Wolf's Story

Wolf took no time at all to plop down on a log. After a few moments, he had erected some barriers around the camp. Shortly after, Wolf pulled his skinning knife out from his travel sack and started to gut the jackal-rabbit. He then pulled out a collapsible table and a large plate, and began to put the meat from the jackal-rabbit on the plate. Within the next half hour, Wolf had the two jackal-rabbits gutted and their meat put on the plate. Next, Wolf began to separate the organs, putting the hearts in one spot and the bladders in another.

R'Nieth noticed the expertise that was wolfs gutting skills. He didn't want to disturb him whilst he worked, asking questions that R'Nieth was sure he had the answers to already, but he was sure to actually ask them later. For now, he just focused on the task at hand, which was preparing the broth to the stew. R'Nieth had done this hundreds of time for jackel-rabbit, but today, since there was so much meat. And other organ. He decided he would make a stew, with seared liver, and maybe throw in some frost-dear meat. He wasn't sure whether the two would go together, for he usually used fire-dear. Which was native to wear he was from. But apparently the dear around the area of a certain variety. R'Nieth finished the stew's broth and base, added the spices, and 35 minutes later started to pick through the meat to have it seared. "You likes your any particular way?"

"Cooked." Said Wolf with a slight joker's grin. "That's about as picky as I get." Wolf had just finished the last jackal-rabbit when R'Nieth had put the fifth piece of meat on the grill. Wolf then took the pelts and the skins to a slightly more open spot in the camp. He then set the skins up to tan while putting the bladders on a rock so that they would dry.

R'Nieth stirred the pot as he set the other meats (heart, liver, and brain) onto the grill. He want to sear it well, adding some week old dried peppers that would add a little spice. He put some vanilla sticks in to, to counter the strong liver flavor and dear that was bound to get things tasting like a whole lot of feces and dead animal. R'Nieth was careful about when to add the last of the veggie, spices, and meat. He didn't want to screw up the cook and flavor. The sear was supposed to finish before the stew, for they were at different temperatures, and different cooking times. But from his experiences, it should be done in the next fifteen minutes. The aroma was intoxicating, letting off a very juicy and citrus like smell. The way he added the dried fruit earlier, had the stew giving off citrus and spicy smells. Which is something R'Nieth was particularly good at, since the stew would slow the cook of the meat that entered into it., it would absorb the flavors, and have hints of fruit and spice. Another thing that was interesting, that he stumbled upon by accident, was the tendency for the veggies to take on a totally different taste than the rest of the stew. Coming to taste like the meat, and the vanilla combine. Each one had a specific but distinguishable taste.

R'Nieth flipped the meat that was on the grill, he took out a collapsible board, and set the meat on it after it had seared and cooked some. He chopped it up into a mesh of different meat, but in a bundle. He combined the meat into a nice pile and removed the grill from the fire, replacing it with a collapsible wok. He put the meat into hit after waiting 2 minutes for it to heat up. Then he added some ground black pepper, some troll fat extract, a bit of jackel-rabbit blood (believe it or not, it adds flavor and strength), some left over honey that he had (the last of his) and some personal sauce creation. The sauce had different herbs, spices and bases that was secret to his family. Anyways, R'Nieth was almost done, that's when he took out his gallon of water from his pack. He put it on the ground, getting into the hunting position to cast, that was taught to him by Wolf. He started the casting of the cold spell, cooling the water down to a very comfortable temperature. He focused on just relaxing and the end result of the spell. Finding it easier to do that than the complexity of how the spell works. It went without a hitch, even better actually. It would seem that the spell decided to purify the water and make it sparkle. Must have bee a side effect to the spell. "Hey Wolf, do you know anything about purification spells?" It wouldn't hurt to know, R'Nieth only knew about cold spells. He couldn't caste a great majority of them, but he knew of them.

