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story, side characters, art, etc (c) @MicahFox\n\nEditor (c) @MaverickSkye\n\n[center]\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/s/1698288]PREVIOUS CHAPTER[/url] / [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/1318556]FIRST[/url] / NEXT CHAPTER[/center][center]\n\n[color=#729fcf][center]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n[url=http://ko-fi.com/winterthefox][u]Support me on Ko-Fi![/u][/url]\n----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center][/color]\n\nIm probably going to miss a LOT of keywords in this story, any help filling them is appreciated :3","description_bbcode_parsed":"Magistasia story, side characters, art, etc (c) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Im probably going to miss a LOT of keywords in this story, any help filling them is appreciated :3
","writing":"[center][b][u]Chapter 15\nReminiscence[/u][/b][/center]\n\nLiam followed the narrow dirt path that led from the village, pushing past a few overgrown bushes and rustling fireflies into the night air. Even though he felt the tug of sleep calling him, Liam’s mind was far too restless. Aside from their meeting in the morning, the day was mostly uneventful, and yet Liam could not stop thinking about the situations they were in, and hoped taking a walk around the druidic village outskirts would help clear his mind. \n\nThe young fox remembered Kevin mentioning a large pond somewhere in this direction, and that it was a peaceful place to sit and think.\n\nSoon enough, Liam found the trees part along the path and make way to a large clearing where indeed rested the pond Kevin had mentioned. He found himself in awe as he looked out over the water. The dirt path that had led him here seemed to continue, snaking its way out into the middle of the water itself. Reeds of tall grass highlighted the beginning of the path, which was lined entirely with small rocks placed neatly at the water’s edges. With every step, more fireflies took to the sky from the reeds, their lights reflecting off the undisturbed surface of the water. \n\nThe further he followed the path, he began to notice blue lights floating along with the yellow glow of the flying insects. The further he went the more of these blue fireflies appeared, until the sky and water’s became a sea of shimmering lights, as if the very stars of the night had come down to greet the boy. He found himself suddenly in the middle of the small island at the center of the pond, surrounded on all sides by the flickering blue lights. The bugs seemed to clear away from the center of the small island, and almost appeared to be slowly circling around it. \n\nHe found himself staring up at a large stone monument, held up by a single large root that coiled from the ground and entangled the rock. Along the flat surface of the large stone, writing began to form along its surface seemingly from this air, the carved writing coming to life with a blue magic aura.\n\nLiam squinted and stepped closer, finding the elegant swirling text to be in a language he could not understand. He recognised a symbol however, just at the top of the stone face above the inscription. Liam scrambled to his pack and dug out his father’s spellbook, turning to a page that contained a diagram of a spell circle with six symbols each surrounded by smaller circles. Liam ran a finger over one symbol and looked at the one one the stone. He gasped quietly, they matched to the very last detail. The symbol was shaped almost like the number four but with slanting curves and in the upper right of the symbol was a smaller circle.\n\n“Terus…” Liam read aloud to himself. “The element of the land.”\n\n“Correct, young one.” A voice said behind him, making the startled young fox turn quickly.\n\n“Chief Arracus!” Liam exclaimed.\n\n“Hahaha, sorry for sneaking up on you...I merely was out for a midnight stroll you see, and it would seem you are as well.” The chief chuckled.\n\n“Y-yeah… I guess I have a lot I been thinking about.” Liam said turning back to face the stone inscription.\nChief Arracus stepped forward to Liam’s side.\n\n“I assume it has to do with your magical ability, the problems that have arisen as of late around the woods, or the masked mage?”\n\nLiam stared up at the old rabbit, and nodded. “Yeah, all of that really. How did you know?”\n\n“Heh, I have been around for a long time. There are things an old man like me can just tell.” Arracus chuckled, stepping closer to the uprooted stone face and tracing his fingers along the glowing letters. “I once knew a young boy about your age who shared similar problems, he took a walk just like you did, and found this very same monument to be the most exciting thing he had seen in his life, heheh. He’d spend day in day out studying this rock as if it were some great mystery that needed to be solved.”\n\nLiam looked up at the rock as he listened to the chief’s story, his eyes lighting up as the blue fireflies surrounded the old druid casting them in an azure glow.\n\n“What is it then?” Liam spoke up.\n\n“Hahaha! If only that boy asked the very same question back then! This monument merely holds the secret code of our order, written only in a language known to our sect, and the Mage’s College. The symbol, as you astutely recognized, is the symbol of the earthen element, Terus. This element is the key to our magic, and allows us to shape the world around us. To us, this element is our power, and the other five elements are merely what we use to shape our spells.”