths of time, “I don’t know.”

“Do you trust this kid?”

“Yes.” Answered immediately.

Aria sighed, “Fine. Give me a moment.”

She left the room with the paper, coming back after a few minutes with a tag. A Cane rank tag, made of many compressed fibers formed a strong bond that required Iron strength to break.

Elric got up to receive it, but she stopped him from leaving for a moment. Going to her drawer, she pulled out a very small pouch and threw it to him.

He caught it, “What's this?”

“7 Gold, for the work and information,” Aria replied and went back to her wine.

“This is… generous…” He peeked to see the small gold coins.

“Thank me for getting better as quickly as you can.”

Elric chuckled and said as he left, “I’ll try.”

With everything Elric got Gideon and left the Guild.

***

“Yes, Miss Aria?” A receptionist came in after being called.

Aria took her time with the wine, “That man, Elric. Keep me informed of all uses of his name.”

The receptionist nodded knowingly, “Certainly. Is there anything else?”

“Have I received any updates from the Intelligence Leader?”

“I believe you have received a letter today.” They replied, Aria shaking her head.

“It seems that I am the only one that works here.” She finished her glass and got up to leave with the receptionist. “Let's go. I don’t have time for her antics anymore…”

***

Gideon marveled at his own tag.

“Will you stop that, you're making yourself stand out,” Elric said, making him scramble to put it away.

“Is there anything else we are going to do today?”

“We are going back to Minerva to have your Abilities Measured.”

“What’s that for?”

“To help you choose a future path.”

Gideon was even more excited as he made Elric rush back.

Appearing to be back to her brews, but now controlling eight cauldrons at once. “How did it go?”

“It went better than I thought, didn’t have any trouble getting Aria to do it herself.”

“That's good… did she ask anything else?”

“She is suspicious about this whole thing, and especially you.”

Minerva exaggerated a droop, “I figured. But it doesn't matter what it is, we should get back to the main thing.”

Gideon was quietly waiting, but she could see his real feelings through his eyes.

“So, are we testing everything?” Minerva asked.

“Why not?” Elric shrugged.

“Okay, give me a few minutes.”

Minerva and Elric the items, placing them on a small table - a palm-sized clear crystal, three different jars of leeches, and a locked box.

Gideon looked at it with complex emotions, “What is all this?”

Minerva, “Your tests. I’ve pilfered some from the Guild over the years.”

“But not a Music Box?” Elric chimed in.

“Does he even look like a Bard?” Minerva defended herself.

“Fair enough,” Elric took the crystal and tossed it to Gideon. “Just sit, and hold that until it starts to glow.”

Gideon held the stone… 5 minutes… 10 minutes… 20… 30… at the thirty-five-minute mark did the light shine.

Minerva and Elric were watching patiently before the shine, as they sat there surprised.

“Wow…” Elric made Gideon beam with joy, “That is the worst time span I’ve ever heard of.”

Gideon dropped the crystal, his mood deflated as Minerva scurried to pick it up while glaring at Elric.

“Then… can I not be whatever this was for?” Elric was silent.

Minerva fished out the box, “...Let's just move on.”

Elric got up and backed away to the other side of the room.

Minerva, “Open the box and hold the rock in your hand so we can all see it.” Rushing to the other side with Elric.

Gideon opened to see a rock that was made of different fine shapes pressed together. He took it in his hand and held it high so they could see - mostly disappointed, with a hint of relief. They came back as Minerva took the rock away and placed it back in the box.

“What was that for?” Gideon asked, his question going unanswered as they got the jars of leeches.

Minerva, “Alright. We are going to take three leeches and place them on your arms. It might feel strange but they won’t do any harm.”

Each leech was a tiny bit different, one had little spikes, another was very smooth, and the last was fuzzy. Though the common sight between them there grooves that divided each leech into ten segments.

As they dug in, Elric and Minerva waited patiently - Elric much keener. Soon they began to each amplify their own features, spikes grew along seven segments, a slimy excretion came from the smooth along two segments, and the fuzzy ones' hair flattened along six segments.

Elric was bewildered by the result, Minerva had a similar expression.

Elric took the three off, “I think these are sick.”

They tried again, but the same result. Elric didn’t know what to say in silence.

Minerva cleaned up the table, Elric was just staring there until Minerva snapped him out of it.

