The trip by sea was every bit as tedious as Storm had anticipated.
The brig they were using was small, and as the journey was expected to take the better part of two weeks, there was little to do to pass the time.
Aurora and Storm sought out Mimereus's guidance and he began instructing the two dragons in spellcraft.
After an day had passed, Storm decided that Leyocan should be included in the lessons too, so he sought him out and convinced him to begrudgingly join their lessons.
For the duration of the journey, Leyocan had put aside his leather armor and sword for a pair of black trousers, an white sleeveless shirt, with an black overcoat that stopped by his knees.
For a spell catalyst, he used a cane made from black metal with an handle piece that was carved in the shape of a silver fox's head.
Much to Storm's suprise, he found out that the cane concealed a blade.
By twisting the handle, one could pull out a long thin spike from the cane that worked similar to a rapier.
The spike was made from a strong metal that was also extremely good at channeling magic, enabling the spike to be used as a wand as well.
Mimereus tested their magical knowledge one by one to determine the gaps in their education, as well as what magic they may show an aptitude for.
To the suprise of absolutely no one present, Storm had an affinity for Electromancy, but as he was already highly skilled in it's use, Mimereus decided to instead teach him basic sorcery.
Spells that would help him reflect or block hostile magic such as wards, or counterspells that would keep another wizard from using magic.
Storm had also apparently inherited Mimereus's talent for Lumomancy, though he lacked Mimereus's experience and the old dragon eagerly began to instruct Storm in the finer details of the craft.
Aurora was the true suprise though.
It was determined very early that she had an affinity for High Magic. An extremely rare and difficult form of magic to learn.
Elemental magic was the byproduct of splitting true magic down into smaller, easier to use pieces.
High magic however used 'raw true magic' to power it's abilities.
This gave her immense variety as she could basically wield all elements simultaneously.
She was capable of creating blasts of magic that could freeze someone with a single strike, only to burn him to a crisp with the next.
It was difficult to counter too as Storm was unable to predict what kind of magic she would throw against his defenses next.
And due to this, Aurora always took the role of the attacker when Mimereus had Leyocan and Storm practicing ward magic.
As High magic was a costly branch of magic to practice, Mimereus also taught her Cryomancy so that she had an backup field of magic to fall back on.
In order to develop her high magic further, Kalipso and Mimereus would take her aside for private tutoring after they were done with the regular lessons.
It was Leyocan that had the hardest time out of the three students.
He had rarely used magic, and what little magic he was familiar with were Ill suited for combat.
The few spells he knew were spells that would aid with his thieving and assassination jobs.
Spells like invisibility, or illusionary doubles. Leyocan excelled in, but he lacked even the most basic knowledge of attacks or wards.
Mimereus didn't show signs of irritation or disappointment, and instead focused on filling those gaps to the best of his ability.
He choose air magic as a suitable substitute as many of the abilities that air magic provided, could be used to complement his current skill set.
Leyocan also showed talent for shadow magic, and although Mimereus's knowledge on that particular topic was limited, he was able to teach him some rudimentary spells in that field.
Leyocan was a fast learner, and he was soon able to utilize his magic in both defense and attack.
In order to avoid burning them out with too much knowledge at once, he broke up the lessons into 2 hour time frames, with 2 x 1 hour breaks in between set out over the course of the day.
They had 3 lessons a day, before breaking for the evening to sleep and eat.
It was during one of his breaks that Storm decided to explore the ship.
He wandered through every room until he came to the lowest deck where the cargo hold was located.
He was suprised to find that a space had been cleared out and Leyocan was already present.
He had stripped down to just his pants and was standing bare chested on a black mat that had been set out on the floor.
He had taken a combat ready stance and was busy flowing through different stances while keeping his eyes closed.
"What are you doing?" Asked Storm.
"Nogut-Jitsu. It's a form of combat stances and techniques created by Nogitsune to promote flexibility and grace."
"May I try it?"
Leyocan eyed Storm.
"I'm not sure if you'll be able to? The techniques was designed for Nogitsune or Kitsune.
Dragons are more rigid than us, you're built for power, not agility. " replied Leyocan.
Interpreting that as a challenge, Storm stripped down until he was only wearing his pants.
He went to go stand beside Leyocan, who then began to guide him through the different stances.
"Don't close your hand! We Nogitsune use open handed strikes! Often using our claws to do so."
Leyocan demonstrated by allowing his claws to grow while keeping his human shape.
"How do Nogitsune do that? Using the capabilities of both forms at the same time?"
Leyocan shrugged.
"I don't know! It's just something we can do. It's almost like instinct.
Some believe that because my kind sits in the middle of the 'human' and animal forms, we can call upon both freely.
Tell you what! Let's leave the practice techniques for now.
I found something better to teach you." Exclaimed Leyocan.
He took a step or two back before facing Storm and taking a combat stance.
He raised both hands to chest level while keeping his hand open and claw shaped.
He placed his weight on his right leg while placing the other leg further back so that he could more easily dodge if necessary.
"Let's see how you do in a friendly spar! No weapons!
Though some abilities are allowed. And no direct attack magic either."
Storm eyed Leyocan's form.
"That's not exactly fair towards me, is it?! I can't use my lightning without killing you, nor do I have access to my wings or flight!"
"You can always chicken out if you'd like!
No one is forcing you to do anything. " Teased Leyocan.
Storm gave no response other than to face Leyocan while mimicking his stance.