The Celebration: Morning

Amilia's eyes begin to slowly open as her head feels like it's being battered like a bongo drum in the vicinity of a hyperactive monkey, but the pain would luckily subside after a few moments.

As her eyes fully open, she sees that she's back in her room in the Tarron Manor, and in her confused state, she tries to remember what happened before she passed out.

Immediately, she remembers searching for Terra for practically all of last the night, going from the Knagstun house to the mill, and then the forest where they picked up Virra. The next thing she remembers is going into the old mining building, waiting for John, Lani and Virra to come back, then she suddenly got captured alongside Kyuala and got tied to a chair. After that came the fighting, then the bickering with Kyuala before the last search for Nartho. She remembers hearing some footsteps, so she turned around, that's when she saw Nartho had some sort of crossbow in his hand. Amilia made the decision in the blink of an eye to push Terra out of the way, and take the bolt for her. The last thing she remembers is the impact of the bolt in her chest before her memory goes blank.

As Amilia stares up at the ceiling, she brings her right arm up to where the bolt hit her and runs her fingers over the spot in question. She is quickly confused as she doesn't feel any sort of wound before realizing and groggily saying, "Magic's pretty fucking sweet."

Amilia then goes to move her left arm, but as she does, she feels a large weight on it. Amilia then looks over and sees a sleeping Terra is snuggling against her arm. Amilia raises her eyebrows in confusion, and immediately tries to internally figure out just why in the hell Terra is in her bed.

"Okay Ami, think. Why the hell is she in your bed? Did she drag you up here? Yeah, that's gotta be it. Oh, who am I kidding? Ky definitely brought me up here. So, why the hell is she here?! Maybe she was hit by one of those arrow things too? That makes more sense at least cause I can't think of anything else other than we..." Amilia looks over at Terra once again before shaking her head, not finishing that last thought.

As Amilia tries to figure out what happened, Terra begins to awaken from her slumber.

Terra eyes open, and she gives a momentary glance over before saying, "Good morning, Amilia." Terra then lets out a small groan as her eyes involuntarily close by themselves. Quickly, her eyes shoot back open as Terra realizes what she just saw and said. "Amilia! You're awake!"

"Uhh, yeah? I think so."

Terra doesn't respond with words, instead, she wraps her arms around Amilia and squeezes her tight. "Thank Zirnor the Wise, you're alright! Bislea said it was just Reiga's Sleep again, but I was still worried!" Terra then lets go of the hug once again before getting out of the bed. "Breakfast should be ready soon. I can smell the bread being made from up here. You should get dressed, and I'll see you down in the throne room." Terra then leaves the room, and Amilia is just left in a very confused state.

Quickly, Amilia begins to figuratively slap herself as she says, "What the fuck was that, Amilia? You had a hot girl in your bed, and you acted like a little bitch! Urgh. It wasn't just a random hottie though... it was Terra for fuck sake. Oooh shit. Terra was in my fucking bed." Amilia sighs as something in her stomach begins to twist, causing her to actually slap herself a few times. "You fucking idiot. You had the perfect opportunity to tell her." Amilia then lets out another long sigh before getting out of the bed herself.

DOWNSTAIRS:

Amilia heads downstairs a few minutes after her brief and confusing interaction with Terra. Amilia is now wearing a loose shirt that she "borrowed" from Kyuala a while back, but the orc doesn't actually know that yet.

Amilia rubs her eyes, trying to remove the rheum from said sleepy eyes as she walks down the final steps before heading towards the throne room. As she does, she sees Remar standing at the door. "Ahh, Miss Amilia, you're awake. I am glad to see that you are doing well."

"Yeah. I'm glad I'm awake as well." Amilia says before asking, "How you doing, old timer?"

"I am doing better now that Miss Terra, Miss Virra and your group are all back safe and sound. When I heard that you were hit with a bolt, I was afraid that it would be fatal. Luckily, that wasn't the case. Anyhow, that is all yesterday's news. You should head on in, the food is already on the table."

Remar then walks towards the kitchen as Amilia opens one of the doors to the throne room and walks inside.

As Amilia walks inside, she sees that almost everyone is already at the table with the only omission being Terra. Amilia is a little confused by Terra's absence, but figures she'll be here soon.

