A week passed by in no time. All days seemed to be the same for Iris. She got up at dawn, ate breakfast with Kara and then went to never-ending torture called magic lessons with Jayden. It was true that he was a great Mage, no doubt about it. But he was also a horrible person. He never smiled; his face was always contorted in a scowl, especially when he looked at her. She was trying hard and giving her best, but it was not enough. It was never enough for him.

Iris noted that he wasn't like that to others. He was also helping other Mages in their training, and he wasn't scowling at them. She frowned and tucked her coat closer to her chest. It was chilly this morning. Jayden had some problem with her, and she had no idea what that was. But his teaching did get results. She could draw the light now, form simple shapes, and control them entirely over a decent amount of time. That's why she was clenching her teeth and let his snippy comments fall to deaf ears. It wasn't always easy, and she suspected it would be tough today because she had been in a bad mood since morning. There was only so much scorn one could take without breaking.

Jayden was already in the clearing, waiting for her. No one else was here yet. They always started first and finished last. When she got back to her tent in the evening, she was so tired she just wanted to sleep.

'Well, you finally decided to grace me with your presence, I see,' he chided, looking at her with hostility, his arms crossed at his chest, his foot tapping impatiently.

'Good morning to you too, Jayden,' she replied, working hard to keep her anger from flaring. 'Lord Sun is barely up. If I came any earlier, there would be no light to draw from.'

'We can always use fire, smart mouth. With your level of magic proficiency, you need all the training you can get. You are still far behind the regular five-year-old.'

Iris ignored him, took off her coat, even though her skin was immediately covered with goosebumps. While training, she got warm quickly, just like during physical exercise. She took out a little mirror from her pocket and finally looked at him.

He was observing her, his dark eyes taxing and cold. He looked almost disappointed at her lack of will to reply to his insults. But she was not here for bickering. She knew too well that to help anyone, she had to learn and do it quickly.

'So? What are we starting with today?' she asked calmly.

Jayden narrowed his eyes as if he was still waiting for some remark, but when she didn't give any, he only shrugged. 'Today, we'll be working on your light coordination. Create a sword.'

Iris slowly drew the light from the mirror and narrowed her eyes in concentration. She imagined the regular sword, long blade, simple hilt and let the radiance illustrate its shape in front of her. Jayden was doing the same, but when she saw his sword, her jaw dropped. It was beautiful. Its blade curved in an elegant arc, the end of the hilt was shaped like a roaring lion head and gleaming with jewels. It looked like a work of art compared to her bulky sword-like shape.

'Woah,' she gasped in awe before she could stop herself.

Jayden smirked. 'I like my creations to be detailed,' he said.

'Show off,' she scoffed.

'Ultimately, it doesn't matter. You should focus on functionality, not the visual. If you'd ever get as good as me, you can try experimenting with looks. But now, let's focus on control. You have to fend off my attacks, understand?' She nodded.

Without a further warning, Jayden's sword sprang in her direction so fast, it changed into a lightning streak. Iris tried to move her sword to intercept it, but she was far too slow and had to throw herself flat on the grass to avoid being chopped down, her sword disappearing.

'Hey! That's too fast!' she protested, getting back to her knees.

'No, you're just too slow,' he scoffed. 'Again.'

She tried again. And again. And again. Soon she was out of breath, and the best she could do was to parry Jayden's sword once before her weapon dissolved into nothing. Her legs were shaking. Every time her light dispersed during the clash, it felt as if she lost all her breath at once. She didn't even have the strength to doge anymore. The young Mage was sure to only strike her with a dull part of the sword. It still hurt, though, and she was sure it would leave bruises.

'Again!' he barked at her. It was the only word he had been using for the past hour. Iris was still on her hands and knees, gasping and out of breath. 'I said, again!' he growled.

'I can't!' she gasped and looked at him pleadingly. 'I need a break.'

'Do you think the Inquisition will let you take a break?' He scoffed. 'I said get up and come again!'

'No!' she protested more forcefully this time. 'There is no point, Jaden! I'm too tired even to create the sword properly, not to mention keeping yours away!'

He huffed and dismissed his sword with a wave of his hand. 'Fine, do as you will. But if you die facing a knight, don't come blaming me. You are such a weakling.' He rolled his eyes in dismay.

Iris felt the long-contained anger bubbling out to the surface now. 'What exactly is your problem with me, Jayden?' she growled.

'What?' he asked, raising his brow.