\n\n“Wait, does that mean you can use more than one element at once!?” Liam blurted in surprise.\n\n“Pfahaha! Ahhh… Of course, Liam. All spells are more than just a single element, whether you know it or not. For instance, the frost spells you have been casting are of the Hydris element, water, ice, cooling, and the like. But how do you think such a things happen without other factors? A Hydris spell is but still water, a Terus spell is but growing grass, but to shape these to your will requires more than just their own elements, sometimes even in the smallest amounts that it requires no thought to do so.”\n\n“So… I’ve always been using more than Hydris magic to cast my frost spell, without knowing it?” Liam asked.\n\n“Exactly! That particular spell is quite minor, and therefore requires no effort to use. Though I must ask, have you not tried using more than just that single spell, young one?” The chief inquired, turning to Liam.\n\n“Er… Well, I… I’m scared to try casting anything else…” Liam muttered, rather embarrassed to admit.\n\n“Hm? Why is that?”\n\n“Well, something always goes wrong, like… casting the wrong spell… or my clothes disappearing…” Liam muttered again feeling a shade of red come from his cheeks.\n\n“Well, that is probably for two reasons. One being you simply aren’t using your catalyst the way it was meant to be used.” The chief said with an inquisitive finger on his chin.\n\n“Using it… the wrong way?”\n\n“Perhaps. It's certainly something you should take into consideration. Though the other reason could be because you are not using your own spells, but someone else’s.\n\n“Huh? Aren’t all spells cast the same way?”\n\n“Not at all. Just as no two meals are cooked the same way by two different chefs, and no two flakes of snow are the same as they form in the sky. Every spell is unique to the individual, as only that individual knows the exact amount of aether of each element to form their spells based on the strength of their catalyst and their own ability.” Arracus smiled, running his fingers along the root holding the stone slab up, behind his hand leaving a trail of sprouting moss and leaves from the wood’s barky surface.\n\n“Well, I have only been reading what was in-”\n\n“In your father’s spellbook?” The chief said with a smile. \nThis made Liam stop and stare up at Arracus. “Y-yeah. How did you…?”\n\n“Know about your father’s spellbook? Well, I guess I can’t keep up the charade any longer, haha.” Chief Arracus turned to face the young bewildered boy with a gentle smile on his face. “I know all about you, Liam Niedlich. After all, your father is a very well renowned mage, perhaps even the greatest mage in the world.”\n\nLiam felt his heart skip a beat and the young fox stepped forward.\n\n“You know my dad!? Do you know where he is?” Liam asked, half frantic at the thought he may have a lead to his father’s disappearance.\n\n“Alas, it has been nearly a year since I last saw him…-\"\nLiam ran up and grabbed the base of Arracus’ waistcloth, staring up at the elderly rabbit with wide desperate eyes.\n\n“That was how long ago he’s been missing! He had to have said something to you! He just had to!” Liam cried, and Arracus stared down at the panicked kit with a sympathetic look in his eyes. Arracus placed a hand on Liam’s head, quieting the young fox momentarily.\n\n“Shh, little one. Now let me see…” Arracus closed his eyes and seemed deep in thought. A minute passed, and finally the elderly rabbit leaned down and looked into Liam’s eyes. “Relax. And let your mind be clear.”\n\n“What-\"\n\n“Shh. Just do as I say.” Arracus smiled reassuringly. Liam reluctantly did as instructed, soon breathing in deep in slow breaths. Once Arracus could feel Liam’s mind begin to relax, he leaned in, and pressed his forehead to Liam’s own. \n\nLiam gasped as he suddenly felt his body become weightless, and though he was certain his eyes were closed, a nearly blinding light he could not escape from surged to life in his mind’s eye. He felt like he was falling, the pit of his stomach lurching from the sudden rush as he watched all around him scenes of the forest rushed past from behind him. The trees and foliage changed before his very eyes, as flowers and leaves on once lifeless, snow-covered trees flew back onto their barren branches and regained a lush color before soon shrinking and shriveling back into the wood, only for snow to once more enshroud the forest in a blanket of white. \n\nIt was as if he were falling through time itself, seasons passing in reverse before him until suddenly, everything came to a halt. Liam felt dizzy, nearly collapsing before catching himself. He looked around, finding himself in the same island amidst the pond, except the area was coated in thick snow. He suddenly heard two voices, muffled at first, but soon they became clearer and clearer, until he could understand them perfectly aside from a strange echo from their voices and the howling winter winds. He recognised them immediately, it was Arracus and his father! Through the sheets of snow he could make out the two figures in front of the stone slab and he stepped forward towards them.