"How about offensive magics? " Gonye stared closely at Lucia, he was unsure if she actually understood what he was getting at. "If we were to be put into some kind of battle situation do ya' think you'd be able to use your magic to fight?"

Lucia paused momentarily to think, sure she could weave the forces of nature, and probably the aspects of certain materials into cloth, but she had never truly thought about using it as some sort of battle magic. Truly, she just thought of it as some sort of magical quirk, since she was never taught how to conjure balls of fire or any of the other traditional practices that the common magicians used. Though, technically she could simply unwind her cloths and release what she had woven. Particularly her treasured cloth of lightning.

"I..suppose I could" stated Lucia "I've never thought about it, but I guess I could fight with it should the occasion arise."

"You're unsure of what you're actually capable of.." Gonye backed away from Lucia for a moment to gather his thoughts. After some time of contemplating his head shot up to examine Erratus' position on the tree. Unable to see him Gonye estimated he would have just enough time to help Lucia. "Listen, if you're willing I could give ya a bit of guidance on using your abilities to create some real basic offensive spells. Where we're going I'm thinkin' we're going to need every little bit of help we can muster up and if you're capable of even the smallest feat it would be just... terrific."

"Well I've never been taught how to use my abilities, so any sort of teaching would be wonderful" replied Lucia with a shy smile. She had never dreamed that she would be given such an opportunity, magic seemed to be a fairly mysterious, if not condemned art. Smaller villages like her own, seemed to believe that magic was the reason for the walking husks, and so she had always been wary when using her abilities.

"Ah! Glad to see yer willin' to learn." Gonye promptly stepped backwards and placed his hands out in front of himself as if he was holding the sides of some nonexistent object. "The first thing there is to understandin' how to use yer magic is to realize what magic really is-" Gonye paused and look up at Lucia for a moment. "Just mimic my every action. Now, as I was saying, according to some of the most experienced mancers and magus magic is actually two different things operatin' in unison to perform either multiple feats or a single task. The first 'thing' is an energy that floats around your body, like a bloby aura. Everyone has this blob of energy that floats around them, but only a select few have energy that flows. Flowing energy is the first sign of one who can use magic, in fact most people who know the basics to magic only ever harness this energy. It's extremely easy to manipulate once it's discovered and its uses seem almost unlimited to the untrained. It can do small things like allowing one to manipulate an element that's already existent like fire from a torch or water from a creek, or it can create small 'barriers' that allow you to lift objects like boxes and weapons. The second 'thing' is an energy that flows through your body. Normal people don't have this type of energy and no one is quite sure how this energy develops naturally in mancers. A long time ago there was a theory that mancers were the next step in human progression so I suppose you should count yourself lucky." As Gonye continued to talk he began to slowly push his hands together, allowing his now spread out fingers to just barely touch forming a small ball with his hands. "This energy inside... It allows ya to perform much more impressive tasks like actually creating small balls of fire by igniting elements in the air and pulling together the combustin' gasses, the basis of pyromancy." Peeking up from his hands Gonye looked over Lucia before dropping his hands to his side. "Keep yer hands just the way I had 'em and focus yourself, I'm certain you can feel the energy that exists outside your body but the well of energy inside is still locked away. Picture yourself doing what your normally do with magic, picture what you would do with fire but refuse to allow the energy from outside your body to accumulate in your hands. Focus, focus sharply so that the energy outside continues to flow freely around you. It's become second nature by this point in your life to allow your standard energy to do everything, so you may have trouble with this but try your hardest to ignore everything but a feeling deep inside your body." Pointing to his abdomen Gonye stepped forward and began to circle Lucia. "Somewhere in your stomach you'll begin to feel it, your inner energy swirlin' about. It'll feel sickening, almost like your stomach is churning. Try and pull that energy out with your hands, move it energy from your stomach to the surface of your body so that it may flow freely throughout your being. Then bring it from the surface of your body to the space between your hands, if you've never tapped into your power before it should manifest itself as a snake-like white light. I'll be impressed if you can produce a small ball of pure energy about yea big-" With his thumb and index finger Gonye made a small circle less than two centimeters across. "Hell, I'll be impressed if you can even release the energy to the surface in a single go. Just don't strain too much, it might take practice to get use to the spinning feeling in your stomach. Even worse is the feeling that you get when your first free that energy, it makes your whole body go numb"

Lucia listened closely, moderately surprised that Gonye knew a lot more about magic than he had initially led her to believe. She got into the position instructed, and extended her senses in an attempt to feel the sensations that he was explaining to her. The way in which he explained magic made sense to her naturally, however she had inherently taught herself how to allow all that magical energy build up and manifest as some sort of fabric. Perhaps it was because of the internal fear of her releasing magic and suffering the same fate as her parents, or perhaps it was her timid nature that made her keep things inwards rather than expel them outwards. Whatever the reason, she was thankful for her own creative use of magic, and was excited to do some sort of magical feat that she had heard of many others doing in the past.