“Can you tell me what happened now?” Gideon said, striking back as he prepared for the bad news.

Minerva took the lead, “I am afraid it would be extremely difficult for you to pursue anything with Aether.”

“...but I used a Mystical item before.” Gideon tried to reason.

She shook her head, “There are many types of Mystical items, the crossbow is one that forces Aether out of the body to empower itself. Anyone could use it, but if someone that is untrained, or too weak were to - would face backlash.”

“So… does that mean I can’t use a weapon like that again?”

“There will be backlash, and it might kill you. Though I believe it would take a bit more stress to trigger death.”

“Is there anything else then?”

“I think I should first explain. The first test is to check Aetheric capabilities, depending on how well someone handles it they can go the route of a Mage, Weaver, or Bard- Now just because you do well doesn’t mean that you choose the Class, you would be tested more after this.”

“But, Elric said that it was the worst he had ever seen?”

Minerva regretfully nodded, “It is the same for me. I haven’t seen anyone have such poor conduction. The longest time I saw a Mage take was 5 minutes, a Weaver 23, and Bard 12.”

Gideon was stricken by the news.

“We were hoping that the second test could show you the potential to be a Sorcerer. They break all the rules when it comes to what Mages and Weavers have theorized when making their spells and arts. But when you took the stone, and nothing happened… well that door would be impossible to open.”

“Does that mean I can never use Aether in my entire life?” Gideon sulked.

Minerva scooted her chair over to console him, “Don’t worry too much Gideon. Aether isn’t all-powerful nor is it the only thing we look for.”

“Huh?”

“This is where the strange part comes in. With every living creature, there is Life Force and from this energy spawns the power of your life - Enir, En as most call it.”

His mood picked up, “So does that mean I can use this… En?!”

Minerva calmed him down, “The last test was to see what properties your Life Force produces, not your capacity.”

Elric chimed in, “En is fairer than Aether for talent. How hard you work results in how your properties bloom… but I need to say, Gideon for you it will be hard- very hard starting now. So, in all seriousness now do you still want to be an Adventurer?”

Without a second Gideon nodded, making Elric frown.

“Let me say this clearly, it is not too late. I or Minerva could get you a common job working at the Guild and you could live out your life with relative ease.” Gideon frowned at the suggestion. “Or you could train, train as hard as you can to develop En. It will be difficult to compare yourself to your peers with Aether. Grueling and unforgivable in most ways and the benefits are few compared to Aether as well.” Elric raised his hand as a thick pulse of light blue Aura encapsulated his hand. “Do you still want to follow this path?”

Gideon jumped out of his chair and yelled, “I want to be an Adventurer!”

“Alright, but not today.” Elric gestured to sit down, as Gideon felt his excitement betrayed. Minerva covered up a laugh.

They finished their gathering for the day, Elric and Gideon went back to their inn as Minerva continued her work until she would be tired.

***

In the room, they finished washing - Elric had a few pieces of paper lying spread on the floor.

Elric put the chests closer to the center of the room for them to sit. Calling for him to sit across as he got a few small lanterns to light up the place.

“I thought we weren’t doing anything till tomorrow?” Gideon asked.

“We are not, for En but I think it would be a good idea to settle the course on the basics of Aether and some Classes.”

“Why? If I can’t use Aether, what is the point?” Gideon pouted slightly.

“The point would be most everything else. So long as you are an Adventurer, you will come into conflicts with others and they will more than likely be using Aether.” Elric pulled out some ink and a quill to reference the information. “We’ll begin with the Eight Elements.”

Within Aether it is broken down into eight Elements; Fire, Water, Earth, Air - the Material Elements - Light, Dark - the Twin Elements - Arcana, and Nul - the Abstract Elements. The Material Elements weighed more against each other, Fire to Air, Air to Earth, Earth to Water, and Water to Fire. The Twin Elements were rare for an individual to pursue and little is known about how to harness their alignments as such records are conflicting. There are few records of Arcana and little to none of Nul to Elric’s understanding.

Gideon, “Then how do you know about them?”

Elric flared a purple sheen around his arm, “...because I am a practitioner of Arcana, and have spent a great deal of time reading through the library at the Guild.”

Gideon’s eye’s glistened in wonder, expecting an explanation.

