Eliron and his cohort sat under a large oak tree, the sky alit with stars that shone like ornaments of gold.
It was one of the things he loved about this world. Unlike Earth, which had white stars, in this world, occasionally the stars gave off a golden light, bathing the world in its splendour.
Artie and Yennefer had been chatting beside the fire, Yen laughing as Artie shared their adventures, when the other hunters joined in with stories of their past.
When you had centuries under your belt, then your mind was often flooded with far too many stories.
Currently, one of the older hunters was standing next to the fire, a cup of herbal tea in one hand and dried meat in the other, as he recited his tale.
"There was a time me and the boys wandered into the forest alone, chasing after a squirrel that had wandered into the forest."
He chuckled as he glanced at Ash, the latter looking away in embarrassment.
"Ash was as stiff as a log back then, but ahh, we were kids barely 70 years old." He chuckled.
"So back then, the adults had warned us to stay away from the dark parts of the forest... something about a man-eating beast making its lair there."
He smirked, dropping his voice to a whisper to sound even more horrifying.
"A feline with the head of a lion, wings of a dragon and feet of an eagle!"
"Come on, Damian, we’ve heard this story like seven hundred times already. Don’t you have anything new?" Durin teased as he fed a log into the fire.
"You’re not going to scare us with the same tale you know?"
Damian shot him a glare. "You’re ruining my story, kid. Can’t you see the young lady is invested?"
Everyone glanced at Yennefer, who was trying to hide how afraid she was, but her trembling hands gave her away.
She raised her hands in defence when she noticed everyone was watching her. "Heh? W-why are you all staring at me?"
Damian smirked. "If the story is too much for you, I can always..."
"No, no, please continue!"
"Ahahaha, that is the spirit, kid!" Damian laughed. "As I was saying..."
Eliron’s mind zoned out from their conversation as he closed his eyes.
He let out a small breath as he calmed himself, trying to reach a state known as ’Constance.’
In the novel, mages were almost as varied as there were races in this world.
There were many schools of magic that taught various principles, each one of them varying from the other in one way or the other.
Some mages focused on using mana gotten from nature and, as such, were often referred to as druids.
Others worked for countless years to strengthen their core by slowly accumulating mana over time and refining it.
There were even cultivators that spent many years exploring the limitations of their body, with ancient techniques like qi refinement, body refinement and mind enlightenment.
But even amongst all these schools of magic, there was one thing that they all had in common...
Constance.
Or rather, a mage’s unique world.
Every mage that wanted to excel needed to learn to dwell in their world, because all forms of mana training were related to Constance in one way or the other.
It was the home of imagination, meditation and enlightenment.
He took in a deep breath as he concentrated, feeling the cold wind bite into his skin and the sound of the tree’s leaves brushing against each other.
Every mage could visit this personal internal world. But not every mage would fully develop it.
Once a mage’s internal world had reached full maturity, then they might develop a revelation, a peerless talent that would place them heads above all other mages.
’To reach Constance, you must first feel the world around you.’ Eliron thought, remembering what he had read from the novel.
He focused on everything in his immediate surroundings. The quiet chatter by his side, the sound of forest animals... even the pale moonlight that shone on his skin.
The next stage was attuning to the natural mana in the world around you.
All worlds, whether imaginative or physical, shared a similar flow of mana.
Only through knowing how mana flowed in this world could you subconsciously birth a world.
After using mana breathing, this part of the training was a breeze. Although it took longer than the first stage, a few minutes later—
Whoosh!
His eyes were closed, yet he could see a vast network of mana floating around a colourless world.
They glowed like fireflies, the little shimmering particles darting around as though carried by the wind.
This was the framework of his world, the colourless realm, but it was not yet complete.
The final stage of Constance was imagination, the driving force of magic!
It didn’t matter how much potential you had as a mage. If you could not visualise your spells, then you were doomed to fail from the start.
Imagination was what drove mages to create spells, and only through imagination could you weave mana to your will.
To enter Constance, you had to dissociate from preconceptions of who you were and imagine yourself as an independent being.
Eliron’s finger tightened at his sides...
’Dissociate...’
He imagined a different version of him, one free from the constraints of their mortal realm. A version of him free from worry, from stress and from the day-to-day bustle of life.
Suddenly, another version of him appeared right in front of him, legs crossed and his lips frozen in a laid-back smile.
And then it happened.
The colourless world gave way to a defined, expressive one.
Eliron was seated in a field of endless grass, a gentle breeze blowing past him.
When he saw the world, there was a single word that came to his mind.
Peace within chaos...
There were crumbled buildings all around, ancient structures that had buckled under their own weight.
Although the portion of grass he sat on was green, it did not extend past him, as the farther he looked, the lighter the grass seemed, until all that was left were withered leaves.
But that could only be said about the world in front of him. As behind him was a vast lake with crystal-clear water.
The plants behind this lake were bright and colourful, the entire environment perfectly calm.
"They say Constance shows your innermost self..." Eliron muttered to himself.
But the more he watched the space, the more he thought—
’This resembles the elves, if anything.
The combination of peace and serenity behind him, and the desolate plain in front of him.
It was just like how the elves were walking on razors right now, and yet there were moments like what was happening in their camp right now.
Joyful interaction, laughter and merriment.
They had found a way to live despite the looming doom and despite their terrible conditions.’
Eliron opened his eyes, the world burning away as it gave way to reality.
Then he smiled.
It was ironic... Just like he had to develop his internal world, he also had to fix the lives of his people.
And he was ready for the challenge.