Cleansing Memories in Ғɪʀᴇ

[Chapter 5] Helping hand

"I don't know how my story will end, but nowhere in my text will it read... I gave up."

~Unknown

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Wolfgang wrote a few words on a scrap of paper in his hand, frowning over the jars on his shelf. It was just after dawn, one of the few times that the alchemy building was completely empty except for himself. It was also one of the few times he could think in peace, although that often ended up with him thinking of several competing topics at once and getting completely lost in his own thoughts.

"Running low on stock?"

Wolfgang jumped and uttered half of a swear as he spun around. Herobrine was casually leaning against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest. "How do you sneak in that quietly?" he asked, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Sorry, just habit," Herobrine said. "I had to learn to move in silence otherwise I would've been murdered multiple times."

"Good reason," the sorcerer said. "In answer to your question, yes. Most of them are pretty simple, just sugar and mint and stuff, but I'm also missing some of the more difficult stuff like silverfish scales, cave spider venom, cocoa beans, blaze powder, magma cream and ghast tears. And my usual supplier isn't talking to me anymore for some reason."

"Well... I can get the nether things pretty easily if you would like me to," Herobrine mumbled.

"Really? Would you mind doing that for me?"

Herobrine shrugged. "Sure. At least I won't be walking around being bored. I'll be back later today then."

He began to walk out of the building and Wolfgang, before he could change his mind, called out after him; "You don't happen to command the nether creatures, do you?"

Herobrine turned, completely confused. "What? Whose idea was that?"

Wolfgang shrugged, instantly smacking himself mentally. "No idea, it's just one of the... myths about you, I guess."

Herobrine muttered something that Wolfgang didn't catch, probably because it was in a different language. "No, I don't have any control over the nether creatures, or any other creatures for that matter. Like everyone else, I stay out of their way and they stay out of mine." He turned and exited the building, leaving Wolfgang to continue his inventory.

When he did return (bearing the much needed supplies) he and the sorcerer started to chat as the other students came in and out to do their lessons. It turned out that Herobrine had created a fair number of the potions that Wolfgang had recorded in his little book and after some discussion, he also added a few new entries, including one that made the drinker resistant to fire.

"I never needed to use it, but I made it accidentally one day so I recorded it anyway," Herobrine said.

"So how does it actually work?" Wolfgang asked, finishing off the long and complicated method Herobrine had told him.

"It raises your intolerance to heat and your body's ability to cope with burns," Herobrine explained. "You can still feel it but it's reduced and therefore easier to bear. Just don't stay in the flames for too long because the body can only handle so much, even with a potion."

"How do you remember all of this stuff?"

He shrugged. "Good memory, I guess."

Herobrine's knowledge turned out to extend far beyond just potions. Increasingly often, he was seen in the edges of the training ground, wielding a training sword against some dummies. He was horrible. His timing was all out, his technique was virtually non-existent and he could only train for a few minutes before becoming totally and utterly worn out. But in a few short weeks, he drastically improved, so much so that captains had to repeatedly call for their soldiers' attention because they all became distracted by his skill.

The forge, located not too far from the training grounds, was also a source of interest for Herobrine. If he wasn't at the training grounds, in the alchemy building or with either of his brothers, he would be standing in the corner of the blacksmiths, watching with interest as the men with large biceps and leather aprons worked away with the glowing hot metal. The technique these men used was different to that which he was familiar to, although it was the same in its core: heat the metal, shape it, and cool it, even though these men went through the first two steps multiple times.

Herobrine had his own method of fashioning swords and even though the skill hadn't been used in over a thousand years, it all came rushing back to him when he stood in front of that furnace. The fire that poured from his hand could burn ten times hotter than any other flame and could melt even the hardest ore, and of course, the heat never bothered him. In a few hours, he had fashioned an exact replica of the sword that he had wielded in his last battle: A bright blue blade with lines of white quartz going down to the tip, wrapping up and around the crosspiece and ending at the hilt.

Magic began to fly in that corner of the training grounds; flashes of white strands and fire. Those dummies stood no chance as Herobrine's fighting style quickly became similar to that of a whirlwind of magic and metal. When he took breaks from his training, he sat on a wooden bench fixed in the ground, drinking from a large water bottle, his sweaty shirt sticking to his frame. He silently analysed the soldiers as they trained, or watched how the birds swooped down and darted back up, constantly in motion. Wolfgang came and sat next to him one day, his long cloak absent and wearing a short sleeved shirt instead of a long sleeved due to the moderate heat.

"You can fight with magic," Wolfgang said bluntly.

"You never beat around the bush, do you?" Herobrine remarked.

"I've never seen the point."

Herobrine hummed and took a deep draught of his bottle. "Yeah, I've been fighting a while, why?"

"I've got some apprentices who've been asking to be trained in offensive magic for quite some time," Wolfgang admitted. "But I don't know much combative magic myself, so I was wondering if you would be able to teach them for me"

Herobrine started ahead with an unblinking stare. His face was impassive, so Wolfgang had no idea how he was taking the request. After an awkward few seconds of silence, Herobrine finally said "I've never trained anyone in magic before. And I've never really shown what I can do in public, not without people running away in fear."

"You've done pretty well here."

"I haven't been properly training, I do that when no one is around."

"Will you at least think about it? Please?"

Herobrine looked at him and then looked away. "Alright," he mumbled. "I'll think about it."