44 Don't Talem to go away...

Reima looks Talem and bends his head to the side inquisitively. "What do you gain from helping me?"

Talem "Hmm, I don't know... I've never really been asked that before. If I had to answer then I would say assisting someone gives a satisfaction and a sense of purpose..." He crosses his arms as he contemplates his own answer.

Reima "Even someone who doesn't worship your gods and wishes to explore the ruined city?" He tentatively asks.

Talem "Ofcourse, no matter country or creed we are all human in the end..." He says questionably as he seems to glace at Reima's eyes.

Reima "Yes, we are. My name is Reima by the way." He approaches with his hand out-stretched.

Talem receives the hand and shakes it with a firm grip. "People call me Talem."

They both find a spot to sit under the tower that used to hold the shimmering gate.

Reima "So I have some questions about this land... As you can see, I'm not from around here."

Talem nods, "Ask away."

Reima "The people I fought before, they kept mentioning the Fold... What is it?"

Talem laughs, "Why, Isn't that the question of a life time!... Well, many people have their own interpretations but for me, the Fold is a universe separate from ours... When I became a Prospect.. A masked warrior hoping to become an Absolver, they had me talk to a spiritual being... A being from the Fold. I handed it the mask you see me now wearing, and it enchanted it, granting me immortality and the ability to utilise the Fold to do supernatural feats."

Reima "Who are the Guides?"

Talem "They are a religion that worships an ancient god known as Anlek... I am unsure of what Anlek is the god of but it can't be good... The Guides say that Raslan, the ruined city was destroyed because the populace forgot about their worship of Anlek." He seems to be holding back a great deal of his opinion on the Guides...

Reima "You don't seem to like them all that much..."

Talem "Yes, what is there to like? They fill your head with verses of their religion and indoctrinate you into it... They make young aspiring warriors don the mask and enter Raslan to hone their skills. What they don't tell you before you become a Prospect is that you will never be able to take the mask off. You won't eat, drink or sleep for the rest of your immortal life. I have been here for... Many years, and I have trouble not doubting their words anymore."

Reima "I know that skilled Prospects eventually become Absolvers... But what do Absolvers actually do?"

Talem "I don't know... I've never attempted to best Risryn atop the tower of Adal."

He suddenly stops talking and seems depressed at the subject, a short silence deafens them as Reima stands up. "It's been nice talking to you Talem, but I should probably get moving through the forest and towards Raslan." He takes a step before stopping, "Actually, if you don't mind... Could I ask for you assistance?"

Talem looks up from the ground, "As I said before, I will help if I can."

Reima "Could teach me how to perform a Windfall dodge or Khalt absorb?"

He looks confused at Reima's request, "Without the Fold those arts would be lost on you..."

Reima shakes his head and casts a small Igni flame to sit upon his hand. "I am adept in supernatural abilities Talem... I doubt this will prove too difficult to pick up."

He looks in shock at the flame hovering above Reima's hand, "How is that possible... The Fold isn't capable of Ignition!"

Reima "Ill show you mine if you show me yours..." He sends a wink at Talem and immediately feels dirty for doing so.

Talem quickly agrees and starts him on the basics of Windfall dodging.

Talem "It's called Windfall because you move like the wind, and you crash like a Water fall. When performing a Windfall dodge, you channel the Fold to act like an after shadow. Anything that hits the after shadow is slowed significantly, this only works if you perfectly dodge a strike due to the preciseness of the after-shadow." He performs a few quick dodges and Reima observes the black mass-like shadow that trails him perfectly. He watches using Observation Haki and sees the white Fold particles again, the weird thing is that the Fold energy is being channelled from the mask and through the body.

Reima waves his arm through the air trying to mimic the Fold energy and manages to form a much thinner shadow than Talem's.

Talem "It seems you're a fast learner, now just channel that energy in the way I showed you across your entire body. It should be much easier than specifying a single body part. He watches as Reima jumps causing shadow feet to follow a second after, he dodges swiftly to the side causing a black shadow to copy him.

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Talem claps when he sees Reima able to perform an adequate Windfall dodge after a couple of hours. "Excellent, when you have time to rest, start meditating on how to improve."

Reima wipes the sweat off of his forehead, "Alright, I guess it's my turn... Watch my hand closely."

He forms an Igni sign and channels magical energy through it causing a fire to burst into life from his hand. "This is called Igni, it means fire, ignite and burn. When you channel energy into a perfectly formed hand Sign you should be able to create fire."

Talem tries to shape his fingers in the correct way with Reima assisting him, "Make sure the Sign is perfect, while you are immortal I doubt it would be pleasant to have your fingers blown off."

After an hour of trying to get it to work, Talem gives up. "I don't know, it's just not working."

Reima who was observing with Haki sees what the problem is, "It's probably because you draw energy from your mask, which is connected to the Fold... I don't know how it effects Signs so maybe you can experiment on it and see if you can cause anything to happen."

After teaching each other they notice the sky turn orange and the sun close to setting, Reima decides to catch a small animal in the forest and bids farewell to Talem. "Hopefully our paths with cross again, Reima."

Reima pats him on the back "I don't doubt it. See yea later Talem. Remember to polish your mask or whatever you immortals do." Talem nods and enters a deep meditation that seems to draw a large amount of Fold energy to envelop him. Reima continues on the path that leads to the forest and eventually Raslan and sets up a camp a few meters off of the path to sleep.