Magical Training (Part 1)

[POV AQUILES VIRIDIUM – YEAR 271]

Aquiles felt a shiver run down his spine upon hearing those words and quickly shouted in panic, "I swear to God it's true! That's why I can use magic and have these other powers. I was sent to this world to save it from destruction, to stop the Night King. Please, don't kill me, damn it!"

The little one still didn't believe that Aquiles had been sent here by God, but when Aquiles mentioned the Night King, a seed of doubt began to sprout in his heart, and he questioned mentally the remote possibility of the human's claims being true. "How do you know about the Night King?" The Son of the Forest questioned in a serious tone.

"God showed me, I saw the army of millions, the ice spiders, the giants, and the Night King himself atop that giant wingless dragon!" Aquiles exclaimed quickly, afraid of being killed for displeasing him.

"If what you say is true, you shouldn't mind swearing to it, right?" The little one inquired, and Aquiles quickly agreed, saying, "I swear by God that what I said is the truth!"

"Not just a worded oath, since for you humans, those oaths are worthless." The little one spoke, and with a wave of his hand, a pillar rose from the ground, a pillar of earth with hundreds of symbols and letters embedded around the pillar in the language of the Children of the Forest. In the center of the top of the small pillar, in front of Aquiles, there was a small hole the size of a fingernail.

"I will believe you after you perform a blood oath!" The little one stated, and then waved his hand once again, and the vines that held Aquiles quickly released him next to the stakes of earth and venom.

As Aquiles rose from the ground, the Son of the Forest began to say, "Go to the pillar, make a cut on your hand, and let some of your blood fall into the hole as you swear."

Aquiles moved with a slight hesitation towards the Pillar of the Oath, trying to think of a way to escape. Unfortunately for Aquiles, the Son of the Forest seemed to perceive Aquiles' intentions and spoke again, "Human, know that a blood oath cannot be based on a lie. It also cannot be broken, or it will result in the punishment described on the pillar of the oath, and I have chosen death by suffocation as the punishment!"

Aquiles stopped walking and then turned to the Son of the Forest. "And what guarantees me that you won't kill me after I swear?" Aquiles asked fearfully, looking around at the same time as he pondered internally if he could escape.

"I give you my word that, if you are not lying, even though I hate you, I will not kill you and will let you go." The Son of the Forest replied with a serious look.

"Nothing guarantees me that you will keep your word." Aquiles retorted.

"But I guarantee you that I will kill you right now if you continue to delay the oath!" The little one affirmed in an impatient and irritated tone.

The thought of having to make an oath that, if not fulfilled, could kill him, made Aquiles hesitate. "Either I swear, or this brat will surely kill me! Can I manage to escape him by running back to the waterfall? No, that's almost impossible, even though I'm much faster, the Son of the Forest would certainly use his magic to impale me before I could escape." Thought Aquiles, completely regretting chasing the being in front of him. "If only I had let him go, none of this would have happened!"

With no other choice, Aquiles drew his sword, and as he did, he saw the little one looking at him with a mocking look, almost as if challenging him to try to escape. "Should I try to kill him?" Aquiles wondered, but seeing that the little one seemed prepared and cautious, he gave up and gripped the blade tightly with his hand and then pulled out the sword.

Blood leaked from the cut and ran down the blade, Aquiles then brought his hand over the altar. The blood dripped and flowed into the pillar before the passive effect of the ability {Gift of Healing} stopped the bleeding and healed the wound in his hand. The letters adorning the pillar began to glow red, and the Son of the Forest signaled for Aquiles to begin the oath.

And as he had no choice, Aquiles began to speak: "I swear that God has given me fluency in all languages and that I have been sent by God to this world to save it!" Aquiles kept his oath simple, the purest truth. And when the oath was completed, the pillar returned to the ground, and the little one eagerly waited to see if Aquiles would die or not.

Soon, 10 minutes passed and nothing happened, so the little one realized that Aquiles had not lied and said in a neutral tone: "You may go!"

With the permission of the Son of the Forest, Aquiles wasted no time and darted into the forest like a cheetah, wanting to return to the waterfall as soon as possible and stay as far away as possible from that Son of the Forest.

...

[POV LIRAEL]

Observing the human run away, only one thought remained in Lirael's mind: "He spoke the truth, he really spoke the truth... That means the Night King will manage to escape from the prison we created. I must warn mother as soon as possible!" Without wasting time, Lirael leaped and, while in the air, changed shape into a one-meter-sized raven and began flapping its wings. Quickly gaining altitude, it flew out of the forest and started heading towards the nearest Weirwood.

Two hours later, Lirael landed in front of a Weirwood, returned to its humanoid form, placed its right hand on the face of the Weirwood, and began using a telepathy spell to communicate with its mother. After explaining everything, a silence fell over the great gray tree as its mother pondered its words. "Are you sure he didn't lie?" Asked a feminine and aged voice directly in Lirael's head.

"Yes, I made him swear a blood oath. If he was lying, he would already be dead!" Lirael spoke with absolute certainty.

"It's been over 8,000 years since the Long Night, 8,000 years since we expelled the Night King and managed to imprison him behind the Wall. Our ancestors warned us that he would one day escape, but who could think that such a disaster would happen in our time." The woman's voice murmured in a tone filled with dismay and discouragement.

"Lirael, I know you don't like humans, but I want you to go to him and offer to assist him in his training. If he accepts, teach him our magic to the best of your abilities!" The voice spoke calmly.

"Do you want me to teach our magic to a human?" Questioned Lirael in an indignant and irritated tone.

"I'm aware of your resentment against humans, but with the Night King's escape looming, that must be set aside. But if you can't let go of the past for the sake of the future, inform me now and I will send someone else to teach him!" replied the voice in a calm tone devoid of emotions.

Without hesitating for even a second, Lirael exclaimed resolutely, "I will not help a human!"

"Very well, Lirael!" The voice sighed disheartened, clearly disappointed. "Leave your area and return to the village, I will send Luna to take your place." The voice exclaimed in a slightly irritated tone and then promptly cut the connection.

"I'd rather see this world burn than help a human!" Lirael murmured quietly as she walked away from the tree, anger burning within her as old memories began to resurface in her mind.

...

[POV AQUILES VIRIDIUM]

The sun had already set on the horizon, and Aquiles continued to train. The one-sided beating he had taken three days ago from the little Son of the Forest had stirred his pride and, at the same time, ignited the flames of competition. Aquiles sat cross-legged with closed eyes by the edge of the waterfall. Trying to focus his mind on creating new spells, but he couldn't shake the memory of his previous beating from his head.

"I was arrogant, thought I was above everyone... What foolishness! Our levels were so different that it's ridiculous to think I tried to attack him..." Aquiles sighed. "He didn't even need to cast, and the magic responded to his call with just a simple gesture... Damn, that's so humiliating!"

As his mind was lost in thoughts, his keen senses caught footsteps approaching. Soon, the image of the Son of the Forest coming to finish what he started made Aquiles spring to his feet and draw his sword, while conjuring a fireball to illuminate the surroundings at the same time.