Part 1
Spring arrived. The air was still cool but carried the scent of thawed earth and swollen buds. The sun shone brighter than in winter and its rays filled everything with life. The sky was high and clear the clouds were light and fluffy like cotton. Everywhere could be heard the singing of birds returning home and the cheerful noise of streams. It seemed that nature itself was waking up shedding the shackles of winter.
The school year ended in spring. I had waited for this moment for so long. Alak would finally buy me the promised book. Since I started studying destruction magic silently my progress had not advanced much. I only managed to create a fireball slightly larger than my fist and sustain it for about ten seconds. But I still hadn't figured out how to make it fly. Aria however had something to boast about. She already learned to create a fireball the size of her head and could easily shoot these spheres many tens of meters. Besides this she confidently used water magic. I had much to learn from her.
I stood in a line with my classmates. We had a sort of assembly. It did not last long the director gave his speech and along with the teachers began handing out report cards. As expected I had the highest grades in all subjects.
— Airon what were your grades for the year?
— I have the highest grades in all subjects and you?
— Me too.
— You worked very hard to get those grades well done.
— I owe my success only to you Airon, you motivated me the most.
A tender almost imperceptible smile played on her lips. She didn't laugh loudly she just slightly lifted the corners of her mouth and there was so much charm in it that the whole world seemed to smile around her.
— Airon you did well. Here is the promised book.
Alak suddenly approached me and handed me the destruction magic guide. The book was new and clean. Its cover shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow was adorned with magic symbols that glowed in the dark. The title "Fundamentals of Destruction" was written in gold letters. The pages were clean and smooth the text was clear and simple. This book was written for those just beginning their path in destruction magic and it contained everything needed to master destruction up to the advanced level.
The school event quickly ended. And here I was already at home rejoicing in the new book. But before I could really read it Alak came into my room.
— Airon are you busy right now?
— I don't think so.
— Good then change your clothes and come to the yard, today will be our first lesson.
I immediately put the book aside. Report card. Lesson. Guild. Everything I worked for a year began right now. I put on my simple but clean shirt and pants and ran out into the yard.
Alak was already waiting for me standing on the grassy lawn. He wasn't casting spells, he just stood with a serious focused look.
— Are you ready?
— Yes.
— Great then let's start with theory. destruction magic is divided into 5 main sub-types. The first and most popular sub-type is fire magic. This is pure explosive damage and heat control. This includes fire strikes hellfire and pure explosive damage from heat. Next is water magic. This is the control of not the water itself but its states and movement. This includes water flows ice attacks and water shields.
Alak stomped his foot and the ground a few meters away cracked.
— Next is earth magic. This is the most physical branch. This includes earth attacks, stone bullets and creating barriers from stone.
He waved his hand in the air and a barely noticeable vortex quietly spun around us.
— Then comes air magic. This is pure control over pressure and wind. This includes air jets and creating a vacuum for stunning. This magic can also be used to fly but gravity magic is better suited for that.
Finally Alak raised both hands and the air between them crackled.
— And the last sub-type is electric magic. This is the purest most unpredictable form of energy. This includes electric strikes and chain lightning. Electric attacks are known for their accuracy and speed. But they require the most mana to create.
Alak lowered his hands.
— Now demonstrate your most powerful fireball for me.
I nodded. I was overwhelmed with information about the five branches of destruction but now I needed to focus on mine. I closed my eyes.
My hand stretched forward. I began to concentrate and slowly fill my hand with mana.
— Harder Airon! — Alak commanded.
I bit my lip. A flame appeared in my palm. It was the size of my fist, the largest sphere I had ever created.
But I couldn't hold it. For five seconds the sphere held perfectly demonstrating my impeccable form calibration.
On the sixth second the shape began to distort. On the seventh second the orange fire instantly went out leaving only residual heat in my palm.
Alak walked over and gently touched my shoulder.
— Five seconds. You lost it on the seventh second. And it did not fly anywhere. That is a good result but you have room to grow — Alak summarized calmly not showing disappointment or excessive praise.
Alak took a step back.
— First you need to learn how to quickly create a perfectly round fireball, then learn to sustain it for more than twenty seconds. After that we will figure out how to teach you to shoot it.
— Okay I understand.
I tried to create the sphere several more times. Alak kept telling me to pour in more mana. But after the fifth attempt I felt a headache.
— Alright that's all for today. Tomorrow when I return from work we will try again.
Part 2
From that day on my endless methodical training began. We practiced almost every day except weekends for three months.
