For the next couple of weeks, Marcus focuses on getting comfortable with the spearswords. Among other things, like shields and armor(he doesn't like it, it feels too heavy), he studies the technical side of combat and how to take care of them. Despite them all being drawings. He came across a very badly damaged shield, almost broken in half, he wondered why it wasn't a pile of lead. "It only happens once the thing is too broken to be used in any way. Half a shield is still usable, only less. But for LIVING things, like the monster that attacked you, when THEY take enough damage, or are killed, they revert to a sketch. And with no paper available directly below it, it could not return to a page. This is one of the most important things to know about fighting monsters: Unless YOU want to use it yourself, KEEP IT AWAY FROM PAPER before you kill it. Otherwise a spy could steal the sketch and return it to their leader. And even if you do want the monster, you need to keep it safe from spies regardless." Mikka had explained. And this led to a new question.

"Who exactly would these spies be working for? Who's their leader?" 

Mikka hesitates. 

"He's your cousin, Andrew. Did you ever wonder WHY you never see him? Why you never hear about him? Since the war, William and Andrew couldn't be in the same room, lest they try to kill the other. They agreed to keep one another's family out of it, seeing as Andrew had no idea you possessed this power too. He may have wanted to kill William, but he still saw family as family."

Great. 

So apparently he's got family issues.

Least it's not parent issues, he already feels more than enough like a main character. 

"If he thought I didn't have this, was he NOT the one who seems to have sent that thing after me?" Mikka shook her head. "No, he WAS, I recognized his specific sketching method, but I think he must have put two and two together. How William would leave the house more frequently, and then my seeking you out. That's how he found out. My getting you to make the bow and arrows only confirmed this. However, he was bound to find out eventually." 

For almost the 70th time, he REALLY wishes he still had no idea any of this existed. 

Then, one day, after eating dinner, Mikka stands up. "Come with me, I need to show you something, and I know I say that a lot, but really, you SHOULD see this." Marcus shrugs. Most of the things she shows him, they're actually sorta cool. Like once, she showed him these little lizard things William had made, then they escaped, and multiplied, so  now they're a new species of reptile only found in this cave. He also wonders if she'll run out of things to show him at some point. 

"Here we are." She stops, and hands him the torch she was holding. 

"Come here." She walks into the cavern before them, which somehow has some small plants that look like a flower with closed bulbs, but they're as big as sunflowers. 

But they're not sunflowers.

She takes the torch from him, placing it in a very clearly deliberate hole, perfectly set away from the flowers so they don't catch on fire. 

"You've been learning how to use your magic for war, defense, and other violent purposes. And that's important, VERY important-this only came into being BECAUSE of war and conflict. But, that isn't its ONLY purpose. Here." Mikka brings out her sketchpad, quickly making a flower. "Summon it." She places it on the ground, allowing Marcus to press his palm into it. The flower doesn't come INTO his hand, it spreads out around them. And then they start to bloom. They light up the cave, adding their purple-y and glowing red lights to the torch's. They're beautiful, and when Mikka touches one, it releases a small cloud of yellow glowing dots, some of which stick to her face. "A very important part of having this ability is that it's mulitpurposed. You can make ANYTHING, so long as you know what you want. And so...it can be used for beauty as well. Never forget, that as destructive, damaging, and deadly as this can be, it can also heal, give, and create."

"Ah." He says. 

"These flowers have no purpose, they're simply for admiring and being pretty. Your grandmother was especially good at that sort of thing-you've seen her landscapes and intricately detailed flowers and meadows. She sees the beauty in art, and aspires to preserve it." Marcus nods. "So for the next little bit, we'll work on your overall imaginative ideas, and how well you do with simply making something pretty." Mikka brushes the dots off her nose, and inhales deeply.

"And then...maybe it will be time for you to meet the others."