"Never mind that," called out Natalia. She was staring at Athgar. “Where did you learn to do that?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Throw fire," she accused, "you never said you were a pyromancer."

"I'm not," he defended, "I'm a master of flame."

"It's the same thing," she accused, her temper flaring. "Who sent you?" She raised her hands as if to cast a spell.

"Slow down," he said, trying to soothe her.

"Are you from Korascajan?" she asked.

"Kasca-who?' he said.

"Korascajan, the home of the Sartellians. Did they send you to bring me back?"

"Nobody sent me," he said. “The Orcs taught me. I was touched by fire. That's how they found me."

"Touched by fire? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told you my village was attacked," he said, trying to soothe her, "but I didn't tell you the whole story. The truth is, it was burned to the ground. Kargen and Laruhk found me buried in ashes, barely alive. They were the ones that took me back to Ord-Kurgad, the Orc village. It was Artoch, a shaman, that taught me to harness the spark."

"What spark?" she asked. "Is that a spell?"

"No," he continued, "now put your arms down and let me explain. I don't know what this Korascajan place is, nor do I know anyone called Sarnellian."

"Sartellian," she corrected.

"Whoever they are," he said, "they didn't send me. I was taught to harness fire by Artoch, an Orc."

She lowered her arms, "If you're a master of flame, why didn't you simply incinerate all those rygaurs?"

"And burn down the ship? We only had to drive them off, not utterly destroy them. Using fire is about control."

"Control?" she accused. "In battle, you need to let loose with everything you have."

"I disagree. I saw you hit the rygaur near the tiller. The spell was so powerful you injured a crewman with the splash."

"Casualty of war," she declared.

"But it doesn't have to be that way, don't you see? Look, you said you sometimes have the feeling you're losing control, didn't you?"

"Yes," she admitted, "but holding back on a spell reduces its effects."

"Precisely," he said. "If I wanted to light a candle with my magic, I wouldn't want to set the whole house on fire. It's the same in battle. You don't always swing an axe with full power, doing so would leave you vulnerable. Tell me, in battle, how many spells would you be able to cast?"

"I'm not sure," she revealed. "I've never been in battle, at least not one with armies. Why?"

"When you blasted that tree earlier, it must have consumed a significant amount of energy. How many times could you cast that in a day?"

"Not many," she confessed.

"You're a powerful spellcaster, Natalia," he continued, "of that, I have no doubt, but you would be more effective by holding back a little. There is such a thing as overkill."