Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Pov Finn

"Maybe you should explain to me what you're talking about. I lost my memories, remember." I knock on my head.

"Right, but I don't know how much you can remember. Where should I even begin?"

"You can tell me the same you would teach children," I suggest.

He seems to gather his thoughts before explaining, "Okay. Yes, I can do that. So there's 'Essence' all around us. This Essence is 'feeding' everything in this world, like the plants, the earth, and animals. Everything you can think of. The sapient races have all one core 'in' the hearth. I mean, it's not really in the hearth. It's not in this plane of existence. There're some theories, but nothing that proves anything. Anyway, can you still follow?"

"I..what? I mean, yes. I need a minute to comprehend everything." I respond, confused.

"Take your time." He takes the dishes and goes outside. I hear the water splash. Pretty sure he's cleaning the dishes. I ignore it.

I'm in a world with magic. That's so cool. I mean, it's bizarre, but in a good way. I can't even imagine what this world looks like. It has to be different if everything feeds off this 'Essence', right? And the people, how will society with magic look like? I have to see it. Did he say 'races'? Are there more? I can ask about it later.

When he comes back, I ask him to continue. "Where was I? Ah, yes. You have five Tiers for your core. Every Tier has five stages, and every stage changes your core's color. It goes from white to yellow to blue, red, and black. To get to a new stage, you must collect the Essence into your core to convert it into Mana, then condense it. That's how you cultivate your core. That are just the most basic things."

"Doesn't sound so basic to me."

"It is. You can control the Mana in any way. The better your imagination, the more you can do. But you're limited to the amount of Mana you have in your core. You can imagine it as if Mana is an extra stamina pool but more flexible. Of course, you can't just wish for things and they appear. You have to understand the things you're trying to do with Mana. It's hard for me to explain it in just one session. Instead, if you're going to stay, I can teach you some things."

He seems like he wants me to stay. Is he lonely? Who knows how long he's already been on this island? Alone. And I still owe him for saving my life.

Additionally, I'm sure he can teach me a lot. "I will stay if it's okay with you. But I have one more question. Is there a way to leave this island? If I get sick of the silent paradise, you know."

He doesn't laugh. Wasn't that funny, but he still answers me, "once a year, a ship comes here to check on me. The last ship came around two months ago. So that means in 14 months will come the next."

"Are you a big deal? You don't think they will take me with them?" I joke... again. I should stop, but I won't.

He smiles a little, "I was once. If they knew you're here, they would surely kill you."

"Oh. But can I sneak on the ship?"

"Hm. Perhaps you could, but not in the state you're in now." For a long time, he stands there thinking. Then it seems like he made a decision, "you know. We have 14 months. I can help you get on the ship, but if you succeed, you have to do something for me."

"Anything." I correct myself, "Almost anything. What do you need me to do?"

"First, we have to make something of you. We start tomorrow morning. Relax for today. You will need it." Then he left me in the room.

He just ignored my question. Rude. Still, I think this will be something good. I need to be stronger if I want to see this new world. Also, there's the thing with the Insani Kingdom. Let's hope that after five years, I'm declared dead, and nobody cares about me.

Nothing else to do, so I get up from my bed and head out. Askei's cabin is built out of logs between some trees. I walk out of the woods, and in front of me is a beach, blue like the water. As a result, it looks like they're melting with each other with every wave. The view is impressive.

My feet are underwater. The water is pleasant, so I stand there for a while and enjoy the vast sea. Then I take off my clothes, jump in, enjoy the water, and let my troubles leave me. After my swim, I go back to the cabin. Askei is still not back. So I lay down, and I fell asleep in a few seconds.

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Pov Askei

I storm out of the cabin, angry with myself. Am I allowed to be selfish just this one time? I sprint deeper into the forest for an hour, then slow down and sit by a tree. It isn't some special place I ran to. I just wanted to get away from the human. Am I getting homesick after all this time? I can't possibly use him for my issues, can I?

I sit for the whole afternoon arguing with myself. I can't decide if I should bring him into this conflict. He seems innocent, but I'm sure his path will be hard. I can feel something strange about him, and he hides something. However, so do I.

But it will get more brutal if he does what I want, and this is my only chance to change things. Can I live with that? Can he? I don't know what to do.

No, that's a lie. I've already decided. I will do everything to make him stronger so he can save me. No, safe you... Mia, it won't be long anymore.

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Pov Finn

Askei is back when I get up in the morning. He had already cooked some fish soup. After we ate, he told me to follow him to the beach.

"Your body is too weak, so we're going to change that first. That means in the first months, we'll train your body. You're going to start with jogging every morning. How long it will take depends on you." He explained, then showed me in one direction. "Run until you see the cliffs, then turn around and come back."

It took me over five hours, and Askei said it was too long. After that, I have to lift small logs and do pull-ups and squats. Has he designed a training program through the night? In the afternoon, I get 30 minutes break. He cooked some fried meat with some new strange roots. Later I have to do jumping jacks for almost one hour.

It's only my first day, but I think I will die. I can't do this every day for the next month. What will happen after this? Does it get harsher? This guy is insane. The last activity for the day is swimming for hours. That's too much. What happened to him through the night that he tortures me like this? I pass out after dinner.

Throughout the first month, every exercise only got more challenging. When I finally ran the way in only three hours after two weeks, he just put some logs on me to carry. When I do squats effortlessly, he puts some weight on me.

The first month ended with my doing additional to everything, shadow boxing and other exercises. "I don't think you understand what you got into. What we did until now is a precaution, so you don't die in the next months." He said.

He can't be serious. He is. No, he's not. He was, and now I understand what he meant. We started to work out together. Do you think that's good? Don't be stupid. The reason why he's doing it is so I can 'learn' to ignore pain.

