Clouds stretched across the sky, dimming the sun's rays. A soft breeze swept through the mountain trees, some up in flames, others scorched black. The ground bore dark spots where the fire had kissed it, a testimony of Thane's determination and training. Thin trails of smoke rose toward the heavens.
"Haahaaa!" Thane's laughter echoed through the air. Birds scattered in all directions throughout the mountain top. His grin stretched ear to ear, reflections of flame dancing in his eyes. With focus alone, he could ignite trees at will, the fire bending to his will as he compressed the mana around a chosen target. A mountain goat grazed nearby, unaware it had been added to his menu. Thane crept closer, his gaze fixed. The goat lifted its head, sniffing, confused. Its fur began to smolder, eyes glowing red for an instant... then its head burst into flame. It staggered, running blindly until it struck a tree and collapsed. Thane crouched beside the carcass, the smell of burnt hair thick in the air. "Efficient enough," he muttered. Using a gentler heat, he roasted the meat, tearing a piece free once it was done. The rest he left to cool, provisions for later.
"Jeff… this time you'll be the one running to your death," he said quietly, the amusement fading from his voice.
The clothes Lana had brought him were already in tatters, the fabric burned and torn. If he kept playing with fire at this pace, by the time he will return to the village his valuables would be swinging freely. He exhaled and sat cross-legged on the warm earth. It was time to return to resonance. The complex art of aligning his inner energy with the natural frequencies of the world. If he manages to resonate the two it will be as if he made a contract with mother nature, establishing an activation of his magic core to start storing magic waves that he can use to tame beasts, curse, cast spells and also to use an inventory instead of walking carrying things around. Magic can also be used to cast fire spells, water, wind, and other elemental powers but Thane preferred to use mana for elemental abilities. To use magic to access elemental abilities drains magic waves much faster if used too much, so it's wiser to use elemental abilities accessing the abundance of mana around. And on that note, elemental abilities manipulated by magic are much more stronger than mana elemental abilities.
Thane closed his eyes, breathing deeply, recalling the light that once surrounded him, the shimmering nodes that had illuminated the mountain before. "I need to visualize them," he whispered. "I did it once, and I'll do it again, because l know it's possible for me to be a mage." lnternal energy or frequency is also called life force. Every living thing has life force, might be trees, animals and humans. "To gather magic waves l must release very small amounts of my life force to sync with the life force of other living things forming aura, and that aura l will need to absorb it into my magic core as magic waves." The reason for releasing small amounts of life force is because the chances of one dying can be reduced because life force is something that should never be tempered with. But we should also remember one of The laws of this world, that says only people born as magic can utilize it without any dangers but those who are not mages can work for it but will need to resonate their internal energy with the internal energy of other living things which is suicide to most.
He drew his focus inward and released a pulse of his life force. He guided it carefully, pushing out the tiniest ripple of energy, no larger than a sigh. The pulse drifted from his body, spreading into the air around him. At first, nothing happened. Then he felt it, a soft vibration returning, establishing roots of this magic core. "That's it," he whispered. "The world's breath… and mine." He tried again, releasing another pulse, a little stronger this time. The air thickened. He could feel the life around him the roots buried beneath the earth, the insects crawling within the soil, even the faint heartbeat of a bird perched high above. All of it beating in unison. A thin yellow layer covered his body. Thane grinned, "Yes. So this is what my aura looks like. It's not strong enough but it's enough for what l want". A trail of blood ran out of his nose. "Now l need to absorb it". But when he tried to draw the aura back toward himself, pain lanced through his chest. He gasped for air as if he was drowning. The connection snapped, clutching his arm, his body trembling and twitching. "lt feels like l died and reawakened at the same time", Thane thought mouth wide trying to inhale as much air as he can. "life force is sacred, if l push myself too much my body will forget how to live", he muttered. Trying to steady his breathing. Night begins to settle as the clouds darken.
Thane sat near his fire contemplating the day. Meditating about the release of even smaller amounts of his internal energy. He knew exactly what he needed to do, but he just needed to do it right. His eyes trailed off to the trees surrounding him. "I don't feel that presence anymore. It's very easy to feel someone's presence, it just depends on their intent whether it's to comfort or kill. And the presence I felt was obvious since it was breathing on my neck like that". "If his not going to show up, is he scared or his waiting for a perfect time to.. But that also tells me when his going to show up", Thane's grin was spreading ear to ear. His teeth, razor sharp, like has been sharpening them. "It will be by the time l leave this village".