Calen was sitting on the ground rubbing a healing paste onto his various wounds and bruises, as he listened to Lydia’s lecture.
"The divine flame is different from the power champions, priests and druids use - we are merely borrowing it, barely scratching its real potential. Your case is different however, that little lamp of yours contains a genuine piece of a divine domain, and you have absolute control over it."
"That sounds really great, but what does that mean in practice?" Asked Calen.
"I was getting to it. Every God has an interpretation of their own domain, and those borrowing their power can’t use the power in ways the deity doesn’t allow. A Flamebearer wields a copy of the Sun domain, and therefore isn’t subject to such limitations."
Calen’s eyes went wide.
"You’re saying that I can do whatever I want using the flame?"
"Not quite, there are still some limits - the more remote from the aspects of the sun the action is, the more difficult it will be to perform. Naturally it means you can’t do things that are categorically opposed to your domain, for example, you can’t use flames, which are meant to destroy, to create something..."
Lydia looked at Calen with a sly smile.
"...or at least that’s how it looks on the surface. In practice, there are many loopholes inside every domain, and they’re exploited by humans and gods alike."
"Let’s take that last example - you cannot create something from the flame, but nothing is stopping you from using that flame in a forge to melt unbelievably hard materials and create an incredible armour or weapon."
It seemed that the flame was incredibly versatile and the way Calen has been using it so far was very narrow-minded. Luckily, he was in a perfect scenario to come up with new tricks.
"Alright kiddo, I’ve tested you, and said my piece - it’s time for the proper training. Pick up another sword an enhance it with the flame like you did before."
Calen walked up to a rack containing several wooden swords, and picked a random one. He stood at the center of the courtyard and let the divine power flow into the blade.
"What you did now is the most basic application of any divine power, it can enhance anything and anyone, making armour tougher, swords sharper, people stronger and so on."
It was good to know that he could enhance not only weapons, but also himself and his companions.
"I can also channel the flame through the blade."
"Have you tried covering your blade with fire then?"
Calen shook his head.
"Try it then. Your flame might be too weak but there’s no harm in trying."
He closed his eyes, focused, imagined his sword being swallowed by the fire, and then willed the flame to fullfil his vision.
"Well... it’s not bad, I guess." Lydia commented.
Calen cautiously looked at the blade - he succeeded, at least partially. It wasn’t quite the blade made of flames he envisioned, but the sword was undoubtedly on fire.
A thin layer of fire enveloped the blade, happily dancing around it’s edges. He slashed the air a few times, glowing lines tracing the blade.
"It might not look like much, but in this state even a wooden sword is dangerous to most abominations. Now extinguish it, were going to try something completely different."
He did as instructed.
"The healing ointment will help with your injuries, but they won’t heal completely - try using the flame to close your wounds."
He focused again, summoned the flame and... nothing happened.
He rolled his shoulders, exhaled and tried again.
Try after try, no matter what he did he could not speed up the healing process.
"I can’t do it." he said, frustrated.
"I can see that. Don’t worry though, I would be more worried if you were able to do everything after a single mediocre verbal explanation." Lydia chuckled quietly.
So far Calen had no issues getting the flame to do whatever he tried doing, so a fail made him more annoyed than he probably should have been.
"Why can’t I do it?" He asked.
"There could be a myriad of reasons. Tell me how do you go about controlling the flame and we’re go from there."
"The same way I control magic, I guess? That’s what the guy who woke me up told me to do."
"Here’s the problem then, it’s true that the methods are similar, but they’re not identical. You said that he was an Archmage, yes?"
"Then it makes sense he didn’t understand the difference. Magic is an outside force, so you have to cut off your feelings and thoughts to properly manipulate it. Doing so limits your will, but it also prevents any unexpected side effects."
"And I’m guessing the flame is different in that regard."
"It is. The flame is a part of you, not an outside force, so cutting off your emotions while controlling it will impede you."
That was slightly problematic, Calen has trained his whole life to clear his mind while he controlled cosmic powers, it wasn’t going to be easy to unlearn that habit.
"All in all, your will is strong but the flame is not, and you need plenty of practice."
"Tomorrow we’ll go hunting."
Baor was standing shirtless in the middle of a public arena, his massive body covered in complex runic patterns. Next to him even Cassian looked like a child.
The difference between them was only accentuated by their state - the druid was half-naked and barehanded, while Cassian was in full armour, wielding a greatsword.
"Your equipment looks nice I’ll try to not damage it too much." laughed Baor.
Cassian tried to appear emotionless, but his pride was a bit wounded. He knew that the druid was likely very powerful, and likely didn’t mean anything malicious, but it still stung slightly.
The arena was completely empty despite being on open facility, he couldn’t help but wonder if the druid limited the access to spare him from the embarrassment.
"We’re starting in three..."
The symbols in the druids body stared glowing with an eerie green light.
Two might horns grew out of his of his forehead, and his fingers turned into sharp talons, his already bestial figure became truly monstrous.
Cassian barely managed to hold up his sword to block the fist strike.
The claws didn’t carry much strength, but they were viciously fast, the druid was dancing around him, hitting every now and then, testing him.
He was playing with him.
Surrounded by a wall of claws Cassian could do nothing but defend and look for an opportunity.
Baor was favouring his leg site, leaving a small window open every fourth hit.
Cassian timed his riposte perfectly, striking at the druid’s exposed side.
To his complete surprise Baor easily caught the blade, as if he knew exactly where he would strike.
"That’s enough." Announced the druid, and turned back to human. "You have good instincts, and a decent technique, but you’re to rigid about your style."
Cassian frowned, he knew that he followed his father’s teaching very closely, but he had always thought it was a good thing.
When he said so to the druid, Baor nodded.
"It’s a good thing when you’re fighting against humans, but when you face a creature you never seen before flexibility is much more important."
The druid tapped his chest where the runic symbols converged.
"I’m a bit of a special case amongst my brethren, normally druidic power allows its wielders to commune with wildlife and control plants - I channel that power to change shape at will. It will be a perfect teaching tool for you, hundred monsters all rolled into one awesome package."
Cassian wanted to be mad at the druid for humiliating him, but he simply couldn’t. The large man was just too jovial and pure to sincerely dislike him, even when he just told Cassian about his most powerful weapon he was smiling from ear to ear.
The druid disrupted his train of thought by jabbing him with an elbow.
"And you know flexibility helps in all parts of life, not just combat."
Cassian didn’t like something about his tone.
"I have no Idea what are you referring Lord Elder."
Baor gave him a toothy grin
"Well of course not, your attempts to woo the young alchemist were awfully stiff."
For the first time in quite a while Cassian was completely speechless.
"But... Did you spy on us?" He tried to remain calm.
"Of course not boy, I just saw you two talk. I took a thousand shapes and lived for over a century, reading body language is for me as natural as breathing."
Cassian assumed that Baor wasn’t particularly smart due to his happy-go-lucky approach to life, but it seemed he was dead wrong.
Whether the druid noticed his internal crisis or not, he didn’t seem to care as he approached him and slapped his shoulder.
"Let’s start with the Blightborn and we’ll go from there."
Right, they still had actual training to do.
This was going to be a long day.