Chapter 6
There were countless things I would’ve rather been doing than embarrassing myself in front of Mages who’d been practicing the arcane arts for years, but here I was learning the ‘fundamentals’, which were far more advanced than they should have been.
The best part of it all? Our teacher was none other than the Grand Arch Magus himself, Alandris Vi’Elissar, also known as the male I trusted as far as I could throw him.
They assigned Elle as my roommate and partner, a stroke of luck, or perhaps the intention of the male in question, which meant we’d attend all training together.
I would have a blinding light of optimism at my side while I fell on my face in front of all the other students.
I’d asked Elle what sort of magic she could do last night, and she’d sprouted a tree from a seed in the middle of our dorm room.
The element suited her, but it confirmed my suspicions that I was seriously out of my league.
And now we had a tree in our dorm room. She was still working out how to undo her magic.
Thank you to the unnecessarily high ceilings in this place.
“Our focus today will be forming a shield from your raw magic,” Alandris spoke, addressing our small group.
“Regardless of your element or brand of magic, the concept is the same. Defending is more important to master than attacking. As Mages, your opponents will look for any opportunity to close the gap between you, and you need to be ready to push them back. You have the advantage. Magic against steel will always persevere, but you need to know when to bide your time and when to strike. Magic exhausts the body after so long. You need to be able to defend until the pivotal moment, and that is when you will expend the bulk of your energy and attack.”
A voice emerged from the back of our group. “Will defending not tire us, though?”
“Not if you learn it well. Not near as much as mindlessly attacking, hoping something will connect.” Alandris turned to me, eyes locked on mine. “Battle is like song and dance. There is only one crescendo. You must patiently wait for that perfect moment, the culmination of your efforts.”
I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. It was too much—felt too much like a wave of heat rolling down my body. “Poetic,” I mumbled.
I was sure he’d heard me, but he ignored my remark. “Start in partners for now, and after a couple of hours, we will form back into a group to put your practice to the test. I’ll come by to each pair to assist as you work.”
Elle grabbed my arm. “Let’s go over there, Nairu.”
Thankfully, she’d shoved us into a corner spot, hidden from most of the other students. “I have no idea where to start,” I admitted. “I’ve only ever used my magic once, and it was somewhat of an accident, and very much a mistake.”
“Your magical ability comes from your god, correct?” She pointed to me. “You don’t wear a conduit.”
“I suppose so.” I didn’t consider myself divinely blessed, because while my people worshipped a god and believed I could save them by restoring him to his glory, I’d never even heard his voice.
Saintess, as if. I wasn’t sure I even believed in it anymore.
And because I didn’t think mentioning that, or the fact that some creepy version of myself in the mirror had edged me towards using this magic would be a grand idea, I added, “it’s complicated, but yes, I don’t get my magic from the natural world like you do. ”
“What element do you lean towards?”
“Uh- my magic looked a bit like shadow. Somewhat.”
Elle’s eyes lit up like I’d said the most fascinating thing she’d ever heard.
“That is so interesting! There was once a Mage here who could manipulate light, but it turned out that was sort of a facet of the element of fire. Still, incredibly rare to be capable of controlling it to that degree. He’s a legend now. Disappeared out of nowhere.”
I sensed she had just added me to the Elle compendium of endless knowledge. “So… where do we start?”
“Ah, yes!” Elle refocused on the task at hand.
“You should be able to feel the magic there, beneath your fingertips. Picture the place you draw your magic from. For me, it’s like reaching into nature itself.
You need to pull forth enough to wrap it around your hands, then your arm.
Let it harden. It will be easier than creating a literal shield from nothing. ”
To demonstrate, she followed her own directions.
I watched as magic flowed from her fingertips in beautiful green swirls.
It curled around her fingers and traveled up her arm, at first forming vines that weaved together over her skin like a chain mail.
Then, her very skin transformed, taking on a hardened quality that looked like bark.