Lucia searched for the energy within her and around her, and she could feel it. It was different than the normal process, which seemed so natural to her, but at the same time it also felt right. She could feel the ball of energy coalescing into being, though rather than let it continue to gather and form thread she instead envisioned the ball of energy as various strands of moving threads swirling around each other but never touching or staying in place. In her mind, perhaps she didn't want to conjure anything that could harm anyone nearby, so rather than fire, she could feel a burst of air swirling in between her hands. As if in time with the swirling of the wind, she could feel a similar almost sickening feeling of swirling in her stomach, and her body began to lose sensation, and she opened her eyes in a panicked state and the swirling gust of wind in her hands spun into a tunnel of air that immediately dissipated as quickly as it had formed.

Lucia fell backwards onto the ground shocked; feeling winded as if someone had hit her in her gut.

Gonye rushed to Lucia's aid as she plummeted sharply to the ground. "By the god's girl," he spoke swiftly as he crouched down beside Lucia, checking the back of her head to be sure she didn't land on any rocks or uneven terrain. "Are ya out kill yaself?" shaking his head his for a moment Gonye backed away and rested his sinuses against two pressing fingers.

"She might be just as good as you cap'n" a tree-leaning mercenary harshly joked as he watched on at the spectacle. "and what's with all the worrying you doin'? You'd think she were your kin!" Turning his head sharply Gonye's eyes seemed to be lit with fire. "If you have time to joke you have time to find our scout, he's been awhile call for 'em." he barked loudly as his subordinate whom immediately followed orders and began to shout out for Erratus. "OI! Tree climber! Whatdya see? Where are you?"

Turning back to Lucia, Gonye stood up and offered her a hand. "Can ya stand on your own?"

"Well, I did just climb a tree." Erratus remarked brusquely as he stepped out of the thick forest. "Thanks for the concern, though."
Lucia was sprawled on the ground, but it didn't seem like Gonye was the one who had put her there. More than likely, the girl had just fallen. The nomad got a feeling that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite place what it might be, so he put it out of his mind. Rather than worry himself over nothing, he approached the mercenary.
"I didn't see any city while I was up there, but there's a clearing just north of here. If we cut through it, we will be able to make it through to the other side more quickly."

After taking a few breaths to steady herself, Lucia nodded breathlessly at Gonye after asking her if she was alright and she shakily got up off the ground.

"Umm...thank you" she said politely. Outwardly she remained quiet and composed though inwardly she was simply amazed by what had happened. She had never done anything magical beyond her manipulating of energy into fibres, and this was something completely brand new and foreign to her. It was exciting, as if she had opened the door into an entirely new world of opportunities.

"No town... But a clearing north?" Gonye stepped away from Lucia before unfurling his map once more. "No town- but a clearing north." he repeated himself at a whisper before rolling his map back up and shoving it deep into the pockets of his riding trousers. "Right, you heard the man if we can find some open land we can travel 'bout this woodland much faster." before taking off in a northern direction Gonye turned to Lucia and began to back-peddle. "Take it easy on the whole magic thing for now, that energy you let loose earlier still hasn't settled. It won't return to your center until your body settles so you might still feel a little numb. Just watch where you're goin' and if you need to stop just holler." turning away Gonye hurried to lead his men who had already made quite a bit of progress.

The small group traveled through the woodlands for some time before they were forced to wait once more for the mercenaries to cut away at another treeline. It had felt like more than four hours since they had split from Nadya, Talaitha and Nero but because of the massive amount of tree cover there was no easy way to confirm the time and at this pace it felt like the whole day would be wasted away cutting through the forest. Gonye sat about against a tree on the dirt and needle laden ground for a time just staring blankly into the dense forest around him before one of his men reported back frantically from the opening they had freshly cut. "Captain, up ahead-" he paused to catch his breath from all the clearing. "Beneath the oaks and pines, there are smaller trees whose leaves have gone red and yellow." Gonye returned a look of confusion to his soldier as he stepped up from his stooped position and cleaned away the dirt from his legs. "What of it?"

