Kapitel 23: Understanding
"You shouldn't say something like that" Ann says shaking her head with a tiny smile on her face "Knowing the King, he didn't have a choice"
She reaches out to him but the almost feral eyes Das gives her make her stop and retrieve her hand, it was like trying to touch an abused dog and while he seemed more collected about the topic than Drachen, she had a feeling if she pushed too much he too, would lash out.
"I would rather speak no more about this, and I ask you to refrain from mentioning it to Drachen" Das turns around and looks at the forests around the river "DRACHEN!!"
He calls out to her a couple of times and the fairy hears him, she growls in frustration and stands up from the ground.
"I have to move on, I can't drag him to my own conflicts" She thinks to herself, then scrambles her hair with her hands "By Irthis! Now I feel so embarrassed!!" She covers her face that now is reddened not by anger, but shame.
She looks ahead and sees the back of the old archmage, his entire body hidden beneath the brown and humble cloak, the hood down showing his short, a little messy, black hair, he holds the staff with his left hand, showing how his entire arm is bandaged. He has a full beard visible even from behind.
He stands there and she knows, it isn't really him.
"I will do better, I promise" She whispers and turns around, looking at the tree "I just wish you were here now"
Drachen takes flight, her body going through the tree and its leaves as if she was just the breeze. Soon she sees Das and Ann and flies down to meet them. However, instead of going to Das's side, she approaches Ann taking her by surprise.
"Listen, I'm sorry for trying to...crush to death" She folds her arms and while she talks to Ann, her eyes stare at nothing to her side "That sounds very bad when I say it out loud"
"That sounds very bad no matter how you say it" Ann says flashing a smile at her before bowing her head deeply "I'm the one who is sorry, I didn't know about the horrible circumstances of what happened to the last archmage. I hope both of you can forgive me"
Drachen raises both hands and shakes her head, looking utterly defeated.
"I'm the one who is thousands of years old here, so don't apologize for something I did wrong" She then turns and looks at the blackened field of dry flowers and burnt ground at a distance "I cared deeply for the previous archmage, and I worry that I may lose Das at any moment now that all these things I have never known are appearing" She then looks at the young archmage "I will take your training seriously, for real this time "Her eyes turn to Ann "And the decision of learning necromancy, Is his to take, not mine"
Das is the one that now seems surprised, he and the fairy lock eyes for a moment and she flies to him, embarrassing him in a sudden hug that makes him visible embarrassed while Ann looks away to try and ease his pain.
"A-Alright, what has gotten to you now?" He says out loud, still not returning the hug.
"I kinda felt like it" Drachen says and lets go of him "Who do you wanna train with first?" She asks flying away and standing next to Ann.
Das looks at her mentor and teacher with great pride.
"I won't learn necromancy, Ann" He says looking at her, he then turns to the damaged field and walks up to it, staff in hand "I will however ask you to teach me all about it, so I think is better to say I won't PRACTICE it, but I want to learn how it works, the spells it uses, and more importantly, its weaknesses. I already know one of them"
Das stops right in front of the wounded land and lifts his staff to the sky, then, a beam of light shines down on the dead plot of land, and the flowers progressively return to how they were just a few minutes ago, the grass regrows from both dry and scorched land until the place looks lively and untouched once again.
He then lowers his staff and looks at his free hand.
"Before I went to the village I was terrified of taking a life "He turns to the two women who now stand closer to him "And even if I have already done so, I don't think I will ever grow used to it" He looks directly at Ann, waiting to hear what she has to say.
"That is a very prudent and cautious decision, I think it's the right one, you won't put yourself at risk but you will be getting all the knowledge needed to better fight against the phantom " She then turns around and begins walking back to the other side of the river "I will continue reading my book then! I left it somewhere near the rock"
Das looks at her walking away and feels relieved that things got solved, however, the whimpering of Drachen draws his attention and he sees her with both hands on her cheeks, a big, thin smile, and her eyes unusually round and wide.
"You sound so mature now!~ I'm so proud of you!"She says clearly containing tears of joy.
"Hey, you make it seem I have never been matured at all" Das approaches her and gives her a small smile "Now, will you teach me or will you nap?"
"YOU ARE SO HANDSOME!!" She yells squeezing his cheek but then flies away and speaks before he can say anything "Let's continue! I want you to better understand the element you are closest with, so ready your staff"
Das, who strokes his red cheek with his hand, nods and lets the mana flow within him once again, his eyes turning white as the orb of the staff glows with the powerful energy being stored in it.
