They had finally set off away from Marid and had been walking for half an hour now. Because of the terrain though, Sairek at higher rises in the land could still look back and see the general foundation Marid was on in the distance and the general shape of it. This was about his third time looking by now. He looked back towards Nayleen who was staring as well, though not back at Marid, but at the sky ahead of them.
“What’s wrong?” Sairek asked, watching the expression on her face becoming a frown.
“You picked a cruddy day to set out. It’s going to start storming real soon.” She answered. Sairek himself looked up in the general direction Nayleen was looking in. It had been a cloudy day, which he was thankful for since it made the day more cool and bearable, however he could see that in the distance to the north west, far heavier and more foreboding clouds were steadily making their way towards them.
“Well, I’m not going back and postponing. That would just be embarrassing.” Sairek grumbled. “There’s plenty of large trees and cliff sides we can use as cover. Or we can just wait it out if it gets that bad.”
“I bet it’s going to be a long rain, but I guess it’s not so bad. I can teach you some basic survival stuff and what to do in these situations and if things somehow become really bad, the town isn’t too far away.” Nayleen nodded. “So we’re not stuck in the middle of the storm completely stranded, but we should start seeking good shelter from it early.”
“Let’s make as much ground as we can manage until then, I suppose.”
Soon enough, only a quarter of an hour later, the sky could be heard crackling above them. So loudly was it that Sairek and Nayleen flinched from being startled. There was a big flash, followed by a loud booming crash from the approaching storm. Nayleen covered her ears for a second while Sairek ungracefully panicked and grabbed Nayleen’s arm tightly and hid behind her back. When the crashing of the storm lowered down to a mere rumble, Nayleen gave Sairek a dull look.
“You are such a wimp.” She muttered dryly.
“Sh-Shut up… Storms were barely audible inside the castle… This is my first time I’ve been exposed to one…!” Sairek grumbled.
She sighed. “Looks like the storm is going to be worse than I thought. Running from cover to cover isn’t going to work. Keep an eye out. We’ll take the next good piece of cover we see.”
To make sure they wouldn’t be stranded in the open, the both of them quickened their movement to a near jog. Less than ten minutes later, the rain had begun to pour down, with the both of them covering their heads with their arms to stop their faces from getting as wet as possible. Thankfully, it was only needed for a couple of minutes before there was a rather large tree that was grounded against a cliff side, providing shelter from one side, while keeping them dry from the vast majority of the rain overhead as well. They managed to only get a bit damp before taking shelter underneath the tree. For a few moments, they stood side by side, looking around them as the rain continued to become more and more heavy.
“Say, I don’t suppose you can use magic to make the rain go away.” Nayleen asked with a voice dripping of sarcasm.
“...I’m an apprentice, not some benevolent being.” Sairek responded dryly. “The four spells I can cast are as basic as they can come in terms of magic. All I’m doing is gathering one of the four elements and manipulating it in the most basic form.”
“...Meaning?”
“I draw in fire, I release fire. I draw in air, I release air. I draw in water, I release water..."
“You draw in earth, you spew out rocks?” Nayleen asked.
“Yes. Or manipulate whatever element is nearby as well, with some limited ability.” Sairek clarified.
“Why not make a giant rock that shelters us over our heads and keep on moving, then?” Nayleen suggested.
“Because I don’t like the idea of having a giant boulder that I could lose concentration of at a moment’s notice, like when the thunder booms, and then having it squish us.” Sairek replied dryly.
“Oh. Yeah. Well, I guess in that case, we’re camping here tonight. It’s fairly dry.” Nayleen said, glancing around at the ground.
“But we barely just got started…!” Sairek protested.
“Hah, look at you, eager beaver. But unless you can find a way to protect us from the rain, this is where we’ll stay until it’s over. We can’t go running around out there, getting wet, cold and sick all on your first day.”
Sairek slumped his shoulders and sighed. “This is the Pits…”
Nayleen cocked her head at him for a moment. “Say uh… how does that twinkly sparkly of yours work, exactly?”
"My... My what?" Sairek blinked.
