Sunlight squeezed through the canopy of leaves and tangled branches. The rhythmic sounds of sharp whistles cut through the stillness of the peaceful wooded terrain. With a focused gaze and steady breath, Conner leveled his sword to his side and sliced through the imaginary assailant before him with a swift slash.

  The audience of various wildlife spectated from a safe distance, curious to see what the strange creature was up to. Conner practiced the same technique again and again, occasionally slicing through leaves that were unfortunate enough to flutter into his small training area. The uneven terrain added an additional layer of challenge as he readjusted his stance and footwork accordingly numerous times.

  It took some attunement but he'd integrated his swordsmanship training into his daily routine. His sword skills, if he had any, had dampened after losing his old sword. Still, with no instructor, he could only feel out good execution which he knew was an amateur mistake. Reaching mastery was unreasonable but at least he could achieve mediocre levels of proficiency.

  When an hour of fatigue had eaten away at his muscles, he returned his blade to its sheath and walked back onto the trail that led to the cottage. Elder Iryna was rocking back and forth in her chair near the front door by the time he returned, her frail hands working to knit a blanket she'd been working on for quite a while.

  She raised her gaze and greeted him with her usual welcoming smile. "Welcome back, child. I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten lost. You're back much later than usual."

  "Good to know that you worry about me." He teased the old woman.

  "Hardly," she denied with a smirk. "If you disappeared, who would tackle the house chores? It would be a shame, truly."

  Conner hummed a chuckle as he stepped onto the porch. "Will you be coming inside now?" He asked, on standby.

  She shook her head. "I'll stay out for a little lon-" She broke out in a fit of coughs, prompting Conner to act hastily. Patting her back softly, he waited until she'd settled before refilling her cup with herbal tea from the teapot on the round table beside her.

  "Thank you," She accepted, her voice weathered, as she took a sip.

  "I can stay out here if you'd like." He suggested.

  "If you're planning to skip out on your studies, I do hope you can prepare a better excuse than that, my dear." She winked, taking another sip. "I'll be alright on my own. Run along now."

  He hesitated before walking through the door. "If you're certain."

  As he made his way to his room, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. Her health was obviously deteriorating but she continued to brush it off. He wished he could get her to understand the severity of the situation.

  Walking into his room, he took the book on astris from his nightstand and plopped down on his bed. Getting himself comfortable and opening to the page he left off at, he resumed reading the author's over-bloated explanations. At first, he was excited to absorb anything he could on astris but over time, he grew mind-numbingly bored of the redundancy from searching for new information.

  So far meditation has been the only form of astris-related training, and although it proved useful to strengthen his channels, he still couldn't see its advantage without a connection to the elements. His research was still frustratingly vague.

  Page after page, he read about theories of astris' relationship with the physical world, the most plausible being what Elder Iryna had already explained. It wasn't until he flipped to another page towards the end of the book that he cocked an eyebrow.

  Pulling the book closer, his eyes traced over the words. His eyes grew with each line, now glistening with interest.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He shook his head then backtracked, now tracing his finger along the lines as he reread to ensure he wasn't reading wrong. This was yet another theory, a feasible one as there was some evidence to support it, but if the author was correct, Conner would finally make some headway.

  A knock at his door startled him out of his thoughts. "I don't mean to interrupt but supper is waiting."

  He'd become so engrossed in reading about this new information that he lost track of time.

  "S-Sorry, Elder Iryna," he fumbled, scrabbling out of bed and setting his book aside. "I'll be there right away."

  The elder escorted Conner to the kitchen, the fragrance of spices pleasing to his nose. Fresh vegetables were laid out on the countertop next to a cutting board.

  "Let's begin." Elder Iryna waved him over.

  Back in his home village, a maid would always cook his meals so he never saw a need to learn. His untrained hand navigated the cutlery as the elder guided him along. As a demonstration, she placed a carrot onto the board and chopped it into even pieces with little but skillful movements. He tried to imitate her but had only managed to chop them into irregular chunks.

  He thought moving on to peeling the cabbage would yield better results but somehow he'd reduced it into a ravaged heap of jagged green compared to her sheet of wavy strands. Scraping the ingredients into the boiling pot of water hanging over the fireplace, he was instructed to add a pinch of spices. He was convinced the universe was against him when the lid to the bottle popped off, dumping all of its contents into their dinner.

  Elder Iryna responded with a sigh laced with both disappointment and amusement as Conner flared with embarrassment. Fortunately, she had spare veggies and substitution spices for the new batch.

  By the time his disastrous cooking lessons had ended, it was already nightfall. Disappointment fell upon his features as he wouldn't be able to test his findings from his astris book. Instead, he did some more studying in his room until his eyes drooped closed.

  The next day, he was atop the same hill by himself as Elder Iryna was still in bed all throughout his trip to the ravine and gardening chores. He'd usually use this time for meditation but was too impatient to put what he'd read the night prior to the test.

  Setting the open book down, he spaced his legs and closed his eyes, falling into a deep concentration. Even after strengthening his channels, he still had his doubts about whether or not this technique would work. It was technically a theory after all.

  His body pulsed with unseen energy as he worked his channels. He squeezed his eyes tighter in hopes of drawing upon more focus but after minutes of nothing, he began to think he was debunking this author's theory.

  However, before he allowed his concentration to fall, he felt his body tingle. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to find strands of soft white gravitating towards him, clinging to his body. He watched as the particles congregated, wrapping and coating his body in a thin layer of white and relaxing his muscles as the tingling sensation turned to a comforting warmth. Inspecting his arms, now clad in a near-transparent sleeve of astris, he felt lighter than before.

  His focus fizzled out as he grew more amazed and the astris evaporated back into the atmosphere with a gentle hiss. Falling to the grass, a wave of relief and joy flowed through him. He was certain that he had hit a dead end but he was ecstatic to have proved himself wrong.

  He skimmed through the chapter's content once more to confirm this technique's capabilities. Closing his eyes, he tried again, feeling for the ambient astris and willing it together.

  After a few minutes, faint streams of white once again trickled towards him and coalesced around him. When he opened his eyes, the astris began to dissipate but he was quick to tighten his hold to retain most of its shape.

  As he stood to his feet, careful not to break focus, he slowly walked over to a bulky log, three times larger than him, lying at the edge of the clearing. More astris departed from him, cutting open patches but he held on firmly.

  'Let's see if this actually works.' He prayed, reaching down and cupping his hand underneath the bark.

  He took a deep breath, expecting mediocre results but to his shock, the log shot upward when he lifted with little effort. Although he couldn't lift it over his head, it was still an astonishing feat considering the log weighed several times his own body weight. He barely felt any strain on his muscles.

  As the last of his astris had finally melted away in a white mist, he snapped his hand back when the log abruptly plunged to the ground, quivering the earth.

  He stood there, stunned but pleased that his studies hadn't been entirely for naught. Deciding against his meditation training in favor of exploring this new ability's potential, he closed his eyes again and called upon astris.