"I want you to become better at what you are already good at, so we will go in deep on pyromancy and vitamancy, naturally, we work on your pyromancy until you can create a beam without the staff!"
"How do I do that?"
"well..."
Ann reaches the edge of the river, now running free again with some chunks of ice still noticeable big drifting on the water far away from view. She looks over her shoulder and sees Drachen instructing Das, he holds both his staff and a free hand in front of him while the fairy levitates next to him imitating his pose and speaking to him, teaching him.
She looks down at the running water, she can't see the bottom of the river, but she can see herself.
"What are you doing?" The young, child voice of the phantom asks.
Next to her reflection, the phantom joins, but not him as the man who torched a village, but as a young child, his wavy hair reaching his shoulders and dressing on a common green tunic and brown pants.
"Looking at oneself is important when you feel lost, I have done it for so long it's become a little bit of a habit" She says, smiling at the child and messing his hair, he giggles.
"But you are not lost!" He says grabbing her hand with both of his, keeping her attached to his head.
"You are right, I'm not" She thinks to herself.
Then a piece of ice passes through her reflection and takes away the child, leaving in its place the phantom made now a man, his body hidden beneath the black cloak.
His whole expression, the way his eyebrows rest atop his eyes, slightly pointing down, the long closed-mouthed smile he always has conveying a sense of superiority and almost pity at her. How is it she never saw it coming?
Ann raises her head and looks forward, the other side of the river waits for her. She takes a step forward but instead of making her feet wet, the water freezes creating a platform for her to step on.
She puts one step in front of the other in an almost rhythmical way, and each time the water freezes allowing her passage through the river until she reaches the other side.
A small fire beam is shot from Das's open palm, leaving the young archmage surprised and excited while the fairy nearby looks at him deeply pleased.
"But, what is the true point of the staff if I can do these types of things on my own?" Das asks her looking at her with doubt in his eyes.
"The staff makes it much easier for you, in truth, that's all it does. If you study for long enough and grow more powerful, you may one day not need the staff at all, that's why we fairies never needed such objects, we are THE masters of magic after all"
"Why is it then you can't do any of the more advanced spells?"
"Hush! It's not time for questioning, you wanted to learn so you will learn! Now shoot as many fire beams as you can!" She then raises a large boulder off the ground several meters in front of Das "Hit it until it becomes magma!"
Das turns his attention to his new opponent and begins to shoot his weak fire beam multiple times at it.
Hours passed and soon enough, night had come. They returned to the palace and Das took a bath after Ann had done so, then, he went to the bridge to speak to her and found her leaning on the stone handrail, looking at the city.
"I have hidden away from cities for the most part of my life, I'm still amazed by how it looks from up here" She says resting her chin on her hand.
He rests a hand on the handrail and looks over as well, the streets are mostly empty, now the busiest parts of the city are in the bars and houses, it's far quieter, and paired with the soft breeze of spring, it makes Das yawn.
The countless dim orange lights that come from the houses and the fires of the braziers on the streets make it seem almost like a reflection of the night sky. Das looks up and sees them, the stars shining on the cloudless sky above them.
"Do you think we are looking at another world from their sky at night? Every star a fire, while they look at us and think we are stars" Das says pointing up, making Ann look at them as well.
"I had never thought about that, the black space between them must be the forest and mountains, the deserts still untouched by whatever civilizations lay there" She looks at Das "Do you think they also have magic? or war?"
"I don't know, but I guess I could try to ask them next time I fly"
They laugh softly and she punches his arm lightly.
"Didn't you had an idea of what are the stars? Before I told you mine"
"Not really, but now I wanna have one. I never thought about why the sky looks the way it does at night" She then stands up straight and away from the handrail "And you, archmage, have other things to think about. Like your first lessons in necromancy"
"Oh, right. I had forgotten about it" Das runs his hand through his hair.
"Let's go to your little birdcage then! The sooner we begin, the better!" Ann points at the door and waits for Das to move.
He reluctantly steps away from the handrail and walks up to the tower, Ann following him close behind.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
PenguinSam64
PenguinSam64 I like watching the city I live in from my balcony very early in the morning or very late at night. I live on a second floor so is not like I have a full view of the entire place, but I still enjoy what little I can see.
As well as the silence of such hours, I don't really like noise.
Unless it is a sick beat, then I'm all in for it.
Hope your day is going swell!
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