Sighing, “To best answer that, we need to talk about Affinities.”

An Aetheric Affinity; means to be highly tuned to the ways of their Element, Material Elements being the most common, while the Twin Elements were especially scarce. There were no Abstract Affinities, as to why? Elric didn’t know for sure - knowledge was scarce at best, having only the insight into the first few steps of attaining Arcana and that Nul only presented itself in the most catastrophic uses of Aether.

Gideon, “Then how did you know about it? Do other people know about the Elements?”

Elric shook his head, “If you were to talk to the average Adventurer then they could list six, maybe seven.”

The lack of an answer didn’t go unnoticed but let go, “How come?”

“Technically the Abstract Elements aren’t really elements, and Mages set the groundwork for knowledge like this. This makes what I am about to say skeptical and controversial… from what I know the only instances of Nul existing is when a Mage screws up really bad.”

Gideon grimaced slightly, “How- bad is bad?”

Elric shrugged, “Extremely, enough that even I don’t have access to that type of knowledge. I have only come about it in sparse history references and an old book of Arcana. Though I think of it as ridiculous how any information about Arcana is kept to the same standard of sensitivity for prestige as the other elements.”

“I don’t get it.”

Gideon bobbed his head, “With Aether, the insights and records of others can do wonders along your path. Though some of them have a powerful history, not everyone can use them if they could but still- the more impactful and dangerous they are to their practitioners the fewer eyes see them.”

“But isn’t Arcana very- uh… vague or something, it just sounds like you wouldn’t have went with it if you weren’t forced.”

Rolling his eyes, “Yeah… the thing with it is but one key component of it- stability.”

“Stability?”

Nodding, “Sometimes people have a drastic increase in their power, making them unable to control the output. But adding Arcana in very specific ways can bring balance to their system so they can adjust - they don’t come anywhere where I’ve taken it but still. It's made to be a stop-gap measure for many dangerous Arts.”

“But I mean- you're pretty strong with it right.”

Elric scoffed for a moment, “If we were to rank my power I would be a whole grade below my assigned rank at the Guild. Arcana is slow to build and attune to since I’ve been just barely surviving up to this point. I haven’t done much exploring with the power.”

The mood was somber as Gideon, saw Elric in a conflict of bliss and sadness as he took a moment to think for himself.

“Let’s get back on track… with, why don’t kids practice Aether.”

When mortal races grow into adulthood, their Aetheric Channels are also near set. It is one of the main reasons that practicing Aether before maturity is frowned upon, as it could lead to the hampering of the child’s future growth for meager benefits.

Gideon, “And if they do?”

“Depends, most are crippled to not be able to use Aether unless they find some Alchemist and Mage who is able to bring them back. Though the other times they just end up dead, very few can gain any benefit out of it.” Making Gideon grimace again, “But onto Aether Classes.”

Once a person discovers their ability through the test Gideon had done, further examinations are conducted that would allow a person to see their suited paths. Mages would get a strange rune, Bards get a music box to listen to, and Sorcerers are all different when that stone is in their hands - literally, anything could happen as a result. Last Weavers, well - they have no more tests, they are the most common Class, as they are warriors, but just as well, being unable to naturally arise to a Class of Mage, Bard, or Sorcerer.

Gideon asked why this was, but Elric didn’t have any answers that he was confident on. He was further confused as to why he didn’t hear anything about Druids.

Elric, “Don’t know about that either. Minerva has a pretty tight lip on that subject, but what I can say is that Druids have been known to find another in the making. And once they do, they would be offered to come and join a Druid Circle until the day they are ready to do their first commune.”

Gideon’s head drooped a little, “I still don’t know what half of the things you mentioned were.”

Elric laughed slightly, “Oh, you have so much. Just know that Druids can talk to the forest - plants, beasts, even some ‘others’ whatever Minerva said about that I don’t know. But what is the key take away here.”

Gears turned rapidly in his head at the sudden question, “Uh- they are strong in the forest.”

Elric nodded and added, “Exactly, don’t piss off a Druid in the deep forest.”

The night had few words left before they cleaned and left for bed.

Gideon learned a lot, excited by the new information and furthermore in the upcoming days of training.

Though this all made him have a hard time falling asleep, The quicker I fall asleep the sooner I can begin to become a strong Adventurer!