“So,” Quahim said as the two finished eating, “Let’s talk about shadows, shall we?”

Adion was sitting opposite Quahim on a carpet on the floor. Adion hadn’t seen any tables in Quahim’s studio, and he didn’t mind eating on the floor.

“Yes,” Adion nodded his head, looking at Quahim expectedly. They hadn’t talked much during their meal, and Quahim hadn’t mentioned how he wouldn’t teach Adion anything if he decided to leave in just a few weeks. Adion didn’t think Quahim had dropped the subject, though, probably just leaving it for another day.

“Shadow magic is very different from other elements. Do you know why?” Quahim asked.

“From what I've heard, it takes a great understanding of the element to be able to use it. A lot of concepts are involved,” Adion answered.

“Yes,” Quahim nodded, “A fire mage can conjure a fire and use it immediately upon forming a core. But shadow mages struggle to make use of their shadow even in the most basic manner when they first form their core. A fire mage can simply slowly work concepts into their flame and grow from there. But to use shadows without concepts is not possible. A fire is dangerous as it is, but a shadow? Not very useful unless you want to keep the sunlight out of your eyes.”

“So you need plenty of concepts in order to make your shadow do anything useful?” Adion asked.

“Yes,” Quahim nodded, “Let me ask you this: What is the difference between water and ice? Between earth and lava?”

“Concepts,” Adion said, “A water mage grasping the concept of coldness, and perhaps a few other concepts needed, would be indistinguishable from an ice mage.”

“That’s right,” Quahim nodded, “And an earth mage could slowly work in concepts of hotness into their core, making it indistinguishable from lava. At least in theory. But can they change their concepts so much that the lava turns to fire?”

“I…I’m not sure,” Adion said, “It should be possible, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Quahim said, “I don’t believe that elements are just a mishmash of concepts that you can shape to your Will. There is a core, a foundation, an essence, somewhere that you can’t escape from. Let’s call it a foundation so as not to confuse it with the mana core, even though I think core would be a better word.

“This foundation is something that binds you to an element that exists outside of any concepts. I believe shadow has this foundation too, but it is hidden deeper than other elements. I believe this is why you need concepts to make much use of your shadow magic.”

“That makes sense,” Adion nodded, “It should also be that shadows are pretty useless as they are, right? Other than blocking light, they don’t seem to be much use without concepts. A normal rock can at least be thrown at someone, even without concepts. But shadow is more… ethereal?”

“True,” Quahim nodded, “You need to polish your shadow with a lot of concepts to make it useful. But that is also where its strength lies. You are not bound to the element as it exists in the world as much as other elements are.”

“What do you mean?” Adion asked.

“An element can be changed by concepts to do all sorts of things,” Quahim explained, “But I believe that you can never incorporate a concept that goes against the foundation of the element. Earth can be hot lava or cold mud. It can be sand, rock, dirt, you name it. But it can never be something that doesn’t cohere to its foundation: earth. That goes for all elements. A fire will always be fire, water will always be water, wind will always be wind, and shadow will always be shadow. But what is shadow? What’s the foundation that you can never change?”

“I don’t know,” Adion said, thinking hard about it, “Maybe just an opposition to light?”

“I think so too,” Quahim nodded, “I can’t know, of course. No one can. And testing the limits of what a shadow can be is something I am still working on every day. But its opposition to light seems unchangeable. It is, by definition, the absence of light. Is that all there is? Are there countless other things that can’t be changed? I don’t know. Just like I don’t know what can be done with the other elements. But in simple terms, as long as your shadow is a shadow, you’re good.”

This is way too confusing. Has Quahim ever taught anyone before?

“What about darkness then? What’s the difference between that and shadow?” Adion asked.

“There is no difference when it comes down to it,” Quahim said, “At least I don’t think so. Sure, my shadow differs from the darkness of a darkness mage, but my shadow also differs from the shadow of another shadow mage. I believe it to be two paths of the same element. Similarly to how ice and water are two paths of the same element.”

