After hanging out with Ana and Dorrian for another ten minutes, I left my room and took Luna with me as I walked over to Virrius' tower, which was connected to the keep. I had Luna tag along so we could see how she would fare during her first lesson in imagery magic.

After roughly ten minutes of walking through the keep, we arrived at the large oak door of his tower. I reached for the door handle, but it opened without me even knocking and a deep voice called out from within.

"Come in! Come in, my friends!"

We walked into the tower, and I saw my teacher stand up from a desk and flash a warm smile at us. "Welcome to my tower."

Luna had been a little nervous while we were heading over to the tower, but her unease melted away when she was greeted with the presence of my happy-go-lucky master. His tower held some of my fondest memories, like the time I created my first shielding ward that didn't instantly shatter. From elation to complete and total frustration, I've felt it all in Virrius' private abode full of wisdom and books.

The tower itself wasn't anything too crazy: the stone brick floor was scuffed from countless hours of pacing back and forth, and several blackboards scattered around the main room of the tower were crammed full of scholarly musings written in white chalk. I also couldn't help but notice the piles of books and papers that were scattered everywhere. I'm not the most organized person, but geez...breathe the wrong way, and you may have an avalanche of knowledge cascading down on you.

"H-Hello Virrius," She stammered, "H-How are you this morning?"

"Oh, I am doing quite well. Thank you for asking," He began as he walked over to a shelf and picked up an ancient book. "I understand that you are here to learn the basics of imagery magic-yes, the lessons you will be going through today are considered 'the basics' of imagery magic, but that does not mean that they will be easy. You understand this, yes?" "

Luna nodded, "I understand sir."

Virrius chuckled, "Please, just Virrius."

"O-Oh, of course," she stammered, face red in embarrassment, "My apologies."

"I have never truly understood all of the formalities of this country. Where I am from, we greet our friends and neighbors all the same without all of the 'sirs' and 'madams'. Eh, but who am I to question formalities?" Virrius drawled as he lazily walked about the chilly room, grabbing dusty and worn out books from shelves while putting others back: "I am but an old wizard from the north."

He chuckled to himself, then grew serious, "I take it you know how to create a wisp?"

Luna nodded, "I do. Helix taught me that much at least."

"Ah, good. I'm glad my student has already started the learning process for you," Virrius continued as he shot a grin my way. "What a brilliant idea."

I chuckled, "I didn't want her to be completely clueless."

Luna looked at me in confusion while Virrius scoffed.

"Too clueless?" he echoed, "Give the lass some credit, Helix. She's doing enough just by being here. You are never clueless if you are willing to learn."

I held my hands up in surrender: "Okay, okay. My apologies. I meant no harm."

Luna chuckled to herself as Virrius cleared his throat

"Ah...where were we?" he mused to himself as he tried to place a book on a nearby book shelf, only to knock another tome off. It fell a few feet before levitating back into my master's open hand: "Damn it..." He hissed, only to look at Luna and smile. "Oh yes. So Luna, how much potential do you believe you have to become an imagist, let alone a magic user in general?"

"I-I can't truly be sure, so that's why I am here to learn," Luna told him: "I've never been exposed to a magic branch, so I cannot give you an honest response."

Virrius nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent response, my dear Luna. Most people would self-inflate their own potential and state that they can 'handle anything.' Knowing your limits is the first step to mastering any form of magic, especially imagery magic."

For the next hour, Virrius taught Luna a basic shielding ward: a spell most novices are required to master before moving on to anything else.

"Most types of magic require a word or incantation of power in order to cast a spell. However, there are no words or phrases you need to memorize for imagery magic." Virrius instructed her. "You simply need to see the ward in your mind's eye and create it. I wish I could explain it in more detail, but you'll learn more through practice than if I talked your ear off. It's like conjuring up your will-o-wisp, but different. I hope that makes sense."

Luna nodded and closed her eyes. A few moments later, her eyes opened up again and gazed at our master.

"Do I need to...do anything with my hands?"

He chuckled. " Hold both of your hands out as if you're reaching for something. That'll help you create the ward."

She nodded once more and closed her eyes a second time. With her hands outstretched, Luna shuddered as she started to draw from her reserves. Slowly but surely, a yellowish-green ward formed around her. It took the shape of a large curved shield and she held the ward for a good ten minutes before letting go of it due to her reserves getting low.

