Someone becomes an Initiate when they can perceive aura, Jormun explained. For many people, they can’t tell the difference between an Initiate and someone who hasn’t begun walking the path of Sainthood. After all, someone with good eyes or a sixth sense can be pretty interchangeable with an Initiate.
“Like a beastkin, naga, or illiar,” Ezra nodded. “They’ve got better senses, are stronger than humans.”
I have no idea what any of those are, Jormun replied.
“Beastkin are people who’re kinda like animals,” Ezra supplied, happy to know something that Jormun didn’t seem to. “Leopardkin, jackalkin, like that. They have animal ears and tails, usually stronger and faster than humans, there’s a couple that live around here. Knifefingers, the boss of the Blades, is a ratkin. Nagas have a human’s upper body and a snake’s lower body, and they’re the best sorcerers in the world, and illiar are the Gods’ chosen. I don’t know a whole lot about them, though.”
Right now it doesn’t matter, though, so shut up, Jormun waved his hands dismissively through the air. We’re not talking about some other random shit. Aura, and becoming an Initiate.
Ezra nodded, focusing on what the old man was attempting to explain.
You saw my aura in the dream I gave you, right? He didn’t wait for any response before continuing, The attribute someone wields is a reflection of how they act, what they believe, and who they are at their core. My aura’s attribute was steel, but your attribute will be slowly developed as you walk the path towards Sainthood. The first step is to be able to perceive aura of all attributes, because even as your internal world is solidified, your attribute won’t be fully set until you become a Knight. With my help, I think you should begin to feel aura in the next five days of training.
“You’re saying all this,” Ezra spoke normally for a second before clearing his throat and reducing it to a whisper again, “but you seem like you’re just jumping from one idea to the next. I’m supposed to see aura, but I don’t see anything other than what I always do. So what’s the point?”
I’m getting to it, kid. Just shut up and listen. I’m going to expose you to as many auras as we can while we’re here. This city’s called Villy, right? For now, I’ll have you observe this fire with your inner eye. How cold you are should help you to understand the essence of fire beyond what you see, so pay attention to that. Then, when you’re out and walking around later today, I’ll have you try to sense various different attributes of aura that can be found around here.
“How the hell am I supposed to sense the fire like that?” Ezra muttered as he pulled a chair close to the banked flames and held his hands out towards the warmth. The fire was largely coals right now, valuable firewood being held back until later, when customers would be coming in. The glowing embers radiated heat and crackled, but Ezra wasn’t getting anything more profound out of it than that.
The least interesting part of aura is what it looks like, Jormun grunted, swinging his hand down at Ezra, which passed through his head and did nothing. What you see can always be misunderstood or hidden. Don’t trust your stupid eyes to learn about aura. The most profound expressions of aura are visible, but that doesn’t really matter for being able to perceive aura. People don’t become Initiates because a Knight came in and showed their aura shroud.
“Then what do I look at?” Ezra grumbled as he rubbed his fingers together. The feeling was mostly back in them, and the tingling was fading, leaving behind a more comfortable warmth.
I didn’t say look, I said observe. Feel it more than you see it, understand it. When you understand what makes a fire burn, a stone sturdy, or the winds blow, then you’re understanding aura.
“So every Knight is some book-reading shut-in before they start to use the sword?” Ezra asked, disbelieving.
Dammit, kid. Stop asking questions and just do what I said! Jormun growled.
Instead of continuing to argue over what he felt was a pretty stupid instruction, Ezra squinted as he looked at the fire. He leaned closer, and felt the skin on his face tighten as the heat grew unbearable, so he pulled back just enough to nearly get burned.
The coals shimmered with heat, and the heat seemed to come in waves instead of in a constant, uninterrupted warmth. It’s hot, of course. Kept people alive. Fire was always flickering too, even when it was just starting, at its strongest, or dying. Maybe that had something to do with it? Constantly changing? But fire also destroyed things that were put in it, so it was dangerous. But it wasn’t just dangerous, because just as much as it destroyed and killed, it cooked and saved lives in the winter, like now. Ezra probably would lose a finger if he didn’t have a fire right now.
So fire was a destroyer and a protector. A tool and a weapon. Constantly changing and constantly consuming.
As he thought that, Ezra saw fire clearly approaching him, even though his eyes were mostly closed. It burst in his eyes, and he closed them reflexively. The flame there was different from usual, as if he’d always seen it through a misty night before. It was clearer, more understandable. Somehow, he understood how it would crackle and dance when he looked at it.
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Even with his eyes closed tight, it burned itself into his vision as he fell backward off of his stool. Fire as it truly was filled his head, and Ezra swore he saw a handsome redheaded man in the place of the flames as he fell. The man looked at Ezra, glanced up and down, and turned away. It was a dismissal, but not as hate-filled as many people’s eyes were when they looked at him. Instead, it was an appraisal and decision that he simply hadn’t met the mark yet.
