A Rain of Stars... Have You ever witnessed such beauty? Because if there ever was a sign- a phenomenon, this would be it...

 I realize that I seem to have created a bit of a context pattern for my entries. I assure You it has not been intentional, as I simply write whenever something occupies my mind. And when I do, as I assure You, I have never forgotten to, the feather, as if never leaving the bird, simply glides across the page on its own.

 And sometimes, the ink tells You some things You weren't supposed to know. Shows sides of people not known by the common populace...

 You should feel Honored!

 However, I digress! I haven't picked up this journal of mine in a while, as I've been quite absorbed by the necessity to survive. Winter has almost reached its end, and I have never been or felt better!

 Well, maybe that one time... But that's a tale for another day.

 For now, let me elaborate on the previous entry, as my handwriting was truly atrocious. If any of my Professors saw such criminality, my delicate Sorcerer hands might get ''disciplined'' once more. My knuckles ache just remembering that thin, flat, wooden instrument of ''re-education'', as they dubbed it.

 Now, to begin with, it has been about 5 weeks since then, so thinking back on it, it is curious how fast one can forget. But yes, I killed a pillager! A weak, starving man, who had chosen to raid my supply stash.

 That is not to say, I put my hands on him or poisoned the poor fool, no no no! He succumbed to suffocation due to a fractured spinal cord in his nape. He was pushed into a wall with incredibly vigorous kinetic force and one of his vertebrae shattered. As the connection to any organ or body muscle control was severed, his lungs lost the ability and failed to intake air. Thus, suffocation!

 I must admit, to see his eyes jitter in fear, as his mouth moves in breathless words affected me in ways hard to describe. Yet his facial features have long since faded from memory, as only the factual context of his passing has remained. My mind has become too distracted lately to bother with such trivialities, as a single lowest of lowborn's demise. Be it by my hand or any other.

 I must admit, however, it was quite an educational experience. It's as the saying goes: ''Knowledge Is Power!''

 Speaking of knowledge, I seem to have left out an explanation of the Sorcery- Astral Art Schools. You could call them, branching techniques and their teachings.

 There are 4 in total, and even though they are considered separate, so as to make an Astralists choice of expertise more comprehensive, the separation between the quartet is only contextual and vaguely theoretical. Each of them utilizes the same theoretic discoveries, core principles, and technique basis to draw forth the phenomena they practice.

 ''The School of Kinetics'' is the first one. These practitioners polish techniques to manipulate the forces, such as repulsion and attraction. Push and pull, in simple terms. The forces can be applied in any manner, thus one can move objects from a distance, raise a weight much greater than possible otherwise and there are stories of some mastering the art of flight. This all, of course, largely depends on one's Astral Body, as the more influence it has on the Astral Realm the more powerful the Art.

 As You might have guessed, the brigand was put to rest by one such technique.

 ''The School of Elements'' practices the manipulation of the 4 elements. Be it water, earth, air currents, or flames, the masters of the elements bend them all. Changing the shape of the earth below, by raising mountains or flattening them, in case they obstruct their path. Creating storms and rain, to quench droughts or, on the contrary, dispelling storms to minimize any potential destruction. Splitting the very sea, as to not moisten their new goatskin boots! And sparking flames, so one could stay warm or destroy their enemies. All 4 elements are at their disposal, however, conjunctions between Schools are clearly present. Air and mountains can be pushed by Kinetic forces and a flame can be ignited by any, from the ''School of Alchemy''.

 This brings me to the 3rd School.

 ''The School of Alchemy'' is a peculiar one. Not to be mistaken with just the practice of the science, The School studies ways to manipulate alchemical reactions, and perhaps create entirely new ones. This can range from something as basic as igniting a flame on one's finger or creating a devastating acid, to creating medicine, entirely new metals and even mending flesh, as our bodies seem to consist of the alchemical. Mind-blowing, I know!

 To be able to even start with these practices, one must have extensive knowledge of the natural alchemical reactions, yet You've probably already guessed as much.

