Chapter 7: Life in the New Normal
Thane always had a strong sense of justice and a desire to help people. It was what would lead him to be called a hero one day. Unfortunately he also had a severe flaw that most heroic individuals possess: He valued the lives of others higher than his own.
This flaw is the reason that there are so few heroes. Most would-be heroes die before they can receive the title. Even when they come close to death, they tend not to learn from their mistakes, since they don’t care if they get hurt as long as others are safe. While most people would consider a near death experience harrowing and life changing, Thane simply continued on as if nothing happened. He had a new life and he was eager to experience it.
I suppose part of the reason would be that he was used to painfully blacking out from trying to perfect his enhancement technique.
Luckily it would be some time before Thane would be fighting again. Plenty of time for him to think upon the lessons he never learned. It is only when other people get hurt or killed due to their actions, or their failure to act, that a hero would start to feel regret.
The group made their way back to their new home, and became adjusted to their new daily life. If they were back in Omeric they would be preparing for harvest in a few weeks, followed by toiling away in the fields and mill for a few more. Instead they would be celebrating a victory in high spirits, training to fight with new people, and having an expert in magic train them to use stronger and more effective magic. They would make new friends, go to a city for the first time, see more of the world and things they had only heard of before.
They would also meet dangerous new enemies and creatures darker than they could have imagined.
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Thane
When thane woke up he ached all over. The ribs were only bruised now instead of broken, but the pain still burned like the hells. They were at an Inn in the small town near the orc settlement, split into two rooms. He heard Mahs chuckle at his misfortune as he put on some light clothing, grunting in pain the entire time.
He made his way to the girls room and knocked on the door. When he realized the room was empty he went outside to look for Kisha. The amount of healing he could do was limited to circulating mana in order to make his natural healing happen faster. It took a Theurge or someone who could use nature magic to perform true healing.
When he found here she was smiling embarrassed in front of an old man who seemed to be thanking her with two small children clinging to her legs. She seemed relieved when she saw Thane approach. “Sorry guys, but I have to help my friend here. He hurt himself fighting the Orcs yesterday.”
“But we want to see more!” the children complained. She gave them a few words that Thane couldn’t hear before saying goodbye and joining Thane.
“What was that about?” he asked.
“The old man needed help setting up a winter herb garden. I helped clean up the stones from the ground. Since I used magic, the kids passing by saw the ground start spitting up rocks and wanted me to show them more.”
“I hope you have enough left to heal me, I am in some serious pain here. You know I got hit with a boulder right?”
She rolled her eyes and placed her hand on his chest to start healing. When the mana started to flow between them she spoke “We did the right thing you know. Even if it was risky. These people, this town was close to getting destroyed. If we would have waited there is no telling if we would have gotten back in time.”
“I know.” Thane replied.
“Sarah said you were reckless, that you risked your life to help someone you didn’t know when you should have left the giant behind. I’m glad you didn’t.”
“How is the big guy doing? Have you seen Stone this morning?”
“He followed Sarah back to the orc village. She wanted to finish any survivors and see if there was anything of value to salvage. We have that orc mage’s staff. It’s probably valuable but we’ll need Gailwyn to take a look at it.”
When Kisha was finished he stretched out, testing his movement to make sure everything was back to normal. He rubbed his neck.
“I took care of that bruise as well. It was a pretty nasty purple color.”
“Thanks.”
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They walked around the town for a while until Stone and Sarah returned with what they could salvage. There was very little valuable, so it was more like a collection of scrap metal with a few weapons that were still in a usable condition.
True to his word, Stone accompanied them on their trip home, but Liam hadn’t been seen since they returned to town the night before. Despite not having a horse, mostly because he would crush any horse he attempted to ride, Stone managed to keep up quite well. His long legs allowed him to jog next to them as they rode, and his training allowed him to keep up the pace for hours without tiring.
They arrived at the road leading up to the gate around the same time as Harland’s group. The three of them looked exhausted and were guiding an extra horse but Lily and Bart managed to perk up a bit when they saw Thane and his group ride up next to them.
“So what were you guys doing?” asked Bart.
“Orc hunting, you?”
“Ugh, Samson wanted to investigate where we found those tiny Lizard Men”
“Leios” corrected Harland.
“Yeah those. We ran around to every town and cave around the area non stop until Samson was satisfied. Found a few more of the little guys but nothing big. The worst part is once that mage had everything he needed, he just teleported himself back and left us to ride.”
“Wasn’t he part of the elite team, like Liam? Why are they following our groups around?”
