“I believe I do not need theorizations to impress upon you the use of telepathy in battle. In battle there are specific magics, especially the ones that are forbidden, that can be used by certain malicious mages. Those spells when used, are impossible to counter or stave off. No shield is potent against them.”
“So you are saying no matter how strong I get, there is absolutely nothing I can do to avoid the spells you are talking about?” Eldana asked.
“Yes, I believe Siem knows somethings about these kinds of spells.” He said, throwing a glance across to where Siem stood.
“Crazy mind reader,” Siem muttered under her breath. “Stay out of my mind.”
Kochob, now faced Eldana, “The only way you can avoid those spells is by telepathy. You can access the mind of your opponent and discern what their next move is going to be, and then you can plan an appropriate defense or counterattack. I must warn you though, certain people are trained to resist telepaths. Your level of magic is a natural mental defense for you, but you need to work on it so that you are near impenetrable. Your friends, especially Siem and D’rmas, had mental fortifications in place. An ordinary telepath would not have been able to penetrate them. But then again, I am not ordinary.”
“So, if these mages have been trained to resist telepathy, my ability as a telepath is as good as useless then,” Eldana said.
“Not entirely,” Kochob replied. “You see, a lot of things go into a fight, other than force, and magic. There is a skill, tactic, strategy. Some even resort to fighting dirty. Battles are essentially a fight for survival, after all. There is only too much that the mind can focus on. If you can create something else for the mind to focus on, it borrows strength from what it already focuses on, and gives it to the new object of interest. Therefore…” Kochob cocked his brows suggestively for Eldana to fill in the theory.
Eldana’s eyes widened as the implication of what Kochob had just said struck her.
“Therefore,” she said, “the mage’s mental fortification is weakened.”
Kochob nodded with satisfaction. “And then you get your opportunity to stab through their mind.”
Eldana had smiled then, imagining how formidable she would be in battle. She had not known how difficult it would be to learn the skill.
Now, she was sitting, her eyes closed trying to get into the minds of the birds chirping overhead for the tenth day in a row.
“It is almost noon,” Kochob said, suddenly. “I suggest you take some time off to collect yourself. We will meet again at dusk.”
Eldana sighed and stood up. She had a look of dissatisfaction on her face. She bowed slightly to Kochob, and Kochob bowed in return before Eldana stalked off.
On her way to the tent that she and Siem shared, she stopped by Hermon’s. He always possessed this quality that made her spirits rise whenever he was around. And at the moment, there was nothing that else she needed. She went to his tent to discover that he was not in. Eldana muttered something about friends not being there when you need them and walked off. She was not ready to retire to her tent just yet. Not with the way she was feeling. She strolled through the forest, hoping that its life would suffuse her with the feeling of betterment that she so desired. She was at a part of the forest filled with lots of singing birds when she heard someone speak beside her.
“Rough day?”
Eldana turned. There was nobody from where the voice had come from. Just a young tree. Eldana squinted. She thought she saw the tree move. Suddenly, the tree began to shrink in size, its bark growing smoother, and smoother. Some of its branches disappeared outrightly, while the ones that remained, melded into hands.
Eldana stared wide-eyed with wonder as what had once been a tree was now Meko.
“Hi.” Eldana said awkwardly in surprise.
Meko nodded, acknowledging Eldana’s greeting. “You look every bit like you had a rough day,” Meko repeated.
Eldana sighed, coming back to herself.
“A rough day, indeed.”
“You have still not been able to use telepathy?” Meko asked.
“I guess word travels fast,” Eldana replied in a dejected tone.
“Just give it some time,” Meko advised.
“That is all I seem to be giving it,” Eldana said. “I mean one would think that a psychic would learn telepathy easily.”
Meko chuckled. “Psychics read spirits, not the human mind. I understand how frustrating this can be. You know, once, I was in the same spot as you are in now.”
“Yeah?” Eldana replied, her face brightening.
“Yes,” Meko agreed. “You see, telepathy is not as easy as Kochob makes it seem. But my difficulty was not strictly with telepathy,” Meko said. “It was that I could not control nature.”
“What?” Eldana asked with incredulity, then burst into laughter, for the elf to join in.
“You do not mean it,” Eldana said.
“I am serious,” Meko replied.
“But I thought, as elves, the power to manipulate nature comes to you easily, like, well, second nature.”
“True,” Meko replied with a smirk. “But with me it was different. Imagine how I must have felt. All my mates were growing flowers and causing them to bloom, weaving vines into furniture and whatnot, and I was still struggling to make a flower bud open!”
Eldana laughed, for Meko to join in (with some little chagrin).
“It sounds banal and ridiculous now. But it was a huge problem for me.”
“I can only imagine,” Eldana said. “So, what helped you?”
“I had to ease myself. Relieve me of thoughts, and whatever weight was clouding my focus,” Meko said. “You know, right now, nothing will make you feel so light and free than a swim.”
Eldana looked eager.
“Oh, please do point me to where I can get one. There is nothing more I need at the moment.”
“There is a pond not too far from
