After Seven named the Raven, she nudged him, and began walking towards the cave she had emerged from. Seven followed her into the opening. Unlike the other caves dotting the mountain top, this one traveled deeper and looked purposefully crafted. Seven could feel the altitude dropping as they descended into the depths of the man made cave. Eventually, runes began appearing, carved into the walls.
"Resilience. Focus. Mantra." Seven couldn't read them, but the meaning conveyed through him as if he were meant to feel it. Something that was both familiar yet alien. At the end was a shrine and around the shrine were endless scrolls set in the hallowed stone that housed them. Seven grabbed one off the shelf and opened it. It was written in the Runic language, but he understood the purpose of the scroll. It was a technique that circulated Mana with an efficiency far above the one he was learning.
Without a second thought, Seven sat down and began taking in breaths of only Mana. Inside his body, he could feel an immediate increase in his Mana, the refinement became more precise. The Mana went from what felt like an ocean inside him, to channels and rivers that connected and spread throughout his body. Seven felt the need to take the scroll with the ancient technique. Valorie picked up a leather bag and dropped it at Seven's feet, which he promptly grabbed and put the scroll and Glacial Iron in it. A convenient item obviously left behind by a past pilgrim. The Mana in the cave was just as dense as the mana outside, only the cold didn't reach this deep.
Seven browsed the scrolls, reading each one, only picking what was useful to him and leaving the rest. The biggest score was the leather bound book on forging techniques for something called Pure Iron of the Polar Axis, or Glacial Iron in modern terms. The fruit he had been eating was known as Glacial Origin Fruit.
"Too much of a mouthful, I'll modernize it like the Glacial Iron and call it Citrice Fruit." Seven told Valorie. The only response was a shake of her head and a soft caw.
"What? Too bland? I feel like it's fitting characteristically." Seven replied. Another caw followed in response.
"Well I'm sorry for taking liberties, what would you have called it?" Seven retorted and asked. This time a series of clicks and chirps followed up.
"Tasteless fruit orbs? That's a terrible name, I'm sorry, I'll stick with Citrice Fruit." Seven scoffed. Valorie chirped and began walking back up. Seven turned and followed her out. When they reached the cold mountain top, Seven walked over to a tree and grabbed a few fruits and a branch, sticking them into the bottomless bag.
"What even is this bag?" Seven mumbled. Valorie again responded with clicks, chirps and a caw.
"Contained Spatial Rift Satchel? I'll call it a Rift Bag then. Long names bother me." Seven looked at the bag with renewed interest. This response did not entice a retort from Valorie. Seven began stuffing more fruit into the bag, but only enough to snack in occasionally and give as a gift and offering to the Elves he had wronged.
Valorie cooed and lowered her body. Seven looked at her for a second in surprise. A smile crept on his face as he rushed over and gently climbed into her back. As soon as he was situated, Valorie stood up, stretched her wings out and with a single powerful thrust, took off into the sky followed by an immediate dive down the cliffside. The cold wind disappeared, replaced by a mildly chilly breeze as they descended to where Theloseus and Seven had made camp.
It took only a few minutes to reach the camp that took days to travel to the top from. Sitting in his usual black robes, stoking a fire, was Theloseus. A look of concern and sleeplessness had replaced his typical elegance and knowledgeable demeanor. When Valorie landed, he jumped up and raced over to the two, his face broke with relief.
"By Meewas, where have you been? I felt the Mana anomaly days ago! I was hopeful you were safe, but… you obviously did much more than go find some mythical rock." Theloseus reached up to help Seven down. Valorie snapped at him in response and chirped agitatedly at him.
"No he's not a dirty mongrel. He's my Master." Seven patted Valorie's head as he corrected her.
"You can speak to… a mythical beast?" Theloseus stepped back, a look of intrigue and desire to study overtook his original concerned one.
"Inexplicably, yes. It happened after I gave her a gift in exchange for the Glacial Iron." Seven walked over to a rock, lifting it away to reveal his white robes, shoes and knife. He quickly donned the outfit and turned to look at his mentor. Seven's hair was ragged and reached only his ears now.
"I can imagine what was exchanged. It seems our training in this mountain has come to a close. But, I must ask, what is this… power I feel coming from you? It's like a hurricane had inexplicably been quieted." Theloseus looked over Seven's body, touching his wrists and heart.
"Oh, it was these." Seven reached into the bag and pulled out the scroll as well as a Citrice Fruit. The appearance of the items enticed excitement from Theloseus as he grabbed the scroll and opened it. But he quickly lost interest.
"Ah, decorative runes. What about the fruit?" Theloseus handed the scroll back and peeled the fruit, taking a bite and then looking very pleased.
"How exquisite! I can feel the cold dulling and my affinity for Ice Mana growing! What is it called?" Theloseus dug into the fruit, but as soon as he ate half, Valorie snatched the rest and ate it.
"Citrice Fruit." Seven replied proudly. Theloseus was still staring at the empty peel, and half-heartedly went, "Uh huh. Let's just go home."
"Right… but, Master, you said earlier you felt the Mana anomaly days ago, but that happened only a couple hours ago?" Seven pointed out a misunderstanding in the statement.
"Huh? No, Seven, how long do you think you were up there?" Theloseus looked highly concerned.
"Like a week at most?" Seven replied.
"Dear boy, you've been gone for seven months." Theloseus patted Seven's shoulder and revealed the truth.