"What of it?" The mercenary repeated in a clearly upset voice. "We shouldn't travel through there, we can't travel through there. It's the-" Gonye immediately interrupted his man with a furious but quick order. "You will go, and we will travel through it and if I tell you to you'll do it with a smile on your face and my fat a** in your arms" The mercenary stood shocked before glancing back to Erratus and Lucia. "I know where we're goin' Hector! I don't need your drivel slowin' us down." Pushing past the flabbergasted mercenary Gonye shouted for Erratus and Lucia before vanishing through the cleared opening. "Time to move! They cleared the way and we've got ground to make up." The mercenary Hector stayed behind for awhile, moping in place. But before long a sudden out burst of anger lead him to throw a fist into the broad side of the tree Gonye had once been standing against. Removing his now bloodied hand from the tree he followed his captain after cursing under his breath.

Lucia looked to Erratus briefly. She knew what the paranoid old man was thinking, for it was the exact same thing she was thinking. Once again, Gonye revealed that he was hiding certain things from him. Why? She did not know, though so long as he knew where he was going, and she not, there was nothing she could do. It probably wouldn't be wise to run away either, knowing that husks may be lurking about. Then again, the man did not yet imply that he was deliberately putting them in any danger, or so she would like to believe. She wished that Nero was there with them.

Once Lucia and Erratus followed Gonye and his men through the opening they had cut they were treated to the same sight the mercenary Hector had spoken of earlier. Smaller trees, about 6 meters high, stood side by side with the large oaks that populated the area, making for quite a confusing scene. The smaller trees each bore leaves of brilliant gold, orange and red and it appeared as though these autumn looking leaves were constantly falling from their low rising branches as the forest floor was more than covered by piles of the leaves which rose up to the knees in some places. To make things even odder a light mist could be felt against the skin almost immediately when entering the area and a eerie fog lingered far off in the distance, restricting vision of what was truly ahead.

"Listen closely" Gonye lowered his voice to a whisper as he waded through the sea of leaves towards Erratus and Lucia. Once he reached the pair Gonye remained silent for some time before he spoke again. "Not a single creature dares stir in these ancients woods, the birds do not sing, the wolves, they dare not howl, and the even a wounded animal desperate for aid will not allow the sound of pain to escape his breath. Where we stand now, this is the Guardian Forest of Gelendur." Gonye turned to his men and gave each of them a cold stare as if he was also informing them of this information. "Somewhere deep in these trees lives a great beast known only to the civilized world as Gelendur. You must not speak loudly while we are here, do you understand?" Gonye's voice had grown dire by now, so much so that it seemed to visibly distress one of his men. "Promise me ya will stay calm and quiet no matter what you see, or what you hear. Promise me." The mercenary captain repeated himself once more with emphasis as he leaned towards the pair. Far in the distance beneath the cover of fog the shadowy figure of wolf-like animals could be seen darting back and forth silently across the tree line and occasionally a glimpse of colour bounded from one of the creature's stalking eyes. "No matter what you see, no matter you hear, feel... You will not raise your voice, swear it now."

Lucia nodded silently though she still felt incredibly tense in the misty clearing. She hoped that Erratus wouldn't do anything rash and disturb the creatures that lurked within. Following Gonye and his men closely, Lucia clung to her bag tightly and kept her hand on her shimmery golden lightning cloth.

Erratus followed Gonye and the others unceremoniously into the wooded area. After listening to Gonye's warnings, the nomad inhaled deeply, as if to shout.
"Swear." He murmured. The unsettling effect this place seemed to be having on the others amused Erratus somewhat. If the mercenary leader's assertions were true, the group would have little to worry over as long as they remained quiet. Even the silhouettes they could see through the haze were empty threats, as any move they made against the travelers would be their last. Even if this "Gelendur" did reveal itself, the nomad would simply climb a tree or something. No, he wasn't afraid in the slightest, for better or for worse.

"Well, think about it. If Gonye told us it was dangerous to leave his band because we were wanted criminals, why would he take two criminals with him into one of the largest cities?" Talaitha replied. "To me it just seems like he's using us for his own gain with the promise of a cure for an unknown disease."