Nearly six months later, Lumia and I met again in our secret place. It had been three days since we'd seen each other last and Lumia's face was filled with worry and concern.
She paced back and forth along the bank of the spring, staring out over the water. Her brows were furrowed as she watched birds dive down to pick small fish out of the water.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
Lumia spun around and stared at me for several moments, then bit her lip.
"You're still not ready, Silv."
I had made incredible progress, mastering the basic elements and even the foundational concepts of body enhancement.
I could use speed burst—the first move Vorlin showed me—both defensively and offensively. I'd learned a skill I called iron punch, which involved covering my fist in a near solid layer of earth mana. Combined with speed burst, iron punch could crush even the toughest armor; still Lumia was right.
My burst punch couldn't even put a scratch on her scales. She could easily deflect it without taking damage herself. Even though I knew how to improve my speed, stamina, and defense, I felt like I was barely scratching the surface. There was so much more to learn.
Not only that but the dragons I would be competing against would have advanced well into intermediate magic. Versatility was my only strength since dragons tended to focus on only one element, maybe two, but undeniably, I was still far behind.
"Please Silv, you don't have to compete. I'll stand by you even if—"
"Even if you're mocked by your people and rejected by your father? Even if it means giving up your home, your birthright, friends, and everything you've grown up with?" I interrupted.
Her face hardened as she nodded.
"I couldn't live with myself if I just let you sacrifice everything without putting in any effort myself. Our bond is as important to me as well, so you shouldn't be the only one fighting to protect it."
"I know, I'm just worried. You still struggle to read draconic runes, so how will you choose the right paths? There's less than a week left, Silv."
I didn't have a good answer for her so rather than use words, I pulled her into a firm hug. Lumia stiffened at first, but quickly softened and hugged me back tightly.
Once we parted, Lumia looked into my eyes. I tried my best to project confidence and determination, as I struggled to hide my anxiety from her.
"I'll be fine, Lu."
"Okay… but promise me you'll do everything you can to avoid combat."
"Yea, I will… I don't really have a choice. We both know what would happen if I had to fight a dragon as I am now."
With a nod Lumia nuzzled into my chest and we remained there for some time before returning to the castle.
***
Vorlin was waiting by the large bridge again, his youthful face becoming more wrinkled by the day.
I knew he was stressed and under a lot of pressure, but he never would say why, only that it wasn't about me or my training. It wasn't hard to realize that like Silvia and my mom, he was hiding something. Supposedly they didn't want me to worry, but all their secrecy just made me more anxious.
Mimi was excelling in school and her core had formed so it couldn't have been that either. If it had just been him being evasive and acting nervous all the time then I might've just chalked it up to readjustments, but Silvia and Riona also seemed on edge so I figured there must've been something big going on.
"Silv," he called, coming over to us. "The Queen is looking for you."
He led us to a small meeting room where my mother was seated around a table of mostly stale old men. I recognized some of them, General Ivor, Sir Mazzeldek, and Lady Sienna—the only woman aside from my mother at the table. The other four men I didn't recognize.
"—well beyond the border, this is…" general Ivor was speaking when we entered, but he stopped and cleared his throat once he noticed us.
The others around the table turned their attention towards us as a couple of aids rushed to cover the table. If they were trying to stop me from seeing it, they were too slow. It looked like some kind of terrain map, but I couldn't make out many details other than a few dots and markings.
"Vorlin," my mother said sharply, glaring past me towards him. "I see you've found them."
He nodded somewhat uncomfortably. "On your orders, Majesty. I brought him to you as soon as I found him."
"Right…" she sighed. "I've been distracted. I should've just sent you as a messenger with this." She handed a sealed envelope to an aid. "For Silv," she said as he took it.
With a nod the aid hurried across the room to hand me the envelope.
As I was opening it, my mother spoke again. "I'm sorry Silv, but I must ask you to go now. We're in the middle of an important meeting that we can't delay any longer."
I nodded.