"The white stone."
Sairek looked down at the royal jewel and pinched it with his left index finger and thumb. “I just turn it on, send a signal of thought of what I want and…” He began, then there was a quick flash of light as Sairek brought out their sleeping bags, a couple blankets of cloth for them to lay on and some food and canteens of water for good measure. Within the flash, they weren't there, and then they just were, everything laying comfortably on the ground. He let go of the jewel and looked at her with a lopsided smirk on his face.
“Show off.” Nayleen commented without heat, moving to plop her bottom on one of the blankets and positioned herself to lounge on top of it. He himself moved to sit down on the opposite side of her with his legs crossed. They both grabbed a little bit of food, lazily snacking on a fairly bland and early lunch in contrast to the breakfast they had.
“This is the life you wanted, huh?” Nayleen teased with a rather amused snort as she looked around both of their surroundings again. “Is this really what you wanted? Walk a few miles, get rained on and camp under a muddy cliff and tree?”
Sairek glanced towards her, silent for a moment before speaking. “This is still more entertaining than being in the castle, you know. The only difference is that I’d be stuck in the walls and alone. At least like this, I have some companionship in you. You’re the first friend I’ve had, unless you count my maid. Certainly the first one even remotely close to my age.”
“Aww, so you can be sweet at times.” Nayleen teased gently and smiled at him.
“Just like you can be, rarely.”
“Oof.” Nayleen flinched, feigning a look of hurt now. “Sweet and cold at the same time. You know, some girls are into that kind of thing~”
“But not you?”
Nayleen shrugged. “I ‘unno. Never thought about it. I figured it would take a special kind of guy to want to deal with me.”
“I’m… not interested in that kind of thing yet.” Sairek replied softly.
“Hey, don’t flatter yourself! I’m not hitting on you.”
Sairek flinched. “Mmph... Apparently, you are nothing but just cold. My mistake.”
Nayleen chuckled at that. “Hey, a boy and a girl at our ages being alone? Some people would probably talk. It’s good to set boundaries and get that out of the way early, so there’s no confusion later on.”
Sairek nodded in agreement. “Well, no worries on that then. Anyway, tomorrow we should go looking for caves if we can.”
“Oh, why’s that?”
“Because of the jewel. I got a little bit of Ethereal to make it to Lamen but it would be nice to have… more. I don’t have a good grasp on how much energy this thing takes yet.” Sairek explained. “Usually members of the monastery in Lamen go and collect the stuff and then process it, sending smaller shipments to the castle. One of such caves might be along the way. It has to be close to Lamen somewhere if they can afford to send members on foot for such errands.”
“Well, aside from the jewel, having ethereal in itself would be really useful.” Nayleen reminded him.
“Yeah… it can be used for all sorts of things.” Sairek agreed. It could be used for his gem, sure, but condensed ethereal, refined and enhanced into a pure and raw state was extremely powerful. It could do all sorts of things to making potions and medicines for curing, or even used in food since it had the same consistency to that of water. Used properly in food, it could be some type of ambrosia. Not only would the food taste absolutely delicious, but it would have medicinal properties as well and whoever ate such food would indeed feel quite mighty good for a fair while. Not even the castle got such luxurious food like that.
There was plenty of ethereal to go around, but the amount required to condense it into such a state was huge and took a long time to process. Of course, while cooking with it was also neat and all, it was seen more as a top-line luxury than useful. So of course, it was mostly just used in medicinal concoctions instead.
“Sssaaaiiiii~”
Sairek blinked from his thoughts and looked at Nayleen who was waving her hand in front of him. “Sorry, what is it?” He apologized.
“I asked why you are wearing the gem.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s the treasure of Ceareste, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be dangerous to bring it with? What if something happened to it?”
“It is mine, I can do with it what I wish, but I did ask my maid the same thing, though the whole point of it is to keep me safe, though I must be responsible with it in turn. Besides, it’s not as easy to steal as just tearing it off of my clothes.”
“How so?”