Alak was relentless. He demanded that I strain my inner reserves constantly pushing myself to the limit to break the "seven second" barrier. After every training session my muscles ached my head was throbbing from overexertion and my consciousness felt like it was sinking into a thick fog.
My body demanded rest. I started sleeping twelve hours a day and sometimes when the training was especially tough I could sleep even longer skipping breakfast.
During the day while Alak was at work at the Guild I did not train in the yard. Instead I returned to my only treasure trove of knowledge: the destruction book my father bought me.
I combined reading and active practice. Reading gave me the theoretical foundation and training with my father gave me physical endurance. My brain worked like a sponge absorbing information while my body struggled to keep up.
One evening in the third month when the sun had almost set and I was barely alive from exhaustion we stood in the yard. I had almost given up.
— Last attempt Airon, — Alak said his voice showing fatigue.
I closed my eyes ignoring the pain. I didn't think about technique. I remembered Aria "just poured in as much mana as she could." I did the same releasing control and directing all my mana into the sphere.
A bright orange powerful fireball appeared in my palm. It was incredibly hot but this time I felt I could hold it.
I held it. 10 seconds. 15. My body shook. 18... Twenty seconds.
— Enough! — Alak exclaimed. For the first time pure amazement sounded in his voice.
The sphere vanished. I was barely standing but my head did not hurt.
Alak walked over to me his face filled with joy.
— You did it Airon. You not only mastered destruction, you tempered your will.
Part 3
The next morning I woke up on my own without a headache or fatigue even though I had slept for exactly twelve hours. Last night's success seemed to have lifted the physical burden of three months of grueling training.
I quickly changed into my cleanest though simple clothes and sat down at my desk to read another chapter from the destruction book.
The door opened and Alak walked in. He was dressed in his long Healer's Robe of Special Rank, the Guild's robe. He looked serious but a light proud smile played on his lips.
— Are you ready Airon?
— Yes father.
He nodded and I immediately jumped up from my chair.
— Let's go.
We went outside. Lorelin bathed in the morning sun seemed even more magical than usual. Alak led me to a small elegant carriage made of light wood and decorated with subtle elven patterns.
I climbed inside. The carriage was comfortable its wheels made almost no sound gliding over the cobblestones.
— Tomorrow I will return to work, — Alak said as we slowly drove through the morning streets. — You will sit in the library and study the materials I told you about.
— I understand.
Finally he took me with him to the guild. Before this I was constantly tired from training and didn't have the strength to go with him. Although I was happy he took me with him my vacation would end in a week and I would have to go back to that cursed school. I didn't like school in my past life and I didn't like it in this one either.
We drove along wide streets where white marble buildings were surrounded by greenery. Other elves dressed in robes of various colors walked by. I felt a strange aura around them. This wasn't the first time this had happened to me in the last couple of months. A strange feeling but never mind.
The carriage turned onto a large square where the Mages' Guild of Lorelin came into view.
I gasped in delight.
It was the widest building I had ever seen in this world.
The building had several wings extending outwards and it was all surrounded by a huge well-kept courtyard. The courtyard was not just a lawn, it was a real garden with fountains sculptures and an elegant low fence of white stone that clearly separated the Guild's territory from the rest of the city.
On top of the central section an enormous observatory was visible, a hemisphere of blue glass.
— There it is Airon, — Alak said proudly looking at the building. — The heart of Lorelin and the source of all knowledge.
He stopped the carriage.
Alak nodded to two tall elves in light matte robes guarding the gate. They let us through.
As soon as we entered the courtyard the hum of mana I felt outside intensified. For me it was not just a sound but a feeling of weight as if the air had become dense with thousands of active spells. What the hell is happening to me? I had never felt anything like this before.
We crossed the courtyard where older students were practicing in the magical gardens teenagers who could create flows of water and clots of earth.
We entered the main hall.
Inside the Guild was even more impressive. It was a vast space with high wide arches supporting the ceiling. I saw huge crystals floating in the center of the hall emitting a warm glow, apparently they served as the main light source.
Elves in robes of all colors and ranks hurried through the hall. Alak noticed my excitement and gently nudged me forward.
— Stay close.
We walked past a group of mages clad in heavy destruction robes. Alak nodded to a fair-haired elf with a rune tattoo on his cheek.
— Good day Conductor Faelion. How are the wind experiments going?
— Alak. Greetings. The tornadoes are being stubborn. But I see you brought a reinforcement? — Faelion looked me over indifferently.
