Chapter 28 #3
“Having access to the different elements helps Adepts to identify what affinity they can manipulate the easiest,” he said.
“As you work through controlling and manifesting your everi, you will begin to manipulate the items and elements in this room. What you have the most success with will most likely be the affinity that you awaken first.”
“Affinity?” I asked.
Caelan relaxed his hand, and the water dropped into the pool, a few drops splashing me as the mist dissipated.
“Most Adepts awaken a specific affinity and it is usually an elemental one,” he said. He moved to one of the bookshelves and tugged one of the newer-looking books enough to grab it. The pages rustled as he flipped it open, thumbing through the pages, scanning them carefully until he paused.
“Here,” he said. “This will explain it better than I can.”
I took the book and glanced over the pages.
I breathed in relief as I scanned readable script.
Some of the other tomes were ancient and in forms of Valyrian that I’d never be able to read.
Still, being able to read it didn’t mean it was going to be easy.
Translating it and then comprehending it was more than enough to leave me daunted.
I sighed and began scanning and translating the text, pausing frequently to get Caelan to translate for me.
“Telekinesis?” I asked, looking up at Caelan.
His arm extended before him in a relaxed position as his fingers hung delicately. As he did this, the bracelet my mother made for me lifted my arm by the wrist.
“Wow,” I muttered, my fingers twitching at the itch to use such a skill.
When he released his connection to the piece of jewelry, my arm fell to my side again.
“Can you manipulate anything?” I asked.
“It depends,” he said. “Living creatures are far more resistant to it but it can be done. Controlling the mind, however, is an entirely different story. Most inanimate items can be manipulated using telekinesis; however, more complex elements require more complex affinities.”
The warmth drained from my face. Was controlling living creatures possible? My cheeks stung as I tried to shake the eerie feeling that tightened my chest.
“Like what?” I asked.
Caelan paced slowly, thinking before he spoke. “Once a mage masters Everi Sensing and Everi Control, which are the two most basic connections a mage can make with everi, they begin training to awaken an elemental affinity.”
He gestured to the book in my hand, and I read:
“It requires far more connection with everi for a mage to manipulate elemental forces,” Caelan said.
A splashing sound made me look at the fountain.
From the pool, several globes of water were rising in the air, the light refracting within them, making them mesmerizing spheres of iridescent colors.
They floated through the air like bubbles but when they fell they exploded in a spray of water.
“Most talented mages develop one elemental affinity. For Adepts, it is currently around a 50% success rate,” he said.
“And how do you know which elemental affinity to try for?” I asked.
Caelan smiled. “You don’t. You figure it out with practice.”
I nodded, my lips pursed. “Okay, what comes after that?”
“Many mages never move beyond elemental affinities,” he said. “However, there are higher affinities that can be attained.”
I glanced at the text as he spoke.
“Is this how I was brought here? By a mage using a high affinity? Or did they stuff me on a plane while I was unconscious?”
Caelan laughed. “While mages cannot teleport, there are powerful artifacts that can be used for transport. It’s called a Waystone. They are created and bound to the group of mages that created it—in this case, Nightfall keeps one, but it can only be used for the purpose of bringing Initiates here.”
The idea of an artifact that could teleport me, and that I had used one while unconscious was giving me a headache.
“And do Adepts recruited in this world ever develop one of these ‘higher level’ affinities?” I asked.
Caelan paused. “I believe Commander Everson is the first and only one. Even among the Aurkai, they are not common abilities.”
My Affinities class was a nightmare.
“You have to search within, Kamoria,” Everson said.
I hated having Everson as a professor. He had zero patience and zero compassion. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to search within when he was hovering over me, correcting every little non-pertinent thing he could.
I didn’t look at him as I ground my teeth together.
“Finding your affinity is like trying out a few different sports and seeing which one you are most suited for,” he said. “Though I suppose some people are not good at any sport.”
He walked off, and I glared after him.
The classroom was a practical training hall with tables and areas to safely attempt to manipulate fire, water, air, and earth. I started flipping through the text, pretending to be busy, but I was done with this for today.
