The thick foliage of the forest began to wane, clearing ground and exposing the forest floor which was now covered with soft grass and short herbs. Trees with thick stumps were replaced by leaner ones and more sunlight penetrated through the canopy. For a moment, I began to believe we travelled to different continent.
'Strange. The forest seemed to change entirely,' I commented.
Kaya, who walked ahead of me said, 'ah! I see you have noticed. This part of the forest was destroyed by a wildfire many centuries ago, it is still healing.'
'Really? Any idea what caused the fire?' I asked.
'There used be a small settlement around here. A common place for players to visit. Rumor is two players broke into a fight, one had the ability to spit out fire and another could control the flow of air...'
'Oh no...' I interrupted unintentionally.
'Exactly. Well it is a rumor cause only a hand few survived the fire. Rest everyone perished, along with a giant swath of forest.'
I looked at the back of my hand, at the mark of the fire rune. Fire is dangerous element to be dealing with, especially in a forest. I wish I could learn to control it, but how am I supposed to do that in middle of a forest! I feet like I stuck in catch-22 situtation.
'Is everything alright?' Kaya asked.
I looked up to see Kaya had stopped and turned around. 'Yes. Yes. Just...'
'Oh yes. You too can control fire, can't you?' she asked.
'You knew?'
'I arrived when the Butcher was still burning. Then the woman you were with said you set him on fire. At first I thought you used a bomb, but then I saw the rune on your hand...'
I rubbed the tattoo uncomfortably.
'Can you control it?' She asked.
'I don't know. The only time I used it, I set a man on fire.'
'Seriously?' She had a sharp grin on her face, 'you used in a near death situation and you managed to not bring down the forest? I would say that is impressive.'
A sense of relief washed over me and I smiled without thinking. 'Thanks. But I guess I am stuck with just that. I don't know if I can control it and if I want to learn, I must practice. Only god knows how I am going to do that in middle of a jungle.'
'Hmm...' Kaya slipped into deep thought for a moment. 'Actually there might be a place you can practive without fear. It is a slight detour from our path, but we should be able to reach it in a few hours.'
'Are you okay with that? It will cut precious time into your day,' I said. I don't know why I am so nice. I could have just told her we could go, now I made her think.
'How generous of you,' She said placing her hands on her hips and smiling cheekily. 'Don't worry. I will think of ways you can repay me.'
***
Kaya said it was off course but I had no clue if that was the case. We arced east and walked for another half day through the new forest. Soon the terrain began to grow thick with trees but at the sametime we came upon a large stream. It appeared deep enough to reach my waist.
"There. Now we just walk up stream," she said.
As we followed the stream against it's current, the roar of the water flowing became louder and louder. I began to get an idea of what Kaya was thinking. Soon, we found ourselves at the foot of a small waterfalls. What made this place special was that the flow of the water had cut the stone down, creating a gigantic cavity. We was surrounded my wet stone on all three sides with mist from the waterfall filling the air inside.
"This place is beautiful!" I commented.
"Not the comment I expected," Kaya replied. "But here you should be able to test your fire spells without affecting the forest around."
"You are right. It's exactly what I needed."
"To be honest. Even I am a bit excited. I have heard of people who controlled the elements of mother nature. But never saw them do with their own eyes. So... show me some of your spells." There was ting of spark in Kaya's eyes as she tried very hard to not show any excitement.
'Right!' I lifted my hand up, looking at the Rune. I stared at it for a good few seconds when I realized, "I have no fucking clue how to do this..."
"You what!?" Kaya looked stumped. For a moment I thought she was going to thrash me silly.
"Sorry but the rune didn't come with instructions," I explained.
"Then how did you set the butcher on fire?" She asked.
"It just happened at the moment. I was about to die and my instincts just kicked in."
"Well... do you remember what happened in that moment?" Kaya asked.
I rubbed my chin with my right hand, trying to remember what exactly happened. The details were shady and I just remembered his axe breaking through the shield I had cast. However, I remembered how my mana core got hot. Really hot. "Okay. Step back. Let me give this a try," I said.
She immediately jogged out of the cavity and stood a good distance from where I was. Seeing this, I shut my eyes and concentrated on my mana well. The cool mist sent shivers up my spine, but also helped me calm my mind. The Mana in the well began to rise and soon began to overflow. Mana began to flow through my body and soon I was in the state of flow. But... I had no idea what to do after this. My Mana had turned red hot but this happened on its own.