'You heard me! What is your problem with me?' She slowly got up on her shaking legs. 'You train me ragged every day, even if you see I can't even stand! You hit me every time I made a mistake, and we both know you have full control over your magic, so it's not like you can't stop it on time.'

'This way, you learn,' he scoffed, his eyes blazing. 'If you don't want to get hit, you have to work harder. That's what you're good at, eh? The life and death situations? Creating those brilliant walls and shields?'

'Oh, there it is again!' she said, pointing the finger at him. 'You are mocking me again and again and treating me like an idiot. And why? Because I never learnt how to use magic. How is that my fault?'

'Fine, you want to know why I can't stand you?' he hissed and walked to her, stopping just inches away, his tall frame looming over her threateningly. She had to perk her head up to look into his blazing dark eyes. But she did not back down, not this time. 'Because Marcus is so convinced that you are someone special.'

'What?' she asked, confused.

'He went on that crazy mission and let himself be captured by a freaking Inquisitors, just to get to you! Everyone told him it was too dangerous and not worth the risk, but he just went and did it anyway. And for what? You can't even properly conjure a weapon, not to mention your knowledge of Light Magic is less than a five-year-old child!'

'I didn't ask him to do that,' she said quietly. It was the first time Jayden showed her any emotion except frustration and disdain. He was concerned about the old man and saw her as a competition. She knew he was Marcus' apprentice. She wasn't well versed in Mages' customs, but that sounded as if he was important to the old man. 'Look, I'm sorry I'm not what you were expecting, alright? But I'm trying my best to catch up. And I'd do anything I can to help with undoing the Ritual. But you hating me is not helping right now.'

Jayden sighed, ran a hand over his face in frustration and stepped back. 'Fine. Let's take a break. Eat something, or whatever. I want you back here at noon, and we pick up from the start again,' he said, turning on his heel and walking away toward the group of Mages, who started to gather at the other side of the clearing. Iris sighed. At least she earned some breathing time. It was worth a shot.

***

Iris was walking back to the clearing when Kara caught up to her and grabbed her elbow.

'There you are. Come with me. Marcus called an urgent meeting and wants everyone to gather immediately,' the woman said, pulling her back toward the centre of the camp.

'Has something happened?'

'No idea.' Kara shrugged. 'We'll have to wait and see.'

Confused, Iris followed the woman to where Marcus and other people were sitting, discussing something lively. Iris sat at the edge of the group, listening and not wanting to interrupt.

'Is it even confirmed information?' asked a middle-aged man in grey robes. Iris saw him during her magical training in the clearing, though she didn't remember his name. He was one of the most experienced Mages in the camp, so Marcus often sought his advice.

'That is what the forest's creatures told me,' said Myrica calmly. 'They were on the lookout for it for a while now.'

The man frowned. 'Forest creatures? Really? Are we going to send our people to the midst of the Ancient Forest because a squirrel told you so?'

'It was not a squirrel. It was a buzzard,' she replied, unfazed by his mockery. Iris noticed that , standing next to her, frowned, and looked at the Mage with visible anger. He was a very dedicated

'Liam,' interjected Marcus, 'I know you have your reservations. We don't have many people here that can efficiently fight Inquisition. But I'm afraid we won't find many more Mages any time soon. And as it is, we don't have enough power to undo the Ritual. We simply lack the numbers. With Inquisition constantly eradicating the slightest traces of magic, we can't wait anymore.'

The other Mage slumped visibly. 'I know. But we are expecting the next transport of prisoners tomorrow. Our scouts reported there were two Mages there. We must break them free. We can't lose that opportunity. After your last stunt to save the girl,' he nodded at Iris, 'I expect the Church to double their guards. We need all our best men to put on that rescue mission.'

Marcus was silent for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. He looked at Myrica. 'Myr, how many people do you need to get there and extract the Crystal?'

'Not many,' she said with a shrug. 'I can just go with Arlo. Maybe a Mage too. In case we run into Shadows.'

'How about this, then. I, together with Kara, will lead the rescue mission. We gather all the people we can get while still moving swiftly. In the meantime, Myr and will go to fetch the Crystal. Jayden, I want you to take Iris and join them.

'Why would we need her?' the young man asked, raising his brows.

'She needs to get experience. The training is not enough. I don't think you'd encounter any grave danger on the way, but better be safe than sorry. It's the best way to learn as you go. Between you, Arlo and Myr, you can keep her safe. Any objections?' He looked around expectantly. Iris was too stunned to utter a word. 'Good. Myr, you are in command. I'm counting on you. If the word is true and it is the Crystal of Illumination, we would be able to perform the Ritual right after you come back.' The gathered people started talking all at once, the excitement palpable in the air.