Punches, Stones, or wood, you name it, he throws it. I feel like he's doing it because he likes seeing me suffer. All things I have to move or carry are getting heavier weekly. And, of course, he doesn't miss any chance to throw anything. Every day, I come home with bruises and cuts. But I won't quit. I trust that everything he does has some reason that will help me.

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Four months later, finally, I'm starting to see improvement. The exercises are all the same, but it takes me only half the time to finish. Consequently, it means I have more time to work out. I'm not sickly skinny anymore. Instead, I gained weight, muscular weight. You can see all outlines of my muscles now.

In the following months, Askei took me deep into the forest, where he taught me how to move efficiently through the woods without leaving footprints and making sounds. We stayed a whole month in the woods, and I learned how to catch and skin animals. There aren't as many animals here as I thought.

A month later, we began to spar for a couple of hours in the morning. "I don't know any technique with fancy movements. But I can teach you how to fight against any opponent. At least I can show you the direction. I will train you so you can react to your opponent's moves and use them to your advantage. When we spar, I'll constantly change my fighting style. This ensures that you won't get used to the same movements." He explained between our sessions.

Half the time has passed now. We spend a lot of time together. As a result, we're much closer. However, we both still don't talk about our past. Sometimes I catch him staring to the east with a sad expression. I assume his request will have something to do with his past. That's why he hasn't told me about it.

At the end of the seventh month, I started to learn about Mana. It's challenging for me to feel my core, to pull the Essence in. The hardest of all is to condense it into Mana. It took me over one month just for that. Askei says it isn't slow and usually takes even more time, but time isn't something I have.

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Pov Askei

I've been training the human for 11 months now. When I met him, I suspected something odd about him, but I didn't foresee him this extraordinary. I wonder what happened to him in exile. It made him inhuman.

He gets powerful way too fast. Our sparring session changed after five months drastically. Now I have to watch out that he doesn't get a hit on me. The scariest part is his mind. He sucks every bit of information in, and after only a few tries, he can use it. He still has a long way to go, but I don't know what he will be if he gets there.

Over the months, we got to know each other. He's way too bright for his age and very curious about everything, probably because he lost his memories.

He meditated for four months, and his core is now at the blue stage. In the beginning, the advancement is fast most of the time, which makes him average. However, understanding how to cultivate and control the Mana like he can in that time frame is scary. I hope I don't raise a monster.

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"So you telling me that Elves and humans have the same live span?" Finn asks me again.

"Yes, also, we don't have fertility problems. It's the same for everybody. How often do I have to say it?" I say.

"It doesn't feel right."

"Why?" I ask.

"I'm not sure myself. Anyway, the ship should arrive in 1 week. So you already know how I should repay you?" It seems he has a hint about what I will ask of him.

"Yes. I want you to go to the Capital of the Dark Elfen Land and kidnap my daughter." I say firmly, but on the inside, I'm anxious about his answer.

He thinks about it. After a couple of seconds replies, "What exactly do you mean by 'Dark'?"

"Hah? I'm a Dark Elf."

"What's the difference?"

"Between what?" I don't understand him. I ask him to kidnap someone, and he's asking this weird question.

"Between an Elf and a Dark Elf?"

"There-There're only Dark Elves."

"Oh... Ähm, so your daughter. What does she look like? Where does she live?" Did he just agree?

"I don't know what she looks like today. She was just a kid when all went down. So all I can give you is her name, Mia Vinea, and she lives in the Royal palace."

He gives me a strange look. I'm sure he already knew I had something to do with Royalty. "Sure. Anything else I need to know before I kidnap a girl from the Elfen Royal Palace?" He raised an eyebrow.

"There're some things I don't want to talk about. I'm sorry. If you don't want to do it, that's not a problem. I'll find another way." I lied. I hope he will do it.

"I understand. Don't worry. I will just ask your daughter after I get her out." He says, smiling.

"You shouldn't. They likely told her only lies... Listen, I will keep it short. 50 years ago, there was a war against the Goblins; for me, it was hell. I did everything to protect my people, to keep them safe, but for my brother, it was a chance to overthrow me and ascend the throne. He killed my wife and son, imprisoned my daughter, and exiled me. He holds Mia hostage, so I don't leave this island, but if you can sneak on the ship, maybe you can save her. You don't have to die trying. It's enough if you go there; leave if it's impossible."

"That's some fucked up shit. I'm sorry. I will do it. I will get her out, don't worry. But what should I do with her when I get her out? Bring her here?" He asked.

"No! You take her to the mountains northwest of the Elven Land. There's a safe house only a friend and me know of. Hide her there, and when the ship returns in a year, I will know if you were successful and will meet you there."

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The day is here. I look at the ship as it docks at the pier. Finn is already hidden, waiting for his opportunity to sneak on board. It's late afternoon which means they're going to stay the night. That's good; easier to sneak at night. It's been a long time since I was that nervous.

10 Elves get out of the boat and walk in my direction. In front of them walks an Elf with a scar over his left eye. He greets me, "Serref Aganis greets Askei Vinea."

He sounds polite, but I know he didn't come here on his own accord. Everybody who came was like him—mocking me behind my back—whispering about my deeds and how I betrayed our race. But they don't know. Still, I have to be polite. Act like everything is like always.

"Askei Vinea greets Serref Aganis. I hope you had a pleasant trip."
He doesn't even try to hide his snort. We exchange words, and he checks if I'm a 'flight risk', then returns to his ship to make camp. The next day early in the morning, they leave. I already said my goodbyes to Finn.

"Good luck, my friend."

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