chapter 2

"Hello?"

Desmond approached a leathery tent that looked as if it was made from various animal skins not including one that looked strangely human-like.

"Huh? Oh, it's you. So the Matriarch decided to set you free, huh?"

He noticed it was the same woman he met before when he first opened his eyes. She stood beside an alchemy station mashing something into a mortar. The sounds of *tink tink tink* chimed in his ear.

"Yes. She said I should speak with you. Are you Ascila?"

"The one and only. If she sent you to me that could only mean she wants you to be a part of our tribe. Which I don't think will be a problem seeing as how you are a Breton."

"What do you mean?"

"All of us are Bretons here. Every single foresworn. That includes the Matriarch and the witches who follow her."

Ascila put the mortar down and dusted her hands. She turned around and placed her hands on her hips, looking over at the man standing in front of her.

"So what can you do, mage? We need all the manpower we can get to get the wheels of this camp moving."

Not knowing about his memory issue, he replied. "I probably should mention this. I don't have any memories. I'm afraid I don't think I can be of as much help as you might think."

'Hm, so that's why,' Ascila thought. 'I would have guessed he'd be the Matriarchs dinner by now but it seems luck is on his side. Blank memories mean they can be overwritten, hehe.'

"Of course, of course. Don't you worry, dear. Though most of your mind is gone it doesn't mean you can't relearn everything, right?"

"I guess when you say it like that, then yeah, I suppose I can relearn everything, haha," Desmond rubbed his head.

"That's the spirit. I myself know a few basic Magicka spells I can teach you. So why don't we start with that? Oh, and here, wear this," she grabbed a pitch black robe that exuded a bluish transparent aura. "It has an enchantment that will help you."

A few minutes later, a block robe wearing Desmond sat down on the grass across from Ascila who began instructing him.

"Magicka is not for everyone and only those with a strong connection to it can truly feel its presence. Every single living being has at least some Magicka, even a mud crab.

Now I want you to close your eyes and concentrate your awareness inside of your body. Empty your mind until it's only you, and nothingness."

It didn't take long for the young Breton, seeing as how he had already started on the path long before he lost his memory. Tapping into his energy pool felt like breathing to him.

"Good. I would be shocked if you couldn't at least do that. Now that you can feel it, it's time to put it into practice," from behind, she pulled out two thick textbooks with the words heal and shock on them. They looked to be at least 100 or so pages long.

"Do have to read all of this?"

"What? Goodness no. You're going to set them on fire," she said as a matter of fact, "with the spell, I'm about to teach you. Fire doesn't need to be written in 100 pages."

It was all muscle memory for Desmond. Even though the knowledge was gone, the body and spirit still had its own set of memories. It didn't take long for him to spew flames from his hand and set the books alight. For some reason, he felt happy that they were burning.

"Good. Good. Our hands are the extension of our will made physical and the primary way to release Magicka.

Now for the next lesson. Healing is a bit more difficult as it requires an actual injury to truly learn it. The simplest healing spell requires you to maintain and channel a small amount of Magicka throughout your body. Concentrate on transforming your Magicka's basic properties into life-giving. You've already done so in transforming it into destruction earlier."

Desmond realized when he first transformed the properties of his Magicka to that of destruction, he felt like he wanted to destroy everything around him. If he had given in to that temptation, he might have lost it right then. Thankfully, it was a minuscule amount and not enough to make him lose control.

"Now let's begin. I'm going to set you on fire and you're going to try and heal yourself. Easy right?"

"Huh? Wait, isn't there an easier wa-"

He didn't have time to finish before Ascila had already taken a few steps back and placed her hands together. The next second, she shot out a massive flamethrower in his direction.

'Too big! I might actually die!'

He knew that If he didn't learn healing now, he would be cooked into barbecue and possibly eaten by Ascila as he swore he saw a crazed smile forming on her face.

The flames roared to life and engulfed his body while he desperately tried to cover himself with a layer of Magicka, which could only slightly extend his death by a few seconds and prevent the fire from burning his hair into a baldy.

He directed his Magicka into his palm and thought quickly about Ascila's words.

'Life-giving. Restore. Mend! Warmth! Revert!'

Imagination had some part in the process. Thought and Desire had some effect on helping to learn spells, almost like training wheels.

Desmond's skin began heating up from the intense flame. He felt burn patches and white bubbly blisters forming. His eyes lost sight and his nose no longer worked. Death would soon approach.

'Life! Give me life dammit!'

Just as he thought he'd keel over and die, his Magicka sprang into action, forming a yellowish bright light. It swirled and pooled over his body like a wave covering every inch of him. It was warm like the sun but not destructive like Ascila's flame.

'I did it! It worked!'

He felt his burns slowly beginning to heal but just as he thought he had successfully survived Ascila's assault, the crazed foresworn began laughing maniacally. Desmond thought about running but there was a high chance she would chase after. She was completely lost in her burning lust.

