The savory aroma of lamb stew hung thick in the air surrounding the table. Before Talon and Rokara sat hearty bowls, brimming with a steaming medley of tender chunks of lamb, root vegetables, and aromatic herbs. The rich broth glistened, as if inviting the two.
'This looks delicious.' Talon couldn't help but feel his mouth water as he looked at the appetizing chunks of lamb, surrounded by the spicy broth, colored to a light red color by the red pepper. Rokara, gazed at her portion with equal anticipation showing on her face.
Their spoons eagerly dove into the stew, the tender lamb melted in their mouths, complemented by the vegetables and the spicy broth.
In sync, they finished their bowls almost simultaneously, setting down their spoons with a satisfied clink. "That was amazing!" Talon exclaimed, wiping the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, it was!" Said Rokara with a burp, which made Talon look at her in a disgusted manner, "What are you doing you brute? Don't you at least know basic etiquette?"
"You have no right to say that to her, there was a napkin right beside you…" Said Damian with a light chuckle.
"Hey Damian, can we—"
"No Rokara, we can't get seconds!" Answered Damian nonchalantly, before continuing, "I'm just glad that they didn't stop us when we came in here, if you look around, you can see that our friends here aren't that glad that we graced them with our presence." Damian was right, as most of the hunters stared at them, clearly unhappy with their presence.
"If you all keep staring, I might actually blush." Chuckled Damian before the room dropped in temperature, "Now, why don't you all keep minding your business, you wouldn't want your food to get cold, right?" With silent anger, the hunters turned their head away from Damian.
"I think it's time for us to leave, Talon, Rokara, fallow me." Said Damian, as the three began to leave the canteen, but before they could, they spotted a familiar group, that consisted of Orion, close to his side was his brother Quinn, and Aria, who was walking beside Thorn.
"Are you guys here to eat too? The lamb stew is the best, try that!" Shouted Rokara in a laud manner, not caring about the bothered gazes she revived by the hunters.
"Why else would we be here, you idiot!" Said Quinn, as he and his group walked to Rokara, Damian and Talon. "Who are you calling an idiot, you bastard!? Shouted back Rokara, clearly offended.
"Hat happened with your nose?" Asked Thorn in worry, seemingly unbothered by the ongoing argument between Rokara and Quinn.
"Oh, we just spared and I miscalculated one of my moves, but anyway, what did you ask Paul?" Asked Talon, trying to change their topic.
"I talked to him about me going with you to Fort Eger," admitted Thorn nonchalantly. This only made Talon furrow his brows lightly as he whispered to Thorn, "I thought that we are still thinking about our next course of action."
"We are, but I still talked to him in advance, we can still flee, Talon. Maybe the Roan kingdom, I heard that they aren't that hostile towards Gifted." Whispered back Thorn.
"It really does sound nice, but if we flee, the others…" Talon was hesitant, guilt still weighted his mind.
"I don't care about them that much, and neither should you. We were fine before meeting them, and we will be fine after that too. But you are right; we still have time. I would be happier if we would run away, but if you really think that going to the fort will give you an answer to your questions, I will stand by your side." whispered Thorn, her words making Talon lightly blush.
Suddenly, Talon was struck in the back by a strong arm, "You two can flirt later, common Talon, we need to go, Damian said you should wait for him, he is beside the kitchen, and I go back to train so bye." Said Rokara as she slapped Talon in the back once more as she began to run out of the canteen.
"I swear to god, next spar, I will beat her." Said Talon, with great determination as he clenched his fist.
"I can see that you have made a friend already." Chuckled Thorn, which only made Talon retort. "It's not like you didn't, every time I see you, you are always with Aria."
"Well, she is a nice person to talk with." Admitted Thorn with a shrug before saying, "Maybe you are right about going to the fort, but I still don't want to see you get hurt.
"I still don't know about that," said Talon before starting to head towards Damian, who was still talking with Jane. "See you later, Thorn," said Talon with a light smile. "Later, Talon," replied Thorn, smiling back at him.
"Just watch those kids so that the hunters won't pick on them. Talk with you later, Jane," said Damian as he walked towards Talon, signaling for him to follow.
"Where are we going exactly?" asked Talon, prompting a smile from Damian. "We're heading to my private training room, where we're going to train your gift."
Damian's training room was a space of controlled intensity. The walls were adorned with various weapons, most of them mastered by Damian. While the floor was created by a special type of material, that was created by using a gift.
As they entered, the temperature noticeably dropped, and Talon could feel a slight chill in the air. Damian explained, "My room needs to be in lower temperature, helps me train my gift, and for you, this will be a something that helps you get used to the cold… compared to Edoran, this is nothing."
Damian gestured for Talon to take a seat. "Get ready. We're about to unlock the true potential of your gift."
Talon did exactly that, settling down on the ground on his knees before asking, "And how are we going to do that?"
"First, you need to get to know the name of you gift. It's going to help you connect more deeply to it." Said Damian as he sat down on the ground, the same way Talon did.
"First, close your eyes and clear your mind. Then, slowly try to activate your gift. It's a mist-related one, so create an environment where you can focus on it even more. Surround yourself with it," Damian explained as he replicated each step, he surrounded himself with a cold aura as he focused with close eyes.
Talon did everything as Damian said, he closed his eye, and started to activate his gift, red smoke lightly began to ooze out of him, surrounding him in the process, due to his intense focus, he didn't lose himself in his gift, his mind was clear.
"Good, now delve deeper into your gift. Gradually use it more, and focus. Try to block out my voice, the voice of the outside world, and just concentrate on your gift. Feel your connection to it and try to deepen that connection. Then, listen to the whispers, they will tell you all sorts of things, don't get consumed by them. After that, you will learn the name of your gift," Damian guided Talon through the process.
Talon did just as instructed, he blocked out the voice of the outside, so that he could focus on his gift. As the red mist gently surrounded him, he began to feel something else.
His connection to the church, he felt it on the tip of his finger, as if he could just reach out to it… grab it, it felt so real. He felt his hand move on it's own accord as he tried to reach out.
'Why are you still alive?!' 'You walk a wicked path, you murderer!' 'There is no salvation for the likes of you, just die already!' 'You don't deserve to live a second longer!' 'You are living from burrowed time, it's time to pay it back!' Voices started to siege Talon's mind, and to his shock, every single vice he heard, was his own.
'What his happening?!' Panicked Talon. 'You wanted answers, why do you think that you even deserve them?' Resonated a voice inside his own mind, he could barely distinguish it from his own thoughts.
'Just focus, don't get consumed by them, try to ignore them, ignore them, ignore them.' Repeated Talon inside his own mind, but his own voice could be heard again. 'Don't you dare to ignore as, rat! You don't have the right to do that.'
When his mind began to shake from the shouting of the voices, suddenly, everything became silent. 'Is it… over?'
But before he could feel relieved, his own voice whispered to him again. The words were initially faint, barely discernible, but they echoed persistently inside his mind. Each repetition brought a bit more clarity, yet time seemed elusive as he lost track of how long he had been immersed in the whispering.
He felt his mouth attempting to mumble the same words inside his mind... M...b..n', 'Mis..orn', and for the first time, the voice was crystal clear as he heard his own voice gently whisper to himself, 'Mistborn.'
'So this is the name of my Gift, huh… Mistborn.' But before he could try to open his eye, his own voice yet again whispered clearly 'Church of the Other Side.'