Mana moves like ocean waves, in and out from Valthar's lungs.
Minutes fly away like a bird, traveling far into the horizon.
Entranced Valthar sat quietly till the sound of footsteps awoke him from meditation.
"Am I interrupting something?" Lionel asked as he hopped onto the slow moving wagon.
"Nothing of urgency." Valthar answered casually.
"I remember you presented yourself as a mage, but before I give you a task I need to know what type of magic you specialize in."
Though asking such a thing would normally earn suspicion from any commoner mage, Lionel dealt with enough nobles in his life to know how they'd think.
In this empire the nobility believed when it came to combat no schemes could break absolute strength.
Without surprise, Valthar hid nothing, speaking clearly of both his strengths and weaknesses.
"In theory I know almost every one of the basic spells an apprentice can cast, in practice I'm more of a healer then a battle mage, since other than heals most of my spells tend to fizzle out."
In his hand elemental magics backfired so hard only versions modified by hand would 'work'.
And to do that he had to remove all of the special effects born from elemental mana.
The heals and some other body focused support spells came out decent, but the attacks…
They ended up so weak that throwing a rock and calling it earth shot could cause more damage to a target.
"Oh you're a healer?!"
Lionel was pleasantly surprised, dedicated healers were always in need.
And most importantly, his contact in Deep Bonfire offered him a commission for recruiting people to the city and the premium for recruiting a healer was even higher than the one offered for a combat mage.
"That's good, any idea on your elemental affinity? Our caravan healer has a water based one if you don't know yours she might be able to help out."
Lionel prodded further as an idea sprouted in his mind, depending on Valthar's answer it might be better to scout him to the caravan instead of sending him to Deep Bonfire.
The recruiting fee was good and a few more gold coins are always welcome, but two healers with complementary affinities working together? That was a gold mine.
With shame hidden behind his mask Vlathar shakes his head.
"I'm Affinityless."
Lionel gets genuinely surprised and the idea of recruiting Valthar withers before the young mage even gets to hear it.
"Really? Wait… Can someone without affinity even cast spells?"
He asked in genuine confusion.
The methods to determine elemental affinity were both expensive and monopolized by a few noble families.
So truly, it was really rare to see someone affinityless, since any commoner that struggled as much as Valthar in controlling mana would just assume they have a gray talent and call it a day.
Either way dedicated mages were few in every strata of society.
Instead, most used magic by instinct during their daily lives.
Such uses consumed little mana and brought mild effects like lighting a camp fire, cooling down on a hot day or watering plants.
"I don't know about others, but I can cast them… with some difficulty."
Valthar copped hard.
Had he been born in any other family he would have dropped magic a week or two after trying to control mana.
A gray talent commoner with an elemental affinity could easily form a mana ring in a couple weeks with the right instruction and work ethic.
Valthar had the best instruction, access to valuable resources, good work ethic and lived in an area of dense mana since birth.
And yet after half a year and experimenting with almost every type of elemental mana, he still hadn't formed his ring.
A dreadful bottleneck he once blamed on not having found the right elemental mana for his body, up until he found himself 'revealed' as an affinityless cripple
To put in perspective, if Valthar had put the same time and resources into becoming a knight.
He'd be at least an E rank knight, the equivalent of a second ring mage.
Hearing Valthar's awkward silence Lionel decided it was better to give him some space.
"In that case rest well during this next month of travel, our healer probably won't need assistance but when we reach Deep Bonfire I'm sure you'll be swamped with patients."
***
Days pass in travel.
And though Valthar keeps his distance he surprisingly does not receive any animosity from the caravan members.
Asking around he finds more than half of those traveling are also new to the group, apparently recruited along the cities to work at Deep Bonfire.
Days pass in directionless cultivation, with little to no results to show.
Nights are somehow worse.
Wrapped in his cloak Valthar squirms inside the wagon.
While in the land of dreams shivers at the bottom of a well.
Up there at the mouth of the well a thunderstorm is afoot and in his heart he can feel a warning, the thunderstorm was there after him.
Suddenly the falling raindrops turn red and viscous, drop by drop he watches in horror as the bottom of the well starts to fill.
Scrambling he claws at the wall, trying to climb out before drowning in the thick rain.
But the walls are too smooth and his fingers too slippery.
The downpour intensifies, he feels the water level climbing up his leg, then his torso, then his neck.
His breaths grow shallow, jumping out fast one after the other.
His arms struggle against the bloody surface, trying to keep the head above water, but his body feels heavy as if a gravity spell was pulling him down.
He tries to scream for help, but the liquid is too high, already flooding his mouth and invading his throat.
In the distance at the mouth of the well he sees a head peak over.
A human, noble fair skin and head adorned by a crown of gold.
Even from down there Valthar feels their eyes lock.
Valthar raises his hand in a last ditch effort before sinking in.
A quiet plea as hope dims down.
And then.
The person covers the well with a lid, plunging Valthar in darkness as his body sinks deeper and deeper into the red waters.
Gasping Valthar for air awakens in the wagon. Cold sweat dripped down his brows and back.
Frazzled, he looks through a window and sees the river of stars illuminating the night sky.
With night still deep he should go back to sleep, but he knows any attempts at the moment would be futile effort.
Right now there is no well, there is no lid and not a single cloud covers the sky and yet something in that damned nightmare has unsettled him deeply.
With deep breaths he stumbles out of the wagon.
Walking through the caravan's tents he makes his way to the firepit.
"The same nightmare?" Lionel asked casually, not the least surprised in seeing Valthar up at this hour.
His hands slowly sharpen his sword, as his eyes trail through the forest that circles the clearing.
At his side a man that was supposed to keep watch naps warmed by the fire.
Here at the inner parts of the empire most woods were safe, once in the Outlands such peace would be rarely found.
"Yeah…" Valthar mumbles as he sits.
Silently he watches the fire hoping to chase away the shadows in his heart.