[The Bronze Wood] A Training Session (Alexander,Maximilian)

[Alexander Vasiliev]

Timestamp: 90th Day of Fall, 511 AV Alexander woke, dully noting the lack of birds chirping. Tomorrow was the last day of Fall, and already he could feel the cold. Apparently, so did the animals. He dressed himself as usual, ate an apple with a slice of bread, and went off to the forest. All around him, effects of the upcoming winter were showing. No longer were animals buzzing hurriedly around him, the streets, silent. The wind was chilly, and Alexander reminded himself he'd need to purchase a coat for the cold, wintery months. Focusing on the task at hand, Alexander left the city quickly, heading for the bronze woods, a secluded area where he could safely practice near the pond without fear of persecution. Alexander lost track of time, but finally noticed it was late morning when he arrived at his destination. Setting his backpack and dagger on the floor next to a nearby tree, he slowly walked to a pond. If he started a fire, he could easily use water in the pond to put it out, or even try to use his res as a magnet and attract the fire to get rid of it. If any unwanted visitors or monsters showed up, his dagger was sufficiently close that he could grab it in a heartbeat, or use his Reimancy if it came down to that. He shuddered, realizing that was exactly what had gotten his father killed. "He practiced Reimancy within the walls of Syliras, surely they have no jurisdiction over magic in the wilderness." He reassured himself, trying to sound convincing. Succeeding in calming his worrisome mind, Alexander began to practice, noting several faults in his form. "Remember to concentrate, become one with your res, and allow nothing else to break that focus, that awareness of being." His late father's words reminded him. Slowly but surely, Alexander let a thin hair-like strand of Res materialize from himself. He remembered when such a feat was awe-inspiring to his young mind. Now, it was commonplace for someone with his skill level. Being careful not to materialize too much Res, Alexander formed the Res into a tiny ball, igniting the outer core. Suddenly, he remembered back to his past, when he had no interest in his father's warnings, only interested in "shooting fireballs from his hands." He longed to be back with his father, even if it meant listening to a thousand warnings a day. Realizing he was losing focus, Alexander intently shut off that little voice in his head, allowing himself to become "one with his Res", to reach the awareness of being. The effects showed. He gained more control over his mini little fireball, tossing it from hand to hand, testing the limits of his control. Although his extent of power only lasted for a couple of meters, that was useful in any kind of fight. He could always throw the Res if he needed a farther range. Alexander, getting hungry, quickly turned his remaining res into air, allowing it to dissipate. Pulling out his eating knife, he cut himself a small portion of bread and cheese, and slowly munched on the meal, noting that he would have to make a journey into the market when Winter began to buy more food. Once finished with his meal, Alexander cleaned up and rested. Even though he had used a miniscule amount of Res, he was well aware of the dangers of overgiving. A nice nap would help him feel ready to practice when he woke up later, and help him digest his food. Alexander awoke, checking the Sun to see if he could tell the time. Unfortunately, Alexander had no way of telling what time it was, but from the colors in the sky realized it was sometime in the early afternoon. Deciding it didn't matter, he resorted to more practice. Alexander, remembering his trip to the Stone Gardens, decided it was time to practice lightning at a larger scale. Gathering his Res, he followed through the procedure in order to create it. He first created a small cloud, a meter long by a quarter of a meter wide. Big enough to be challenging, small enough as to not overtax his body or attract attention, at least he hoped. Then, concentrating on the cloud, he sent several spikes of lightning down, creating sizable scorch marks on the forest floor below. He continued to practice, reusing as much Res as he could to preserve his strength. Hopefully, no one would notice the noise or run across him. Alexander knew the truth, magic users were looked upon harshly, and misunderstood. He could be challenged, insulted, harassed, or even murdered if anyone found out about his ability, especially if the Siliran Knights found out. Attempting to re-focus yet again, Alexander silenced all thoughts, repeating the task of creating lightning on a small scale, each time resting for a couple of minutes resuming. Although the rest wouldn't help restoring his Res, especially such a short rest, it still was nice to sit for a few minutes and take in the beauty of nature.