The tension was almost visible now, a thin line drawn through the heart of the tribe. It pulsed beh the surface, growing sharper with every sidelong gnce, every low murmur that spread through the huddled groups. Rese simmered out of the women, directed at the Bronlo family, who kept to themselves at the far end of the cave, oblivious to the quiet revolt brewing against them.

  I kept my distance, as the subtle seeds I’d pnted with the honey began to take root. The Bronlos hadn’t shared as much as they could have, and the tribe was beginning to wonder why. I could see the questions taking shape, doubts passing from person to person, fed by quiet whispers and lingering gnces.

  I allowed myself a flicker of satisfa, though I kept it hidden behind a mask of indifference. Small steps. Always small steps.

  day. As the first light of dawn began to creep across the sky, I slipped out of the cave the moment it ened, making my way into the forest oher side of the shallow river, where no one would disturb me. I found good spot with light and almost no shadows. The earth was damp, softened by st night’s rain, and the mist hung low, giving the m an eerie quiet.

  It's time to prepare for my Aura Ignitio's see what I remember about aura, and if I use the skills I absorbed.

  Aura power draws from two sources: the blood and the mind.

  The blood… the physical vessel. The body has to accept and el mana, shaping it like a raw material to feed the aura. Aura is my only tether to magic, my only real on fed within the blood but governed by the mind. In its first, unawakened form, aura is a hidden, a magic field, invisible yet humming with potential, waiting to ignite.

  Magic, though… magic is aname entirely. True magic relies on aura trol. A steady, unbreakable liween the mind, body, and unseen force aura. Intations, ward formations, SIGILLS… none of them hold power without aura as their foundation. Every spell, every defense, every on stems from this energy.

  Aura feels like a sed skin, stretg and trag with my will.

  Learning to trol it is a mix of instind discipline, like learning to smile or keep a straight poker face, yet infinitely more delicate. When I handle mana, I am pying with fire. Losing trol isn’t just a setback. It’s deadly. To fumble, to hesitate, is to invite disaster.

  This trinity, mind, body, aura. Is the foundation of power. The mind must and; it’s the general that directs the body and aura alike. And aura itself ands mana, weaving it into shape, into purpose, into magic. Without aura There’s no other path tth.

  I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the air settle arouhe forest seemed to hold its breath with me, waiting. Today, I ushing harder, testing the limits of my trol. I closed my eyes, letting my aura extend outward, feeling it brush against the trees, sinking into the soil, blending with the surrounding elements.

  "Aura is power, born of blood and mind."

  With a steady breath, I reach out, my senses expanding beyond myself as I start to harvest mana from the world around me, drinking it in as though it were life itself. The energy pulses, cool at first as it flows into me, building in strength until I feel a faint charge run through my veins.

  The blood ects it to the body, and the mind ands it. I felt my heartbeat sync with the energy that pulsed beh the earth, the threads of mana swirling around me, like an unseen river just below the surface.

  My aura sparks to life, flickering in readiness. The air crackled, faint arcs of electricity leapiween my fingers as I forced mana into shape. I watched the small electric arc crackles between my fingers, a test, then another, brighter and hotter. Then baall spark, a flicker of blue light, but enough to feel the power in my veins. Enough to know that I was growing stronger.

  As the warmth enveloped my hand, I shifted my focus, calling forth a different type of energy.

  I started small, I focus on the chill seeping into my skin, then gathering my aura to push the cold away. Slowly, warmth spread through me, a trolled pulse that radiated from my core outward. Letting warmth flood through my body, holding the cold at bay. This is what I need. Power, trol, the disciplio wield it.

  And this exercise, It was a simple exercise of delicate bance, but a vital one. And it's only the beginning of what I’ll bee.

  If I learn trol, Without trol, magic is a beast with no leash, a fire with no limit.

  trol is everything.

  I attempted to create a glove made of pebble's and dirt, just to test my earth manipution skill, it started to form from the earth around my hand, then I lost the trol, I only mao do my fingers.

  I wasn't disheartened by my half success, this was more than I could do in my past life.

  Yes.

  I feel it now. The ignition of my aura is close. Soon, I’ll be ready to harness its full power, today I started to walk the path toward being an Arch-mage.

  But as I eled the energy, something strange happehe ground trembled beh my feet, barely noticeable at first, then stronger, more insistent. The surrounding forest seemed to respond, the trees bending slightly as if aowledging the surge in power. I stilled, my heart hammering in my chest, a thrill mixed with unease.

  I had touched something deep, or something vast touched me.

  And for a brief moment, I felt watched.

  I left the area immediately, making sure to stay in the light, as i used the little mana I had to form protective spell of shielding. i wao take things slow but I had to use the spell.

  Aura Shield. A translut, barrier of pure aura enveloped my body just slightly above my skin, my skin must have been shimmering with a vibrant light under my fur.

  Just as I crossed the river the watched feeling was gone, am not sure why but now I felt safer.

  NO, “I ’t let fear trol me. Not now, not ever.” Fear is a shackle, a that only grows tighter the more you struggle against it. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that survival depends on overing what others would flee from. Unlike animals, we humans don’t run blindly from the unknown. We find ways to adapt, to endure. We don’t just survive; we shape the world around us. If we have the right tools. It's time for me to make some.

  I crouched by the river, seleg a ft stos surface cool and smooth beh my fingers. Holding it in one hand, I used the edge of aoo carve a simple spell into it—a glyph designed for hypnosis. I focused, letting my aura pulse through the stone, seeding it with mana until it glowed faintly. The spell was basiough to hold the attention of any animal that waoo close, trapping them in a trance for just long enough. A few seds, maybe half a minute, would be all I needed.

  “It’s not much, but it’ll do.” This spell would work only on animals, lulling them into a moment of stillness. Enough time for a huo strike before they realized the danger.

  Oone wasn’t enough. I needed more. So, I made five more, w quietly, feeling the weight of each stole in my palm as I i with mana. With every stone pced carefully along animal paths in the forest, I prepared myself for the wait. The moment the first spell activated, I would be ready.

  The quiet of the forest settled around me as I crouched, listening for any sign that one of the stones had dos work. My heart beat in time with the subtle energy of my aura, which pulsed outward, tetherio each stone like a web. Finally, I felt it—the faint vibration of magic triggered. The first stone had caught something.

  I crept through the trees, moving as quietly as I could, feeling the soft, damp earth underfoot. As I approached, I saw it—a squirrel, transfixed by the stoaring at it as though it were an old friend or perhaps the fi a it had ever seen. The spell held it in a trance, eyes gzed, pletely unaware of me as I moved in close.

  I struck fast, swift, and silent. The squirrel’s small body fell limp in my hand, and I tied it to my belt, its weight a small but essential victory. **A prince, hunting squirrels.** I let out a dry chuckle, the irony bitter on my tongue. “I wonder what the royal court would think of this.”

  “I ’t believe it… a prince, reduced to squirrel meat,” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. But it would feed me, even if only for a day. And with any luck, the stone would bring something rger.

  And then, another vibration—a sed storiggered, calling to me from deeper in the woods. I followed the pull, stepping carefully, feeling the thrill of the hule deeper withihe sed stone had worked, and there, drawn to it, was a rge rabbit, gazing ily at the glyph as if it were some enting jewel.

  I felt a rush of satisfa. “Yes. This will do.” The spell wouldn’t hold long, but just long enough.

  The rabbit remaiill, its soft body unaware of the danger, hypnotized by the lure I had crafted.

  Finally I go bae without anyone saying I was wasting time out in the forest or keep saying am not good hunter.