Now that salamanders were humanoid creatures, they had to learn to do things from scratch. Dragons have always relied on their natural physical prowess and their flames to dominate all species in their world. After their transformation, the salamanders retained most of their physical strength; what they lost in strength, they gained in speed. Although their claws still served as weapons, they were not large enough; they had limited reach. Xavier taught them how to fight with and without weapons.
'Uruk, your position is too rigid; your legs are too close; you'll lose balance.' Xavier instructed them. 'Moger, use the elbows to cover the weak parts of the abdomen. You have claws; they're better than fists, but you can use both, one to hit and another to cut.' He doubted for a moment as he looked at Moger. 'You two don't have a tail, but now that you have legs, you can kick; it's almost the same.'
He instructed them on how to use the weapons with which he had experience: swords, daggers, bows and arrows, and crossbows. He taught them how to pick pockets, how to open locks, how to talk, dress, and walk like humans, and how to eat with some decency, although he was not the best example; his manners were good compared to the savagery of the salamanders. Besides all this, he tried to teach them magic.
'I am almost certain that because of your nature as dragons, you will have an affinity for the fire element. Although we can confirm it by just trying, it's better to do an affinity test. There are dual, triple, and even penta-elemental magicians, although only one is known.' Xavier explained the basics of magic that he had learned in his months at Liev's Tower. Although he was not there for a long time, what he knew could be used as the start line for the salamanders learning.
'This makes no sense.' Uruk repeated for the tenth time; he was running out of patience.
The salamanders had a natural tendency to think of fire in a different way than humans. Until now, they barely managed to make their hands warm. That showed that they had an affinity for fire.
"They do not go into magic depletion, so their affinities must be greater than two percent." Xavier thought watching his students grow more and more frustrated. He himself could not throw a fireball, so he could not be an example for them.
'The fire is heat; you only have to imagine things getting hot.' Xavier took a piece of wood and began to transmit his magical energy. To his surprise, the wood burned within seconds.
"Has my magic affinity increased?" he wondered with optimism. However, his joy dissipated when his chest and arms began to hurt. He began to feel a lot of heat and to cough uncontrollably. A small amount of blood filled his mouth.
"I can't use fire magic." He hadn't used his fire magic in months; he didn't need it.
'Whats wrong?' asked Uruk as the salamanders looked at Xavier with some concern.
'I don't think I can use fire magic anymore.'
The salamanders understood that it might be because of what he did for them. Xavier recovered a few minutes later. To clear his doubts, he decided to manipulate his shadow. He succeeded. Whatever happened to him did not affect his shadow magic.
The combat and magic practices continued. There was no progress with the magic training. Until one day, Uruk made a huge discovery. The basis of magic was the visualization of the physical form of the element. The salamanders refused to accept the vision humans had of the fire element; this was a big problem that Xavier did not know how to deal with.
'Fire coming out of your hands? That doesn't make sense. Fire must come out of your throat and from your chest. It must be a burning breath that comes from within, the gift from the All Father.' As if trying to exemplify what he was saying, he put his open hand in front of his face. He imagined his hand burning and lighting up the air coming out of his lungs.
A flame spread toward the opening of the cave; the line of fire traveled all the way from the cave and reached the trees near the entrance, burning them.
'Wow!' Xavier exclaimed.
'Yes!' Uruk cried out as he joyfully jumped through the cave. 'That's how it should be.'
'How did you do it?' Moger asked.
'Think your hand is so hot that it ignites the air in your lungs. That's all.' Uruk Answered.
Now they had an example. They were eager to retake their practices. Xavier interrupted them.
'Ahem!'
The salamanders looked at him. Xavier pointed to the entrance of the cave and to the fire that was spreading.
'If you don't put out that fire, in a short time, the whole jungle of Morr will burn, and you will run out of food.'
The salamanders came out of the cave. With their physical strength and natural resistance to such a weak fire, they pulled out the burning trees from their roots and gathered them in the clearing in front of the cave, where they burned without causing any further damage. The Salmanders began to practice their fire magic successfully. By placing their hands in front of their faces and breathing with intensity, they created one flame after another that burned the soil to such a degree that it crystallized.
"It's not what I expected, but it's not bad," Xavier thought.
'Well, after all, you really are dragons. You even have the dragon's breath.' Xavier said, congratulating the salamanders.
'Dragon breath' Uruk repeated. 'I like it.'
They continued to practice until late at night.
'They must have an incredibly high affinity and huge energy reserves; they've been using magic all day,' Xavier said with a sigh, looking at his black hands. "And me? I can't even light a fire."
The next morning, Xavier returned to his house. A group of mercenaries was waiting for him.
'Well, well, the rumors that you walk around in Morr's jungle as if it were your home are true.' A white man, about fifty years old, with a long, thick white beard and blue eyes said. He wore a light knight's armor with a helmet and used a long, heavy two-handed sword.
'What do you want?' Xavier asked.
'We find it very suspicious that you enter the jungle, and nothing ever happens to you. Then you come out with the equipment and materials of other groups of mercenaries. They say you are making a fortune.
'I'm lucky.'
'No one is so lucky,' said the mercenary, spitting on the ground.
Xavier was not afraid of the mercenaries. He was afraid that Temma, who was still hiding in the trees, would come out to defend him. Some of the inhabitants of the village had followed the mercenaries and were gosipping from a distance. If the salamanders were to be exposed to everyone's eyes, the rumors would soon spread. That could draw the attention of a lot of unwanted people. The deaths and disappearances of mercenaries within the jungle were still considered natural. After all, it was the mythical jungle of Morr, full of all sorts of monsters, beasts, and strange things.
Xavier shrunk his shoulders. 'I will give you the same advice that I gave to the others.' He approached the white man until they were face-to-face and stared into his eyes. 'If you enter the Morr jungle, you will all die. Everyone will die. It doesn't matter if they're mercenaries, knights, or magicians; maybe the only ones who can survive there are the titled magicians... and me.'
Xavier turned around and went back into the trees. He overplayed it, taunting the mercenaries to go after him. He was pretty sure the ones who trashed his place were mercenaries too.
The old mercenary pulled out his sword and followed behind him. Before entering the trees, he stopped. He wasn't a beginner mercenary. He was quite old for a profession in which one usually dies young, but he survived by never doubting his experience or his instinct.
He put his sword between him and his men as a sign that they should not move forward without taking his sigth away from the trees. Xavier had disappeared. There didn't seem to be anything there, but the old mercenary could feel his skin rising.
"There's something in there," he thought while sheathing his sword.
'We're leaving.'
'Hum?' The other mercenaries looked at each other with confused.
'Boss?'
'I said we were leaving.' The old mercenary answered as he started walking away.
The other mercenaries followed him. The younger ones were somewhat confused; the more experienced ones took a mental note of what had happened. If a veteran like their boss was afraid, that shadow mage, Xavier de Vonder, was a dangerous man. "Maybe he is a warlock," many thought. Unfortunately, that rumor would slowly spread all over the town a few days later.
'Get ready; we will travel to Orphen tomorrow.' Xavier told Temma. He could smell trouble coming their way.
Temma nodded and got lost in the jungle. Xavier came out of the trees and looked at the villagers, who had come to gossip. His cold sight fixed on them caused them to panic, and they ran to the village. Xavier went into his house to prepare for the trip the next day. He had a few gold coins in his pocket. The services he wanted to request were not cheap. He had to bribe a lot of people so they wouldn't ask questions and keep silent. Fortunately, Fuera de Mola was on the border between kingdoms, and with the salamanders help, he could move freely through the jungle.