...So My Training Began

"Posture is important in footing," comes Lasula as she paces around me. "It's what directs your weight to where it needs to be. Leaning your weight forward can allow you to better withstand a foe's attack, but it anchors you into place, leaving you little room to move. The opposite is true by shifting your weight backwards."

I've been standing there holding my sword out in front of me for the last ten minutes. For some reason, Lyra is standing right beside me, doing the same. Granted, the 'sword' she holds out is a long stick, that she… already seems to have trouble keeping steady. There's a look of concentration on her face, mixed with a noticeable amount of strain.

"Move your bodies gently, keeping your feet planted where they are, square with your shoulders," Lasula continues. Lyra and I do as she says. "Notice how depending on where you shift your weight to… it becomes more difficult to keep your balance."

Lyra leans too far forward and ends up falling over. But she quickly scrambles back to her feet and holds her stick out again.

"That is where footing comes in," Lasula says. "Learning where to place your feet can not only eliminate imbalance, but to use your weight in your favor."

"…But where does the magic come in?" comes Lyra.

Lasula turns around with a quizzical look.

"…Pardon?" she mutters.

Lyra tilts her head. She looks back and forth between the two of us.

"…Is there no magic…?" Lyra asks quietly.

"…Lyra dear… did you… think we are doing magic training?"

Lyra grows quiet and tucks her chin into her chest. She then timidly turns away.

"O-Oh— It's… It's quite alright, Lyra!" Lasula frets, holding up her hands. "Y-You were asleep when Marco and I discussed this, s-so I don't fault you for not knowing…!"

Lyra nods slowly, but still keeps quiet and refuses to turn back.

Lasula tilts her head in pondering.

"Lyra, were you… wanting to learn magic?" she asks.

Lyra blushes and sheepishly begins to fidget in place.

"…B-Because, while magic does take a considerable amount of time to learn, I can certainly provide you a few exercises—"

"—Y-You must teach me Alteration Magic—!" Lyra bursts, taking a step forward. "…U-Um… P-Please…"

Lasula seems surprised for a second. But that washes away and she puts on a smile.

"Freda would be happy to hear you've taken an interest," she says.

"Who is Freda?" Lyra asks.

Lasula pauses.

"…Oh— Oh, right!" she exclaims. "I forgot to mention it, but she… Freda… is the one I was telling you both about. The one who is… special to me. She's a very talented magician. We departed a few years back so that I could go on my journey."

"She the one that taught you Alteration Magic?" I ask.

"She did," Lasula nods. "She is part of a nomadic group of people that travels in a caravan far to the northeast. They are all capable magicians who each specializes in their own type of magic. Freda's is Alteration Magic, and she taught me not long after we first met."

"Would she… be happy for me to learn Alteration Magic as well?" mutters Lyra.

"Quite eager, aren't you? And I think she would be overjoyed," Lasula smiles. "Oh— but there is something I absolutely must make clear… You won't be able to do Alteration Magic without first completely understanding all the basics. That means a lot of training before you even begin to learn magic."

Lyra looks down at her hands. A few seconds later, she nods. Lasula reaches down and gently sets a hand on top of Lyra's head.

"…Then it's settled," she says. "I'll teach swordsmanship to Marco… and magic to you. Now… Why don't we get started?"

A few hours have passed, and we've been back on our way for a while now. And judging from what I'm seeing here… To anyone watching, we probably look like a bunch of idiots.

Lasula told me to randomly shift my weight around while I walk. So now I'm wobbling along the prairie, looking like I'm drunk to hell and back. But then Lasula herself… She's been glowing blue for the past hour or so. Don't know what that's about. Finally is Lyra, who was told by Lasula to do some sort of training to 'open her gates,' whatever that means. All I'm seeing here is Lyra squinting her eyes and holding her arms out in front of her like a zombie. So like I said… Like a bunch of idiots.

"…Hey Lasula…" I mutter.

"During training, you will call me Teacher," she smirks.

"…Uh… Hey Teach… What's the point of this…?"

