Jerald and Jeremy moved quickly through the forest that surrounded the pond. They were both very familiar with it, having spent most of their youths in it. It was the best spot to get up to mischief.

Jeremy was grateful for his father not requesting another immediate healing. The first bout of healing had used up most of his mana; he was not a real mage so using such healing abilities was inefficient and exhausting for him. He would be able to cast again but he needed rest. Jeremy knew from testing that he could only use the healing ability, Lesser Heal, three times a day. If he tried a fourth time, the physical and mental exhaustion was too much for him to handle. He was sure he could do it if he trained enough but healing magic wasn't his specialty so he didn’t spend his time training it.

The trip through the forest was uneventful. Not many animals lived in this small forest, only a few squirrels, many rats and the odd owl. When they got to the end of the forest, Jeremy healed the boy again. The large gash on the boy's forehead was now gone and some water had dribbled from the boy’s mouth, which was a good sign. The healing magic and his body were working together to expel the water.

Jeremy knew that if either of them were proficient with manipulating water, it would have been much easier to help the boy. He had heard the stories of those with the Water Mastery, water was at their command.

From the edge of the forest they could see the barn and the house which were in the far distance. They would need to cross the marsh that fed the pond then a few horse paddocks. Next they would have to pass the small dam that was used for watering and finally some cow paddocks before reaching the barn. It was quite the distance but Jeremy didn’t mind, he enjoyed having an opportunity to train his body and test his limits.

His father interrupted his thoughts by putting the boy down and speaking softly.

“I am going to warn your mother to prepare for our arrival.”

Jeremy was confused at first and then saw his father take in a deep breath. Knowing what his father was about to do, he stepped back to make sure there was a fair distance between them.

Jerald held the air in his lungs before using one of his many abilities: Worker's Frenzy. Magical air bellowed out of the man's mouth. The magic filled everyone in the area with vigour, allowing everyone to work harder and faster. The secondary effect which many farmers utilised was the enhanced voice. Worker’s Frenzy was a shout ability, cast by making any sound. The sound was magical and could be pushed to extreme limits. The volume of the magical shout could be controlled by the user and with Jerald's level, it could even do damage. Nothing substantial enough for battle but enough to burst one of Jeremy's eardrums when he was a child.

The shout travelled rapidly across the marsh, paddocks, dam and barn. It was impossible to avoid the sound if you were on the farm. The animals were not happy being buffeted by the wave of sound but it did not do them any harm.

Jerald picked up the boy and started moving much faster than before. Jeremy followed suite. Worker's Frenzy was a powerful ability but would leave them exhausted later. It was a temporary gain that had to be paid for later. They both didn’t want to suffer the consequences without reaping the benefits.

Their movement fell into a rhythm and Jeremy fell into thought.

He felt gratitude to having such intelligent and prepared parents. His father had told both of them about the shout so that he could warn them from afar. Whether it was bandits or other dangers, Jerald would be able to let the family know.

He smiled as he imagined his mother becoming frantic when hearing it. She was tough woman but when it came to her loved ones she worried a lot. His father had always told her to worry less but she never did.

Jeremy stopped his father when they reached the other side of the marsh, he healed the boy again. More water came out, it was a good sign. Jerald nodded in approval and they moved along.

When they got to the horse paddocks, it started raining very hard. Jeremy was surprised; it was too early in the year for rain. The heavy rain when blurred their vision until they couldn’t see the barn anymore.

They continued but at a much slower pace. When they got to a main intersection by the horse paddocks, two large stallions blocked their path. One horse was black and other brown, they were snorting with irritation.

Jerald whistled to the horses and they came to him. He got onto the black horse and Jeremy got onto the brown. As soon as they were on, the horses began moving of their own accord.

"We found a boy in the lake; he had a head wound and took on a lot of water. Jeremy has healed him a few times and his condition has improved but we don't know if he will make it. We will meet you in the barn."

If anyone didn’t know what was happening, they would look at Jerald like a mad man. Did he think the horse would respond?

Well, the horse did respond, with a simple nod.

When Jeremy was a young boy, he had been absolutely amazed by his father's strength and endurance. The man was a powerhouse and even more so now. However, as he had gotten older and reached his current age of twenty three, he was reminded time and time again how scarily powerful his mother was.

In appearances she was a simple farmer's wife who shared the load of work in the farm. In truth, she was the cornerstone of their family's income. As animal farmers they relied on the different produce they could get from their animals.

Annabelle, Jeremy's mother, had specialised in both the Animal Caretaker and Beast Masteries. Her power over animals was unparalleled. With her focus on both paths, they heavily overlapped letting her achieve things that many thought was impossible. Jeremy like to think of her as an Animal Magician.

One example was her ability to communicate through animals. She could hear what they were hearing and have them carry out small movements. Naturally her control was limited and she needed the animal to be willing. The restrictions were inconsequential in comparison to the ability’s potential.

Jeremy thought back to the late nights when his mother would wake everyone up because a calf was being born or an animal was injured. The animals adored her and told her their problems. It just amazed him as he wondered how the farm would continue if she wasn’t around.

Suddenly the horses stopped. Jeremy managed to just stop himself from flying off. Just as he recovered the horse reared its front legs, throwing him off and into the mud.

Jeremy looked up at his father from the mud. His father had experienced the same thing but managed to keep the boy and himself out of the mud.

Jerald got up and stood next to the black horse with a deep frown on his face.

He rubbed his dark messy beard and spoke.

"I didn't expect this."

Suddenly the rain started unnaturally spinning around them, like they were in the centre of a hurricane. The horses were about to run but Jerald stopped them and guided them to the centre. They listened and lie down, trusting him.

Jeremy didn't know what was happening, was this a magical storm? It didn’t look natural. He walked over and sat near the black horse and looked at his father.

Jerald's frown was still on his face as he felt forces pulling at the boy on his shoulder. He fought against it but his strength was not enough. It was like fighting a raging river. No matter how strong he was, he was just a man.

The boy's body floating up into the air, his body limp as it hovered in the air magically.

Jerald sat next to Jeremy. He spoke with a voice full of uncertainty.

"Son, use all your abilities that would protect us. All of them, now!"

Without waiting for a response from his son, Jerald began using his own abilities. After years of training and experience, the man had focussed on 3 Masteries: Labourer, Farmer and Lumberjack. Jerald had progressed quite far in the Farmer mastery before stopping. Many of the higher Tier skills and abilities specialised heavily on food yielding crops. It was useful but only for their family’s consumption which was on a very small scale. It was due to this reason that Jerald had taken up the Labourer and Lumberjack Masteries. Both offered good Strength and Stamina bonuses which were useful as well as several abilities which Jerald was now using.

Jeremy quickly followed his father's example by casting his own abilities, most of which belonged to the Labourer Mastery. They were some of the same abilities that his father was using but just much weaker. Jerald had explained to Jeremy in the past about the incredible power of stacking multiple copies of the same ability. The magic appeared to work much more efficiently than two single instances of the ability.

As Jeremy felt his body strengthen and his stamina increase exponentially, he used all of his abilities, even those he could use once a month.

Whilst the others worked furiously to ensure their survival, the boy's skin started to collect droplets of water, like filings to a magnet.