“That’s pretty much what I thought,” Adion said.

“Where was I going with this…” Quahim said, squinting his eyes in thought, “Right, the point being that shadow is very concepts-heavy, but also very concept-free. It is up to you to experiment and see where your concepts take you, but I can give you some inspiration.”

Quahim conjured a shadow above his palm. It looked a lot darker and denser than what Adion had accomplished.

“I have contemplated a lot of concepts in my life,” Quahim said, looking at the cloud-like shadow before him, “One of them being darkness. You can see the result in my shadow. I also focused a lot of time in my youth on the concepts of compact, speed, and sharpness, letting me fight with the element.”

Quahim waved his hand, and the shadow sped through the room in the shape of a crescent, cutting deep into a piece of marble further into the room.

Amazing!

“Don’t get too excited,” Quahim warned, “That is the result of decades upon decades of contemplation and practice. It’s not something you can achieve anytime soon. Otherwise, shadow mages wouldn’t be seen as so weak in the early stages.”

“I understand,” Adion nodded. He could only imagine how hard it would be to accomplish something like what Quahim had just shown.

“This is a spell passed down in my family clan for as long as anyone can remember. It’s called the ‘crescent shadow blade.’ A little on the nose, perhaps, but I’m in no position to change it,” Quahim said.

“What family clan are you a part of?” Adion couldn’t help but ask.

Quahim looked at Adion for a while before shaking his head, “Another time. I will show the scroll with the spell later. It is far too early to start practicing it, but it would do you well to memorize.”

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“Is that really fine?” Adion asked.

“Mm,” Quahim nodded, “If you’re able to use it, it will only make it easier for future generations to master it. No need to keep it too secret.”

“Thank you, teacher,” Adion said. He knew that there were a lot of people willing to spread their spells far and wide. But a lot of family clans still chose to keep them well-guarded.

“So you believe it will be easier to master spells more frequently used?” Adion asked.

“Mm,” Quahim nodded, “I know it’s debated, but I believe it to be true. The Theory of Treaded Paths has been shown to be correct in all areas that can be proven. No reason to doubt it wouldn’t work for spells. Have you ever learned a spell?”

“I haven’t,” Adion shook his head. There were a few spell scrolls in the Remori manor, but Adion had been sparkless during all his time there, so they were pretty useless to him.

“Not even a fire spell, a basic one?” Quahim questioned.

“It’s complicated,” Adion answered, not in the mood to make up an excuse that wouldn’t reveal his true element.

Quahim looked at Adion for a moment, expressionless like always, making it hard for Adion to know what he was thinking.

“Well,” Quahim said, “When you do, you will realize just how much easier learning a spell is than making something up on your own. The world, and the mana of the world, likes to do things the way things have always been done. You will still need to grasp the concepts necessary, and practice a lot, but it is almost like the world is giving you a helping hand instead of struggling against you.”

That seems nice. I wish I had a spell for space magic. Maybe there are some hidden within the Celestial Phoenix Sect.

“What else can you do with shadow?” Adion asked, “That thing you did when I was here for the first time, and you covered the entire store in shadow. What was that?”

Quahim gave Adion a rare small grin, “It is a trick of my own. It is hard to explain, as concepts of the shadow usually are. But basically, I conjured a lot of shadow. But it is the concepts that my shadow carries that make it special. It does not only block light, but other things too. I will leave the rest for you to ponder about. As much as it can be helpful to have things explained, I believe what really gives the best results is to discover things on our own. Instead of struggling to replicate my steps exactly, see where your own mind takes you.”

That makes a lot of sense. I feel like I can always make better progress when I find inspiration on my own rather than trying to replicate someone else.

“Alright,” Adion nodded.

