Formations and Farewells

The group spent a decent amount of time talking and the sun had started to set. Ed and his wife Anne looked around worriedly. "It's getting dark Silas would you like to spend the night here. Rebecca can set a barrier around us and protect us as we sleep. She's quite the established mage so don't worry." Ed's wife Anne said to Silas.

"Sure that sounds nice." Silas replied with a smile. The family that he had ran into were the only other form of intelligent lifeform he had ever met and had no vigilance against them. The night was a clear one, and there were a few beast growls but once they got close to the barrier they retreated. Silas slept peacefully and soundly that night, the first in many nights.

Morning came without a problem and everyone awoke. Silas had a nice breakfast off fried eggs and some tender meat he had not eaten before with everyone and set off to head out. The family got together to send him off. "So, Silas, what're you doin at the town?" Ed asked him.

"Oh I'm planning on learning formations, my father told me to do that when I went to explore the world." Silas told him as he had nothing to hide. He had to make sure to get into the ring if it was the last thing he would do in his life, it was a promise he had made to himself that he would never forget.

"Formations eh. That'sa rather difficult field for a seeing person. Not ter mention you. You want my dear Rebecca here to teach you a few things?" Ed gestured at his younger sister with a smile. "She might not be too knowledgeable on it cause you knows. But she's learned a few odds and ends 'fore the whole ordeal."

Silas pondered for a moment and smiled in response. "That'd be great. Thank you Rebecca." Rebecca smiled back with a bit of confidence. "Of course come sit next to me." The two sat across from each other on the ground with there hands in the others. "Here feel my mana." Rebecca said to Silas with a smile. "I'm going to show you the mana set up for the barrier that I set up last night."

Rebecca then sent her mana through her palms and reached Silas' output of mana and let out a little gasp, 'What a thick mana, no wonder he wants to learn how to utilize it, though this seems more suited to be a battle mage. A little familiar though.' She kept this to herself and had a slight frown on her face. "Anythin' wrong Rebecca?" Ed asked at the slight frown on her face.

"No I just haven't done this before." She then showed Silas a star like pattern surrounded in a circle with strange etchings throughout the lines and a writing that Silas surprisingly didn't know in the center. "Formations need grounding objects to incorporate the mana into tangible things like the barrier or as objects to suck in the surrounding mana and disperse it more concentratedly." Rebecca informed him. "These take a bit of time to set up and have to be in the exact positions regarding the formation you are using or it will either barely work as intended or not work at all. Some rather volatile formation can directly explode from an inexperienced person setting it up. Don't worry the barrier formation isn't one of those." She let out a laugh.

"Most formations use specially made flags or jade stones that are really good at conducting mana." Rebecca pulled out a few sets of flags from a pouch at her waist and handed them to Silas. She then pulled out another set for herself. "They can be set up at a fairly long distance but the better materials you use and the stronger the mage will be the difference in quality of the barrier."

She then set up the flags and showed Silas how they aligned with the star like pattern. then she engraved the words in the ground following the pattern she had shown Silas earlier. She taught him the words that were being written saying that they were from the ancient magus language of ages old. Only the highest of mages could understand it in its entirety and took a long time to study. "This formation is quite simple so it shouldn't be hard to learn these." She said after seeing Silas's somewhat worried face.

Silas spent a little while memorizing the things that she was telling him, it wasn't too difficult for him due to his years of mentoring with Luis. He got the basic formation down within an hour. "Are you sure you can't see? You are very good at this!" Rebecca exclaimed on seeing him complete one. Silas let out a dry laugh in response. "Okay, now bring out your saber and use it as an inscribing tool, like this." Rebecca brought out her own staff and poured her mana into it and wrote into the ground in a separate place holding Silas' hand the entire time. Silas let go and made a new formation but this time using his mana infused saber to draw it. Once it was completed a ten meter barrier formed around the formation flags and the lines in the ground turned illusory, the couldn't simply be erased normally.

