The formal request was quite simple in practice. Dariea had explained the threat from the Shimmer and from Qursa in great detail while Jano sat to the side and nodded periodically. Commander Guinen listened intently. They had received limited updates on the situation and of course they were aware of the threat posed by Qursa. Jano was surprised at how readily it was discussed. He had no clue when he had lived within the city how they were perceived. But the border raids had been steadily growing more frequent and apparently Molinia had been discussing these for quite some time. It was quite right in Jano’s view that the army of the most powerful settlement should be kept up to date, but it seemed that such an opinion was more controversial than he would have thought. They had been receiving scraps of information. Even still, they had been expecting a summons but proper tradition needed to be followed. Jano thought it ridiculous. The strongest of the Chaos-Shapers could literally bend space to their will and travel huge distances in a heartbeat. If they were truly under threat, he was sure they could speed things up a bit. Though perhaps that was why such safeguards were in place, he thought.

Commander Guinen was polite in his greetings and arranged lodgings for them all. Jano was given a small room in the barracks for himself, right next to one for Gryff. Robin and Dariea were given more appropriate quarters in the mansion instead. Gryff had been offered rooms befitting his station; but he was thoroughly uncooperative and eventually he spat out a preference to be near Jano in the barracks. Jano had thought the request bizarre, given his attitude throughout the trip. Still he remained quiet and hoped it was the beginning of a thawing of relations once more. Jano had noticed that as soon as the request was formally delivered by Dariea, the place exploded into action. Soldiers were buzzing around, orders were smartly being barked down the chain of command and supplies were already gathered. It was almost as though the soldiers were glad of having something to do and their activity was a result of a long awaited need being filled. It became quite clear that Dariea was to play an active role in the diplomatic mission and Jano only ever caught small glimpses of her as she rushed to and from various places.

In contrast, Jano had no defined tasks and was left to his own devices. He had found the training yard quite quickly, where he practiced his forms and his techniques. He could conjure his Stone Spears reliably now, even while moving and his shield covered most of his body, though it was nothing more than a rough slab of stone. His Chaos Daggers were less impressive, but he was finding it slightly easier to draw on chaos outside of the settlement than he had been. The soldiers were no longer using the training yard since they received their orders, so he was practically alone.

Or so he thought. “So is it true then. Without the Emperor’s power, the Qursan people are as weak as a newborn?”

Robin walked out of the little building which was annexed to the training yard. She still seemed to be in awe of the place. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Obviously you’re stronger now. I only wanted to clarify the rumours, ever since you and Dariea returned from the Empire the rumour mill has been positively buzzing. The rumours about her are well founded, but you. You are something of a mystery..”

Jano laughed, he was getting quite used to these sorts of comments now. At least Robin had the courtesy to say he was getting stronger. “Yeah, I’m afraid so. Makes you wonder what all the fuss is all about doesn’t it?”

Robin grew serious. “I overheard my mother say that an Empire who is solely directed by one man and whose power is channeled for one purpose can be exceptionally dangerous. I think that is why we always took the threat seriously. The Shimmer are just another little obstacle to deal with. A private army of ghouls who don’t need to eat or sleep is a mighty resource. We believe that is the tip of his mastery of death essence however, and the creature he summoned to attack our lands may unfortunately prove us right.”

Jano had never thought of it like that. He had just seen the injustice in all of it from the inside. He hadn’t considered that the population might be used in that way. “I suppose you’re right.” He said lazily, his mind distracted. He liked her, but he wanted to get back to training.

“So anyway, you’ve managed to master quite a bit so far. Judging by what I’ve seen of your training” She bounced with enthusiasm again.

He nodded his head in slight embarrassment. “I am grateful for Dariea’s instruction and that of the Chaos-Shapers, but yes it is basically just the simple stuff so far.”

“That’s fine! Basic offensive and defensive stuff is fine, but you need to lean into your specialism. Look.” She conjured a basic sword and shield at the same time. Hers were made of wind and it howled as she forced it into shape. It looked much more difficult to make the air around them solid than for him to just shape the existing stone essence. Though she didn’t seem tired, it just seemed to resist her efforts more. A little like chaos pushing back against his attempts to channel it.

“Now watch.” The sword turned into a whirling whip which was propelled by the force of a howling wind and her shield became a typhoon which danced around her, protecting her from threats. She looked totally transformed and much more dangerous. She stayed like that for a few moments before relaxing and letting herself return to normal.

“Those are the specific variations of working with shadow air essence. Our people have developed specific runes which alter those forms to our needs, and learned to lean into our specialism to develop as have the other kingdoms of Molinia. We have also spent so much time focused on our techniques that they are embedded into our spirit. They become a part of us.” She let the technique rattle against a training post with no particular vicious intent, but it cleaved a hole into it. “You’re probably going to find it a little harder unless you’re able to find a master of your essence to learn from.”

Nobody had really explained this to Jano so far, but that explained how the different kingdoms of Molinia looked so different in their attacks. He doubted he would have understood well enough even if they had. Jano had thought they must all be different combinations of runes, which no doubt they were for the more complicated forms, but if the connection to the essence itself changes the end product that made more sense.

“Really try and hone in on the stone essence as you’re working through the runes and forcing it through your spirit.” She suggested. “This is why most people only focus on one or two types of essence. If all that mattered was channeling the essence and knowing the runes, it would be easy. The more time you spend with essence and the runes themselves, the more secrets you can unlock. You don’t need a master or specific manual for your path; but it does make it easier. Not to mention quicker. Try it with your shield, that’s what I learned first.”