R'Nieth went back to the wok, just in time to simultaneously move the meat around in it, and stir the pot stew. They were both done after about 5 more minutes. The water was ready, and the food was. It would seem Wolf had been busy with the pelts and drying out the bladders and intestine. Although R'Nieth would save those for various reasons, they served as a good base for rope, when cleaned out, dried, tied together (or wrapped), and used for the purpose you need it for. R'Nieth was eager to dig in, he actually was surprised at the barrier that was set up by Wolf, once he looked around, having finished cooking. "Nice work friend, or should I call you master? That feels weird, how about teacher?" R'Nieth was setting up bowls, and plates. Pouring the fresh water into the cups that was made out of wood. Crafted by himself. It was beautifully carved, by knife, he took his time making them, and selling them whenever he happened into a village. Besides bounty hunting, that was his other hustle. He had many, but that was one he was very passionate about. He also crafted weaponry and cooked quiet well, passionate about both. But those weren't as well used as they could be, since he didn't belong to any specific village or anything. R'Nieth finished the setting of food, leaving the stew and the meat carne in their pot and wok, respectively. Just in case someone wanted seconds. Everything smelled sublime to R'Nieth, except for the meat stir fry, it seemed to be slightly over-cooked...Maybe he took too long on the spell, ignoring it for 30 second too long. But then again, R'Nieth was just extremely particular about those things. After Wolf responded to his previous question, R'Nieth asked him how the food was, after he had sat to join him.

When R'Nieth had asked about the purification spells, Wolf mearly responded with "Purification spells? The only ones that I have run into that are not either ungodly hard to cast or next to useless are side-effects of cooling or heating spells. If you just caused one, then you must have thought of pure water with the ending temperature. The multi-casting without knowing it often comes from forms where you focus on the end result."

Responding to the question on what to be called, Wolf stated. "Call me teacher or friend, as though I am skilled, I am no master."

After eating rather rapidly, for a few minutes, Wolf looked at the cups. He saw the amount of detail carved into them. It was obvious that a hobby like this could easily make more than a few coins. Just after he had swallowed a bite R'Nieth asked him how the food was. "Let me say this. I am glad you were the one cooking, as I have yet to have even met someone, other than you of course, who could cook to this level." After another bite Wolf asked "Do you sell carved items? I had a friend who sold carved statues, made of whatever you could pay for or provide."

"Oh, so purification spells are just something that I should ignore? I find it rather interesting. Every book that I read on 'light casting', says you need an affinity for it. I guess purification, according t the cross references I did with throughout my reading, fall underneath such spells." R'Nieth took a bite of stir fry, eyeing the contents suspiciously as he took a better look at his creation. Like all great hobbies, you want to master it. R'Nieth, having been passed the torch of cooking for the family at a young age, cooked for the local royal men and women, due to his mothers connections and constant visiting for lessons. So, R'Nieth considered it his mission to master the art of chef-hood. But it was a long hard road, always more to learn... "I do believe that it is interesting on part of the side effects too. I've never had one happen. But my guess is on the end result concentration, as you theorize. Thank you for teaching me this new stance, I shall use it to my advantage.."

R'Nieth saw how Wolf was really putting the food away, and took out another bowl, filling it to the brim, with more stew, mixing in the stir fried on top. "Would you like more? You eat as if your famished...friend..." R'Nieth seemed a bit uncomfortable saying the word. "That will take getting used to, I usually only call my brethren 'friend'. But even they usually get called just 'braitheir', essentially brother in my tounge... " The word for brother would sound like a sickly hiss combined with terrible English. But that is what happens when you try to pronounce snake tounge in the local language. "I shall call you teacher when it comes to matter I do not know, and wish to inquire. Any other time shall be braitheir. If you don't mind?"

"Thank you for the compliment on the cooking. I used to cook for royalty, by default of my mother...it was never the intention. I was terrible for two years, learning to cook my mother eccentric style. Eventually I picked it up, then the entirety of cooking feel on me, as my mother continued to craft precious statues, tools, and armourment. She had a gift for crafting...I learned from her how to craft my own essentials." R'Nieth got a little distracted, slowing down his eating, to reflect on his hardships. Eventually snapping out of it, and continuing. "Oh, yea, I usually sell my crafts to get by, when I'm tired of the occasional 'messy' contract. Although those generally give me more than enough money to survive on for a month or two. I eat little, and usually hunt, so lodging is generally in the wilderness. Which cut most of my expenses by 3/4th. The only thing I ever need pay for is bathing and tools or accessories. The occasional repairs on equipment can be pricey, depending on the town. But like I said, I get by in trade and haggling with my skill set." R'Nieth really was like a nomad, he didn't stay anywhere too long, so as to not raise attention, or get comfortable. He was always looking to stay fit, and get stronger. So the road was the best for that.

In response to the continuation of the discussion on purification spells, Wolf said "The end result stances can be a hard concept to grasp, R'Nieth. Because of their unique method of casting, they don't truly use spells. They are usually used to create or learn a spell, while also being incredibly useful for magically inclined hunters. So, most of the spells that are 'cast' when you use a end result stance, are actually side-effects of magically enhanced focusing."

