With a tired groan Alvar, after untying the rope around his torso, fell backwards onto his back, Sjorn sitting with a satisfied grin at the side of the training field all the while.
"Well done, lad! You are free to leave. I'll see you tomorrow with renewed vigor, hehehe" Sjorn said after which he stood up and ,while taking the cow by the reins, left the training grounds.
Alvar meanwhile was still laying there on the dusty ground, panting and vegetating in his own world of sweat and burning muscles, gazing up at the clear blue sky. Even though he was tired as hell Alvar couldn't deny that he enjoyed pushing his body to the limit, especially since his mind, every time after training, was echoing in complete silence, something he had yearned for the last week.
After a few minutes of just laying there and doing nothing but staring at the wandering clouds up above in the sky Alvar wiped his face down with both of his hands in order to wake up from his daydreaming and under groans and curses pushed his dead tired body up once again.
While leaving the training grounds, like a mummy that had learned to walk after being nothing but a corpse for centuries, Alvar's mind began to work once again as a slight feeling of dread and apprehension made itself known inside his guts. After all he still had the meeting with Isolde, something he had tried to push vehemently to the back of his mind while training.
Letting out a breath of mental fatigue Alvar mustered up the last drags of motivation found inside himself and began to look for something positive about his soon to be meeting with the former Havroune, no matter how hard a task that may be.
While his rational mind was trying to poke holes into the emotional wall he had built around his vision his feet had carried him away on their own until he came to a stop right before the great hall, not sure how he got there so fast without paying attention to where he was going.
'Ugh, let's get this over with…' Alvar thought to himself and marched right up to the entrance gates that lead into the great hall where he soon found the old Havroune sitting on a wooden bank at one wall from where she seemed to observe the bustling of Hoelbrak in peace.
With an intake of air for preparation Alvar walked over to the old woman who took notice of him right away and smiled at him warmly after doing so.
"Hello, I'm Alvar. I'm here for—" Alvar began though was interrupted by her old yet still firm voice, stopping Alvar in his tracks as if he had stumbled over a stray tree branch.
"I know who you are and why you are here young Alvar. After all I'm the one that asked your grandparents to send you to me." She said, stunning Alvar a little bit.
"Errr, what? I thought my grandparents deci—" Alvar once again made to speak and once again was interrupted by the granny that had by then stood up and begun walking around Alvar in circles, mustering him all the while.
"Yes, yes, your grandparents decided indeed for you to come here though only after I brought up the topic to them. After all it doesn't happen every day that a child is born with the affinity to traverse the mists, let alone without being taken along by another Havroune first to show them the way!" She spoke, stumping Alvar once again.
Alvar of course had seen and heard Isolde speak often enough in the past but right at this moment her demeanour was such a 180 degree turn that he couldn't make heads or tails of the granny. Was her portrayal every time he heard her tell tales and stories of the past nothing but a fabrication to cater to the minds of children? It was indeed a possibility.
"Come, let's begin. After all it is rather late already and I'm not as young and energetic as I used to be in the past!" Isolde spoke after which she turned around on the spot and began to march into the great hall that housed rooms and living quarters for those that had assumed roles and responsibilities of leaders and advisors for their people.
In the time span of a few minutes the duo had crossed through the humongous great hall, gathering place for their people, and entered a corridor that was considerably less huge in comparison. The passage they had entered after crossing through another wooden gate, guarded by four grim looking Norn in full regalia, looked a little bit eerie to Alvar.
Wooden walls stretched into the distance framed by the flickering of torch lights which in turn cast a dim and nearly authoritative touch upon the corridor.
Soon after the two had ventured into the silent passage Isolde stopped before another door, which Alvar thought to be rather random as he couldn't make out any difference to the other ones in the passage, and began to mumble a few words too silent for Alvar to hear.
As soon as she finished her whispering the doorframe glowed orange for a second before the glow subsided and Isolde pushed open the door, leaving a wide eyed Alvar standing in the doorway.
"Was that magic?" He asked in wonder as he had never seen something like that, the trial of the raven aside of course.
"Just a simple barrier to make sure nobody without permission can enter my quarters. Now step inside already, will you?" Isolde said, prompting Alvar to snap out of his wonders and stepping inside the quarters, while Isolde went about lighting candles and igniting the bonfire.
While she was doing so Alvar was busy mustering the living quarters of the oldest living Havroune in curiosity. Her room was homely, to say the least. Carpets of different colours and patterns hung on the walls, to shield from the cold of the winter no doubt, and closets filled with books and scrolls of various sizes and colours stood in some corners of the room, all tinted in the warm light of the now flickering flames of bonfire and candles.
"Take a seat, young Alvar." Isolde said after which she sat down first and motioned for Alvar to sit down opposite her, which he did without preamble.
"How are you coping with your vision?" Isolde asked while she poured the two some tea, her question causing Alvar's stomach to drop instantly. After which he took a calming breath and began to formulate his answer.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter :-)
While taking a sip from the hot tea Isolde had poured the two into ceramic bowls instead of glasses or horns Alvar with a slightly sour expression on his face thought on how to best answer that question without offending the old woman, after all she had no fault of her own for what he had seen that night. Instead she had helped him, for which he should really be grateful. Still, her question felt like sticking a finger covered with salt into an open wound and Alvar couldn't help himself but grimace at the dark thoughts that began to plague his mind once again.
