After the annual village race, Dyllan, Tint, and Cronaxx returned to the cave to sleep off the celebration. Dyllan was proud of Tint for doing the right thing and saving all the competitors. And Cronaxx was impressed with Tint's attitude with the other villagers. Tint smiled as he slept. Even though he didn't win the race, he knew he won the night.

Dyllan felt happy as he fell asleep. But when he entered his dreams, he was back in outer space like the previous dream. "This is very strange," he said. "Didn't I dream of this before?" Then, he finds the staff floating above him. The moment he grabs the staff, red smoke filled the area. He finds still figures of his best friends surrounding him, smiling at him. He smiled back and reached out to them. As he did, he was awakened by the light of the sun shining in his eyes.

The very next morning, Tint woke up with a much bigger smile on his face. Before long, he started waving his finger around like a music conductor. Magical auras began floating around the cave, making breakfast, sweeping the floors, and lighting the campfire.

Dyllan woke up to the smell of eggs sizzling. "Good morning Tint," he yawned. He sees his salamander friend smile, which made him smile too. "You look like you're in a good mood."

Tint turned to Dyllan. "I sure am," he said. "I can perform magic at my own free will again. My punishment is over!"

"Actually," said Cronaxx. "Your punishment was over the day of the race." Dyllan chuckled at Tint's deadpan face.

"What!?" Tint gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just wanted to see you're expression when you're not so focused on magic," replied Cronaxx.

"And I wanted to see how long it would take you to realize that," said Dyllan.

Tint just shook his head with a grin on his face and the trio sat down to eat. Dyllan was happy to know it was springtail omelets again. Of course, it was the only recipe he would tolerate with bugs in it.

"Now that the race is over Dyllan," said Cronaxx. "We must continue with your training you started three days ago. I hope you're feeling better after a long break."

Dyllan was a tad upset to know he still had to continue his training on the mountain peek. But after eating his breakfast, he took Lerrad's staff and accepted. "Yeah, I am."

"Good," said Cronaxx. "Tint, I need you to go into the fields and collect more blisterworts for your potion brewing lesson."

"You got it Uncle," said Tint. He grabs his satchel and makes his way out of the cave. Dyllan and Cronaxx watched him leave, smiling.

"Come along Dyllan," said Cronaxx. "Let's get back to your training."

Dyllan nodded, he took his staff, and he and his magic teacher climbed back up the cliffside above the cave. "And don't worry," said Cronaxx. "I think I know how you can succeed this lesson."

As Tint slid down from his cave, he walks past a few salamanders who wave to him. Tint waves back, or uses his magic to make tree branches high five for him.

"Hi Tint" they said. "Good to see you're performing magic again,"

"Good to be performing magic again," said Tint.

He finds Spots having trouble climbing a tree to reach some fruit. So he casts a levitation spell on him. Never before had he used his magic to help other salamanders. It made him feel good.

"Thanks Tint," said Spots.

"Don't mention it," said Tint. "Just try not to fall again."

He journeys his way past the creek, now flowing with water again. Tint realized that his efforts to save the salamanders, blindly caused the drought to disappear, and the fish can flow freely again. He spots Te' Kaya hunting for fish with his spear and net. The two wave hello and Tint offers him a fish using his magic. Te' Kaya kindly rejected it, and poked his spear in the water.

Out in the fields, Tint finds a herd of earth worms the size of cows, grazing in the open fields. Among them, was Flaps. He looked very distraught, shoveling worm fesses onto a wheelbarrow. Apparently after his con was exposed to the public, the chief decided to teach him a lesson. And what better way to do that than to revoke his privileges, and give him a job tending to the earth worms. Tint saw this and just walked away smiling, knowing that Flaps lost more than he could imagine.

Tint enters the treeline where a lot of blisterwort is growing. He takes out his satchel and starts using his magic to pick off the fungi piece by piece and levitate them in his satchel. 'It feels so good to finally perform magic spells again,' he thought.

