On The Approach

It is a nice cool day as Cyrus and co. continue their travels towards their destination, travelling so fast due to Adara's assistance that the group was ahead of schedule by a wide margin at this point.

"All the various flora and fauna that exist in the Empire are simply too astonishing even when just reading about it but witnessing it is another thing entirely" thought Cyrus as the group were taking a temporary rest at a travelers stop. "Although the Southern region is the most peaceful of them all, due to the easy terrain and sheer amount of resources that the Empire has put into cultivating the land which makes it easy for nature to thrive. There is a reason that much of the food in the Empire is transported from this area after all" of which led Cyrus to think back to all the various vast farmlands he and his travelling companions had past on the way here, not to mention all the long lines of transport caravans which slowly but surely brought food to the rest of the Empire. "Farmlands are hard to miss after all, when you notice an unusual amount of patrolling in an area it's a dead give away that there is a large piece of agricultural work going on. Must be hard to mass farm when there is a decent chance of any animal becoming infected and going crazy…"

"Ah a three, just what I needed!" cried a voice, breaking Cyrus' train of thought.

"I wonder if Mundus gave you the gift of board game mastery, Deus. Do you ever lose?" said Cyrus in dejection, as his opponent had gotten the perfect roll to score yet another victory in their game of Ur.

"Its all skill, all skill!" said Deus in response with a laugh.

"Three dice, each has 6 possible outcomes of how you roll with each outcome being separate from the other… the fact that out of every possible one you get exactly a three" mumbled Cyrus as he cleared his pieces from the board, of which only two out of seven actually made it to the finish line.

"Perhaps the dice know your head is elsewhere as you play and they cry out in neglect, thus punishing you for your transgressions" said Deus in an overly cryptic and ominous tone.

Cyrus just shrugged as he put away the board, "What can I do, there are plenty of distractions when I am travelling a new land almost the complete opposite of where I spent my entire life."

Cyrus stored away his game away and hooked his small sack back on his belt as he had noticed that the rest of his companions had returned from giving the horse a much needed water and food break, even hiring someone to groom them. Even though Adara could speed things along by allowing the horses to skip rests for hours, they still needed a ton of food and water to replenish themselves as Vita mages could not take the place of the two.

As Cyrus was pondering various Vita applications, the mage herself sat down next to Cyrus.

"There will be plenty more new things to see when we reach the south's capitol, right now we are passing by the city of Austellus. Hmm, its quite a nice city that I have been to once before it's a shame that we don't have the time to stop at it but we are timed after all." Thinking for a moment, remembering why she sat down in the first place of which she recalled and began to tell of Cyrus in a stern voice while shaking her finger at him

"I have noticed that your head is always in the clouds when travelling, either full of magic or ponderings about the new environment no doubt. Its fine now because we are with you but shortly you will be alone, its extremely dangerous to wander about while not paying attention young man"

Cyrus, somewhat amused but also secretly happy to be fussed over, said "And that is why I am doing it. With you and the rest at my side, I can safely make maximum use of my time to try to be as prepared as much as possible for the future. You should not forget where I grew up, I am no stranger to hidden dangers and the like."

Adara seemed to accept the answer, although was still a bit visibly worried, but thankfully for Cyrus the rest of the team had arrived.

"Breaks over, we should get back on the road so that we can find a nice spot to camp out for the night. This should be the last time we stay outdoors as we will be reaching the immediate area of the southern capitol soon" said Gabriel as he walked up with the rest of the crew behind him.

At that, Cyrus and the two beside him got up and headed to the stables attached to the rest stop. They paid their dues to the stable hand who was taking care of the horses with an expert touch and went on their way onto the road once more.

Continuing their trend of quick speed, made even faster now that Cyrus was now essentially fully accustomed to horse riding by now, they made it to a perfect area to rest for the night. The location being a small thicket with a convenient clearing behind it, just a few minutes travel off the main road. The group made camp, tethering their horses, and setting up the tents. While Gabriel made a campfire, who was curiously wearing his apron once more. Cyrus noticed this immediately, remarking inwardly

"It has been awhile since I have seen that. Interesting hobby he has, not quite fitting his image at all."