“Laure made it so the jewel and I are connected right now, So I’ll never not know where it is, at least for a good, good long distance. This thing is powerful, outdistancing me from it would be pretty tricky. Though, that’s why I have to be responsible with it. Using it too much will drain me as a result. Other than that, it’s just really powerful. Protecting me is the entire purpose of the jewel. A bit of an old tradition, but even Kior still follows that tradition of giving the kingdom’s jewel to the hier’s next-of-kin. It’s also attached to my clothes. So nobody is going to grab it, without also grabbing me.”
“Or just tearing your shirt from you.”
“Considering the clothes are also made to protect me, that’s not going to be easy. It takes long enough to actually take everything off as it is when I want to take them off.”
“Then what about when you’re sleeping? Unless you plan to not change clothes or clean them ever?”
“That’s what Inns are for. I have a couple spare pajamas in here too, just so you know.” Sairek frowned, tapping the jewel for emphasis. “Besides smelling and getting a little dirty is a small price to pay in my book in making sure nothing happens to it. Also, even if someone did try to take it in my sleep, I’d feel that, too.”
Nayleen seemed satisfied with that answer, and changed the subject. “So then, why can’t you cast awesome magic by yourself, but you can with the jewel.”
Sairek frowned and tilted his head. “Um… let’s see… do you know what dumbbell is?”
“Obviously.” Nayleen frowned.
“Do you know how to do a single rep?”
“Of course.”
“Can you do a single rep with ten pounds?”
“No problem.”
“How about five-hundred?”
“Umm… No. Five-hundred is a bit too much…”
“But you know how to lift five-hundred pounds. It's the same as lifting the ten pounds but the added weight makes it harder, so it’s just simply out of your capacity in terms of strength to do, right?”
“...Right.”
“That’s why I can’t cast advanced magic. The simple spells are like lifting ten pounds, while the more advanced stuff is like lifting five-hundred. The jewel helps me lift that five-hundred pounds, by taking four-hundred-ninety of those pounds itself, if that makes sense.” Sairek explained.
“Ahhh, I see. So like, I may not be able to lift five-hundred by myself, but with the help of other people, we could. But I assume not every spell is as simple as doing a ‘rep’, either, right? Kinda like… doing a rep, but at the same time doing a very specific dance move, or something and if you don’t know how to do the dance move while doing the rep...”
“Ahh... yeah. I guess that’s one way to put it. Though in reality, it’s all mental and forcing your will upon it. To gather and weave ethereal and to force it to form into something you want, it all takes will power, and an obscene amount of it for the more complex stuff. Not only that, but obviously bigger spells require more ‘fuel’, so that means more ethereal you must control from the air. Those who get really good at it can do things like Samuel was doing. Casting spells with just a clap of your hands and able to do things like create a sinkhole from multiple yards away.”
“Don’t remind me…” Nayleen grumbled. “I knew magic wasn’t something to be trifled with but seeing that kind of expertise is scary.”
“Usually it takes many decades to become that good. Samuel is a natural prodigy. One of the elite of the elite in the castle, but still not the best.”
“Who’s the best, then?”
“My maid, Laure.”
“Seriously?”
“She didn’t used to be a maid, but when mother died, well, someone needed to take care of me. Her and mother used to be close, so having her as my matron only made sense, I guess. Perhaps her expertise is why father lets her off more lightly than he probably wanted to on many occasions. She could crush him if she really wanted to, and if she decided to quit working at the castle, he would be losing a most valuable asset. She is certainly someone you don’t want to make an enemy of. She’s the one who enchanted my clothes before we set out as well as the jewel.” Sairek explained.
“Did she at least make you lighter with them? Would hate to have to drag you up another wall.” Nayleen retorted dryly.
“I’m not—” Sairek pressed his lips together. “The clothes are heavy and yes she did make them lighter, thank you very much...”
“Oh good!”
“Made them repel temperatures too, not enough apparently though. Even in this rain, it still feels bleeding hot.”
“Well you’re the one who is insisting on wearing them for days on end.” Nayleen reminded him.
