《Amanda De'Heron》


 Prologue - Where There is Will

    Wind howled all around, white snow whipped through the air dancing around the trees. The darkness of night was complete below a blanket of impenetrable clouds and snow so thick that light couldn¡¯t pass more than a few paces.


    In that cold darkness marched Leon, cloaked in his shade that held the heat around him like a shield. The snow buffeted him, but in doing so droplets of water fell away as the tiny flecks of ice met the warmth he held around himself. Though he barely noticed, his mind fixed on a singular goal ahead.


    One foot in front of the other he marched, the snow around him sucked heat from his shield. The heat leaching away to warm the snow he passed, and as it did the snow melted to water, flowing into previously dry soil. Carefully he gathered more heat into the bubble of warmth around him. What would have normally been second nature for him, he did with careful precision, for it wasn¡¯t himself he was worried for.


    Finally he sensed what he was looking for, still invisible in the darkness around him, the aura showed him the way. His goal lay there, a small cottage near one side of the small village nestled into the woods an hours walk from his own home.


    Leon pounded on the door with a fervor.


    The cottage door would have been secured by snow hours ago had it not simply melted at Leon¡¯s arrival. The path behind him showed where he had come from, ground covered in grass, everything else as far as the eye could see still lay below a blanket of snow feet deep.


    Leon glanced down into his arms, a tiny bloody child lay clutched in his arms, exposed now just as she had been born before he had come down from the mountain. In his panic he had rushed from his home without even considering a blanket, or anything more. But he was Leon De¡¯Heron, no mere Huma, he was a Magus, and even then not just any Magus. He was once the strongest Magus of his class, and he had only gotten stronger since leaving Vanshimer academy. It was simple to keep this babe warm, and nothing else would interfere with his mission.


    The door slowly creaked open, ¡°Who in their right mind is pounding on my door in the middle of a blizzard?¡± Demanded the woman who finally got a glimpse of Leon, his fine silk coat spattered and smeared with blood. ¡°Leon? What under Syl is going on?¡± she asked a note of panic in her voice. She looked at the child, and she gasped, ¡°What are you doing out there in the freezing cold with a babe?¡± She reached for the child, but half way there her hands reached the warm air that Leon held around them. She paused for the bareest of moments, her mind clearly shocked by the reality not matching her expectation.


    Leon had tried to keep the air the same as the babe in his arms, more carefully then he had done anything in his life, and it had been draining to be so delicate while trudging down the mountain. But he spoke, tired as he was from the days events he had come here with purpose. ¡°Anara¡­ I need your help.¡± He said, taking a step forward, the bubble of warm hair fully encompassing Anara¡¯s small frame.


    She visibly stiffened at the sudden warmth passing over her, but she had to ask, ¡°Leon¡­ What are you doing?¡± She looked into Leon¡¯s eyes. Eyes red from tears running down his cheeks. Anara slowly began again, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Leon held out the child carefully, ¡°She won¡¯t wake up¡­ She won¡¯t cry...¡± His words barely more than a whisper, as though if he spoke too strongly he would snuff out what life there was in the tiny body.


    The words took only a moment to settle into Anara, and then she was moving, she called out to her daughter, even to her son. Her daughter was already a young woman, and had passed the village¡¯s rite of passage, her son was the younger, still a few years away.


    Leon however half fell into a trance as Anara took the child away. He barely had the thought to step inside and close the door behind him. it wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t want to help, but his muscles ached, his mind was soggy, and from what he could sense in the child told him that it was too late to save it. That he had been too late, or more so, that he would always be too late. The gloom of the situation floated around him like a cloud of certain failure.


    The thought of the child dying would be the end, he glanced down at his hands, blood covered as they were. Pluan¡¯s blood. There wasn¡¯t anything left anymore. Her words echoed in his mind, the last whisper before the screams, ¡°Leon¡­ Save our child. No matter what, I know you¡¯ll be a good father.¡± The fleeting image of a forced smile, and a few tears dripped to the floor from his cheeks.


    Leon shook his head trying to bring himself to the present, and looked up to Anara trying to tend to the child, she yelled to her son, ¡°Water in the kettle, we need it hot enough for tea!¡±


    Leon took a breath, unwilling to simply watch, and stepped forward pushing the child who was floundering to help to the side gently. The kettle sat on the counter. He snatched it up, and shoved his way back out into the cold that he naturally blanketed himself from. He shoved handfuls of pristine snow into the kettle, when he moved the warmth from around him deftly into the snow inside the kettle, and in moments it melted. From there he gathered up more aura from around him, pushing it into the water, doing so put a chill into the air he had been keeping warm until now. Water always demanded more aura than you expected to heat, yet all the same overdoing it would simply produce steam, not boiling water.


    It was done in moments and he pushed his way back inside, setting the kettle down. ¡°It''s ready.¡± He noted simply to Anara. As he released the air around him letting the it free to rejoin the air in the cottage around them.


    She glanced at Leon with an unreadable expression before reaching for the kettle. Her hand moved to test the temperature. She was obviously surprised at the realization that it was so hot, but Anara knew her craft, and a few moments later she set about her work, pouring leafs, stems, and other items into the water.


    Leon let her work, he had little else to do, so he watched. While she did that her own daughter was carefully trying to clean the child, from the way she worked, it was obvious this was not the first time she had done this. She wiped the blood away and revealed the soft skin below. Once that was done she delicately used the wool to soak up blood that clung to the child''s short hair, dying it red. Using water to rinse the blood away, she continued, as she went the process revealed the silver strands that matched Leons.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Leon was terrified, too scared to even reach for the child, he should have done more. But for the first time in his life he was petrified, his life had been a long road of always putting one foot in front of the other, but now he faltered, unable to move. He was glad he had someone else to turn too in this moment, otherwise he would have crumbled apart already. For now he had to trust Anara, there was no one else he could turn to.


    He couldn¡¯t tell how long it had been before Anara poured the kettle water into a small cup, and she held out the steaming liquid. ¡°Leon? You can cool this, yes?¡± She asked carefully.


    Leon simply nodded, reaching out with his hand, then extending his shade he took the heat away, he released the warmth into the air removing a small bit of the chill around them.


    Anara only waited a moment, seeming to realize that he was done, and tested the water with a finger, then moved on, happy with the result.


    Leon watched on as Anara carefully, slowly, administered the liquid to the child. After that it became a blur, the boy warmed water in the cauldron over the fire that was already burning. They used the newly warmed water to clean the wool cloths, and Anara¡¯s daughter finished cleaning the babe.


    Leon let the moments flow around him as he sat there, a stone in a river. His life had been a series of obstacles to be knocked over, to be beaten or to be burnt to ash. Never once had he ever stopped to do the opposite. Besides dealing with battlefield trauma he had never seen a reason to study medicine at all. He could have done more, he should have done more. But now it was too late, a life doing nothing but destroying, surely this was Nol¡¯s curse upon him, for his lack of balance, not that he cared much for the church''s teaching. In a sense the teachings themselves revealed their own pointlessness, yet isn¡¯t that where the mind goes during these moments? To find answers to even the unanswerable questions in religion, faith, or to simply cast blame? It was all pointless, the thoughts solved nothing, and his inaction now solved nothing.


    Now cleaned but barely breathing, the child was so weak that she was struggling to suck in the vital air she required. Anara was trying to help the child breathe, carefully pushing air into the small thing, but it was clear that it was probably going to end soon. The child simply lacked the strength to live, and no one could give it that.


    The moments drew on, and as despair pressed in on all sides a strange thought occurred to Leon. A thought that by rights had no reason showing itself. Somehow years since he had left the academy, years since he had stared at books about Magus theory, a single string of thought snapped into place inside his head. Nothing else to do, he didn¡¯t even consider he just acted.


    He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the gemstone he had pulled from the shelf in his home. A momentary panicked action that had been the actions of a man losing the woman he loved, It now glowed in the aura with a strange mixture of colors not unlike a person¡¯s shade, and he had never seen another aura within a crystal like it before this day. ¡°Pluan... Are you still in there somehow?¡± he asked in a quiet whisper, as though he expected the crystal in his hands to give some faint indication back to him. There was of course, no response.


    He had never been good with investing his will in enchantments, his skills were good for one thing, winning battles. Investing will was a subtle art that was the furthest thing from his skill set. But staring into the gemstone urged him forward. The aura within had its own will still, he was certain of it. He stood up, and made his way over to the chair where Anara was holding the child, still trying to coax the babe to find the strength to live.


    Anara looked up at him, her expression tired, and worried. Somehow her eyes seemed to be looking to him for something, perhaps she too had realized how dire things were now, and was somehow hoping for him to have some trick up his sleeve.


    Leon carefully scooped what remained of Pluan¡¯s shade from the gemstone and into his own, by all rights she was nothing more than aura now. But if shade was nothing more than aura with will, then this was Pluans last will, and he knew exactly what Pluan¡¯s final will was, she had spoken it to him, and it had pushed him to act to charge down a mountain without even thinking. The gentle glow vanished from the gemstone as he drew his hand away, the glow in the aura shimmered through the air, and he set it upon the child''s head, gently forcing its way in. The child¡¯s shade was so weak it couldn''t even resist the effort.


    Anara stared at Leon, unable to see what he was doing, ¡°What? Are¡­ you?¡± Her attention was drawn downward, though not by anything visible.


    What was left of Pluan¡¯s shade permeated the child, covering, and clinging, wrapping up the child, and like the warmth of a mother, spreading out and holding fast. For the barest moment the child seemed to glow with an unusual light in the dim room, something even Anara could see. Then to Leon¡¯s Aura sight he saw the mixture of auras that was within the child snap into one single shade.


    A weak breath was followed by a stronger breath, then a whimper.


    ¡°What?¡± Anara said, glancing down at the child, surprise clear in her voice.


    Leon looked down at the child as she opened her eyes just a bit, and only for a moment before they closed again, too tired or weak to look upon the world, then the whimper became a cry.


    Leon stared in awe at the child as the voice gained strength, building to a piercing yell. ¡°Pluan¡­ You did it¡­¡± he uttered as a whisper. At the same time the patched over damn within him burst anew, tears flowing freely again. Yet he couldn¡¯t help but to smile. He had lost everything, but one woman had saved him not once, but twice.


    Carefully he let his hand run back along the thin silver strands of hair on her head. Past the two triangular ears on top of her skull that matched her mother so well. Small bits of silver hair starting to cover over them. She was so delicate, so fragile.


    She opened her eyes once more, violet gems glittering in the firelight, and looked up at him. In that moment he finally accepted what Pluan had said. He would have too, he would never think to betray Pluan, she had entrusted him this one final task, and this singular child between them. After all this child, his daughter was Pluan¡¯s last wish, her legacy, and more than anything, his future.


    ¡°Leon?¡± Anara asked carefully.


    Leon smiled sadly through the tears, joy and heartbreak consuming every corner of his being. ¡°Amanda¡­ My daughter.¡± he said, as though uttering it as an oath.


    He took his daughter, gently lifting her away as Anara offered her to him. While she had been so weak before she suddenly seemed so much stronger, as though that little bit of Pluan was still in there, pushing for her baby to live. For all Leon knew, it was true to some extent, what he had done was nonsense from an academic standpoint. Yet the tiny hands trying to grasp at him, the little face looking up at him, this life he held in his arms was self-evident.


    Anara finally asked, ¡°Leon? What did you do?¡±


    Leon replied simply, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything¡­ Her mother saved her.¡±


    ¡°Pluan?¡± Anara asked, clearly confused.


    Leon nodded solemnly.


    ¡°Where is she?¡± Anara asked hesitantly.


    ¡°She''s gone now...¡± Leon admitted with great pain.


    Anara seemed to take his expression as a cue that he was done talking, and she left him with his daughter. He would tell her everything eventually, but not now.


    Soon there would be more problems, his daughter would need to eat, he would need to bury her mother. But for now, it was all he needed to simply hold the newborn in his arms.

 Chapter 1 - Curiosity ( Part 1 )

    Amanda slowly, carefully put one foot forward in front of the other. It was difficult as there was so much snow in the way. She wished she was tall like her daddy, if she was she could just walk through it and it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. At that thought she found herself watching her father. He was tall enough to do just as she had thought. Yet the snow was just melting all around him like it did when they put snow in the cauldron.


    She hadn¡¯t ever thought about it before, but it seemed particularly unfair, as unfair as her father was when he told her it was time to go to bed, but he stayed up. Or when he tickled her and wouldn¡¯t stop. He turned then, and noticed her eyes on him.


    Her father was a reasonably tall man, around six feet. His silver hair was always short, Amanda had no idea how he managed that, it was like it didn¡¯t even grow. His blue eyes found her, and met her gaze. ¡°Something wrong?¡± He asked with a smile.


    Amanda took another step, and half climbed, and half swam in the snow. ¡°How come it''s not melting like it does for you?¡± She asked, voicing her thought out loud, her tone reflecting her own opinion on the matter.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well that''s fairly obvious, because I¡¯m a magus, and you¡¯re just a little girl.¡± He replied in good humor.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be a magus then!¡± She proclaimed, forcing her foot into the depths of the snow once again. This time the snow went up her pants leg, and it was quite chilly. But she bared with it, forcing her way out further.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it''s not that easy.¡± Her father replied.


    ¡°How come?¡± Amanda asked, it was easy to walk, it was easy to fill up a bucket, why wasn¡¯t this so easy?


    ¡°You know how you don¡¯t like to practice your letters?¡± He asked.


    Amanda frowned back at him, ¡°What''s that gotta do with a magus?¡±


    ¡°It''s like that, you have to study, and learn lots of things, you don¡¯t just announce that you''re a magus, and that''s it.¡± He explained.


    Amanda considered that, she really didn¡¯t like the letters, but she couldn¡¯t quite accept that whatever a magus was anything like that, even if her father said so. So she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡±


    ¡°How come?¡± Her father asked easily.


    ¡°Cause, you don¡¯t do anything with chalk slates.¡± Amanda stated, pointing out the clear difference.


    ¡°True, but I know my letters too.¡± He rebuked.


    Amanda opened her mouth to deny it. Yet there was no obvious thing to say back. He did know his letters, or else how could he teach her? She took a few more steps through the snow as her father watched, while she did she tried to come up with some way to prove he was lying. Coming to a stop, she spoke, the words coming to her as she went, ¡°But you''re not doing anything like letters! You are just walking.¡± She said, though it mostly sounded like a complaint.


    ¡°While it''s not quite like letters, I am doing something you just can¡¯t see.¡± Her father explained.


    ¡°How come?¡± Amanda demanded, ¡°That''s not fair!¡± she complained.


    ¡°Well, it''s because you don¡¯t know how to.¡± He offered.


    ¡°How come?¡± She continued to demand.


    He chuckled, ¡°Pretty simple really, I haven''t taught you how.¡±


    ¡°Then teach me.¡± Amanda said trying to stand tall, awkwardly, and giving him her best determined face.


    He considered, ¡°I¡¯m not sure that''s a good idea, you are still a little girl, and this sort of thing can be somewhat dangerous.¡±


    ¡°How can seeing be dangerous?¡± Amanda asked, halfway curious, and half demanding an explanation. Going off into the woods was dangerous, but staring at the woods, that was just silly.


    Once more, he considered his answer, this time even scratching at the stubble on his chin. ¡°Well, the seeing part isn¡¯t really the problem¡­ exactly.¡± He said looking back at their house.


    ¡°Seeing can¡¯t be dangerous.¡± Amanda said, pretty sure she was right. The way he was avoiding the answer basically confirmed it in her eyes. ¡°So you should teach me. Then I can see what you¡¯re doing, and I can do it too. Then I¡¯ll be a magus.¡± She said nodding her head along at her perfect explanation, it was simple undeniable facts.


    Her father laughed, ¡°Honestly, when you put it like that it sounds easy, huh?¡±


    Amanda nodded vigorously. Exactly, it was easy. She climbed through the snow until she reached the melted path her father had made. She tripped in the process of climbing free of the dense powder, her hands catching on the brown grass and dirt. But finally free of the snow, she stood proud of her effort.


    ¡°It''s pretty deep huh?¡± He asked.


    Amanda nodded, but continued watching him intently not wanting him to distract her like he often did.


    Moments trickled past, but Amanda kept staring at him, she wanted to know what he was doing, and if she kept on staring he would eventually tell her, or show her. It''s what he did, she usually got to stay up way later if she asked lots of questions. So she liked asking questions, cause she didn¡¯t like going to bed. Maybe she would have even more questions to ask now when it was bedtime, if he would just start talking.


    Her father sighed, ¡°You really want to give it a try, eh? Well I suppose teaching you aura sight wouldn¡¯t technically hurt.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What''s a ¡®technically¡¯?¡± Amanda asked before she could stop herself.


    To her surprise however her father replied, ¡°I¡¯m just saying you¡¯re right, in a sense.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just right. Not in scents, what''s my nose got to do with it?¡± Amanda asked, getting caught up on the words.


    He just shook his head, ¡°Forget all that. I¡¯ll teach you, but it''s gonna take a while.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°Cause it does. But you asked to learn it, so no complaining, alright?¡± Her father asked, now using his stern voice.


    Amanda looked everywhere but her father, shifting back and forth. She didn¡¯t like when he used that voice, it was the voice that told her she wasn¡¯t going to like it. But yet she really wanted to see what he was doing. She was stuck, not sure if she should just forget the whole thing. Yet she couldn¡¯t help but stare at the melted snow. Besides it was cold, and she was all bundled up in fur, her daddy never wore fur, he just went out like the cold didn¡¯t bother him. ¡°You don¡¯t wear fur cause you are a magus?¡± She asked.


    Her father grinned down at her, ¡°That''s right.¡±


    She thought harder, what else did her father do that the people in the village didn¡¯t do. ¡°We don¡¯t burn wood either.¡± She spouted as soon as it came to her.


    Her father nodded, ¡°Yep, That''s right.¡±


    ¡°The lights?¡± She asked, recalling how the people in the village used candles, while they had crystal lamps.


    Her father once again nodded, ¡°You got it.¡±


    Amanda kept trying to think of more things, but that was about all she could think of right then. She kept coming back to the same ideas and got stuck on them.


    ¡°So? Do you want to learn or not?¡± He asked, he was smiling at her like he already knew the answer.


    Amanda started her feet, ¡°It''s not gonna be easy is it?¡± she asked, realizing she was snared in the trap, not unlike a babbit that had been lured in by fresh greens.


    ¡°Probably not, but it''s pretty useful. You want to be like your daddy don¡¯t you?¡± He asked with a big grin.


    Amanda nodded, ¡°Yeah...¡± but she didn¡¯t want to accept it, if she did he¡¯d make her do it even if she disliked it later, that''s how she had gotten stuck learning letters. Now she was gonna do this? She looked back to her father, and she had to admit, the mystery of it excited her, she too wanted to be special like her father. So she admitted it, ¡°I do...¡±


    ¡°You do what?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I want to learn...¡± Amanda clarified, she really did too, but she really hoped it wasn¡¯t going to be as boring as her letters.


    ¡°Alright.¡± he said, standing tall, and glancing around the space outside their home. The trees thinned closer to the rock the home was set into. Then again around the house they were even thinner. Her father clearly decided something, and started to walk away, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Amanda did so, her father leading the way through the snow leaving a path that she could follow without stumbling. For a few minutes she thought they might be going to the village, but she was pretty sure it was the wrong way. Instead they stopped after just a bit, as they did the snow around them started to melt further out. Amanda couldn¡¯t help but rush over to it and watch the edge recede. The air was so warm around them now, it was no wonder why the snow was getting all slushy and melting.


    Amanda was a bit disappointed when the snow didn¡¯t keep going, instead it just reached out a distance around them, in a big circle, at the center of the circle was an old tree stump. There was steam rising up from the log. That caused Amanda to rush back towards the log to get a closer look, but her father snatched her up before she could see it.


    ¡°Not so fast.¡± he said, lifting her up with an arm around.


    Yet from her new vantage she could still see the steam, so she just watched it, much as she had wanted too anyway.


    After that her father moved to the stump, took a seat, and set her on his lap.


    Amanda glanced up at him, ¡°What are we doing?¡± She asked curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna start teaching you how to see the aura.¡± He explained.


    ¡°What''s an aura?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°The aura is what is all around us, but you can¡¯t see.¡± He offered back.


    Amanda however just frowned back at him, ¡°If it''s all around me how come I can¡¯t see it?¡±


    ¡°Can you see the air?¡± Her father asked.


    Amanda almost answered yes, but then she shook her head, ¡°No¡­ but I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°Right, well the Aura is part of the air, part of the trees, part of everything really. So you can¡¯t see, or feel it, it''s like it''s hiding all around us.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Why doesn''t it come out?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°It''s crafty that way, so we have to practice to see it instead.¡± He replied.


    ¡°That''s not nice!¡± Amanda proclaimed.


    Her father just chuckled, ¡°So here''s what we are gonna do. You¡¯re going to close your eyes, and sit still, then you''re gonna concentrate really hard, and as soon as you think you can feel something different you¡¯ll point at it.¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to point at something I can¡¯t see? With my eyes closed?¡± Amanda asked, confused. Her father was making no sense.


    ¡°Close your eyes.¡± he urged her.


    Amanda did so, ¡°Ok¡­¡± she said reluctantly.