Almost subconsciously, I siphoned off a little of my own reserves to refill Luna's.

Virrius rose an eyebrow, but said nothing.

We continued onward: this was review for me, but seeing me cast the ward beside her seemed to help Luna focus. I continued to mirror her moves, and I couldn't help but be amazed when Luna conjured up a basic ward four more times before she had to call it quits.

At the end of the lesson, Luna breathed a sigh of relief: "I did it," she whispered, shoulders sagging in exhaustion.

I chuckled, "You holding up Luna?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," She murmured.

Virrius laughed, "Good job Luna! You survived your first lesson. Wasn't too difficult, eh?"

"Heh, right. Not tough at all..."

I grinned, "A piece of cake."

"Heh, heh...no."

Virrius patted-more like slapped- Luna on the back and almost knocked her off her feet.

"Ack!" She squeaked.

Virrius continued to boom with laughter, "My apologies. That is how my people typically greet each other."

"Speaking of which, where are you from?" Luna inquired, curiosity glittering across her yellowish-green eyes.

"To put it simply: I am from the north," He told her, a note of warning creeping into his voice: "That is all you need to know."

"Oh, okay," Luna replied, taking the hint to not press the matter further.

Virrius clapped his hands together, "Ah yes, before I forget: seeing as how you do not have robes fitting for a proper novice, do you mind if I may create you a pair real quick? It will not take long."

Since my clothing doesn't really fit Luna, Analise was kind enough to lend her one of her tunics, a pair of pants, along with a pair of boots. While she did ask for them back, I was still surprised by the act of kindness Ana had made toward the shy kaitrit.

Luna shrugged. "I don't mind."

Our master nodded and snapped his fingers. A rich blue roll of measuring tape appeared before Virrius before hovering over to Luna and taking various measurements of her frame. (Such as her waist size, shoulder span, arm length, height, etc.) When he was done with that, Virrius nodded to himself.

"Alright...What color do you want your robes to be?"

"Umm...White. Why not?" Luna replied.

He chuckled. "Very well. I'll get to work on this. I should have your robes done in a few days. For now, I bid you both farewell."

We started the lesson at sunrise and ended after lunchtime, so yeah, we were fairly drained. We said goodbye to Virrius and left his tower. Leaving the central keep, we began to head over to the Drunken Skag to meet up with Dorrian and Analise.

Sighing contentedly, Luna walked beside me and smiled. "How did I do today?"

"Great-phenomenal really. You didn't faint once during the lesson and training session."

Luna rose both of her eyebrows in surprise, "So I take it most other people pass out during their first lesson?"

"More often than not, yeah."

"What does that mean for me then?" She asked.

"That means you're different from other novices," I began, "You have more potential about you. Being introduced to any branch of magic can be rough, so the fact that you didn't black out proves that you're strong in more ways than one."

"Hmm..." Luna mused, "Intriguing."

"Indeed. I'm starving. Want to get a bite to eat?"

"Are you always hungry?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're telling me you're not hungry?" I retorted.

"...No, I'm starving."

"So...that's a yes?" I inquired with a grin.

"I mean, yeah..."

"Fair enough, let's go to the Skag then." I replied with a grin.

Luna purred softly.

We walked side by side, and I noted that Luna had a bright smile on her face. For the two days I had known her, Luna has mostly kept to herself. While she was still quiet and soft-spoken, she seemed to be growing comfortable around my group of misfits along with herself. She actually hummed to herself as we walked over to the Skag.

While we continued walking toward our favorite watering hole, I drifted off in thought.

"Well, this lesson was certainly interesting." One of my voices mused.

"Indeed. Luna pushed herself to her limits, and she didn't pass out." Another voice chimed in. "Remember our first lesson with Virrius?"

"Of course I do." Voice #1 replied in a sour voice. "We fell on our face after holding up a ward for ten minutes straight."

"And the lass didn't hit the dirt. I have a feeling she'll be a powerful magic user after she gets more practice in."

"I concur." a third voice added. "But for now, let's focus on getting food."

"Aye." voice #1 agreed. "It appears Luna's as hungry as we are."

"Well, duh. She's getting used to drawing from her reserves for the first time." Voice #2 retorted. "For most novice magic users, drawing from their pools of magic is the hardest thing to get used to."