“For protection…!” Sairek stressed. “There are monsters out here in the fields, you know! Sure they’re rare and the soldiers around Ceareste do their best to clear them, but sometimes a couple slip through the patrols or just conjure up out of nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t see any now and we’re pretty obscured. So why not? You could at least put on a simple pair of pants and shirt.”
“Even if I wanted to do that, the further away the jewel is from me, the more strain it’s going to put on me. It’s like a tether. The closer it is to me, the more energy efficient all of the enchantments and that tether will be. I’m only taking it off if I really have to, or because it’s safe enough that I can dump everything that’s being held inside of it in a corner and turn it ‘off’ for a while. Besides changing clothes like that right now would be… umm…” Sairek paused, looking at her, then away.
“Cute!” Nayleen piped up.
“No.” Sairek said, shooting her back a glare.
She giggled. “Hey, your body can’t be that ugly. If the clothes are as heavy as you claim, then it has to be a good workout for your muscles, right? Besides, you keep insisting that you’re not fat…”
“I’m not!” Sairek managed to resist pouting. Barely. “Yes, I guess I can swing my staff pretty hard if I need to…”
“Well, you overpowered Fancy Dude.”
“...You’re still calling him that?”
“I like how it sounds!”
Sairek sighed. “I only overpowered him because I was extremely pissed off and managed to gain advantage with my little surprise attack. In a more proper one on one battle, he could wrestle me down easy, regardless of how angry I was.”
“So you’re gonna just stay in them for the next three or four days.”
“There’s an inn between here and Lamen. Besides… I… like how they look.” Sairek muttered.
Nayleen cracked a smile. “Oh yeah, they do make you look handsome. Good thing I’m around so all the ladies won’t come near you.” She continued to tease.
Sairek felt a bit of heat rushing up to his face. It didn’t seem to matter if he was a Prince or not, Nayleen seemed to jab and tease him like he was just a regular folk, though did it in a friendly banter kind of way. In a way, that made him, oddly, happy. He only did something like this with Laure before but she only did it gently on occasion. Nayleen was ruthless with it, though.
“So, why do all mages use staves anyways? Why not a sword?” Nayleen asked, going back into ‘serious mode’ again, for now.
“Well, all mages don’t use one.” Sairek answered.
“Okay, why do most mages use staves, then?”
“Most mages don’t.”
Nayleen scrunched her face up, then thought for a few seconds. “Okay, why do the mages that do use a staff, use one in the first place?”
“Because staves are usually crafted out of wood and some kind of organic material like that, either fully or partially, and that wood which came from a living tree is able to hold and channel ethereal better than something like iron or steel would be able to. As for me, this staff is made from a root of Yggdrasil, so it’s the best thing around. It helps absorb in ethereal with far more ease than the rest, and it has the durability that surpasses even most metal weapons could hope for. Not even fire would burn the staff. It would just happily drink that energy up over time. It’s not invincible of course, though.”
“So then what’s the benefit of not using a staff, like what Samuel was doing?” Nayleen asked.
“He can use his fists, or channel two spells or even a singular spell at two separate points, spreading the energy easier. For example, if I wanted to build a wall of dirt, I would have to do a sweeping motion, like this." Sairek explained, holding his staff with the head pointing at the ground and sweeping it slowly from left to right. "Samuel however could build that wall at two separate points and build it twice as fast like this;" He continued, dropping his staff into his lap, holding his hands together in front, then spreading both of them out towards each of his sides. "It’s way harder to do, but as you saw, you don’t need a weapon to be dangerous with magic if you have the aptitude for it and building a wall like Samuel does takes half the time than building it the way I do it.” He finished in explanation, reaching to grab his staff once more.
“And for people who use something other than a staff?”
“You get the utility of magic, while having the option of whatever other weapon you pick. Maybe magic isn’t the best option, so you stab your opponent with a sword or smack them with a flail or whatever. It makes throwing out your willpower much harder by just doing it yourself, but it can be done to great effect with enough practice. They're usually referred to as 'spell swords', regardless if the weapon they use is an actual sword or not. It's not popular, though. Most people know of magic theory, so they can defend themselves against it, but not everyone actively practices it."
