Side by side Mikael walked towards the east, passing through the merchant district, glancing at Roàn who just talked with his assistant.
Then they arrived by the church, where René stopped for a moment.
"Are you religious? Maybe you want a prayer before our departure. Don't let me hold you back."
"Not especially, but recently having something to look up to helped a bit. My mother was, so I got it from her. Just give me 5 minutes."
He went in, taking a seat not far from the entrance before closing his eyes. Silently he thought, speaking to an entity he neither saw nor heard, but respected nonetheless.
The time was up, and Mikael left the church with a lighter heart.
'I need every bit of support, even spiritual one.'
René rested meanwhile under the shadow of a wide thatch roof. From the inside the smell of wet earth, lights emitted by fire and heat came out.
"Let's hope your deity up there can make something others don't. Usually nothing real ever comes forth. And what others call miracle I call bullshit." René snorted, nearly spitting out the nasty taste he got in his mouth, only to remember where they stood.
Looking at Mikael who stood there, just emerged from the house of his god, he shook his head.
"Sorry, it's not that I want to be a heretic or to downgrade your religion. Forget that, we have a fair distance to travel, and only so much daylight. Get moving!"
His cart behind him taking the lead, they went further west, and soon the gate with two guards on each side came into their view. With the nearing journey, leaving this little village he called home for the last month, he grew more nervous.
Now they stood only a step away, René exchanging some smalltalk with the guards.
"We will be leaving for some time, so don't be concerned if we aren't back by tonight, or after a week. The Guild Master is informed. So then, see you guys, stay vigilant and alert."
Waving, René gave with his other hand a light push on Mikael's back, who looked towards the houses next to him, wandering towards the plains, trees and fields in front of him.
"Only the first few days will be a challenge. You get homesick, regret maybe your decision over and over and want to give in the urge to return. But overcome that, thinking over and over about the benefits and logic, and soon you won't only further grow as a person, but also in character and confidence."
"Is this feeling getting worse? Right now I could puke, together with an itch that can't be scratched."
"Much more worse. But nothing serious. At some point everyone has to leave, some leave behind more, others less. I know a bit about your history, only enough to tell you at least you can return."
From then on they only talked occasionally, walking at a medium pace on the rough road towards the west. On the dirt street they met sometimes hunter returning from their mission, merchant's coming and going as well as farmers working on the fields.
At night, they had turned towards a much less traversed, even more brittle and simple road, even if that was saying much.
"From here on out our encounters are only hunter, hoodlums or creatures."
"Hoodlums? You mean bandits and thieves?"
"More like bandits, murderers and cultists." he grinned at Mikael, as if he just told a joke and expected a simpatic laugh.
"Cultists? What are they worshipping that we have to be alerted? An evil deity?" Mikael asked, looking towards the winding uneven road that led towards a dark forest.
'Are they perhaps in some kind of relation with that necromancer? No, why should they, they don't even live in the same area.' he shook his head, which René mistook as a sign for fear.
"Apparently there are some refugees that had lived in Nodan before, around a year ago or so. They were found and upon discovering what they did to people in the woods, they were hunted and chased away. With their dwindling numbers they are harder to take out, but a less serious threat. I heard they worshipped a tall and almighty beast, which looked as if it came straight from hell to devor their enemies and foes."
"Sounds like the Tusk Stalker." Mikael dryly commented, the image in his mind immediately picturing the imposing bear variant on its hind legs, staring down o him.
'Just thinking back when we first met gives me the shivers.'
"You're right, did t thought of that. Haha, what they might think when we tell them their beast totem was slain. I bet they will be furious." he grinned, straying from the road onto the grass. The forest was still half an hour away, but with the threat and detoriated vision he said:" now is a good time to set up camp. We still have around 2 to 3 hours of natural light, enough to get some fire wood and begin your training. So get your hands moving, and start picking up wood. I set up a simple tent."
René reached already into his cart, taking out ropes, a big cover and some long, thick nails.
"This tree should be enough..." he mumbled, hands on a quite sturdy looking tree they parked next to.