\n\n“-but what about your wife and son, Rune?” The voice of Arracus spoke to the other figure. The second silhouette, seemingly clad in a large blue cloak with fur around the rims of his hood and sleeves, spoke next, which made young Liam’s heart leap in his chest hearing that familiar voice again.\n\n“I know, Arracus. But I have no choice. For their sake, Aetheria, and maybe even the whole world. I have to leave.” Liam’s father said, and in his young heart Liam wanted to cry out his father’s name and rush to his side, but he knew that what he was witnessing could only be a vision of the past.\n\n“Will you not even tell an old friend? What could be so important that you must hide it from even me? Dammit, Rune! You don’t need to handle everything yourself, you damn stubborn child of a man!” Arracus shouted, making Liam jump at hearing the elderly chief raise his voice for the first time ever. Rune however, remained unphased by the harsh tone and he slowly stepped toward the silhouette of Arracus. Liam could make out his father’s hand coming to rest upon the rabbit’s shoulder.\n\n“I guess I picked that up from you as well, eh? I’m sorry, master… No. My friend. But this is just something that I have to do alone.” Rune told Arracus, the sullen tone plain in his voice as he released the old chief’s shoulder and turned toward Liam, startling the boy as the silhouette of his father began to walk toward him.\n\n“...You know he’ll come looking for you, Rune. That boy of yours takes after your adventurous nature, and you know very well he’ll leave home one day and wonder why his father abandoned him and his mother.” Arracus called after Liam’s father, causing the mage to stop momentarily.\n\n“...I know. If he does find me… Heh, who am I kidding. When he finds me, I will tell him everything. I just hope when that day comes, I’ll still be able to...” Rune said as he slowly removed his hood, revealing his face right in front of Liam as he stared up at his father, tears forming in his eyes. Rune smiled as he stared forward over Liam’s head, not even noticing his son. “If Liam comes looking for me here, tell him this: Follow your heart, from dawn to dusk.”\n\n “Farewell.” Rune whispered, and in that moment seeing his smiling face, brave and reassuring, Liam could see the tears streaming down his father’s cheeks.\n\n“D-dad!” Liam finally yelled out through the cutting wind, as Rune stepped forth once more, passing straight through Liam like a ghost. Liam gasped, clutching his chest in a state of momentary confusion before turning to watch his dad walking away into the blizzard.\n\n“Dad, wait!!” Liam cried out as the world began to rush past him once more, finding himself abruptly falling once again as the forest flew forward in time now around him. “DAAAAAAAAD!!!”\n \nIn an instant, Liam opened his eyes, gasping out loud and falling backwards to the ground. Liam’s body trembled as he looked up to find Arracus’ offered down to him. The kit rubbed his eyes of streaks of tears that stained his cheeks. Liam took Arracus’ hand and stood, meeting Arracus’ empathetic gaze.\n\n“I apologize, I should have warned you beforehand, Liam. I just felt that… perhaps it would be better for you to have seen him for yourself, as well as our conversation.” Chief Arracus said, turning back to face the stone monument.\n\n“No, no... I'm glad you did. I know now for sure dad didn’t abandon mom and me. When he said goodbye; Dad was… crying.” Liam said looking up at the Terus symbol on the stone face with an almost distant stare.\n\n“Was he now? Heh… Young fool never was one to show tears in front of anyone. Honestly, that brings relief to my heart. Perhaps whatever it was he set out for was truly something quite important, but what could that be that he wouldn’t let his own master know?” Arracus pondered.\n\n“Follow my heart… from dawn til dusk?” Liam repeated the words aloud. “What did he mean by that?”\n\n“Hmm. Perhaps he meant it to be something you alone would be able to figure out. To me, it simply sounds like endearing words of advice from father to son.” Arracus smiled. \n\n“Something only I could figure out…” Liam muttered.\n\n“Well! Perhaps it is a bit late to be pondering such things. I’m sure you're exhausted; unfortunately the Reminisce spell takes a toll on the one witnessing the memory as it’s not being cast by them. You should rest, and tomorrow… we can begin your training!” Arracus chuckled as he turned and began to head back toward the village.\n\n“W-wait, training!?” Liam yipped, staring after Arracus. \n\n“Of course, after all that boy in my story earlier was none Rune himself, hahaha! Seems only right I teach the son of one of the most renowned mages in the land a few things as well~” \n\nLiam was speechless, but quickly composed himself as he ran to catch up to the old rabbit.\n\n“Don’t worry, Liam, I know you have important business elsewhere and even more reason than ever to want to head out. But none of that eagerness will do you any good in battle if you can only cast little ice pellets at everything, hahaha!”\n\nLiam blushed a bit, scratching the back of his head gently. “Y-yeah… Um, thank you, sir!”\n“Please, just call me Arracus, or Teacher, if you prefer.”\n\n“O-oh… Okay, Teacher!”\n\n“Hahahaha, ahhh… My, how nostalgic~”\n\n\n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"
Chapter 15
Reminiscence