When the transformation was complete, she knocked on her arm with her fist and smiled at hearing the hard thunk.
She held her palm out to me expectantly.
I blew out a breath. My turn. Right.
Initially, there was nothing more than a tingle prickling at my skin.
I pictured the place I drew my magic from, as Elle had suggested, but it was nothing like the beauty of nature.
It was dark and sinister—a beast lying in wait.
Shadows rose from the palm of my hand, starting too small to do anything, but then they came in waves until my entire arm was wreathed in shadow, and I could feel the beginnings of stinging pain from the black tendrils traveling out from the center of my palm.
I tried to stop the flow, I’d manifested more than enough physical magic to move to the hardening bit of Elle’s instructions, but they wouldn’t cease.
The shadows continued to snake up my forearm, to my bicep, and then to my shoulder.
I’d panicked when I felt warmth envelop my arm and saw the shadows burn up into smoke.
“You need to know when to stop. You own the magic, it does not own you,” Alandris spoke from behind me.
I chewed my lip. He was the last person I’d wanted to witness my failure. “I know.”
“Do you need to retire for the day?”
And admit I was weak? As if. I looked down at my hand. There was a small black circle remaining, painful to the touch, but the other tendrils had faded. The pain wasn’t unbearable enough to cause me to surrender. “No, I can keep going.”
Elle pouted. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Let’s go again.”
I heard a whisper in the back of my mind. I only wanted to remember what it felt like. It’s been so long.
I shuddered at the sudden intrusion. “I own this power.”
Elle flicked her head up. “Hm?”
“Nothing.”
We waited until Alandris had busied himself with another pair of Mages before we continued our practice.
It was going better this time, with Elle and I taking turns forming our own shields and testing the hardness.
I’d been concerned about her touching the hardened shadow, but when she pulled her hand away, there were thankfully no marks upon her skin.
I’d not been able to match her strength, though.
My shield was flimsy at best. Not enough to withstand a powerful punch, let alone a blade.
So when Alandris called for everyone to reconvene, I cringed.
“Time to put your hard work to the test.” Alandris titled his head towards a barrel of practice swords. “Defend against your peer’s strikes. For this, I will partner you at random, since you are too familiar with your normal partner’s technique. Can’t have you getting too comfortable.”
There were a few groans of protest, but most of the Mages seemed excited to show off.
I was in the former group. Not only was I going to fail publicly unless something had changed in the minutes it’d taken to walk over here, I was going to put my out-of-the-ordinary magic on full display.
I was no stranger to being ostracized. It came with territory when you looked how I looked, but it was positively annoying to add another tick in the box of things that made me the odd one out.
I’d only recently come to terms with my strange features and decided I didn’t care what people said about me
I was really going to be testing my indifference.
Alandris partnered me with a young human man named Quinn, who had been training for three years and used fire magic—according to Elle.
Of course, she knew him. Elle partnered with an Elven male, whom she claimed ‘would be no challenge at all’.
At least one of us was confident we weren’t walking into impending doom.
Alandris set the rules for the first pair.
“The goal is to test the strength of your shields. Attackers may strike as you see fit. Do try not to be too predictable.” He crossed his arms. “These are practice swords, and I know most of you are untrained, so please avoid the face. Our healers see enough of you. I do not want to send them a Mage with their eye poked out today.”
Naturally, Elle volunteered to go first, much to her partner’s dismay.
The male swung his sword at her in a horizontal slice, aimed across her stomach.
There wasn’t much force behind it, and Elle likely could have stepped out of the way, though that would have defeated the purpose of the test. She brought up her shield, guarding with her magic wreathed arm with a quickness that surprised even me.
The male swung again, aiming for her arm, and she blocked once more.
They exchanged blows for another minute, Elle never failing to defend herself, before Alandris called for them to swap.
Elle held a sword with the precision of a seasoned soldier, and I made a mental note to ask her where exactly she’d learned to fight.
She was striking her partner in the most complicated places.
