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Seated in her room packing her personal tome in a satchel, was a plum furred feline. Mara had gone to her instructor for advice on her weakest elemental magic, earth. She had studied the subject at length with her friend Kip and tried her hardest to master the element herself, but it seemed the more she dove into the subject, the harder it became. Earth magic required something that she seemed to lack, and she wasn't sure what. Her mentor had given her the usual lecture about her needing to take things with a bit more ease and less vigor, and maybe that was true, but magic was her passion and she so loved to pursue it. When she had described it in that way, the old rat had prescribed a trip to nature. In this, she had permission to go to the deepwoods which was a first. She'd assumed that they were off limits for a reason, but apparently, there was some sort of magical significance among the woods surrounding the school. She'd have to go see for herself what secrets the woods held, although, she wasn't fond of nature walks. She'd much prefer to stay inside and read a book, then again, the woods could be peaceful too she supposed. With a huff, Mara took up her bag and stepped out of her dorm room to make her way outside and into the woods. Hopefully, she'd find her solution there.

She regretted not having better clothing for the woods, or at the very least not changing from her student's robes. Mara wasn't the most coordinated and it showed. To get to the deepwoods she'd need to head off of the beaten path that led to town and actually make her way into the brush. She stepped on and over roots nearly tripping in the process as she stumbled her way through the woods. It became a bit easier as she continued on, but the plants only seemed to double as she got further along. Mara grumbled as she heard a tittering in her head, "Stop laughing. You're here to help if I need it, not be an ass."

She had brought her familiar in the hopes that he could help her with discovering nature, whatever that meant. The knowledge spirit that rested within her bracelet had been enjoying himself at her expense while she meandered through the woods, "Well dear, you came out here to learn and so far all you've learned is that you've got two left feet."

Mara sniffed, "Not true...I'm just a little out of shape--" She stumbled and stuttered over the uneven ground before continuing on, "Is all."

Mephils again simply laughed, but he kept his metaphysical mouth shut at the very least. With a sigh, she continued on through the woods. He had a point. She had been in the woods for more time than she'd like, and yet she had learned not a thing. In fact, she felt like she was wasting time, which was awful. Sure, everything around her was quiet and fairly peaceful, but there was nothing to learn from. Occasionally, she spotted an herb or two she recognized from a book, magic plants ripe for some career alchemist to use in a potion, but she wasn't here to pluck flowers and magic herbs, she was here to learn. Mara wasn't even sure when the deepwoods began really, she had just been told to wander deep into the woods where students needed permission to explore.

Mara was about to give up and turn back when she saw a wisp of light flutter about before her eyes. She tilted her head and then turned about to notice that there were natural wisps all about. They simply floated there, blinking in and out of existence in various different colors. She remembered that these things in the wild acted as elementals and became rather cranky when folk used magic around them. She continued on while looking around, marveling at all the wisps gathering about. The abundance of magical herbs began to increase as well. Soon she even saw the leaves on the trees change colors from bright greens to deep bluish hues that had her wondering if she was even in the same woods. She had thought of turning back, but this was interesting enough to warrant further inspection, even if her feet were getting a bit sore from walking around so much.

Curiosity began to grip her as she saw wisps fluttering about and going about their business. She saw them twisting vines around trees and resting on mushrooms. At that point, she had to wonder if they were wisps at all. They were flashing lights just like wild wisps were, but she had never heard of wisps doing that. Those lights at the very least didn't seem to mind her existence so Mara felt assured in continuing with her exploration. A few times, those strange lights landed on her shoulder, they blinked a few times before fluttering off as if they were inspecting her. Everywhere they went they left little trails of sparks which made her wonder if they were perhaps pollinating the woods with some sort of magic. Strange, it would warrant further study or questioning her mentor on what they were. Or, or she could ask Mephils.

Mephils answered her silent question with his own intrusion into her thoughts, "I think, that your mentor wanted you to be the one learning right now, from observation and exploration, so perhaps I should sit this one out."

Mara huffed, "Really? I mean, I just want a simple question answered and you won't tell me?"

Mephils chuckled in her mind, "Yup. Besides, your answers are waiting for you around the corner."

Mara raised a brow but continued to walk with her eyes set upon the various lights that were sparking about. She was so distracted that she didn't the lump she crashed into. Mara let out a huff as she bounced off of what she hit and nearly fell on her rear. A strong hand caught her by the wrist before she could fall. She blinked and looked up to see a strong looking goat man in heavy green robes with bright blue jolly eyes staring down at her, a smile on his face as he addressed her, "Well, don't get many visitors here, let alone students. What were you sent here for?"

Mara tilted her head, "To learn?" She asked, unsure who she was speaking to or what she was really here to do.