After R'Nieth spoke after poring Wolf a new bowl of stew, Wolf replied with "You can call me both of those, I don't mind either of them. On eating, my kind can eat massive amounts of food, which will slow us down while it is turned into fat, and store it for later use. However, my kind also burns through energy rather quickly when casting, running, or fighting. Which probobly explains our outstanding endurance in times of stress or long-range movement."

Then after some small amount of time thinking on the subject, Wolf heard R'Nieth again and replied with "I may not hunt other beastmen, but I do hunt. Much like you, I find little home in settlements, cities, and farms. I too make or repair most of my equipment on the road, but then again, my parents favorite saying was "don't pack what you didn't build.""

'I see..' R'Nieth thought, as he ate a little more of the soup he had made. R'Nieth started to wander about his absence, in the sense of his village. He had been so busy over the last couple of months, that he lost track of keeping in contact with them. His mind has been so focused on finding the new lead, and going about becoming stronger. He was very much interested in his current quest, very invested as well. A lot has happened, and teaming up with Wolf is just basically adding to the list o things that he has been preoccupying his time with.

"I am sorry, but what is it that your doing out in these parts anyway? I'm looking for a solution to certain...issues. Which is the reason I am looking for a wizard to teach me certain magics. I am learning what I can along the way, which is a reason I am joining you. One of them anyways, what about you?"

R'Nieth sipped on the soup as he eyeballed Wolf from the side, waiting a few moments for the response.

'I see..' R'Nieth thought, as he ate a little more of the soup he had made. R'Nieth started to wander about his absence, in the sense of his village. He had been so busy over the last couple of months, that he lost track of keeping in contact with them. His mind has been so focused on finding the new lead, and going about becoming stronger. He was very much interested in his current quest, very invested as well. A lot has happened, and teaming up with Wolf is just basically adding to the list o things that he has been preoccupying his time with.

"I am sorry, but what is it that your doing out in these parts anyway? I'm looking for a solution to certain...issues. Which is the reason I am looking for a wizard to teach me certain magics. I am learning what I can along the way, which is a reason I am joining you. One of them anyways, what about you?"

R'Nieth sipped on the soup as he eyeballed Wolf from the side, waiting a few moments for the response.

"I came here on my path to go and study the humans. But it is hard to study over hunger pains, would you not agree. You can also tell that I eat rather much when I move, which is why I need to stock up on food. There are no animals to hunt once you get within a certain distance of the border, so one must prepare for that." Wolf stated. All that he said was true. Wolf ate A LOT when he was hunting or traveling long distance, and with the border's unhuntable lands, Adion needed a good amount of food to make it to when he could hunt again.

"Well then, I suppose we could hunt abit more. I have something that might help with this problem of food. Not much, but it might do you some good to try it." R'Nieth got up to over to his bag, setting his bowl down, he reached into his bag, rummaging around for a bit. He came back to sit down, with a small capsule that had what looked to be little blue seeds in it. Hundreds of small blue seeds seemed to be inside the capsule, the seeds about the size of a pea, the capsule about the size small water pouch. The capsule looked to be some form of glass or plastic, and the seeds were glowing slightly.

"I gather these might help, they were given to me by the last wizard in the four towns ago when I was selling my merchandise. He wanted to help me on my quest for knowledge in the arts of magic, as well as my travels. So he gave me these rare hydration food tablets. He called them 'Rathery Pills'. Said they would act as a food source, giving you double your energy and providing fufillment of needs in regards to food. The instruction I was given, was dont ever use this when you have food, because I wont be able to eat normal food for a month, for these have a very lethal reaction to normal proteins and the such. I dont really know where they came from, but I've used them once, near death, in the last drought. They work fine, no hunger, no thirst, just 3 times a day periodical ingestion does the trick." R'Nieth held them out for Wolf to see.

"I'm a hunter, R'Nieth." Wolf said as he investigated the pills. "I live off the land. I don't live off of magic food supplements that will give me the shits." Wolf continued. He was not familiar with this magic food supplement, but he knew that his body did not like them. The last time that he had had food supplements had ended in a week of diarrhea. Wolf's body handled a meal a day much better, though it had to be a big meal.