    ¡°Can you point to me?¡± He asked.


    Amanda raised a hand, and jabbed it right over her head. Which was promptly caught by her fathers hand.


    ¡°Right, just like that, but instead you¡¯ll wait until you can see, or feel something you haven''t before.¡± Her father explained.


    Amanda wasn¡¯t quite sure what he was talking about, but she sat there, and waited.


    Lots of time started to go by, and at one point she was pretty sure she was just gonna fall asleep. It was just so warm next to her father, it was like being curled up by a fireplace in the village. But each time she thought she might fall asleep, her father would say something, or give her a little poke. It was like he knew when she was gonna fall asleep.


    It wasn¡¯t until much later that she finally spoke up on her own, ¡°I¡­ I think I¡­ is it behind us?¡± She couldn¡¯t describe it, it was half like she could see it, half like she could feel it. Yet it was neither. She opened her eyes and wanted to look.


    ¡°Nope. Eyes forward Amanda.¡± Her father said, gently holding her still. Then he put his hand over her eyes. ¡°And no peeking.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t see it!¡± Amanda complained, not sure what looking would hurt.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter, just stay there, and wait until you can feel it again, once you do point.¡± Her father said calmly, with his usual teaching voice.


    This time he kept his hand over her eyes. After a while she tried peeking through the spaces in his fingers.


    ¡°Amanda, eyes shut.¡± Her father immediately called.


    ¡°How can you even tell?¡± Amanda complained, sure that there was no way that he could see her eyes behind his hand. Yet even as that was true she closed them again.


    ¡°Ever wondered how I know when you steal cookies from Anara¡¯s pot?¡± Her father asked.


    Amanda gasped at realizing it was like everything else, ¡°The aura? The magus?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Her father agreed.


    Strangely, of all the things that Amanda had considered before, this was now at the top of her list. Next time she went down to the village and played with the other kids she was gonna be the best at hide and seek ever. The kids would all tell stories about how she could find people with her magus power. Or at least that''s what she told herself.

 Chapter 2 - The Threshold

    Amanda¡¯s dreams of quickly showing the other kids up the next time they went to the village were all for naught. In fact spring came, and summer after it without that dream becoming reality. Even as the seasons changed, at their home the snow never really melted all the way, even with her father melting paths in it.


    Beyond the clearing where they lived usually had some measure of white powder coating, be that on the trees, or just collected on the ground. Sometimes in the warming months it would rain instead of snow, and the roof would grow icicles, the same as they would find on trees in the woods.


    Amanda had initially quite disliked trying to see the aura. Her father had guessed right about that. But that had only been in the beginning. Strangely, now it was one of her favorite parts of the day. This was because at first it was quite boring, just sitting around for long lengths of time and not seeing anything. But then she had created a game. The faster she could point, the more points she would get. At first she had kept that to herself, and she counted them on her fingers, one for each time she pointed. But one day her father had noticed, and so she had explained it to him.


    After that her father started giving out points instead. She was starting to get really good at that game too. So far just today she had gotten ninety points. Which was so many points, that it was almost higher than she could count.


    No sooner then she realized that, she pointed again straight up. ¡°There!¡± She proclaimed with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Five more points. How many is that?¡± Her father asked.


    Amanda paused, thinking. ¡°Uhh¡­ Nine¡­¡± A moment later she realized and yelled it out, ¡°Five!¡±


    ¡°Five?¡± Her father asked in his skeptical tone.


    Amanda shook her head, ¡°Ninety five.¡± she replied this time making sure it was clear. Then before she could say anything else it came again, to her side. She pointed, ¡°There!¡±


    ¡°Five more points!¡± Her father announced.


    Amanda yelled out, ¡°Ninety five points!¡±


    Her father laughed, ¡°No, that''s one hundred.¡±


    ¡°Hundred?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°One Hundred, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve taught you to count that yet.¡± He explained.


    Amanda cried out with enthusiasm, ¡°Hundred points!¡±


    Grinning down at her, her father set his hand atop her head, on the fur cap resting there, ¡°I think you¡¯re ready.¡±


    Amanda opened her eyes, and for once her father didn¡¯t tell her to close them again. ¡°Ready?¡± She asked, her breath misting in the chilly air in front of her. She recalled back when they started it had once been so warm when they were practicing that she wanted to take a nap. Now however it was as cold as it was in the snow, or at least it would be if it wasn¡¯t for the furs she was wearing. Strangely today even her father was wearing a fur cap, it was like a big copy of the one she was wearing, she thought it made him look funny. But she thought it was funny when he wore anything besides his usual shirt and pants. He almost always looked the same, so it stood out when he didn¡¯t.


    Her father nodded, ¡°Yeah, you are almost able to pick up on the smallest details now.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m a Magus?¡± Amanda asked, getting excited.


    Her father laughed, ¡°No, far from that, but your lessons are about to bear fruit.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°Where what?¡± Her father inquired, looking confused.


    ¡°Where''s the fruit?¡± Amanda clarified, she usually liked fruit, it was sweet.


    Her father patted her hat, the pressure causing it to press down on her ears, which twitched at the touch. ¡°Stop!¡± she complained, brushing his hand away with both of hers.


    But without another word, he picked her up, and set her down on the dirt ground, and started heading back to the house.


    Amanda was worried she might have done something wrong, ¡°How come?¡± she called out after him, not wanting to stop for the day yet.


    ¡°How come what? Hurry up we are gonna finish inside today, it''s too windy out here.¡± Her father called back.


    He was right, her nose was quite cold, and even with the hat on her ears were chilly too. She didn¡¯t waste any time and ran after him and into their home, rushing past him and shoving the door open.


    The inside of their little home was unique to them Amanda knew. The building itself wasn¡¯t entirely made out of wood like most of the homes in the village. The floor was wooden, but most of the walls were built out of the rock around the building, as it was set into the mountain stone behind it. There were only five rooms in their home, a kitchen and common room, her fathers room, the guest room, which she sometimes slept in if she was feeling particularly brave. Then in the back there was the storage and cellar. The kitchen had a wooden workspace in the back, and cabinets. They even had metal hinges and utensils, most people didn¡¯t even bother with wooden doors inside, and most people in the village used wooden spoons.


    Her father had told her that was simply because they lived away from the big cities, things were different there he always said. She enjoyed his stories about the towns and cities far away, of huge stone buildings and metal creations that could tell you the time of day, or so many other things that Amanda had no idea what they were. In truth she really wanted to see some of those things, like glass. Or the clock, she had no idea why you would need something to tell you the time, but she was sure it would be neat.


    She wasted no time in prying off the extra layer of furs she was wearing to go outside, her father kept the inside of their home warm when he was around, the only time they ever used the fireplace was if he had to leave for a while. Even then, she usually went with him down to the village, or the other homes nearby.


    She tossed her furs on the floor and couldn¡¯t help but dance a little, it was exciting to do something new, even if it was what they had been doing outside, now they were doing it inside.


    Her father formed a small ball of light in his hand as he pulled the door shut behind them. He removed off his own fur hat, hanging it on a hook. Amanda was quite used to seeing her father do things like this, though the people in the village might be shocked by such things, she was used to her father casually upsetting natural law.


    Amanda was expecting him to tap one of the crystal lights as he usually did, but he instead gestured towards the back, to the cellar.


    Amanda looked that way, and opened the way for her father, who was following just behind.


    Inside the pantry were mostly shelves, barrels, and boxes of various things. Some of it was clothing, blankets, grain, other bits were things her father had made from the metal he found on the mountain side, he tended to sell it to the people nearby and what was back here was mostly things he had gotten in trade. A few half finished chunks of wood her father sometimes carved were laying around too.


    ¡°Down below.¡± Her father said as he held out the light in his hand, casting shadows between the crates and barrels, everything in the room seeming to shift with his gesture.


    She made her way to the little hatch in the floor as her father pulled the pantry door closed. The hatch was heavy, but she managed to pull it up.


    ¡°You need my help going down?¡± He asked.


    She shook her head, and without pausing she carefully grabbed onto the rungs and started descending. Last time she had climbed down she had fallen, but her father had caught her with his invisible hands. Or at least that was how she had come to think of it.


    This time however she managed to get all the way down without any issue. Her feet firmly on the stone ground she grinned and shouted her success, ¡°I did it!¡±


    Her father came down behind her a moment later, the cellar lit only by the small orb of light above her fathers hand.


    The space was mostly empty, besides some jerky which gave the whole room a somewhat meaty, and salty smell. There were also a few boxes in the corner, but it was cool, and quiet.


    ¡°Take a seat in the middle.¡± Her father told her as he pulled down the hatch.


    Amanda wasn¡¯t sure why they were in the cellar, but it was kinda exciting so she didn¡¯t mind much, she quickly found the middle of the room and plopped down onto the cool stone. After a moment she spoke, ¡°Should we have a cloth to sit on?¡± People from the village liked to sit on cloth, rugs, or other things instead of the raw stone or dirt afterall.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Her father seemed to consider that, ¡°I suppose that''s not a bad idea...¡± He tapped the crystal light that was fixed to one of the pillars with the little metal rod that hung on the chain under it. Reacting to the tap, the crystal began to ring. With the ringing came a bright flash of light, which quickly dimmed, mimicking the intensity of the sound. After a moment the sound, and light hummed their collective acceptance of equilibrium. Barely audible, but bright enough to read by.


    He climbed up, leaving her alone for a moment in the cool room. She waited pressing her finger to the stone, drawing little lines in the dirt and dust there. They weren''t very visible, but she could make them out being so close.


    Her father returned in short order, tossing her a rug, which she gladly set out to sit on. He however took a seat at the edge of the room, rather than sitting behind her as he usually did. The light in his hand was already gone.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to need to turn off the lamp. You alright with that?¡± her father asked sitting cross legged across from her.


    Amanda nodded, if she could sit around with her eyes closed all day she could sit around with her eyes open in the dark. She was even brave enough to sleep in the guest room sometimes after all.


    With a nod of her father, the lamp dimmed, and then all that was around them was darkness.


    She had said she would be fine, yet she couldn¡¯t help but speak, ¡°Daddy¡­¡± feeling suddenly worried.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, don¡¯t worry, you can speak to me anytime you need to.¡± He replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, it''s just us down here.¡±


    That was comforting. ¡°Okay.¡± She said taking a breath, and feeling much braver now that she had heard him there.


    ¡°Just relax, breathe and if you need to talk to me, we''ll get started in just a bit.¡± Her father explained through the darkness.


    Amanda waited quietly for a short time, but before long she couldn¡¯t help but feel worried and she had to ask, ¡°How come it''s taking so long?¡±


    ¡°It''s not been that long.¡± Her father replied, she could picture his smile based on the tone of his voice. ¡°This time is a little different, so it takes a bit of time to prepare. You see you are getting so good at picking up on the details, for you to keep improving, I need to remove more of the aura around you, so you can fine tune your senses further.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Amanda replied, not quite sure what all that ment. She was feeling kinda chilly, and was wondering if she should have kept the furs on. She was considering asking if she could go collect that extra clothing when she felt something, which distracted her. ¡°Over there?¡± she said pointing.


    ¡°Good.. Good... ¡± Her father replied.


    Then again on the other side. Above her, behind her. For a time she lost herself in the usual game of it, even without the points it was fun to quickly point out where it was. She barely even noticed that it was getting colder, and without seeing her breath it was hard to notice caught up in the game as she was.


    In fact rather than noticing the chill in the air, she was suddenly caught off guard by something else. Even as the little sensation she was mentally following was behind her, she breathed out, nothing unusual or different, a normal breath. But before her that breath spread out, faint and indistinct. But it was clearly there. It was like she could see her breath, like when it was cold, but it was completely dark in here. She couldn¡¯t help but breathe out again, extra hard into the air to make it even bigger.


    She marveled at it, it was like she could see it, but she wasn¡¯t seeing it all the same. It was strange, but marvious.


    ¡°You sense your breath?¡± her father asked, noticing what she was doing.


    ¡°Yeah, did you do something?¡± She asked, thinking that perhaps this was some trick of her fathers, some silly game.


    ¡°Nope. But we should continue, you¡¯re getting close.¡± Her father replied with a bit of excitement in his voice.


    ¡°Close? To what?¡± She asked, unable to help herself.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see. Just keep going like you always do.¡± Her father explained.


    She wasn¡¯t about to argue a little to ask more questions, but all the same this wasn¡¯t the first time she had asked questions like this. He had made lots of vague statements about what was ¡°next.¡± Yet she didn¡¯t understand any of it, so she pointed behind her towards the little shape.


    Minutes more past before shapes around her started to become distinct, like on dark nights when the moons were barely visible. It was like seeing shadows in the darkness, so faint you weren¡¯t sure they were there at all after a moment.


    Then something more substantial became visible, before she knew it she could tell where her father was, still calmly sitting on the other side of the room. She could vaguely tell where the lamp was on one of the four wooden pillars. She could point to the boxes in the corner. The meat.


    Even still she kept going, a rising excitement building inside her as whatever light was inside her was slowly getting brighter, somehow making the darkness creep away, bit by bit.


    By this time she was just following the little spec with her finger as it moved, it wasn¡¯t even going away, it just kept getting dimmer, then over a few minutes it brightened to her. This was at least the best she could have described it as, afterall it was like trying to describe seeing a candle by comparing it to how a shoe smelled, or a bell sounded.


    Then as if all at once, something changed. Some fundamental truth inside of her fell away, and some new reality asserted itself. The shapes in the room came into focus, and the air itself seemed to take on a color around her, like fog, and suddenly everywhere, she could feel it. A tiny little line reaching out from her father, and holding a spec, a spec that now seemed like it was absent light, rather than emitting it.


    Like that night she and her father had stayed up late into the night outside, staring up at the cloudless sky full of stars. When all the stars had come to life and shot across the sky. She stared, transfixed as her world was redefined around her.


    To say she was caught off guard by the shift, wouldn¡¯t have told half of it. Unable to make sense of it, barely believing what she felt, sensed or saw, she tried to put it into words. ¡°I can¡­ see the air.¡± She breathed out, her breath like a swirling cloud of light before her, brighter than everything else in the room to her now sharpened senses. As she observed the breath shifted, spread out and faded into the rest of the air around, shifting through colors, hues and intensities as it went.


    The only thing even close to its brightness was her father. The little line that had been zipping around the air shot down it''s length and was gone, retreating into the shape that was her father. She could follow it with her eyes, yet all the same she could tell where things were that were behind her. It was somewhat dizzying just thinking about it.


    Then the warmth came, from all around, a wave of warmth rolled in, and with it brightness, it felt like she was staring into the sun for a moment, but even with her eyes closed it was blinding. She couldn¡¯t help but yell out, ¡°It''s so bright!¡±


    ¡°Relax, breathe, you just need to get used to it.¡± Her father said in his comforting voice from the side.


    Amanda couldn¡¯t help but try to look away, yet no matter where she looked, everything was blinding, and no matter where she turned she could see the other way. She writhed, looking back and forth trying to find anywhere to look, her eyes watering though they saw nothing.


    Before she knew it her father was there, wrapping her up in his arms, ¡°Relax, it doesn''t really hurt, you just think it does.¡± He said, trying to sooth her.


    While the hug helped, the words didn¡¯t mean anything to her, it was confusing, and no matter what he said it did hurt. She sobbed, and cried out, but still he held her, stroked her head and whispered to her, ¡°It''s alright. You can get past it. It''s going to be alright.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t sure how long she cried, or how long the pain lasted, but finally her fathers words held true. What was beyond that was mesmerizing. Even with the pain and tears, as the blinding light and pain in her mind receded away what was left behind was a rainbow of senses, an indistinct fog pervading the air around her, the walls, the shapes, everything had its own color, it''s shape now as sharply defined to her as if the sun was in the cellar with them, casting it''s wonderful glow on everything, from every angle, yet somehow, even more beautiful.


    Amanda stared in wonder, even looking up at her father, who seemed distinctly different then everything around her, like he was his own entire color, the way his skin seemed to shimmer in places, he looked nothing like he did normally, yet he was her father still completely. She turned her senses to her arm, it was similar, uniquely different, yet entirely the same.


    Even in the complete darkness she could pick out the individual hairs on her arm. She could see the top of her head somehow, and was amazed that as she twitched her ears, they moved to her senses. She had heard that in the towns and cities they had mirrors, but to think that she could just see herself made her heart beat faster, the horror that had nearly seemed to consume her moments before was entirely replaced by this wonder and new found excitement.


    Her father watched her as she looked and sensed, whatever it was that she was doing.


    Once she had slowed her efforts, and seen what she could in the cellar her father spoke, ¡°Do you want to go back outside?¡±


    Her eyes went wide. Realizing if this was what just the cold old cellar was like, what would outdoors be like?


    He could clearly make out her expression as he grinned back at her in the pure darkness. Just as she could now clearly make out his smile with no light between them. As he stood up he spoke, ¡°Close your eyes though, it''s going to take a little bit of getting used to seeing with aura sight and your eyes at the same time.¡±


    Amanda closed her eyes as requested, wanting nothing more than to indeed see the outside now. She practically vibrated with anticipation.


    Her father carried her up the ladder rather than having her go alone, and together, her in his arms they left the pantry, then crossed the kitchen, and stepped out into the cold chilly winds. Even with her eyes closed she could tell where they were, sense the rooms as they moved, one after the next.


    Amanda knew when they had passed the door, not simply because of her new sense, but also because the cool air blowing through her hair, and against her skin. That was when she realized for the first time that perhaps this aura sight wasn¡¯t all it was cracked up to be. She could indeed see the air, and she could indeed see things close by. Yet unlike her eyes, she couldn¡¯t see very far.


    She needed to compare what she saw, to what she was sensing. So she opened her eyes, ready to take in the trees and frosty ground around them. But it all went wrong, for a bare moment it was fine, but then she turned her head, and a sudden wave of dizziness struck her like a hammer. The world swam before her, the world rolled, undulated and seemed to move around her in ways she couldn¡¯t even understand. Before she knew it, she was emptying her stomach.


    Her father rushed her back inside, and cleaned her up, while telling her, ¡°I told you not to open your eyes!¡± His tone worried as he tried to tend to her.


    Amanda clamping her eyes shut, grumbled at the state of her stomach, which had not appreciated any of this one bit. She wanted to complain, and say she wished she never had done any of this if it was going to be this way. Yet, it was all so beautiful that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say the words. She couldn¡¯t even properly put it into words.


    Amanda turned her senses to her father who was above her, watching her even as she lay her head on his lap. She tried opening her eyes, but after only a moment she had to close them again, it was horrible, nothing like she had ever felt before. What made it even worse was knowing that her father looked worried, even panicked as he tried to gently reassure her. Something had gone terribly wrong, she could sense it in the way her father moved.

 Chapter 3 - Unforeseen Hurdle

    The dizziness and vertigo caused by having what amounted to an extra sense conflicting with her sight was crippling. While Amanda could manage with her eyes closed, keeping them shut at all times was not only unusual, but also a reversal of her natural instinct.


    So it was that she kept opening them by accident while standing or turning her head. Before long she had learned to keep her eyes pinned shut at all times, but this wasn¡¯t a solution, but instead avoiding the problem itself. She spent a surprisingly large amount of time the first week curled up in bed. Though her father watched over and helped her, the only way forward as he explained was to take it slowly.


    So Amanda tried, and kept trying. Sitting in bed she would open her eyes, try to not immediately get sick, and when it was too much, close her eyes again. Slowly, she was able to keep them open longer and longer. By the second night she could mostly keep them open, as long as she didn¡¯t move. The problem was that just standing still, she would sway one way, or lean another. Even that tiny bit of movement was enough to trigger her dizziness.


    However the second hurdle was far greater than the first. Once she could simply have her eyes open it seemed like a huge step forward, yet any motion at all tended to make her feel like all of the world around her was spinning.


    It was so bad that by the end of the week she had a bucket in her lap most of the time. It didn¡¯t seem to be getting much better, at least not at any meaningful rate.


    Amanda had tried at first to tough it out, she had wanted to prove that she was a brave girl and that she could do it. However it was fruitless, and after all the effort was expected, it left her feeling more hollow than hopeful. She was worn down considerably and unless her father came to encourage her to keep trying, she tended to simply lay in bed, either sleeping or trying too, after all it took some getting used to always sensing the world around you. But somehow even with everything swirling about and shifting, just having her eyes closed helped her drift off, the problem wasn¡¯t so much sensing what was around her, it was being distracted by it.


    So it was eight days after she had first seen the aura, that her father came into her room and with a gentle hand shook her awake.


    Amanda had gotten used to keeping her eyes shut by now, and she regarded her father from below the soft fur blanket. Neither willing or wanting to use her eyes.


    ¡°Amanda, wake up.¡± Her father said jostling her with a hand.


    Amanda shook her head. ¡°No...¡± she replied from the refuge of her darkness. Safe in this small space between the blanket and slightly lumpy mass of furs below her.


    Her father breathed out a long breath, but pressed on regardless. ¡°I had an idea last night.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care¡­¡± Amanda whined in response.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± He asked in response, his tone clearly worried.


    Amanda nodded her reply, not wanting to hear any more of these ideas.


    ¡°It might help with the dizziness.¡± Her father added.