Liam followed the narrow dirt path that led from the village, pushing past a few overgrown bushes and rustling fireflies into the night air. Even though he felt the tug of sleep calling him, Liam’s mind was far too restless. Aside from their meeting in the morning, the day was mostly uneventful, and yet Liam could not stop thinking about the situations they were in, and hoped taking a walk around the druidic village outskirts would help clear his mind.

The young fox remembered Kevin mentioning a large pond somewhere in this direction, and that it was a peaceful place to sit and think.

Soon enough, Liam found the trees part along the path and make way to a large clearing where indeed rested the pond Kevin had mentioned. He found himself in awe as he looked out over the water. The dirt path that had led him here seemed to continue, snaking its way out into the middle of the water itself. Reeds of tall grass highlighted the beginning of the path, which was lined entirely with small rocks placed neatly at the water’s edges. With every step, more fireflies took to the sky from the reeds, their lights reflecting off the undisturbed surface of the water.

The further he followed the path, he began to notice blue lights floating along with the yellow glow of the flying insects. The further he went the more of these blue fireflies appeared, until the sky and water’s became a sea of shimmering lights, as if the very stars of the night had come down to greet the boy. He found himself suddenly in the middle of the small island at the center of the pond, surrounded on all sides by the flickering blue lights. The bugs seemed to clear away from the center of the small island, and almost appeared to be slowly circling around it.

He found himself staring up at a large stone monument, held up by a single large root that coiled from the ground and entangled the rock. Along the flat surface of the large stone, writing began to form along its surface seemingly from this air, the carved writing coming to life with a blue magic aura.

Liam squinted and stepped closer, finding the elegant swirling text to be in a language he could not understand. He recognised a symbol however, just at the top of the stone face above the inscription. Liam scrambled to his pack and dug out his father’s spellbook, turning to a page that contained a diagram of a spell circle with six symbols each surrounded by smaller circles. Liam ran a finger over one symbol and looked at the one one the stone. He gasped quietly, they matched to the very last detail. The symbol was shaped almost like the number four but with slanting curves and in the upper right of the symbol was a smaller circle.

“Terus…” Liam read aloud to himself. “The element of the land.”

“Correct, young one.” A voice said behind him, making the startled young fox turn quickly.

“Chief Arracus!” Liam exclaimed.

“Hahaha, sorry for sneaking up on you...I merely was out for a midnight stroll you see, and it would seem you are as well.” The chief chuckled.

“Y-yeah… I guess I have a lot I been thinking about.” Liam said turning back to face the stone inscription.
Chief Arracus stepped forward to Liam’s side.

“I assume it has to do with your magical ability, the problems that have arisen as of late around the woods, or the masked mage?”

Liam stared up at the old rabbit, and nodded. “Yeah, all of that really. How did you know?”

“Heh, I have been around for a long time. There are things an old man like me can just tell.” Arracus chuckled, stepping closer to the uprooted stone face and tracing his fingers along the glowing letters. “I once knew a young boy about your age who shared similar problems, he took a walk just like you did, and found this very same monument to be the most exciting thing he had seen in his life, heheh. He’d spend day in day out studying this rock as if it were some great mystery that needed to be solved.”

Liam looked up at the rock as he listened to the chief’s story, his eyes lighting up as the blue fireflies surrounded the old druid casting them in an azure glow.

“What is it then?” Liam spoke up.

“Hahaha! If only that boy asked the very same question back then! This monument merely holds the secret code of our order, written only in a language known to our sect, and the Mage’s College. The symbol, as you astutely recognized, is the symbol of the earthen element, Terus. This element is the key to our magic, and allows us to shape the world around us. To us, this element is our power, and the other five elements are merely what we use to shape our spells.”

“Wait, does that mean you can use more than one element at once!?” Liam blurted in surprise.