Amilia looks around for just a few more seconds just before everyone in the room sees her, and all begin to express their delight upon seeing her awake.

Everyone begins to greet Amilia in similar ways. John, Kyuala and Lani are the most excited for their friend with them giving her a hug before Amilia takes the seat directly across the table from Kyuala. As she takes her seat, Virra gives a genuine greeting, but delivers it with a tone that could only be described as frenemy-esque. Amilia does give a similar response back, but neither of them take it to heart. Sydna also gives a jovial and somewhat flirty greeting which Amilia immediately adapts to and quips back with one of her own. The rest of the sisters have somewhat similar greetings, but the biggest surprise is when it gets to Holvaeth's turn.

Holvaeth stands up with his chalice of fresh juice in hand and says, "I know that typically we don't do announcements like this at breakfast, but I felt like this couldn't wait until dinner." Holvaeth then turns toward Amilia, "Amilia, you have done us a great service that I can't fully repay. I have already thanked your friends for everything you all did last night, but they insisted that you get most of the praise. They told us that you were the one to continue pushing the group past the limit of exhaustion, reminding them of what was at stake. Now, I will be truthful and admit that when I heard that you were the catalyst for finding Terra, I was surprised. I know that one should not judge a person based on appearance alone, but I will admit that I was worried about you being in my daughters life, especially after hearing your crass sense of humour. However, your crass humour and your care-free attitude has actually brought a smile to this house that I can't ever remember being here. So, for not only saving my daughter, but for bringing joy to our household, I shall eternally thank you."

Amilia genuinely doesn't know how to respond. She's never really had such praise given to her before, much less by such a high standing member of society. The sudden influx of compliments actually flabbergasts Amilia, and she is trying to find some way to give her thanks, but she can't really think of any proper way to do it. Eventually, Amilia decides to go with her usual "fuck it" approach and says, "Uhh, thanks, big guy. Just make sure to keep the food and drink coming, and I'll consider it square."

Holvaeth and the others all laugh, but the elder of the Tarron family says, "I shall, don't you worry. Also, you should take a look behind you."

A confused Amilia raises a brow before doing as Holvaeth says. As Amilia turns around, she sees Terra standing there, smiling ear-to-ear with a box in her hand.

"Surprise!"

Terra hands the box over before taking the seat next to her. Amilia looks at said box for a few seconds before asking, "What's this?"

"It's called a present. It's usually given to someone as a way of giving thanks, or in celebration for a moment such as the recipients birthday. It's quite the crazy concept, I know." Virra says with sarcasm dripping from every syllable leaving her shit-eating grin, which simply earns her an annoyed look from Amilia.

Amilia then turns back toward Terra who then says, "I wanted to thank you for taking the bolt for me. So, I got you a gift. Open it up."

Amilia is once again taken aback. First, she was given praise by Holvaeth, although he did technically insult her during it. Now, she's getting a gift? It all felt a little too good to be true. She looks at the box for a few more moments before checking it in a few ways. She sniffs around the box, searching for any sort of obvious scent. Next, she gently shakes the box, hearing a something small shaking within.

"Well, it doesn't smell like food, and it ain't big enough to be a drink. So, I'm all outta guesses." Amilia says as she quickly removes the red ribbon atop said box and opens it up.

Amilia's eyes immediately enlarge as she looks at the gift inside the box. She carefully scoops up the item and lifts it up, revealing it to the others. The gift itself is a necklace, but not just any necklace. This necklace has a small arrow dangling from the front of it with Amilia's name engraved onto it.

Amilia is at a complete loss for words as she just stares at the gift in her hands. Lani quickly flies over to cat before examining the necklace and saying, "Wow! That is so cute! How did you get it made so fast?"

Terra chuckles, "I ran into Durat after checking on Amilia the first time. I asked him to contact our favourite jeweller and luckily, he already had the arrow made. The engraving didn't take long since he's probably the most experienced jewel maker on the continent, so it got delivered by the time I got down here."

"That was incredibly thoughtful, dear." Myssera says. She then continues, "It also seems like Amilia is infatuated with it."

Amilia still hasn't said a single word, and even though her expression hasn't changed, her wide eyes remained. Amilia then carefully places the necklace back into the box before getting up from her chair.

