"Stigmata is the pinnacle of a sorcerer's stigma. By invoking its name aloud, a sorcerer temporarily unlocks tremendous power as well as a boon of healing; the degree of regeneration each stigma provides upon activation varies greatly. However, stigmata puts a heavy strain on its user's soul and core, most sorcerers can use the ability once or twice before they would need to rest." Velmo explained, the orange rays of light from the campfire illuminating his face.
"Ah, I see…" Xaryus thought aloud.
"…Stigmata." He continued. His words were filled with a strange force that invigorated his soul.
Xaryus felt his entire body fill with warmth and his core swelled, threatening to burst with sudden surge of dense mana.
A golden, radiant mark slowly ran down his face – falling from the base of his eyes down to his chin – causing the faint light from the campfire to subtly grow brighter as if heralded by his transformation.
The marking pulsated with immense power and Xaryus' presence had become much more daunting.
Exhaling slowly, Xaryus closed his eyes and focused on cancelling his stigmata. Opening his eyes, he saw that Velmo and Zadius held too differing emotions.
Velmo had an expression of awe and silent surprise whilst Zadius' face held an expression of shock.
"Well, so much for keeping our abilities hidden." Zadius said with a small chuckle.
"Ah, my bad, I got a bit excited." Xaryus replied with an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head.
***
Night slowly receded, and they continued on their journey.
Velmo and the brothers had engaged in small bits of conversation as they traversed the dense forest, looking at mystical mana beasts or gazing at beautiful flora from a safe distance.
"The more flamboyant and alluring the plant, the higher the chance it's actually a mana beast." Velmo explained as he pointed towards a small patch of large, blue hydrangeas.
With those words, Xaryus and Zadius had extended their mana sense but weren't able to sense any unnatural signatures from the patch of flowers.
"That's to be expected, since your cores are weak, the creature could easily hide itself away from your mana's gaze. The fact that it buries itself underground makes it much harder to sense as well." He continued, turning away from the flowers and moving around it in a wide arch.
After a few hours of travel, the forestry became less dense, and the brothers could see parts of dark stone walls erupting from the ground at odd angles. It was the ruins of an ancient stone structure with thick vines running through and alongside its worn stone shell.
As they passed by, Velmo could see a hint of curiousity in Xaryus' eyes, but the young boy was showing restraint.
Flashing a soft smile, Velmo stopped walking for a moment and waited for Xaryus and Zadius to notice his halt in motion. Once they did, he spoke.
"You wanna check it out?" He asked, his words directed towards Xaryus.
"Sure." Xaryus replied abruptly, trying his best to hide his childish excitement.
He suddenly sent his mana rushing through his body and leapt off the ground and onto the stone slope of the ruins, quickly vanishing into the structure.
Inside, he could see that it was some sort of outpost whose purpose he couldn't comprehend. He could, however, see that a vast portion of the ruin was buried beneath the ground.
As Xaryus looked around the dark interior of the ruin, he looked at the weathered stone, markings left by swords and claws as well as long deteriorated weaponry and furniture with a happy smile on his face.
Just outside of the ruin, Velmo focused his mana sense on Xaryus just to make sure he didn't get ahead of himself and go too far.
He was happy that Xaryus could let loose a little and explore a bit before they reached Rosa. Zadius on the other hand was a tougher shell to crack.
Velmo stood beside him in a deafening silence waiting for Xaryus to return.
He felt like the awkwardness was going to kill him so he had thought about breaking the silence, but Zadius beat him to it.
"You're a nice guy, Velmo. I'm still a bit cautious about this whole situation, but who could blame me after all we've been through… But thank you… for allowing us some time to relax before we go back to the city."
Velmo's heart ached. He recognized a maturity within Zadius that didn't come from age but by surviving treacherous ordeals. No child should experience what they had gone through, yet here they were, facing adversity better than most sorcerers he knew.
"You're welcome." Velmo replied calmly.
***
Two more days had passed, and the trio was fairly close to the edge of the forest. They were halfway through their journey and Xaryus and Zadius already had hope; something they never thought they would experience again.
Not in Rosa, but in Velmo.
His kindness struck their hearts with utmost precision, reminding them of the warmth they felt before Valon darkened their world.
The moon loomed over their camp site once again and the forest's shadows were valiantly fighting against the campfire's light to reach their young prince.
Velmo had prepared another wondrous meal for the night, and the brothers ate until they were content.
"… and that was how I had won my first duel." Velmo concluded.
Xaryus and Zadius' eyes were filled with awe and curiousity of a regular sorcerer's daily life. Velmo had told them of his first duel as a young knight; another sorcerer had challenged him because his crush had liked Velmo.
"But why did you lie and tell him you kissed her?" Zadius asked.
"Oh… I really didn't like his attitude at all! If he had just approached me in a better way, I would have been more kind. But he slapped my lunch out of my hand and began to ramble about how commoners shouldn't even look at those with noble blood, blah blah blah." Velmo responded, happily recollecting the memories of his youth.
"Talking about fighting… It seems that I'm finally going to see you two in action."
With that, Xaryus and Zadius' expressions had sharpened and the softness within the campsite hardened.
An uneasy stillness slowly moved over the camp.
Xaryus extended his mana sense whilst Zadius had applied his [Herald of Shadows] ability, using it to sense the movement of shadows within the abilities reach.
In the tense silence after Velmo's subtle warning, the shadows deep within the forest shifted.
Something was approaching them.