 ''The School of Conjuration'' is one, whose practitioners are few and far in-between. It is known as the ''Prodigy practice'' as the sheer amount of Astral Body Volume necessary is rare to find, even among the talented. This School specializes in combining all the practices of other Schools and bringing forth things from the Astral Realm. It is almost a God-Like practice of conjuring matter out of nothing, yet as it already exists in the parallel realm, all one must do is to ''flip the cloth'' so to say. And this can work both ways, as there have been writings of Masters slipping into the other realm and traveling incredible distances in an instant. Such a practice, however, seems to have side effects of blindness and maddened ramblings. Yet still, to reach such heights of power is as worthy of an ambition as claiming a country's throne, if not more so!

 This, hopefully, should give You a good grasp of what one such as I can be capable of. I can almost see the goosebumps on Your arms, as You read this and imagine Yourself moving mountains or gliding amongst the birds! Just imagine, such power at your fingertips...

 Perhaps I should visit Miss Nancy tonight...

 Yet, as fascinating as the practices of the Astral Arts are, I have things to report. Particularly, my current predicament and how I got here.

 Let me begin from my last entry, as awkward of an opening as it may be.

After the misfortunate man had met his end, I had to take a moment to compose myself. A moment that might have lasted till dawn, but a moment nonetheless. During this enlightening time frame, I came to realize, that my Astral Body had grown, if only by about a quarter of a year. It might seem insignificant, as it is far from anything groundbreaking, in writing, at least. Yet, Astral bodies do not grow so separated from the average aging process. Unless presented with unnatural conditions, such as fluctuations between the realms. I speculate, sometime in the near future a World Scar may open nearby, and that has lit a flame within me! A drive I hadn't realized I lacked before.

 Also, just before sunrise, a companion wandered into my lodgings and has made himself quite comfortable beside my campfire.

 A black cat wandered in from the harsh wilderness. Seemingly from the shadows, completely undisturbed by the fresh corpse laying atop my- or now I guess our- rations. I only noticed him after my panicked scribblings.

 I have named him Serbus, after the revered, old, elitist fart that founded the University. And if You are questioning my naming sense, all I can say is that it seems to fit. The heterochromatic dark blue and light green eyes, combined with charcoal-colored fur seem knowledgable of something. Also, he seems to be extremely picky with his meals and barely does anything, besides sleeping and watching me.

 So I, for one, think the name fits like a glove!

 Speaking of companions, I encountered Velkos again. You remember. The one whose cart I... Negotiated and then, later found the man penniless, roaming the streets of Lockrifta. The same one!

 Well... Turns out his name isn't Velkos and he is not from Lorein. He also never was a soldier nor had any injuries for that matter, and never worked as a docksman. He is also a pretty bad shot, as I later learned.

 So it is fair to say, that my assessment had some slight errors. Nothing true drastic, though...

 His actual name is Arvel and he is a local from Lockrifta. And at the current moment, he is my underl- right-hand man!

 Also, he used to be an orphaned street urchin, who used to steal for a living. Until a local merchant took him in. He had worked for him his whole life, until, while on a delivery, his father figure had been murdered in a business-related conflict. This left him without a job, and the new guild head threw him back to the streets. Truly, a man who has experienced the circle of life first hand!

 I'm sure this time my assessment must be definite!

 Now, as for why the great Me would take someone as simpleminded as Arvel under my wing is quite meticulous, as our goals seem to have somewhat aligned. That is not to say, our negotiation was an easy one.

 He appeared before me at the brink of dawn, as I was disposing of the misfortunate scavenger's remains. Our verbal interaction went something along the lines of:

''There You are, Shithead!''

''Oh, Crap!'' And I started running.

 All things considered, sprinting around the lighthouse through near-knee-height snow is an excellent way to raise body temperature. Also, damage Your lungs, yet I am far from someone who'd succumb to something so insignificant.

 On the other hand, Arvel's legs seemed to have given in to hunger and fatigue, as on our third circle he dropped like a stone. Face first at that! I had, naturally, prevailed again!!

