It had been some weeks since Edge had last gotten time alone to himself, his teacher was a monster, or at least that was how he liked to put it, tougher than anyone he knew from his own land, ruled by the aggressive Harsdine Empire. The Harsdine military were a tough, unfriendly bunch, right up to the military commanders and even the Minister himself.

It had only been in the last hundred years or so that magic had been integrated into the Military as another formidable weapon of the Empire, but it was still looked upon with some disdain, still, wizards of exceptional power could become wizards of the court and work under the Emperor himself. Of course the head of the Imperial Wizardry would have high hopes for his son, to the point that he practically forced powers on to the boy, with barely a thought of how Edge would control that power until after he first went out of control and the worst happened.

And so he was sent to seclusion, with one of the Imperial Wizardry's strongest teachers, to train him and to learn control, if at all possible. It could be said at least that the training had gone well enough, but even Arc had recommended that he never use that power again, it was about the only thing he could agree with when it came to that woman.


Seclusion also came with a place, reasonably close to Bladehelm. The truth was he'd never seen a person from there before, but considering the nature of the Empire, he was sure even they didn't like Harsdine. However there was a break in training, Arc had left to gather supplies from the closest town, leaving him to rest, or train if he preferred, the latter occasionally happened, but he rarely got a break like this when that woman was around, so it was pleasant to simply relax and explore for once.

It was foolish for any mage to not have a weapon, they could preserve their strength and fight physically, holding their magic back until necessary, so even as a mage; he kept a blade at his side. Though the weapon lay abandoned next to the river he had found, the young man sitting on a small boulder at the riverside. It was an oddly peaceful place, he'd never been here before, the water rushing past sparkled with life, an opening in the trees above allowed for enough sunlight that it illuminated the area.

He thought about bringing Arc here briefly, but then, that would have ruined the feeling that it was a secret for himself, the only person in the world that knew about this place. The thought made him smile, though a rustling in the trees behind him made the young man freeze, turning his head briefly and staring as a deer stepped out into the open, walking toward the river and dipping its head down so that it could drink.
Edge remained still, simply watching the creature, might as well let it go about its business, he had no intention for it.

It was strange, but animals were always calm around him, or at least in regard to him, almost as if they ignored his very existence, if Arc ever approached, they fled, but Edge didn't bother them at all. He didn't let it weight on his mind too much, instead shifting his gaze to the river again, it really was quite peaceful there..