Long Road

Drindle rose from his seat and stepped down from the wagon. He walked to the front of Harthling, patting the horse's hind quarters as he passed. Lionel watched the old man intently. The geezer hadn't spoken since he opened his eyes. The sun was barely peeking above the hills to the east.

The old man stood in front of the wagon holding his right hand out in front of him. Lionel thought he saw a shimmer of light. It was as if the surface of a pond rippled as the old man stuck his hand into its depths. Drindle stood there for a few minutes before he pulled the small box from his robe with his left hand and started to whisper to it. Lionel couldn't quite grasp what was happening, from what he could tell the ripple stopped suddenly and moved in reverse. It flowed back towards Drindle's outstretched hand. The old man closed his fingers and laughed.

"Heh.. Heh.. hee.. They should know better than to use Galorian as the protector." The old man then turned and moved to sit in the wagon. As he sat he looked at Lionel and spoke. "Ask your questions, Ank" His eyebrows were raised Lionel could swear the old man knew what was going on in his head. Either that or Lionel was just too predictable.

"Who's Galorian?"

"Some old geezer whose been around too long." The old man spoke while flicking the reins of Harthling.

"That doesn't answer my question." Lionel spoke while eyeing Drindle. The ancient man stared at the road but Lionel could swear there was a tinge of laughter in his eyes. He decided to go a different route. "What was the shimmer that I saw back there?"

One of the old man's bushy brows rose as he began to speak. "So you were able to see it? We need to start your training in earnest once I finish your cloak medallion." The old man seemed impressed as he had spoken.

"When will I learn more about Velthum's?" Lionel just wanted to learn what the creatures were and how they were used by Enthrallers.

The wagon rocked back and forth as the two road east wards. A silence stretched on until it was almost midday. "Here, put this on." The dry raspy voice of the geezer woke Lionel from his bored stupor. He looked at the old man's outstretched hand. In it was the silver medallion on a chain.

Lionel took the medallion from the old man. When it touched his skin a strange yellowish wording flowed on the surface of the medallion. Lionel barely had a moment to study the writing before it vanished. "What was that writing on it?" He stared at the cloak medallion looking to see if the writing would reappear.

"That is the Angelic Script." Drindle spoke while urging the boy to put on the medallion. "Put it on boy, and try to touch your Vervane."

Lionel didn't quite understand what Drindle meant byAngelic script but he did as instructed. The medallion's chain slid over his head. Lionel closed his eyes and searched for his Vervane. It didn't take long for him to locate the lilac fluid. His ethereal figure hung over the surface of his lake. The dark shadowy figure from before was nowhere to be seen.

Lionel's figure floated above the fluid, he took a moment to take in his surroundings. The fluid was completely smooth, there was no waves or ripples to be seen. The fluid exuded a soft purple light. There was nothing but darkness beyond the large pool of liquid. 'I wonder what this is actually made of' Lionel thought. He descended towards the fluid. He was able to control his figure's position with a simple thought. He bent over and touched the vervane. He felt the same overwhelming flow of energy as before. His mind felt like it was growing rapidly. After a few seconds he removed his hand from the fluid and opened his eyes.

Drindle sat staring at the boy, while the wagon continued on the path. "Well did you touch it?"

Lionel smiled wide when he answered "Yeah, I feel like my mind grows when it touch the fluid."

Drindle arched an eyebrow "It should. The Vervane is your raw life force. Your ethereal figure represents your mind. When you touch the vervane, you're drawing your life force into your mind. All of that energy goes to increasing your mind's capacity, Until you start using magic"

Lionel thought for a few moments before speaking. "If the vervane is my life force won't I die if I use it? Or will I just shorten my life?"

"PHaahahah" The old man broke into a laugh "Ank, no. Your brain would turn to slime before you could even use half of it." The old man continued to laugh as Lionel sat with a confused look on his face. The old man continued to smile as he spoke "Let me explain your life force is always in flux..."

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As the duo continued on their path toward the capitol, they spoke about magic and various subjects related to its use. Lionel learned quite a lot from the old codger about the vervane and how it functioned.

Apparently The vervane functioned like a pool that would house all of a mages raw life force. The life force was the amount of total cellular and metabolic energy that the mage had. As a mage would use magic, they would draw on their metabolic energy reserves first, then move on to using their cellular energy.

The metabolic energy stemmed from the excess food that a person had in their body. Everyone would normally defecate out the unused portions of food. It was a natural process, but mages would use that energy from the food to power their magic. This energy was only a small portion of the entire vervane and would deplete quicker than the cellular energy.

Once the metabolic energy depleted though, the mage would start to draw on their cellular energy. Inside each of the mages cells were tiny powerhouses that would produce a more refined energy from the metabolic reserves. This refined energy was known as the cellular energy. It drove every process of life in the mage. Tapping into this refined energy would sap the cells of their ability to live. In each cell there would only be a small excess of energy that could be used before the cell reached a critical state and would die. If the mage continued to draw on their cellular energy they would destroy the cells in their body starting with their brain. Relying on cellular energy could result in death or as Drindle put it, a slime brain. Drindle told Lionel never to rely on cellular energy or he could become severely infirmed or possibly die. It wouldn't be worth it.

Lionel lay in the back of the wagon thinking about everything they had discussed. Drindle sat on the driver's bench and continued to push Harthling forward into the night. Drindle didn't think the beasts that attacked Astia would make it through the protections of Wastrial, but he wouldn't trust anything he didn't make himself. He was less worried now that Lionel had the cloak medallion on, but still wanted to put a little more distance between them and the beasts.

"Ank, get some sleep. In the morning we will continue to push on until at least noon. Then we will start your training using elemental magic." The old man spoke without turning around.

Lionel lay there even more excited. He couldn't wait to understand more about the world of magic. He laid there for what felt like a long time tossing and turning. He just couldn't sleep, his brain wouldn't stop thinking. He heard a ripping noise and looked around questioningly. A sudden stink assaulted his nose. Lionel bolted out of his bedroll, The stench of death and decay was overpowering in the air. He searched earnestly for the Gardgans. They were the only creature he knew capable of creating such a foul odor. He looked around in a craze trying to find the beasts. His eyes slipped over Drindle's shaking back. The old man turned toward the ruckus young boy. Lionel could swear there were tears in the old codger's eyes. He was crying, crying while his body convulsed. Dawning washed over Lionel as he realized the source of the smell was the decrepit old man's flatulence. His hands flew up to cover his violated nostrils. Drindle's insides must have died long ago to create such a horrendous stench. The old man's cackles finally broke free. He laughed uncontrollably. The boisterous noise finally broke through Lionel's initial paranoia.

"See if you were asleep you wouldn't even have smelled it." The old man chuckled out.

Lionel still holding his nose began to laugh as well, although more so in relief than in hilarity.