Training Janus

We'd stopped late in the evening but well before night. It was apparently the middle of summer. The days were much longer and that made travel easier. Not long after we stopped, we began collecting wood for a fire and some of Lewis's retinue stared slamming wooden posts in the ground. Once the posts were set up an enchantment connected the posts together and blanketed the camp.

While a man struck flint against steel to spark some damp tender, I whittled away at a limb. The idea was to approximate a practice sword. That couldn't replace real combat, but I could get Janus into shape. Small sparks of white covered the wooden sword. With every cut of wood, I whispered enchantments. "Strength of Arms, Weight of Duty, Faith of the People," each spell helped the block of wood become what it was meant to be.

Cuttings piled at me feet while I worked to make a practice tool for a boy who wasn't my responsibility. The boy himself looked at me anxiously while I whittled away at the wood. I heard him gulp at the glowing white aura radiating from the practice blade. After working on the blade long enough, I blew on it and turned the weapon about.

I looked over at the boy. "Are you sure you want this?" I asked.

Doppel turned up a glass of cider. I honestly didn't think that was in her diet. "Why is the boy so anxious to be battered?" Doppel asked.

"Pain builds character and with enough rest in between bouts muscle too. If I tried to teach him aura now it would destroy his body." I said.

Gwen made a coughing sound. "Um, you may know a less than user friendly technique." I glared at her.

"I nearly killed myself." Janus looked between us confused.

"Lord mage why would you learn to use aura from a monster?" Janus asked.

I shook my head and stared at the boy. "Weren't you paying attention, I didn't learn how to use aura from her. I learned how to use it in the most dangerous way." I said.

"You didn't blow up, much." Gwen said. I opened my mouth and stared at Doppel.

"We share a lot of information. What are you complaining about with high-risk high reward?" Doppel said.

"Maybe it would be better if I learned from a sanctioned mage." Janus said. I tossed him the training sword. He grabbed ahold of it and it slammed into the snow. "Why is it so heavy?"

"You have little time to grow stronger, if you want to learn aura from me." I snatched the weapon from his hands. To my hand it might as well have been made of air.

"At the early stages Aura isn't hard to unlock. Rising in rank is another matter. It would be easier if Gwen just pushed the information in your brain." I looked over at the purple skinned Mind Flayer.

She crossed her arms. "Maybe after you get me that Abominable Bear skin blanket." I rolled my eyes. I planned to get that for her anyway.

"Sure, I'll get you the skin, but you have to cure the hide." Gwen pouted.

Star stepped out of the carriage just as the sun sunk below the horizon. Sid followed behind her like a duckling does his mother. For a moment I toyed with the idea that she cast a spell on him. I didn't know the full scope of Star's powers and she didn't share them.

I gave Janus a brief summary of how to unlock aura. Honestly, it had been rather personal for me. The boy scrunched up his face at the technical talk and then Star and Priest Sid Margos approached. The priest eyed the practice sword I'd made for Janus.

"Ah, a white mage. When I heard about your desire to start a farm, I'd feared you were a green series user. A fellow man of the white is always welcome. No wonder you seem so confident in these beasts. Your leash on them must be sturdy indeed." Gwen stared up at the Priest.

"We allowed ourselves to be bound to Jacob because we are friends." Gwen said. The priest gave me a knowing smile.

"Of course, but he holds the leash, and you wear the collar. But that isn't what I came to speak about. Young Janus are you to be instructed in the way of white as well?" The priest said.

"That is my hope Father Margos. From what I've been told so far it will test both my body and my mind." Janus said.

"Your faith as well my boy. Faith is more important to the white as aura and a firm body." The priest said. That put a sour taste in my mouth. He wasn't wrong, faith could increase the potency of the white series greatly. That didn't make him right or make it right that he was directing my student.

I placed a hand on Janus's shoulder. With a flex of my fingers, I could shatter the boy into a million pieces. That wasn't my intention, but it was a revelation. It wouldn't be a stretch to say my power was a dimension higher than Janus. The difference between Janus and Sid Margos was the same to me. If I tapped the man, he would break just as easily as Janus.

When I drew Janus back from the priest, I did so gently. Janus grunted in pain still. "You had your chance to teach him Priest Margos. While I can't argue the importance of faith, he asked to be trained by a mage not a priest. He isn't your deacon. As a mage its more important to reliably invoke spells than to cast powerful spells in the beginning. Even if you choose to focus solely on the white series its more important to have a wide variety of reliable spells than a single powerful one." I said.

The priest gave me a shrewd look and stared at Janus's practice blade. "This artefact is the result of three powerful tier 2 spells. A great amount of faith was used in their casting. I struggle to gather enough aura at times to cast tier two spells. Why choose, farming?" The priest asked.

"We are always one bad yield away from mass starvation. If I can help feed our people, then I will." I said and held up the practice sword. A small amount of aura crept from my body. "Its important to remember, aura is a part of you. It can anchor you down and give you leverage to swing even the heaviest blades." I swung the sword forward as if it weighed nothing. The weight of the blade failed to throw me off balance.

I tossed the practice sword to Janus and pushed a little bit of aura into him. "Try to leverage yourself and when you run out of aura reach out for more." The boy stared at the white aura glowing around his body. "Try to keep it contained. Aura leakage while you can't gather your own is bad. Try to restore a little of your aura with the power of heaven and earth after every swing. If you can manage 10 swings without losing your balance or running out of aura you pass." I stepped back to give him some space.

He swung the blade and stumbled a couple of steps. The breathing technique I knew would tear him apart. This was the safest and fastest way to train him. Giving him a goal would help two weeks wasn't a long time, but it would give him some good experience.

The priest and I watched Janus swing his practice sword repeatedly with mixed results. "Well, I don't expect him to succeed in a single night." I said. The priest snorted in derision.

"This is a very direct lesson. Learn to manufacture aura, ration it, and manipulate it in a single lesson. Well, you only have a short time to teach him." The priest said.

I stood up and gave Janus a refill. "Most boys his age learns better through practical lessons. All three skills are important for any profession using aura. If you don't mind me asking, what your tutelage was like?" I asked.

The priest snorted. ��My lessons were filled with symbolic imagery, lectures about faith, and days of fasting. I could replenish my aura in less than a year. I'm a little above average." The priest's mood seemed to grow lighter as he spoke.

I nodded. "Lots of isolated meditation for me too. I'm stronger for it. I value my aura more for it." The priest nodded. "But Janus wanted to learn in two weeks. So, let him claw at his failing aura, struggle to control it, and reach out with all his might in desperation for power." I said.

Janus swung his sword and nearly tripped over his own feet. "I hate you both." Janus muttered while he struggled to get control.

"What was that boy?" I asked.

"Thank you for taking the time to teach me." I nodded.

"Do you think he needs a heavier sword? It might help him learn even faster." I asked the priest.

Priest Margos rubbed at his graying beard. "He did want to learn as quickly as possible. Two weeks is too long I say." The priest said.

"I'm ok thank you for your concern, but I can wait two weeks." I nodded. The priest sipped from a cup of cider and shook his head.