Sarah looked at Alex and Jessica as they walked away from the bears.

She was conflicted about a few things, she didn't mind killing something to defend herself.

She didn't mind killing something for the need of resources, such as food and hides.

Heck she didn't even mind killing if it meant ridding a pest or parasite.

Those animals reminded her of home: a family, kids.

'Doesn't matter. They had something we need. Essence.' Sarah convinced herself, it had been the logical decision.

Her tattoo's were also blinking, she had just wanted an excuse to get away from that.

Besides they still had to find a place to rest for three hours and as soon as she spotted another suitable tree she would.

She just hoped they would kill something else, to evade the other two from asking uncomfortable questions.

Honestly she hated herself right now, she generally disliked dishonesty and here she was undermining the teams progress with one.

The Adara-lie situation was different, that had felt extremely personal and really awkward to talk about, plus there was no real harm in keeping it that way.

She made her decision.

"Alex, Jess." Sarah felt strangely vulnerable, she never liked admitting she was wrong.

"Yeah?" Alex.

"What? Do you see something?!" Jessica frantically scanned the area.

"No. I .... lied, my tattoo's are blinking." Sarah.

"What?!" Alex looked confused.

Jess remained silent, put her hands on her waist and tapped her foot expectantly.

"I ....wasn't feeling well after that fight. S...sorry." Sarah determined it was borderline truth.

"It's fine, Jess. We both noticed she was out of sorts, she's probably stressed." Alex smiled, Sarah felt relieved, he was a pretty good guy overall.

".......She just l-i-e-d to us." Jessica pouted adorably, Sarah could understand how men fell for that.

"Jess. Please. We are a team." Alex smiled at her.

"She could be lying about other things too! What if she shocked me on purpose?!" Jessica.

"That was a total accident! I'm not lying about anything else!" Sarah felt a little insulted, it's not like Jessica was perfect either.

Sarah breathed and calmed herself, Jess had a right to be angry over that.

Adara had warned her lightening was imprecise.

"Jess, it had to be an accident. We can't use our powers till after the tattoo stops glowing. She couldn't know it would do that." Alex smiled that winning smile.

"Fine! I just hope she doesn't make a habit out of it." Jessica pouted.

"I won't. I promise and I'm sorry I hit you with that too." Sarah had her poker face.

"Roger, let's leave it at that please Jess." Alex implored.

"Can we find somewhere safe? I want to find Eian." Sarah wanted this over with.

"Roger. Let's find a tree for you to start. Eian's the priority." Alex changed the subject, Jessica remained pouting.

They looked around and found a suitable tree.

They climbed it to a reasonable safety and Sarah got comfortable.

She looked at her tattoo: Body:1, Mind:5, Spirit: 7.

She selected spirit.

*****

They were back in Adara's treasure cave.

Sarah closed her eyes by instinct.

"Hello little Sarah. How are you?" Adara's voice was honey.

"Hello Miss Adara. I'm doing well. I'm ready for the lessons in deeper magics." Sarah smiled.

She really was looking forward to that, though she wanted to keep a calm facade going.

"Wonnnderful, I get to spend plenty of quality time with you. Follow me." Adara's voice purred.

Sarah immediately felt different types of excitement build up inside her.

Her thirst for knowledge won over though, this was the time to learn secrets regular people couldn't possibly learn.

Who knows what secrets magic hold?

The key to immortality, the cure to cancer, the key to solving major-crimes and definitely marvelous inventions that could benefit everyone.

Eian definitely came first though, he was the most immediate person she could help for now.

Adara led her to a secluded doorway that led to a medium room with pale-brown brick walls.

Once through there were several books lying about on tables, a few shelves and even a couple chairs.

There were no torches, but several orbs glowed white with enough light to visibly see everywhere.

Adara waved her hands, multiple books floated about and organized themselves in the shelves.

It left a single thick red book on a table with two chairs cleared.

The book itself was large and weighted perhaps up to ten pounds in her opinion.

It had the picture of six golden-stars on the cover, five surrounded one.