I tried to picture it once again. The image of my Mana turning hot. Much of how magic worked up until now was manipulating the Mana. If the Rune is nothing more than a key to unlock a new aspect to Mana manipulation, I must at the very least be able to perform the basic manipulation.
It was faint, like an ember in the infinity of darkness. But it was just enough. I felt the well heat up, flooding with energy. The temperature began to grow and grow. Sparks erupted from well and when I opened my eyes, I saw the hand in front of me, wrapped in fire.
My eyes widened as the fire began to climb my arm and soon I was covered in fire. But I didn't feel pain. I have felt the sensation of burning. Although I felt hot, like on a midsummer day afternoon, there no burning, no pain.
I turned around to face the waterfall before streaching out my arm once again and tried to channel this heat through the arm. A stream of fire shot out from my hand and struck the waterfalls halfway down the fall. A burst of steam erupted from the point of impact, disturbing the flow only for a moment, before it returned to normal.
I let go of the well and Mana retreated. My body began to cool rapidly and soon I was covered in a thick layer of sweat and water. I breathed heavy as I tried to recover from the excitement.
"Well well. That was impressive," Kaya said. I turned around to see her walking back into the cavity.
"I know! And I didn't burn my pants off!" I said.
Kaya scoffed. "Yes. That is impressive too. It is truely amazing what you players are capable of doing." Though she was smiling, I could sense a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Oh come on. It wasn't that impressive, right?" I said.
"For a beginner. You wish to spend more time here? To practice?"
"Can you stay longer?" I asked.
"Mother said to assist you, didn't she? So I must oblige."
"In that case. Yes. I would like stay a little longer then."
"Alright. We will continue our journey tomorrow morning," Kaya said.
***
Hours had passed. The sun had set and fatigue began to set in. However, I felt like I had barely scratched the surface with regards to what I could do with this power. I tried various ways of casting fire, shooting a jet of fire, covering myself in fire, and setting off a fiery explosion. All looked impressive but did very little damage compared to the amount of Mana they ate up.
"You need to condense the power of the spell," Kaya told.
I turned around, away from the waterfall to see her leaning against the rock edge of the cavity.
"Yes, I do have a condense skill. But it is not working," I replied.
"Skill? I am not familiar with how the players fight. But, your casting is far too wide. If you could concentrate the energy to a smaller range, you might get more out of your casts."
The condense skill allows me to strengthen a spell by channeling more Mana in a shorter amount of time. Was I not using it correctly till now?
"Anyways, it is getting late. Why don't we call it a day? We must return to our journey," Kaya said.
I was exhausted from all the spell casting. "Yeah. I think I am done for the day too."
***
We setup a small camp on the banks of the stream. One good thing about the fire rune? Starting a fire was a piece of cake. After feasting on some roasted meat, we quietly sat around the firecamp.
Kaya looked relaxed. Her eyes stared into the darkness of the forest while her face didn't give her thoughts away.
So, I had to ask them myself. "What's on you mind?"
Kaya turned to me and asked, "What do you mean?"
"You seemed to be lost in thought. So, I asked what you were thinking. You need not share if you don't want to!"
"Oh. I was just observing the forest for any danger. I think we are safe for now," She explained.
"Wait. The whole place is pitch dark. How far were you able to see?" I asked.
"Far enough to know that we are safe. You will get used to the darkness when you live in it long enough."
"How long have you been guarding the village?"
"Every since I could shoot an arrow."
"And how old were you when you shot you first arrow?" I asked.
"About six monsoons."
Six monsoons? "Six years? Damn. You must be really good with the bow then."
Kaya smiled softly. "They do say I rival the best."
"You practice everyday?"
"You don't?"
I scratched the back of my head as I said, "Not really."
"One does not become a master in a day. But you players are a different breed." Her smile had vanished, replaced by a slight frown.
"How so?" I asked.
"It was a long time ago. I wasn't as good as am I now. But I was still very proud of how good I was. That was until a girl showed up at one of our villages. She said she had been a player for just a few weeks. So, when she challenged me to a contest, I couldn't say no. Even though she had learnt to use the bow just a few weeks ago, she bested me... no. She humiliated me. I was no match for speed, range, or accuracy. I still remember her smirk, he mocking words."
I know I shouldn't but, "What did she say?"
She took a moment to answer. "Drop the bow. You aren't worthy of it."
Oh man. That has got to hurt. We players are indeed a special breed of people. The world appears to be designed to our needs. But to be this condescending, I guess people aren't that different. "I am sorry. She shouldn't have been so condescending."
"It's fine. I wish I could run into her once again. Just so that I best her return her words," Kaya said, her eyes filled with fierce determination.