“Pfahaha! Ahhh… Of course, Liam. All spells are more than just a single element, whether you know it or not. For instance, the frost spells you have been casting are of the Hydris element, water, ice, cooling, and the like. But how do you think such a things happen without other factors? A Hydris spell is but still water, a Terus spell is but growing grass, but to shape these to your will requires more than just their own elements, sometimes even in the smallest amounts that it requires no thought to do so.”

“So… I’ve always been using more than Hydris magic to cast my frost spell, without knowing it?” Liam asked.

“Exactly! That particular spell is quite minor, and therefore requires no effort to use. Though I must ask, have you not tried using more than just that single spell, young one?” The chief inquired, turning to Liam.

“Er… Well, I… I’m scared to try casting anything else…” Liam muttered, rather embarrassed to admit.

“Hm? Why is that?”

“Well, something always goes wrong, like… casting the wrong spell… or my clothes disappearing…” Liam muttered again feeling a shade of red come from his cheeks.

“Well, that is probably for two reasons. One being you simply aren’t using your catalyst the way it was meant to be used.” The chief said with an inquisitive finger on his chin.

“Using it… the wrong way?”

“Perhaps. It's certainly something you should take into consideration. Though the other reason could be because you are not using your own spells, but someone else’s.

“Huh? Aren’t all spells cast the same way?”

“Not at all. Just as no two meals are cooked the same way by two different chefs, and no two flakes of snow are the same as they form in the sky. Every spell is unique to the individual, as only that individual knows the exact amount of aether of each element to form their spells based on the strength of their catalyst and their own ability.” Arracus smiled, running his fingers along the root holding the stone slab up, behind his hand leaving a trail of sprouting moss and leaves from the wood’s barky surface.

“Well, I have only been reading what was in-”

“In your father’s spellbook?” The chief said with a smile.
This made Liam stop and stare up at Arracus. “Y-yeah. How did you…?”

“Know about your father’s spellbook? Well, I guess I can’t keep up the charade any longer, haha.” Chief Arracus turned to face the young bewildered boy with a gentle smile on his face. “I know all about you, Liam Niedlich. After all, your father is a very well renowned mage, perhaps even the greatest mage in the world.”

Liam felt his heart skip a beat and the young fox stepped forward.

“You know my dad!? Do you know where he is?” Liam asked, half frantic at the thought he may have a lead to his father’s disappearance.

“Alas, it has been nearly a year since I last saw him…-"
Liam ran up and grabbed the base of Arracus’ waistcloth, staring up at the elderly rabbit with wide desperate eyes.

“That was how long ago he’s been missing! He had to have said something to you! He just had to!” Liam cried, and Arracus stared down at the panicked kit with a sympathetic look in his eyes. Arracus placed a hand on Liam’s head, quieting the young fox momentarily.

“Shh, little one. Now let me see…” Arracus closed his eyes and seemed deep in thought. A minute passed, and finally the elderly rabbit leaned down and looked into Liam’s eyes. “Relax. And let your mind be clear.”

“What-"

“Shh. Just do as I say.” Arracus smiled reassuringly. Liam reluctantly did as instructed, soon breathing in deep in slow breaths. Once Arracus could feel Liam’s mind begin to relax, he leaned in, and pressed his forehead to Liam’s own.

Liam gasped as he suddenly felt his body become weightless, and though he was certain his eyes were closed, a nearly blinding light he could not escape from surged to life in his mind’s eye. He felt like he was falling, the pit of his stomach lurching from the sudden rush as he watched all around him scenes of the forest rushed past from behind him. The trees and foliage changed before his very eyes, as flowers and leaves on once lifeless, snow-covered trees flew back onto their barren branches and regained a lush color before soon shrinking and shriveling back into the wood, only for snow to once more enshroud the forest in a blanket of white.

It was as if he were falling through time itself, seasons passing in reverse before him until suddenly, everything came to a halt. Liam felt dizzy, nearly collapsing before catching himself. He looked around, finding himself in the same island amidst the pond, except the area was coated in thick snow. He suddenly heard two voices, muffled at first, but soon they became clearer and clearer, until he could understand them perfectly aside from a strange echo from their voices and the howling winter winds. He recognised them immediately, it was Arracus and his father! Through the sheets of snow he could make out the two figures in front of the stone slab and he stepped forward towards them.

“-but what about your wife and son, Rune?” The voice of Arracus spoke to the other figure. The second silhouette, seemingly clad in a large blue cloak with fur around the rims of his hood and sleeves, spoke next, which made young Liam’s heart leap in his chest hearing that familiar voice again.