“Why don’t you play around with it for a while,” Quahim said and got up from his sitting position, “I’ll do some painting in the meantime. Join me once you’ve tired out your Will.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

Quahim left for his paint, and Adion made himself comfortable on the carpet.

Let’s see. I can’t use my Authority here. Quahim would definitely notice it. I will just practice conjuring shadow from pure mana. I know from my practice with fire that it is tiresome but rewarding work. And it seems like the best place to start; no use learning a shadow spell if I can’t even conjure the shadow to use it.

Adion started gathering the pure mana in his surroundings, using his Will to turn it into shadow mana. Adion managed to conjure shadow about the size of a head. It didn’t stick around, though, almost immediately dispersing in all directions.

That should be about the amount I can use my Authority over. I’ll give it a try back at the inn later. It’s not nearly as dark as Quahim’s shadow, though, and his shadow also seemed a lot denser. I have a lot of work to do.

Adion repeated the process; it was tiresome work, but he knew it would get easier with time.

After about an hour, Adion felt his practice having severely diminishing returns, his Will too strained. He decided to rest for a while and headed over to where Quahim was painting.

The painting was far from done, but Adion thought he could see a man and a woman sitting in some sort of library.

Is it a happy painting or a sad painting? It feels more on the happy side.

Adion tried to focus on how Quahim used shadows to make his painting more realistic. But after a while, Adion found himself being more absorbed in the way Quahim painted, his mind trying to absorb the knowledge in front of him.

As it started getting dark, Quahim put down his brush and turned to Adion.

“Learn anything?” Quahim asked.

“I’m not sure,” Adion said, “But you are very good.”

“It just takes practice,” Quahim said, “I’m sure you can achieve something similar too one day.”

Something similar to that?

Quahim’s painting was incredible. It was almost like Adion was actually watching what was occurring on the canvas. It was as if he put his hand forward; he wouldn’t touch anything, simply keep going, entering the painting. But it wasn’t only that, Quahim’s painting had a way of evoking emotions that Adion hadn’t experienced before.

I’m quite lucky to be in this situation, aren’t I?

“What is it called?” Adion asked.

“It’s not finished yet,” Quahim said, “I don’t like to name my paintings before they are done.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

“Well,” Quahim said, getting up from his stool, “It’s too dark to paint, and I assume your Will is too exhausted to do much more magic. You should head back and get some rest. Make sure to come back well-rested tomorrow.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “Thank you for today, teacher.”

“Mm,” Quahim nodded and didn’t say anything else.

It seems he is planning on continuing to teach me. Adion thought as he made his way out of Hevima. Is he so sure I will stay? Or has he just changed his mind? I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ll just take it as it comes for now.

When Adion got back to his room at the inn, he sat down on his bed to get some more practice done. He conjured some shadow and used his Authority to keep control over it this time. It felt slightly different from how his Authority over fire and space felt. It wasn’t as absolute.

It was almost like his Authority over space and fire was something he had an absolute right to. Not even the world itself could question Adion’s Authority over it. But shadow was more like he was allowed to have, nothing he had an actual right to.

It’s really strange…Is there a difference? There should be. I can only guess that it’s because the Wisdom pill that gave me this power was made from the blood of a weaker beast than the Phoenixes.

Adion played around with his shadow for a while, but other than not immediately dispersing, it did nothing besides blocking light. He manipulated it around the room but had to eventually accept that without concepts, shadow was basically useless.

I guess there is no getting around it. These things take time.

Adion went out of his room to get something to eat for dinner. The inn served food, so he didn’t need to wander about in search of something.

The dinner was just as lonely as his breakfast had been. Adion was used to having his meal surrounded by friends. The sudden loneliness was a bit hard to get used to.

I’ll manage. It makes eating a quick affair, at least, leaving more time for training. I’ll do some aura training to exhaust my Will before going to bed. And I’ll try to wake up early to do some more meditation tomorrow morning. I have been a Bronze mage for too long. It’s time for me to reach Silver.