When Mikael began searching for twigs, branches and starter, René had climbed up another, similar tree about 3 meters away, binding with quick and trained hands the rope around the bark. Quarter hour later, and over their head was a water proof roof, sheltering them from the elements, keeping in the warmth from the small fire that grew slowly.
"The simple things are what I like about traveling. A sturdy brick home with a stove and oven are nice and all, but I prefer a tarpaulin, bedroll and pot over a crackling fire. There is nothing more calming." René said while sitting on the tree, a pot in hand that already was filled with a bit of fat, meat and beans.
Soon the inside of their shelter smelled like bacon and fat, making Mikael also hungry. But before he could take out his provision René stopped him.
"Sorry, I know this is very harsh from me, but until tomorrow no food for you, and not after afternoon."
"What? Why?" Mikael asked confused, looking at the delicious looking meat meat in the pan. He gulped down his saliva, his stomach already grumbling in protest.
"You need to enter a meditative state, listening to your bodies signals and needs. Many had a harder time after they had eaten, upsetting their stomach or becoming windy. Only until you can control your mana on call and without much thinking, then we remove that rule."
He took off the pan from the fire, cutting the ham into smaller parts before seasoning it with wild herbs he'd gathered on the go.
"And that had to be kept secret until now? Had I known this I could have eaten another plate from the stall."
"And now having problems from that second rate food they sell. It isn't bad, but nothing you canhave too much off."
He said as he stirred around his own food, the fragrance drifting around.
"Now, begin to enter the dream state again, or meditation, whatever. You know how to enter it by now, the step to get it under control is the task. I can help you by putting pressure onto your mana, similar to what Simon did, but less extreme. Also I make sure no one's gonna disturb or creep up on us."
As he said that, stuffing his meat into half a loaf of bread, the pressure descend onto Mikael, who still believed it was unfair to no get even a small bite.
Spending the next hours he concentrated to repeat his feat from the Guild, the force René exerted helping him getting a better hold of the formless mana. Instead of a out branching lake of mist he only had to try and move streams of of a heavy gas like substance.
'Still, however much easier this is than before, there is nothing more difficult. Like trying to squeeze molten metal through a straw, only the straw is made of wood and burns when it touches the fluid.'
He struggled to use his focus and willpower to make the mana budge, but due to his constant improvement and an increase of René's aura he could book his first success.
After opening his eyes and laying splayed out the ground, breathing in exhaustion, he smiled, satisfied.
"I made my mana move much more and quicker than ever. A whole circle through myself." he told gleefully.
"I noticed. It is still a snails pace tho. To invoke magic in battle or to do any task it has to be nearly instant." René said, holding out his hand. After some seconds a small flame came to life, lighting up the blanket covering them.
"To do this trick I had to move my mana from my center to my arm and hand, as well to my head. It is like the signal your brain gives when you want to move the fingers,only more complex. Also the image and visualization needs to be done simultaneously."
Mikael's previous joy was dampened by his explanation, but René also added:" For me to do this took also a long time. But it becomes much more easy when the first big hurdle is overcome. When you got that, and I think two weeks is a valid estimation, we work on the image and incantation."
"Incantation? I never heard one from you or anyone that I witnessed doing magic."
Mikael wondered. 'Why would one use words to create a phenomenon?'
"It isn't mandatory, but beginners like to use them to improve their image. Also it helps in stressful situations to maintain concentration. When you combine your mana flow and picture with words, many, even experts, can do this here faster and better." the flame in his hands flickered, before vanishing into thin air.
"Some scholars even discovered certain words or sentences improve the same spell. Logical. A fireball emerges easier when one says:- burning mana gather into a roaring ball of Flames |fireball|-, then when I say- come, paper made of water, be a plant |fireball|-, no? Or your imagination would be seriously screwed up. But it can confuse every enemy there is." René joked, Mikael escaped a tired and exhausted smile, before he got asked:" So, another round? Then maybe we cut of the two weeks a couple days."
Mikael also thought he could manage another go, so he nodded.
"Sure, maybe I get done another circulation." he felt after his last success it would be a bit smoother now.
'Maybe after half an hour?'