"I'm dealing with it, somehow. The last week was…painful to say the least." He answered after a while to which Isolde nodded in understanding.
"Did you have any further visions or dreams in that time?" She asked back while she also took a sip from her bowl filled with tea, her eyes though never leaving Alvar's face for even a second.
"No, not that I know of. My sleep has been either peaceful or disturbed by nightmares of that night." Alvar replied while his face returned to its normal state, calming the bubbling anger inside himself down with each sip of tea he took.
"Good. When I came to your home that night I put a preventive barrier into your mind to shield you from the mists and it seems my precaution has paid off. Though I am sorry that I could not do anything about the nightmares as they are natural and cannot be controlled by any kind of magic that I possess…" Isolde replied with a sigh while a sad smile began to form on her face which in turn brought a thankful warmth to Alvar as he hadn't known that she had done that for him.
"Thank you, for helping me that night I mean. I didn't know that you put a barrier in my head though. Will it stay there indefinitely?" Alvar asked after a second of silence between the two to which Isolde only nodded like it was no problem for her.
"No, the barrier as I said is only preventive. That is one of the main reasons why I asked your grandparents to send you to me as you need some guidance in shielding your mind from the mists or you will lose yourself in them sooner or later." Isolde said, causing Alvar to finally understand what this whole meeting was about. Thus, after hearing and understanding what the old Havroune meant Alvar couldn't help but let out a breath of relieve.
"So, how are we going to do this then? Are you going to cast another barrier into my mind or something?" Alvar asked now curious after the relieve had taken a significant burden filled with apprehension from his shoulders that had weighed on his mind like a pair of boulders.
"No, that wouldn't help in the long run. You will need to learn how to do so of your own. Tell me, have you received any instructions on mana manipulation yet?" Isolde asked to which Alvar shook his head in denial.
"Figured as much. Warriors usually learn about mana manipulation a lot later then caster professions for example. Understandably so." Isolde continued, though her words confused Alvar a little bit, causing him to ask her what she meant.
"How so? I mean mana manipulation is just another basic isn't it? Why can the caster professions learn about it and the warriors can't?"
"Pff, don't be so naïve, Alvar! Mana manipulation is one of the most difficult things you will ever encounter in your whole life! Yes, the basics are learned by the caster professions early but only because their variation of mana manipulation is a lot less lethal then the warriors! But I suppose, since you don't know anything about mana manipulation yet, it wouldn't harm to tell you a little bit about it, if only to curb that foolish notion you have about mana manipulation being easy." Isolde spoke with a little condescension tinting her voice at the utter foolishness Alvar had shown by his words, which in turn caused Alvar's cheeks to tinge red in embarrassment.
"As you may know every humanoid being possesses mana in their core, suffusing and nurturing our minds and body throughout our lives. Some people never interact with the mana in their bodies on a conscious level while others do so. Some amongst those that begin to interact with their mana manage to hone their bodies and minds to unprecedented levels, pushing their bodies to a level where they can even prolong their lifespan for a couple years or sharpen their minds to comprehend mysteries about the world that would otherwise be beyond their understanding. That is how the elementalists, necromancers and mesmers came to be for example.
What many people don't know is that, besides the mana in their bodies, there is mana in literally everything around us. When you begin to learn mana manipulation you start by interacting with the mana inside your body. Only when you have established a certain level of understanding about how mana works are you then allowed to interact with the mana around you." Isolde narrated while Alvar sat there, opposite of the old Havroune, with a fascinated expression on his face.
"I get all that but what I don't understand is: why are there different professions if mana manipulation is the same for everyone in the first place? I mean, if I learn mana manipulation now and am taught how to become a warrior then why can't I just conjure a fireball for example like how the elementalists are doing?" Alvar asked with confusion, as that question had martyred his mind since the first day he had heard about mana manipulation.
"Ahh, that is a good question and not completely without logic. After all I just told you that mana manipulation is rather neutral as mana suffuses everything in the world. Your idea would be valid if we humanoids consisted of pure mana only. Then you would be correct. But we don't. We are limited by our bodies in more than one way and thus, in order to draw upon the mana inside and outside of us, need some kind of stimulation which enables us to draw on the mana.
For an elementalist for example you would gain a deep understanding of fire for example, after studying its components, nature and so on. As soon as you combine that knowledge with your mana it naturally becomes a flame once it leaves your hand.
That is the first limitation our body has when it comes to mana manipulation. Instinct. As soon as we reach a certain point in our training our mana naturally becomes the one thing we have gained an understanding of, or something similar in the other profession's cases.
The next limitation is none other than time. We simply do not have the time to learn about all that the different professions have to offer without becoming a master of none. You could try to master more then one but believe me when I say that it would be a waste of your life time." Isolde finished and Alvar couldn't help but mull over her words after which he agreed whole heartedly with her.
"So, how will we go about putting that barrier in my head?" Alvar asked after a minute of contemplative silence between the two, causing Isolde to smile knowingly before she put a hand on Alvar's head, bringing darkness down upon him after which he slumped over backwards and knew no more.
Hope the information was not too boring as I tried to make it a little bit more interesting and understandable for you.
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