Then, that glimpse of fire disappeared once again and left Ezra with his vision swimming as his head cracked against the packed dirt floor. The vision of flame as it truly was fled as Ezra groaned in pain and held his head. That moment of understanding escaped him, and he couldn’t say what it had been, where it had come from, or why he’d seen it that way.
What’d you see, lad? Jormun’s voice cut in as he spoke. Explain it, now!
“I saw…”
Don’t hesitate, just say what you think!
“It was real fire. Perfect, for just a second,” Ezra said. “Then, I saw a man in its place. He looked at me and seemed to think I wasn’t worthy of looking at him and walked away. Then I cracked my head on the ground.”
Fucking hell. Really? I mean—
“You good there, Ezra?” Adam asked. The barkeep was making sure everything at the bar was taken care of and accounted for, but he’d evidently seen Ezra’s fall. “You keep talking to yourself. Got a fever or something?”
“Just talking about what I need to do today,” Ezra lied. “I know that the Madam’s got some errands for me, but I wanted to make sure I can still get another workout in without getting too tired for work tonight.”
“You’re gonna keep working out like that?” Adam asked, laughing as he carefully observed a couple of the wooden tankards used for serving ale. Seeing a crack, he pinched a little bit of sap between his fingers and worked it into a more pliable form as he said, “Seems like a pretty stupid thing you’re doing there.”
“I don’t think so,” Ezra bristled. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone made fun of his dream to be a Knight. “Someday, I won’t be here, and I’ll need to be able to do something useful.”
“So learn your numbers,” Adam answered. “Knowing to read and keep accounts is worth a lot more than having tree trunks instead of arms.”
“No, I’m good,” Ezra said. Adam waved him off, and Ezra stood up, walking away from the fire. It had been long enough that he couldn’t stick around in front of the fire and not look like he was slacking off. Luckily, his conversation with Adam seemed to have drawn the Madam’s attention, and the woman strode out of the kitchen and locked eyes with him.
“Ezra. Come with me,” she instructed. Her dark hair, streaked with gray at the temples and through her styled hairdo, whipped through the air behind her as she stalked to her destination, whatever it was. Ezra followed behind her, striding through the kitchen and towards her office, located at the back of the inn.
The kitchen was bustling, as most of the work to ensure a successful afternoon and evening came from hard work early in the morning. Loaves of bread were rising along one large counter, and pots of thick gruel boiled as well. To see so much food was always a luxury, though Ezra knew that The Dragon’s Toenail wasn’t overflowing with cash it could spend wherever it wanted. The expenses for food and paying the employees was only barely covered by the gains the inn made from day to day. Ezra was sure that the Madam had money stored away, but that was none of his concern.
Through the kitchen, they arrived at the office, a small, undecorated place. There were no windows and a single door, one shelf along one wall and a desk. Two chairs were in the room, but they didn’t sit in either as the Madam pulled a small pouch out from her desk.
“For your errands,” she said as she handed it over. “There’s a couple things I need picked up from in town. They’re all already paid for, but you know how the inner city’s guards are.”
Ezra nodded as he opened the pouch and saw the four large silver there with a handful of smaller, petty coins. He quickly divided the wealth inside into four other pouches and hid them in different places under his tunic. Obviously, there was more than enough to pay the bribes to get there and back, but there was double, just in case he ran into trouble.
“Alright. Am I going to need to bring a wagon or anything?” He asked.
“No. Just the large pack,” she replied as she gestured to the backpack in the corner of the room. Ezra shrugged it on as she gave him the three addresses to visit and a note to ensure he didn’t forget.
“Now go. I want you back before lunch is through,” she waved him off through the door. Ezra nodded again and walked out of the office and through the kitchen. He jogged up the stairs to collect his cane before he walked back downstairs. There, preparations were growing louder, and Adam had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise.
“You leaving now?”
“What do you think, jackass?” Ezra laughed, shrugging the backpack.
“Fair. Be quick!”
Ezra just waved his hand back as he strode to the door, grabbed a cloak and threw it around his shoulders, and walked out of The Dragon’s Toenail. As soon as he was out, he pulled the hood of the cloak over his head and shifted his stance while placing his cane onto the ground. His dark, wavy hair wasn’t noteworthy until it was paired with his bright blue eyes, and hiding his eyes was easier than making himself noticeable. Walking with a slight limp wasn’t hard, and a few seconds later, he looked like a regular man with a limp but enough strength to walk through this cold with purpose.
As soon as he was clear of the inn and well on his way, Jormun finally spoke back up.
You said you saw a man, right?
Instead of saying anything, Ezra just nodded in response to the question. Jormun hovered in front of the younger man and beamed a smile down at him as he said, Well, that’s a damn fine showing you’ve made of yourself there. Seeing your personal interpretation of the aspect on your first time? Impressive!
When Ezra locked eyes with the ghost and raised his eyebrow in a question, the old man sighed and said, I forget how little you know. It’s a damn shame that nobody around here knows anything. But I’ll explain what you experienced while you walk. Ready?
As Ezra nodded again while keeping his attention on his surroundings, the ghost began to speak.