"Sit. This book is the basics of invocation. The language is of course foreign to you, but worry not we only need the images and I shall explain." Adara.

"Couldn't you simply translate it for me?" Sarah.

"I could, but this is how I remember it. My mind translating it for your mind could also lead to some confusion due to our understanding of certain words and concepts." Adara.

"Wait....So you're saying that.....you might think a word means something. And that I might misunderstand, because I think it means something else?" Sarah tried to understand the logic.

"Yes. For example let us say I believe the word 'embrace' means 'passionate sex'. You might simply think it means a family hug." Adara purred.

".......Oh" Sarah felt blood rush to her face, being around Adara was definitely exciting, but she was so direct.

'That was a little too specific.' Sarah looked at the book to distract herself.

"See little Sarah? Many languages have many different words that may possess a variety of meanings in other languages. That could lead to problems in direct-mental-translations." Adara explained.

"Wouldn't that be a constant problem then?" Sarah wondered.

"Yes. I will have to constantly be checking if we are on the same page and complex ideas will need minor debates." Adara.

"Oh." Sarah went quiet that seemed like a lot more effort on both their parts.

"For other magics we may not need this, but you can't make a mistake in Invocation. You could offend one of these beings with a wrong word or through misunderstanding their customs." Adara.

"I understand, I'm ready." Sarah breathed in, no pressure.

"Very well. Let's begin with what your friend needs. I suspect demons are not to your liking?" Adara.

"I...Are there better options? In my world demons are a representation of evil. They do much harm to people in our legends." Sarah.

"Yes. There are other options. I understand, demons have of certain sins, which makes them slightly unstable. That does not directly relate to evil, but many see it so." Adara.

"Sins?" Sarah was intrigued, not many people spoke about demons.

"Yes. Demons are born with either a sin or sins. It's an intrinsic part of them. There are seven major sins from which all others result. The demons powers are tied to their sins. Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Wrath, Envy and Sloth." Adara lectured.

"I've heard of those. What do those do?" Sarah knew those were the cardinal sins and the many religions focused on them.

"Many different powers manifest depending on race, gender and even alignment of the demon. Before we continue do you want to learn about invocating demons? If not then learning about them now, may be a waste of precious time." Adara.

"I...I'm not sure." Sarah looked at the book.

"Let us move on then. It is best to find something else for now. Hmmmm... Djinn's are a little tricky." Adara.

"Is that a genie?" Sarah.

"NEVER call them that. There is no faster way to offend any djinn." Adara warned.

"OH!" Sarah blinked.

"I'm sorry, little Sarah. I cannot stress enough how dangerous that is. The term genie is much worse than calling a human a slave. It is a by-product of magicians whom trapped young djinn's into objects for millennia, these magicians are currently suffering a fate worse than death. Djinn's are very touchy on the subject." Adara.

"Oh I understand. Thank-you. What happened to the magicians and the trapped djinn's?" Sarah.

"The magicians are currently serving a punishment the council of djinn's brokered with several sadistic demon-lords. The Djinn's pay premium to acquire their eternal damnation." Adara warned.

"If they have demons serving them, how much better are they than demons?" Sarah felt queasy at the thought.

"Worry not. Djinn's are tricky, but they rarely do irreversable harm, usually they just make you owe them more favors for a service than is fair. The punishment they meted out to those magicians are the exception rather than the norm." Adara.

"What do you mean by favors?" Sarah didn't want to have to do irrevocable harm.

"Relax, their favor has certain monetary loop-holes, as well as a few other options. Take example if a djinn asks a small favor to say buy a set of ceremonial iron armor worth two gold standard. You may buy out of the favor by giving them four gold standard." Adara.

"Standard?" Sarah was losing track of the conversation.

"Standard are the universal standard for minting precious minerals, including precious stones. Certain currencies are worth more and others less. Djinn's and many multi-universal travelers operate with this standard for accurate transactions." Adara.

"How do you standardize precious stones?" Sarah was confused over that.

