Standing before a pile of plundered weapons, each one spotted with rust and wear, uncared for by the bandits that used them. Nadia works carefully, using tools that fit her hands like the claws on a wolven’s paw, she removes rust, oils the exposed metals, and sands down the splintered wood.

Her eyes focus on each weapon in turn, carefully scanning them with the same sharp focus of a hunter gazing out over their prey, seeking a weakness to exploit. She turns her attention toward me as she finishes her work with a bow, setting aside a collection of arrows that she’s separated from the rest.

She smiles warmly but retains a cautious distance from me.

I’m still not part of her pack, her family. Yet, she still chooses to be kind to me.

“So, what do you want to learn?” She asks, waving over the collection.

We’ve stopped early, only a little after noon, there is stony ground ahead of us and we don’t want to risk camping out there tonight for fear of the monsters that might attack us in the dark. We must cross this next stretch without stopping, so we’re leaving early in the morning.

Lothar and Theo are scouting for tracks in the soft earth, hoping to find a trace of the survivors.

“Bow,” I say firmly.

I know of the weapon from my childhood, but I’ve never seen one used. The older people in the village were always hesitant about weapons, they weren’t hunters, and the weapons were only there to fight off wolven and bandits, and the like.

When I was surviving in the wild for all those years, I’d dreamed of having a miraculous bow; a weapon that could slay my foes and my prey from a distance. A weapon that could save me from injury and pain. Even better than magic because it doesn’t use æther, but it can still kill from a distance.

“I can show you how to use the bow,” Nadia says, tilting her head as she sets aside the swords and hammers that she had close by. “I thought you might be more the type to ask about swords, spears, or hammers, or something.”

“Syr can fight good enough from close but not from far away. Being far away is better,” I tell her, taking the bow that she offers. It feels less grainy than I thought it would, it’s really, really smooth, and lighter than I was expecting.

“Smart,” She nods, taking up another bow from the pile. “Okay, we’ll use that tree as a target. Now, watch how I do this.”

She takes an arrow from a shoddy quiver, “You’ll want to set the arrow like this, so that this feather is pointing towards you. Then, keep your eye on the target, draw and pause for just a moment to line up the shot, and then release. On the release, draw your hand back while slowly opening your hand. If you are too forceful with it, you’ll miss the target.”

I watch as the arrow flies, hitting the tree firmly and sticking into it, but my excitement dies down at the sight. The arrow is only barely stuck in, it’s so shallow that it wouldn’t hurt a real enemy.

It would hurt a bit, and I’d have to put my everything into the effort, but if I wanted to, I could topple the whole tree with one swing of my sword.

“Okay, now you give it a go,” Nadia says, waving at me and my bow.

I notch an arrow and glare at the spot where Nadia hit the tree. I’m going to hit right over the top of her arrow, and it’ll do much more damage. I’m strong enough to make the tree hurt from this.

Drawing back as hard as I can, while aiming for the tree, the bow creaks. I’ll use the bow all the time rather than the sword. Who even needs a sword when you can kill anything before it gets close?

I release.

The bow splinters in my hands, the arrow flying off into the darkness of the forest ahead.

That wasn’t supposed to happen…

“Oh, good Tilia! Are you okay, Syr?” Nadia rushes to my side. She’s carefully pulling the splinters out of my face, swearing to her strange goddess. I vaguely remember hearing of Tilia before, but I don’t remember any details.

“I should’ve warned you not to pull it too hard, only go back to your cheek,” Nadia grumbles to herself while I channel some healing through my æther veins. More good practice for my magic.

“That was a good try.” She leans in closer, “Next time don’t pull it back too hard, I’ll give you a stronger bow, but you still need to be careful.”

“Okay,” I say, nodding. “I just wanted to make the arrow hit harder.”

“Well, then you’ll need a better bow,” She chuckles, handing me a longer, bigger bow. I have to hold it at an angle because it’s so tall, but it feels much more powerful.

I draw back to my cheek, but I know that I can pull it back even further to make the arrow hit harder. I don’t because I can follow instructions and do what I’m told.

I release, and the arrow flies out into the darkness.