Back at the cliffside, Dyllan resumed his training with Cronaxx supervising him. Dyllan was able to reconstruct the pile of rocks. Cronaxx nodded in approval. Dyllan thought back to his previous attempts to perfect his balance, and was concerned he would fail again.

"It's okay," said Cronaxx. "Just concentrate, and focus on the task at hand."

Dyllan climbs up on the post and gets in a hand stand. He put all his arm strength into holding his ground, and his leg strength to keep himself balanced. He began to feel the blood rushing from his legs to his head, and the sweat coming down from his face and onto the rocks.

He started to twitch, making the rocks start to shake. But Dyllan kept his mind focused on the one thing that matters to him right now: the support of his best friends. He kept his arms locked in place. He maintained a steady breathing pace to keep a stable balance.

Cronaxx smiled, "Excellent. Now hold that pose for a few more minutes."

After picking up the blisterworts, Tint made his way back to his cave. He overcomes every obstacle with his magic, no matter how small or big they are. At the cliffside, he looks up to barely see Dyllan doing his handstand. He smiled to see him perfecting his lesson.

While Tint started climbing, Dyllan looked at the valley upside down for a brief second. Causing his arms to shake, along pile of rocks below him. And at the last minute, Dyllan rolled off the pile, unknowingly dislodging one of the rocks. The rock started sliding down the cliff, then rolling at a very fast pace.

Dyllan and Cronaxx walked back down the cliffside to take a breather. "You almost had it," said Cronaxx. "Just a bit more practice and you'll get the hang of it." He smiled, "The best tip to perfect this lesson is to clear your mind, to muster all your focus on the subject. Do that, and you'll have what it takes to perform your first spell."

Then, out of nowhere, they hear a scream from the cave. "Tint," they said. Dyllan picks up Cronaxx and races as fast as he could. They find Tint climbing on the ledge and the falling rock slammed onto his right hand. The sudden impact made Tint drop the blisterworts he's gathered and remained where he stood.

Dyllan quickly picks up the rock and throws it away from the ledge. He grabs Tint and brings him into the cave. "Tint, are you alright?" he asked.

Tint just groaned in pain. "Ngh! NO! My hand! I think it's broken!"

"Hang on Tint," said Cronaxx. "Let me have a look."

Tint opened his hand and showed a lightly purple hand, with a few scratches and slightly red spots all over it. The worst part of the injury was Tint's index finger, that was slightly bent backwards. Dyllan went pale seeing his hand all messed up.

"Nothing too serious," said Cronaxx.

"Not that serious!?" Dyllan exclaimed. "His hand is crushed!"

"You forget," said Cronaxx. "You're in the presence of wizards." Cronaxx places his hands on Tint's and starts humming an enchanted spell. Cronaxx's aura glowed a light green and the purple bruisings on the hand started to vanish. But, the fractures in Tint's index finger were healing at a slow pace.

"Did it work?" Dyllan asked.

"Yes, It worked," said Cronaxx. "But now his hand needs time to recover. By the time the sun reaches high noon tomorrow, his hand will be working properly again. But until then, he can't perform magic while he's recovering."

"Why not?" Dyllan asked.

"Because salamanders that perform with injuries can make their magic unpredictably dangerous," replied Cronaxx. "Watch this."

Tint points his injured hand to a broken tree branch and his hand glows a light blue aura. Then out of nowhere, the tree branch just froze in a block of ice. "I was trying to burn the branch," said Tint. "It's not fair. I can finally perform magic on my own free will again, then on the same day I get my hand injured! Where did that rock even come from!?"

"I think it was the rock from the pile on top of the cliffside," said Cronaxx.

Hearing this, Dyllan felt a sense of guilt in his mind. He remembered tumbling on the rock pile, which caused it to make one of the rocks slip and fall. Dyllan sulked in shame.

"I'm really sorry Tint," said Dyllan. "I'll make it up to you for this."

"You don't have to," said Tint. "I know it was an accident."

"I insist," said Dyllan. "As a Loyalitat, It will be my honor to make sure you recover until the day your hand heals."