“Hmm… wonder if I could use magic.”
“Everyone can do it if they try hard enough. Most people start with having a catalyst of energy to practice just pushing the energy out first, though.” Sairek answered.
“You mean like the jewel?”
“Yeah. To use it, all I need is extend my willpower towards it, then push the energy out in the ‘shape’ that I desire it to be. The releasing of the energy is pretty simple for the more basic spells, but the gathering of it is usually the harder part until much later.”
“Must be very hard if you can’t do anything more complex even with a Yggdrasil staff.”
“No, I’m just bad at it.” Sairek sighed.
“Or like I said, it’s very hard.” Nayleen frowned.
“I mean, I suppose so, but without the staff, I basically can't cast magic at all. I don’t know what I am doing wrong. The teachers at the castle are not much help. They just say I should practice and study more.”
“They don’t sound like very good teachers. A teacher’s job shouldn’t be to just tell a student to learn on their own.” Nayleen replied, her frown deepening. “My parents when it came to teaching me how to hunt was very hands-on and would explain to me how we did something and why as they were demonstrating everything.”
“Yeah, I know, but I wouldn’t exactly call myself a favorite at the castle… When it comes to actually learning the spells, I’m okay at them. I know how to cast a few, but by myself without the staff, I can’t cast anything. Not with any usable amount of ‘oomph’ anyway. Maybe I just need to practice more without my staff, but I tried that already too…”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Nayleen reassured him.
“I indeed hope so… anyway, is it my turn yet?” Sairek asked.
“Shoot.”
“Why is it that you use two daggers? I would figure you would use a bow or something.”
“Actually, I know how to use one. I had one, but I kinda ran out of arrows and I accidentally broke it so… now I don’t have one!” Nayleen said, toying with her ponytail behind her head a bit sheepishly. “As for the daggers… just personal preference I guess. I can skin animal hides with them, but defend myself with them just fine as well and two of them makes me twice as scary!”
“Well, I suppose it fits your rather… roguish style of apparently liking to sneak around for hunting and stuff.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then… if it came to taking a human life, what would you do?” Sairek asked.
“Them or me. Depends on the situation of course.” Nayleen answered. “Like that knight guy, he obviously didn’t want to kill me, so I wouldn’t have killed him either. All is fair in self defense.”
“Have you had to kill anyone yet?”
“Nope, but I haven’t really ran into anyone, either. Been sticking away from roads and gone more off on my own. With you though, that’s gonna change.”
“Yeah… I guess I will stick with that mindset. The idea of having to kill someone to protect myself is a bit scary. I’d rather just subdue them if possible, but…”
“It’s hard for anyone as young as us needing to consider something like that, but that’s the kind of world we live in unfortunately. Not everyone is nice and I don’t know how much you disagree with your father, but lots of people would love to take advantage of you. So if someone does try to do that, make sure to go bananas on them like you did with Samuel!”
“Err… I’ll… save that for a last resort.” Sairek replied, his tone dry.
“D’aww…”
“What are you ‘d’awwing’ about?”
“It was fun to watch!”
Sairek sighed. “You’re irredeemable.”
“Hey, it’s what gives me charm! So I guess I’ll take the first watch tonight, right?”
Sairek blinked. “First watch?”
Nayleen gave him an even look. “Y’know, someone to keep watch while the other sleeps?”
“Oh, right… I mean, I guess. I suppose I don’t have any preference...” Sairek half murmured. He had to admit that the sound of getting less than a normal night’s rest was a bit daunting. He supposed for at least tonight, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad though. He could just retire to sleep early. Not like there was much else to do; it was still raining.
“Before you go to sleep then, gimme more food!” Nayleen piqued.
“H-Hey, come on, we need that food to last. We just had brunch and an early dinner!” Sairek protested.
“Are you kidding me?” Nayleen let out, sounding genuinely surprised. “That amount of food would last anyone only a couple of hours tops. C'mon, I need food to live!”
“...I can’t believe you are the one who keeps suggesting that I am fat…” Sairek grumbled.
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