"By making them a certain size and quality. There are many magical processes to extract the high quality stone-dust and then reforging them into coins. Jade is also used in certain worlds, but emeralds, sapphires, rubies, diamonds are them most well known. The dwarves specialize in this and are considered the finest minters in the multi-universe." Adara.

"Multi-universe?" Sarah kept getting more and more questions each time Adara spoke.

"We are getting off track, but yes there are more than one universe little Sarah. Your world is but a tiny speck within another slightly larger speck called a universe." Adara smiled.

"How many universes are there? How many different races?" Sarah.

"More than the stars in the skies. Let us get back on track. I have much to teach yet. Are you comfortable learning of invocating Djinn's? " Adara.

"I am, but before you mentioned priests invocate their gods?" Sarah had been thinking what better than a god to get them out of that place.

"Little spark, gods are powerful beings and come in many colorful shades. I would not recommend tying yourself to one. At least not without learning about their creeds, tenets and dogmas. It is usually a life-time of service and few look well upon a deserter." Adara.

"Aren't they the most capable of getting me out of where I am?" Sarah.

"I cannot answer that question little Sarah." Adara was upset.

"Why?" Sarah appreciated that at least she didn't out-right lie.

"I have already told you. It will only hinder your growth." Adara placed both hands on the table and leaned up on them.

"Growth?" Sarah hadn't heard Adara say that word before and it made her head feel fuzzy.

"Enough! Please! You are intelligent, any more and I could inadvertently lead to your death." Adara trembled and her fingers clawed at the table.

"What?" Sarah eyes widened.

They remained silent for a while.

"I am sorry little Sarah, but please believe me." Adara drooped and looked defeated.

".......I... Can we learn about djinn's?" Sarah hid her emotions.

"......Yes." Adara closed her eyes and took a deep breathe.

Adara waved her hand and a green book flew to them from a distance.

This book was smaller than the first and depicted an amulet with a diamond at the center.

"Let us begin with Djinn customs. Djinn's are gender-less spiritual creatures. They may take on almost any shape within the scope of their total size. They may become solid or appear translucent. They typically identify with one gender more, due to their personality, but it is not set uncommon for there to be exceptions. When performing a greeting it is polite to refer to them as the shape they assume, to help with identification Djinn typically manifest facial hair as male and none as a female, along with a slender female-form of course. Always refer them to as how they appear even if they appeared differently to you than before." Adara.

"What if I can't tell?" Sarah knew there were some instances where women favored men and the other way around.

"Patience little Sarah, I was getting there. The polite greeting in such a case, is to ask for forgiveness and then ask how to refer to them as. Also djinn's do not like their personal space invaded, they must give you permission to approach them beyond where they stand to you, permission is required each time or if they specify you have eternal permission. In invocation you will only be meeting in your mind, but still the same applies." Adara.

"How will I pay them for services rendered if I can't even find them? Or even approach?" Sarah.

"I will get to that later in more detail. They will usually facilitate the method for physical payment, they usually do not request immediate payment either. Sometimes they even wait years to collect. They are immortal and thus human standard-time perception do not apply to them." Adara.

Sarah took that in.

"Now it is essential to remain calm in front of a djinn, treat them as equal-respectful-business-partners and they will do the same. If you lose your temper they are liable to leave and ignore you, or even increase the cost of payments, both current and future. If you become desperate they could see a chance to demand more than is fair, this usually happens if you are not a long-time customer however. With time and many fulfilled-dealings on your part, you may befriend one, though they are very wary of humans. Due of course to the magicians I mentioned earlier. Questions so far?" Adara.

"So....I greet them, remain respectful and don't look desperate? How do I ask for a favor?" Sarah.

"Correct, but before a favor is asked, you must introduce yourself and establish a partnership. Until a partnership is reached they will not begin a transaction." Adara.

Sarah listened intently.

