The group sat down around the camp fire after dinner. The sun had set, and the moon had risen. Sounds of fire crackling and breathing could be heard. Having to cut short their mission, they now had ample free time to train. Rest of the day and tomorrow would be used to practice Ether control.
Ether had both a physical and a metaphysical disposition. While it worked as an energy, it also didn't. This nature of Ether made it hard to grasp and control. The same was true with the cavities in the human body. They did not exist in the physical sense, but they were there, could be felt with a wave of Ether inside the body. This was what made Engraving so dangerous, they would force an object of significant volume, the Abomination Cores, to a place where there weren't any space to accomode it, fit into a metaphysical cavity, and not disturb the existing organs there.
It didn't just end with fitting the cores, you would have to make sure they were getting Ether. The way to get Ether to these metaphysical cavities was Ether Strings the group was trying to form, or rather what these strings turned into later. After connecting a string to the cavity with the core fitted, you would send big wave of Ether through the string which would carve its way to the cavity, forming a riverbed figuratively. The higher grade of the core was, the bigger the riverbed should be. Same could be said for the rank of the cores; the higher the rank of the cores was, the higher the number of riverbeds there should be.
Once connected to a steady supply of Ether, the cores would slowly assimilate to the person's body, and when they were fully assimilated the cores would cave in again. Although the cores engraved would vanish after caving in, the benefits they brought with would stay with the person. When the same process happened with all the cavities, the person would then experience their first evolution, the fruit of what they saw with the Engraving.
This was still far away for the group, but as Sean and Latoya came closer to form their first string, they would be ready to Engrave. Sean was particularly focused on forming the string as fast as he could, but he wouldn't Engrave as he did so. Smoothness of ones 'riverbed' determined how fast the cores would cave in, as smoother and bigger riverbeds meant more Ether supplied.
"Phew." Sean exhaled. 'So close but so far away... Even if I form a string and make it stronger, I still have to engrave my head cavity first. If I do so, I would be taken in for questioning and probably dispelled. Couldn't she have said it before I joined the military! The only chance I would have is in the frontier, if I were to be separated and in a dangerous position, I could Engrave with my own accord. Still have to make sure I engrave at least three, as I can get away with engraving the head cavity earlier than the last.'
While Sean was lost in his thoughts for a moment, Latoya could be seen in a distressed expression, if everyone did not meditate with their eyes closed that is. She was real close to forming her first string, and was actively pushing for it rather than her usual passive way of doing it. Drops of sweat formed on her forehead, falling to the ground. She twisted, compressed, stretched the lump of Ether she collected through meditation. She kept doing so until it was thin as hair. It seemed like it could break at any moment, and it had happened before, but she still kept going. The piece of Ether was more refined than the any other tries she had made before, and it showed. The string formed without breaking, and she could feel the Ether flowing in it. She rose up from where she stood, and went to a nearby lake. Of course she had gone to wipe her sweat, but what she did instead was...
"I FUCKING DID IT! EAT THAT YOU SUCKERS!"
She dunked her head into the water and screamed like she never had before, spewing out vulgarities. The lake muffled her voice, so no one heard anything. Except that everyone took notice when she rose up and went for the lake ,except for Jayden who fell asleep druing meditation again, and were curious what she would do so they followed her. Seeing her plunge her head into the lake and staying like that for a while, they left her to her antics and continued their meditation. No one would speak a word of what they saw. They played it cool when she had finally returned from yelling curses while her head was submerged in water.
The group continued their meditation deep into the night, which then they decided to sleep. Sean woke Jayden up, he would do the night watch since he had slept the entire time. Although they now knew the surroundings were relatively safe, they still wouldn't abandon keeping watch. Jayden grumbled for a bit but still kept watch regardless.
Sean woke up early next morning, he wouldn't let Latoya and Tyson near the fire. He made a broth out of what was left from the meat. Sean carefully stirred the broth, watching as the rich aroma filled the air. The warmth from the fire radiated against his face, keeping the early morning chill at bay. The others slowly began to stir from their sleep, drawn in by the scent of breakfast.
"Mamma Mia! Is this proper meal I smell?" Jayden neared the fire. His shout and the scent of the broth woke others up.
"Whazzup?" A wild Samantha appeared while still half asleep. "Oh, breakfast!" She sobered up immediately after seeing the broth and ran to where Sean was. "Is it ready?"
"Yeah it is. Here, your portion." He handed a bowl to Samantha who was already eating it with her eyes. After her blunder last night, she hadn't eaten anything since. She was simply starving.
"Thank youuu!" She sat down somewhere near quickly and ate to her fill.
After all this ruckus, everyone was up and came to get their portion.
"I didn't know you could cook." Klein said.
"You didn't ask."
"Ugh."
As the others joined them, the group ate in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The broth was simple but hearty, a much-needed energy boost for the day ahead. Once they were done, the group set their bowls aside and resumed their meditation positions around the campfire.
The morning passed in focused concentration. Sean and Latoya were especially determined after their progress the previous night, with Latoya trying to further refine her string while Sean tried to form his. The quiet sounds of breathing and the occasional crackle of the fire were the only things that broke the silence. Then there was Tyson, as he too further refined his strings. He had formed his first and second before he enrolled, so he was working on his third. One of the advantages of being a silver spoon.
Finally, as the sun reached its zenith, they broke from their meditation. The group took a few moments to stretch and shake off the stiffness from sitting so long. Despite the slowness of their training, they were satisfied. They were making progress, and with each passing moment, they were getting closer to form their strings. It should be said that these six teenagers were relatively talented at this, more than most of the recruits Tyson saw back home, and they all had higher aptitudes than everyone else here.
After strecthing, it was time for their trainings that required more physical activity. They did push ups, ran around, pull ups with branches and mostly, sparred. They had to be at their 120% tomorrow, if the foreboder Sean was right. It would be a race for their life, all their preparation couldn't be just sitting and meditating. They were not suicidal, afterall.
"Haah, haah. So, what are you making for dinner?" Jayden asked while trying to cath his breath.
"A very nutritious and edged and bland bar. One of the kid's favourite back at the orphanage." Sean answered sarcastically.
"Hah! I knew you could joke!" Jayden was looking at it from a different perspective.
They ate the nutrition bars for dinner, washed up at the lake and went to bed. The reason they went to sleep this early was so they could wake up even earlier than normal, and speed through the path they came from. When they had reached to the point where they had to start looking for spoor, sun would've risen already, so they would save time. They kept the same night watch groups as the previous day.
When Latoya and Klein woke up everyone, it was still dusk. They quickly collected their tentsand put out the fire. With everyone ready, they started to advance southwest in a fast pace.