The old goat answered her by grabbing at his chin and tilted his head in the opposite direction, "That so? If yer out here young lady then that means you've been sent here or you've wandered here."

Mara shook her head, "No wandering. I was sent here by my mentor to learn I guess, but I'm not really sure what."

"Well! If you're here to learn, then tell me, what is it that you want to know?"

Mara blinked. She thought of that for a moment. She could simply answer what she had come out here to learn, but what was the interest in that? There were so many things she wanted to learn that she couldn't help but respond by saying, "Nearly everything I guess."

The old goat let out a rolling laughter that had Mara jumping a bit. He slapped her shoulder and nearly sent her falling over with one eye closed as she felt the sting of his fat hand on her back, "Everything?! Well, I can teach you plenty, but I don't know about everything. The woods here are my home and my element. I can teach you about that if you'd like."

Mara rubbed at her sore shoulder while huffing, "I guess that would be nice...Oh! Wait, if you do live here, then what are those weird lights? I thought they were wild wisps, but they don't act the same."

As if from nowhere, the old man took a gnarled staff from the air and began walking while speaking leaving Mara to follow or not, which of course, she did, "Fae. Creatures of pure natural magic that exist in places where mana is abundant. They have their own world which bleeds into ours, but none are too sure about their home. Sometimes they'll communicate with a lucky traveler, but other than that they keep to themselves and like it that way. Not much for conversation or games, but I've talked to one or two. Tricky bastards too. If they're bored they'll play some nasty japes."

Mara blinked, "Fae? Huh, didn't think we had any around the school. Are they all like this? Just...Lights?"

The old man shook his head, "No no, some take different forms depending on the species. Sometimes they'll take the form of one of our world's species and they'll do a good job at it too. Certainly, you want to know more than just about Fae right?"

Mara rubbed at the back of her head, "Hm, well, I do have a lot of questions but I guess first, who are you?"

"What a polite student! My name is Ilden. I live here among nature to study the magic surrounding it, and well, not much else. I am what they called a wyld mage."

Mara followed along a bit more eagerly now. He had satisfied two of her questions adequately and her interest was growing by the second, "A wyld mage? What do you specialize in? Is that a specific type of profession?"

Ilden chuckled, "It is a way of life for me. I am simply a mage who specializes in nature, the natural magics are my area of expertise."

"Oh? So you'd be able to maybe help me with learning how to use earth magic properly?"

Ilden shrugged as he continued to walk, "Perhaps. Is that what your next question is?"

Mara nodded, "I got a little sidetracked, but I'm out here because I'm not too good at earth magic. My mentor told me I'd find my answers here, but so far all I've seen are trees."

Ilden snorted, "Just trees? Dear, you're out in nature. You're here in a cornerstone of earth magic and you can't see that?"

Mara blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Have you stopped to feel what is happening around you? To understand how nature functions? Earth magic is both growing life from nothing and nurturing the life that is already there in the earth."

Mara huffed, "I know that, but...What does that have to do with stopping to feel what's around me?"

Ilden stopped at a large tree and placed his hand on it, "Hm, let's see. The basic element of earth requires a bit of patience to use and understand. You really have to feel how the magic molds the nature around you...You seem like a little firecracker, I bet you're fairly an impatient one."

Mara sniffed, "Not that impatient...Just eager to learn."

"Then slow down or you'll have trouble learning."

Mara looked to the tree the old man was touching, her eyes squinting as she pondered what he had just told her. In order to learn quicker, she'd need to slow down, whatever that meant. The old man then continued on, "See here, geomancy is a type of earth magic that uses what is already here to grow...And yet, it requires just as much patience. From the bark of this tree...Vines can grow."

The old man's hand began to glow and small vines sprouted from the roots of the tree to coil around Mara's paw. Mara looked to the vines and focused on them. She could feel the latent energy grasping her body, the mana used by the old man to make those vines grow. It was gentle and moving at a constant ebb and flow. Whenever she used a spell, her mana was never this calm. She could never get things to go or feel this smoothly, but she was starting to understand what the old man had meant. Perhaps, perhaps a bit of patience was needed.

The vines pulled away and Mara looked up to see Ilden taking his hand off of the tree, "I think you get the point. Now, I'm sure you have spells aplenty in that little head of yours that you could try, but knowing a spell isn't the same as knowing how to work it or the energy with it. So tell me, do you think you could do what I just did?"