“I know, Arracus. But I have no choice. For their sake, Aetheria, and maybe even the whole world. I have to leave.” Liam’s father said, and in his young heart Liam wanted to cry out his father’s name and rush to his side, but he knew that what he was witnessing could only be a vision of the past.

“Will you not even tell an old friend? What could be so important that you must hide it from even me? Dammit, Rune! You don’t need to handle everything yourself, you damn stubborn child of a man!” Arracus shouted, making Liam jump at hearing the elderly chief raise his voice for the first time ever. Rune however, remained unphased by the harsh tone and he slowly stepped toward the silhouette of Arracus. Liam could make out his father’s hand coming to rest upon the rabbit’s shoulder.

“I guess I picked that up from you as well, eh? I’m sorry, master…  No. My friend. But this is just something that I have to do alone.” Rune told Arracus, the sullen tone plain in his voice as he released the old chief’s shoulder and turned toward Liam, startling the boy as the silhouette of his father began to walk toward him.

“...You know he’ll come looking for you, Rune. That boy of yours takes after your adventurous nature, and you know very well he’ll leave home one day and wonder why his father abandoned him and his mother.” Arracus called after Liam’s father, causing the mage to stop momentarily.

“...I know. If he does find me… Heh, who am I kidding. When he finds me, I will tell him everything. I just hope when that day comes, I’ll still be able to...” Rune said as he slowly removed his hood, revealing his face right in front of Liam as he stared up at his father, tears forming in his eyes. Rune smiled as he stared forward over Liam’s head, not even noticing his son. “If Liam comes looking for me here, tell him this: Follow your heart, from dawn to dusk.”

 “Farewell.” Rune whispered, and in that moment seeing his smiling face, brave and reassuring, Liam could see the tears streaming down his father’s cheeks.

“D-dad!” Liam finally yelled out through the cutting wind, as Rune stepped forth once more, passing straight through Liam like a ghost. Liam gasped, clutching his chest in a state of momentary confusion before turning to watch his dad walking away into the blizzard.

“Dad, wait!!” Liam cried out as the world began to rush past him once more, finding himself abruptly falling once again as the forest flew forward in time now around him. “DAAAAAAAAD!!!”
 
In an instant, Liam opened his eyes, gasping out loud and falling backwards to the ground. Liam’s body trembled as he looked up to find Arracus’ offered down to him. The kit rubbed his eyes of streaks of tears that stained his cheeks. Liam took Arracus’ hand and stood, meeting Arracus’ empathetic gaze.

“I apologize, I should have warned you beforehand, Liam. I just felt that… perhaps it would be better for you to have seen him for yourself, as well as our conversation.” Chief Arracus said, turning back to face the stone monument.

“No, no... I'm glad you did. I know now for sure dad didn’t abandon mom and me. When he said goodbye; Dad was… crying.” Liam said looking up at the Terus symbol on the stone face with an almost distant stare.

“Was he now? Heh… Young fool never was one to show tears in front of anyone. Honestly, that brings relief to my heart. Perhaps whatever it was he set out for was truly something quite important, but what could that be that he wouldn’t let his own master know?” Arracus pondered.

“Follow my heart… from dawn til dusk?” Liam repeated the words aloud. “What did he mean by that?”

“Hmm. Perhaps he meant it to be something you alone would be able to figure out. To me, it simply sounds like endearing words of advice from father to son.” Arracus smiled.

“Something only I could figure out…” Liam muttered.

“Well! Perhaps it is a bit late to be pondering such things. I’m sure you're exhausted; unfortunately the Reminisce spell takes a toll on the one witnessing the memory as it’s not being cast by them. You should rest, and tomorrow… we can begin your training!” Arracus chuckled as he turned and began to head back toward the village.

“W-wait, training!?” Liam yipped, staring after Arracus.

“Of course, after all that boy in my story earlier was none Rune himself, hahaha! Seems only right I teach the son of one of the most renowned mages in the land a few things as well~”

Liam was speechless, but quickly composed himself as he ran to catch up to the old rabbit.

“Don’t worry, Liam, I know you have important business elsewhere and even more reason than ever to want to head out. But none of that eagerness will do you any good in battle if you can only cast little ice pellets at everything, hahaha!”

Liam blushed a bit, scratching the back of his head gently. “Y-yeah… Um, thank you, sir!”
“Please, just call me Arracus, or Teacher, if you prefer.”

“O-oh… Okay, Teacher!”

“Hahahaha, ahhh… My, how nostalgic~”



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