"Silas great job!" Rebecca yelled out and threw herself around him in a hug. "That was fantastic, and only in an hour. You're so talented." Silas let out a little cough, "You were a great help, I could've never done this by myself." Ed let out a deep laugh from the side. The rest of the family had been watching the whole time.

A cry suddenly rang out from Anne. "Junior I told you not to wander off! Where are you?" She then turned towards the rest of the group. "He must've been bored this whole time."

Silas and Ed both turned in her direction, "Wher'd that boy go off to." Ed said in worry, puling tightly at his beard, "We need to find him soon lest he run ter a beastie territory."

Ed, with a helpless expression, turned to Silas, "Can yous help us look 'fore you go." Silas smiled feeling indebted to them, "Of course."

The five of them spread out in different directions and Silas sent out his mana sense as far and as strong as he could sweeping over the surrounding area and he still couldn't sense the mana that belonged to Ed's son. Rebecca felt a jolt and turned around, "Again?"

Silas walked a little forward at a steady pace focusing on the edges of his field. He came to a slow stop and a second later he found a very faint but familiar signature. 'Gotta be it.' He ran towards it as fast as he could, which was at quite fast speed, and upon reaching it he realized it was not in the shape of a human. 'That's odd.'

Silas bent down where the signature was coming from and picked up the object that the familiar fluctuation was coming from. 'A boot?' He thought to himself, must be little Ed's.

"Ed, it's me Silas. We need to go back to your parents!" He called out to the surroundings, his voice could travel further than his mana sight. He let it out a few more times and nothing replied. Silas had an ominous feeling well up inside of him. "Ed! Where are you?!" He yelled out louder this time but to no avail.

Then out of no where a giant mana signature appeared in front of him, seemingly rising from the ground. Silas felt the signatures body and gasped, "Dragon?!"

'But there is no wings' He thought after another second. Then he felt the mana move and he felt a large pain on his chest and the wind rushing around his body with a weightless feeling.

Silas got struck by the Giant Drake and returned all the way to the camping spot of the family. He then unclenched his hand and dropped the boot while blood was flowing out of his chest and mouth.

Hearing the sound, John and Rebecca rushed over to the downed Silas.

"What happened, can you hear me?" Rebecca half shouted at Silas who only responded with a groan. She then saw the boot next to his hand and picked it up. She then noticed that there was still something in it and her eyes shot open.

She gagged and stepped away to throw up, but at that very moment a rustle was heard in the distance and a large mouth descended on Rebecca, biting her In half from the waist up.

She died before she realized and had not time to cast or chant any spells. John saw the half of his sister and the Giant Drake and screamed out. "Holy Fuck! Rebecca!"

Hearing the scream the Giant Drake looked in his direction and Ed and Anne started running over. The Giant Drake leaped forward and crushed John's head with his claw, leaving it a bloody heap. Silas jumped back at this moment feeling the massive mana fly towards him.

Silas drew his saber out and prepared to defend himself. The Giant Drakes claw met with the saber and Silas washed pushed back but he didn't fall over. They clashed a few more times and Anne and Ed both got to the clearing.

Seeing the dead bodies of John and Rebecca, Anne fell down to her knees in shock and Ed stood there his body not responding. Silas noticed there arrival and yelled out, "Run get out of here!!"

The Drake noticed this and figured they would be easier prey than this pesky human in front of him. It struck Silas with its tail sending him backwards and leapt at the two of them. Anne had her front side taken out with a swipe and only upon seeing his beloved fall did Ed's body respond.

Ed had his massive shield placed in front of his body and squared his shoulders, leaning into the impact. The Drake claw split his shield in half and ripped into his abdomen, his entrails hanging out. His body slumped against a tree, sitting him upright.

Silas saw both of there mana's dissipate and his voice choked and he was overtaken by grief. He gritted his teeth and had scales form all over his human body and claws come out of his left hand. Small wings that would also have no ability to let him fly sprout from his back, tearing his tunic.