'Erm, excuse me?' said Iris raising her hand gingerly. Marcus smiled at her encouragingly. 'What exactly is this Crystal of Illumination, and why do we need it? I don't recall they used any special device during the original Ritual.'

'That's a good question, and you are correct. The Mages did not use any additional artefacts while performing the Ritual. But as you recall, it was performed by many of the most powerful Mages from the Order. I'm sorry to say that we are nowhere near this level of power. T undo the Ritual, we need to replicate the original setting. That's why we didn't manage to do this for so many years. We were looking for a way to amplify the magic that we could gather to make it strong enough to match the original level. One of the possible solutions is the Crystal of Illumination. Myr, darling, can you tell Iris about it?'

'Crystal of Illumination was created in an ancient time by the Spirits of the Forest,' said the woman, her melodic voice hypnotising. All whispers stopped, and everyone was looking at her mesmerised. 'It was a dark time when the Shadow Realm raised and launched an attack against our world. The Forest Guardians wore crystals to entrap the sunlight and use it at night, when the shadows grew darker, to keep their creatures out of our domain. But it wasn't remarkably effective. The radiance gathered this way was limited and weak, and Shadows grew bolder every night, advancing further to our lands.

'As the last resort, the Spirits decided to enchant one of the crystals, to make it powerful enough to fend the shadow creatures away. But it was not a task easily done. To create the artefact so potent, the Spirits had to fill it with their magic, leaving them weak and just a mere memory of what they used to be. It had to be done, though, otherwise the whole world would be devoured by darkness. And so, as a last resort, the Spirits of the Forest filled the Crystal with their combined magic. The legend says that whoever is using it will get their power amplified by it by a hundredfold.

'The Guardians of the Forest used the Crystal of Illumination to fend off the Shadows. But it not only chased them away. The combined power of the Spirits pushed the darkness and corruption beyond the borders of this world, sealing it with the reinforced Veil. Afterwards, the elders decided that the Crystal was too powerful to be wielded by anyone, so they hid it. They used the remaining Magic of the Wild to conceal it from the sight of all living things. There was a prophecy saying that when the hour of need comes, and the Shadows threaten this world again, the Crystal will resurface, ready to be used once more,' Myrica finished, and the silence fell over the gathered people.

Liam cleared his throat. 'But you know it's a legend. Do you think it is THE Crystal of Illumination? Just laying around in the forest?'

'Maybe. Maybe not,' said Marcus. 'But we can't afford to let this opportunity pass right now. Myr will find it, and we'll discuss if it's authentic once we have it in our hands.'

***

Iris was packing a sturdy backpack with things necessary for a few days trip. According to Myrica, it should take them about two days to get to the designated location. So they needed to take all the camping equipment between the four of them.

Iris was not happy about this trip. She was somewhat anxious because of all the dangers lurking in the Ancient Forest. She had a better handle of her magic now, but she was petrified at the mere thought that she would have to use it in an actual life-threatening situation. The other thing was...

'Are you all right?' Kara asked, entering their tent. Her blue eyes were looking at her with evident concern.

'Yes, I'm just nervous, I guess,' she replied, shrugging.

'Don't worry. All will be well. The others will keep you safe.'

'It's not just that....' Iris sighed, put down her backpack, and looked at her friend. 'It's just spending the whole week away from this camp. I never really talked to Myrica or Arlo, and Jayden hates me....'

Kara laughed. 'Don't take it personally. I think Jayden hates pretty much everyone, so you're not alone. Both Myr and Arlo usually keep to themselves, that's true, but they are great and caring people, you'll see. Maybe it will be your opportunity to get to know them better?'

'Yeah, maybe. I'd rather have you with me, though.' It was true, this past week, she grew fond of Kara. She was always next to her when she needed help, or just simply the company of another benevolent human being.

The woman only smiled and patted her head gently. 'It will be alright, Iris. I'm more needed with the rescue mission You are in the best possible company. Why don't you treat it as an adventure? I'd love to venture deep inside the Ancient Forest with Myr as my guide. I've heard it's enchantingly beautiful.'

'Yeah, I guess so.'

'I need to go to prepare people for our expedition. Good luck. I'll see you again soon.' Kara gave her a quick hug and left the tent. Iris finished her packing, feeling slightly better after talking with her and went out to find Myrica and the others.

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