 Now, I could've let the beggared man perish, as it would have removed a certain obstacle from my town visits, however, this fellow still fascinated me. My unparalleled kindness overtook me, so instead of rolling a corpse off the cliff, into the half-frozen sea, I chose to save a life instead. It was undoubtedly a wise decision, yet the freezing hour I spent dragging Arvel toward the warmth of my fire, and mind You, he seemed neither malnourished nor exasperated, as the sheer amount of farm animal body parts I was called could fill these pages with ease.

 What's worse, Serbus didn't help in the slightest, watching us with uninterest, as a wide stretch took up most of my fur bedding.

 Why would he? He is a cat...

 After returning from the brink, the shivering man helped himself to my rations, without a slick of manners. I would have been offended, would I not understand where he had come from, as I myself had been humbled prior.

 After rejuvenation, I was spared no shortage of complaints, as to why I had better living conditions than him and that I'm no better than a thief. To be honest, his attitude made me reconsider my decision to save him, until his anger turned into desperation, as he broke down. He still swore like a sailor, yet the cracking of his voice with the occasional tear made the whole spectacle very... awkward, to say the least.

 He told me how I am apparently the reason for his unemployment and near demise, and that I should have been the one to nearly freeze out there. He also whined about being kicked from all lodgings, due to ''just borrowing'' food and alcohol, and how I was somehow to blame for that.

 I think he was sorely overreacting and throughout all of his troubled tales, which I never asked for mind You, he kept eating my food. I was about to throw some sass at the fellow, yet finally, a ''Thank You!'' crossed his lips.

 Truly, what a simple individual...

 Nevertheless, that sparked an idea in my mind, as to how I could raise my wealth and living conditions. Thus, I proposed a partnership, which he accepted with glee! Though he showed his glee with a fairly sour expression. I don't judge, we don't share a face, why would we have the same expression.

 That is how a truly magnificent friendship was born! He won't admit it though.

 Our first order of business, after Arvel had warmed his limbs, was to dispose of the corpse lying in the snow. Believe it or not, moving a body as a pair is easier than alone. We flung the corpse off the cliff overlooking Lockrifta and its seaside, yet even though we aimed at the sea, the carcass fell on an ice block. I suspect this would still work out, as the thawing will let it sink anyway, or, in case he is discovered beforehand, it would look like a freak accident. In addition, there is no evidence of him coming to my residence, as the snowstorm, that very evening, covered any tracks he might have left.

 Now, You might be curious as to what I had planned with Arvel.

If not, too bad! I'm telling You anyway.

 As You might have surmised, with the recent Inquisitor's arrival, The Church of Fraust has made itself quite present in Lockrifta. Their influence is spreading like wildfire- or, I guess Holy fire- and the prayers to their Prophet are now both in greeting and song. With such a successful integration, the religious filth has requested more envoys to arrive and set up a base of operations in Lord Heimerichs realm. With several wagons full of not only religious ambassadors and priests but also supplies, this presents an opportunity! Especially with them trying to expand to other hamlets, especially as the disease seems to spread with rising inertia. They wish to share their Prophets, Frausts Healing Word!

 As well as Lockrifta's guilds have taken this opportunity to ship their goods, inflating the prices as the presence of The Church has given them such opportunity. Adding the fact, that winter is coming to an end, the ships have already begun overseas trade, the goods will be flowing like never before!

 As much as I ridicule those, who would rather put their fate and lives into a dead man's cult, they do bring plentiful opportunity with them.

 So my plan was to ''borrow'' a small number of goods from each envoy and shipment, so as to survive and grow my potential wealth. And with the help of Arvel, this plan would be a success, as he himself had a bone to pick with both, the religious nuts and his previous employers!

 ''But how can 1 mere man and a Sorcerer fend off squadrons of Paladins and shipment guards?'' You may ask.

 The answer is simple!

 Even though I could have done this alone, without a hitch, having an ally is certainly beneficial. And the method we applied is the same as when I occupied a certain someone's cart.

 Problem was, I lacked the ingredients and the alchemy station for such brewing. Yet, do not worry, as my ingenious mind came up with an ''on the spot'' recipe.