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Max smiled widely as they finished, glad that the man hadn't stayed angry with her and happy to finally be able to ride a horse. "Thank you, Mr. Draké!" She chirped happily as she got off of her horse and led the mare to Kylm. She giggled as Kylm tried to pretend she was watching the whole thing. "It's not good to lie, Kylm." The young apprentice teased. "But, don't we have to drop off Nutmeg and get going?" The young girl asked as she petted the horse, running her hands down the ombre of the neck. The black string of the necklace pulled a bit at her neck as she moved. "Oh, and you still have to tell me what this necklace is for!" She held out the crystal, hoping that maybe Kylm would tell her what it was now. After all, she had promised to tell her apprentice that she would tell her what the thing was soon. Soon meant today in Max's mind.
 
Kylm grinned, glad her apprentice was easing in with her. "Clever girl. Speaking of which..." She turned to Draké. "Need you to take care of Nutmeg. Tell Raggs I sent you and he'll let you in." "You got it. Looking forward to seeing her again." His eyes locked on the neckless. "Wait is that-" "Yup, it is. And the more you ask about it only makes the wait longer." They began to leave, giving Draké one final wave with horses in toe. As they approached the village limits Kylm spoke about the travel plan. "If everything goes to plan the trip will last three days with stops to train. Any questions?"
 
The compliment made Max's heart soar. She could get used to those. However, Kylm's refusal to tell her what the crystal was made the young girl pout a bit. "Now I'm just more curious than before!" The brunette could wait, at least she told herself she could. She listened carefully to Kylm's travel plans, trying to distract herself from the mystery that was the necklace she was currently wearing. The clopping of the horses' hooves made the girl smile. Blinking, she noticed that Kylm had asked her for questions. She bit her lip, nodding her head from side to side as she thought of anything. "Mmm... Nope. I don't have any questions." She just wanted to get going.
 
"Alrighty then. Off we go." Kylm climbed onto Clipper and began to set down the road at a brisk trot. They were briefly stopped and inspected by the village guards before being allowed to leave. The path underneath them changed from cobble to dirt as they left the city limits. The plains stretched off around them as a thought came up in the wizard's mind. "By the way Max, how did you learn that freezing spell so early?
 
Max followed with Sugar, trotting behind Kylm as she eagerly took in the surroundings. Everything was new and exciting. Grass and plains stretched as far as the eye could see. This was an adventure, just like Max and her friends had talked about when they were still learning. If only they could have been there to see it with her. At the question, Max tilted her head. "Which spell? The spike one or the first one I used? The first one I read in a book. I ended up freezing my room over when I first used it. It took me almost three whole months just getting it small enough so it only would freeze over one target. I had to practice in secret because we aren't allowed to technically learn any type of spell until our master teaches us."
 
"Huh. You overpowered spells a lot?" Kylm looked at the uninterrupted blue of the sky and the endless yellow-green of the planes. She had heard once that this world had no infinities, to which she massively disagreed. She turned briefly to Max, there was a perfect example right there, infinite possibilities. A smile before he turned back, still waiting for a answer.
 
Max looked at the seemingly infinite plains, taking a deep breath of fresh air. At the question, Max smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. My friends always told me I used too much magic in my spells." It felt strange knowing that Kylm wouldn't berate her for her troubles in magic. "It's kinda hard not to though." She relaxed a bit against Sugar, gently leading her to follow Kylm. "It always feels easier to just pump magic into the spell rather than use a smaller amount."
 
"Well that's a problem that we all face, magical or not. Quantity over quality. Efficiency over neatness. It's impossible to avoid, it's in our blood and brains." Kylm explained as she lead her apprentice down the path. Time was passing quickly as they spoke like this, soon it would be time for training and she would probably have to face another barrage of 'what does the neckless do?' Her eye caught a flicker of movement on the grassy horizon but it wasn't there long enough to be confirmed as real.
 
Max sighed. "If it's a problem we all face then how do others fix it?" The apprentice asked, looking over to Kylm. She knew it would take quite a while before she could master just how much magic she needed to properly create certain spells, but gosh darn it she wanted to be impatient! Another question of what the necklace was for was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it down. She could ask when they were training.
 
Kylm was distracted for a moment then returned to the conversation. "It is a personal problem and can only be defeated by yourself, therefore it's a different solution every time." She herself had had this problem, failing to see the danger until she was burned with her own spell. It was a shocking experience but it taught her that she needed to control her magic or she could really hurt someone. Max's turning point would be ,hopefully, less painful then her own.
 
Max sighed. "Of course it wouldn't be easy..." She wanted an easy solution, something to show her friends that she was worthy to be a wizard along with them. The girl took a deep breath and let out a loud, relaxed sigh. "It seems like it's been forever since I was last out on the road. I haven't travelled anywhere since I got pushed into the academy." Energy started to fill Max's veins as excitement curled in her stomach. A new adventure laid out in the plains, full of possibilities, new spells, and new friends. "I guess you still won't tell me anything about the necklace, right?" The questions slipped past the girl, even though she had tried to keep it down. The world appeared vast as they rode their horses. There seemed to be no end as Max thought of what the necklace could do.
 
"I know what you mean" ,Kylm laughed. "Enjoy your youth while you have it Max. Even as a wizard you'll find yourself holed up somewhere begging for a vacation." She rolled her eye at her apprentice's question. "Nope. Look, there's the training ground." A single tree and a small pond stood by the road. Kylm lead Clipper there and motioned for Max to do the same.
 