"Of your training?"

"The weird… hip swaying thing," I say.

Lasula raises a hand, and suddenly a harsh wind blasts me to my left, strong enough that it completely knocks me over.

"I will now randomly hit you with several bursts of raw Vector Magic throughout the day, until you instinctively know how to keep yourself upright. You will continue to do your drills in the meantime."

I begrudgingly get back up to my feet.

"I still don't see how that helps me…" I murmur.

"What I've noticed is that you don't have a very solid sense of balance," she says. "Improving your footwork will improve your balance. This will allow you to keep yourself upright even when glancing off armored monsters like that basilisk."

"Oh…" I mutter.

Another burst of wind hits me in the back, knocking me over again.

This kinda thing went on for hours. The whole day I grew more and more anxious of when the next strike would happen. And yet I'd always be caught off guard.

It wasn't until evening that I managed to stay standing. And I'm not exactly sure what I did. I think my body moved on its own. I felt pretty proud of myself. Until it happened again, about twenty minutes later, and I fell over just the same.

We set up camp for the night just as the sun dipped beyond the horizon. Lyra seemed exhausted from her training… whatever it was… and passed out almost right away. Lasula and I talked for a bit before turning in for the night… And thus ended our second day back on the road.

For the next three days, while the mountains slowly grew closer and closer, our training regimen continued. Patches of woodland and wetlands intersected the prairie, slowing our progress here and there.

As I started to get more and more used to countering Lasula's magic, she ramped it up. Her attacks were stronger, and more random. They could have happened minutes from one another, or hours in between.

What I found is that each one has its own subtle tell, giving me a split second to register the direction it's coming from, and brace for it. Come the evening of the last day, our fifth day in the prairie, I'd successfully blocked every single one of them.

"Hell yeah—! Let's go!" I cheer, pumping my fist.

The three of us are taking a break to let Lyra catch her breath. That was when Lasula set off the final attack, which I managed to keep upright for.

"You've done well," Lasula says. "You've gotten much sturdier on your feet."

"Yeah—!" With that, I pause. "Hold on… I still don't get why I've been doing this."

"Well, for a few reasons," Lasula says. "But instead of explaining it, why don't I show you?"

"Um… o—"

"Draw your blade, if you will," she commands.

I do as I'm told, summoning it from the ground and holding it out in front of me.

"Now," she mutters. "…Defend yourself."

Suddenly, she disappears. I quickly glance around the area. But then I sense something… Something faint, and I quickly turn towards it while I raise my sword only for Lasula to burst towards me out of nowhere and strike with a deadly precision. The force of her attack pushes me backwards, but I somehow remain standing. She keeps the pressure on my sword, with what I realize was the same attack she used against the basilisks.

"Now you are able to use your strength to the fullest," she says. "You had an iron defense all along, but all of it meant nothing if you couldn't stay on your two feet."

Lasula disappears again, the tremendous force on me simultaneously lifting away. I sense something to my back, and I do exactly the same as before. And again, I catch Lasula's attack.

"You're not… going easy on me with a lighter magic, are you?" I grunt.

"I am not," she replies. "This technique… the Spectral Bolt… is plenty capable of cleaving any normal human in two. Though… you are exhibiting several openings that would quickly lead to your demise. But that is for a later lesson."

She then releases her magic, and folds her arms with a smile.

I blow away a strand of hair from my field of vision and drop my sword back into the ground.

"And you used it against me…?" I mutter.

"If you weren't prepared to take it by the time I appeared, I wouldn't have followed through," she replies. "Which is why I am very proud of you for blocking both of them."

"We won't be doing the same stuff as before, just with deadly… pointy… magic instead, right…?"

"Of course not!" she replies. "Next, we will be practicing techniques with your sword itself."

"Hell yeah! That's what I've been waiting f—"

"I found a ring," comes Lyra, standing just beside Lasula and I now. I don't know how I didn't see her until she spoke up. I thought it was just me, but Lasula seems mildly surprised as well.