“Oh, their Theurge, the priestess, got called back on some church business so they took a break. Samson and Liam are here helping out. Their tracker is missing though, don’t know where he went.” He paused for a moment trying to think of something to keep the conversation going. “By the way, how long have you guys known each other?”
“Pretty much our entire lives.” Thane replied. “Castor had to watch over all four of us the past several years, so it’s like we’re family.”
“Hmm…” Since the pace had slowed, Stone was now walking casually with the team and Bart introduced himself. “My name is Bartholemew but everyone just calls me Bart. Did you join up with these guys?”
“I am Stone” he replied, “Yes, I am protecting these children.”
“Are you from the south? A part of the Miol Car tribe?”
He nodded, “You know my people?”
“My dad transports iron down there. His boss would occasionally trade it for salt and fish.”
“Hmmm.” Stone began to rub his chin but didn’t continue the conversation, and soon the two groups arrived at the Stone Fox Fortress.
“Hey, come on down to the common area in the keep once you are finished giving your report. We’ll be resting there for a while.”
“You’re here!” Harland shouted, surprising the others next to him. He jumped off his horse and ran over to a pile of goods that had just been delivered. He wrapped his arms around a large barrel and was rubbing his cheek against it like it was some long lost lover.
“Oh, it looks like his wine is here.” he turned to the group to give one last farewell, “Oh, and don’t worry about that mage woman staring you down while you talk. She is just making sure you don’t lie.”
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When Thane and Sarah gave the report, Marcus was obviously shocked. He wasn’t expecting to hear a report like this, and the description of the new species of Orc had him especially concerned. When Sarah gave a tally of all the Orcs and Goblins that were slain, he looked to Gailwyn for confirmation. When she gave a nod of affirmation he shook his head trying to process what had transpired.
“That is quite a bit of bounty that the Barony owes you. Unfortunately payment will be a bit delayed. I can give a portion of it to you in a few days, but you won’t be getting the rest until things are under control in the Baron’s household.”
“I understand. Is there anything else you needed from us?”
“No, I need a bit of time to think about all I learned today. Do what you will. With Twinford silent it might be a while before I have another task for you.”
Gailwyn cleared her throat to get Thane’s attention. “Thane, could you come with me and meet up with your friends later?”
He looked to his friends and confirmed it was ok before he replied. “Lead on.”
They walked down the halls towards Gailwyn’s study and she asked “Thane, did you use elemental mana recently?”
“Yes, I used a fireball spell to attack a clustered group of orcs. It was quite draining.”
She paused and blinked a few times trying to piece together what he said before continuing, “I think I know why it was draining. You keep surprising me but it has become fairly obvious that you have never had a proper tutor. When it comes to magic, the way you do things is strange sometimes.” She opened the door to her study and continued as they entered. “Compared to that lightning bolt you tried to fire off at Lance earlier, how draining was the fireball?”
“Probably three times as draining.”
She nodded, “As I expected. You are supposed to shape the Aether into fire rather than conjuring existing fire. I’ll teach you the proper method later. Until then let me take a look at you.” She opened up her book and looked at Thane through the screen. “Are you in any pain? Do you have a headache that seems to be spread out rather than in a specific location?”
“No not at all.”
“You should have been in pain the moment you tapped into the elemental planes to draw out fire. You still had that empyrean mana floating around in you. I forgot to purge it before you left last time.”
“What?”
“Do you know why mages focus their studies not only to the types of magic they cast, but the type of mana they use?” When Thane shook his head no she continued. “Imagine it is like cooking. When you cook with oil a bit of the oil sticks around in the pan, making it a bit easier to cook with less oil the next time. So the more they cook, or cast spells, the easier the mana flows. Now imagine that if you mixed different types of oil, it would damage the pan. So an elementalist will only ever use mana from the elemental planes and never touch Aether ever again. The mana in the body could be purged, allowing a mage to use a different type of mana without pain, but then all the effort of coating the pan in the first place would be wasted. The ease of mana channeling could be lost and it could set the mage back weeks or even years. I purged the chthonic mana out of your body before we did the experiment last time. I figured it would be healthier for you anyway.”
Thane was deep in thought at the concept of purging mana.
“Well, like I said, mixing two types of mana tends to damage the pan, or in this case your body. But you have no damage at all and aren’t in any pain. Your body must be very adaptable when it comes to channeling mana.”
She was right of course, which is why he was able to survive his fathers technique. He wondered if she could help him with it, but Castor had warned him to keep it quiet. Instead he asked one more question. “Could you tell me more about purging mana and teach me how to do it?”
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