— This is my son Airon. He is here to start his path, — Alak replied with slight pride.
— Isn't he a little young for this? — Faelion raised an eyebrow. — Well good luck to him in mastering magic.
Alak did not continue the conversation and led me further past the training halls and laboratories where I saw flashes of fire and the glow of ice shards.
Finally we reached one of the widest sections of the Guild. Beyond the double doors decorated with runes lay the library.
When we entered the mana hum that echoed in the rest of the Guild almost completely disappeared. Silence reigned here.
The library was built like a labyrinth of curved marble shelves reaching up as far as the eye could see.
The smell of ancient paper was the most wonderful scent in the world for me.
Alak led me to a small section where the books were marked with the Fire symbol.
— This is your starting point. Here you will find everything you need.
I nodded already reaching for the first scroll written on parchment that looked older than my father.
— I have to go to work now, I have an admissions committee. You can stay here until lunchtime. No one will disturb you. But you must not under any circumstances go beyond the boundaries of this library. You are here as my guest and you are still too young to wander the Guild. I will return for you as soon as I finish my work. Agreed?
— Agreed. I will wait.
Alak smiled and left quietly closing the heavy door behind him. I was left alone among thousands of ancient books.
Part 4
The gray floor of the training hall was cold. The air in Evermur was always heavy smelling of stone and hot metal. I stood in light training armor holding my two-handed sword. I was over two hundred years old and already surpassed almost all elves my age but I was still not satisfied.
Master Denver stood before me. His face was carved from the same pale stone as the walls of our city. He was dressed in heavy yet agile armor and held two one-handed swords.
— You stand like a pillar Atrox, — his voice was dry like sand. — Your two-handed grip is perfect. Your center of gravity is flawless. You are the Stone Wall style in its purest form. But you are slow.
He instantly rushed forward. I raised my sword to block his strike but he did not attack. He used his one-handed swords to bypass my block in an arc. I barely managed to retreat feeling his blade slide past my armor.
— Transmutation again, — he growled. — You spend mana to weigh down your defense. But your movements slow down as a result. Why?
I took a step back. Master Denver's strikes were too fast.
Denver jumped back crossing his swords.
— Remember one thing Atrox. There is no place for weakness or indecision in our war. Our war is vengeance. And to avenge the humiliation of our people you need to not only block but also inflict damage!
He rushed forward again but this time when his one-handed sword met my two-hander I felt a terrifying shock. Denver used kaen's seal a gravity magic spell to pull my sword towards the floor.
My sword dropped down. My feet slipped on the stone. I fell to one knee crushed by the master's spell. I felt as if the entire Evermur had fallen on me.
— You must master the power of gravity, grasp all its might, — Denver hissed pressing me to the floor. — When you learn this you will be unmatched.
He raised one of his swords. I couldn't lift mine because the kaen's seal made it weigh a ton.
— We have little time Atrox. Your learning progress leaves much to be desired. But you do not have time to constantly make mistakes. Take this seriously. We will continue training tomorrow I will beat you until you finally learn how to counterattack correctly.
He put away his swords and the kaen's seal disappeared. My sword became light again. I immediately got up rage boiling within me but externally I was unperturbed.
— How can I use what I do not feel? My mana... it is not like others.
— Not like others, — Denver sneered. — You are cold and calculating. That is your strength. But you are stuck on one style. If you want to be invincible you must master gravity.
Denver pointed to the sword he had just used to pin me.
— Gravity magic is the hardest to master in our school of alteration. It requires absolute precision and incredible control. But if you master it Atrox you will be unmatched. You will be able to control not only your weight and the weight of your weapon but also movement and the very balance of the enemy.
Denver turned heading for the exit.
I was left alone in the quiet cold hall breathing heavily. My muscles burned after trying to resist the kaen's seal.
Before Denver disappeared behind the stone archway two servants instantly rushed to the edge of the arena, pale thin underground elves dressed in simple dark gray uniforms.
One of them immediately ran up to me holding a clean towel.
— Your Highness allow me, — he whispered but I stopped him with a gesture not wanting anyone to touch my armor.
— No need, — my voice was hoarse and I felt sweat running down my forehead.
— Water, Your Highness. Master Denver ordered you to drink more.
I did not reply but took the cup and drank it in one gulp.
— Remove the weapon, — I commanded pointing to my two-handed sword which I did not want to pick up myself at that moment.
The servants silently picked up the sword and carried it away.