Nero continued by reading Alaric's letter.
Unlike Ember's aggressive slant and chaotic energy, Alaric's handwriting was smooth, flowing, and patient, as if each stroke of ink carried deliberate aning.
There was no unnecessary flourish, no wasted motion, just quiet confidence in each letter.
He unfolded the parchnt and began to read.
Brother,
I hope this letter reaches you in good health and with a clear mind.
I know things have been difficult for you lately, especially with the Void Principle weighing on your shoulders.
Your last letter, thank you for that, by the way, helped understand a little more of what you're dealing with.
I don't pretend to know the depths of it, but I do know this: you'll figure it out.
You always do.
I suppose it's ti I shared my own news.
Like you, I, too, have left Hogwarts. I'm writing to you from Uagadou.
Nero's eyebrows lifted slightly.
So Alaric had chosen to study abroad as well.
It made sense, the pull of nature magic had always been strong with him.
If Hogwarts had been a structured fortress of knowledge, then Uagadou was sothing more primal, ancient, and untad.
He read on.
Uagadou is unlike any place I have ever seen.
It does not sit upon a mountain like Hogwarts, nor does it drift upon the waves like Castelobruxo.
Instead, it rises from the land itself, as if the earth chose to bear this school upon its back.
The air is charged with magic.
The first thing they teach us is this: Magic is not forced. Magic breathes.
Wizards here do not rely on wands the way we do in Europe.
Instead, they call magic forth, shape it with willpower, and let it flow.
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It's humbling, really.
At Hogwarts, I thought I was adept at wandless magic, but here, it's the standard.
Imagine casting a spell by moving the world around you.
I am learning, though. Slowly.
Nero could already picture Alaric standing beneath the open sky, arms outstretched, feeling the wind before commanding it.
There is also sothing I never expected.
They teach us Dream Walking, the art of stepping into the subconscious of others.
It is not Legilincy, nor is it simply dreaming.
It is walking between worlds, navigating the landscapes of the mind, the soul.
My first attempt? I fell into my own dreams instead.
The instructors laughed and told that the mind must be steady before it can step into another.
They speak of dreams as rivers, so calm, so violent, so so deep that one can be lost within them forever.
It's fascinating and terrifying in equal asure.
There's a legend here, of a Dream Walker who entered his own subconscious and never returned, trapped in the depths of his own mind for eternity.
I'd rather not beco a legend that way.
Nero leaned forward slightly, intrigued.
Dream Walking was sothing similar to Legilincy. Similar, yet drifting in a different current.
Nero's interest was piqued. He resolved to learn more about it once reunited with Alaric.
He wondered if Alaric had tried stepping into his dreams yet.
If Dream Walking is the art of walking unseen, then Weather Bending is the art of dancing with the sky itself.
Here, storms are not waited upon. Instead, the students call to them, feel their rhythm, and guide them.
The first ti I tried, I was arrogant.
I demanded the wind to bend to my will. It did not listen.
The second ti, I listened first.
I watched the sky, felt the pressure shift, let the magic of the world flow through , and then, the winds carried my will.
It is not about control. It is about understanding.
There is a boy here, Taye, who can shape rain as if it were part of his body.
He showed how to call the wind without speaking, without even moving.
He breathes, and the air obeys. That is the level I aspire to reach.
Nero could already see it. Alaric standing on a mountainside, the wind responding to his will.
Animal Aspect Transmutation is the most thrilling magic I've encountered so far.
Through deep ditation and understanding, one can borrow aspects of animals, the eyes of an eagle, the reflexes of a panther, the endurance of a wolf.
It is not Animagus transformation, nor is it a re charm.
It is becoming one with nature.
I first tried to take the hearing of a bat.
Instead, I ended up with ears that wouldn't stop twitching for hours.
The second attempt? I called upon the reflexes of a leopard.
This ti, I succeeded, but the rush of instincts nearly overwheld .
It is not enough to borrow from nature, one must be in harmony with it.
There is an elder here, Nia, who can run through the wild with the speed of a cheetah and leap impossible distances.
They say the best students can blend multiple aspects together seamlessly.
I will master this.
Nero was fascinated.
This kind of magic felt more primal, more connected to the world than anything he had seen before.
I wish I could help in so way.
Perhaps, when I grow more skilled in Dream Walking, I can step into your subconscious and help you understand the Void.
Maybe there is sothing hidden, sothing unseen that you cannot find alone.
If that is possible, I will do it.
Until then, stay strong.
We will et again soon.
Alaric
Nero lowered the letter slowly, staring at the parchnt as his mind turned.
Dream Walking. Weather Bending. Animal Transmutation.
Alaric was growing in ways he had never imagined.
Mio, who had been watching Nero again, tilted her head. "Another one?"
Nero nodded. "Alaric. He's at Uagadou."
Mio's eyebrows rose. "He went abroad too? That makes all three of you."
"Yeah." Nero exhaled, running a hand through his hair.
His friends were spread across the world, each learning things Hogwarts could not have taught them.
And yet, despite the distance, they were still connected.
Alaric's words lingered in his mind.
"Perhaps I can step into your subconscious and help you understand the Void."
Could he? Could Dream Walking be the key?
Even if it did not, Nero was happy that his friend was trying to help him.
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