Amilia turns around, looking Terra dead in the eye before attacking Terra with a tight hug. Terra is stunned by the sudden display of affection from her feline friend, but as everyone smiles at the moment, Kyuala chuckles before saying, "Congratulations, Terra. You've just earned one of the rarest things on this planet. A hug from Amilia."

Terra just lets out a quick laugh as she just hugs Amilia back.

Eventually, the hug ends and Amilia pulls back. When she does, Terra sees a single tear is making its way down Amilia's cheek. Terra is scared that she did something wrong, and immediately goes to apologize, but Amilia sees that and stops her with a single raised finger.

Terra doesn't open her mouth, but the two share a look that shows that both want to talk later on.

Amilia then quickly wipes the tear away before turning back into her old self and says, "Thanks for the jewels, pointy. Can you put it on me?"

"No problem, fur ball." Terra responds, causing both women to share a smile.

Amilia then grabs the necklace once again before handing over to Terra. Amilia then turns around, and Terra unclasps the necklace before bringing it around Amilia's neck and clasps it back. Amilia brings her hand up, running her fingers across the arrow, feeling the engraved letters of her name as she does. A smile then graces the cat-woman's face as she looks down at her new jewellery before taking her seat once more.

"Well, now that Amilia has been given the congratulations she deserved, let us eat!" Holvaeth proclaims, and the entire table begin to chow down on the food in front of them.

A FEW HOURS LATER:

Terra and John have split away from the others as they're all doing their own thing. As they're walking down the hallway, John asks, "So, what are we doing exactly?"

"You shall see momentarily."

John is a little apprehensive about Terra's somewhat evasive answer to his question, but he trusts her, so he knows that it wouldn't be anything too crazy. Hopefully.

The duo turn the corner before getting to their destination aka the library. John is a little confused, so he asks, "Uhh, why are we at the library?"

"We're here to quickly grab some things. Wait here for a moment." Terra says before heading into the library and walks amidst the shelves while grabbing books.

About five or so minutes later, Terra comes back with a few books in hand. "Alright. Let's go to the training ground." Terra then walks off, and John quickly follows behind wondering why they're heading to the training ground as the elf just power walks forward.

Eventually, the two walk out a set of doors and walk down a path before ending up in the training area next to the Manor. John is amazed as he looks around at the building behind them, seeing how big the manor was from the side.

The training ground itself is just a large concrete circle, but the colours resemble a semi-faded bulls-eye. There are some wooden training dummies as well, obviously well-used due to the dents, slice marks, and holes, presumably caused by training with staffs, swords and swords.

"So, am I going to learn why we're out here?" John asks.

Terra then puts some of the books on the floor, keeping one in her hand before saying, "Do you remember what you asked me on the way to Wiralsama? And what I said back on the boat?"

John thinks back for a few moments before remembering. His eyes widen in excitement as he says, "You're finally gonna teach me magic?!"

Terra laughs at her friends ecstatic reaction. "Correct. I was originally going to bring you to the courtyard, but I figured there's less chance of you accidentally destroying the manor out here."

John nods, understanding his friend's point. However, her concern quickly makes John worry as he begins to wonder just how intense this training will be.

Terra then opens the book and begins to read, "To be a successful magic wielder, one must have three qualities. The first is the will to learn. The willingness to learn is a key component when it comes to magic. It may seem like an obvious quality to have in general, but the willingness to learn is often overlooked by natural ability or affinity, but even having those advantages don't make up for the will to learn. Magic is all about learning, and those who try to cut corners will only find themselves in dangerous positions, potentially even dead."

"Alright, sounds simple enough." John comments. "I've been wanting to learn magic since I was told that I could, so I'm ready as hell to start."

Terra continues to read, "The second quality is the ability to focus. Focusing when casting is as important as the casting itself. If the caster doesn't focus correctly, they may end up causing the spell to change in uncontrollable ways, or the caster may cause the magic to literally backfire, literally causing the caster combust from within due to the magic being unstable and the sacrificed energy trying to make its way back into the caster. It must be said that there's less chance of internal combustion happening with lower tier spells, but the chance is never zero."

John is a little frightened hearing about that, but figures the fear of potentially combusting is a good motivator to keep focused. On the other side, it could be the very thing that causes said combustion.