    Amanda took pause at that, but after a moment her innate curiosity got the best of her, ¡°How?¡± She was skeptical of course, after all this wasn¡¯t the first tidbit of advice he had offered this week, yet anything that could help might make the difference, right?


    ¡°I remember back when I was at the academy that other students had similar problems.¡± He explained.


    Amanda was pretty sure he was avoiding the part where he didn¡¯t have this problem. He hadn¡¯t outright said so, but deep down she knew that if he had gone through this himself, that he would. She couldn¡¯t help but yearn for his usual way of comforting her, telling her all about how he too had once gone through such an experience, and how he had struggled through and managed. That was sorely lacking however, which was a widening rift between them.


    ¡°You see, they took some medicine to help with it.¡± her father continued, clearly optimistic.


    ¡°Medicine?¡± Amanda asked, recalling some rather foul powders and mixtures that old Anara had given her at one point or another when she had a fever, or cough.


    She could make out her fathers nod in reply, ¡°Yeah, you see they have a medicine that people take when they intend on sailing. Not everyone is cut out for long hours on a boat being tossed about by the waves.¡±


    Amanda had never seen a boat, or the sea, the biggest river she had seen was when the streams near by the village overflowed in the spring. So she really couldn¡¯t relate to such a description. But her father was trying to help, and in truth she didn¡¯t want to stay in bed, she had already missed their trip down to the village when she usually played with the village children. She hadn¡¯t been able to play at all, it was getting to the point where she even missed doing her letters. Though perhaps that was a bit of a stretch, the truth was that she wanted to do anything but continue to sit in the bed and feel sick.


    ¡°Can you get it?¡± Amanda asked after a moment, finally admitting that she would even drink some terrible syrup, as long as it helped get things back to normal.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I think so, but there''s a problem you see.¡± He continued.


    ¡°A problem?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know how much to get, and it''s quite a walk. That would leave you here for quite some time, likely more than a week for me to travel both ways. So long that I¡¯d have to leave you in the village instead. With Anara.¡± She said clearly expecting her response.


    ¡°Old Anara?¡± Amanda whined, ¡°But she smells funny...¡±


    ¡°That''s because she''s always working with plants.¡± Her father scolded her. But his tone lightened, ¡°Or, if you perhaps want to get out of bed, we can go together, you¡¯ll just have to keep your eyes closed for most of the trip.¡±


    That made Amanda frown, she¡¯d only be able to sense the little space around her? That wasn¡¯t how she expected her first trip beyond the village would be. She had expected to see the world, to point and ask questions. Would a trip like this even be fun? In truth, while the world around her was dazzlingly beautiful in it''s own way, it became frighteningly mundane when she was stuck in a rather stagnant room all day.


    Her father continued, ¡°The good thing is that once we get there we can buy some medicine and get you used to aura sight before we head back. Maybe even spend a few days down by the port. You want to see the harbor don¡¯t you? They have huge fish.¡± He said indicating a size with his hands that was almost as big as she was.


    Amanda almost said no, she was just going to keep feeling sick, and it was only going to get worse. She was sure of it. Yet, she really did want to see the sea, the fish, and the idea of getting out of bed, even if it was with her eyes closed did call to her to a degree.


    ¡°Just think of everything you¡¯d be missing out on, laying around in Anara¡¯s cottage all day.¡± Her father said with a shrug, ¡°You¡¯d be there until you smelled of plants too.¡±


    Amanda groaned, ¡°Does it have to be old Anara?¡±


    ¡°It would.¡± Her father said with a note of finality. ¡°So, What will it be? I¡¯ll be getting ready to leave regardless of if you are staying or going. It''s up to you, you can either come with me and see new things, or sit around and smell like plants all week.¡±


    That finally did it, ¡°Fine¡­¡± Amanda said without an ounce of enthusiasm.


    With that her father removed her blanket with a flourish, and gestured, ¡°Then wash up and get a fresh change of clothes on. I¡¯ve already got some warm water in the kitchen, use the bucket and the cloth I set out.¡±


    Amanda, now committed to her course, pulled herself from bed and did as bidden. She could see roughly to the edges of her room, which was around the same size as the cellar. The common room was larger, which gave her a strange sense of being lost in the darkness. Unable to sense the walls around her, it was like standing in the middle of a cave. Only a tiny candle to light the space around you, the light never quite reaching to the walls. Alone in the vast expanse, just thinking about it made her feel lost, even in such a familiar space that should have been welcoming.


    She found the bucket filled with water that glowed beautifully in swirling patterns to her senses. Stripping her clothing, and dunking the cloth into it created patterns, swirls and gradients of warmth in the space around her, filling her for a moment with that initial awe she had when she had first witnessed the drab cellar on that first day.


    Her fathers voice however broke her from that reverence, ¡°I¡¯ll be half gone by the time you finish at that pace!¡± She couldn¡¯t see him, but she could hear him all the same.


    So she pulled herself together, and continued cleaning. She was glad to be rid of some of the sticky bits that had clung to her skin that her father had missed wiping away previously. And after that she pulled on the simple tunic and pants that she usually wore when they visited the village. Once done her father offered her a leather cloak that was a bit too large for her, but she pulled it over her head, pulling it snug.


    Her father inspected her, ¡°I¡¯d gotten this for when you had grown a bit more, but I suppose it will have to do for now.¡±


    Amanda sort of liked it, it was like a big blanket that hung around her, though it was a bit heavy. The hood on top covered her face too, which was kinda funny. She even opened her eyes a bit to see if she could see anything. She could, and had to quickly close her eyes again, the last thing she wanted to do was to feel sick again.


    While her father finished his own preparations she spent the time shuffling around in her new cloak. Throwing out the part that hung around her, whirling really fast to watch it spin out, and trying to adjust the hood to see if she could get it to completely cover her face. Her father had loaded up a bag with all sorts of things. Something that stood out to Amanda was the usual gemstones contained within. Much like the crystal lamps they used in their home, they had a unique glow all their own. Her father strapped the bag to his back, and then threw his own cloak over himself.


    ¡°How come you have one too?¡± Amanda asked, not used to seeing her father wear a cloak before.


    ¡°It''s easy to stay warm, but staying dry is easier this way.¡± He noted as he pushed open the door. ¡°You ready?¡± he asked.


    Amanda nodded, rushing after him.


    Outside was strange, the air felt so much more empty than the air inside their home. Or at least it did until her fathers shape changed, stretching out around them both, pushing out, further, and continuing out even more. Then pulling in tighter, the air¡¯s chill going away even as the air seemed to thicken to her senses. She didn¡¯t quite understand what he was doing, but In a way it sort of felt like a hug to her. Even with how she felt, it was always interesting and exciting to see what was happening as her father used his magus abilities.


    She observed how the snow around them on the ground was wasting no time in melting. While the snow beyond the wall that was her father¡¯s invisible form remained untouched. She could see the layers in it. Outside and inside were similar, but the inside was more intense to her senses. Then between the two was the shimmering wall that belonged to her father; the way it shimmered with her fathers unique color, the way it hung around them protectively, it all seemed important, even as Amanda tried to wrap her head around how it worked.


    ¡°Let''s go.¡± Her father said, starting off towards the village.


    Amanda quickly came up alongside him, careful to stay inside the shimmering bubble that surrounded them. She could tell now, that was what was keeping them warm, it moved with them as they went, and the air inside stayed warm, while the air beyond remained cold.


    In fact, she realized she could tell that just by sensing it, she didn¡¯t even need to stick her hand outside of the bubble. Though she did that anyway, after all how else could she be sure?


    Strangely seeing her father¡¯s skill at work was perhaps the thing she needed to urge her forward, one day she knew she would be just like her father, and people would look to her to keep them warm or keep them safe.

 Chapter 4 - On the Road, Part 1

    When they had started off Amanda had thought that perhaps the town they were going to was maybe twice as far as the village. But that time came and went. Then again, and again, when her legs started burning from the long walk her father offered to let her ride on his shoulders. By that time she was so worn out she barely noticed how the shimmering lines around her moved. In fact at some point she simply fell asleep. When she woke up she decided to climb down and walk some more. Which didn¡¯t last nearly as long as it did the first time. But she pressed on as far as she could, until finally her father called for them to stop.


    When she asked why they were stopping for the night, his reply was simple, ¡°It''s the middle of the night.¡±


    Of course Amanda hadn¡¯t even noticed, with the warmth around them, and her eyes closed the whole time it was somewhat easy to lose track of something like that. Had she thought about it just a little bit she might have realized that with a little effort it would have been somewhat easy to tell if the sun was out or not, after all you could see the sun''s light through your eyelids.


    They set up a small camp, where her father and her gathered up twigs and chunks of wood that had broken free and started a small fire. Her father caught a babbit easily enough, using his invisible hands in a new way that Amanda hadn¡¯t seen yet. They were pretty dumb. They were mostly a big lump of fur that zipped away when you chased them. Back in their village there were a bunch that got lazy and barely ran unless you chased them, this meant that the children there had made a game of it. Amanda was fairly certain they were named as they were because of the soft ¡°Bah¡± sounds they made when they got excited.


    Her father wasted no time in skinning his catch and cooked the meat while Amanda sat resting. They ate there, alone in some small clearing of a size that Amanda herself was ignorant of. Just hearing the sound of the insects and the wind in the trees beyond them made her creep closer to her father. Before long she curled up in front of him, and they got some sleep near the fire, the fire that dazzled her with it''s motion and vibrancy until she simply passed out.


    In the morning the air had chilled quite a bit, but only until her father fixed it, collecting aura up as he had before, bits of dew froze into tiny beads of ice on the tree leaves and blades of grass. Amanda distracted herself watching that as her father moved about preparing breakfast, much the same as dinner from the previous night.


    As he moved away, and the shimmering bubble around him took the warmth with it the tiny beads of water solidified. The water would change shape, soft edges became harder, and the shade shifted with the change. The little warmth in the air would rush in to fill the space and slowly the tiny flecks of ice might melt into droplets again. Sometimes dripping away in the process as the blade of grass shifted at the tiny almost imperceptible motion.


    It was nice to have something to distract her from the black void beyond, sitting there she peaked a few times to see the forest at a distance. They were surrounded on all sides, but really studying their surroundings required her to move her head with her eyes open, something that she wouldn¡¯t do.


    Bellies full, they set out again. As they walked they practiced numbers aloud, and while she rode on her fathers shoulders she tried to open her eyes for short spurts. But in the end it didn¡¯t help much, always when she moved the sickness came back, it didn¡¯t matter if her father was the one moving, or she was.


    One day became two, and before Amanda knew it another week had passed. While it did Amanda wondered what incredible sights lay beyond her tiny bubble of sensation as they walked. She could have missed rivers, roads, towns, mountains, animals, so much was likely just beyond her reach, only the persistent grass, dirt and pebbles she trodden seemed endless. They had left behind the snow long ago, and the further they went the warmer the air beyond her fathers protective bubble became. Until finally they no longer even needed it.


    -


    Leon kept a close eye on Amanda, not simply because of her dim mood, but also because he wanted to make certain she stayed at his side. While his aura sight extended well into the trees and beyond, the forest was home to creatures that would relish the chance for an easy snack.


    Leon had not for a single moment considered that she would have issues adapting to aura sight. Normally she was bright and learned quickly, always adventurous, if a bit mischievous, her curiosity usually guided her forward. Yet she felt like a wounded animal now, plodding along next to him in the slightly dampened morning.


    Seeing her so despondent being the result of his own actions pained Leon more than he was willing to admit. But there was only one way forward, and he would go to any lengths to find a solution. Leon was glad that he had recalled the use of a common sea sickness cure among students. For that had given him a kinder path to walk. In the end Leon only knew one way to solve problems, it was the way he lived life, it was the way he raised Amanda. As long as they kept moving towards some destination that was good enough for him.


    If only it would have been easier, but Anara knew nothing of such a draft, nor did anyone else he had found the time to ask in the village. Given time he could have waited it out, surely someone who knew the draft, or could trade would come past. But either would have taken too long by far in his mind. He would neither stand by idly and watch Amanda this way for months on end, nor would he simply let her curl up and hide from the world the way she had for that week.


    His plan was simple at first, a trader had come though only a day earlier, heading south when they left. When they left home he hoped that they would have caught up to the caravan. Initially it had seemed an easy task. However while his daughter had the energy of youth, she lacked the stamina he had built over years of marching and martial practice.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Thus rather than catching up to the caravan and riding along as he usually did, they had instead been forced to travel the road just the two of them. While he had confidence in his own abilities, it was never particularly wise to travel roads alone. Which was why he was so glad that finally today a caravan came from behind them.


    Leon pulled Amanda to the side of the road, and waited. While they stood there she asked him, ¡°What''s wrong?¡±


    He put a hand on her head hoping to comfort her some, her aura sight was still quite weak, and as her only means of seeing the world he imagined that she was simply trying her best to be brave. ¡°Nothing is wrong, there''s a caravan.  I¡¯m going to speak with them.¡± He explained.


    She seemed to cheer up a little at that, if only for a moment. He could imagine the little cogs in her head tripping to excitement at new things, but then realizing she couldn¡¯t really see them. Just another reminder of what his actions had caused.


    The caravan was making good time, they had four guards each riding on a lyzard. The long four legged scaled mounts weaved back and forth under their riders. The lyzard themselves had saddles, and a few bits of leather work strapped on to fend off obvious bite points. They were roughly four feet tall, but easily twelve feet long, probably longer if they flattened themselves out rather than holding their heads and tails up as they moved. The tips of their tails went back down, like the end of a crook. They flicked their tongues out testing the air as they approached curiously, clearly wary of potential threats, though not detecting any.


    Between the guards were four wagons, two which had a curved cloth fitted over it, the other were simply flat with a tarp strapped over them to keep their contents from getting wet. Leon and Amanda had so far endured a few short showers, but it was spring so rain was a constant concern.


    Each wagon had a driver, the two larger wagons had two lyzards each. While the flat wagons only had a single lyzard pulling it. He was surprised that the caravan was so small, but the more he considered it, this was probably the wrong direction for spring trade. Smart merchants and traders would be pushing north into the melted snow to make their profits, or so he considered, though he was no merchant.


    Leon waved a hand at the oncoming group, ¡°Hello!¡± he cried out.


    A few waves returned, and soon the wagons slowed as the forward guards past Leon and his daughter.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit far out to be traveling alone?¡± Asked the woman huma guard that interposed herself between Leon and a wagon.


    ¡°You are not wrong, I had hopes to catch up with a caravan leaving our village, but I¡¯m afraid we were too slow.¡± He admitted.


    He couldn¡¯t help but notice the woman¡¯s eyes looking at Amanda, appraising her.


    ¡°A refugee?¡± She asked simply.


    ¡°My daughter.¡± Leon said with a note of pride.


    The guards expression flickered to one of confusion, if only for a short moment, then it was gone and she spoke again, ¡°We¡¯re heading south from Vanshimer, probably to one of the harbors, Synovo is the closest.¡±


    ¡°That matches our own destination.¡± Leon replied, ¡°I¡¯d be glad to travel with you as an additional guard if one of the merchants would be so kind as to let my daughter rest her legs, we¡¯ve been pushing hard and I¡¯m afraid that it''s been a bit much for her.¡±


    ¡°A guard?¡± asked the man on the wagon behind the guard, ¡°You don¡¯t look armed to me.¡± He was a gobi, and as such was around four feet tall. He had a greenish brown skin, and his four fingered hands gripped the reins tightly.


    Leon raised a hand, extending out his shade to an extent forming a sphere from the outside, roughly six feet across into the air above him. Sealing in the aura within, his shade pulled the aura down and compacted it into his hand, the result was not immediately obvious to those without aura sight. His shade suffused the now smaller sphere, and he lengthened it''s contents, before twisting it. A process that had more to do with the aura contained, and less to do with the overall shape of it, or his shade. The result was that the spherical air sparkled as it first became spark, and then glowed as it became light.


    Everyone could now distinctly see the glowing orb in his hand, and as he shrunk the sphere of aura further it''s edges refined, and it became more intense to everyone''s eyes as the density of the higher grade aura raised.


    ¡°I¡¯m a Magus by trade, and retired from the legion.¡± Leon offered as evidence.


    Everyone seemed to respond to that differently. The guards woman stiffened at the sight of it, while the merchant beamed. Amanda for her part stared in the direction of the light in his hand, though she had no real reason to do so with her eyes closed as they were. No doubt she was holding back some burning questions about what he had done because of the others around, no doubt out of shyness rather than manners.


    ¡°I for one would be glad to have a Magus to help us the rest of the way, I¡¯d never pass up an additional guard that didn¡¯t require pay after all.¡± Said the gobi merchant slyly.


    Leon sighed inwardly at that, it was poor manners to not pay a guard anything, but in truth he wasn¡¯t about to argue the point now, what was more important was that Amanda could rest after the week of constant walking, she was spending more time on his shoulders, and when they rested at night she was clearly dealing with muscle fatigue. She had to take nearly three times as many steps as Leon did, and rarely spent so much time active even when they visited the village.


    The guards woman looked to Amanda one more time, then with a slightly resigned look she nodded. As she moved out of the way Leon led Amanda to the merchant¡¯s wagon. It was of the flat variety, but there was space at the front for another rider, and the merchant shifted over slightly as Leon approached.


    ¡°You can ride on top of the wagon and rest.¡± Leon told Amanda, leaning down to speak with her.


    Amanda just nodded her head in response, her shyness in full effect.


    Leon gave Amanda a smile, hopefully bolstering her some, and then hoisted her up and patted her head, careful not to bother her two triangular ears where they poked up.


    Another merchant who had pulled up alongside surprised him by speaking up, ¡°You can ride with me.¡±


    Leon gave the Huma woman a smile, ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll take you up on that offer.¡±

 Chapter 5 - On the Road, Part 2

    Riding on the wagons was considerably easier then the hard walking pace they had been undertaking. Having other guards keeping watch for if something were to attack was also a relief. But more than anything Leon was glad he could focus his efforts on watching the forests knowing that Amanda was safely riding nearby.


    She had no complaints either, and he imagined that she was glad to be off her feet. But around most adults she just clamped shut. The gobi merchant she rode next to didn¡¯t seem to mind her presence either.


    Leon wasn¡¯t sure why the guard woman seemed so skeptical of her. It was impossible to imagine that Amanda, as adorable as she was, would cause problems for the caravan''s security. Even if she had unul blood in her, it would be utter madness to blame a child for the actions of a country.


    While he was glad that Amanda could now relax some, he too was glad that riding was also an option for him. While he was used to long walks, he hadn¡¯t been on such a determined journey in some time. These days most of his walking was in the mountains around their home. But then he rarely had cause to stay out more than a day, nor could he really with Amanda at home. His place on the wagon also made it easier to pick up on motion and details at a distance with his aura sight. It was simply a matter of concentration.


    ¡°So you can really see with your eyes closed?¡± Asked Suan, the merchant woman who had offered Leon a space on her wagon.


    ¡°It''s not quite sight, but it can fill the role in some ways.¡± Leon offered back.


    ¡°Is that why the girl hasn¡¯t opened her eyes? Looking at her with you now, looks like both of you are doing the same thing.¡± She probed.


    ¡°Sort of.¡± Leon replied, not really wanting to explain Amanda¡¯s situation in any real depth.


    ¡°Hmm..¡± She mused, obviously not happy with the reply, yet she glanced back to the two lyzards that pulled the wagon down the path that was little more than a section of grass that had been worn away from considerable wagon and lyzard traffic. This close to the war front the legion had certainly made heavy use of this path.


    Leon tried to focus on the surroundings. Yet he couldn¡¯t help but turn his attention back to Amanda, she had for a time tried to open her eyes, but with the motion of the wagons wasn¡¯t helping, and from what he could tell she had mostly given up on it.


    On one hand he wished she would keep trying, but on the other hand Leon knew that her lack of progress was causing her to fall further into the despair that was clinging to her. For now it was probably better that she rest, it wouldn¡¯t be too much longer until they reached Synovo, once there it would be easy to get the draught he needed, and he could fix his mistake. He was certain now however that he should have resisted her curiosity. Instead he had thought no harm could have come from teaching her aura sight, had this not happened he might have continued her education as a magus and his mistake might have allowed something far worse to happen.


    The hours continued to pass, and earlier than Leon would have, they called camp for the night.


    Leon and Terry, another guard volunteered to get meat for the evening meal. Terry was huma like the rest of the guards, and after borrowing a bow from one of the wagons he and Leon got to work. For Leon it was like drifting back in time, while he hadn¡¯t been a caravan guard, it wasn¡¯t so different to his own experience as captain of a small unit traveling between posts.


    When he got back to the camp he found Amanda had curled up next to the lyzards who were enjoying the warmth of the fire. For such large beasts they could be incredibly docile when domesticated. Though that was only on the surface, when cornered they could be as ferocious as the soldier riding on their back. He was hesitant to let Amanda lay so close to them. They passed the small game they had caught to those who had set up a small makeshift kitchen of sorts around the fires. Then he gathered up Amanda carrying her to the other side of the fire. If only to ease his own worry at having her so close to a lyzard, which in his fears might get spooked. He had no real reason to think this might happen, but all the same it was better to be prudent.