She would flourish behind him and stab at the back of his knee, spin again and aim for his chest, and next she’d be at his ankle.
He’d barely brought up a shield of ice in front of him to guard against a couple of the attacks, but he’d not been quick enough to stop the others.
Elle wasn’t pulling any punches. Poor guy would probably have a few nasty bruises.
“That’s enough,” Alandris said, calling the match. “Well done, Luelle. Nairu, you’re up.”
Quinn volunteered to take the beating first, a cocky smirk plastered on his face.
It made me instantly dislike him, and very much look forward to stabbing him.
My sword lessons with Kaelias and Lorian were about to come in handy.
At the time, I questioned why the ship’s doctor needed to learn sword fighting, since she was never allowed on raids.
Lorian had always said I would use it one day. I would never tell him he was right.
I waited for the cue to start before moving into the stance Lorian had taught me.
Like a predator, I followed Quinn, circling him until his attention faltered and I found my chance.
I lunged for his arm, but before the sword could hit, he conjured a shield of hardened flame, and the sword bounced off the surface.
Following my training, I steadied my breath, resumed my stance, and waited for my next opportunity.
His side this time. Quinn quickly pivoted and blocked with his arm, coiled with flames.
Each time I thought I had him, he would react with near-perfect precision.
I felt the blush of shame heat my cheeks when Alandris called for us to swap.
Quinn—unlike me—did not bother with a proper fighting stance or fancy footwork.
He held the practice sword loosely in his hand, as though bored.
Then he swung the sword at my side hard and fast. I’d had enough time to pull my shadows forth to swirl around my arm, but not enough time to harden them.
The sword slammed into my forearm with a brutal thwack.
“Nice try.” He snickered, goading me. “Knowing how to hold a sword doesn’t make you a Mage. You may want to adjust your priorities.”
He was trying to infuriate me, to make me sloppy. I wasn’t taking the bait.
Quinn’s next strike landed on my thigh. I’d failed again.
Too slow. He aimed for my chest next, and I finally got the upper hand, bringing my arm—perfectly encapsulated in solid shadow—in front of me to block.
Elle clapped from the sidelines and I saw Quinn’s lip twitch at the sound.
He clearly wasn’t used to losing—didn’t look good for him after all that bravado.
Before I had time to recover, Quinn was swinging down at me with full force, aiming straight for my face.
I braced myself for the hit, crossing my arms in an ‘x’ in front of me.
It was going to hurt like a bitch, but at least I wouldn’t have a black eye.
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, but the pain never came.
I looked up to see a wall of solid, brilliant fire erected in front of me.
“I established ground rules, did I not?” Alandris hissed, dropping the wall. His eyes narrowed at Quinn were swimming with silent fury. “If you want to fight dirty, I will be your opponent. How does that sound?”
Quinn stood in silence, his face blanching.
“I didn’t think that would interest you.” He looked to Elle. “Monitor the remaining bouts.”
She nodded. “Yes, of course.”
Alandris hooked a finger at me. “Come.”
I would have normally argued, but my pride was already in ruins; confronting the Grand Arch Magus in front of everyone didn’t seem worthwhile. I followed him out of the practice room, out of the silence, never questioning where he was dragging me as we turned down hallway after hallway.
Alandris stopped walking in front of a huge archway and turned to face me. “I keep a private study beyond here. Come here in the evening after your normal lessons, and I will train you personally.”
I froze. “Why?”
“I told you I have an interest in your magic, and you are incredibly below our standard here at the Consortium. We need to remedy this quickly, or you’re going to end up with much worse than a bruise.
” He saw me open my mouth to respond and quickly added, “this is a nonnegotiable part of our agreement.”
The last remnants of my pride floated away. “Great. Looking forward to it.” I hoped he recognized the sarcasm.
“Go see our healers.”
“It’s only a bruise.”
He stared at me, waiting.
I clicked my tongue. “Fine. See you tomorrow.”