“You didn’t aim very well, and you were a bit too harsh when letting go of the string. You want to let your fingers slide back gently.” She says, imitating the motion.

I nod, copying the motion a few times before taking another arrow.

I miss again.

Ten minutes later we are out of arrows and there is still only the one hanging in the tree; Nadia’s.

“If you want to attack something from a distance,” Adeleya says, joining us with a flourish of her staff. “Then magic is a better option.”

In a low voice, she whispers a chant and waves her staff out toward the forest. The air heats up around us, stirring around her into a small vortex that gathers around her wooden staff. Flames flicker to life, burning the vortex of air and forming a glowing yellow ball, like the sun condensed to the size of a fist.

The fireball flies out from her staff, only a little slower than an arrow. The flames burst against the tree, incinerating the large trunk and leaving nothing of the arrow behind. The tree sways from the force of the blow, before, with the cracking of wood, it topples to the forest floor.

“That’s also an option,” Nadia murmurs.

“So, do you want to learn magic?” Adeleya asks with a great big smile. I lean in close and give her a big hug. She’s as soft and warm as before, and she smells nice. Best of all, I can hug her without worrying about if I belong or not. She rubs my back and chuckles.

“Syr already uses magic for strengthening and necromancy,” I say. “I want a bow because it doesn’t use æther… but it’s no good.” I look down at the bow and the empty quiver, then to the toppled tree that I never once hit.

“Oh?” Adelya says, turning away from me while pouting.

“Still, it can’t hurt to learn a little magic,” Nadia tells me, and as Adeleya steps away she whispers further, “I think she wants to spend some time with you. I need to go gather the arrows anyway, so why don’t you play with her for a bit?

Behind us, Adeleya is kicking about a few stones while gazing down at her feet rather sullenly. I didn’t think she was so excited to teach me; I should pay more attention.

“Syr would like to learn magic,” I tell her as I walk up beside her and grab her hand. Even though we only met the day before, it feels the most natural thing in the world to hold her hand and hug her, and she just accepts it all.

Adeleya’s expression instantly lifts. Suddenly all smiles, she grips my hand in return and excitedly pulls me over to the forest where we won’t bother Nadia.

“Have you ever used a magic staff before?” She asks me, waving around the knotted length of wood. I’ve seen a few others like it, and a few wands too, when I was a kid, but I never got to use them.

“Do you know why we use a staff for casting magic?”

I shake my head.

“Staffs and wands have their own æther channels inside of them, and even some other weapons and tools do too. So, what makes them special is that we can channel our æther, and magic, into the staff, and then it pulls even more æther through it to make the spell even bigger and more powerful,” she explains excitedly, and her energy infects me too.

“That and they’re pretty good for hitting bad guys if they get too close,” She waves the staff around, and swings it quickly like a club, striking at the air and sweeping about confidently.

“Add some magic to those hits and a good mage can stand toe to toe with any average swordsman or spearman,” she proclaims proudly, her chest puffed up as she smiles down at me.

“Now, do you know any magics that can be thrown? Fire, or water, or even earth or stone magic would do.”

“A little fire magic, enough to cook with,” I say, summoning a flame over my hand.

“Okay then, as you cast you must channel the magic through the staff. Now as you do so, you can either hold it forwards and the magic will come out the end, or you can wave it towards your target like this.” She waves her staff forwards as she summons flames from its length.

In moments the small ball of flame flies forth and strikes the side of a large tree, only scorching it a little bit.

“Though it will probably be easier to learn by holding it out like this.” She holds the staff out at an angle before her, letting the warm mana flow along its length before a mighty ball of flame bursts out from the end and flies toward the target, much slower than her earlier casting when she swung the spell out from the staff.

“Now, your turn.” She hands me her staff and adjusts my grip on it. “Each staff is a little different but there are spots where you can more easily feed æther and magic into it, that’s where you need to hold it.”

After a little more fiddling, she nods confidently and steps back from me.

I quietly channel the magic through the staff, holding it out toward the scorched tree. Æther flows through my hands down into the staff, where I lose control over it, but the staff doesn’t burst into flames. My magic slowly bursts out of the end in a shower of sparks that don’t quite form a ball, scattering into the air instead.

