They were fast. Really fast. First, Elise couldn't understand what she was sensing. The river was flowing calmly, wrapping her body and moving on without any intention. But those three Energy masses had appeared out of nowhere and were coming straight towards her. They didn't have the same feeling that the rest of the river was giving; they felt wrong, out of place, and… dirty.
As they closed the distance, she realized she could feel their intentions. Their bloodlust. They were coming to kill her; they were coming to rip her body into pieces and to tear her skin while she was screaming in pain. Those feelings rushed inside and filled her head, causing her to panic.
She got her head out of the river and tried to find the source of the strange Energies. The river's surface was inflating at a distance, and three fins with sets of pointy bones were showing on it. And unfortunately, they were closer than she thought. She didn't have any time to think. She tried to react as if she were on solid ground. It was a stupid decision, but it was too late to reconsider. She jumped backwards to dodge the unknown threats.
But they never came. The next thing she knew, she was in the air, flying towards the shore. She fell on her back and gasped due to the impact. She tried to get up quickly, but her body didn't respond. She could only crawl backward to escape. Her head bumped into something in that moment of panic.
"Nice flight. But you need to practice on the landing." The Traveler was standing behind her, looking toward the river. "I guess you are not ready for them yet."
Three creatures came out from the shore. First, their heads popped up. They had unusually big eyes and mouths resembling frogs, but their features were sharper. Lots of bony protrusions were jutting out from their heads in strange places. A fin-like structure was going down from the back of their head to their spine, made from a series of bones. Their mouths were filled with hundreds of sharp teeth, drooling on their shiny purple scales with hunger.
The rest of their bodies were not that different. Giant webbed claws and a strong, long tail with a fin on top for swimming faster. The same unnecessary bones were coming out here and there. They were not alike; each of them had some unique features. Even though their bodies resembled water-born creatures, they had the structure of a humanoid. They came out of the river and stood up on their back claws. They had a muscular build, and they were taller than an average human.
Elise looked at them in fear. She could still feel their bloodlust towards her. How could she even fight against such terrifying creatures? Her mind and body had given up; she was ready to die in their claws. They charged at her with a shriek. She closed her eyes and waited for what had to come.
A strong wind hit her from the left along with a weird sound. And then... nothing happened. She opened her eyes slightly. First, she couldn't understand what happened, but when she investigated the area, she noticed splashes of some kind of thick purple liquid all over the place. She looked up and saw the Traveler with her sword in his hand, still in its sheath. He was still relaxed as always. He looked down at her with a questioning expression.
"How long do you intend to stay on the ground?" He put her sword on his shoulder once again.
Elise blushed in embarrassment. What was she doing? Cowering in fear was not something she would do. She could still feel the Energy inside her body, but the disturbing feelings that filled her head were gone with those creatures. She got up instantly. She was dripping wet and feeling dirty from the river. What was the last time she took a bath? She couldn't remember.
"Thanks for pulling me out. I thought I was dead for sure." She tried to squeeze out the excess liquid from her hair.
"I didn't pull you. You jumped out." He pointed his finger at her and made a wavy motion. All of the liquid on her gathered in front of it. Even her clothes became dry. He threw the glowing ball of pink liquid back into the river.
"What do you mean, I jumped? I swear I was flying for a moment there." She tidied herself a little after drying. "Thank you, by the way."
He dismissed her gratitude with a gesture. "You filled yourself with Energy and your body instinctively used it to react to the situation you were in without you realizing it. Muscles are capable of using more Energy than they need to operate. If you give them more than their capacity, they accept it and use it even if it causes major injuries."
"Really?" She looked down at her legs. "But I feel fine."
"Fine? You are high from the Energy. Release it and see for yourself."
"Release it? I almost died for it. Why do I have to release it now?" The Energy inside her had a nice feeling to it. She was feeling powerful, like she could do anything she wanted, anytime she wanted.
"Because using Energy without proper guidance could harm your body or kill you. Now release it, or I'll do it by force. I assure you it'll not be pleasant." His eyes were saying he was not going to accept further objections.
The almighty feeling she was feeling faded away as she looked into those eyes. She focused on the Energy inside her and imagined it was leaking out from her pores. The exact opposite of being a sponge. The Energy left her slowly, and before she knew it, she was on the ground, lying on her back.
She looked at the dark clouds with surprise. She tried to get back up, but even though her upper body straightened a little, her legs were not responding. The pain slowly spread from her legs through her body.
"What is happening?" she asked, between her clenched teeth.
The Traveler crouched next to her. "Do you know anything about human anatomy?"
"Anatomy? Now? I am in pain right now, if you didn't notice." She was trying her best not to scream.
"So, normally, muscles have an emergency stopping system for situations like this. You can't use your full strength unless something extreme happens. Like finding yourself in a life and death situation or filling them with Energy unnaturally."
Why was he giving a lecture right now? Couldn't he see she was dying from the pain?
"So, you just exploded your leg muscles." He continued after he saw her eyes widen in fear at his words. "Don't worry, it's not something serious, for an Energy user, of course. I know it's painful, but I want you to focus on your inner Energy. Try to feel its flow inside you and try to direct it to your legs."