"Ask what type of favors they ask, multiple examples at least three of each services, ask for their specialities usually they have three at most five, their favor prices and preferred payments, before any partnership. A partnership is reached after you agree to their prices, these may be renegotiated after a year and a day had passed of the previous agreement. Note, please if you reach a partnership with any djinn it is an irrevocable offense to partner with a second djinn, both will be insulted once they discover your offense. Usually you would only consider that if the first djinn cannot provide the service you require or if you find their prices unfavorable, they are a close people and searching the market for a better deal is considered offensive to all of them. The best alternative is to ask the djinn to broker a one-time-deal on your behalf with a more powerful family member. More powerful djinn do not establish partnerships, they simply help their younger family members in their trades, like a djinn to a djinn." Adara.

Sarah paid vivid attention, djinn's were fascinating.

"I will remind you again. DO NOT engage in a partnership with more than one djinn at a time. You may break off a partnership of course, but you should only do that if the djinn in question majorly offends you through a bad deal. Minor offenses are to be forgotten as deals are their bread and butter. To break a partnership tell the djinn directly you will forgive the offense and grant them a small farewell favor, but cannot in good-heart establish further deals with him or her. Other djinns will be indisposed to you if you do this often of course, as it makes you look as a miser." Adara.

"Why? Why offer them a farewell favor anyways?" Sarah was finding all of this a little complicated and she hadn't even begun to contract a djinn, it sounded amazing though.

"It is a polite way to not establish bitterness from the djinn. Remember they have family and that may spill over to them if they so want." Adara.

"Oh." Sarah hadn't even thought of that.

"Yes. Now you are searching for someone. I suggest to specifically state to the djinn that you require finding people to be a speciality, if it is not one of theirs they usually guide you a family member whom does." Adara.

"That was another thing what are specialities? I think I understand, but I'm not too sure." Sarah thought it was what the djinns were best at doing.

"A speciality is what a djinn offers at a more favorable bargin. They enjoy doing those types of deals and so clearly lower their prices for them. I recommend you find a djinn that specializes on what you most want." Adara.

"Like escaping an unknown planet?" Sarah asked.

"You could ask, but I doubt any will agree to something like that for a fee you can afford right now. Most of the time they can tell what you are capable of affording. There are cheaper deeper magics for that, but they require some more study." Adara.

"Oh." Sarah thought Adara sometimes liked crushing hope.

"Little spark, focus on getting stronger. I guarantee there is a way to go home safe and sound. It is also not more than a year away." Adara.

"Really?" Sarah felt hope blossom, it was one thing to know you could escape a planet, another to know it was less than a year away.

"Yes I promise." Adara smiled at her joy.

"Could you tell me?" Sarah.

"Once you have reached the end of your path. You require more power for inter-planetary travel." Adara.

"How long away is that?" Sarah.

"Depends on how much you hurry. No more than a year, as I said." Adara.

"Wait did you bring me here?" Sarah was suspicious all of a sudden.

"No. That was not my doing." Adara looked at her smiling sadly.

"Actually how comes I even met you and not someone else? Why do I even meet someone like this?" Sarah.

"You met me because I volunteered to teach young fire-mages. We are connected through the domain of fire." Adara.

"So it had nothing to do with the circumstances in which I find myself?" Sarah.

"That is a difficult question. Hmmmm.....We only met because your spirit took on the properties of fire. So in a sense we only met because you are where you are, since otherwise you would not have increased in spiritual power." Adara.

"So you had no vote in bringing me where I am? You didn't in anyway force me to be here?" Sarah.

"No. I can assure you that I did nothing to take you from your home. I knew you would come here though." Adara.

"How!?" Sarah wanted answers.

"A vision an oracle gave me." Adara.

"So you've known we would meet?" Sarah felt vulnerable all of a sudden.

"Yes. Since long ago." Adara smiled.

"Do you know if I will ever go home?" Sarah prayed it was so.

"........You must make than happen on your own." Adara.

"Why?!" Sarah.

"I do not have the power to read fate, and telling you an absolute could spiral you down an unfavorable path or to your death." Adara.

"Unfavorable to whom?" Sarah asked.

Adara smiled and remained silent.

"How can you ask for so much trust and say so little?" Sarah was getting upset.

"Your life matters to me most. That is all I care for. Nothing more, nothing less. Hate me if you wish, I am prepared for it." Adara said simply.