I hold back my æther, but the flames continue burning for a little bit before sputtering out in the slight breeze.

“Ah, no chants, and not a fireball. I am not a good teacher,” Adeleya mumbles thoughtfully. “Syr, do you know any chants?”

“Chants?”

“Well, chants help to focus the æther flow. When you get really good at a particular form of magic you won’t need the chant anymore, like with your necromancy, but when you’re a beginner or doing something complex, it makes a difference to the power and control of your magic.”

She guides me through a few of her chants for a little while after, trying to teach me the basic beginner’s fireball.

I fail at it badly, my tongue stumbling over the chant as I try to focus on the magic and the words. Only as the sun is finally going down, and my æther veins are burning comfortably from the effort, do I finally get my fire forming a small ball, barely the size of a fingertip.

It drifts out from the staff’s end, caught by the breeze and popping quietly, scattering a few dying sparks.

“That was a good effort,” Adeleya says, still smiling brightly. I know that I’m not good at this, so why is she telling me otherwise? She’s still smiling, and I can’t see anything that would make me think she’s lying, but it’s not like I know what to look for.

If she can lie so well, what else is she lying about?

Shaking the uncertainty from my mind, I walk alongside her back towards the camp.

Another tree will suffer in the stead of the two that I’ve failed to wound today. Tomorrow or the day after, I will hit a tree with both arrows and balls of flame.

Theo joins us back at camp alongside Lothar, who avoids looking at me. Nadia is finished gathering the arrows again, so I quickly run up to say thank you. I was the one to scatter them, and she was nice enough to help me, and pick them up. She’s a nice person and I should say thanks and please and all the proper nice things.

“Do you mind doing a little sword practice with me?” Theo asks, surprising me.

“Syr can play swords with you…” I reply to him, as Adeleya stands by my back.

“Don’t go getting too rough with her,” she says.

“I won’t,” Theo replies with a dull voice, “Here, I’ve wrapped up your sword to keep the sheath in place. That way we can’t hurt each other too badly.”

He hands me the longsword, and I accept it, running some æther through my body to strengthen me enough that I can properly use it.

“You use hand-to-hand strikes as well?” He asks, spinning his own wrapped sword around.

“Yes,” I tell him, forming my knife hand and slashing across a branch, “Cut and stab.”

“Well, today can you punch instead. I’m a private man, and I don’t intend for you to get me spilling my guts today. Adeleya, call to begin.”

His eyes are sharp and focused, and I know that he’s serious. I need to be serious, too. If I can prove to him that I’m strong and that I’d make a good fighter, I’m sure he’d want me on his team of mercenaries.

I nod towards him and take up a ready stance, strengthening my legs and preparing for the start of the fight. I wait for the call.

“Go… I guess,” Adeleya calls uncertainly.

I dig my feet into the dirt and charge, building as much momentum into the swing as I can, and I swipe it across where his belly should be.

He steps back, but too slow. His sword raised to deflect the blade takes far more impact than he’s prepared for. As he stumbles from the blow, I throw myself forwards with the weight of the sword, going in for a punch.

Something is strange about his stance, and before I’m fully invested in the attack I swing my sword forwards again and pull myself back with the same motion. Standing ready, I hold my sword between us.

He stabs at me, and I once again used the weight of my swinging sword to quickly step aside.

This back and forth continues for a while, him blocking and countering, me swinging back and forth around my sword, using the weight of it to move around faster than I can just by using my feet. Occasionally, I go in close for a punch but I can never quite hit him.

We stumble one another now and again, but neither of us manages to land a hit.

After ten minutes, we’re both breathing rough and ragged.

Theo steps in with a firm stance I’ve not seen from him before. I swing my sword to try and retreat, but he deflects it into the ground, messing with my balance. He then moves in and strikes me with his pommel.

Stunned, I drop my sword and fall over onto my butt.

“That was a good fight,” he says while smiling through waves of sweat, “You’ve still got a lot more you can learn.”

He wasn’t fighting as hard as he could have. It was all a test, and he could’ve beaten me down at any time during the fight.

Training over, Theo leans in and offers me a hand up, but Adeleya is a step faster.

I’m not yet part of their team, but even so…

I am not alone.