Unaware of the thoughts about him, Gabriel's campfire was created quickly of which he immediately set up a simple pot to be heated above the fire. Throwing various ingredients he had prepared beforehand into it along with a quick empty of a fresh canteen, he began making an easy to make meal.

Cyrus witnessed his skill first hand as he quickly diced the ingredients as they fell into the pot and especially so as he stirred the pot from time to time adding small amounts of various seasonings that Gabriel produced from seemingly nowhere, reminding him of his knife tricks.

After a period of time that was neither long nor short, the food had been prepared. As Cyrus was somewhat entranced by the culinary skill he was witnessing, he had not noticed that the rest of the group had arrived and took seats around him. Gabriel dutifully handed each and everyone a bowl full of the soup, of which was letting forth a tantalizing aroma which seemingly caressed Cyrus' sense of smell whilst creating a surge of desire towards his sense of taste.

"I did not really pay attention to the food he prepared for me when I was parting with Cato. Did I even eat it? I was too focused on my parting to notice…" thought Cyrus

In cascading order, everyone began eating their food with slow and steady bites. After the first, everyone paused in unison, no doubt wondering how such culinary perfection was even possible.

After which came the second and the third, with the occasional praise towards Gabriel who was also enjoying his own meal at this point.

"Indeed, there is no chance that I did eat it as I surely would have remembered something as… godly… as this" thought Cyrus, somewhat lamenting the fact he did not try Gabriel's cooking sooner.

Seconds were had, and thirds for that matter, Gabriel had prepared for this as he knew the effect his food had on people… much to his satisfaction at that.

After everyone had finished Gabriel broke the silence that the godly food had wrought on his companions.

"I hope you all enjoyed the meal" to which everyone affirmed immediately "tomorrow will be our last day of travel, where we will be finally reaching the southern capitol. After which Cato's request will finally be completed, the deliverance of his prized student in one piece!" to which everyone released a cheer, but with the slight woe of parting lurking about.

"Cyrus, tonight refrain from studying more than sleeping and also do not use that spell of yours to substitute for sleep. The examinations are not on a specific day but over a period of time of which anyone can attempt it, assuming they make it to one of the regional capitols, but you must do so at once. Once you arrive you should immediately head to the local Administratum to take the test, Fauve will go with you with a letter of his recommendation to make the process smooth as though he is somewhat outside of the system his position and merits speak for themselves. The earlier you take the test the better, as it will give you more time to learn the complicated academy structure and how the game is played."

"Game? Quite the odd way of describing it" thought Cyrus but he was soon distracted by the wording of Gabriel.

"So, you guys will be parting ways with me earlier than expected then" said Cyrus, in more of a statement than a question.

"Indeed we will. While being personally brought into the city by such a high-profile team has its merits, it also has its flaws. Not only will it immediately put you on the spot but many will expect you to have the support that you do not. That said, among us Fauve is the most balanced. He is of decent standing but not so over the top that people would be hard pressed to believe that a young man could have the luck to earn the approval of. With his backing, you will be able to smoothly take the exams and get slight preferential treatment at the start, but anything further than that will require your own hard work and talent to move forward" finished Gabriel.

"What about the token you gave me?" asked Cyrus

"How you use that is up to you, I trust that you would not do anything to harm yourself. Regardless, make sure to carefully consider social and political implications of everything you do especially if you start to shine brightly" said Gabriel

Seeing Cyrus nodding in understanding, Gabriel ordered him to retire early. As he was heading towards his tent, Cyrus picked up a small bit of conversation that floated towards him from afar

"Ah, I will miss the little guy. It's a shame we can't offer him more help…ah… we have our own problems at hand" said Adara to what Cyrus assumed was Gabriel, alas, he had finally left the range at which even his hearing could not reach so that was all he could glean.

With that, Cyrus did as told and retired earlier than usual that night while also neglecting his addiction to studying, but not forgetting to expend all of his will before he slept so that he could continue to strengthen his reserves.