“We’ll figure it out soon enough,” Ethan said, giving her a reassuring smile. “Jill will have you swinging a sword around in no time.”

“I suppose. To be honest, it seems like Jill just enjoys hitting me with a stick,” Linna muttered.

“I’m the teacher here. I know what I’m doing,” the gremlin said, discretely dropping his stick and kicking it behind himself.

“That’s not a very good teacher student relationship,” Linna said.

“I’m not a very good teacher, and it’s not like you can find many other Visions willing to train you in the Gellan Kingdom,” Jasper replied with a shrug.

“Fair enough,” Linna said after a moment. “But I’m not going to do everything you say thoughtlessly.”

“I’d expect nothing less from my devoted student,” Jasper said with a grin. He paused at the look in Linna’s eyes and cleared his throat. “Ah, maybe just a normal student,” he amended.

Linna nodded in satisfaction. Jasper’s stomach loudly made itself known. Linna smirked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You sound hungry, oh mighty teacher. But I’m sure you wouldn’t mind postponing dinner to ensure the quality of my education.”

“You need energy to train. Food is vital. Especially when I’m the one eating it,” Jasper said.

Linna rolled her eyes and the three broke off to claim dinner from the center of camp before it was all eaten with the promise to regroup at her wagon once they’d finished.

“Now that we’ve eaten and are nice and relaxed, you’ve got to fix that attitude of yours before you cripple yourself.” Jasper told Linna firmly.

“How? It’s not like I can just decide I’m a genius at swordsmanship and it’ll happen,” Linna said.

“That’s exactly how it would happen for a Vision,” Jasper countered. “Don’t try to bring logic into this. There is no logic in faith. There are no checkpoints or halfway marks. You need to believe that you’re the most powerful Vision in existence, and then act like it.”

“Am I?” Linna asked dubiously.

“Of course not,” Jasper said. “I am.”

Jasper grimaced. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it with an annoyed grunt. He scratched at the sides of his face in anger and turned to Ethan, his right eye twitching slightly.

“He’s not delusional,” Ethan explained when he saw the doubtful look in Linna’s eyes. “A Vision’s faith is their power. If Ja – ah – Jill didn’t think he was the most powerful being in existence, he would weaken himself.”

“Is he really that strong?” Linna asked, lowering her voice.

Jasper turned away pointedly, making a point to ignore the conversation. Ethan smirked and shrugged at Linna with a half-smile.

“Hard to say. There’s no way to numerically measure his strength, but he’s a Vision and he’s still alive. That should talk for itself,” Ethan said.

“So what happens when he runs into somebody that’s actually stronger than he is? Does he just kill himself fighting them?”

“That’s where I come in,” the swordsman replied.

“I…see. And I have to think like that too?” Linna asked with a skeptical frown.

“Essentially. You need unwavering faith in your vision. If you can find another way to do that, go for it. But if you can’t, you get to end up like Jill.”

“That’s insane,” Linna said.

“Being a Vision is both a blessing and a curse,” Ethan agreed.

Linna glanced over at Jasper, who was still pointedly staring at a nearby wagon. He had plugged his ears with his fingers.

“I can see. Does that mean I’m doomed to go insane no matter what I do?”

“Eh. Everyone’s at least a little nuts. It helps to have frequent contact with other Visions. Fighting can remind you that you aren’t as strong as you think you are. That’s one of the reasons they seek each other out so often,” Ethan said.

“I think we’ve covered enough tonight. You’ll find that being a Vision will come naturally once some time goes by,” Jasper said, finally rejoining the conversation. “You just have to make sure you don’t lose yourself.”

“I see. I’ll think on it overnight. Thanks for your help,” Linna said, giving them an appreciative nod.

The two men left, leaving Linna alone with her thoughts.

“Is it really possible she doesn’t know what her vision is?” Ethan asked once they arrived at their own wagon.

Jasper grunted and shrugged one shoulder.

“Never heard of it, but that doesn’t mean much. We’ve never been particularly up to date with most other Visions,” Jasper said, scratching his chin. “She’s the only one who can really tell that.”

“It doesn’t matter in the end,” Ethan said after a moment of silence. “She’ll figure it out eventually. There’s no rush.”

The gremlin nodded in agreement and laid down on his straw bed. The wagon wasn’t particularly comfortable with the constant bumps over rough terrain, but the gremlin had slept in worse places. As he drifted off to sleep, he found himself wishing he’d stolen a rug from the salesman before he’d run the man off.

Jasper awoke to Ethan’s hand on his shoulder. The look in the swordsman’s eyes told him everything he needed to know. Jasper quietly rose to his feet, the morning weariness sloughing off him like water.

The Vision tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. Ethan chewed the inside of his cheek and held up ten fingers.

“Ten?” Jasper mouthed.

Ethan shook his head.

“A hundred?”

The swordsman waggled his hand back and forth and gave a small nod. Jasper restrained a curse. There weren’t any sounds coming from outside the wagon, but that just meant the guards hadn’t spotted the threat yet.

The gremlin reached to his side for his dagger. This time, he couldn’t stop the curse from slipping out of his lips. Ethan looked at his partner questioningly and Jasper angrily gestured to his empty sheathe.

“Forgot my damn dagger in the Vodrun at the mountains. Been too busy wondering about Linna’s vision to think about it.”

“I knew you cared,” Ethan said, smirking. “but what was the point of being quiet if you’re just going to start talking?”

“Shut up and screw silence. Let’s blow ‘em to kingdom come,” Jasper yelled, launching himself through the tarp flaps.