||??? POV||
We were caught eavesdropping yesterday. Miss Estrid was really scary even though she doesn't show much emotion. Looks like she's going through her fair share of problems as well.
And those women she talked with earlier, Miss Estrid said they were the ones who brought me here. How did she know? I must ask her about it later.
After our little eavesdropping, the three children who were with me bursts into tears complaining that they don't want her to leave. Miss Estrid was silent the entire time. She insisted that we sleep early for tomorrow. However, the kids didn't really sleep and just bawled their eyes off. Which brings us to today-
{Yawn~}
"Hey, don't slack off!" The earnest elven boy shouted at me causing myself to stumble over the wolf-girl beside me. After the incident yesterday, he was... behaving. Still, I didn't get that much sleep yesterday because of your wailing.-
{Cute grunt~}
"Get... Off... Of me!" A muffled voice called out before I stood up to free her.
"Ugh! My hair and ears are all messed up! This is all your fault fat human boy!" the wolf-eared girl pointed her finger at me with squinted brows and teary eyes. This lil' bitch, you were the noisiest last night-
{Growl~}
"I'm gonna make you pay!"
Suddenly, the wolf girl's fingernails grew and sharpened before jumping into my face, scratching it like an angry pussy while the elven boy just laughs at us yelling "Go get him Raf!"
"AAAHHH! IT HURTS! GET OFF ME!" I tried to take the girl off but it's hard to do so with only 1 arm.
"H-hey, p-please don't fight..." the shy girl tried to stop the gal from ruining my face, but it didn't do much-
{THUD!}
A loud thud followed by a "SILENCE!" was enough to make everyone form a straight, tidy line as if nothing happened. I was no exception.
Miss Estrid looks serious. Well, she always looks serious (in fact that's how she always looks), but even more so than usual. What's the occasion?
"Now that I realize it, I've never actually introduced myself and the others to you." she gathers everyone in front of me in a straight line, introducing each one by raising their hands by herself.
"My name is Estrid, son of Frigard. You can call me whatever you want-"
I knew that since yesterday, I'll call you Miss Estrid-
"-This little elven punk's name is Arthur Pendragosa (His nickname is Arty)-"
The loud and annoying one. He's smirking at me right now. And here I thought elves were supposed to be dignified and graceful creatures-
"-this sassy little Worgen gal is Rafaela von Transylvania (Her nickname is Raf)-"
The violent and scary one. So her kind is called a Worgen? She averts her gaze at me in such a way that it really shows her hate for me. I should avoid this little girl at all costs-
"-and this shy little fairy is Bella Fritz (Her nickname is Bell)-"
A fairy? The fidgety stutter girl? Her stutters annoy me, but other than that I have no qualms with her. She can't even make eye contact, and will look the other way when I try to see her eye-to-eye. I hate the other kids though.
"-Now that I've introduced everyone, it's your turn. However, since you don't remember your name, for convenience purposes I'll let you decide what you want us to call you."
What I want them to call me? How about Paul? Bene? Brylle? I cannot think of a fitting name. Since she wants something to call me... Does this mean she is letting me stay here for a long period of time?
{Flushed~}
"U-um, Miss Estrid, I'm a little embarassed to ask you but... Are you perhaps planning to let me stay here for a while?" I asked her, concerned about her answer. I have nowhere else to go except this place. If I go out there, who knows when another giant talking bird will snatch me?
{Stoic~}
"As you've heard yesterday, Bodil brought you here. I am her best-friend (Don't ask how), it's my job to take responsibility. You have nowhere else to go to right? Then until you get back to your realm, you can stay with us for as long as you like-" she replied with her usual stoic manner.
{Touched~}
I am not crying. I am not crying I'm telling you. I'm just grateful. Very grateful.
I started pondering, looking around my surroundings in search for an answer until the three kids caught my attention. My mind is too distracted right now, so I have an idea.
"I'll let you guys decide what to call me since I can't think of a name right now." I said while sniffing, still on the verge of tears.
{Raises hand~}
"Oh me! Me! I'll call you Billy because you're fat!" Arty bursts in laughter.
Say sorry to all the people named Billy right now!
{Interrupts~}
"I have a fitting name, Bob because you're fat!" Raf snickers.
Little shit, you're as rotten as the runt!
{Whispers~}
"A-Adam would be nice!" Bell suggested with an honest smile. It looks like she's liking this. Adam is indeed a nice name.
Arguments between the three formed and eventually dissipated when Miss Estrid 'calmed them down'. It was concluded that my name will be Billy Bob Adam after (What even is this name). I didn't refuse though, the name has a nice ring to it even though it was made with bad intentions.