    They had a simple stew that night. It was a nice change of pace from Leon¡¯s roasted meat, a staple of his he had grown accustomed to in his time in the legion. Amanda seemed quite happy for something different to eat as well, which easily put a smile on Leon¡¯s face.


    After that they set up a rotating watch, while most creatures of concern would avoid fire it was a good practice, and Leon was given his own part in the rotation. The next day was much the same, some light conversation sprinkled in, and a few questions he skirted answering. Mostly concerning Amanda, either her eyes, or her blood. He couldn¡¯t blame them after all, an unul child was unusual, even more so he imagined because he claimed to be the father.


    ¡°Are you really that girl''s father?¡± Asked Suan, who he sat next to. She was still not willing to give up the conversation even as Leon offered so little in return.


    ¡°I am.¡± Leon said simply. ¡°Do you not see the resemblance?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say it''s not there, yet...¡± Her gaze fixed on Amanda, she seemed to freeze on selecting her next words.


    Are you going to say, it''s not right?¡± Leon asked, feeling a bit of old animosity churning in his gut.


    ¡°Not that¡­ It''s just that I heard that we can¡¯t mix.¡± She replied instead.


    Leon relaxed before understanding the words. ¡°Wait, can¡¯t?¡± Leon asked, a bit confused by that logic. He hadn¡¯t heard such.


    ¡°In the cities unul girls commonly find their way at brothels.¡± She offered, taking a moment to collect her words, ¡°I¡¯ve heard they are popular among wealthy clients since they can¡¯t catch a child from huma men.¡± She continued.


    Leon pondered that. He and Pluan had been together for little more than three years before Amanda had been conceived. He had heard that some couples had bad luck with such things.  It had seemed an obvious explanation. However Pluan had always been so adamant that Amanda was a miracle. At the time he had simply taken it as motherly love for the unborn girl, but it might have just been his own ignorance in the matter, it could have been that she knew something he did not. Besides that, there were more unul refugees now than ever before, and it was possible it was something else entirely.


    Finally Leon replied, ¡°She certainly is my child. She has my silver hair, and her mothers violet eyes.¡± he spoke with a bit of pride on the matter.


    ¡°I see...¡± Replied the merchant. ¡°Well I¡¯ll simply accept your word for it, perhaps you simply got lucky?¡± She said weakly, but then perhaps to save the conversation before it died, she asked, ¡°Are you on your way back to her mother?¡± Likely she was wondering why he was towing around a small child without her mother.


    ¡°Her mother died giving birth.¡± Leon replied, a cool air settling into his words even without him wanting to.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Suan¡¯s shoulders sank, ¡°Ah.. My apologies.¡± Clearly her hopes of saving the conversation all died with that single misstep.


    The conversation was over, clearly two missteps in a row was enough for her. Leon however was glad. Amanda might be the world to him, but the citizens of Vonin tended to hold some prejudice against them, even if subtle. There was a reason they lived alone in the mountains after all. Leon had been that way once, before he met Pluan, when his world had been blood and war. Just thinking of that time made him consider going to the other wagon to hug Amanda, if only to remind himself of his purpose. He instead simply checked on her from his seat, and returned to his watch.


    It was a short time after that that something caught Leon¡¯s attention. He glanced over his shoulder, opening his eyes to glance the way they had come. The trees blocking whatever he was picking up on in the aura.


    For a few moments he closed his eyes again, it wasn¡¯t the first time he had sensed something, though it was the first time he had felt something so large move in the distance. Unfortunately it was on the edge of his perception, and without a visual backup it might have just been his imagination. He waited, and then again he felt something shift at the periphery of his senses. Like the wind blowing against the back of his neck in a sense. It wasn¡¯t simply his imagination, whatever was back there was trailing them, and it was following slowly, and more worrying, deliberately.


    Leon spoke, ¡°I need to speak with the other guards.¡±


    Suan blinked, ¡°What about?¡± Clearly surprised by his sudden announcement.


    ¡°There''s something following us.¡± He said before waving at Neira, the guards woman he had spoken with the other day. She as it had turned out was the one in charge of the caravans safety, it was important to have someone be in charge, less everyone acted on their own and cause complete chaos when something were to happen.


    Neira wasted little time making her way over to Leon.


    ¡°We are being followed.¡± He explained, before giving the little information he had gleaned from it, indicating the direction, ¡°It''s bigger than a wagon I think, but I can¡¯t be completely sure.¡± he explained.


    ¡°Any chance it just leaves us be?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It''s possible, but in my experience if it''s following us, it''s waiting for it''s chance. There''s a good chance it will follow us until we stop for the night, unless you think we¡¯ll arrive today, I think we should deal with it directly.¡± Leon explained.


    The head guard considered, glancing back to the trees a few times as if hoping to catch a glance. Finally she shook her head making her decision, ¡°We¡¯ll probably arrive tomorrow, and even then later in the day, and it''s going to be getting dark soon. I think you are right, best we deal with it now.¡±


    Neira started making the rounds, talking to the other guards and keeping the discussion between them low key. Leon thought she did her job well, she was calm, and collected as she discussed things with the others. Perhaps his initial reaction to her was slightly off. If anything Leon thought she should have been more decisive. All the same however she was working with guards that knew their own business, and so in this situation conversing over the threat and deciding their course at the end might be prudent. Leon was just used to the way the legion did it. He had decided, the unit acted, simple as that. He supposed that outside the legion it wasn¡¯t so cut and dry.


    While he waited for her to return he reached into his pack, and pulled out his battle bracers. Taking a moment to fix one to each arm, the gemstones set into each glowing in his aura sight. While he could use them in the backpack, doing so might ruin the bag, besides he wouldn¡¯t want to fight with the pack on.


    ¡°There''s going to be a fight?¡± Suan asked.


    ¡°Unless it feels intimidated when we show our hand.¡± Leon offered, it wasn¡¯t likely. He had seen beasts attack whole platoons of legionears, practically suicidal behavior. He had always heard that they were more driven by hunger than logic.


    He waited until Neira returned. The other two guards pulled in with her. The first man had a long spear ready for use, the other was Terry, his large shield with some fairly brutal spikes in place on it, a blade at his hip. Neira had her buckler on one arm, and a short sword at her hip. All in all they could probably deal with the threat, especially when he factored in their lyzard mounts.


    Neira spoke up as they came up alongside the wagon Leon was riding, ¡°Us four will tempt it from the trees and deal with it.¡± Glancing at Leon she finished, ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    Leon nodded, ¡°Just a moment..¡± He said pushing off to the side and dropping down to the ground. It was an awkward motion, but his body could manage. He pulled his cloak free, and grabbed his pack, wrapping one inside the other. That done he jogged over to Amanda who was likely oblivious of what was happening just riding along on the other wagon.


    He moved up besides them, and dropped the wrapped pack besides her, ¡°Watch over this for me?¡±


    Amanda nodded, pulling the pack over to herself easily enough, ¡°What''s following us?¡± She asked in a whisper. Leon chuckled to himself, of course she had heard with those ears of hers. ¡°A beast, we¡¯re going to confront it.¡± He said in his usual confident tone.


    Amanda nodded, and was quiet. He didn¡¯t quite expect her to fully understand, but she at least knew why not to go deep into the forest. Leon left her with the others, and fell back with the other three guards, the caravan pushing on ahead at pace.


    As Leon approached Neira explained her plan, ¡°Terry will try to bait it. From there me and Finic will flank it from either side.¡± She turned to Leon, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not sure how to fit you into the plan.¡±


    This was a bit of a complicated subject, not simply because trying to explain what a magus could, or would do in combat was both a personal and complex topic. But mostly because he had no intention of using his usual methods around others. He had secretly hoped that it would be an uneventful ride south, but at this point he had to contribute something.


    He decided to limit his approach to the fight, focus on using a single well known approach, and hope that would be enough. With his mind made up, he offered what he thought was a simple explanation, ¡°I don¡¯t have blades so treat me like an archer.¡± It wasn¡¯t entirely accurate, but line of sight and friendly fire were parallels.


    She analyzed his explanation before speaking, ¡°Archers aren''t common in this line of work, they aren''t lethal enough. I imagine that''s not true for you?¡±


    Leon let out a breath, and realized his mistake, ¡°How about this instead, engage it, if you think you can handle it without any issues I¡¯ll leave it in your hands. If it is too dangerous, we¡¯ll switch to hit-and-run, I can hit it as long as I can get a clear shot, but I can¡¯t shoot at it unless the area beyond it is equally clear.¡±


    ¡°In case you miss?¡± Terry asked.


    ¡°Or hit, I don¡¯t plan on pulling my punches in this case, so give me a proper opening and hopefully one shot will wound it enough that finishing it off shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± Leon said not entirely honestly.


    ¡°If you can do it all on your own why not just take care of it.¡± Finic asked, his words carried a note of annoyance in them. Likely he didn¡¯t like Leon¡¯s confidence. After all, Leon had implied that one attack from himself might be enough to deal with the threat.


    Leon couldn¡¯t help but be somewhat annoyed, he was committed to his lie at this point, and the reality was that he already hated it. Subterfuge just wasn¡¯t his usual style, and he honestly did think they wouldn¡¯t even need him. He couldn''t help but wonder if it would have been better to travel alone. Then again he had his reasons for lying, his eyes flicking to Neira at the thought. He was trusting his gut so far, the only way forward was wading full well into the swamp.


    ¡°Engaging with numbers is the safest course, and my skills are best utilized while it''s distracted. I¡¯m not over confident to want to face anything alone when I can function more reliably as support.¡± Leon lied, it was at least inline with his own plan.  ¡°Regardless of good sense, the stronger it is the more resilient it will be to any attack, and it makes no sense to put a ranged fighter in range of a threat.¡± He added after a moment. Truth in any sense, though it supported his lie. Honestly, he wouldn¡¯t hold back if it came to it, but until then best that they think of him as just the ranged support for now.


    Neira let out a sigh, ¡°Enough of that. I think it makes sense. We¡¯ve already worked together well enough before Leon joined us. Chances are that we¡¯ll do just as well with this encounter as the last. If we aren''t effective we¡¯ll break off and give Leon the chance he needs, and hopefully that will be enough for the rest of us to finish it off.¡± She said completely focused on the task before them.


    Leon sighed in relief, and glanced back towards the trees. ¡°And just in time too. It''s coming.¡± He said as the distant form in the aura began moving towards them, obviously picking up that they had broken off from the rest of the group.

 Chapter 6 - On the Road, Part 3

    Neira gestured with her sword, ¡°Form up!¡±


    With that the conversation was done, and Neira came in on one side, opposite Finic, Terry in the middle.


    Leon cupped one of the three gemstones in his bracer with his shade, ready to pull free the contained aura when needed. He gave the other three plenty of room, but kept himself behind them. His plan was that he wouldn¡¯t be directly visible to the creature as it emerged from the tree line. Given the option, it might see him and leap past the rest.


    The beast in question took it''s time emerging from the trees. And Leon realized at once that it was larger than he had expected. It might have been slouching in the trees as it was stalking them, for now it was nearly twelve feet tall, and looming, a long tail thrashing behind it. It stood atop four appendages, though the front and rear sets angled differently making it''s gate more of a lumber.


    The beast sniffed at the air in front of it, it didn¡¯t seem to look directly at any of them, which Leon considered a bad sign. It was relying on smell and likely the aura as it''s more keen sense. It''s fur was a smattering of browns and greys, black lines cut across in various directions.


    The other three¡¯s lyzards all seemed to realize the potential danger it posed, all raising their heads and tensing, teeth exposed as they all released a rapid ticking hiss.


    Terry waited no time in beginning their plan. He beat his sword against the side of his shield trying to draw in the creature¡¯s attention.


    The creature clearly heard it, it shifted its head around, angling it so that it''s two ears were centered on the source of the commotion. It''s new orientation made it clear that the creature lacked any eyes at all. It''s mouth opened, and revealed within it''s maw were rows and rows of teeth, sharp and pointed.


    Neria shouted to the rest of them, ¡°Careful! Keep your distance and don¡¯t risk yourselves.¡±


    The mounted three continued to circled around, flanking on either side, while Terry continued his efforts in the front.


    The creature seemed to be inspecting the group around it, perhaps Leon was included within that scrutiny, though it was difficult to say. For the moment Leon was observing, his shade ready to deploy a gemstone of aura in offense if the moment of opportunity presented itself.


    The moment lingered, the tension drew tight in the air, then motion. The creature leapt over Terry, and went straight for Leon. It came crashing down on a fast course to bite down on Leon mid stride.


    Leon¡¯s shade acted quickly pushing out, then solidifying the air in front of him creating an impromptu shield. The creature rammed into it. The beast, and shield, rammed into Leon, who leaned into it to keep his balance rather than be trampled.


    He slid across the ground drawing paths in the dirt as his boots turned up soil. Then Finic struck from behind, his long spear point lancing towards the beast from behind.


    The creature deftly dodged to the side, which put him closer to Neria, who slashed out with her blade. She was close enough that the lyzard felt obliged to bite at their foe as well.


    The creature took the slash, but it''s tail whipped around in the next moment, tossing the lyzard and it''s rider to the side.


    The plan had crumbled instantly, and now Neira was pinned under a lyzard that was panicking, and Leon and Finic were the only ones close enough to do anything about it.


    Leon however wasn¡¯t at a good angle, he wasn¡¯t ready to put all his cards on the table, but the situation was looking bad, he grit his teeth as he debated with himself.


    The creature wasted no movement to check it''s surroundings, it''s tail lashing out towards Leon in the next moment. Leon deflected it''s motion with more air while trying to move to the side to line up his shot.


    That was when Terry arrived slamming his shield into the creature''s tail as it tried to rebuff the charge.


    Terry was thrown clear of his mount, leather straps snapping. However his shield had done bloody work on the tail, which was now oozing red blood from several gashes. The lyzard now relieved of it''s rider lashed out in the same motion, clamping it''s jaws onto the creature''s bloodied tail. The creature howled in pain, and tried to shake the lyzard from its tail.


    Finic struck from his side, and the battle seemed like it was nearly over. Then it''s front claws came up, swiping the spear and throwing to the side. In a follow up motion it lashed out at Finic, his lyzard scrambling backwards at the assault. The lyzard¡¯s panicked backpedaling saved both of them as the creature swiped, and bit at the air where Finic had been moments before.


    Wounded the creature was, but it wasn¡¯t slowing, which meant one thing, the wounds were too small, even if they were deep.


    It was time to act, Terry might be on the other side, but Leon was close, and he could hit it on the underside, aiming skyward. He committed himself to it, pulling the aura from the gem in a smooth motion he gestured with his hand to emphasize the direction, and focused. His shade like his muscles knew the motion well. His shade created a lens, the aura from the gemstone broke out of the gem in an instant, the gem cracking as such a large amount of aura burst from it in an instant.


    The air blossomed with luminance, a tiny sun forming above Leon¡¯s arm. It drifted forward in the space between moments, moving before Leon''s hand. It reached his finger tips, the leaking rays of light shimmered as it closed with the lens. Then he released one side, and like forcing water through a tiny whole, the light burst forth all at once. In a sharp eye blinding streak that lanced between them, and upwards into the side of the beast.


    Leon had to close his eyes and rely on his aura sight for what came next.


    The beast released a great howl, and tried to get out of the path in one go, however the attack wasn¡¯t something you could dodge once released and so it struck the creatures side. The smell of burning flesh and fur filled the air around them. The creature dropped low after an instant limping at the wound, even as it howled it''s pain in an ear shattering wail.


    Leon considered using a second gem, but the beast had dropped, and was now low, which meant Terry was directly opposite him. The worst situation if he needed to hit it with a follow up.


    Finic pulled a second spear from the side of his mount, and urged it forward to make the killing blow.


    Leon took a moment to study the situation. Neira and her lyzard had recovered, though shaken she was back in the fight. Terry looked to have broken something, and was down still, his lyzard however had taken to guard him and was hissing towards the beast.


    Finic stabbed towards the creature, but even wounded as it was it possessed incredible agility. It''s maw snapped closed on the spear shaft and without delay pulled it free even as it swiped a claw towards his mount.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    The lyzard cried out in pain as the long claws took it across the neck.


    The wooden spear shaft shattered between rows of teeth. The monstrosity reached its neck out, aiming to finish Finic or his lyzard. Snapping its jaws it lunged low. But the lyzard put space between them just in time.


    Neria approached, but this put herself in range of the massive claws which came snapping around with terrifying speed. Claw met steel as she pulled back and using her buckler to guard,  getting closer was a fool''s errand.


    That was the limit, if Leon delayed further Neira or Finic might die, the creature''s tail, and claws would make certain of that. Even if Neira managed to wound it, this creature wasn¡¯t properly deterred by pain. The sizzling burn that ran the length of its side was proof. Meanwhile Finic had been disarmed, leaving few options.


    Leon discarded any notion of hiding who he was after this. He breathed in, his arms coming up in a familiar martial pose. His shade spread out along the ground at the same time. His mind knew how to do this, so very familiar, even if it had been years it wasn¡¯t something he would ever forget. Through training and action, it had been forged into him, body and shade.


    The creature shifted its weight, it''s tail flaring out in the opposite direction to keep balance, it''s powerful back legs propelling it forward. It''s claws weren''t good enough for what was next, it was going to strike with it''s maw.


    Leon rotated his shoulders, and threw a hook, his shade mirrored his body¡¯s motion. But down, in the ground. Rock and stone snapped free. Stone, dirt and grass shot from the ground and angled in as a single hook thrown from the ground, like a massive fist from the side, it cracked into the maw of the creature even as it tried to close it''s jaws around Neira¡¯s head. Flowing rock and stone met flesh and the weight of both colliding forces met in the middle. No amount of beast however could match the density of stone. And the beast reeled backwards from the force.


    Thankfully for all of them Neira had pulled back, ready to at least get one last stab in. But then the mass of stone had come in at an angle, cutting off that possibility entirely.


    The creature struck ground with a thump, and rolled. But it wasn¡¯t done, it pushed itself up to its full height a moment later. Cracked teeth and jaw and blood leaked from it''s maw as it let loose a howl of agony and rage. It''s stance wavered however.


    Leon had already shifted his weight, and with it his shade was ready. This time his fist flew straight, and stone and dirt lanced upwards curving in towards the head, the creature was clearly panicked, and without a doubt dizzy, it couldn¡¯t fathom the first, or the second strike that came a moment later. The ground struck it''s jaw, and the creature¡¯s entire frame went backwards. Then almost immediately after, an uppercut from right next to the beast''s body impacted his head and sent it¡¯s maw skyward.


    Leon closed the distance with a sprint, and arrived just as the creature crashed to it''s back, still on the ground. His shade came up around the creature, like rising swamp water from the ground. His shade permeated the aura around the beast, then without pausing he lengthened the aura, causing the heat in the air to crackle into spark. He didn¡¯t even try to move it, rather he simply released it. As all spark does, it snapped back into heat in a dazzling display as soon as it was released. The air crackled and the spark lanced across the body of the creature in a dance of motion and light, it zipped across the creature''s body in lines, dipping in and around its body as it went, then no sooner had it started, then it finished.


    The Creatures entire body shivered at the influence, and it let out a wheezing gasp. It''s muscles flexing and shivering involuntarily.


    Leon raised a hand skyward, his shade unfurling out above him into a sphere, it moved violently fast, carving through the air greedily. The edges converged high above him, and the sphere slammed down on itself, compressing with increasing force.


    The creature below him tried to turn its head, it attempted to move its tail, even a leg, but it''s body wouldn¡¯t listen, it''s muscles were unnaturally tense.


    Even as Leon brought the collapsing sphere down in front of him he lengthened, then twisted the aura, moving the aura from one form to the next with practiced ease. The aura shifted, sizzled into spark, before collapsing and snapping into  light and becoming visible for one glorious instant as a shrinking orb before it was lensed into action. Violent light burst forth and this time his aim struck true. The beam struck the head, and while it wasn¡¯t as bright, or as powerful as his earlier beam. This time he had perfect aim and close range. His hand was steady and his aim was true. It didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    The beast lay still, it''s skull bored through as smoke poured from the wound. Only when Leon could see the shimmer of it''s shade in the aura fade did Leon allow himself to relax, and allow his shade to fold back into himself.


    Faint sparkling ice crystals drifted lazily through the air around Leon and the beast, the air having dropped in temperature as a new balance of warmth was achieved.


    Leon breathed out and rolled his shoulders, glad that it was over. Adjusting himself, he turned his eyes towards the others. Finic stood behind his lyzard, Neira holding a sword in hand, Terry was still down. They were all quiet. Leon naturally evaluated them all, Terry was the only one still down, so he spoke breaking the tension in the air. ¡°Terry probably broke a rib.¡± He offered in an attempt to open dialog with the stunned guards.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Neria.


    ¡°Like I¡¯ve said, I¡¯m Leon.¡± he answered back nonchalantly, though he knew where this was going, he dreaded it.


    ¡°Your distinction?¡± Neria demanded, her voice rising, anger already present.


    Leon sighed, ¡°De¡¯Heron.¡± He reluctantly let his shade expandly slightly, as he rolled his shoulders, half expecting a second fight so soon.


    ¡°I should have known you were the traitor after you claimed that unul brat was yours.¡± Neria spat.


    Leon narrowed his eyes at her, ¡°I never betrayed anyone.¡±


    ¡°You betrayed all of Vonin!¡± She snapped back.