"Hahaha! Burn! Burn! Burn! Hahaha!"

'Ahhg! I can't keep this up!'

His magicka couldn't keep up with the increased intensity of the inferno. The pain was already a little too much for him to bear and the only thing keeping him sane was his Magicka, which he figured somehow acted as a pain relief.

'Wait. My back isn't as nearly burnt as my front. If I can just move it.'

It was a long shot but it was better than nothing. He focused on the wave of restoring light flowing throughout his whole body and willed it to only heal his front. With a bit of effort, he made it comply with his demands which not only reduced his Magicka consumption but slightly increased its healing potency.

At last, his skin stopped burning as his heal and Ascila's fire were locked in a stalemate.

'She's gone mad. If only I had a shield of some kind to block her fire.'

It was just a tiny shift but it was enough to get Desmond's attention. A tiny part of his Magicka had suddenly transformed before returning back to its healing attribute not a millisecond later.

'Could it be?'

It was all he needed before he turned his attention to that one subtle feeling. A part of his Magicka was affected, turning from a yellowish light to a soft glowing white. It spread more and more until it suddenly turned into a transparent barrier right in front of his eyes. It was now a shield protecting him from the flame and it extended outwards from his body like a projection.

'For some reason, I can feel it's still a part of the restorative property. I wonder how it works.'

Just as how flames and lightning were two different elements, they both shared the property of destruction. Desmond thought it was the same for healing and shielding.

The flames hit the slowly forming transparent barrier that was channeled through Desmond's left hand. On his other hand, he poured some healing magicka onto his wounds, only focusing on the burnt areas instead of wasting it on his whole body.

'That feels better. But…I feel like I'm emptying out.'

Like a barrel being constantly drained, it wouldn't be long before his magicka ran out. The only thing now was how long could the crazed woman last.

"Ascila! That's enough! Calm yourself!"

"Huh?"

A voice sprang from nearby, causing Ascila to wake from her trance. Her fire instantly died and at the same time, Desmond had run out of Magicka. He stumbled a few steps back and caught his breath. Ascila on the other hand was mildly surprised when she saw Desmond projecting a ward.

"Why Desmond! Isn't that the ward spell? And I don't see a single scratch on you. Learning two spells at once, I'm impressed. Now isn't my method of teaching a lot better than some dusty old book?"

"your method almost got him killed," said a man wearing an outfit similar to Ascila.

When the new arrival walked toward them, Desmond was shocked when he found that the man had something off about him, and it wasn't his lazy eye.

'I can see his heart! Is that even a heart?'

"Oh, you're too soft-hearted, Malikai. Pain is the best teacher. You should know that better than anyone."

The man named Malikai shook his head, "everything has a limit, Ascila. Even me. Knowing our limits and striving to surpass them is the only way to succeed. It takes years of practice and dedication. Not instantly through the threat of death!"

"Pft. Hypocrite."

The wild man had a headdress covering his face and as he got closer, Desmond could faintly smell something putrid and rotting. He walked up to Desmond and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry about that friend. The Matriarch told me to make sure Ascila doesn't murder you in training. But it looked like you could handle yourself quite well."

"It wasn't all bad. Thanks to her I got the basics of a few spells down."

"See, Mali? If you want more training, Desmond, I can teach you about alchemy. That's where my specialty lies."

"I think he's had enough of you for one day," Malikai said, then turned to Desmond. "You'll be coming with me. We're going to see if you got yourself a sword arm or skill with the bow."

"You're not gonna try to kill me are you."

"Hahaha, not to worry. We foresworn men are not as crazy as our women. We're the ones who gotta keep them in check, hahaha."

The man seemed jolly and walked with spirit. Though he smelled faintly of death, Desmond thought he wasn't such a bad guy.

"So how're you liking our tribe so far? We're a big happy family here, so don't be shy to ask any of us questions."

"Ah, okay. Er, may I ask about your, uh, the thing on your chest?"

"Hehe. I got a feeling you'd ask that. Yup. This is a special privilege only the worthy can obtain. Only Matriarch Hella can bestow such a power. It makes us stronger, faster, and able to regenerate our wounds quickly. The only downside is someone can easily reach their hands inside and...yoink! Grab it...or a well timed shot with a bow."

"Can't you cover it up?"

"Nope. It only works if my heart is exposed."

As Desmond followed Malikai, they walked past a large brown bear napping beside a tent.

"Have you met my wife, Esmerelda? She sleeps most of the day but she can be quite rowdy at night. Know what I'm saying?"

"Oh, you're married?

"Sure am! I raised my wife ever since she was a cub. They grow up so fast," the wild man teared up, wiping his eye.

'Wait...then...'

A sudden thought occurred to the young Breton, who decided for the sake of his own sanity, to forget what he just heard.