Max sighed before brightening again at the sight of the training ground. She slid off of Sugar and led the mare over to the pond so the horse could drink. "What are you going to teach me, Kylm?" The girl hoped there would be no more exercises like piercing the single log, but the girl truly did need to work on limiting her magic when performing spells. It could get her or someone she cared about hurt someday.
 
Kylm hopped off Clipper and withdrew a rope from her pack. "A projectile spell known as icicle barrage. It sprays frozen needles at high velocity towards the target," she spoke as Clipper drank. After he was finished the wizard tied him to the tree. Saying she wasn't slightly nervous was a lie. The spell could injure Max if she lost control of it but she needed a way to defend herself if those flickers on the horizon turned out to be real. She tossed her the rope. "I suggest you do the same. Get the book titled Duratus Ika out once your done."
 
As Sugar finished drinking from the pond, Esther caught the rope that Kylm threw to her. Nodding, the apprentice got to work tying her horse before searching the bag for Duratus Ika. "Where is it? Come on!" She growled, reaching her hand deep into the bag. "All of these books look alike! Duratus... Duratus... Ha!" The young brunette pulled out the required book. "Duratus Ika! Here we are." She closed the bag again before walking over to Kylm. "Is there going to be something I can focus on as a target?" One singular thing would hopefully help Max keep from overdoing it on her magic, or at least that's what she hoped would happen. She would hate to hurt someone else when just practicing her spell.
 
While Max was looking for the book Kylm was skillfully unloading wooden parts from her bag. She set them all up to make a target that would withstand the attack. Placing a rune of sturdiness on it she turned back to her apprentice. "Now, if you open your book to Icicle Barrage you would find that is shares a page with Icicle Shot. This is because they have the same magic words but different motions. Watch."

Kylm faced the target. She swooped her arm upward, then back and held it there. Ice and frost formed on her palm as she silently focused. "Duratus Ika Jeni!" Her arm whipped forward and three spikes of ice launched into the target. "That was Icicle Shot. With Icicle Barrage you would thrust and hold both your arms forward. The cold can sting a little at first but you'll get used to it. Try Icicle Shot now."
 
Opening the book to Kylm's requested page, Max nodded as she glanced at it before watching Kylm's demonstration. Her mouth dropped as she watched the ice spikes hit the target. Her eyes were practically sparkling with awe and delight as she nodded, taking more time to study exactly what the page asked her to do before standing up. Carefully, Max got into position and stared at the target.

This spell was a lot different from the spells she had used before. Those always started away from her, limiting her chance of harming herself. Duratus Ika Jeni risked hurting her as it started in her hand as ice and frost. Taking a deep breath, Max mimicked Kylm's movements, closing her eyes to focus solely on the magical energy that was forming in her palm. At first it had started to flood through, but Max quickly cut off the energy to a trickle as she felt the ice and frost start a burning sensation in her palm. "Duratus Ika Jeni!" With that, the apprentice's arm whipped forward as three spikes of ice launched at the target. Max's hand still tingled from having the ice so close to her palm, but other than that she seemed to be fine.
 
Kylm found herself oddly worried for Max. Normally she trusted in the ability of those around her, knowing that they were skilled in their trade and the chance of them failing was small. But here with Max was a young girl that wasn't a professional and could hurt herself quite badly very easily. The wizard felt herself flinch at every move her apprentice moved, terrible accidents flashing in her mind. Yet she found herself refreshed by this feeling, why?

With Max's success with the spell Kylm snapped out of her thoughts to give a little cheer. "Nice! First try Max, that was really good! Alright, now try Icicle Barrage. Remember: it's just like Icicle shot but with both hands and you hold them forward." With that Kylm did her shattering snap and took a few steps back. Watching while returning to her thoughts.
 
Max blinked before smiling back at Kylm. This was the first time she had actually successfully done a spell right on the first time. "Thank you." She breathed before nodding and focusing on the next spell. She just had to repeat a similar process. It couldn't be too hard, right? Taking a deep breath, Max held her hands forward, feeling the ice start to pool in her hands from her magic. Her eyes widened as she quickly realized she was using too much, way too much. Not knowing how else to release the magic, the brunette went through with the spell.

"Duratus Ika Jeni!" Four icicles shot toward the target, but one seemed to backfire, stabbing Max's hand clean through as the others hit the target. Max stumbled back, stunned silent. The ice burned against the bleeding hand. If removed, there would be a hole straight through the young girl's palm. She cradled her hand to her stomach. Her breath came in faster gasps, threatening hyperventilation. She couldn't look at her master. She couldn't handle the scolding she'd get for messing up so badly. Blood dripped down onto the grass. Max bit her lip, holding in a scream of pain.
 
Kylm had seen the frost growing far to large on Max's hands. She was about to warn her when she activated the spell. The wizard watched as her apprentice's hand was impaled by by her own shard of ice.

"Holy-" Kylm muttered before running to Max's side. She took her arm and examined it. "This will hurt" ,she stated before slowly removing the icicle. She held her hand over the wound and began to invoke a healing spell. "Foni Sla" ,she whispered calmingly as a faint green glow shown on Max's wound, progressively closing it.
 
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