    ¡°No.¡± Leon said simply trying to explain, ¡°I was forced into retirement.¡± his eyes flicking towards Finic who held up his hands and shook his head. Clearly Neria was the only one who wanted any part in this argument. Some small grace that was however.


    ¡°You expect me, the daughter of a legionnaire to believe that the legion just released their strongest war magus in the middle of the war?¡± She said with increasing hostility.


    ¡°It''s complicated.¡± Leon replied, keeping his tone calmer, even if his volume raised. It was hard to not yell back.


    ¡°Traitor.¡± She condemned her voice like venom.


    Leon took a breath and decided he was done with this. There was no point. ¡°I¡¯m clearly not going to change your mind, so I suppose I¡¯ll just go my own way.¡± and he turned, striding towards the wagons, with his mind decided.


    Behind him she yelled out again, ¡°You¡¯re a dirty rotten traitor!¡± One small favor however was that her assault remained verbal.


    The rest of the caravan had slowed, and eventually stopped. Most of them had started watching once they had given the fighters space. Though most of them were now staring at Leon.


    Leon ignored them all and went to Amanda, ¡°We¡¯ll walk the rest of the way.¡± He explained, leveling his tone and trying to control the complex of knots in his chest.


    Even Amanda seemed to have a strange air around her. Which made Leon¡¯s heart clench when she opened her mouth and spoke. ¡°Was that you?¡± she asked in awe. Leon immediately relaxed. Before snatching her up, and slung his bag on his other shoulder as he started walking.


    ¡°It was indeed.¡± He said, strangely having a new found grin on his face. No doubt she had felt the shifts and the aura even from that distance. Probably the first time she had witnessed his real skill as a magus, directly or indirectly. Strangely the fact that she couldn¡¯t help but look impressed, maybe even proud helped Leon put the previous conversation behind him.


    He didn¡¯t stop watching Neria until he could no longer keep a metaphorical eye on her.


    After they had put some space between them and the caravan Leon let Amanda down and she asked, ¡°How come we are leaving? Is it cause she kept calling you names?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡± Leon admitted, ¡°Sometimes it''s easier to leave then to deal with other people who don¡¯t want to listen to reason.¡± He explained, though the pain in his tone was clear.


    Amanda ran towards him and hugged his leg. ¡°It''s alright!¡±


    Leon patted her head, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Amanda didn¡¯t complain once as they walked. Either because her legs had recovered, or because he didn¡¯t want to cause trouble. She didn¡¯t even notice that they kept going after the sunset, or hours after that.


    Which was how Leon found himself approaching the walls of Synovo in the early dawn light. Amanda snoring softly in his arms.

 Chapter 7 - One Foot, Then The Other

    Amanda woke that morning finding herself in a bed, and for a moment she thought she was home. For that moment she forgot about the trip, about her sickness, and opened her eyes ready to climb from her bed. It was only a moment, but it all came back so soon, this room was not hers, and she still got ill.


    One good thing had come from all the practice she had tried to do, at least she no longer emptied her stomach at the first motion. In the meantime, she sat there, eyes closed inspecting the room around her, which fit mostly into her senses.


    The first thing that drew her attention however was what lay below. The bed was much softer than hers, It was light and fluffy. Curiosity filled her, and her senses went into the bed, finding that it was full of feathers instead of furs. That was only the beginning, as she found that there was a sack that had been under her head that was likewise full of feathers. She laid back down, and found that it was unbelievably soft. So she just let herself sink into it. While she did that her attention drifted.


    The room she was in was unfamiliar, and sparsely furnished, the bed she lay in, a table to one side, there was a wardrobe as well. The walls were all wooden, but different then the homes in the village.


    Unable to continue her exploration from the bed, she got up. Going to one wall to extend her senses in one direction. She couldn¡¯t help peer past the walls to see what was beyond. In one case she found a sleeping woman, on the other side she found a bed that was empty. Finally she lowered herself down to the floor, and found that below her was a room full of people chatting and eating. She couldn¡¯t make out any of the conversation, it was all just a distinct growl to her, but just sensing people eating was enough to make her stomach growl.


    That was when she first realized that her father was not in the room. Amanda quickly returned to the bed she had woken on and wrapped herself up in the blanket. She wasn¡¯t sure what to do, and she wasn¡¯t sure where she was. The moments lengthened, and she pulled her blanket tighter. She had to be brave. She reminded herself several times, but being somewhere she didn¡¯t recognize was something she had to admit, was quite scary.


    Then the door opened, and she opened her eyes for the briefest glimpse of the person she already knew it was. Without thinking, she charged to and wrapped her arms around her fathers legs. She nearly tripped on the blanket in the process, but somehow avoided doing so.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± He asked, placing his hand comfortingly atop her head.


    ¡°You weren''t here...¡± Amanda said, almost in tears.


    ¡°I was just buying your medicine.¡± He said, pulling her up, and taking a seat on the bed. She was placed onto his lap. ¡°I told you before I left.¡±


    ¡°You did?¡± She asked, not remembering.


    He nodded, ¡°You must really have been tired from all that walking for you to have fallen back asleep so soundly.¡± He said rubbing her back soothingly.


    Amanda sniffed for a few moments, trying to recall, and to calm down. She simply didn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°Well it''s alright in any case, I¡¯m here now, and I¡¯ve got the medicine.¡± Her father explained.


    Amanda nodded, and recalling what the medicine was for she perked up. ¡°Where''s the medicine?¡±


    ¡°You want to try it now?¡± her father asked.


    She nodded, even if it tasted like her shoes she would take it.


    At that her father pulled free a vial, and popped off the tiny cork at the top. ¡°Open up.¡±


    She complied, and in truth for medicine it didn¡¯t even taste that bad. It wasn¡¯t good, but it tasted more like old Annara¡¯s tea than the medicines she made.


    Easily enough it was downed and she grinned, but before she could open her eyes to try out the medicine, her father clamped his hand over her eyes, ¡°Hold on there.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Amanda asked, confused by the reaction.


    ¡°It takes a little while to kick in, and I knew the moment you grinned that you were gonna do something reckless and end up puking all over us both.¡± He explained.


    ¡°I was not¡­¡± She said, though her feelings were not in it and it came out mostly a whisper.


    ¡°Honestly I¡¯m happy that you were ready to practice, but before we do that, why don¡¯t we get something to eat. Best to take things slowly.


    Her stomach agreed, so she replied, ¡°Ok.¡±


    Down stairs was quite the hub of activity. The smell of bread and butter was everywhere, it was amazing. Her father didn¡¯t make bread very often, they mostly ate meat, berries and cheeses her father bought from traders, but from time to time he would make something different, or he would get something in the village. That old Annara could make pies, and those were delicious too.


    But wherever they were, the smell of bread was everywhere, and it had Amanda drooling before the food was even plated. What was more amazing is that they just sat down and people brought plates to them after her father asked. Amanda had heard from the village kids about something like this. So after the person that gave them plates left she looked up to her Father, ¡°Are we important?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What makes you ask that?¡± He said, using a knife to cut up a sausage on her plate.


    ¡°They brought us food, the boys in the village say that people who are important have people to do that sort of thing.¡± She conveyed.


    Her father chuckled, ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid it''s not quite something so grand. We are simply paying customers, and two meals are included.¡± He said with a warm smile.


    ¡°Paying?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I paid them with coins, so they in turn are letting us stay here, and are feeding us.¡± he explained gesturing to her fork. She instead ignored the fork, and grabbed the sizable biscuit that had butter laying atop it melting. It created quite the impression in the aura as the steam swirled around it. The impression of the butter where it met the bed created a sensation not unlike a rainbow, where the cooler butter was at the top, and it got warmer near the bottom and it spread out.


    Once she got started however, she forgot all about everything else and consumed the biscuit, that sausage and some really light and fluffy pieon eggs. She was stuffed when they finally climbed the stairs and returned to their room. She couldn¡¯t even remember when she had eaten so much.


    Her father didn¡¯t waste any time however, and had her sit on her bed before outlining what they were going to do next.


    As it turned out, it was the same thing they had been doing, but with the medicine in her it was easier. In fact that was an understatement as the more time she spent at it, the simpler it became. By dinner she was slowly able to make her way around the room with her eyes open. Even when she went a bit fast she didn¡¯t get sick, instead she just tended to fall over, which was why her father would catch her with his invisible hands.


    That night they ate down stairs, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she was able to stare at the world around her. This new place was like pie for her eyes, people she had never seen before were everywhere.


    There were huma and gobi everywhere inside. She was struck by just how many different looking people there were. Most of the people in the village had lighter skin, pale to clayish brown. Here there were people with similar colors, but also darker tones, even some darker colorations she had never seen before, even among the traders. Of course her village had only one gobi family, but there were quite a few chatting around the building, some brown and some greenish brown. Everyone looked so different to her eyes, but to her aura sight they all seemed much the same. Unique, but different, in the same way that she was different from her father.


    Aside from the people there was more to see. Table cloths, fancy clothing, pictures hung on the walls. Then she spotted the same crystal lamps that they used at their home. Which was both different and familiar to Amanda. ¡°Are the people here magus too?¡± she couldn¡¯t help but ask her father while they ate.


    ¡°No.¡± He replied as he smiled, ¡°But there are magus that live in the city, the people that live here can pay the Magus to refill the crystals.¡± He explained.


    Amanda still quite hadn¡¯t worked her mind around the whole idea of paying for things. Though her father had further explained it while they had practiced up stairs. But she was starting to get it, or so she thought.  ¡°So if they came to you they would pay you to fill the crystals? Then you would pay to stay and eat here?¡± She asked.


    Her father chuckled, but nodded, ¡°That is the idea, though I have no plans to run a business, especially in a city.¡±


    ¡°How come people in the village don¡¯t use crystals? They could pay you to refill them.¡± Amanda asked, voicing the a question that made the whole prospect not fit right in her head.


    ¡°The village is small, so we don¡¯t really use coins much, but the truth of the matter is that there are no crystals near by, or else I¡¯d probably have given them to the people that live there. The ones in our home I traded for.¡± Her father went on.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Amanda frowned, ¡°Why not trade for them for everyone else too?¡±


    Her father tilted his head, ¡°One simple reason, they are expensive.¡±


    Amanda didn¡¯t understand, ¡°What''s expensive?¡±


    ¡°It means they want a lot of coins for them, and I only have so many coins.¡± He explained.


    ¡°How many?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°How many do I have? Or how many do they cost?¡± Her father asked.


    ¡°Both!¡± Amanda demanded.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Enough, and too much.¡± He replied vaguely.


    Amanda glared her disapproval at him, unsatisfied with the answer.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know the full answer to either. I have a small pouch with me, but I haven''t counted it''s contents. And There are no traders here selling crystals.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Could we go look and see?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°I suppose we could, but perhaps we should save that for tomorrow or the day after, you¡¯ve had some more time to get used to things. You¡¯re still pretty wobbly.¡± He noted.


    Amanda took a breath and nodded, before shoving the steaming loaf of bread into her mouth and tearing a sizable chunk free with great effort.


    As it turned out they were stuck in the inn for another three days. Amanda tried to take it in stride, but it was getting boring walking around the same room over and over again even with her father to chat about all the new things. The truth was that Amanda didn¡¯t want to talk about all the new things, she wanted to see what lay outside, and hear the sound of the water and the ships, and smell the fish and the other wonderful foods!


    So it was on the fourth day that she sat on her bed, bouncing up and down. She was waiting for her father to return with more medicine. Her medicine had worn off but on the bed it wasn¡¯t so bad, it only got bad when she was standing and moving around now. Amazingly she wasn¡¯t puking anymore, even if she did get queasy or dizzy.


    But with the medicine she could walk around no problems, it was amazing! She just told her father to buy a bunch of it and then they could just go and do anything they wanted. However he shot down her obvious idea with the similar logic, ¡°That would be too expensive.¡±


    She was still bouncing when the door opened, her father appearing in the doorframe.


    Not stopping her continued abuse of the too soft bed Amanda voiced her demands, ¡°I wanna see the city!¡±


    Her father eyed her from the door, as he pulled free a fresh veil of medicine and uncorked it, ¡°I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re ready to walk around town yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine with the medicine!¡± She asserted with the force only pure boredom could encourage. Her continued movement had started to take a toll however, and she was forced to close her eyes.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve proven my point for me.¡± Her father said.


    She groaned, ¡°With the medicine! I¡¯m bored...¡±


    Her father let out a long breath and after sitting down next to her, he held out the veil, ¡°Open up.¡±


    Amanda didn¡¯t need any more encouragement, and downed the medicine easily. ¡°It will be fine!¡± she announced.


    Her father stood back up and walked across to the far side of the room, ¡°Alright, if you want to go, prove to me that you can walk without throwing up.¡±


    ¡°In a bit?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Now.¡± He said sternly.


    Amanda sulked, only able to open her eyes after a few more moments of resting.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to see the city until you can manage well enough without the medicine, and since you¡¯ve already taken it you better hurry and prove it before the medicine starts working.¡± Her father said standing firm.


    Amanda took a deep breath, and focused, ¡°Fine!¡± she yelled in complaint. She stood up, careful not to go too fast. Once she was standing she had to try and stand tall and not sway. Then as bravely as she could, she put one foot in front of the other. Then again, and again. She picked up the pace a little at a time. And before she knew it she had reached her father, and she was only a little dizzy.


    Amanda''s face exploded with a grin and shouted, ¡°I did it!¡±


    ¡°When did I say that you just had to walk to me?¡± Her father asked.


    Amanda was shocked, ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°Go on, back to the bed, then to here, two more times.¡± He went on.


    Amanda managed to get back to the bed, but on her return trip she felt faint and her footing failed her. Her father¡¯s invisible hands now visible to her caught her easily enough, but she sniffled at her failure, ¡°I...¡± she said looking up at him with tears blossoming in her eyes.


    Her father looked down at her with a complex expression, and after a moment he relented, ¡°We can go, you did alright.¡±


    Amanda blinked the baby tears away, ¡°We can!?¡±


    Her father nodded, ¡°But until then, we keep practicing.¡±


    True to her fathers word once she was able to walk back and forth five times in a row without getting dizzy they left the inn for the first time.


    To Amanda¡¯s surprise the inn was only one small building in the whole. She was struck with awe for the city. Buildings that went both ways, the ground was even made of stone, and not the same stone that their house had been made from, stone blocks fit into a path. There was even something under the path, but what was before her eyes drew her more than what was exposed to her newer sense.


    Amanda stuck close to her father, clinging to his side and watching everything. As they walked her father offered tidbits. He explained why the shops had both pictures and words, he showed her shops selling clothing, metal tools, leather goods, fabrics, there was a store that sold pictures, the list went on and on.


    The city was not only alive, it was chaotic! Groups traveling this way or that way. Carts being pushed, wagons and lyzards, the place was an exciting beautiful mess! Overhead smoke rose from chimneys, the sound of hammers on wood, or metal echoed in the distance. The sound of people was everywhere, whether it was huma or gobi the place was practically bursting with life.


    Amanda got so caught up in her gawking as they went it was hard to keep track of time, or location. They made a few stops when Amanda was particularly drawn to a street cart that had crispy fish for sale. Or when they had come to the harbor and they stopped to watch as huge nets of fish were dropped to the side and sold as they continued flopping about on the ground.


    Amanda even saw a few people that had ears like she did, one even had a tail. Though it was only in passing and before she knew it something else had caught her eye.


    It was an exciting day, and before they knew it the sun was already on it''s way down. So they changed directions, heading back towards their inn.


    That was when something caught her fathers eyes and they stepped into a strange shop. There were counters with strange bits and bobs all around. Nothing that Amanda recognized however. She peeked back out the window to see the sign. It was a strange shape she didn¡¯t know. Like a wheel with teeth. And there was a little crystal in the middle.


    She wasted a minute glancing around at what her father was looking at, before the girl behind the counter caught her eye instead. The girl about the same height as Amanda was working on something with a needle and thread.


    The bright green gobi girl noticed her attention and spoke, ¡°Welcome!¡±


    Her father was captivated by the strange items around the shop, as usual he always seemed to be moving at his own pace. So while he was doing that Amanda couldn¡¯t help but rush over to the girl that had greeted her.


    ¡°Hello!¡± Amanda said with a big smile, excitement causing her to nearly vibrate as she hadn¡¯t played with anyone in what seemed like forever. ¡°Whatcha doin?¡± she asked, trying her best to look over the counter at what the girl was working on.


    The gobi girl held up her little project, ¡°I¡¯m making a bag.¡± she replied, clearly not quite sure what to do in response to Amanda.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Amanda said looking at the bag, ¡°Isn¡¯t it too small?¡± she said remarking on the visible size of the cloth.


    ¡°Well I¡¯ve not gotten that far.¡± Replied the girl, her cheeks color deepening slightly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind her, she''s naturally curious and if she''s not being shy she tends to speak without thinking.¡± Her father spoke.


    Amanda stared at her father in disgruntled annoyance. She always hated when he told people things like that.


    Her father just kept going however ignoring her protest, ¡°Don¡¯t bother her, she''s probably got three years on you you know.¡±


    ¡°I know that¡­¡± Amanda complained. Though perhaps she hadn¡¯t thought about it. There was just that one family of gobi in the village, but they had quite a few kids that Amanda would play with when they visited. Gobi finished growing early so this girl probably would only get maybe a foot taller if that.


    ¡°She''s fine.¡± said the girl behind the desk pleasantly. After a moment she seemed to get an idea of her own and smiled at Amanda, ¡°Do you want to see something neat?¡±


    Amanda nodded enthusiastically. Conspiratorially Amanda followed the girl into the back.


    Her father shouted after her, ¡°Don¡¯t cause them any trouble!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Amanda cried out as she followed the girl into what was clearly a workspace.


    All around the room on tables were strange boxes and objects that looked like the stuff littering the room her father was looking around in. Crystals glowing to her aura sight were set into some of them.


    Amanda couldn¡¯t help but be drawn by her senses, ¡°What are these?¡± she asked curiously.


    ¡°Oh, that''s just stuff my papa is making.¡± The girl noted, clearly not so interested. Instead she pulled out a box, and lifted out a crude contraption from within. Amanda couldn¡¯t help but notice the crystal within this too. Around the crystal were bits of color, maybe rocks, but she could see through them. She couldn¡¯t help but reach out and poke one. ¡°What''s that?¡±


    ¡°They are glass. The glass blower throws out bits like this a lot, and my dad helped me make this.¡± She explained, while picking up the rainbow colored covering that covered the crystal within.


    ¡°Oh..¡± Amanda mused, she had seen the glass in the windows and asked her father about it earlier. But this glass was colored, and pretty. Amanda shifted mental focus, and looked at the rest of it, she wasn¡¯t sure what was neat about it.


    The girl then tapped the crystal inside with the metal striker. It was the same as the one Amanda¡¯s father used at home, or back at the inn to ring the crystal lamps.


    Light flowed freely from the crystal, and then the girl set back down the color glass over it. It made the shadows in the room suddenly change color. Amanda glanced around, distracted by the colors.


    The girl continued her show however not quite finished, and she drew back the thick curtain cloth that was pulled aside to let light into the workshop. Then she moved on to the next, and then the final one. This meant that the only light in the room was the bit from the front shop, and the glowing crystal.


    The whole room was a spattering of strange colors that made Amanda grin. ¡°That''s pretty!¡±


    Running back to the where Amanda was next to the contraption on the ground she put one of four fingers to the colored surface, and flicked to the side. The colors spun with the motion. The entire room seemed to spin around them.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Amanda exclaimed watching as the light around danced. It even danced in her aura sight, if in a different way, light was more a shimmering in the air to her new sense, whereas her eyes could see the light on all the walls. Combined it was quite the sight and experience.


    ¡°Neat right?¡± The girl smiled back at her.


    Amanda nodded, ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Hey, what''s your name?¡± Asked the girl.


    ¡°Amanda.¡± She replied simply, ¡°You?¡± she asked in return.


    ¡°Buni!¡± She said back with a grin.

 Chapter 8 - Friends

    While her father didn¡¯t end up buying anything from the store they had started making it a point to visit the same shop in the mornings. Her father told her that he had some things to talk about with Buni¡¯s father. Amanda didn¡¯t mind however, Buni and her would meet up with some of the other children in the city. Most of the children that Buni knew lived close by, so they left their fathers to sit around and talk about boring things and took to the streets to meet up and play with the other kids.


    They had already been in the city for over a week, and Amanda now spent her evenings practicing without taking the medicine, though she still took the medicine in the morning still. Overall She was excited to have someone to play with and she could see more of the city. She didn¡¯t know most of the kids'' names, but she did know a few. Buni of course she knew, and Buni was close to another girl who was about Amanda¡¯s height who¡¯s name was Tia.


    Tia was a huma with brownish skin, with bright almost pink eyes and blonde hair that was tied up in braids. Her clothing unlike Buni¡¯s and Amanda was finer, with fancy trim that she hated getting dirty. Her clothing was so fancy  that she usually showed up each day to play with completely different clothes. Something her and Buni thought was sort of funny.


    It seemed like everyone in the area had their own schedule, which made sense after her father had explained that most kids would help their parents some depending on what they did. Some might work at a bakery, others might help carry things, while others might help mind shops during the day.