Just as Dyllan took a step, he suddenly slips and slides out of the cave and falls below. Tint and Cronaxx look down to see the floor covered in soapy floors. Cronaxx counteracts it by making the floor normal again. "This is going to be a long day," he said.

Shortly after, Dyllan came back up with the blisterworts Tint collected and finds Tint just sitting on his bedroll. "I got the blisterworts Cronaxx," he said. "I may have a bruised bum, but it could've been worse." He limps over to Cronaxx trying not to agitate his bruises from the fall.

Along the way, Tint struggled trying not to use his magic while his hand was recovering. But Tint accidentally used his magic to light the campfire. When the fire sparked, so did some bolts of lightning. And one of the bolts shot right behind Dyllan.

The sudden impact of the lightning bolt, jolted Dyllan up in the air and made him drop all the blisterworts and fall on the ground. Cronaxx counteracted the fire and stabilized it to stop lightning from shooting. "Dyllan, why don't we go harvest some crops today," said Cronaxx. "And Tint, while we're gone, please rest and don't use magic."

Dyllan grabs a satchel, and the two make their way down the cliff and into the forest. At the same time, Tint stretched his fingers, hoping to make them more relaxed. He points his fingers out at the forests, and accidentally uses his magic to make the trees shake. Then, he hears a shriek, "OW! My butt! Again! Stupid branch!"

"Sorry Dyllan!" cried Tint.

A couple hours later, Tint took off his bandages to clean up his scratches. He places fresh fish skin on his injury, and Tint tries to use magic to sweep the floors.

At the river bank, Dyllan and Cronaxx passed a couple salamanders fishing. They waved at the boy, and Dyllan waved back. Just then, a fish jumps out of the river and swings its tail in Dyllan's face. The stinging of the smack made Dyllan fall down again. Cronaxx grabbed the fish by the tail and threw it away into the creek.

Later on, he reached the open fields. He finds Spots harvesting crops and waves hello. "Hey Spots, how's it going?" he asked.

"Things are going well Creature," replied Spots. "How are you doing adjusting to things around here?"

"It's still really scary," replied Dyllan.

"Luckily, me and my nephew are helping him get by," replied Cronaxx.

Then out of nowhere, the crops started growing at a rapid pace. They grew as high as the trees surrounding the plains. This scared both Dyllan and Spots. But then, Cronaxx rescinded the crops back to normal with a wave of his hand.

"What was that just now?" Spots asked.

"Tint," replied Cronaxx. Spots turned to the salamander to hear more. "He just injured his hand just today because of..." Cronaxx at that moment, wasn't sure if he should tell Spots about Dyllan's magical abilities. He figured no one would even believe him.. "Because of his magic training. His podium of rocks were really slippery."

"Ah, that makes sense," said Spots, buying in on his half truth. "Hopefully this won't last long."

"This will only last until tomorrow," said Dyllan. "Cronaxx said so."

They harvest the crops and prepare to take them back to their cave. "I better get going," said Spots as he waved goodbye. "See you around, Creature! And thanks for saving me before!" Dyllan waves back as he enters the forest.

"Call me Dyllan, Spots!" said Dyllan. "My name is Dyllan!"

"Come on, Dyllan let's head back," said Cronaxx.

"How come you didn't tell Spots about my new abilities?" Dyllan asked.

"Would you find it hard to believe that a creature like yourself just gained magic abilities?" Cronaxx asked the human. "Everyone knows that only salamanders can practice the arcane arts, it would be hard to believe that anyone else could do that."

Dyllan nodded, understanding that Cronaxx is right. Even he found it very hard to believe himself.

Along the way back, they spot the thickets shaking and turning purple like the oleander flowers. Cronaxx keeps Dyllan away from the bushes. "Don't touch them, they could be as poisonous to you as they are to us." Cronaxx then waves his hands again and reverts the bushes back to normal. "That fire salamander can really get under my skin."

"Does he really irritate you that much?" Dyllan asked.

