I could easily snap the thin stick in half, and that was the purpose of my training.

"Picture your energy streaming through your body," Nag instructed as he held another thin baton between his thumb and forefinger. "Sense the object in your hand, touch it and feel its texture."

At that moment, a gray scaled fish jumped out of the water. Nag threw the baton at it with extreme precision. I saw the fish fly to the other bank and land a few feet farther. It was wriggling in place as the stick had pierced it and kept it in place. A few seconds later, the stick broke and the fish fell to the ground, wriggling its body furiously.

Nag had made it look easy. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't transfer my own Essence into the thing. It reminded me of the day I saw those kids in the market back home. They would bend a spoon by just directing their thoughts toward it. No matter how much I stared, concentrated, almost shat my pants, I could never do it.

It was midday when Nag decided to call it quits. We were getting nowhere. He decided then to teach me about elemental magic. We had time to kill. The Song-folk usually appeared by the lake at dusk. That was what the tanner had told us anyway.

They'd tried to kidnap his wife once. Other men from the village reported the same. It had become such a big issue that the mayor decided to put a price on their head. Jenkins, the tanner, told us the Song-folk were vicious, ugly. They'd seduce women by their beautiful songs and lead them to their caves, to feed on them. We decided to spend the day training, and investigate the lake by dusk.

Nag took his own staff out and showed me the stance one usually uses to summon the elements.

"Elements exist all around us," he said. "In the light, in the shadows cast behind us, in the river, and in the air. You must be able to get in touch with them, ask them for help. They don't like being used, so be mindful of how you speak to them."

"Wait a minute," I said. "I saw other mages use spells without long incantations. Does that mean they force the elements to submission?"

"That's one possibility," Nag said. "Others make pacts with them, as one might do with a demon. They feed them their Essence in exchange for instant help."

"That doesn't sound beneficial at all," I protested.

"It is not," Nag agreed. "This process also depends on the phase of the moons, and which moon is dominant."

My head started turning. What was Nag talking about?

"Most elements are sympathetic," he went on, oblivious to my confused stares. "They'd answer if your prayer is pure enough. Don't call for fire or water unless you're ready to pay a heavy price though, they don't deal for free. Forget about Lightning unless you've got years of experience, and a good staff to channel it with."

"What's left then?" I asked. "These are most elements I've seen mages use."

"You've encountered the worst of the bunch then," Nag said.

"How can I bend an element to my will?" I asked.

"I'm not sure I'm the one to ask," Nag replied. "Your grandfather must have interesting things to say about this."

My shoulders slouched.

"I'm about to teach you the basics, the rest is up to you," Nag said. "So pay attention."

This training thing was beginning to weigh down on me. Using the sword was much easier. You train, you stick to a certain routine, and your muscle memory does the rest. Training to use magic was a different thing entirely. It was training the mind to accept to surreal. It was more strenuous, boring, and most of all, frustrating.

I was glad when the sun started sinking down the horizon. It was time for us to deal with the Song-folk and go back to the tavern for our night job. The first sign of their presence was their voice. As Jenkins said, they appeared the moment the first cold breeze of the evening made us s.h.i.+ver. He had been observing them for quite a while before talking to the mayor about it.

We heard gentle voices, singing a happy tune that was carried by the western wind. That song had a tinge of sadness to it, or perhaps it was I who read it that way. Nag just shrugged when I made the remark. We followed the voices upstream, until we reached another waterfall, and the lake.

The river poured into it from a hill, about fifty feet high. The lake was quite wide, about a hundred feet wide. We saw some deer drinking before it spotted us and disappeared in the woods. We saw birds resting at the top of the hill, ready to take flight once more and migrate.

It was getting cold up north. I suspected they were heading to my homeland. The song we heard played a great role in making me feel nostalgic, homesick. Everything I saw around there had a melancholic effect on me, quite poetic too.

Nag stabbed me with his gigantic elbow. He was looking forward, I followed his eyes.

The lake had a gray slab of rock in the middle. We saw the apparition there. It was a beautiful maiden. Her silky black hair extended over her torso, covering her naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her willowy figure turned to face us. She was brus.h.i.+ng her long hair, singing all along. Nag advised me not to look her in the eyes.

"She's a nymph," Nag said. "This kind of beauty exists only in fairy tales."

"I've seen enough of beauties to make me want to run away as soon as my eye met them," I said then drew my sword. I was dying to take it for a spin.

"Why does the human draw a sword in my presence?" the nymph asked.

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She stood and her hair fell behind her back. I didn't have to force myself not to look her in the eyes now. I was too busy staring at something else. She jumped from the rock and stood on the water surface, which rippled gently under her feet.

Her skin, I noticed, was perfectly smooth and s.h.i.+ny. She advanced toward us. Every step she took made my heart jump. Her song repeated at the back of my head, even though she wasn't moving her lips. Let's also talk about her full red lips, and her wide naked hips, and that body that would make any man's blood boil.

I didn't know when she had arrived next to me. Maybe it was from the moment she landed on the water surface, maybe later. I didn't care. I was too mesmerized by that heavenly beauty. Nag was no better. He couldn't move either. His gigantic jaw fell as he continuously stared at the nymph.

"Why does the human draw the sword?" the nymph asked once more.

"I wanted to gift it to you my lady," I said.

'Stupid!' Eva's voice shook me up.

Thank the G.o.ds for the empress. I was able to recollect my thoughts for a moment and looked away. My eye was inevitably drawn to that beautiful body of hers. Jenkins had warned us about it too…

We were lousy hunters.

"We don't harm anybody," the nymph said. "Why hunt us?"

"You almost kidnapped a man's wife," I said. I made sure to keep staring at my feet. My senses were extended toward the nymph, ready to jump away at the slightest movement.

"She ran because her husband arrived," the nymph said. "She was looking to have some fun. The tanner never looks at his beautiful wife. He keeps her locked in the house, afraid other people will steal her from him."

"What about the other women who reported you?" I said.

"Women in the village are unhappy," the nymph replied. "Their husbands rarely take care of them. They come to us for relief."        

"There is a price on your head," I said. "People won't consider you an enemy unless you pose danger to them."

"Is that what your Child friend thinks?" the nymph asked.

At the mention of that name, Nag snapped out of his reverie. He pulled me aside and we turned our back to the beautiful naked creature.

"Nymphs are related to fertility," Nag told me. "They usually don't get aggressive unless provoked. Maybe that tanner provoked them earlier. Remember how ugly he said they were?"

I nodded.

"Does she look ugly to you?" Nag's green skin had gotten darker. I guess it was their way of blus.h.i.+ng.

I shook my head.

"Maybe we should reconsider this," Nag said.

"We need the money," I whispered to him.

We heard splashes in the water. Nag was about to say something but forgot about it. He turned and I did the same. We saw two dozen naked women, each one more beautiful than the other. I got dizzy looking at all of them. Some had big b.r.e.a.s.t.s, others had plump behinds you'd die just to rest your head on.

They giggled and waved to us, inviting us to have fun with them.

Nag force me to turn away and we were back to whispering once more. "This is bound to get real ugly if we start fighting," he said.

"Are your kind attracted to humans?" I asked. I couldn't help but notice how hesitant Nag had become to attack them. I could also see the flame of desire in those red eyes of his.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nag said. "Those are definitely my kind. The most beautiful I've ever laid eyes on. I just a.s.sumed humans like all things with big t.i.ts."

"Nag," I whispered. "They're all human, what are you –?"

It dawned on both of us. Our eyes widened and our spirit broke.

"They're showing us what we desire, aren't they?" I asked.

Nag nodded, his eyes were now demonstrating fury and frustration.