    It just so happened that Tia spent her days under tutors, Buni helped mind their families shop later in the day, and Amanda and her Father came over early. So they got to play quite a bit during the mornings.


    One particular morning Tia, Buni and Amanda were playing a game with some chalk that Tia had brought along. Tia had explained the game in long winded form, but the basics were that each circle on the ground had a number, and tossing stones you could get points based on which number was in the circle. Then they would throw a bunch, and keep score.


    Tia and Amanda were both pretty good at numbers so they kept track of the points. While they were playing one of the boys that they had played with another day showed up watching them.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asked, staring at the numbers curiously.


    While Amanda threw her four stones from the starting line with little results Tia tried to explain the game to the boy. Amanda frowned at her own stone placement, only getting two points for that round. Buni who went after her managed to land her stones inside a circle with each throw.


    ¡°You¡¯re really good!¡± Amanda announced, even if she was a bit jealous.


    Buni grinned, ¡°We used to have colored hoops to play this game.¡±


    ¡°Colored hoops?¡¯ Amanda asked.


    Buni nodded as she collected her stones, ¡°Of wood, we had to clean them but we used to play a lot before. Then one of the kids from the docks broke them.¡±


    ¡°They broke them?!¡± Amanda asked, mortified by the idea.


    Buni nodded sadly, ¡°So we could-¡± She was cut off when Tia suddenly let out a scream.


    Buni and Amanda both turned to see one of the other boys had appeared behind her, muddy hands grasping for Tia.


    Amanda had no idea what had happened, but rushed to help. She shoved the boy onto his back THe sudden sprint made her feel a bit off balance


    From there things got worse as the other boy shoved Amanda to the ground. Then Buni hit him square in the face.


    The boy that Amanda had shoved got up and started spreading mud everywhere on Amanda¡¯s clothes with a gleeful grin on his face.


    Amanda didn¡¯t understand, but his grin was infuriating, so she grabbed what mud she could from the ground and threw it back at the boy. The bulk of it smacking right in his face, some even going up his nose.


    The boy made a face, and tried to put some space between them. Amanda pressed her advantage, grabbed more mud, and chased after him, throwing the mud as she went, though it went wide and splattered on the wall.


    It was all over in a flash and Amanda stood victorious, if covered in mud. The two boys rushed off into an alleyway away from her and Buni.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Amanda huffed to herself from the excitement, glad she had managed to not fall from the dizziness. But more than anything exalting in the thrill of victory.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Buni asked Tia, who had gotten a bit of mud on her dress.


    Amanda turned to see as well, now that the boys were out of sight.


    Tia nodded, ¡°I¡¯m alright¡­ They always do that!¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡± Amanda asked, still having no idea what had been the problem in the first place.


    Buni explained, ¡°Tia gets in trouble when her dress gets dirty, and the boys heard about it. So when they have nothing better to do they try to get her in trouble.¡±


    ¡°That''s terrible!¡± Amanda cried out, feeling for her new found friends.


    Buni gave a nod but gave Amanda a worried look, ¡°Are you not going to get in trouble?¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Amanda asked, brushing some mud off her tunic with a hand, though it might have made it worse.


    ¡°For being dirty?¡± Tia asked, clearly put off by the state of Amanda.


    Amanda shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re dad must be really nice.¡± Buni said with wide eyes.


    ¡°He¡¯s great!¡± Amanda agreed.


    It was about that time that her father showed up. Though Amanda frowned at seeing him. ¡°It''s not time yet!¡± she cried out, she was sure of it the sun wasn¡¯t even that high yet.


    Her father gave her a confused glance, and looked around at all of them. ¡°I¡¯m just checking on what happened with those boys.¡± He explained.


    Amanda blinked, realizing she misunderstood. Wasting no time she told him what Tia and Buni had said. Finishing her story with how she and Buni had chased them off proudly.


    Her father nodded and gave her a smile, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m glad to see none of you were hurt.¡± He said, and leaned down next to Amanda patting her on the head, ¡°But we¡¯ll need to give you a proper bath tonight, it''s in your hair.¡±


    Amanda fingered a few bits of slightly drying dirt in the silver strands, ¡°It doesn''t bother me.¡±


    Her father nodded simply, ¡°Alright.¡± Then glancing up he took measure of the time, ¡°A bit longer until noon, so have fun until then.¡±


    Amanda waved to her father who slipped back around the corner and back towards the shop.


    ¡°How did he see what happened from inside there?¡± Buni asked, surprised and shocked at the fact that Amanda¡¯s father had somehow known to come out.


    ¡°He can see through walls!¡± Amanda explained.


    Tia blinked, ¡°You¡¯re dad is a magus?¡±


    Amanda nodded, ¡°He sure is! I¡¯m going to be one too!¡± She proclaimed with certainty.


    ¡°Being a magus isn¡¯t that easy.¡± Tia said with a dismissive attitude.


    ¡°I know.¡± Amanda said her volume raising with a bit of anger. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying really hard.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s teaching you?¡± Tia asked with a squeak.


    Amanda nodded, ¡°Sure is! I can already see through things too.¡±


    ¡°No you can¡¯t!¡± Tia yelled back.


    ¡°Can too!¡± Amanda barked back.


    ¡°Prove it!¡± Tia shot back.


    ¡°I will!¡± Amanda shouted back with a stomp of her foot.


    Tia stared on in expectation.


    Buni looked back and forth between both of them somewhat confused by the development, and by the lack of any progress after a few moments.


    After a minute Tia gestured, ¡°Well?¡±


    Amanda blinked, ¡°Well what should I look at?¡±


    Buni chimed in, ¡°How about you tell how many fingers she''s got held up?¡±


    Tia grinned, ¡°Good idea!¡± And she held up her hand behind herself. Taking a moment to carefully ensure that Amanda couldn¡¯t see with her eyes.


    ¡°Well?¡± Tia asked.


    ¡°Three fingers, you¡¯re middle, pointer, and pinky.¡± Amanda replied easily.


    Tia blinked in shock.


    Buni blinked too and did the same, ¡°What about mine?¡±


    Amanda replied, ¡°Two fingers, pinky and thumb.¡±


    Buni swapped them, ¡°And now?¡±


    ¡°Now your two middle two fingers are up.¡± Amanda replied without any effort.


    ¡°That''s amazing! How do you do that?¡± Buni announced with excitement.


    ¡°My dad calls it aura sight.¡± Amanda explained, ¡°We can sense the aura.¡±


    ¡°What''s the aura?¡± Buni asked.


    Tia replied, ¡°It''s the energy all around us.¡± She stared at Amanda with obvious envy, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re already learning how to be a magus¡­ My mom told me that they would send me to Vanshimer only if I still wanted to try once I was old enough.¡±


    Amanda shifted on her feet, ¡°You want to be a magus too?¡±


    Tia nodded, ¡°My older brother is a magus. He taught me a little about them.¡±


    Buni chimed in, ¡°He''s how we met, Tia¡¯s older brother works with my papa.¡± After a moment she continued, ¡°If you both are going to become Magus maybe I should too.¡± she said.


    ¡°That would be great, we could all go to Vanshimer together!¡± Tia said, before glancing at Amanda, ¡°But we¡¯d have to catch up to Amanda.¡±


    Amanda snorted, ¡°I¡¯ll be a full magus by the time you all go to wherever that is.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see...¡± Tia pouted.

 Chapter 9 - Stumbling

    It was well into fall when Amanda had to say goodbye to her new friends. By that time It had been weeks since she had taken the medicine. So it had completely slipped her mind why they had originally come to the city.


    When her father broke the news to her it hit hard, there was yelling and complaints in the one sided argument. She even refused to eat dinner. However as morning came and her stomach made its own demands known, she was more willing to talk.


    Her father convinced her to say a proper goodbye. In the end she was glad that he hadn¡¯t let her leave without doing so. There were tears shed on both sides as Amanda Tia and Buni did their best to promise to see each other again.


    All too soon Amanda and her father set out down the road north. This time Amanda could experience the trip for all it was worth, and it helped distract her from the pain of leaving behind her new found friends. Though that was somewhat hampered by the fact that it rained nearly every other day on their trip northward. Still seeing the lush forests around the road, and seeing all that she had missed on the way south had its own wonder to it. Even the gentle rain hammering away on her cloak couldn¡¯t steal away the thrill of seeing something new entirely.


    Arriving back in the village a little over a week later they were greeted by familiar faces. But more than anything life returned much to the way it had been before. Though Amanda¡¯s magus training quickly slowed to the point that her father never asked her to practice.


    ¡°Why don''t I practice aura sight anymore?¡± Amanda asked him one night after she had finished her writing practice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any more to teach you about it. Beyond that you''ll learn a bit more at Vanshimer once you attend. But Until then it''s just going to require time, and you¡¯ll naturally improve your limits. All that''s really left is to explore it on your own, should you want too.¡± He offered.


    That hadn¡¯t been the answer that Amanda had wanted. Quite the opposite in fact. But it did raise another question, ¡°If I¡¯m done with aura sight then you should teach me something else?¡± It was half a question, and half a statement.


    ¡°True. You¡¯re a bit young for somethings yet, but I can show you martial forms, and if I¡¯m with you could practice the bow.¡± He offered.


    That wasn¡¯t what she wanted either, ¡°You should teach me how to use the invisible hands.¡± She asserted, going straight for her goal.


    Her father shook his head, ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid that will have to wait.¡± It was a direct refusal, something Amanda rarely got from her father. But if he said she had to wait, then she would wait. Surely it wouldn¡¯t take that long.


    A week before winter they went down to the village as they commonly did, though they had been keeping to themselves a bit since they returned. It was a good time for Amanda to take advantage of her new skills. So as the few kids chatted about what game they wanted to play Amanda waited for her chance to prove her abilities. They didn¡¯t have too many games that all the kids could play at once, so hide and seek was usually a sure thing. Though the first game ended up being catch the babbit.


    Amanda always disliked that game as the babbits were more scared of her then the kids in the village, so she never won. Her father said it was probably because they were used to the village smells. But Amanda was pretty sure that those babbits were scared of her, she didn¡¯t dislike that idea, it was normal for prey to run after all. But when the game involved catching said prey, Amanda just couldn¡¯t manage it.


    So for a time the village was full of restless youths and ¡°Bah-ing¡± from every angle as everyone tried their best to snatch up one of the half lazy critters. None of the adults would complaint because they were always mad that the babbits snuck into the garden and ruined them. Maybe the adults made this game up to try and scare them off.


    But after the others had gotten their fill of chasing babbits around the village a few of the kids spoke up wanting to switch games. Amanda readily agreed, and she even offered to seek first. Most of the kids in the village liked to hide since a lot of time no one could find someone with a good hiding spot. Amanda heard that some of them even spent spare time thinking up new places to hide when they weren¡¯t even playing.


    It worked, and soon she sat hands on her eyes grinning to herself as she sensed the kids around her scattering to find places to hide. They quickly left her aura sight¡¯s range, but that was alright. She waited patiently counting to thirty. Then shouted, ¡°Better have a good spot! I¡¯m gonna find you!¡±


    Then the fun began, she started at a run, and not but a few moments later her first victim was in range, she pounced on a boy hiding behind barrels. It was so easy to catch them with how they shimmered in the aura, she just ran about until she found one, and she zipped towards them, ready to find her next target.


    She next found one who had climbed up a tree to hide in the leaves, one was hiding inside the roosts where the pieons were trying to sleep. Pieons weren¡¯t cute at all; they were bulbus lizards that laid too many eggs for their own good, but they were mostly harmless. But they were quite upset at the invader. Amanda probably would have found him pretty easily with all the noise of them snorting and honking anyway. When she leaned into the roosts to point him out he almost seemed relieved to have been found with the way that they were nipping at his clothing.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Continuing her escapade she found two more that had climbed into barrels and the last one she found hiding in a stack of hay.


    The kids were shocked to say the least. No one had before managed to find all of them. And Amanda stood proud of her obvious accomplishment.


    Until the boy that had been hiding in the hay spoke up, ¡°How did you find me?¡±


    ¡°I knew you were in there.¡± Amanda noted.


    ¡°How?¡± He prodded again.


    ¡°Cause I sensed you inside.¡± She explained.


    ¡°You can smell us?¡± A girl asked, sniffing at her shirt.


    ¡°No¡­ I can sense you, it''s different.¡± Amanda tried to explain.


    ¡°Even if it''s not smell, she''s cheating!¡± The hay boy said.


    ¡°What?¡± Amanda asked, shocked by the sudden accusation.


    A few of the kids around the group nodded in agreement.


    ¡°How is it cheating?¡± Amanda demanded.


    ¡°That''s why you¡¯re supposed to close your eyes dummy! If you just know where we are that''s cheating!¡± The boy reiterated.


    ¡°But I know where you all are even if my eyes are closed!¡± Amanda shot back.


    ¡°It''s because her daddy¡¯s got those powers!¡± One of the girls said.


    The kids all agreed, ¡°Cheater, Cheater!¡± a few of the kids started up.


    ¡°It''s not cheating! The only rule is that I have to not look with my eyes!¡± Amanda yelled back at them.


    ¡°Cause the rest of us only see with our eyes! Not with our noses!¡± A different boy said.


    ¡®It''s not my nose!¡° Amanda shouted, getting even more upset.


    ¡°Is too!¡± he shouted back.


    Amanda lept at him, and furious limbs flew on both sides. Not to be left out the other kids that felt cheated joined in, pushing, shoving, and soon there was yelling and pain. A minute later Joan showed up pulling kids off of Amanda. He was mostly a beard with a man hiding somewhere behind it, though he had a thick build from cutting and working most of the lumber in the small village, so he easily pulled Amanda free with one hand.


    She was still swinging even as blood trickled from her nose. Dangling in the air as she was. A few of the others were a bit scratched up, the boy she had gone for first had a deep scratch on his face, but otherwise seemed no worse for wear. Amanda however was leaking tears though she sniffed them out rather than whaling.


    The next time they visited the town one of the girls tried to invite her to join but she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to play with you idiots anymore!¡± Then stuck to her father while he talked with the traders, or old Annara.


    Her father talked about what had happened, but her mind was made up, she wasn¡¯t going to play with them anymore. It was fine anyway, not a week later snow started collecting and her father and her mostly stayed home for winter.


    With no friends to distract her Amanda¡¯s mind drifted down familiar thoughts, and she could wait no longer.


    On a particularly cold morning as her father walked ahead of her. They were just stretching their legs from spending time inside. ¡°When are you gonna teach me to use the invisible hands?¡± Amanda asked her voice carrying all the impatience of youth that had been denied for nearly a year.


    Her father took a moment to reply, but when he did, it was a long sigh followed by, ¡°You are still too young.¡±


    ¡°Am not.¡± Amanda shot back, her impatience evident in her tone.


    ¡°The fact that that is your best response is evidence enough.¡± Her father said.


    ¡°I¡¯m almost a whole year older then when you started teaching me aura sight!¡± Amanda stated, ready to prove her own growth.


    ¡°This is true.¡± Her father agreed, ¡°It was just a bit more into winter when we started.¡± Though it was clear he was simply agreeing that she had recalled accurately.


    ¡°So I should be old enough now.¡± She continued to show that it was obvious that she was old enough.


    ¡°One year isn¡¯t enough.¡± Her father explained, ¡°You¡¯ll just have to wait until you attend Vanshimer.¡±


    ¡°You said that before, why am I going to Vanshimer?¡± She knew the name, Tia had mentioned it enough times.


    ¡°Because, I¡¯ve decided that when you are ready. You¡¯ll attend Vanshimer¡± Her father explained.


    That wasn¡¯t a very good explanation as far as explanations went. Amanda stared up at him, ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Simple, I¡¯m no teacher, my mistakes have shown me that. Besides it''s better that you get a formal education from other more skilled magus, rather than a blunt education from me.¡± He said simply.


    ¡°But you¡¯re the best!¡± Amanda said back, more shocked that anyone was better at being a magus then her father.


    ¡°Hardly.¡± Her father snorted.


    Amanda pouted back at him, ¡°The best I know of¡­ Besides I don¡¯t want to wait!¡± She said getting down to the heart of the matter.


    ¡°I realize, however if I were to continue your training now you might hurt yourself. Or others. Don¡¯t think for a moment that I don¡¯t know how that whole argument between you and the other kids got started.¡± Her father said evenly.


    ¡°They are stupid.¡± Amanda said grumpily.


    ¡°No, they are ignorant, but that''s beyond the point. It''s my fault that you don¡¯t fit in with them.¡± Her father replied.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about them! I¡¯d rather be a magus.¡± Amanda replied firmly.


    Her father shook his head, ¡°No, I made my mind up back in Synovo. Nothing more until you are old enough to attend Vanshimer.¡±


    ¡°I don''t want to wait!¡± Amanda demanded.


    ¡°You¡¯ll wait, and that''s that.¡± Her father said heavily, his words oozing finality.


    Amanda turned and stomped her way back towards their house. She was practically seething  as she threw herself into the once guest bed that was now hers.

 Chapter 10 - Walking

    Over the next few weeks Amanda tried to be patient. She really did, but the truth was that she didn¡¯t want to wait. She wanted to learn how to be a magus now. These days her father focused on letters, and numbers. She was making good progress on both of those, she also rarely complained anymore, she was growing to enjoy learning. But besides more numbers and remembering how to spell words it just wasn¡¯t what she wanted.


    Her impatience only grew stronger. Always coming back to the same thing over, and over again. Each time she asked him about magus training he told her that she had to wait. That she would learn at Vanshimer. She didn¡¯t care about Vanshimer, and with each passing day waiting grew more and more frustrating.


    Weeks past this way, Amanda tried again several times, figuring she could wear her father down. It usually worked well, if she was just persistent enough he usually gave in and told her or explained things eventually. Unless she forgot of course, but she certainly wasn¡¯t going to forget about this.


    Amanda was finishing scratching out a sentence on her slate. When she had a particularly good idea today, she had even had to ask her father how to spell a few words as she wrote. Which he gladly assisted.


    When she was done she held up the slate, and turned it to her father so he could read her message, ¡°My daddy teaches me more about magus!¡± It was far from perfect, but writing wasn¡¯t easy, so this would have to do.


    His expression however drained of humor at reading her slate. ¡°Amanda¡­ We¡¯ve been over this.¡± he said with a calm, but firm tone.


    Amanda however grew instantly frustrated with his echo chamber response. ¡°But I wanna learn now!¡± Amanda shouted.


    ¡°And I told you that you had to wait.¡± Her father said, the patience slipping from his voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already waited weeks!¡± Amanda whined.


    ¡°And you¡¯ll wait years.¡± Her father stated firmly.


    ¡°Years!?¡± Amanda shouted, the idea too much for her to bear.


    ¡°Yes! Years. Not until you are old enough to pass the village¡¯s rite of passage will you be allowed to leave and attend the academy.¡±


    ¡°The village!? What''s that got to do with us!¡± Amanda complained.


    ¡°I spoke with others in the village, and they had some good advice. You¡¯ll start attending their lessons soon, and when you¡¯re a young woman you¡¯ll be ready to make the trip.¡± Her father explained turning away. His goal clearly was to return to finishing their dishes.


    ¡°No! No! No!¡± Amanda yelled, ¡°Now! I want to learn now!¡± She was practically screaming.


    Her father spun on her his usual calm tone replaced with anger, ¡°Amanda! I¡¯ve told you the way it''s going to be, I will not teach you anymore! That is all, this conversation is over! You won¡¯t bring it up again!¡±


    Amanda was paralyzed at that moment. The moment seemed to last forever, and then she ran, tears streaming from her eyes as she charged into her room and threw the door closed behind her. She didn¡¯t talk to him, even when he knocked on her door later to ask if she wanted some of the pie he had brought from old Anara¡¯s. How was pie going to fix any of this anyway! She instead sobbed into the furs that covered her bed. Then alternated with hitting them, swinging her tiny arms and pounding away at the furs as though somehow they would convey the message to her father. It all served to make her feel a little better, but in the end, it solved nothing.


    The next morning she woke to find her father cooking some pieon eggs he had clearly gotten from the village. She took her seat, and ate her food in silence. Her father just went on ahead talking about how he was going to spend the day looking for iron around the mountain, some of the villagers needed some tools repaired. Amanda eventually felt like talking to him, but she avoided the topic that had started the argument. She knew now that he wasn¡¯t going to cave. It was over and for the entire day it all felt hopeless.


    However that night, she sat in bed staring through the aura. When she got a new idea. She decided she was done asking her father to teach her. Instead she was going to figure it out all on her own. How hard could it be anyway? It didn¡¯t even occur to her to think about what she had already been through on this journey, she only had eyes to look forwards. After all that''s what her father always said, don¡¯t worry about missteps along your way, you can only learn from them. Best to keep charging ahead!


    She could already see the aura, and that was a huge help. After all she could see what her father did when he used his invisible hands now. He used them all the time, and even if Amanda didn¡¯t know what he was doing specifically, she could see it. She would watch him when he was preoccupied, so she understood that the important part was that she needed to find a way to get the aura that lived in her body to move. If she could do that, if it could reach out then she could probably do the same things that her father could. It was in fact such a simple truth that she figured it might only take a few days.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    So she started staying up past her bedtime, just sitting up in the darkness of night. But it was fine, she could see the aura all around, day or night it was always moving, churning and full of various colors to her senses. She had long ago stopped fearing the darkness, what was there to fear anyway? She could see the aura, and that never left her!