She stared at him for a moment. Was he really expecting her to focus right now? As an answer to her stare, he gave her an encouraging smile and kept looking at her in anticipation. "Don't worry that much, I will guide you."
"Ah, whatever." She tried to gather her last bit of focus. After encountering those three creatures, her mind was not in the best shape. The pain was not making it any better either. She looked for the 'inner Energy' the Traveler mentioned. It was easy since she knew what kind of feeling she was looking for.
She tried to ignore her pain and calm her mind. One of the first things her sword master taught her was how to maintain her focus in combat. She was always a distracted child with endless questions on her mind.
She could feel it. Her Energy was flowing inside every cell of her. But it seemed a little disturbed in her lower half. She gathered her focus on the disturbed parts and tried to fix their flow. Surprisingly, the Energy reacted to her wish and started to flow more towards her legs. It was hard and required an insane amount of focus, but she did it.
"Good. Using your inner Energy is easier, but it burns you out much quicker. Absorb some from outside and feed the flow with it." He said slowly, trying not to disturb her focus.
She did as he said. She drew Energy and directed it towards her legs along with her inner Energy. They fused inside her and moved as she wished. The disturbance slowly got fixed, and the Energy flowed directly into her injured muscles.
The pain faded away slowly. She could feel her muscles healing faster with the Energy. The misplaced parts of the flow in her legs were connecting with the rest of the Energy flow. It took some time, but she could feel her legs once again. She tried to move them, but the Traveler laid his hand on her leg.
"Let's not go that far. You did good, but you are still new to it. Your body needs to get used to it. I will handle the rest, so you rest a bit." He stood up and went to sit on a rock close by.
Elise lay back on the ground and closed her eyes. The healing process was way more exhausting than any of the workouts she had done. She felt her inner Energy flow and heal her by the Traveler's will as she slowly dived into sleep.
***
Elise thought about what she accomplished in such a short time. Her understanding of Energy got much deeper, and she even used it to partially heal herself successfully. But there were some things that she couldn't figure out.
"I felt something there." They were continuing their journey under the dark clouds. Endless lightning strikes were brightening them with ever-changing colors. "In the river, I could sense everything that was surrounding me. Almost like everything was connected with me through Energy. But then, those creatures came in. I could... feel them. Their bloodlust, their hunger. Not for food, but destruction. They just wanted to kill for the sake of killing. They just wanted to see my shredded flesh and dripping blood. I could feel all of it."
She closed her eyes to deal with the flashbacks. "Those feelings got into me, and I couldn't do anything. They overwhelmed me with fear." Remembering it made her body shiver again. "I don't want to feel something like that ever again. So, I want something from you."
The Traveler was taking the lead as usual, but catching up to him was not as hard as before. He kept walking as she talked, but Elise knew he was listening. "I want you to make me strong enough to never feel fear again." Yes, that would be her resolve.
He turned his head toward her slightly for a moment to look at her while walking. She caught a little something from that look. Sadness? Pity maybe? But why? She had thought he would praise her resolve. He kept walking without saying anything for a while.
When he decided to talk, the sadness in his voice was obvious. "Fear is not about strength; it is about having something to lose. Having something to lose is not a bad thing, girl."
She opened her mouth to talk, but got interrupted. "I know what you meant. But trust me, not feeling your emotions is not the strength you are looking for. Even if it is only your fear, the rest will follow it before you even realize it."
He stopped and turned to her. "I'll never teach you how to be fearless. I will teach you how to keep going despite the fear. You will learn how to keep going while in fear of losing what is precious to you, and how to protect it at all costs."
Elise had never seen his serious side before. Even though she didn't know him very well, his ever-changing, colorful eyes were saying what needed to be said. He was talking out of the experience, his or someone he cared about. She felt like this was not the time to ask about it and didn't ask anything.
"I understand." His way of describing strength had sat with her better than her own, which now sounded childish. "I trust your judgment and will entrust myself to you and your teachings."
He was not like the heroes in the stories she grew up with. She thought that if she wanted to be a great person like them, she needed to be fearless like them in the stories. But what the Traveler said influenced her more than those stories. His words felt more… realistic. For the first time, she felt she was in the right hands. The hands that could shape her into a stronger person than she ever imagined.
"Good. About the other thing you mentioned." His mood changed to normal as he turned around and kept walking. "You said you felt a connection with the surrounding Energy when you absorbed it. Energy could easily be filled with 'intent'. When you absorb it, you absorb those intentions too. They could harm your mental health and even corrupt your thoughts. But that is also how different uses of Energy are created. It shapes with your intentions."
"So, what you are saying is, they were using some kind of technique to attack my mind?" She never thought such creatures could use Energy to that extent.
"Not exactly. Those creatures were created artificially with Energy, so what you felt was their leaking Energy filled with their intent."
"So, an Energy user can influence another Energy user's mind. That sounds... dangerous."
"It is, if you are an amateur. It all comes down to how strong the will of the user is. It is a hard thing to train. But a great man once said; A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. So, no slacking, keep moving!"
Characteristics of Energy were still a subject she couldn't grasp. But the more she knew, the more exciting it got. She kept walking behind the Traveler as she got lost in her thoughts.