"He does," replied Cronaxx. "He's at an age where he will one day outgrow my protection. But he's the only family I've got, and I can't lose him. It's even more frustrating when there are times he forgets that he's not as powerful as me."

"He should be loyal to you for everything you do for him," said Dyllan. "From my experience, loyalty matters a lot in my family. And to my closest friends."

Cronaxx smiled at the human's trait. "Your loyalty may as well be the best feature about you," he said. "But it is also important that-"

Then, out of nowhere, the branches from the trees suddenly pick up the two wandering travelers. Dyllan hung upside down, dropping all the crops from his backpack. Cronaxx was held by his hands and feet struggling to break free.

"Cronaxx can you do something about this?" Dyllan asked.

"Give me a second," replied Cronaxx.

Cronaxx closes his eyes and concentrates on counteracting the spell. Without even waving his hands around. The branches holding him up suddenly let him go. He drops to the ground, then waves his hands to get Dyllan down. As the branch let him go, Dyllan fell flat on his face.

"This has got to stop," he said.

"Agreed," said Cronaxx.

Back at the cave, Cronaxx covers Tint's hands with fish skin and bandaged his hands in five layers of fabric. Dyllan was tending to his small cuts on his own.

"This is for you own good," said Cronaxx. "You nearly got Dyllan and I killed!"

"I'm sorry," said Tint. "I just thought I could-"

"Enough," said Cronaxx. "I get it, you're young and ambitious. But you've got to heal your finger! I am telling you as your teacher. Stop thinking your more powerful than everyone else! Because you're not!"

After Tint sulked in disappointment, Cronaxx took a deep breath. "I'm gonna go trade for more supplies from the village. Dyllan, can you keep an eye on him until I get back?"

Dyllan nodded and Cronaxx left for the village. Tint went to his bed mat and sat down with a grunt look on his face. Dyllan sat next to him to try and comfort the poor lad. "Don't let it get to you," he said.

Tint didn't say anything. He gets up from his bed mat and rushed outside. Dyllan followed him, concerned that what his uncle said may have hurt the young student. Dyllan raced through the thick jungles, overcoming leaves, tree roots, and barely giant fly traps. Sometimes, he could see Tint performing his magic, and Dyllan dodged most of swinging branches that come out and hit him in the face and chest.

Later, Tint started to slow down after leaving the jungles, and enter a secluded part of the valley that a crystal lake. The lake sparkled with clean water and the water ripples flowed with the gusts of wind. Decorated with green allege and lily pads, the small fish were hiding among the vegetation to sneak up on the wandering insects.

Tint sat next to the lake to look at his reflection. Dyllan sat next to Tint to look down with him. "This is where I go to clear my head from emotional stress," said Tint.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," said Dyllan. "He's just upset."

"That's easy for you to say," sulked Tint. "You never had him latched onto you with every step you take."

"He's your uncle," said Dyllan. "He's just wants what's best for you. You're the only family he's got."

"He's my great great uncle," said Tint. "He's only lived much longer than everyone else because wizards last longer. Not like the rest of my family."

Dyllan slides next to Tint, wanting to keep the conversation going. "Okay sure, he may be off by almost a century, but at least he's trying. And he told me that he's not giving up on you. You're just making it difficult for him with your ambition with magic."

"So what? I love magic. You can't expect me to not perform magic whenever I don't want to. Magic means everything to me. Don't you understand?"

Dyllan sighed. "My greatest ambition is to get back home to my friends and family. And I want to get there in one piece. Being stuck in this world with each passing day is gut wrenching to me. So yeah, in a way, I understand."

Tint looked down at his bandaged hands and his nostrils started to twitch. "Uh.. Dyllan," he said. "My face itches."

Dyllan smiled and started scratching near his nostrils. Tint smiled in relief as he lowered his hands and asked. "Do you think you could be my hands for the rest of the day?" Tint asked.

"Like I said. As a Loyalitat, I am sworn to help you until your hand gets better," replied Dyllan. "I may have a way on how to make time go by quick."