    Figuring out how to move her aura wasn¡¯t so simple however. Weeks turned into months, and spring came again. She continued to watch her father for hints. He was a walking example, and she found herself watching him keenly, whether he was reaching out and picking things up, or moving the aura around in different ways. It all required that singular thing, she would need to be able to reach her own aura out. Yet even staying up late at night staring at her hands or arms trying to force the shifting surface that was her body to do things, it seemed impossible.


    Trying to figure out how to move something she didn¡¯t understand was slowly becoming an insurmountable goal. It had seemed so small, so simple at first. But months later she kept herself moving, after all it hadn¡¯t been so easy to figure out aura sight either. But having made no progress, her ambitions of proving that she was ready to her father, all but dried up. Instead she was left with only frustration and late nights staring at herself in the aura.


    Summer arrived, and just when she was losing hope that she would ever figure it out. One fateful night it happened, something inside of her raised away from her body. It was a small thing. Just a little bit of what was her reaching up from her palm. Like a tiny finger reaching out, but barely more than a bump. But to Amanda it was everything, what had been a failing resolve to even keep trying solidified into drive. What had been a mounting frustration evaporated and was replaced by confidence. She had done it, if only slightly, but that was enough, because as she pictured it, if she could only get started, she could dig in, and push for all she was worth. What else did she have to do anyway?


    Emboldened by this tiny step forward she asked her father about Vanshimer, and about his time there. Trying to get tidbits of information to help her figure things out. He had no problems telling her stories of when he was younger. They were stories about teachers, or about a friend that joined him in the legion. But sometimes he dropped little clues, like how what Amanda was trying to do was move her shade. She wasn¡¯t sure why it was called that, but she was pretty sure after a few stories and questions that''s what it was called.


    The lessons down in the village also started in earnest, and while she had initially been reserved about the whole idea. She realized that she needed more time away from her father. After all he could see her even if she was in her room, which was why it was getting harder to make progress. Once she could move her shade more than a little there was a major problem with her father figuratively standing over her shoulder at all hours.


    She joined more lessons in the village, whether it was learning the bow from Joan, or learning how to skin and prepare a babbit from Anara. It didn¡¯t really matter what it was, she both enjoyed learning, and needed the excuse to get away from her father. It didn¡¯t matter if her father had already given her the basics, or if she already knew how to do it. Any excuse to head down the mountain seemed worth it.


    That wasn¡¯t to say that she stopped learning from her father. He started teaching her his martial arts. It was difficult, both getting used to the motions, as well as participating in the exercise. But she soaked it up, training at home in the morning, jogging down to the village, sometimes even if there was no lesson, going home in the evening.


    Returning late into the evening one night she pulled the door closed behind her.


    Her father was sitting in his chair, ideally using his invisible hands to carve at some wood. Something that most people in the village would use a chisel for.


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Amanda called.


    Her father smiled at  her, ¡°It''s a bit late isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I just lost track of time practicing.¡± She replied, something she had been saying far too often recently.


    ¡°Should we make dinner?¡± He asked.


    Amanda nodded, ¡°Sure.¡± and took some time to collect a few vegetables that her father had growing in the small garden. While she did that her father retrieved a cut of meat from the cellar, a few herbs, and spices.


    He handed over the meat to Amanda, who used the knife to cut the vegetables and meat into smaller pieces. Her father heated the hot plate he used to cook, and Amanda poured the seasoned meat and vegetables on to the heated surface.


    While her father cooked the food she pulled two plates out. Then scrubbed free the debris from their cutting board.


    Food finished, her father passed over a plate to her, and they took seats at the table, eating.


    This night felt the same was the previous, and the one before that. It wasn¡¯t the first time that Amanda had noticed it, but it might have been the first time she acknowledged it. Her father had a distant look to his eyes as he ate. Somehow Amanda knew how he felt, like even though they were in the same room, both eating the same dinner, they were a valley apart.


    Even in the mornings exercises they stood opposite one another, moving in the same forms moving in the same way. Sure her father might offer a correction, or add a new motion. But once it was done it came back to this, to this strange sense of distance.


    Amanda wanted to say something, wanted to cross that distance and connect. But what would she say? What was there to say? What was even wrong? She wasn¡¯t sure. How did they get here?


    In the end it was too easy to just eat, accept that maybe nothing was wrong after all, and move on, in the end it was easier that way. Not talking was easier than lying after all.

 Chapter 11 - Growing

    Somehow life continued, Her father started spending more time in the mountains. Sometimes he wouldn¡¯t return for a few days, but when he did he came back with a sack of ore or gemstones. He of course told her he expected to be gone for a few days, and when that happened Amanda was even free to practice at home.


    Amanda pressed harder and harder on herself to make more progress. She spent most days in the village. Whether or not they had any lessons for her. She spent time with Anara now, the older woman showing more years on her face. Either for the company she provided, or the knowledge she sometimes emparted. Somewhere along the way Amanda thought they had become something like friends. It was calming to hear her talk about her family, she often sent Amanda home with something to share with her father. It was fairly common that she might say something like, ¡°Leon spends too much time in those mountains, he should come down to the village instead.¡±


    Amanda liked Anara, but deep down she knew that wasn¡¯t going to happen, her father and her both seemed to prefer their distance to the village in a sense. Sure she spent a lot of time there, but it was mostly on the periphery, usually not interacting with the village people beyond sitting in for lessons. Anara excluded of course.


    When she wasn¡¯t engaged with Anara or learning some tidbit from another villager willing to teach her she found somewhere on the edge of the village to sit and practice. She would sit, and focus on her shade in secret. She sometimes tried to look busy doing something, whether it was trying to make a basket, or cut at a bit of wood, some days she just stared off into the distance while focusing on the aura around her.


    Using her shade started with small movements, like tiny fingers reaching from her body. Weeks of practice beyond that got them thinner and longer. More time practicing and she could make them thicker. They were sluggish at first moving like a thick syrup. But the more she practiced, the better she got at it.


    Summer became fall, and winter came again. Her lessons continued, and the young women and young men that took part in the lessons stopped coming, having completed their own right of passage they were now considered adults.


    A new normal settled in between Amanda and her father. He made money from his ores, selling them to traders that came through rarely. They started sparing in the early mornings now that she was a bit bigger. For her it was a learning experiencing like any other, one that she intended to absorb entirely. Her father however had a talent for martial combat that she herself did not. Or so she thought, he never told her such, or even hinted at it. But it was hard to think of anything else when everytime she seemed to get a bit better her father seemed to do the same. Still all the same it was good to spend time with him in some way. Their hours in the morning practicing reminded her of a time that was quickly becoming distant; when they had sat on that stump and would spend hours just talking and practicing aura sight.


    New babies were born in the village, but in the end her and her father were still outsiders. More so now than before, the children she had once played with were a distant memory and all that remained was the knowledge that at one time she had played with some of them. Amanda wasn¡¯t the only one eager to grow up either, young men and women in the village began to apprentice for one task or another. Most aimed to continue what their father or mother had done. Whether that was having a family, or learning some unique skill was up to them. A few even went south to learn by joining a caravan, and heading to Synovo. Amanda couldn¡¯t help but be a bit envious of them.


    There were new arrivals as well, something that Amanda had never realized before. More people found their way to the village each year, adding their own skills to the growing village. There was even a discussion about perhaps even giving name to their home. Not that Amanda had any interest or say in that.


    Seasons slipped past as Amanda practiced and learned. Her father bought her a few books, one he had to request specifically, an introduction primer for Magus. It became almost nightly reading for her. As she stayed up late huddled close to the crystal lamp trying to gleam any hint or tip she could from the text.


    She read it over and over again, but in the end it was more fact and description then guide to practice. Still it helped explain things, and for a time she could converse with her father about something without feeling so distant. But it only went so far before her questions strayed too far, and her father or her would shutdown.


    She continued her writing practice, and even started to learn to draw to some limited degree. In the end however it was all chalk and slate, and she truly had no real interest in drawing.


    At one point she had woken to find blood had soaked into several of her furs. Terrified by what had happened she asked her father, only for him to send her down to the village to speak with Anara. It was a very awkward conversation that Amanda had been glad she didn¡¯t have to talk with her father about afterall. Especially considering their own distance lately. Amanda was glad that Anara and her had gotten closer. She taught Amanda about what was happening, and even helped by teaching her basic remedies should she need them.


    For a time Amanda attempted to trade for her own books, trying to imitate her fathers craft with a chisel, or weave baskets or sew like some of the women in the village. In the end she had little interest or progress with any of it. She was so focused on trying to be a Magus that the only other skill she had mastered was being alone. Strangely that distance with her father at some point became comfortable in it''s own way. Not in a warm and reassuring manner, but in a stable and accepted sense.


    In the end she made little to no coin of her own. So she instead started joining her father on his trips to the mountains. As it turned out her father used his aura sight to find ore buried in the stone, and then dig it out with his shade. Amanda¡¯s own aura sight had expanded considerably since that first year, and so she offered to help. It was harder than she thought it might be, since the aura didn¡¯t tell you what something was made of, or what something was, it was instead a way of gleaming the heat, light or other aspects the natural world held. This didn¡¯t mean you couldn¡¯t use it to find things like ore, it just meant it was more nuanced.


    It was all about finding the subtle edges where the material below their feet heated, or cooled more rapidly during the day. As the warmth moved deeper into the ground as the warmth of the sun showed on the world around them the heat moved in, and down. If the ground was a single large chunk of the same type of stone it would be a nice smooth transition downward. But if there was metal buried within it would suck up the heat quicker, and it would be uneven. Unfortunately the ground was also covered with dirt, soil, clays, pebbles and other types of rock.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Her father welcomed her help, even if she was slow, and impatient at the task. Amanda wasn¡¯t sure what he intended to use the ore or crystals he dug up in those months for, and strangely she couldn¡¯t find the courage to ask him. In the end it was nothing but a distraction from the reality that was slowly marching towards her. This year was her own right of passage, along with the few children that were also ready for the trial.


    Somehow before she had realized it six winters had passed since that first day when she had demanded her father teach her about the aura. She found herself sitting in bed, a book on her lap leafing through pages wondering if she had missed some crucial tidbit. In truth she knew she hadn¡¯t, she¡¯d read that book more times then she even knew. Yet she looked anyway, and at some point she had been distracted by her thoughts instead.


    While she was idly thinking about the past few years, her father pushed the door open, ¡°Amanda, we should really discuss the upcoming trial.¡± he said standing in her doorway.


    Amanda glanced up to regard her father, it wasn¡¯t often he came to her room anymore. She had been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn¡¯t even noticed him coming over, or pushing the door open.


    Her father scratched for a moment at his stubble, ¡°I suppose I probably should have gotten you something nicer to wear...¡± He mused.


    Amanda glanced down at the simple hide shirt and pants she wore. She didn¡¯t see any problem with it, it was what she always wore. Though these days she usually fixed it instead of her father. Anara helped if she needed to resize it, she was good at adding hide into the clothing so that she could adjust it later, and she was in a bit of a growth spurt, so that was likely going to be needed again very soon.


    ¡°What''s wrong with this?¡± She asked, pulling her attention to the present and out of the past.


    Her father let out a breath. ¡°Well, there''s nothing wrong with it...¡± He admitted, ¡°But I can¡¯t help but think that your mother would scold me if she knew that her daughter had become a young woman and lacked any sense of feminine poise.¡±


    Amanda blinked at the mention of her mother. ¡°Was she so interested in dresses and such?¡± she asked, not wanting to stall the conversation more than seeking the knowledge itself.


    Her father shook his head, ¡°Not exactly, but seeing you reminds me so much of her now.¡± he said, taking a deep breath. Obvious that his own memories were just below the surface. ¡°I just can¡¯t help but imagine all the things she would want to have taught you. The things she would want to share with you.¡± He glanced away, ¡°That''s all... Besides when you get to Vanshimer you¡¯ll need to adjust.¡±


    ¡°Adjust?¡± She asked, obviously disappointed that he had already shifted the topic. Even if she wasn¡¯t surprised, her father rarely spoke of her mother, when it came up he became wistful and distant, even when she was younger.


    He nodded, ¡°Merchants, politicians, and other important people will be in attendance. If you show up like that they will no doubt think that you¡¯re just some unimportant girl that climbed down from a mountain.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I am?¡± She asked, more curious what his response would be than agreeing with it.


    ¡°I¡¯d think that''s up to you. Is that who you want to be?¡± He asked.


    ¡°No.¡± She replied. She was familiar with that sort of reputation. The people down in the village, it was the way she thought of them. The kids that had ostracized her years ago because of aura sight. She didn¡¯t want to be thought of that way, regardless of if it fit or not.


    She always wondered what it would have been like if she had grown up in Synovo instead. Thinking back to Tia and Buni always made her chest tighten. Would she meet them again at Vanshimer? Would she be too late? She was the youngest of the three, and Buni was gobi, so perhaps she would have gone earlier. In truth it was all just worrying and speculation.


    She pushed such thoughts aside as her father continued, ¡°Then you should keep that in mind. Getting you a dress would go a long way for establishing appearances.¡±


    She considered her father, even after all these years he still wore silk tunics, though his pants changed between finer leather and hide depending on what he was doing. Even now she supposed he kept up appearances in the village. Something she had never really considered, her father was nothing if not reliably consistent.


    ¡°But we might be too late to worry about that.¡± He offered.


    ¡°Too late?¡± Amanda asked, not really processing the logic.


    Her father nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve decided that you should take the same hunting exam as the boys in the upcoming month.¡±


    Amanda couldn¡¯t help but widen her eyes, ¡°Next month?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I spoke with Anara and Joan, and both agree that you¡¯re better suited for it than anything else. Besides, it will be a good test for if you are ready to go to Vanshimer.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± She asked not understanding how it had anything to do with being a magus.


    ¡°To see if you are resourceful and self sufficient enough to make the trip alone of course.¡± Her father noted.


    ¡°Alone?¡± Amanda asked, still not processing what he was saying.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll ride along with a caravan, but you¡¯ll be expected to help, and hunting and cooking is something I have no doubt you can do.¡± Her father continued.


    ¡°You aren''t coming?¡± She asked, the realization finally hitting her.


    ¡°No.¡± he said simply.


    ¡°Why?¡± Amanda asked in a rush.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯d want me to come along. You spend so much time in the village, or in the woods I figured you¡¯d have preferred leaving me behind.¡± Her father said, with an obvious note of pain to the words.


    It stung her, yet what could she say? This was exactly what she had been trying to get, a place where she could practice without her father knowing. Without him seeing her from his room, or behind whatever wall he stood. Yet it wrenched at her insides. How could she want something so much, but have it hurt so much at the same time.


    Before she could form a response he just kept on going, ¡°Besides I think it''s time you start walking your own path. It''s what you¡¯ve wanted since you were little, to be a magus I mean.¡± He winced slightly at his word choice, ¡°It only makes sense that I give you proper space to pursue that goal without me watching over your shoulder.¡±


    She sagged a little, ¡°So what will I do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve saved up enough coin to cover your tuition. You¡¯ll take that, and apply as anyone else would.¡± He replied.


    ¡°That''s assuming that you pass the trial of course, but I have faith you¡¯ll have no issue with that.¡± He said.


    Amanda girt her teeth, ¡°That''s it then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what else there would be?¡± Her father asked.


    She wasn¡¯t sure herself, the words had come from somewhere. Somewhere deep down perhaps she thought he knew what she was doing. Somewhere deep down she expected him to punish her for lying, for hiding everything.


    Instead the moment stretched, and he gave her a smile, ¡°Get some sleep, I doubt you¡¯re gonna find anything else in that book that you don¡¯t know three or four times over in anycase.¡± Pulling the door close he left her.


    Amanda closed the book, and set it aside. She brushed a few tears from her cheeks, not sure where they were coming from. They didn¡¯t seem related to the pit in her stomach, to any of the fear that now lingered around the edges of the room, towards any of the uncertainty she had building for what was going to happen next. Yet they were more real than any of that.

 Chapter 12 - Bond

    Over the next two weeks the worry and uncertainty for what was going to come faded into the background as she spent those days practicing. She spent her time, not with the bow, nor practicing making traps, not even practicing preparation, or starting fires. No, She wasted no time on any skill she would use in the trial, instead she spent her time using her shade to lift stones.


    The whole situation struck Amanda in two ways. On one hand she was eager to leave the village again, to continue learning to be a magus. Her practice had found its own results, it would be far simpler than it was at home, and she was eager to make progress and to finally learn what had for so long been denied her.


    On the other hand, she was scared of what it meant to leave home, to be unable to rely on her father anymore. To meet new people, to explore the world was something she had dreamed of since she had last left their tiny little village. But years had changed her, could she still do that?


    In the end the day of the trial came heedless to her inner debate and concerns. Uncaring for the growing divide in her heart and mind.


    Amanda gathered outside the village with three young men and one young woman like herself, who were all starting to shoot up like weeds. Amanda was over a foot shorter than one of the boys in the line around her, she was pretty sure she was a year younger, but she didn¡¯t honestly know and had long stopped being on friendly terms with them. She didn¡¯t even think she could pair their names with their faces. The strange thing is that after so much time, it had simply become the way things were. That was to say, she knew she had been angry when she was younger about what happened. But she had long since stopped feeling that way, yet here they were.


    Ahead of them stood Joan, as always with more hair on his face than skin showing. He had been their teacher for hunting and tracking. As this trial relied mostly on what Joan himself had taught, he was the one in charge of administering it.


    It wasn¡¯t common for anyone in the village to stray too far into the woods, or to go deep into them. But it was expressly forbidden for children to do so. Amanda perhaps had been the one exception for that, having made the trip to and from their home an hour walk out of the village so many times that she couldn¡¯t even count them. Still in a sense their home had been part of the village since she and her father had lived here. Of course these days she had the stamina to make the journey in half the time, as she usually did. So it didn¡¯t feel so far apparent anymore.


    Child or adult the deep woods could be quite dangerous, after all beasts lurked out there. When need called for them to go deeper into the woods they would gather most of the men from the village to go with them. The hope was that their numbers would scare off what was lurking in the shadows, ideally no one would need to actually fight the beasts.


    They had learned earlier that most towns that had been around for more than a year or two didn¡¯t usually have to worry about beasts, since natural instincts of creatures that lived in the woods avoided people in general. But there were risks, and then there was just being stupid. Beasts were not that common in truth, and only troubled caravans so readily because of the ground the caravans covered.


    For today''s trial even Amanda¡¯s dad had gone with the others to range a bit further into the woods to ensure that there was nothing that might cause issues, surveying the area to ensure it was reasonably safe. Even though that meant scaring off some of the potential game in the area, it was the simple truth that it was just safer this way.


    The group undergoing the trial were eager to prove themselves and most of them were clearly a bit nervous about having to do so. Amanda didn¡¯t have the same nervous energy herself, rather it was closer to a boiling pot. Afterall she had something in mind that she couldn¡¯t wait to put into motion.


    Joan had just finished laying out the rules, which was already well established, the basic outline was simple, they had to catch food, and prepare it. The trial was supposed to prove that they could hunt and prepare game. This could be done using traps, or bows. There weren''t really any rules besides that you had to catch the game, and prepare it yourself.


    The lack of overall direction, was specifically why a wonderful idea had blossomed inside of Amanda. As far as she knew it was perfect, she wanted to prove her efforts, to show off what she had learned. Now that she had the proper place to do so, she couldn¡¯t help but itch to get started.


    As soon as Joan announced that they were free to go the students gathered themselves up and headed into the trees, all besides Amanda. She instead made her way in that direction, but made most of her attention to what lay below her, taking her time. Her aura sight had been steadily growing stronger, and was now considerably larger then it had been when she had first learned it. She could easily see where the soil below her became thicker, the stones that mixed in, and the way the rock below that came up in cracks and bunches, filled with clay and soil. That wasn¡¯t what she was looking for however. It only took a short stroll from her starting place to sense the pathways below the surface. The clay packed dirt made a surprisingly sturdy ceiling for the crisscrossing pathways below their feet.


    Below her a warm furry form rested curled up at the end of a burrow. That was her target, this would be easy. Her shade flowed easily from her arm after years of practicing, it changed into the form she wanted, something she hadn¡¯t practiced specifically but understood. It took a few moments, carefully observing her own shade as she prepared it. It was fine however, she could easily do what was next. She pushed it forward, aiming to pierce the dirt below her, and secure her prize. She pulled her arm back, shade formed up into a piercing shape, thin and sharp. She had seen her father use this type of form before, though in his case it was to carve wood.


    Just as she was about to ram it down into the dirt, a loud voice cracked the air, ¡°Stop!¡±


    Amanda froze, a chill running down her spine at the intensity of it. It was after all a voice she knew better than anyone else. She glanced directly towards her father, it was easy to pick him out, even at this range the way his presence existed in the aura made him obvious, even at the edge of her visible range.


    The adults around him stared at him in shock. However her father had eyes only for Amanda, emotion flickered on his features. She understood at once, he was angry. No more than angry, he was furious. Even his shade seemed to tremble with emotions boiling inside.