“Remember,” Everson called out to the class, “there are three more affinities that are harder to master beyond elemental affinities: Weaving, Mind, and Soul. It is within these more difficult to harness affinities that such techniques as healing, mind invasion, and the ability to temper someone’s anger became possible. ”
I groaned internally. And I couldn’t even light a single candle. Maybe I needed Melanie to attack me again and then I’d be able to do something.
I wished she would. It might get me out of this class.
All of this was making me want to pull my hair out. Everything Everson said were things I’d experienced from one of the Aurkai at some point or another. They made this stuff look easy.
But it wasn’t.
I bolted from the room the second class ended.
I was power walking to my dorm when I stopped abruptly at the sight of Blake stepping out of the Adept’s training hall.
He was still wearing his gear, and his hair was wet, as if he’d rinsed it.
He caught my eye, and his smile melted my frustration in an instant.
I immediately looked down to his lips, remembering the feel of them against mine.
Heat rushed into my cheeks, and I tore my gaze from his lips and stared firmly at my feet.
“Anna,” he said, his voice smooth like liquid metal.
“Hey,” I said, finally looking up. “What’re you doing here?”
Blake glanced at the training hall. “Roslyn asked me to cover Raicanya classes for the Adepts for a few weeks. Kalmont had other things to attend to. Hard to say no to family.”
“Family?” I asked.
“Yeah, Roslyn is my cousin,” he said offhandedly. “I must head back in a bit but I have some time. Walk with me?”
I attached that piece of information to every memory I had of them together, like the final piece to a puzzle.
I laughed, “That makes a lot of sense. And sure. Where to?”
My entire being eased as he took my hand. It was as if Everson no longer existed and my problems were a thing of the past.
What was it about Blake that affected me like this? I could’ve listed his best features all day but that wouldn’t have covered it. At my core, everything was at peace in his presence.
“Come on, there is a place I want to show you,” he said.
He led me down the corridor and up a flight of stairs to an aged wooden door with a beautiful and weathered iron handle.
“What is this place?” I asked.
He smiled. “You shall see.”
He opened the door and waited for me to pass through. The scent of roses and pops of colors delighted my senses as I stepped onto the cobblestone.
“Wow,” I breathed, taking in the courtyard.
It was built on a rooftop overlooking the grounds from high atop the castle. A cloister of stone arches framed the garden, lush with roses and ivy. Lanterns hung from the vaulted ceiling; their flame joined with the muted natural light of the north.
Fresh air soothed my skin as I let my fingers trail across the aged arched stone. Ivy grazed my skin as I parted them, passing through into the courtyard to a sea of vibrant reds and glistening pinks.
“Most do not know this courtyard is here,” Blake said, his hand touching the small of my back.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“I thought it might remind you of home,” he said. “A little more color than you usually find this far north.”
I smiled and turned to him. “Thank you for showing me.”
He trailed his finger along my cheekbone. “How has your first day of classes been?”
I smiled faintly. “Fine. I guess I thought this was going to be easier. Instead, it’s like the next level of you and everyone else reciting ‘you have to find it yourself’ on repeat.”
Blake grinned. “You are coming into this on a much more difficult path. In our world, everi is far more prevalent and fine-tuned in a way that makes it easier to align with. Here, you must be particularly skilled to access it. Do not let it deter you.”
“I know you’re right, but the other Adepts make it look like they’re lightyears ahead of me,” I said. “And what do you mean ‘our world?”
Blake took my hand as he walked me through the garden.
“One thing at a time. It has been my experience that most Adepts who excel quickly reach their maximum potential abruptly,” he said. “It requires true and intentional introspection to reach greater heights.”
“You sound like Professor Kaito,” I muttered.
He laughed. “I know he is hard to follow. But he is truly a master of his art.”
I didn’t doubt that, just my ability to glean anything useful from it. I tried to clear my mind and soak in the courtyard's peacefulness before Blake guided me towards the covered archway that wrapped around the perimeter.
“You know,” he started, then turned and gave me an amused grin. “I was scolded for having such an influence on your awakening.”
A deep heat rose in my cheeks. “What? Why?”
Blake shrugged. “Because the council members are old and like to complain about everything.”