Back in the cave, Dyllan takes out his little black book and pencils. "I may be a lacrosse player," he said. "But I'm also quite a sketcher. If you want, I can illustrate you as the greatest wizard in all of Amphibia."

Tint nods and said, "That sounds like fun." He gets into position, his legs squared at arm's length. His arms reaching up to the sky like he's calling upon the winds and rains in the sky. His face as firm as his confidence in being a wizard. "Got my good side?"

"Perfect," said Dyllan. "Now just try and stay still."

"That'll be easy," said Tint. "Take all the time you need."

For the rest of the day, Dyllan was sketching Tint in his little sketch book. Tint waited for what seemed like a very long time. He changed from one pose to another until the sun set in the sky. There were times he felt like he wanted to let his arms down. But he endured posing for his friend's drawing.

Sometime later, Cronaxx arrived back at the cave and smiled at Dyllan helping Tint get through a tough time. He sees Tint look at him with a smile on his face, and nodded at his nephew for listening to him. Tint gave his uncle a solid wink, signaling that they're okay.

"Done," said Dyllan. Tint lowered his injured hands to the ground with relief and looked in Dyllan's sketch book. The sketches were a tad off, the anatomies of Tint's arms, legs, tail, and neck were either stretched or shrunken, and the values of the lines were unbalanced.

"What do you think?" Dyllan asked.

Tint smiled at the gesture, but he had to be honest to his new friend. "I appreciate the efforts," he said. "But you need to spend a little more time on your sketches."

"You saying I'm not a good artist?" Dyllan asked with a small snap.

"You can be a good artist," replied Tint. "Sketching just takes patience."

"Like the patience Tint must endure with his injury, and the patience you must endure with your training," smiled Cronaxx.

"Exactly," said Tint. "Give your drawings a little more attention, and you'll see what I mean."

"Okay boys," said Cronaxx. "Lights out. We've got another day to endure tomorrow."

The very next day, Dyllan and Tint were out by the creek spearing for more fish. Now that Tint's hand was starting to feel a bit better, he could move his seven fingers again. His index finger was still bandaged, as a reminder that Tint's magic is still unstable. But he can still use his hands to hold things.

He watched the river flowing as he spots more fish flowing up the stream. He throws his spear but misses his fish. He was tempted to levitate the fish with his magic. He started to waved his hands, but he stopped himself. And remembered from yesterday how he gave Dyllan a lesson in patience. He took his own words into consideration and decided to wait a few more hours.

Luckily, some of the salamanders were nearby and were able to catch the same fish. And to Tint and Dyllan's shock, they gave them the fish they caught.

All the salamanders said was, "After Cronaxx told us you got hurt, we wanted to help as a thank you for saving us at the annual village race." Dyllan and Tint smiled and accepted the fish.

Later on, Dyllan decided to take Tint's advice from yesterday about patience. He takes his spear, finds a fish swimming up the creek, and throws his spear into the water. The spear narrowly cut through the fish, leaving a red trail flowing in the water.

Dyllan caught sight of the red trail and knew it was blood. The sight made him a little pale, but not as pale while eating bugs. Then, the fish started floating upside down with the stream. Dyllan grabbed the fish, and rushed it in his fish sack. He almost puked his guts from seeing the wound he inflicted upon the fish. But he was a bit more satisfied that he got his first fish to eat with the Tormaks.

"I gotta say Dyllan," said Tint. "You did a good job catching your first fish."

"I almost got that one Tint," said Dyllan. "All I need is a little more patience."

It was now nearly high noon, and Tint and Dyllan were returning to their cave after a long day of hard fishing. Along the way, more salamanders were waving hello to the two. They politely waved back at them.

"It's like they're getting used to seeing me," said Dyllan.

"Well we salamanders have a saying," said Tint. "You harmonize with nature, and nature harmonizes with you. We may see you as a strange creature, but every day we can see more of you, except for Chief Nightoum. Don't worry, just because he's blind doesn't mean he can't sense your soul."

Dyllan shook his head with a small smile. "It's nice to know they're not judging me by my looks," he said.