    Amanda¡¯s brilliant idea evaporated in her stomach, leaving only an empty pit. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be happy, though some part had secretly hoped he would be proud of her results. The one thing she hadn¡¯t considered however was being stopped before she even began. She almost considered plunging ahead anyway, however her eyes were captured by her fathers gaze.


    Even as their eyes were locked Amanda took a breath. Her mind prepared to argue, ready to stand up to her father like she had never done before. Lines she had considered in the late evenings over the past few days bubbled to the surface ready to leave her lips at the first complaint.


    However the angry accusation did not come, the furious lecture was not present. Instead her father said one thing, ¡°Amanda, we are going home.¡±


    All her preparations, all her thought on the matter, all her effort ignored. ¡°What?¡± Amanda demanded, shocked by the direction things had gone. She had expected anger, she had expected pride, she had expected that he would be overjoyed if angry. This however, was something else. Something she couldn¡¯t reconcile, something she failed to understand.


    Joan who was standing closer to Amanda looked at her father, ¡°Leon¡­ The trial is underway.¡±


    ¡°That is no longer important. I have to speak with her in private.¡± He gave his explanation, no room for question or doubt..


    Joan was confused, as was everyone else obviously.


    Amanda glanced to her arm, realizing that her concentration had broken and her shade had returned to normal.


    ¡°Amanda, we are going home. Now!¡± He turned, and gestured with one hand, his eyes burning with accusation, with fury.


    Amanda¡¯s defiance fled. She did as her father wished. Even on the day he had yelled at her that he wasn¡¯t going to teach her he hadn¡¯t been as angry as he was now. That night still burned bright in her memory, but the difference in her father was like between night and day, at least to her. For the first time in her life she thought that perhaps she had truly done something her father would never forgive.


    Mind racing in circles, around and around. Amanda dared not turn to use her eyes to see her father. Instead she watched with aura sight as her father walked behind her. His gaze burned in its intensity, even as she led the way. Moments drew long, and the chill in the air grew. As they continued heading home the tension in the air grew taught.


    By the time they were trudging through the snow the silence was too great, and Amanda whirled to face him. The pressure had to go somewhere, and not having any idea of what else to do, she stared back at him with a sudden intensity of her own. Both of them standing in the snow they stopped.  ¡°Why aren''t you saying anything?¡± Amanda demanded.


    Her father, like a tall judging mountain staring down at her asked, ¡°Will you listen?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± She asked, not understanding the question.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you listen when I told you to wait?¡± His tone was hard and cold like steel, colder than any chill in the wind, or in the snow.


    His words cut deep, and now she understood, this was about more than disobeying him, she had done that before. This was the accumulation of not one act of obstinance, not simply ignoring him two times, or even three. She could see in his eyes now, years of betrayal reflected back at her, and as she realized it, the weight fell heavy on Amanda¡¯s shoulders. Almost making her knees buckle.


    ¡°How long have you been using your shade?¡± Her father demanded.


    Amanda considered doing anything but replying, but as soon as the idea manifested in her mind, it evaporated as though her fathers gaze were a hotplate and such an idea was a splash of water. Nothing else to do, with the weight of guilt so strong it was practically a physical force, she answered, ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing since you told me you wouldn¡¯t teach me.¡±


    ¡°So when I told you that I wouldn¡¯t teach you because I was worried for your safety you ignored me. Instead you practiced in secret? When? While I was asleep? While I left and visited the village? Is that why you stopped going to the village with me? So you didn¡¯t have to worry about me watching you?¡± He asked, his words while not entirely accurate struck hard with how close the truth was.


    ¡°While you were asleep¡­ At first I couldn¡¯t do it at all.. I only had to hide it once I started making progress.¡± She explained, though she wasn¡¯t even sure why she kept going.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°When was that?¡± He asked, his pain infusing each word.


    Amanda took a small breath, ¡°When I started going to the village for lessons.¡±


    ¡°So you used lessons as an excuse to get time away from my prying eyes.¡± he said, his eyes cutting, his words accusing.


    ¡°Yes...¡± She said admitting the truth, it hurt to say it. She had rationalized it to herself before, to herself and to her father, surely she could always use more practice, surely she could learn more from the people in the village. It was like she had suddenly realized she had stabbed her father with a knife the way his eyes were fixed on her, what was worse now that she had admitted it, it felt that way to her too.


    ¡°Do you not understand that I did what I did to protect you?¡± He demanded, has tone rising in volume for the first time.


    ¡°I can protect myself now! You taught me that much!¡± She returned in a rising voice even though her own pain came with it. The anger pushed her to defend herself, even as the pit inside attempted to swallow her up from below.


    ¡°Not even remotely Amanda, I may have taught you to defend yourself, but there are forces in this world you have no comprehension of.¡± He lectured, trying to reign in his own anger.


    ¡°I would if you would teach me!¡± Amanda returned wishing that there was some middle ground between them.


    ¡°You were too impulsive, and too young, even now I see that you¡¯re too untrustworthy to travel alone.¡± He pronounced.


    It was a punch to her gut, Amanda swayed at the words.


    Yet her father wasn¡¯t done, ¡°You have no idea how dangerous the aura is to someone too eager. Honestly the fact that you are still alive shocks me to my very core, the potential forces you are dealing with could kill you. But beyond that, not just you, but me, the people in that village.¡± He said gesturing with a finger. ¡°There''s no telling what mistakes you might have made in your recklessness!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never hurt myself, or anyone else with it!¡± Amanda shouted back.


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Her father demanded, his tone deadly serious.


    In fact his words caused her to flinch at her own lie. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, before she took a shuddering breath and shook her head slightly. ¡°No..¡± After a moment she glanced up to his expectant gaze, and she continued, ¡°I burned myself¡­ I told you I had gotten burned when I tried to grab my babbit out of the fire.¡±


    ¡°I should have known¡­ but I trusted you.¡± He said back, his words crushing Amanda from inside.


    Amanda couldn¡¯t help it, tears burst from her eyes, ¡°I didn¡¯t know¡­ After that I never tried collecting the aura again¡­ I only practiced moving it and moving things with my shade..¡± She admitted, more than anything pleading now.


    ¡°Shaping.¡± Leon said simply, ¡°You¡¯ve never mixed your shade with other aura?¡±


    Amanda shook her head sniffing.


    ¡°Good, at least you¡¯ve not made that mistake. Burns can heal, body corruption is another story.¡± Her father said, slowing his mental pace.


    ¡°Body corruption?¡± Amanda asked warily.


    ¡°If you pull mixed aura into your body bits of air, water or stone can come with it. It''s extremely important that you not pull such things into your body as it can make you sick, or injure you on the inside.¡± He said firmly.


    Amanda hung her head, having had no idea. In truth she had never even known to try that. She had mirrored her fathers methods, and she wasn¡¯t sure if she had seen him doing that, or if she had probably misunderstood what it was he was doing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± Amanda said looking at her feet.


    ¡°A simple apology isn¡¯t going to cut it.¡± Her father stated.


    Amanda whimpered, but continued, ¡°I¡­ I know what I did was¡­ wrong, I just¡­ I needed to learn, I had to¡­ I didn¡¯t know what else to do¡­ At first I was going to prove to you that I could do it¡­ But then I got scared that you would be mad¡­ So I didn¡¯t tell you.¡± She sniffed, ¡°And I was so excited about figuring it out that I couldn¡¯t stop¡­ I just¡­ I had to keep practicing¡­ I kept getting better, and better.¡± Tears rolled freely now, ¡°I was so excited that I was going to go to Vanshimer cause I knew that when I came back I wouldn¡¯t have to hide anymore!¡±


    ¡°Then why show me now?¡± Her father asked, in an almost pleading tone, ¡°Why after all this time give your secret up? I just¡­ I don¡¯t understand it.¡± He offered, his confusion was evident.


    Amanda wailed out her answer, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­. I just wanted to show you¡­ I wanted you to be proud of me!¡± She balled like she hadn¡¯t cried in years, not sure what else to do. It was like she was six winters younger, somehow lost in the woods, crying out to be saved.


    Then her fathers arms crashed around her, pulling her in tightly. ¡°Amanda¡­ I don¡¯t know what I would do if I lost you. I only wanted what was best for you. Why did you ever think that me being angry would be worse than lying all this time?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± She cried out into her fathers chest, pulling at his clothing.


    ¡°Amanda¡­ If I had known you were practicing in secret I would have just taught you. Even I realize that once you get going you won¡¯t stop. I know more than anyone how you never want to give up once you get started¡­ I thought I had scared you off, and when you started asking me about my years at Vanshimer I thought you were just getting excited to attend.¡± Her father said, one hand on her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I had just¡­ I was just worried.. and then things started to change between us¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure what to do¡­ so I just¡­ I just kept hiding it¡­¡± She admitted in a rush.


    ¡°You silly girl¡­ Things changed between us because you kept-¡± He cut himself off, and started again, ¡°Because you were pushing me away, I thought you just wanted space.. To grow up. I figured that we wouldn¡¯t be that close forever. I had no idea...¡± Her father said clearly a bit unsure himself.


    Amanda sobbed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ it''s my fault¡­¡±


    Her father ran his hand over her head carefully avoiding her ears, ¡°It''s my fault too¡­ I should have known you better. Still.. You are here, and so am I, as angry as I was that you didn¡¯t listen, I¡¯m so glad that you didn¡¯t hurt yourself. That you were smart enough to not get burned twice.¡±


    Amanda nodded her agreement.


    After a short time Amanda¡¯s tears slowed, and she pulled herself back to look up at her father. His anger was gone, and the man that stood over her was every bit the father she wanted, the pride beaming in his eyes, along with something else. She suddenly realized what it was. He was relieved.


    ¡°So, show me what you¡¯ve learned?¡± He asked, giving her a reassuring smile, the pain was still there, but he was forging on, trying to bridge the space between them.


    Amanda wiped away her tears with a sleeve, and nodded.


    So she did, first she showed him how she was now able to extend her shade. Extending beyond her like simple tendrils. She demonstrated how the aura was pushed as she did so. It was a bit harder to see with the air cooling off rapidly. However if she reached down into the soil and clay she was able to pull warmth from below up and into the snow. It didn''t melt the snow as obviously as when her father used his trick, but it did melt some. Her father just listened as she walked him through what she had learned.


    ¡°The only other trick I¡¯ve learned is this.¡± She said extending her shade out and gripping with it. Or at least that was how she thought of it. The result was that the air itself seemed to stiffen. From there she could reach it down, and gathered up a bit of the half melted snow. She lifted it up, using all her focus to make it work.


    The bit of snow she had gathered obviously warmed in her invisible grasp.


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Her father said, ¡°The skills you have learned are already significant and useful.¡±


    Amanda nodded in agreement.


    ¡°How strong are you?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Strong?¡± Amanda asked, not quite understanding.


    ¡°How much can you lift with your shade just using the air?¡± he clarified.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I have practiced mostly with digging and moving the ground around.¡± She explained, a bit unsure of herself.


    ¡°Honestly that''s a good way to practice. Use the ground around you, and raise it up.¡± Her father explained.


    Amanda did, her shade was quick and her practice in changing its shape showed, reaching down she spread it out as far as she could, until she was certain that anymore would make it impossible to lift. Then with a mental heave she lifted. The soil, clay and stones were lifted free, to her eyes they seemed to float. The effort of it made her body feel weaker, and as though it was a muscle in her body she could feel the strain of it. It didn¡¯t weigh on legs, or arms, but rather it felt much like an extra arm that was simply flexing.


    The result was less impressive than it felt. While it wasn¡¯t anything to scoff at, the awkwardly shaped chunk of ground lifted up a few feet from the ground, and perhaps was the size of Amanda herself, if she did her best to resemble a ball. She looked to her father for approval.


    ¡°How long have you been practicing this?¡± He asked.


    ¡°A little bit since last winter? I didn¡¯t figure out how to grab things until then.¡± She admitted, unsure if her father was happy with the result.


    He nodded, ¡°That''s good progress then. Honestly seeing you having made this progress I wish I could have offered you tips...¡± He said with a small smile. His response was even, and kind. But it wasn¡¯t praise. She had always imagined that the day she showed her father her progress he would be proud, unable to contain his excitement for her. Instead she got this, perhaps she had set her hopes too high? On the other hand had she done everything she could have? Something in her gut said she hadn¡¯t. That she could have done more, that she could be stronger, faster. Her father rarely showed off the depth of his strength, but she had a vivid recollection from that long dark trip to Synovo years prior. She hadn¡¯t even been able to sense him at the time, yet somehow she knew her father was in another league. Would she ever reach his level?


    She was pulled from her thoughts as her father continued, ¡°But I do have one for you now.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Amanda perked up, her mind returning to the conversation in front of her. Her curiosity peeking through from wherever it had been hiding.


    Her father¡¯s shade flowed out across the ground below him, and after a moment he pulled a sizable chunk of ground upwards, though it remained connected with the ground. ¡°It''s less straining to not hold things aloft with your shade alone, so you can move material,while you use other material to support it.¡±


    Amanda finally let her own chunk of ground drop to the ground with a crack, her invisible muscles worn from the effort. ¡°What''s better to practice?¡±


    ¡°Both have marit, for pure strength training lifting like you just showed me, you¡¯re shade much like a physical muscle grows stronger the more you use it. The more you use it to move things. The more time you put into practicing quick motions. These things will benefit you greatly.¡±


    Amanda nodded, beaming at realizing she had been using her time wisely.


    ¡°However practicing moving supported material is a good idea too, if you need to move a lot of material very quickly it''s significantly easier that way, whereas the other way is better for simple training.¡±


    ¡°Why would I need to do things the other way if training one way is better?¡± Amanda asked.


    Her father gave her a sideways stare, ¡°If a wild beast was after you would you be worried about training right then? Or would survival be more important?¡±


    Amanda blinked realizing how deep her one track mind truly was, ¡°Right...¡±


    They covered a few more details, and he had her show him smaller fruits of her training, but finally Amanda had to ask, ¡°Am I still going to go to the Vanshimer?¡±


    As she asked, her fathers shade folded back into himself, done with his demonstration. He considered her. He put what felt like an endless number of moments into weighing her. So much so that Amanda couldn¡¯t help but shift her weight back and forth and glanced away, feeling ashamed.


    Finally he spoke, ¡°You will go. If you stayed I¡¯d simply end up training you myself, which would defeat the purpose of why I decided to send you in the first place.¡±


    Amanda brightened.


    Yet he clarified, ¡°But you realize that you still need to regain my trust?¡±


    Amanda¡¯s mood sank some at that, but she nodded, ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Good, then we should get home, and you need to start packing.¡± He said, turning towards home.


    ¡°Right now?¡± Amanda asked.


    ¡°As far as I can tell you are ready, and while you might not leave today, since you will be traveling with a caravan, you will need to be ready as they won¡¯t wait around all day for you, even if you are a paying participant.¡±


    Amanda couldn¡¯t help herself, she rushed her father, and threw her arms around him, ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Her father chuckled, patting her head fondly, ¡°You have earned it, you¡¯ve been working hard this whole time, I can tell. Come on, let''s get packing, and eat dinner. Who knows when the next caravan will be coming through.¡±


    As they walked side by side back up the mountain side, a singular truth finally settled inside Amanda, any day she would be leaving home, leaving her father here and going off to Vanshimer, to see the world, to learn to be a magus. It was as terrifying as it was exciting, and she couldn¡¯t help but also realize it might be too soon.

 Chapter 13 - Roads Go Both Ways ( End of Part 1 )

    Leon stood hands clasped behind his back watching the one person in the world that meant anything to him be carried away. It was harrowing, the effort it took to simply keep his feet planted and not follow, to him it was immeasurable. Yet somehow, he managed it. Though even as he did tears took turns on his cheeks, renewing the streams to where they dropped away.


    Anara put a hand on his shoulder, her aging frame lending some small strength to him in that moment, ¡°They grow up so fast, don¡¯t they?¡±


    Leon nodded, ¡°It seemed like only yesterday that she was pestering me to teach her about the sun, or the stars. Like only moments ago we were sitting on that old stump staring up at the sky watching the streaks of light overhead.¡± He said, his tone wavering as he watched the wagon round behind some trees. His aura sight extended beyond, and vaguely he could still identify her familiar aura, an aura that even after fourteen winters reminded him of her mother.


    Leon always had felt it was a bit strange, no one else he knew seemed familiar the way she did. But all the same, perhaps it was in his head. It wasn¡¯t as though he hadn¡¯t found ways of lying to himself before. Deep down he probably knew that Amanda had been trying to teach herself, but he had ignored all the signs. Talking to others in the village had helped him rationalize things. Fitting Amanda¡¯s actions into some previously trodden pathway walked by some other child, he let himself accept her actions as simple rebellion.


    He found it was hard to not beat himself up over that when it came up. It was after all his fault. It was his fault that she hadn¡¯t progressed like she should have. It was his fault that they had drifted apart over the past winters. At what point had he faltered, since when had it all gone wrong. How much time had he spoiled because of his own failures?


    He pushed the thought away, as he had done so many times before. It was pointless to keep hammering at himself for the same thing over and over again. He knew that much, but it wouldn¡¯t be the last time, it was all too easy to go down that path again. Just like it had been all too easy to forgive her when she was standing there crying out for him. He loved her too much to stay angry for any real length of time. Because of that, he had somehow ended up spending the time passing on what small tips and advice as he could. It was silly he knew, as though a few days could make up for lost time.


    He took a breath, and considered instead, her road ahead. He had been corresponding with someone at the academy for years now, and the letter and coin he had given Amanda herself would help for a few other things. However beyond that he knew that she would need to find her own path. He had seen her isolate herself from others her own age for some time, while hiding what she was doing from everyone else, he finally understood that distant look she had so many times now.


    Resisting the urge to once again consider his own role in that, he continued a more productive thought. It was going to be spring soon, and the last thing he wanted was for her to arrive late. In some ways she was already behind, and he had no doubt that he was tossing a very strange task to the professors at Vanshimer. She was already a second or third year student in the magus arts, yet she knew nothing of what else the academy taught.


    He was to blame for that equally, he had no interest in history, religion, or politics. So he had perhaps woefully underprepared his daughter for that side of things. But like with anything in life there was only forward, and for Amanda it lay down this road. But for him? What did the future hold for Leon De¡¯Heron now?If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what there was for him, when Amanda was done, would she come back? Did he even want that for her? It was impossible to predict what she might choose, and in truth, he had to admit that he had no say in it. He had always tried to let her find her own path in life, though in so many ways that had come right back to himself. He was likely to blame for that as well, there were days he had wondered if he should have stayed in Synovo, found some way to make it work. But in the end he had taken the easy way for himself, in some ways he thought that was better, in others worse.


    It was all too easy to feel her aura flickering along the edges of his perception now. Her entire education brought into question, every choice he had ever made poised on the end of a pin. Had he done the best he could? Could he have done better?


    The answer was obvious, of course he could have done better, at least theoretically. But that was to study the world from outside of it, and no matter how far he removed himself from the cities, or people, he could never remove himself so far as to be objective, especially with Amanda.


    He simply had to accept that what he had done was enough, that Pluan if she was still with him would be standing by his side, watching Amanda start down her path with a smile on her face. Even as they both would be barely holding it together. Somehow, that made him feel better, knowing that in truth, she would be happy, smiling right there with him. Yet it was all the more painful to not have her, to be unable to share this moment with her. He shuddered even as the tears continued.


    He patted Anara¡¯s hand, ¡°Thanks for seeing her off with me.¡± He was grateful for the woman. He had come to rely on her too many times, in more ways than he cared to realize.


    ¡°It''s nothing, really.¡± She offered.


    After a moment of letting the tears flow freely, Leon finally spoke, ¡°I should get going...¡±


    ¡°Leon¡­ You don¡¯t have to be such a stranger you know.¡± Anara said.


    ¡°I know.¡± Leon replied, ¡°But the truth is that I think it''s time I stretch my legs, head down a road of my own.¡±


    ¡°I.. I¡¯m sorry?¡± Anara asked, confused, and not following his logic.


    In truth only now did Leon understand it himself, ¡°She¡¯ll head north, I think for now, I¡¯ll head south.¡±


    ¡°But...¡± Anara started.


    Leon turned to her, ¡°If I stay here I¡¯ll spend my days missing her.¡±


    Anara smiled sadly up at him with a solemn acceptance in her eyes, ¡°You¡¯ll come back? Where is she to go when she needs a home to return to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send letters to the academy and here when I have time. Do me that favor at least, if she comes looking for me, tell her where I¡¯ve gone then.¡±


    ¡°Of course...¡± Anara agreed.


    Leon nodded, ¡°If she does show up, tell her that she can take anything from our home should she need it. You and the others can take whatever foodstuffs are left, I usually keep it lightly stocked as is. But no point in letting it go to waste.¡±


    ¡°I.. understand, but isn¡¯t this too sudden?¡± She asked.


    Leon shook his head, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it is.¡± He took her hand into his, clasped it gently and said, ¡°Anara, thank you for all the help. But it''s about time I move on.¡± Then he released her hand, and turned, starting down the worn dirt path, south towards Synovo, towards the gulf, towards the sea beyond. Towards something different, or so he figured.


    It might have slipped his mind that the last words he gave Anara were the same words he used to tell her each time he would head back to the front, until Pluan had changed everything.