"Well, I guess there is nothing for it. We'll just have to live off the land as we get closer. I figure I would give it a shot though." R'Nieth walked back over to grab the pills, thinking bout the moment had first received them, being just as skeptical, and not believing they would actually work. But R'Nieth was now more in the know about such things, than before.

"We will try to stock up on meat, I will take care of the cooking, and any other additives to meals. I'm sure it wont be too bad, at least that is the hope." R'Nieth looked at the empty pot of stew, remembering it's flavor. "We will be ok." He started to go about cleaning everything up, taking his pot aside and placing it alongside the other one, and the bowl. Preparing to cast a water spell, since he had no knowledge of any source or body of water.

As he casted the spell, cleaning the dishes out, he began to pack it all up, collapsing them back to their original sizes of compactness. R'Nieth set about breaking down the tent, since it was going on midday, he figured they could trek a bit before they turned in. R'Nieth had slept through the night anyways, and Wolf got his in too. So it was time to move.

Adion got up and grabbed his bow.R'Nieth was right, they would need food. As Wolf looked to the sun, he knew that he would soon be getting into the choice hours of hunting. The area that him and R'Nieth were in seemed to have very few hunters. This meant that this was the hiding place of all sorts of the over-sized animals from the surrounding hunting grounds. Adion soon walked off into the woods, returning in about 2 hours with a large sack of animal meats, bones, and hides. If there was any fact about Wolf, it was that he was an amazingly efficient hunter. After he got back to the camp, he picked up the small pack of his stuff and said "Well it looks like it is time to head for the border. We won't be able to follow conduit lines but we will be able to follow the stars." to R'Nieth.

Honestly, R'Nieth was always surprised by the efficiency of good hunters. Wolf's skills had him thinking about his dad, who was no exception to that rule, having been considered the third best hunter in the village. The only people better than the Volger family, was the Rust and Garnithy families. Who were so could because they had natural skills that allowed it. One family being part bear, the other being part Jackel...frightening when you thought about it. Which is why R'Nieth never did, he just continued to train with the families back then, they were the only ones able to match his families abilities and uniqueness.

R'Nieth having broke down the tent and camp, was preparing to take down the barrier, when Wolf showed up. Caring two carcasses. "Honestly, I don't know how you manage to do that, but do you want to fillet those now? Because that would make life easier, however, we would need to let the pelts stay, unless you want to trek during the night?"

"The section of our travels that are currently taking will take us to the border. During our time in that area, we will have to use the stars as guidance, so it is best we go there tonight and quickly pass into the human lands." Wolf said. This was true, as the conduit lines that they would be following in their journey would not be present at the border. This meant that night would be their need if they planned to cross. Besides, Wolf was used to carrying much heavier loads that he had in his sack right now.

Ok, so R'Nieth would need to prepare for the worst case scenarios. Though It seemed that Wolf was still trying to be as cautious as possible, R'Nieth thought he was still being careless in thinking that this was going to be simple. Crossing borders were never simple. Never. R'Nieth knew this first hand, after having to cross the borders of the beastland. He traveled across two of them, and they were both pain in the asses to get past. Even though he was a very well respected bounty hunter, crafter, and hunter. Being a beastman should have weighed more leverage than any skill set, but apparently some borders didn't really have want of that.

R'Nieth did some memory digging, thinking of the landscape that laid ahead. Sniffing out the area ahead before he started moving. He was trying to assess the distance and danger. He came up short however, for he could only see a mile ahead, and sniff a 5 mile area. Which was something he could do only because of his intense near death training he commenced on himself, ever since leaving the place he called home. He would sit an meditate in the open every day and night for an hour each, sniffing his surroundings out, laying a mental radius like map of the landscape, based on sounds, smells and vibrations. His since of hearing was no where near as strong as it could be, but he was good enough to help with the sensing of landscape. Which only really turned into the max output of a 800 foot radius. He couldn't hear past that. Which should always be enough, but he tried to sharpen that sense nonetheless so that he could sense people with exceptional stealth ability. Those where the ones he was able to smell, and not hear.

R'Nieth was well adept in the ability to feel, but he would not think of the torture he endure for that. For now, he focused on moving out of the are they were in at the moment. Once camp was tore down, and packed, R'Nieth noticed his reflection on the past only served to make the day fly by. The pelts were dry, and ready to go, and apparently Wolf was too. R'Nieth saw him packing the pelts in a neat bundle, carving off any of the residue or dried bloody fur. In the end, they looked pristine, for what they were. R'Nieth looked about, noticing the meat was packed neatly in a heap, some chopped to smaller bits for easier transportation. R'Nieth though of something interesting, as he watched the sun set.