Vorlin, Lumia and I turned to leave, but Riona called out again. "Lumia, perhaps you should stay."
My bond looked at me uncertainly, then back to Riona who smiled reassuringly.
"What we're discussing is something your father should be aware of, when you take Silv to the proving I'll be sending you, with a message for him."
Lumia reluctantly took a seat at the table as Vorlin and I continued out.
My mothers letter was direct and to the point.
'You may remember Zolmann—I didn't—a wise mage who served our family well over the years. He has agreed to share his knowledge with you, though you'll have to go to him. Zolmann retired from service some years back and now dwells in a modest sanctuary outside of Avantia. Be careful Silv, and I'll be sending Clair along with you.'
Vorlin was already gone when I looked up from the letter. Alone in the hall, I pressed my against the door, hoping to hear whatever secret it was no one thought I could handle. Unfortunately all I heard was the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Frustrated, I stepped away from the door and stuffed the note in my pocket.
***
I went back to my room to grab a few things, clothes mostly. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to bring everything—there weren't any bags. As I was pulling things out of my dresser, I noticed a new ring sitting on my nightstand.
It was also silver, but shaped like a wolf's head. The wolf carried a blazing gem in its mouth and the wolf appeared to be, itself, on fire. On closer inspection I noticed it wasn't pure silver, in some of the darker places there was a black metal I couldn't identify beyond saying it was slick and glossy.
There was a note next to it.
'I bet you'll love this Silv, it's a dimensional storage ring. It's really easy to use. Just push mana into it while thinking of the object you want to take out. To put something in it's pretty similar, but you have to be touching the object in order to store.
P.S. you're still my Sammy, love you.
P.S.S. Sorry it took so long to arrive.'
I did like it and I was eager to try it out. I slipped on the ring then tested its function by storing the small pile of clothes on my bed. I didn't necessarily need the clothes, but I only had a few days before it would be time to leave Faerelle; I wanted as much time as possible to learn from Zolmann before then so I wasn't planning on coming back to the castle.
I thought I'd have to go and find Clair, but she was already outside my door when I was done gathering my things.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"Yea, I think so."
Zolmann's "sanctuary" wasn't far outside the city. Upon arriving, I realized that by "modest" my mother meant non-existent. The old man had a space to himself, that much was true, but it was just a wooden table and a bed of woven sticks overlayed with thick furs. The only protection he had from rain or harsh weather was the forest canopy. He was basically living like an animal.
"He's probably in the glade, beyond those bushes." Clair said, pointing to the bushes.
We walked past Zolmann's table and bed then stepped over some shrubs into the glade. In front of us stood three trees growing close together, between them, two large boulders covered in moss and vines. A small stream flowed between the boulders, narrowing further as it headed away from Avantia.
Many different flowers bloomed here. Some I recognized, most I didn't. There were all sorts of insects and small critters roaming about, even a young jalebuk—a burrowing creature that was rarely seen above ground—but no decrepit old mage.
Deciding we had searched enough, we went back over the bushes and started on the path back toward the city. If he wasn't home, he could be anywhere and I wasn't going to waste time with a pointless search.
An old man, with his eyes closed, stopped us before we got far. "Silvon…and Clair," he rasped, "how nice to see you."
Not only did the man appear ancient, he looked frail, thin, and sickly as well. This had to be Zolmann, who else would be out here?
Despite his destitute appearance, his attire was comparable to my own. He wore a bright yellow robe embroidered with orange thread.
His walking cane was rich with mana and constantly drawing in more. It was like a more powerful version of the odd staves in the royal armory.
The man was obviously a mage and quite powerful, although he looked to be at death's door.
"Are you here to learn healing magic?" He asked, looking me in the eyes. I wondered how he knew where I was, given he still hadn't opened his.
"I—"
"No, you want to know how to defeat a dragon, then you've come to the right place…" he hobbled forward a few steps, touching my shoulder as he walked between Clair and I. "Come on, boy."
Clair and I exchanged a glance then both shrugged and turned to follow, but the man stopped abruptly.