"Eh, fair enough..."

I chuckled to myself and noticed we were getting closer to the Skag.

Entering the tavern, the barkeep Warren smiled warmly and waved at me, "Ah, Helix. Glad to see you're not dead yet."

"Haha, very funny Warren," I retorted with a smirk on my face, "What's for lunch?"

"Beef stew-carrots, potatoes, little bit of leek, um...beef of course, peas, and whatnot. It's fresh and it's hot. That's what matters, no?"

"Damn right," I agreed, setting eight silver marks on the bar.

Warren looked at me quizzically, "Uh, Helix? It would be four silver marks for you and your friend. Drinks included."

I laughed, "Luna may get seconds or even thirds. That's just to cover any collateral damage she causes while getting her food."

A look of alarm crossed her face: "I-I'm not that hungry..."

"It's a just-in-case deposit," I assured her with a wink: "If you're still hungry, don't be afraid to get a little extra to eat."

A ghost of a smile teased the corners of Luna's mouth: "Fair enough."

Warren shrugged, "Alright, fair enough-Oh, here comes the rest of your lot. I'll have your food over to your table in a few moments."

Dorrian and Ana walked through the doors of the tavern. Dorrian looked at us and grinned as he walked over to give me a high five, "Ello, how'd the practice go?"

"Good. Luna did an outstanding job." I replied.

"Yeah?" He prompted.

"Yeah. She didn't pass out either."

Dorrian rose his eyebrows, "That's a good thing?"

I nodded, "Aye. Most people that start to learn a new form of magic are seriously exhausted to the point of blacking out after their first few lessons. This first lesson shows that she's more resilient than other novice magic users."

"Huh." Dorrian mused.

Analise shook her head in disbelief. "That's all you have to say? Huh?"

"...Yeah, pretty much."

"You're pathetic," Ana replied.

"You know it," Dorrian shot back with a wink.

Analise tripped him as we approached our designated spot. After Dorrian picked himself up and dusted himself off, he grinned. "Ow."

"That's what you get for acting like an idiot," Ana retorted.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Yes, yes it was," Ana replied with a smug grin, "It was funny as hell."

"Guys, come on," I pleaded as we sat down at our table. "Less insulting one another and more enjoying each other's presence."

"Not happening," Ana muttered, only to instantly brighten up as Warren approached our table with a tray that held our bowls of stew.

"Here you go!" he chirped as he laid our bowls out before us with an appreciative clatter, "Enjoy!"

Ana needed no other prompting: she instantly had a spoon in her hand and greedily devoured her food.

Dorrian sighed, "Okay then. Have fun inhaling your food."

"At least I don't choke, unlike you," She mumbled.

"...I do not," He replied.

Ana could only chuckle to herself.

The table faded to silence, except for Luna, who kept humming to herself. It was quite an interesting melody.

"Where have you heard that?" I asked her, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Virrius taught me a neat trick two years ago that has allowed me to stay in contact with my team: telecommunication. The beauty of this ability is that I can talk to people telepathically with my mind rather than, you know, having to open my mouth and speak like a normal human being.

She looked up from her meal in alarm and looked around for the person that spoke to her.

"It's me, goober. I'm just asking where you heard the melody you're humming." I said-thought, I don't know.

"Oh," she sent back," My mother used to sing this to me when I was younger. It was a lullaby her parents used to sing to her when she was a child."

I nodded. It made sense that she would remember something like that. It was a soft, moving melody that sent shivers down my spine.

More silence, yet the humming continued.

Finally: "I hear you humming over the madness around us. How?" Ana inquired curiously.

Luna looked at Analise, debating her answer for a moment, only for to say, "I honestly don't know."

That got me thinking. How could we hear her? I know it's a strange question to ask, but she wasn't shouting the melody out loud, so I wanted to know how it it stood out against the raucous environment of the Skag.

Ana rose an eyebrow, "Really? Come now, you have to know something at least."

Luna shook her head, "Sorry, but I genuinely have no clue as to how you heard me."

I shrugged, "Oh well. Stop bugging her Ana."

She huffed, "Fine."

Dorrian chuckled, "Something wrong Ana?"

"Nope, so hush your face," Ana retorted.

We all laughed, even if it wasn't that funny. Oh well, we were all bored, so we'd find anything funny.

And that, my friends, is when the alcohol rolled in.