"Well, not all of them," said Tint, gesturing to Flaps. He and Dyllan pass the herd of earthworms Flaps is tending to.

As they walk by, Dyllan watches Flaps opening the gates to escort the worms out to the chasms. "Hup Hup!" he called out. The earthworms start crawling out of the pen and Flaps follows them from behind. As they leave from plain sight, Dyllan and Tint continue their journey back.

Inside the cave, Cronaxx was brewing another batch of health potions to trade with the village. He turns to see Tint and Dyllan return with a batch of fish. "I guess the fishing was a success today?" he asked.

"Actually," said Dyllan. "We got most of the fish from the villagers who were fishing as well. They said it was a thank you for saving the people from the giant turtle. But on another note, I almost speared my first fish."

Cronaxx smiled, "I am pleased to hear that," he said. "It sounds like the village is starting to warm up to the two of you." He looks to the sun outside and takes Tint's hand. "And I think the time has come."

Cronaxx removes Tint's bandaged index finger revealing his finger to be fully healed. Tint smiled with glee and tried using his magic to start the fire. With a snap of his fingers, a spark of fire ignited the wood and the fire burned a proper glowing orange color.

"Good as new," he said.

The moment after he said that, a small rock fell from the top of the cave and slammed right into Dyllan's bed mat, piercing his pillow. "Oh come on!"

"I swear, I had nothing to do with that," said Tint.

Dyllan took a deep breath and removed the rock from his pillow. "Yeah, yeah. So much for sleeping comfortably now."

Before the sun began to set, Tint and Dyllan were on their way back to the creek to gather up insects for dinner. But this time, this journey was different. Before his injury, Tint would be conjuring up magic like a storm. But now, he was using magic a little less. The only time where he used magic was to sense the fish swimming up the creek, or the crickets as they chirp near the water.

Dyllan used his spear to hunt for fish again. And thanks to a bit more patience, he jabbed his spear into the water and out comes his second fish, perfectly pierced. Dyllan smiled, and takes it back to his fish sack. He watches as the evening fishermen wave to him with smiles and Dyllan smiles and waves back at them.

As the sun began to set, the two friends return to the cave. Tint was cooking up some fish thanks to his fire magic. Dyllan and Cronaxx watched with pride, seeing him happy for the first time in days.

"You must be really proud that he's using magic again," said Dyllan.

"Perhaps" said Cronaxx. "But, what I'm more proud of, is that he's connecting with others besides me. I've never seen him do that before."

As Tint served his uncle a plate of fish, he continues talking to Dyllan. "Now I know that the idea of patience is difficult. But I constantly endure it every day. I've endured through Tint's adolescence, through his magic training, and mine. So remember, you're not alone."

Dyllan stepped out and climbed back up the cliff where he was training. Cronaxx and Tint watched with delight as he slowly got up into a perfect handstand and held his position until the moon was high in the sky.

Cronaxx smiled and nodded in approval. Tint however, Took Dyllan's little black sketchbook and started drawing the concentrated human. By the time he was finished, Dyllan got down from his podium very carefully.

Then Tint showed him his hand at drawing. Dyllan was impressed that Tint's perspective was more superior than his own sketches. There was more value to the shades. The anatomy was surprisingly similar to Dyllan's, and Tint only just met him for a few days. And there was more attention to detail in the environment surrounding him. "I can also give you helpful tips on how to draw like me," said Tint.

"I think I'll keep this drawing for inspiration," said Dyllan. "But before I do, would you please sign your drawing?" Tint gladly accepted the offer and signed his name right next to his drawing. Cronaxx yawned and instructed his students to go to bed.

That night, while they were asleep, the Staff of Lerrad started glowing again. But this time, it glowed brighter with a strange ruin coming from the crystal. The strange ruin peeled off the crystal, floated around the cave, and then landed on Dyllan's scared hand. The ruin disappeared, leaving a trail of magic dust floating above Dyllan's head.

Stay tuned for the next chapter... Keep on Truckin'!