A flame no larger than that of a candle burned at the tip of his sword. It was a soft, crimson flame that emitted little light, and even less heat.
“Not bad,” Instructor Caarda said with a faint smile. She had been overseeing his training for a week now, and seemed content with his progress, if one could even call it that. “It’s been nearly an hour, good job.”
Midhir glanced at her but didn’t respond. It took effort to keep the flame lit, but also as small and weak as it was now. Restraining his own power proved to be even more exhausting than casting resonances back to back. He needed to keep his focus on the flame, and on his flow of power at all times. Even a small distraction proved to be enough to lose control.
“You can stop now,” she added a moment later.
Her words came as a relief. He let his power fade away, allowing the tiny flame to die out.
“Was it easier this time?” She spun a pen between her fingers absentmindedly.
“No,” he breathed out, exhausted. Sheathing his sword, he leaned against the wall, watching the last rays of sunlight slowly vanish behind the horizon. Stars began to glimmer in the clear sky as it turned purple first before the last colours slowly faded. “It’s exhausting.”
“Naturally,” Instructor Caarda nodded. “For what it’s worth, Arwen seems to be having similar trouble to yours. She has immense power as well, if she wished so she could easily use her own spiritual power to cast resonances, but unlike you, she’s capable of manipulating the power lingering all around us as well.”
Midhir grimaced. Just like him, she was spending most of her days here as well. While he came to the Instructor’s study a few hours before dusk, and remained here until midnight, Arwen came at dawn, and practiced until Instructor Soraya’s class, which had been moved to noon. “I’m not surprised, she’s very skilled.”
“She is,” Instructor Caarda chuckled, “but I find your case to be much more interesting.”
Midhir let out a sigh. He wasn’t sure whether being ‘interesting’ was a good thing or not. “I think I would have preferred to be able to just cast resonances the normal way,” he muttered absentmindedly.
“I disagree,” Instructor Caarda’s sharp tone startled him. “I think you’re too focused on being ‘normal’ and ‘successful’. I can see it when you talk about your friends – you envy Alistair and Willow because they can cast resonances with such ease, use their weapons so comfortably…” She tilted her head, glaring at him with a sharp gaze. “Soraya told me about how your duel went. She also told me how they fared against her. Why would you envy them when they can’t even make her break a sweat?”
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Midhir looked away. “I was lucky,”
“No, you put in the effort, and went further than those naturally talented because of that.” She snatched her cane from the back of her seat and stood up. Every step she took seemed to hurt, causing her to wince, but she walked up to him, nonetheless. “I have seen many students, from many different backgrounds. I even taught the crown princess during her short stay here – and one thing I noticed is that none of those I deemed ordinary and normal, adequately successful and striving towards a modest goal went on to become anything more.”
She held onto the marble railing, “It was those who aimed for the impossible that went on to succeed – the crown princess is one of the most powerful resonance casters in Eldoria, perhaps even in the known world. Those who wish for more, who put in the effort, and adapt to their own shortcomings – they become the beacons of light that everyone else will strive to reach.” She took a deep breath, “Arwen will become that. Perhaps Alistair too, if his ideals can be realised. But with your mindset, you won’t.”
Her words hurt like a knife to the chest. His heart sank, a lump settled in his throat. Her gaze promised she was telling the truth.
“But if you put in the effort,” she continued, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “You’d become a formidable force in the battlefield. What you have – your inability to use the power all around us. It may just be a blessing in disguise.”
“How?” He asked, trying to hide the hurt he was feeling still.
Before she spoke, she slowly limped back to her seat, carefully lowering herself onto the cushions. She winced and grunted, then rubbed her left leg with a sour expression. It took a few moments for her to be able to speak with a clear, concise voice again.
“Only a few people can cast resonances at once, in the same place. If it’s a place with rich spiritual power, maybe a dozen people, if it’s any normal place, five, maybe six people,” she explained. “Because they would all be trying to guide the same power into their own resonances. If enough people try that, no resonance can be cast at all.”
They would interfere with one another’s resonances. He had seen it happen first hand. It was one of the first things taught to the new recruits of the Imperial Guard, so they wouldn’t overly rely on resonance casting to cover their shortcomings.
“But you don’t use that same spiritual power. It means your powers would never be affected by how many resonances are being cast nearby – there is no chance of another caster draining all the spiritual power you needed to use,” Instructor Caarda rummaged through her pockets, pulling out a simple, crude crystal.
Midhir rubbed his left eye absentmindedly.
“We’ve talked enough, go, and have some rest. And think about what I told you.” She muttered while inspecting the crystal. “I will see you tomorrow – and I will know what conclusion you reached.”