Spinning toward Clair, he lifted his cane and pressed it into her sternum. "Not you, guardian. Go back. Tell the Queen that Silvon will remain with me until he's ready."
"Sir, she gave orders that—"
"When I send the boy back, she'll know it was the right choice."
"But I'm to defend hi—"
The old mage twisted the cane and released a flood of mana from it.
Clair groaned under the force of his cane against her chest, but was otherwise silent as she went down to her knees.
"If that's the best you can do, then your defense is unnecessary. Go, tell her what I've said and wait for your prince."
Zolmann was not at all what I was expecting. His appearance as non-threatening and blind had me ready to write him off, but I was now certain he could teach me something useful.
Seeing that Clair stood up fine, I followed the old man past his sanctuary and deeper into the woods. Clair, I assumed, did as instructed and returned to my mother.
After some time, we came to a large moss covered boulder. Zolmann climbed on top, crossed his legs and laid his cane across his lap. Pointing to a tree stump in front of the boulder, he commanded, "Sit."
"Yes sir." I said then followed his direction.
"Before I can teach you anything useful, your core needs to reach the fifth stage. You have until tomorrow morning, so…" he raised his eyebrows and added emphasis to the next word. "…begin."
Strengthening my core was something I had been wanting to try, but I hadn't had the courage. The process was quite similar to what occurred when reactivating it and I was worried I might lose control.
I needed to forge a new layer around what was already there, however it wouldn't be as simple as just adding mana around my core. I also had to expand the core itself so that it could hold the new mana. In a worst case scenario my core would be destroyed.
Since I had already shown the potential for rapid development, Silvia suggested I let my core progress and build on its own. So far I had agreed with her, but I knew I needed more strength if I was going to compete equally with dragons at the proving.
I nodded, exhaled, then closed my eyes and focused entirely on my core.
My core was already full of mana, but to form the new layer, I'd need more. Knowing what would happen if I wasn't careful, I drew in mana slowly. As the formless motes of energy pressed against my core, I also pushed out, releasing the mana inside the core as I tried to expand its borders. The process was mentally intense and somewhat painful, but ended after what felt like just a few minutes.
When I opened my eyes again, the two suns had already hidden themselves behind a curtain of night.
My body felt heavier as if it had become denser somehow. A strange feeling spread through my torso, though as soon as I noticed, the sensation faded. Then everything changed once more.
My perception of mana felt firmer, sharper. The world seemed clearer too. My muscles throbbed with pain like after an hour-long workout. The pain slowly faded as mana flowed out from my core, cycling through my mana veins and giving strength to my body.
I had succeeded. Not only was there more than double the amount of mana held in my core, it was also more pure.
"You've done it," Zolmann declared. "It took you longer than I expected, but you succeeded and that's what matters."
"You sound more surprised than pleased, were you expecting me to fail?"
The old man waved his cane at me and without acknowledging my question said, "Now you have two paths before you. If you want to beat a dragon, we can take the easy way, I don't recommend this as there's an equal chance you'll be the one to wind up dead." He paused as if waiting for me to say something.
When he didn't continue, I asked, "...and the other option would be?"
Zolmann laughed heartily. "You're a wise boy! I'm glad you've chosen the impossible option."
"Wait, I haven't chosen—"
"When you succeed, no one will ever doubt you again." He continued on, ignoring me again. "Now shall we begin?"
"I only just reached the fifth stage."
"…"
"Can't I rest first?"
"…"
"At least tell me what this 'impossible' plan of yours is."
"Of course, boy. Now if you're ready to begin, I'm going to teach you the ultimate healing magic."
I looked at him deadpan. Not wanting to be rude, I tried to restrain myself, but seeing his serious expression I couldn't hold back. "You can't be serious? Your plan is to teach me how to delay my death?"
His wrinkled lips spread into a wide sickly grin. "Pay attention to how this works and try to emulate it. Otherwise you'll wish this spell was something that simple."