The companions woke and ate a breakfast of delicious fruits, nuts, and vegetables provided by Theor.
"Noble Knights Jupiter", Theor The Old Spring said when they were all done eating. "I once encountered a knight long ago who was also noble. At the time, he asked if there was anything I needed help with. While I would've been able to handle the foe at the time, I still took the Knight's offer of assistance. We did not kill it, but we defeated and injured it to where it went into deep hibernation to recover. The foe was Monster Lord Murjak, The Flesh King. A chimera monster made by ancient demons from a time now unknown. Ancients, as you may know, are natural enemies of monsters. I have kept Murjack from intruding into the lands of nations for a long time. Again, he stirs, but I can feel he is stronger. Furthermore, I sense the taint of Heilgrash on him."
Sargon fell into thought at the mention of Heilgrash. He knew how vile the fallen goddess was and how cruel her schemes are.
"Monsters are my enemy, Heilgrash is my enemy, hence I will aid you in the fight against Lord Murjak The Flesh King. May I know the name of the noble knight you met long ago?"
Theor recalled his memories for the name, "His name was Sir Scion".
Sargon committed the name to memory, "Then I continue in his footsteps. This time though, Murjak will die by our hands. How soon until Murjak awakens fully and begins his assault?"
Theor replies, "Approximately eight months until The flesh King awakens and begins rousing his monster hordes."
Sargon thought to himself that they'll have to hold Pharis's birthday in the monster lands for this year.
"Then we will remain in your care here until the time comes to fight him. We will be training in the monster lands to raise our strengths and prepare to fight."
"Then here you are welcome to stay as you train in the monster lands. You and your companions will have everything you need here in my home. You all may go and train without my distraction", Theor said before going back into a resting position.
They all spent the day hunting monsters around what they've decided to call Sanctuary. They got familiar with the immediate area while working on teamwork. When they all returned, Dexaril went off to speak with Theor.
Dexaril walked up to Theor, "Great Earth Ancient, Theor The Old Spring, I've come to ask for your guidance."
Theor stirred from his rest, "What is it that you need guidance for Magus Dexaril?"
"I hope you can aid me in understanding fire magic Great Theor", he asked.
"My natural magic is of Earth and Nature. Fire is out of my element, so I can not show you anything about it. Although, I can certainly part wisdom to you to deepen your understanding of fire. Hence, let us speak, you and me. Also, you can simply call me Theor." Theor replied revealing an elderly smile.
Now the two began a dialogue about fire magic. Theor started with a question, "What is fire? What does it do? Why does it burn?". He asked Dexaril these questions and he answered back.
"Fire is heat, it destroys things, it burns because it has something to destroy."
"Young Magus, you are right, but not right enough. Fire is change, it transforms things, it burns because it takes energy to transmute things." Theor paused to let the words sink in. "When you cast a fireball to kill a monster, you want the monster to be destroyed and turned to ash. What you misunderstand is that you aren't destroying anything, only changing, The same goes for all magic made to destroy, for magic is just a method of change. Destruction is just what you call a negative change. So tell me Magus, what would you want to do to a monster with a fireball."
"I want to change it into ash, blacken its skin, incinerate its flesh", he replied.
Theor looked a little satisfied, "When you incinerate an enemy or turn them to ash, you are breaking their flesh apart with a high amount of energy it can't handle. So the small parts that hold it all together come apart, similar to overcooking a cookie, the cookie is basically made of crumbs, but too much heat, and the cookie crumbles and falls apart. You want the monster to crumble after overcooking it. These ideas and examples are enough to set you on the way forward."
Dexaril got up, "Thank you Theor, you have given a lot to think about." He then walked back to the house Theor made.
Sargon was cooking with Yeseme and Pharis. While Riva couldn't help, she was always critiquing Sargon's cooking while hovering over his head. He also had to deal with both Riva's and Pharis's teasing eyes whenever he made little flirtations with Yeseme.
Asleep, Sargon was in his astral horizon with Riva by his side. "Riva, what should I make next?", he asked her.
She thought for a moment, "Since your last name is Jupiter, how about an eagle since it was one of Jupiter's familiars from the myth of Earth?"
Sargon considered the idea, "That sounds like a good idea to me Riva. I think I'll make after the eagle since it was also a familiar of Jupiter."
Sargon then got started trying to make an eagle. It was much harder than an ant. He struggled greatly, as great as when he fi=irst started to make a blade of grass, but he did it. When he did, he was filled with satisfaction as the eagle took to the air. His astral power and control also grew. The blue star that floats around also grew in size and became more vibrant. The blue star is now the size of a cannonball. This also boosted his strength.
Sargon had determined already that the star is a generator of astral power for him. As long as he doesn't overdraw astra from it, he will no longer run out of it during a prolonged fight. Next, he started on the lion.
It took him many more dream days than the eagle, but he did. Now the blue star grew to a greater size. Not its diameter was roughly 1 meter in diameter now.
Riva was happy to get two new friends and was playing with them while Sargon was appraising the changes to his power. He was very satisfied with the results of his astral horizon work. He still had a long way to go before breaking through to etherite rank. Now having exhausted much mental strength, he truly went to sleep to recover his mind.
"Sleep dreams Sargon...", Riva said as he drifted off.