Mara furrowed her brow before stepping to the tree to touch it with one paw. It was true that she had the knowledge of the spells themselves and growing vines was a fairly basic spell, but she had always fumbled around with that type of magic without help. She paused for a moment, rather than thinking about it, she began to extend her presence to the tree. She could feel the latent life inside of the tree and the portions of that life extending into the physical. Mara couldn't do what the old man had done without an incantation, and so she whispered the words very quietly to press the mana inside of the tree to do what she wanted.

Mara opened her eyes to see vines growing from the roots of the tree, her eyes glowing as she beamed at her success. The vines themselves were stable and just as fully grown as the old man's had been, but when she tried to move them they shot out and struck her in the gut. She sucked in a breath and winced, doubling over as the old man placed a hand on her head, "One step at a time. For now, I think I have something you'd like to see, a bit of business."

The plum furred feline turned her head to the old man, but he was already walking away. Taking her paw off of the tree she began trotting quickly to follow him when she heard a rumbling among the leaves of the woods. She looked up to see the leaves and branches shaking and the Fae fluttering about in little flocks. When she returned her eyes to the old man she hopped a little to get her step in line with his. Even though he looked as if he were walking, he was far ahead of her and his stride was so quick.

Mara followed along while looking around. Everything in the forest seemed to feel desperate and she couldn't really understand why. Before she could ask a question, the old man began to explain, "You see dear. There is a reason why students aren't allowed here and why the school protects these grounds. If it weren't me, it would be someone from the school, but here in these deepwoods elementals are born. Powerful ones at that. We study them, but at the same time, there are some born that are corrupted by the ebb and flow of mana. These things can be dangerous and have killed students in the past."

"Wait what? What if I had run into one of those instead of you!? Was my old coot of a mentor trying to get me killed?!" Mara said with a squeak.

"Likely not!" Laughed the old man before continuing on, "I can feel what is in here dear, if you were in any danger I would have pulled you free, but now, I will take you to the danger so that you see for yourself what a wyld mage can do, and what frightening things nature can produce."

Mara was intrigued, a little frightened, but certainly intrigued. She followed without a word now, her ears perked and her eyes set forward. She was still stumbling over roots, but she kept up with the old man and did so without complaint. There was so much to take in, so much to absorb at the moment, but she couldn't stop to write it down, instead, she had to take it all in with her mind. Ilden stopped just before a clearing in the woods. The sun poured from the sky on a fat boulder covered in moss at the center. Mara tried to step ahead of the old man, but he put out the knob of his gnarled staff against in front of her to stop her from moving any further. Mara looked from the staff to the old man and then to the center of the clearing before taking a step back. Satisfied with that, Ilden began to walk into the clearing, his stride calm and slow as the tapped his staff against the ground. From the other side of the clearing, the trees practically parted for a figure made of the very woods themselves.

The student feline's eyes widened as she saw a creature half the size of the mighty tree's step forth. It had a powerful body made of bark and what appeared to be clay with the skull of a stag as its head with glowing red eyes beneath the hollows. It walked with two fists on the ground and two hooved feet planted firmly on the earth. As it stepped into the clearing it rose to its feet and shook itself free of dirt as it let out a bellowing roar. The force of the roar nearly sent Mara onto her rear, her eyes squinting and her heart rushing from the sudden fear that gripped her. She could feel such a great power coming from that beast, and yet the old goat stood there as if he there was nothing there, he only had a smile on his face. Mara herself stood there wide-eyed now, unsure of what to do. The old man was in danger, wasn't he? She should step in, shouldn't she? But it was at that point she heard her familiar speak to her mind, "Mara darling. Let the professional do his job. He did keep you there for a reason right...I'll give you this piece of advice, you're certainly not ready for something like that." And so Mara stayed put to watch the show.

The elemental staggered towards the old man, a mist flowing from the hollows of the skull and the nostrils. Mara wondered what he could even do against a thing of that size. It was also made of magic which certainly meant that bringing up a spell against it would surely be suicide. A true force of nature and natural disaster at that. With a bellow, the beast charged the old man. The wind howled and the earth trembled as the beast approached, but the old man did not move. Ilden brought his staff up and pointed it at the elemental slowly. As the beast neared, it suddenly stopped. Vines sprouted from the earth and began to coil around the creature. It twitched and spasmed as the vines began to glow with a frosty light. It let out a weak noise with the vines coiling around it, almost as if it sounded tired. Mara then noticed that it was being pulled down into the earth, her eyes wide as it tried to swat at the old man, but the motion was in vain as it slowly sunk into the earth. The skull crumbled, the creature fading into the dirt and earth, its horns sticking out of the dirt and grass that covered where the beast had been buried and put to rest.

Ilden took a breath and rolled his shoulders as he turned to look at Mara, "Now...Would y'like some tea before our lesson?"

Mara nodded with bright eyes. This had been the perfect field trip.