He had been wondering why his forms looked so basic, he had just assumed that it came with experience. Though, he supposed it did in a way, if what she was saying was correct. He made a note to ask Dariea at the next opportunity and then he closed his eyes and drew up his shield. He focussed on the essence flowing in his spirit and stayed with it. Up until this point, he shifted his focus to the shield itself, as though to keep it there. Nothing happened at first and he felt himself growing disheartened. Perhaps he was just too weak.

He stayed with the stone essence. He felt his connection with the rock which surrounded him grow stronger. It bolstered his spirit a little. His shield began to shift and crack. He felt a pressure growing around his arms and he opened his eyes in a panic.

“Good. Good. Stay with it.” Robin shouted.

He saw the stone shaping around his lower arms and hands and curling around his calves like fitted leather. He felt the similarities to the greaves of the Guard in Qursa but instead of plate and hammered from iron they were made of stone. It hovered around his limbs, the weight of the stone being borne by his focus. Plain stone crept up his arms but stopped at the elbows. It would go no further.

“Is that it?” He said, looking at Robin. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I think the basic shield was maybe better. At least it covered most of your body.”

Robin was silent and Jano was worried she had taken offence. Then her trademark smile spread across her face. “Well, did you expect to get it on your first try? Nothing is that simple. Spend more time focussing on your essence while conjuring your shield. It will come.”

She stirred and her shield and whip were conjured once more. “Now let’s have some sparring practice.” She began to walk away toward the empty space presumably meant for sparring. The cuts in the wooden fence surrounding the area suggested as much.

“But it’s so awkward.” He moaned. The new shield wasn’t heavy as such, despite the fact it should have weighed him down. He was still commanding it to obey him and so, it felt as light as regular armour he had trained in. However, he wasn’t used to the way it moved. And it only covered his lower legs and forearms. If anything, he was concerned he would be easily picked off by Robin. He almost fell over as he tried to follow her.

Robin didn’t seem to care as she summoned her own shield around her once more. It buffeted and howled. Then so transpired some of the longest moments of his life so far. He lurched after her this way and that, always missing or being tossed aside by her savage air attacks. Dark green projectiles and weapons flying toward him. After he finally managed to gather the courage to attack her without abandon; his Stone Spears were being swept harmlessly away by her whirlwind. Those that weren’t were snapped into pieces by her whip at any rate. She was quicker than him. At one point, he considered asking her if he was able to use his scythes.

Her attacks were tough to evade, but he had to focus on that. He could feel that his shield was better in principle if not quite in operation, if only it covered a little more of his body. He was sure it would be better eventually, but it was sufficient for sparring. Robin would have been just as able to destroy his previous shield, so it made little difference.

Jano was sweating. His spirit was straining under the barrage of attacks from Robin and the need to evade constantly. He knew that it was good for him. He couldn’t just keep practicing by himself and Robin was royalty, she would have had the best instruction. He felt the whip of wind crack across his arm; he was entirely sure that she was aiming for the only parts of him which were actually protected out of courtesy. He skidded backwards as he tried to evade another attack.

Robin never stopped grinning the entire time. He gathered whatever strength was left in his spirit and summoned as many spears as he could manage. Four surrounded him in an arc. He focussed his will onto her weapon, if he could take that down then perhaps he could deal with the whirlwind. The spears flew towards the whip and then at the last moment, he directed two of them to her shield. He underestimated the willpower needed to do such a thing and they almost missed. They didn’t hit her shield and whip dead on, but they made contact. He unleashed some Chaos Daggers, using what little strength he had left. He felt his amulet whirring, it was clearly activating after using too much of his spirit.

They pinned the snarling solid maelstrom down to the ground. He watched for a moment. A small gap. A small crack appeared in her whirlwind shield as it tried to deal with his attack. He drew on his heavy spirit and instinctively knew he had nothing left after this roll of the dice. He focussed another final two spears on the gap. For a second, he was scared he was going to skewer her. He tried to draw the spears back, but his spirit was exhausted. Robin’s smile disappeared, a firm look of concentration replaced it. She grunted but then simply stepped out of the way.

He had forgotten that despite the fact he had ran all over the training yard to escape her attacks. She had barely moved. She hadn’t needed to. He lay flat on his back, panting. He held his hands up in the air and waved them in surrender. After a short while, he felt Robin sit down next to him.

“That was really impressive. Those spears of yours could do some serious damage once you get full control over them. That many attacks at once is incredible.” She laughed.

“I think I need to work on my shield however. Though my arms and shins are protected enough.” He examined his forearms and looked down at his calves. “I think an enemy such as a Topoclaw or a Shimmer might even figure out a way around it.” Robin burst into hysterical laughter. Snot burst from her nose and tears streamed down her face. He thought for a second that she would never stop laughing.

She wiped the tears away. “Definitely. But that will come with time and practice. Try meditating more and creating a better connection with the essence as you channel it. Embed those runes into your spirit. It works for me. But do it quickly, I don’t want Dariea on my back for ruining you after one training session.”

He was glad that someone was still happy to explain things to him. He worried that his progress would slow out in the field. She grabbed Jano’s arm and pulled him to his feet. She was immaculate, barely a hair out of place despite the sparring. Jano didn’t have to examine himself to know that the same couldn’t be said for him.

“That’s enough training. Let’s go and explore.” She turned and headed for the door. A large part of Jano wanted to stay and practice; he felt like Robin had just unlocked a piece of the puzzle. “Come on.” She said, her words suggested that it wasn’t up for debate. Her expression confirmed that fact. Jano took a deep breath and sighed. The smell of freshly baked bread in the distance drifted into his nostrils. He began to wonder if it was the dish he had glimpsed being prepared on his way into Goshnia. He realised he was exceptionally hungry. She held the door open and waited expectantly. Begrudgingly, he followed.