{Shouting~}
"Now that all is said and done, I need all of you to listen very carefully because I dislike repeating myself. From now on, I will train all of you. Any questions?"
{Raises hand~}
"What are you training us for Estrid?" Art asked curiously.
"For the kingship event. You've all eavesdropped yesterday so I know you know when it will happen and what exactly it is for-"
{Raises hand~}
"Will you be leaving us?" Bell tears up while she sniffles.
"... No. That is why I'm gonna train you so I can keep you with me as guards at least-"
{Cheerful gasp~}
The mood lightened up after Miss Estrid's statement. She cares for them deeply, and likewise. I'm kind of jealous... and sad.
{Raises hand~}
"Will we be learning magic?" my eyes sparkled.
{Sigh~}
"...Yes." she unenergetically replied.
"LET'S FUCKING GO!" I cried enthusiastically as the children followed with their own shouts before asking me what 'fucking' is. I did not answer because Miss Estrid was glaring at me, as if telling me "don't you dare."
"But wait, didn't you told us that we were too young, that our body will not be able to handle magic?" Raf asked.
"I- I lied."
Note to myself, Miss Estrid is very bad at making stuff up.
"Anyways, Although it is known as magic, there is a more proper term of it amongst Norse magicians. We call it 'ævir (havir)', also known as Life Force-"
Since her explanation about Havir took 2 hours to finish (but it was never boring), I took down the key notes:
Havir (ævir) is our magical force and Kista is our capacity of it. One's Kista is based on how much life force they have . The Elves and Jotuns have the largest and strongest magical force amongst all sapient creatures due to their large lifespans, with the average elf/Jotun living up to billions of years before death. Consuming Havir does not mean that you are consuming your lifespan, but using it when your Kista is drained will shorten your lifespan depending on the amount expended while drained.
After her explanation, Miss Estrid told them to sit on the ground and close their eyes to concentrate. Apparently, exploring more of our mana pool can be done with enough concentration and training.
She brought me to a location not that far away from the cave, an open ground.
"You see, I'm not really a magician, well I am but I don't consider myself one. My specialty is a brawler, and the technique that I use is called 'The Desolator's Fist' that uses Hugr-
"Hugr? What is it? Is it magic?" I asked with both curiosity and confusion.
"Well, you can call it that. You see-"
Another 2-hour explanation with a never changing expression. After showing off some basic spells like blowing a large hole into a faraway mountain using only punches (HOLY SHIT IT WAS AWESOME), the keynotes were this:
Hugr is another form of energy. It is a form of energy that springs from our willpower. This type of energy is mostly used as a body enhancer and nothing else, at least no one tried using it for something different. When the body is infused with Hugr, one can even lift a mountain or greater depending on the strength.
Both energies (Havir and Hugr) can be used as an enhancer, however Hugr is much stronger and efficient when it comes to buffing someone's physical capabilities. Spending Hugr does not necessarily mean you're expending your willpower, but it CAN rob you of your consciousness depending on how much you forced it while overheated.
Hugr is exclusive to Wulver and Jotuns. They already awaken it naturally, although other species can awaken it as well. However, awakening it is so hard and taxing that only a very, very small percentage of people who tried succeeded. The rest either died or became crippled for life. Hence, Hugr was not dared to be learnt by any other species except for really daring individuals.
"-However, I will not teach you this technique since it will just destroy your body and mind. You need a very strong amount of Hugr and Havir just to learn this. You can't learn Havir, and Hugr is your final option-"
Sounds about right. It seems like I'm really hopeless. Even though I should be happy that I have a chance, I couldn't help but get nervous over the fact that learning this might kill me. Still-
"I'll... I'll learn it!" -I need this power. I've experienced the dangers of this place firsthand. Also, I need to learn more about myself. Since this world has magic, then it must have a spell that can help me remember my past. To find this, I need to venture out of this place where there is no one accompanying me. It goes without saying that I will be running into all manner of creatures by myself. Defending myself from them is a must.
"I must ask you first, however-" Miss Estrid sincerely said to me.
"What is it?"
"Are you really willing to do this? If you fail, the best case scenario is death. The worst case scenario however, is that you'll live your entire life crippled and in pain. Knowing the consequences, do you resolve yourself?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then we start training now."
"Oh, okay the- Wait what?"
"We train now."
"WHAT? Let me rest for a couple of days first!"
"No. We have no time."
"Wha-"
Oh shit.