Sarah looked at Adara for a while.

"Shall we continue? I have much yet to teach. As well as the ability to contact a djinn." Adara.

Sarah nodded.

"Very well. Now djinn's will not take offense if you decline a partnership, they don't know you and you don't know them. So you may keep searching till you find one that specializes in things you desire." Adara.

"How long could that take?" Sarah.

"For some it could take months, many search for the perfect Djinn contact with all the specialities and preferred payments they desire. I doubt you have that much time, for now ask them for tracking and perhaps a second speciality that benefits you. Preferably something either defensive or offensive value as you are in constant peril. Also find a djinn whose payments you can actually afford short term. Like large future fire energy transfers or standard-hours in a mercenary quest." Adara.

"Quests?" Sarah knew about those from fantasy.

"Mercenary quests are a way djinns supply armies to kings or someone with deep pockets. Having many contacts with power for many months is extremely valuable long-term to Djinns. Please note. These quests may require you to do unsavory things under service of the contractor. Follow through with the payment as best as you can. As long as you do not outwardly harm the contractors overall plan, you can wiggle out of the more brutal parts. Ask the Djinn on advice, they like to accommodate their mercenaries as it motivates them to ask for more favors." Adara.

"That sounds more like being a soldier. Also why ask for hours instead of days?" Sarah said.

"It is like being a soldier, except you've already been paid ahead of time. They ask for standard hours because many planets follow different hours in a day. They have to standardize everything to make universally accepted deals. Remember as you grow more powerful, your service is worth more so keep that in mind when you bargain." Adara warned.

"How much am I worth right now?" Sarah asked.

"I am afraid you are weak yet child. An elite soldier usually has a total of twenty five attributes overall. Being a fire-mage adds much to your combat potential, so you are perhaps worth about a mercenary with total attributes at 18. So for now you cannot claim elite service. Worry not that will change faster than you imagine." Adara.

"I suppose it is too much to expect me to be an elite after such a short time." Sarah sighed.

"Indeed, you have become stronger very quickly but the universes are expansive, wide and varied. Humans can naturally reach elite status within their racial potential so it's not a problem for you. Unlike for say a goblin. Those things are almost useless except as cannon fodder." Adara.

"That's a little mean." Sarah smiled.

"It is the truth. Fate is not kind, nor merciful, but it is fair. Work hard, with luck and determination you can even exceed the limit and become more than an elite." Adara leaned back on her chair.

"What comes after an elite?" Sarah.

Adara looked at her eyes.

Sarah felt those eyes held so many secrets and were key to success.

"At total attribute fifty you are considered a champion. At seventy-five you are considered an ascendant. Those are the mortal realms, after you pass a realm you need stronger monsters to give you the same amount of essence. It is why killing an ant will not benefit you. It is the same as I killing an insignificant goblin. We can discuss after if you ever make it that far." Adara.

Sarah gulped, she would soon be at: Body:1, Mind:5, Spirit: 8.

A grand total of four-teen, each bottle neck had made it much harder to become stronger.

The last had slowed her progress by a substantial degree and after fifteen she would encounter another which was supposedly even greater.

Then another at twenty and the final at twenty five.

How far would it take to reach seventy-five?

"How strong are you?" Sarah was intrigued.

"........I am considered a demi-god in terms of power." Adara.

"How far is that from ascendant?" Sarah.

"I think I will hold that back on that for now." Adara smiled playfully.

Sarah felt a little light-headed.

Sure she knew Adara was a dragon, but she expected a powerful artillary shell to be able to kill her.

At those heights, was it is possible for mortal weapons to harm you?

"I think we should continue now unto how many favors a djinn will grant before you must begin to pay. Then we will go into the long-list of danger to invocation, such as applying too many blessings or applying blessings that do not mesh well. Then process of contacting Djinns. It is a little tricky, you need to reach out through magic, which will take a spell-circle, which must be extremely precise to work and you sit in the middle. It will need to be supplied sufficient energy to work. As you are now that could take a few hours." Adara.