"The third and final quality that is necessary to be a proper caster, is the ability to use your emotions. This isn't the same being able to push away emotions, but instead, you use your emotions to amplify your spells. For example, say you are clearing out a dungeon full of goblins. If you were to be angry during the casting, and if done properly, the spell in question has the potential to wipe out the entire tribe. However, if that anger is untempered and uncontrolled, then the spell still has the ability to wipe out the entirety of the goblins, it could also backfire on you just as easily. These three qualities are essential to be a great caster, and while you can skate by with a little of these qualities, don't expect to be anything more than a children's entertainer." Terra then closes the book before looking at John. "So, are you ready to begin your journey?"

After hearing all three of the key components to become a caster, John is feeling a multitude of things with the most prevalent feeling being fear due to the whole combustion and potential backfiring spells. He then looks down, seeing the mark that Elliyah gave to him that gives him the affinity to learn magic at the same rate as snow elves. He also remembers about the impending threat of the Drakkatel, and everything that's probably gonna come their way.

John then takes a deep breath before saying, "Alright. Magic 101, here we go."

Terra then chuckles at the man's reaction. "Okay. First things first, healing. We learn to heal at the start so that if we end up hurting ourselves, we can obviously heal." Terra then hands John the book. "So, read and practice the spell before we test the real thing."

John looks at the book and sees the spell in question. The healing is one simple word, "Hæela."

John smirks, surprised that the word would be so easy. So, he begins to practice it. "Hæela. Hæela. Hæela." John then turns to Terra, "Am I pronouncing it right?"

"You are. Just keep going a few more times, and then we shall try the physical test."

"Okay." John casually says before continuing to repeat the word.

About a minute later, Terra stops John and says, "Alright. Let us try the real thing." She then pulls out a small dagger before carefully slicing John's index finger on his right hand. John is understandably confused, but Terra explains, "What? You thought I would cut my own finger? This is your test, therefore, your finger."

John feels like he should argue, but silently accepts her argument before looking at the fresh cut and says the literal magic word. "Hæela."

Sparks fly, the wind wraps around his figure, the sky turns dark as incomprehensible chanting starts, and... wait, none of that is happening. Instead, a drop of blood falls from John's finger as the cut is still very much open.

Confused, John looks at Terra who just stands there with an amused expression. "What? Did you really think it would just work by saying the word?"

"That's what you told me to do!"

"No, I didn't. That is what you assumed." Terra walks over to John and grabs his arm. "To properly use magic, you have to feel it moving through you. Imagine your arm is freezing cold, and you're desperate for heat. Now, think of that heat starting up in your shoulder and let it travel down to the tips of your fingers. When you feel the heat beginning to burn in your finger tips, that's when you say the word."

John looks at Terra, and suddenly feels an overwhelming sense of confidence. Terra then lets go of his arm and takes a step back.

John then closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before letting it out and then begins to focus. He starts to imagine that his arm is as cold as ice. His imagining actually gets so vivid, his teeth starts to chitter. Once the chittering starts, he then begins imagining an ember sparking into a flame within his shoulder. That flame begins moving down his arm like lava river, swirling around the entirety of the arm before reaching the hand. The last few sparks fling up his fingers, and soon, he understands what Terra was talking about.

John takes one last breath and exhales before opening his eyes and saying the word. "Hæela."

The flames within his arm then rush to the cut, and a burning yet bearable sensation immediately occurs. Just then, skin begins to grow over the cut, and in just a single second, the cut is healed.

The feeling of the flames within his arm fades, and just looks at his finger. He sees that the tiny cut is healed, and he immediately bursts into ecstatic laughter.

"I DID IT! HAHAHA! I DID IT!"

Terra laughs along with him before being scooped up into a hug from the excited human. He twirls Terra around before putting her back down and says, "This is awesome! Holy shit! I mean I know it was just a tiny cut, but actually doing magic?! It's pretty fucking cool!"

Terra just laughs again. "I must admit, I never expected such a wild reaction. However, I suppose that being from a world without magic makes the first time casting all that more special."

Terra laughs a little more, seeing John's expression which she can only describe as being akin to a kid in a candy store.

About a minute or so later, Terra finally says, "So, are you just happy with healing paper cuts? Or are you ready to move on?"