"Hey, you ever hear of pocket dimensions?" R'Nieth was ready to go, and Wolf was finished packing everything, including the meat, so he figured they would have a nice conversation about magic while the stalked in the setting sun, trekking well into the night, it would seem.

"I have not heard of pocket dimensions. What are they?" Wolf asked R'Nieth. He had not heard the name before, but he had heard of some kind of dimension that one goes into when doing a teleport spell or instantaneous movement spell. Supposedly, these dimensions that were used for teleporting were significantly smaller than the world that he lived in, and that explains the short travel time of the spells. He hoped that R'Nieth would be able to provide some incite into these, as Wolf was curious as to what they were or if they were the name for something that he already knew of.

"I think I may have heard of them, but not under that name or in that multitude. The one that I had heard of was the one that we teleport through. This would explain how a failed teleport spell allowed him to find them. All a teleport spell is is a spell that causes you to go into a dimension, probably a pocket dimension, that moves thousands of times faster then our dimension. So if that dimension is a pocket dimension then that means that there are 2 that we use, 1 without realizing it. Now here is a good question on pocket dimensions. Are pocket dimensions the true source of magic, while magium is just a energy that breaks the walls between dimensions?" spoke Wolf. He liked being able to talk magic with another being, especially considering that most hunters did not practice it. Which may be one of the things that Wolf liked so much about R'Nieth, being able to talk of both the hunt and of magic at the same time.

R'Nieth, upon hearing the question posed at him, knew of a philosophical question when he heard one. The problem here was, this was a question that has been asked for millenniums. The don of time and the questions following it, is what begs such answers, the beginning of it all, the origin of existence, the source of magic/magium/magik/Magi/etc. Everyone has a different variant of the same thing, but it's always the same question, where'd it all come from?

R'Nieth looked upon the expanse of land and shuddered slightly, realizing that this scientific philosophical topic once cursed his family. Something he never understood, not even after hours of delving into libraries after libraries of magic books, spells, philosophy origin books, theory books, geometrical magic books, arcane arts for the blessed books....it was relentless. R'Nieth looked at his companion, whom he seemed to have grown some sort of bond and attachment to in the last couple of days. R'Nieth was sure he could speak of his past, but he wandered if the Wolf named Adion would run upon learning it, like R'Nieth once did...

"That...is an intriguing question. As I understand, and have researched, it is neither. From what I know of the fundamentals, the connection between dimensions, and magium, is like the connection between the soil and the blade of grass. One cannot survive without the other, and with the proper environment, treatment, conditions, and resources, the grass blade with grow into a bush or a large expanse covering a hilltop. The soil will continue to nourish the grass, as long as the aforementioned conditions are stable, but have someone mess with it, instead of beautiful growth and evolution, you will have artificial tampering. Now, lets say the dimension is the blade and the soil the magium, there are many different scenarios of the end result of the hilltop. It could have grown into a forest, ever expanding, and creating it's own path, untouched, or it could have created an entire new world for those who need to live there. Likewise, the soil could continue to be fertile, or maybe even learn to just adapt of the conditions of the time. Either way, Magium and Dimensions are like that. One cannot really exist without the other, not without a horrible imbalance, and need for stability. Hence why distorted areas exist."

R'Nieth looked at his palm, as if he could tell time by looking at it. He marched forward, seeing Wolf right by his side, not missing a beat. "Magium, magic, whatever one might call it, depends on where you are in the universe. But the fact remains, there is a fundamental 'source'. That 'source', again, as I understand through research, is something that no one is truly aware of as they draw from it. Not unless they are told which 'source' they particularly draw from. So, to answer your question. I will response in this theoretical counter question and statement. Since it is well known that ALL energy, and magic, just changes forms and shifts into something for balance, never destroyed. Is it possible that all things are connected, all things have magic, all things draw from ONE UNIVERSAL SOURCE? Because it is my understanding that the Grand Unification Theory would be a thing of the past, for this understanding of connection pretty much proves it." R'Nieth blew out a sigh at the end of it, realizing he was being a bit long winded with his responses, and taking too long, R'Nieth promptly apologizes.

"I am sorry for the long explanation, and time it took to respond. I am quite fond of such topics, having been scholar of such things for a long time. I am grateful for your patience and brain churning inquisitions."