"BOOM!" The ever familiar sound of a sorcery spell blowing up in someone's face. However, in this instance it wasn't Alix's face as she was standing at the side. It was instead her first and only sorcery student.
Cas Plavoc.
"It seems that I've blundered somewhere along the way." Cas said while wiping soot from his face. Alix shook her head.
"It is actually more common than you would believe. It even took me around two weeks before I managed to make my second spell." Cas nodded.
"Yet another story of your ever expansive talents mistress. And though I do not mind another tale from your experiences, I fail to see how I would be able to replicate such achievements." Alix walked behind Cas and stood over him.
"It is not about replication. It is about interpretation." Cas's face twitched in the way in normally did when he didn't understand something.
"What is it that I am supposed to interpret? The way the soot feels on my face when I don't succeed in creating a new spell? Or maybe the gust of wind from the initial explosion?" Alix sighed.
"No." Alix pulled one of the books out of Cas's bag. It was titled, "Theories of Mana Flow" and she plopped it on the desk in front of Cas.
"I thought we finished our theory lessons last month. Why are you showing me this?"
"I stopped teaching you magic theory because I thought that you finally understood the point of the lessons but clearly you do not. Do you remember what I told you was the most important thing for a sorcerer to have?" Cas nodded in confirmation.
"You said it was important for us to have open mind but closed thoughts. And when I asked why you said that it was what differentiated us from other spellcasters." A small smile arose from Alix's cheeks.
"So you do remember! Then I can only assume that the problem is that you failed to do any deeper thinking on the subject of 'Open Mind, Closed Thoughts'. Am I right?" Alix fixed her gaze on Cas while he averted his.
"Just as I suspected. Okay, seeing as I am here to teach you I will work you through understanding the phrase. Listen up..." Alix's words faded as the scene could no longer be heard.
Alix was now sitting next to Cas walking him through the sorcery phrase while the boy nodded along in complete focus. This had happened months ago now but it was still fresh on the girl's mind.
Alix smiled nostalgically. She came to the realization that she truly missed those sessions with Cas. It may have been difficult at some points and frustrating at others but seeing the boy work through the challenges that she had long since overcome was...insightful.
It allowed her to understand Cas's perspective on magic. One that bore from a lack of warmth in his life. He didn't have any interest in magic because no one had ever shown him how interesting and fun it could be to learn.
Alix looked down at the Heartstring that was connected to Cas. She watched as it slowly shifted from pink to silver without her even interacting with Cas. She lifted both of her eyebrows pleasantly surprised.
'Cas. It seems that you were closer to my heart than I had the ability to recognize. I know that you will carve your place into history. I just hope you continue pursuing magic while on your journey." The visage of herself and Cas slowly faded as Alix was roused from her sleep.
'...exi? Wake up! I'm too tired to carry ya home!" Alix's eyes slowly opened to see the darkened sky with the moon staring down at her. She slowly sat up while rubbing her eyes.
'I must have fallen unconscious.' She examined her surroundings and quickly discovered that she was at "Imperial Pier" the port that allowed people to travel to the castle from the mainland.
It was quite the ornate pier. Much of it was made with reinforced sea stone, which was a unique material that the city received from the Merfolk while the it was being constructed.
Its color was akin to white opal so when the light hit it just right the stone gained a slight rainbow sheen. There were also many shops and inns in this district due to this being one of the preferred rest stops for ships stopping by the city.
Alix used to see this place very frequently as window of her room sat in this very direction. Though she was confused as to how she got here from the school.
'Good, yer awake~" Alix looked to the side and saw Mo floating sideways in his bowl. He was clearly worn out and his voice showed that.
'What happened? How long was I out?" Alix felt Trouler snuggled up to her side and rested a hand on his slightly rough pelt.
'Well, ya casted a new spell to get the fools off our tails and haven't spoken sense. So I can only assume that was when ya passed out." Alix frowned.
'I casted something? What was it?" Alix waited for Mo to respond but nothing came except...
"ZZZ..." The fish was snoring. Or at least something akin to snoring. Alix found some enjoyment in the sight.
'I guess the interrogation can wait until tomorrow.' Alix picked up Mo's fish bowl and Trouler in each arm. Sure she could have woken the little red up but she could not bring herself to do it.
Trouler was making these small snorts when he breathed in and cute little squeaks when he breathed out. It was honestly so cute that the girl considered watching it for hours.
'A task for another day Alix. For now I should get back to the tavern. Hedgie must be worried.' Alix took one final look around the pier. Her gaze eventually landing on a lighthouse that stood a decent bit away.
A bright beam of light was illuminating from the structure out to the sea as a beacon to call any lost sailors or weary travelers. Alix had never met the owners of the building but they had clearly kept up with it quite well.
It looked exactly the same as did when she was growing up. Well, the light itself seemed a bit different and she could swear that she saw a bit of steam coming from the top of it but for the most part it stood unchanged. Alix nodded to the building and marched into the night.
Cas's, now silver, heartstring shining brightly into the night towards wherever the boy currently was.