"O-Oh, did you now—?" Lasula stammers.

She's totally trying to figure out whether she just missed Lyra being there or not.

"I was playing in the dirt and then I dug it out," Lyra says, holding it out in her hand.

It looks like gold… based on what little gold I've seen in my life. It's fairly thin, and has this red, perfectly round stone in it.

"How could it have gotten out here?" Lyra asks.

Lasula stares at the ring for several seconds. A slightly disturbed look washes over her face. She kneels down on the ground and places a hand on the matted grass.

"I see… I recall hearing of it…" she mutters. "…Several hundred years ago, a battle tore through this prairie, between two countries that no longer exist. The battle was so gruesome that the bodies that fell were never moved, as neither friend nor enemy could differentiate the viscera of one soldier to the next. There they lay to rot… leaving armor, weapons, and jewelry to embed themselves into the land their corpses fertilized. Such trinkets would have long outlasted the decay of their former masters."

Glancing over at Lyra, I sense an imminent dread on her shoulders. I look back, and see that Lasula still has her hand on the ground with a solemn look.

"…So… How do you know the ring is from that?" I say. "Could've just been that a traveler dropped it."

"It is a battle ring. For magicians that specialize in Destruction Magic, it acts as a conduit for magical power," Lasula replies. Her eyes begin to drift, as if she's subconsciously changing the subject. "…A village once stood here. I can almost see the battle playing out before my very eyes. White banners singed by the flames of its burning buildings, torched indiscriminately by the oncoming horde. That time, four hundred years ago, was known as the Age of Fire."

"…S-So—" I begin.

Lasula finally takes her hand off of the ground, and lifts herself back up to her feet.

"You should probably put it back where you found it, Lyra dear," Lasula says, turning to her. She's got on a smile, but this time it seems kinda forced. "I doubt its owner would appreciate it being removed from their resting place."

Clearly off-put, Lyra stiffly turns around and heads back towards where she'd been playing. A few moments later, she returns.

"C…Can we not sleep here tonight…" she murmurs.

Crickets chirp all around us. We've made camp a half mile or so from where Lyra found that ring, which seems to have slightly put her at ease. But normally she'd be asleep by now, so the fact that she isn't shows just how creeped out she got back there.

"…Well…" Lasula says, the first to break the ice. "Marco isn't the only one that has been training these past few days. And since you are still awake, Lyra dear, why don't we take a look at your development?"

Lyra's gaze shifts to Lasula. She hesitates a moment before nodding. Doesn't say anything, though.

"Very well, now hold out your hands for me, if you will," says Lasula. As soon as she accepts Lyra's hands into her own, they begin to glow blue with her Illusion Magic. "As you know, the exercises I gave you were meant to open your 'Gate,' the crucible for channeling mana throughout and from your body. Now, the Gate is not a physical organ but is instead a cognitive barrier set in place at birth. The way to break it is to convince yourself it has already been opened."

Again, Lyra nods.

"…I did," she says quietly.

"And once you have accomplished this, I should be able to sense the mana flowing freely throughout your body. I—" but Lasula trails off.

"Did it… not work…?" Lyra mutters disappointedly.

Lasula puts on a consoling smile and slowly releases her hands.

"…No, that isn't it. It did work," she replies. "…But I am sorry to say that your mana supply is… well, it's not very large. I… cannot say for certain you will be able to learn Alteration Magic effectively. Lyra dear, I am… so very sorry…"

Lyra's eyes slowly drift towards the ground. A long silence falls over the camp. Im too afraid to say anything, after hearing this. But then… it's Lyra that finally breaks it.

"…Will you teach me anyways?" she asks, glancing back up at Lasula.

"Wh— W…Why yes, I'll… I'll try my best," Lasula nods. "You are capable of doing magic, after all. It will… just be more difficult, more tiring. You will be limited by the capabilities of your body."

"I still want to," she says.

Lasula smiles.

"Then as your teacher… I will do my best to teach you all I can, as much as time will allow it. I swear to you."